The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
Taki Soma was surprised when a friend messaged her in June to say something big was brewing. Fifteen years earlier, Soma, a Hugo-nominated comic book writer and artist, reported to police that she was sexually assaulted by Charles Brownstein, executive director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit whose advisory board includes such industry heavyweights as Sandman writer Neil Gaiman, Sin City creator Frank Miller and DC publisher Jim Lee. The details of the alleged 2005 assault at an Ohio convention had been publicly available online for years, and Brownstein, who called the evening in which he groped Soma “a stupid, drunken prank” in 2006, had remained at his job, where he led the organization in advocating for First Amendment rights for comics creators. That changed June 22,…
Michael B. Jordan The star’s #ChangeHollywood initiative, which works with nonprofit Color of Change on efforts to invest in anti-racist content and Black talent, signs Endeavor, which aims to donate $5 million to inclusion programs. Richard Lovett The CAA president implements layoffs of about 90 agents and executives and furloughs of 275 other staffers as the agency undergoes cost-cutting amid the pandemic. Beau Ferrari NBCUniversal promotes the executive to Telemundo chairman as the network reorganizes to take on Univision. Brian Goldner Hasbro’s CEO saw quarterly revenue fall 13 percent from a year ago as its Entertainment One division took a hit amid the production halt. Showbiz Stocks $33.20 (+1,451%) KODAK (KODK) The film company saw its stock skyrocket after the federal government unveiled a deal for a $765 million loan…
GRAPHIX An imprint of Scholastic, Graphix is the most dominant force in graphic novel publishing in North America, with 16 of the best-selling titles of 2019, including work by the two biggest names in kids’ comics: Raina Telgemeier and Dav Pilkey. Notable Titles Dog Man (2016), Guts (2019) VIZ MEDIA The leader in North American manga — a third of the graphic novel bookstore market is translated material from Asia — Viz sold more than 70 percent of all manga in U.S. bookstores last year, combining mainstream hits with more esoteric fare. Notable Titles Pokémon (1999-), My Hero Academia (2015-) IRON CIRCUS COMICS Founded in 2007 by Spike Trotman, Iron Circus has become a frontrunner in indie publishing, both through pioneering crowdfunding as a means of finance and through its…
Long before Netflix revealed July 17 that its actioner The Old Guard was on track to become one of its most popular features, pacing to be viewed by 72 million households within its first month, the film had made notable strides behind the camera — including a postproduction team of about 85 percent women. The film was led by helmer Gina Prince-Bythewood, who became the first Black woman to direct a Hollywood comic-book-themed movie, and Terilyn A. Shropshire, the first Black woman to edit one, and who has been collaborating with Prince-Bythewood for two decades, since the duo first teamed up on 2000’s Love & Basketball. Its VFX supervisor was Sara Bennett, one of only two women ever to have won an Oscar in VFX, for 2014’s Ex Machina, with…
On July 11, the day Walt Disney World in Florida partially reopened for the first time since shuttering in mid-March amid the coronavirus pandemic, Disney posted a “Welcome Home” video to social media. The clip, featuring the sights of the park and staff with masks, was immediately criticized and, in some remixed versions, altered to look like a horror film, including one featuring the theme from The Shining. But guests did return. Even with resort capacity significantly capped for social distancing, nearly all rides had double-digit wait times within the first seven days of opening, according to Disney’s park app. Despite criticism for reopening too soon — on July 26, Florida recorded more total confirmed COVID-19 cases than New York, the country’s first epicenter — industry observers view the park…
A few months ago, no one would have dared to think there’d be this much clarity surrounding the 2020 Emmys. But as a novel-coronavirus-hobbled Hollywood cautiously steps into August — movie theaters still closed, production barely resumed, most awards shows and festivals delayed — TV’s top kudos are remarkably on track for their Sept. 20 celebration. Nominations were announced July 28 after a somewhat delayed voting window, bringing records set by Netflix and Black performers and plenty of speculation over who will fill the void left by 2019 winners Fleabag and Game of Thrones. HBO may be humbled by falling behind Netflix in its nomination count, but the cable network boasts the year’s de facto favorite in the limited series Watchmen. The Damon Lindelof project (along with star Regina King)…
