Innholdsfortegnelse for Thursday, January 16, 2020 i The Hollywood Reporter

They’ve received the queen’s blessing and weathered vicious tabloid fallout as well as precedent-breaking statements from Buckingham Palace, but as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry head west, the duo have yet to plot out the deals that will build their newly “independent” life. No sooner had the duke and duchess of Sussex revealed their shocking exit — or “Megxit” — from the U.K.’s royal family, from which they planned to step down as senior members, than talk switched to their next move. The idea of Markle, who made her name on the USA Network series Suits, going back in front of the cameras has Hollywood asking around as her former agency, Gersh, stays mum for now. “If Meghan called anybody right now, believe me, we’d all run to the phone,”…

Linear broadcasters can finally take full advantage of the mobile age starting this year thanks to a new effort that will bring TV to phones — without using consumers’ cellular service or data plan. This effort, an FCC-approved broadcast transmission system called NextGen, kicked off Jan. 8 at CES in Las Vegas and is set to roll out in 60 U.S. markets in 2020. It’s an upgrade of the country’s free, over-the-air basic TV that local broadcast stations can opt to offer consumers for their supported TV or mobile devices, potentially bringing in new revenue streams. At CES, 20 new TV models with NextGen support debuted from set-makers like LG, Samsung and Sony in a range of sizes and prices. The ability to receive an over-the-air TV signal on a…

The biggest hit of the 2019-20 TV season is an offshoot of one of the longest-running game shows in syndication: Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time racked up 14.6 million viewers per episode over the four-night event. It’s a phenomenal number for the current era, ahead of same-day viewership for every non-sports show on TV so far this season. It’s also not a shock to Rob Mills, ABC’s head of alternative series, specials and late night. “I have to say I’m thrilled, but not really surprised. The idea felt so big, and there’s something about Jeopardy! — you knew that audience would migrate,” says Mills of the show’s already sizable viewership (9.6 million in 2019’s fourth quarter). “Those people will come if you give them something that feels different than…

BEST PICTURE Joker A year after Marvel’s Black Panther became the first comic book-inspired movie to land a best pic nom, Todd Phillips’ film is the second to do so, and leads all Oscar contenders with 11 noms. Joaquin Phoenix is in the best actor race, while Phillips is nominated for producing, directing and writing. BEST ACTRESS/BEST ORIGINAL SONG Cynthia Erivo Harriet For the third time in Oscar history — and the third year in a row (after Mary J. Blige and Lady Gaga) — a star has earned acting and songwriting noms for the same film in the same year. This year, it’s this British Tony and Grammy winner, nominated for her first lead role in a film and its end-credits song. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Jennifer Lopez Hustlers Not…

For more than a century, Hollywood studios and networks have been among the largest land-owning entities in Southern California and, as such, have benefited from Proposition 13, the state’s seminal, voter-approved amendment that caps taxes at 1 percent of a property’s assessed value at purchase. That could all change this year. An effort to overhaul Prop. 13 is gaining steam with the help of a coalition of backers that includes Mark Zuckerberg and the California Teachers Association. If the ballot measure is successful, it could slap The Walt Disney Co., along with WarnerMedia, Fox Corp., ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal and Sony, with tens of millions of dollars more in taxes. In 2019, Disney forked over an estimated $55 million-plus in property taxes for Disneyland alone. So far, proponents of the measure —…

Critics’ Choice Awards Santa Monica, Jan. 12 National Board of Review Gala New York, Jan. 8 Movies for Grownups Awards Beverly Hills, Jan. 11…

Harvey Weinstein’s Walker: Prop or Not? Is Harvey Weinstein really in pain? Or is that $30 walker (with tennis balls, no less) he’s been sporting at his sex crimes trial a courtroom prop designed to illicit sympathy? Only his spine surgeon knows for sure — Weinstein, 67, underwent a bilateral laminectomy in December — but some experts are skeptical. “It’s not even sized appropriately for him,” says Kate Miller, a physical therapist with Preferred Healthcare. “It’s so high and doesn’t support the improvement of gait we should see.” Adds physical therapist Anthony Rojas, “He shouldn’t be leaning over his walker — it’s not giving him support. The only reason he’d be doing this is if the surgery didn’t do enough.” Rob Landel, a USC professor of physical therapy, thinks Weinstein…

Little America doesn’t look like a lot else on Lee Eisenberg’s résumé. There’s no straight-line comparison between the Apple TV+ immigrant anthology series and, say, The Office, on which he wrote for five seasons, or the raunchy summer comedy hit Good Boys, which he wrote and directed with longtime partner Gene Stupnitsky (only Stupnitsky got the DGA credit). Yet, Little America’s roots are deeply personal, says Eisenberg, 42, with his own father, who emigrated from Israel before Lee was born, serving as inspiration. He enlisted Epic Media (whose magazine publishes extraordinary true-life tales) to help find its stories and producer friends Alan Yang (Master of None), Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) to help find its tone. When the first season bows Jan. 17, viewers will follow…

The adrenaline-pumping climax of James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari takes place, unsurprisingly, on the racetrack. What is surprising is the sheer amount of behind-the-scenes work to not only re-create the iconic Le Mans race course as it existed 50 years ago, but to subtly layer a throughline of tension from the beginning of the film in order for it to pay off at the end. Nominated for four Oscars including best picture and editing, Ford v Ferrari is the true story of American auto designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and English driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale), who partner to build a car for the Ford Motor Co. that will challenge Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France in 1966. The climax comes just shy of…

I am the frontwoman,” explains Sharon Feldstein, with her compatriot Patsy Noah adding, “And I am the bass player.” Feldstein and Noah have been friends long enough to raise kids at the same time. They’ve seen those same kids grow up to be Oscar nominee Jonah Hill and Booksmart star Beanie Feldstein (both Sharon Feldstein’s) and Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine (Noah’s son). But their latest venture, YourMomCares, focuses on the mental well-being of everyone’s children. YourMomCares originally was the title of an Obama-era White House PSA meant to convince 20-somethings to enroll in health insurance; it featured Feldstein and Noah as talking heads. As the next administration was ushered into Washington, the duo wanted to take over the initiative’s branding and use it to launch their own nonprofit. Says…

SHA Wellness Spa, Spain In Alicante, Spain, this result-oriented, integrated well-being clinic’s programs include health treatments such as Brain Photobiomodulation. The pioneering cognitive stimulation therapy harnesses tech developed through NASA and Harvard that, after several light-based, noninvasive 45-minute sessions, claims to accelerate cellular recovery for enhanced energy and state of mind, treating depression and anxiety. Transcranial Current Stimulation Treatment is another option for diagnosing and treating neurological disorders; $220, shawellnessclinic.com Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina, Hawaii Virtual reality features in the Naupaka Spa & Wellness Centre’s new Sensync Sensory Immersion Vessel, delivering what claims to be the world’s first deep brain massage. Twenty- to 80-minute sessions in the space age-looking vessel take participants on journeys — complete with sound, scent, touch and visual elements — dubbed Floating Clouds,…

The text message flashed across the screen on Dec. 28: “Happy new year. This is my new number. How are you? I have been in treatment. Finally got back Wednesday. Big hug, Silvio.” It was from Silvio Horta, the creator of the Emmy-nominated Ugly Betty, who’d just completed experimental therapy to address the severe depression that had crept over his life. Horta spent the last few days of 2019 reaching out to the people he trusted most — his WME agent, Paul Haas; his former assistant, Brian Tanen; and, in this case, Eduardo Roman, a Cuban-born hairdresser and close friend. Roman had not heard from Horta since the fall, when Horta sold his multimillion-dollar home above the Sunset Strip and moved in with his mother, Ana, a Cuban emigre living…

As global video game spending marked a high in 2019 at $109 billion, calls to unionize the industry have ratcheted up. On Jan. 7, one of the largest labor unions in the U.S., the 700,000-member Communications Workers of America, revealed plans for a major effort to organize gaming employees. The drive, called the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees, could bring change to an industry that is largely nonunion. “[The video game industry] is a part of the economy that’s making truly massive profits, and it’s clear that folks are not benefiting to the degree that they ought to,” says Tom Smith, CWA director of organizing. Leading CWA’s CODE are two new full-time staffers, Wes McEnany and Emma Kinema. Priorities include pay rate standards and layoff protections. Kinema cites “wide discrepancies…

Epic Solitude (BLACKSTONE, FEB. 4) BY Katherine Keith AGENCY Curtis Brown Wild meets Disney’s Togo in this memoir by a woman who escapes an abusive youth and travels to the remote Alaskan wilderness, where she loses a newborn daughter and her husband. Left to raise her other daughter on her own, she finds solace in dog mushing. The Opposite of Fate  (HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT, FEB. 18) BY Alison McGhee AGENCY UTA This topical novel that tackles fertility rights centers on 21-year-old Mallie, who is left comatose and pregnant after a violent rape. While she’s unconscious, her loved ones must make a decision about the pregnancy, leaving her to deal with the consequences.…

Blackhouse and Outfest’s Queer Brunch have long been Sundance staples, and this year Latinx artists will have their own space for the first time with a three-day Park City activation for community members and allies. Latinx House — an initiative of activist group Justice for Migrant Women, in official partnership with the film festival — will run Jan. 24 to 26. A Friday night party with Netflix kicks off the weekend; Latinx House also will host the afterparty for Siempre, Luis, a documentary about Lin-Manuel Miranda’s father, Luis A. Miranda Jr. (a former head of New York’s Mayor’s Office for Hispanic Affairs), and host a panel with America Ferrera and a conversation with Time’s Up, featuring Eva Longoria. The group hails 2020 as a historic year for Sundance, with a…

As Disney+, Apple TV+ and other subscription video-on-demand services begin to do battle with Netflix for the global SVOD market, the fight for online advertising is opening up a new front in the streaming wars. Advertising-backed video-on-demand, or AVOD, dominated talk at CES in Las Vegas, which kicks off the industry calendar and marks the start of negotiations between media companies, ad agencies and major brands — conversations that will continue through the traditional TV Upfronts and Digital Newfront presentations this spring. On Jan. 13, Fox Corp. TV stations division debuted a new AVOD service, Fox Soul, which will stream ad-backed free content targeting African American audiences in the U.S. On Jan. 16, NBCUniversal will unveil details of Peacock, the streaming platform it will launch in April, and much of…

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In August, Summer McKeen quietly logged off social media. The 20-year-old lifestyle vlogger had been growing in popularity thanks in part to her starring role in the unscripted Snapchat series Endless Summer, a Laguna Beach for the Gen Z set, and she’d gained more than 1 million followers on Instagram in the past year. But with fame had come increased scrutiny and a growing chorus of criticism, and McKeen needed a break. It wasn’t a long hiatus — she began posting regularly just a couple of weeks later — but for an influencer whose income lives and dies by her activity on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, it still was a weighty decision. Without new posts, her metrics, statistics including likes, comments and followers, would surely fall. Still, McKeen decided…

In all the Dr. Dolittle movies, based on Hugh Lofting’s books, the doctor can talk to animals. However, he doesn’t always connect with audiences. Universal surely hopes its version, Dolittle, out Jan. 17, has a connection more like the 1998 Eddie Murphy comedy hit Dr. Dolittle than the 1967 Rex Harrison musical bomb Doctor Dolittle. That version almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox. What went wrong? Everything. The film cost three times its original $6 million budget. There was tension on the set as Harrison referred to co-star Anthony Newley as a “Jewish comic” and a “Cockney Jew.” Newley in turn called the star “Rex ‘George Rockwell’ Harrison” after the American Nazi Party’s then leader. Roughly 1,300 animals were used during filming, but quarantine laws meant the essential U.S.-trained ones weren’t…

If you could put money into any one movie, which would you choose? Looking at return on investment, 1999’s The Blair Witch Project and 2007’s Paranormal Activity would be two great picks. Blair Witch cost less than $500,000 to make (including post, after a $35,000 shoot) and earned $249 million globally. Paranormal cost $215,000 and made $193 million at the worldwide box office, not adjusted for inflation. Dollar for dollar, this makes Blair Witch and Paranormal two of the best investments in history. But does it also make them the most profitable in hard cash? For sheer size, those horror flicks were dwarfed by 2009’s Avatar ($2.8 billion worldwide, off a production and marketing budget of $387 million) and 1997’s Titanic ($2.2 billion, with a $210 million budget, not adjusted…

Can a film with no acting nominations win the Oscar for best picture? Three of this year’s nine nominated movies enter the final phase of the race with none of their cast recognized: racing drama Ford v Ferrari, war saga 1917 and social thriller Parasite. Two of these contenders have other strikes against them. James Mangold didn’t get a director nomination for Ford v Ferrari and only five films have won the top statuette without that, though they include 2019’s Green Book. Parasite presents a more complicated problem because it’s only the 10th foreign-language film to have nominations for both director and picture, and no such movie has ever won the top prize. But the recent example of Roma does not bode well: that earned multiple nominations and won for…

In January 2017, 51-year-old U.K.-based locations manager Michael Harm — whose credits included the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise — took his own life in a London hotel room. Shortly before, Harm sent a note to a friend in the industry describing his work as “one of the loneliest jobs on a film,” one that came with “no HR,” and urged more care on film sets. In the three years since, a tragic procession of suicides have shaken the film, television and music industries, including those of host and chef Anthony Bourdain, manager Jill Messick, comic Brody Stevens, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell and DJ Avicii. This year opened with news that Ugly Betty creator Silvio Horta, 45, had taken his own life (see page 58). Suicides — often precipitated by mental…

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… FOR BREATHWORK Rob Starbuck “If meditation is like taking a bubble bath, breathwork is like power-washing a driveway,” says breathwork coach Starbuck of this powerful form of active meditation and intense breathing done lying down. Starbuck believes in its transformative abilities. “By breathing in this unique way, we are able to physically release the emotional trauma from many years ago, which is often the cause of stress, depression and anxiety today.” Other top practitioners include Jon Paul Crimi and Ashley Neese. … FOR MICRODOSING Paul Stamets Steve Jobs was a proponent and Brad Pitt also recently alluded to microdosing — taking small doses of psychedelics such as LSD or psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) over the course of a few days to help alleviate depression and anxiety…

OLIVIA COLMAN • Fleabag, The Crown Nominated as part of the Fleabag ensemble, Colman deftly embodies the acerbic stepmother of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s raucous character as well as the acerbic-but-regal Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s The Crown (for which she got a lead drama actress nod). LAURA DERN • Big Little Lies, Marriage Story From Renata Klein’s searing one-liners in Big Little Lies (nominated in drama series ensemble) to the audacious Nora Fanshaw in Marriage Story (supporting actress and ensemble noms), Dern breathes fire into these two formidable lawyers. SCARLETT JOHANSSON • Jojo Rabbit, Marriage Story One mother strives to keep her son safe and hide a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany; another hopes to shelter her son from her divorce. Both are played by a vivacious Johansson, landing noms for…

A year ago, before Disney had absorbed chunks of 20th Century Fox, the big question was if the studio merger would mean that the combined company would be unbeatable in the nominations game. It’s not. Netflix was able to land on top for the first time with 24 noms, followed by Disney’s 23. There were plenty of other surprises, starting with a comic book-inspired movie — Warner Bros.’ Joker — leading the nomination pack. Some big projects (Frozen 2) and top names (Jennifer Lopez) were snubbed, while others, like Parasite, exceeded expectations. As the Feb. 9 Oscar telecast draws near, THR takes a closer look at the new batch of film nominees (and those who lost out). FILM FAVORITES STUDIO SCORECARD BY THE NUMBERS 93 Nominations earned by the Newman…

It’s the best of times and the worst of times at Netflix HQ in Hollywood. On Jan. 13, Oscar nominations morning, the streamer led all distributors with 24 noms spread across eight films, including Martin Scorsese’s $159 million crime epic The Irishman and Noah Baumbach’s $18 million divorce dramedy Marriage Story, both of which landed in the best picture category. But that only raises the already sky-high pressure for a top Netflix victory on Oscar night. A streaming film has yet to win the best picture Oscar — Netflix’s Roma, a black-and-white Spanish-language film by Alfonso Cuarón without any star actors, came closest, with 10 nominations and three wins, including best director, in 2019. Netflix’s recognition this season includes six Golden Globe noms for Marriage Story, and honors from groups…

Ilana Peña’s Diary of a Future President, the first Disney+ show from an outside studio (CBS TV), isn’t likely to be a Mandalorian-sized sensation, but it’s full of sweet moments and has an admirably progressive streak — even if it marks a bit of a bait-and-switch as Gina Rodriguez’s first post-Jane the Virgin project. The show opens on Elena Cañero-Reed’s (Rodriguez) presidential Inauguration Day. In a package, she receives her adolescent diary, sparking a flashback to when Elena (Tess Romero) was 12 and living in Miami with her lawyer mom (Selenis Leyva) and older brother Bobby (Charlie Bushnell). Just starting middle school, Elena is nerdy, bright and open to learning the sorts of lessons that will take her all the way to the White House, though Rodriguez, who directs the…

One of the most influential (and notably charming) editors in Hollywood, Alan Heim has carved an illustrious career, including his partnership with Bob Fosse that saw him win an Oscar for 1979’s All That Jazz, Fosse’s semiautobiographical musical. Heim also recently completed 25 years on ACE’s board of directors, which included four terms as president. And he currently holds the office of president of the Motion Picture Editors Guild (Local 700). Speaking of ACE’s efforts, Helm says, “We’ve done an enormous amount to make people aware of what editors do.” Heim, who will receive a lifetime achievement award at the 70th ACE Eddies (along with Tina Hirsch, former and the first female ACE president), recently spoke with THR about his career. Tell us about the editing of 1974’s Lenny. We…