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.
In 2014, the Oscar season would culminate in a groundbreaking achievement as 12 Years a Slave was named best picture, making Steve McQueen the first Black filmmaker to have his feature capture the top honor of the night. But just a few nights before, another historic moment unfolded — a gathering of some of the most acclaimed and successful Black men in Hollywood, fittingly at the home of Tyler Perry. It was billed as Essence magazine’s first counterpart to its uplifting Oscar week celebration of Black women, and it held just as much star power — besides Perry, the intimate event featured Spike Lee, John Singleton, Blair Underwood and many more. But on that evening, there was only one man who made the evening’s luminaries wide-eyed with wonder and deep…
Peggy Sirota Photographed Sidney Poitier with Halle Berry for THR in 2010 (at left). “Mr. Poitier was everything you’d picture: approachable, humble, gentle, kind, and most of all regal. I remember when he arrived — everybody looking at each other feeling like there was royalty in the house. It was a very special day.” Joe Pugliese Photographed Poitier with his family, 2013 and 2017. “I knew I was photographing cinematic royalty and approached Mr. Poitier with reverence and care during the shoot. To my surprise, within minutes he made me feel like a family friend with his warm banter and smiling eyes. After the images were published, I sent a print to the family and Mr. Poitier sent me a personal, signed note to thank me. A true legend with…
Lin-Manuel Miranda & Germaine Franco Disney’s Encanto soundtrack, led by the songwriter and composer, hits No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 87.7 million streams of the album’s songs. Simon Kinberg & Jessica Chastain The director and starproducer’s Universal and FilmNation spy film The 355 fizzled in its domestic debut with a $4.8 million launch. Monty Sarhan Comcast and ViacomCBS name the veteran cable exec CEO of their European streaming joint venture, SkyShowtime, as it preps for launch in 20 territories. Chip and Joanna Gaines Days after their Magnolia Network launches, the moguls’ channel pulls a series, Home Work, amid claims of poor renovation work leveled by homeowners. Showbiz Stocks $28.68 (+5.7%) DISCOVERY (DISCA) Stock soared after Bank of America’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich upgraded the company and said its pending…
National broadcast TV networks don’t go on the market very often. So when the news broke that ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia were shopping a majority stake in The CW network, and that local TV giant Nexstar was the lead bidder, eyebrows instantly raised. The deal, assuming it goes through (one source familiar with the talks says that while they were advanced, they could fall apart), would reshape the network TV landscape at a time when the very idea of what network TV should be is in question. For ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia, the deal would give them much-needed cash to invest in their owned streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max (both companies have been divesting “noncore” assets over the past few years for that reason), and multiple sources tell THR that any…
Last year, Roku moved to expand its focus on original content, picking up the former Quibi library at the start of 2021 to help boost its 4-year-old streaming channel. With a robust ad business to back it up, a few analysts looked to Roku as a prime stock pick, while some observers predicted that the company — most associated with its hardware — would buy a film and TV studio in 2022. But on Jan. 7, Scott Rosenberg, a top executive who oversaw the launch of The Roku Channel and led the company’s move into content, announced he was leaving later this spring after nearly a decade with Roku. While Rosenberg, senior vp and GM of Roku’s platform business, will help with the transition, the news comes as Roku’s stock…
While COVID-19 has infected several late night hosts in the past month, the shows they front haven’t made many drastic changes in how they operate amid the latest virus spike. Seth Meyers and James Corden — who in January revealed positive COVID-19 tests — are staying out of the studio for now, while Jimmy Fallon has returned to full production on NBC’s The Tonight Show. And other late night shows are largely staying the course even as coronavirus cases are hitting previously unseen levels in New York and L.A. Fallon was the first major host to catch the virus, revealing that he tested positive on the first day of the show’s holiday break in December. He has since recovered and returned to his show, hosting a mix of in-studio and…
