Innholdsfortegnelse for March 30, 2022 i The Hollywood Reporter

Even days after the 94th Oscars, Will Smith’s onstage physical assault on Chris Rock over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head remains to many surreal — but the headache it poses for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is very real. With the general public and Academy members alike clamoring for the Academy to take action beyond declaring that it does not “condone violence,” as it did in an initial statement March 28, the officers of the organization’s board of governors had an emergency meeting a day later, after which they released a statement saying: “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith” and has “started a formal review around the incident.” Shortly thereafter, the full board was asked to convene March 30. THR began seeking…

Disney is in uncharted waters. From 1984 to 2020, the company had only two CEOs: Michael Eisner from 1984 to 2005 and Bob Iger from 2005 to 2020. Now Bob Chapek, with two years at the helm, is facing a staff revolt and insiders are speculating about his longevity in the job and who might succeed him (entertainment chief Peter Rice and ex-CFO Tom Staggs would seem to be favorites). His contract is up in 11 months. It is unclear at this point whether Chapek, 61, can execute a reset with Disney staff and creative partners. A cartoon hanging in the production offices of The Simpsons seems to suggest an opinion: It has Chapek in the “In Memoriam” section of the Oscars show. The last-minute postponement of the company’s management…

Flee made history when it was nominated in international, animation and doc categories at the Oscars. And while it didn’t take home any trophies March 27, the Danish film has found its next act. Scholastic will publish Flee as a graphic novel aimed at young adult readers, with writer-director Jonas Poher Rasmussen penning the novel. Flee the movie, Rasmussen says, “was originally told as an animation to give [Afghan gay refugee] Amin anonymity as he wasn’t able to share his story publicly.” Flee the novel, he notes, “gives him and these kinds of untold stories a platform to get out there and to be seen widely.” There are a few recent examples of Oscar-nominated projects that begat books, including Matthew A. Cherry’s animated short winner Hair Love and Guillermo del…

Giorgio Armani’s flagship L.A. store at 436 North Rodeo Drive opened back in 1988, and it has changed little since then, a testament to the timeless aesthetic of the legendary Italian designer. But even a classic can enjoy a makeover. On March 26, the day before the Oscars, the luxury brand celebrated the reopening of a completely reimagined Beverly Hills boutique with a party attended by longtime friend of the house Nicole Kidman and hosted by the designer’s niece Roberta Armani. Visitors now encounter a facade emblazoned with stencil-like imagery of two giant palm trees, which Armani tells THR is one of his favorite design elements because they “establish a strong link between the architecture of the space and the surrounding environment. Palm trees are the emblem of Los Angeles.”…

For 13 years, nine months and 12 days, Britney Spears languished in a conservatorship as the whole world watched. Despite her legion of fans across the globe demanding for more than a decade that the court #FreeBritney, nothing changed — until everything did. On June 23, Spears appeared remotely before L.A. County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny and broke her public silence in a fiery, emotional speech. “It’s embarrassing and demoralizing what I’ve been through, and that’s the main reason I’ve never said it openly,” said Spears, describing the conservatorship as abusive and asking the court to let her pick her own lawyer. “It’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end.” Within weeks, she’d have for the first time an attorney of her choosing advocating for…

In a Hollywood that has grown increasingly transient — where org charts have biannual overhauls and where agents become managers become producers become etc. — the entertainment law firms stand as industry anchors, litigating and negotiating the rest of the tumult. This is why it is particularly notable when a new firm joins the scrum. Coming out of an industry-upturning pandemic, during which time there also were political, racial and workplace reckonings, the founders of JSSK — Matt Johnson, P.J. Shapiro, Gregory Slewett and Tara Kole — set out to create a firm that fit the contemporary needs of talent, most notably an increasingly inextricable link between Hollywood and social activism. It was in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd that Johnson — sitting at home due…

Though Marvel’s Disney+ originals have often been stolen by new faces — WandaVision’s Agatha, Loki’s Sylvie, Hawkeye’s Kate Bishop — they’ve been anchored by characters already established in blockbuster films. Until now. While Moon Knight has a 40-year-plus history on the comics pages, he’s fresh to the MCU, and the decision was made not to yoke him in with a beloved favorite for his Disney+ maiden voyage. The theory is that when Oscar Isaac is your lead, it doesn’t matter if the audience already knows your protagonist’s origins. Nor, frankly, does it matter if they know those origins after watching the show, which points to both the appeal and frustration of Moon Knight. The series’ pleasure comes from seeing Isaac flex his action muscles, do silly accents and exhibit a…

In an era when broadcast comedies rarely break out, Ghosts has bucked the trend. With its admittedly ludicrous premise, itself based on a British series of the same name, the CBS show explores what happens to Rose McIver’s Samantha once she gains the ability to see and speak to the generations of deceased personalities who inhabit the upstate New York manor where she lives. The stats, however, are quite serious. Averaging 8.3 million viewers since it premiered in October, Ghosts has earned a speedy second-season renewal, famous evangelists (see: Mark Hamill) and a spot on the 2022 PaleyFest lineup. Its sprawling cast, joined by showrunners Joe Port and JoeWiseman, hit the stage April 6. But first, the Joes, as they’re affectionately called, spoke with THR about the unlikely hit. How…

In the two and a half years that Disney+ has existed, it has debuted a somewhat light amount of original scripted programming from its tentpole Star Wars and Marvel franchises. The two have combined for just nine seasons across eight series — six live-action and two animated — and a total of 75 episodes. Yet a THR analysis of viewing data for the streamer reveals that those Marvel and Star Wars shows are undisputably the biggest draws among Disney+’s original series. Although the number of shows and episodes is not very high — owing in part to pandemic-related disruptions in production shortly after Disney+ launched — the streamer has had a Marvel or Star Wars series running new episodes almost continuously since season two of The Mandalorian premiered in October…

Since 2002, Ina Garten has filmed hundreds of hours of Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa franchise, but she’s mostly shared the screen with perfectly roasted chickens, photo-worthy lemon bars and, on occasion, her adoring husband, Jeffrey. But the author of 12 cookbooks — 13, come October, with the arrival of Go-To Dinners — has never filmed much with others. That changed March 26 with the Discovery+ premiere of Be My Guest With Ina Garten, an interview series that finds the Hamptons’ most famous host sharing meals and conversations with the likes of Julianna Margulies, Willie Geist and director Rob Marshall. A onetime White House budget analyst whose new series has already been picked up for two more seasons, Garten recently Zoomed in from the East Coast to talk about her latest…

African surf brand Mami Wata has just a debuted 4-monthlong pop-up shop in Venice. Co-founder Selema Masekela — a TV host (Vice World of Sports) and producer — had long dreamed of creating a surf brand reflective of African people when he learned of one launching in 2017 in Cape Town. He joined up with Mami Wata, named for the traditional African water spirit, to help spread the message of his late activist father, Hugh Masekela, the trumpeter known as the father of South African jazz, about the diversity and wonder of the continent: “The immense ways in which creatively, through music, food and fashion, Africa is contributing to the zeitgeist,” says Masekela. The label, riffing on motifs, animism and proverbs from across the African continent, was a way for…

Chris Pine: ‘It Was Fated That I Was Going to Direct This Film’ Chris Pine “never really wanted to direct,” he says. But the actor was thrown in the deep end with his upcoming directorial debut, the indie comedy Poolman, about a down-on-his luck pool technician who discovers a water heist to rival Chinatown. “I woke up one day and it just seemed like it was fated that I was going to direct this film,” the Star Trek star told THR on the red carpet for spy thriller All the Old Knives. Pine cowrote the film and stars as the titular pool boy — er, man — alongside Annette Bening and Danny DeVito. “It was an idea that I had years ago. I was sitting with Patty Jenkins, shooting the…

Weddings Kevin Gimble, co-head of electronic music at UTA, married Guenevere Eckstein, divisional merchandise manager at Athleta, on Nov. 6 at The Paramour Estate in Los Angeles. Births Ashley Brinsfield, head of human resources at DreamWorks Animation, and husband Justin Brinsfield, director of audio production at Nickelodeon, welcomed Finn Beau Denver Brinsfield on Jan. 15. Congrats Former UTA agent Eman Redwan joined Range Media Partners as a partner and co-head of digital talent March 21. Paola Mardo was hired as senior vp and head of audio for Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media on March 22. Cathy Dunkley was tapped vp communications and media relations for Universal Filmed Entertainment Group on March 22. Former president of Warner Bros. France Iris Knobloch was selected as the first female president of the Cannes Film…

MELISSA FOX with clients MICHAEL CHE and KATE MCKINNON Photographed by Aaron Richter on March 15 at Warehouse Studios in Brooklyn. When it comes to comedy, Fox’s roster of funny clients means serious business. Along with SNL standouts like McKinnon and Che, Fox’s lineup also includes Hasan Minhaj and Lilly Singh. Says Fox, “The thing that I think my clients like about me the most is that I will never stop fighting for them.” (Profile on page 66.) TALENT James Adams Schreck Rose Cornell Law School Adams strikes deals for the likes of Kathryn Hahn, who just signed on to her own Marvel show, Agatha: House of Harkness, and Natasha Lyonne, who will star in and executive produce Rian Johnson’s Poker Face series. “I pay attention to every job as…

DAVID BYRNES Ziffren Brittenham Among Byrnes’ top performers, Kelly Clarkson remains ubiquitous, adding another NBC show, American Song Contest, to a schedule that includes her own daily talker, The Voice, new music, tours and more. Pentatonix and Blake Shelton also are clients — as are the estates of Tom Petty, Mac Miller and Kurt Cobain. DAMIEN GRANDERSON Granderson Des Rochers Counsel to Nicki Minaj, H.E.R. and A$AP Rocky, Granderson cut deals for Latin star J. Balvin with McDonald’s, Miller Lite and Fortnite. He also linked music management firm Solid Foundation with SoundCloud to identify promising new artists. DAVID LANDE Ziffren Brittenham Lande brought BTS and Coldplay together for the chart-topper “My Universe,” negotiated Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s “About Love” campaign with Tiffany and repped Justin Timberlake in his return to the…

IF I COULD KEEP ONLY ONE STREAMING SERVICE, IT WOULD BE… THE MOST VALUABLE HOLLYWOOD FRANCHISE IS… NFTS ARE… MY THOUGHTS ON THE SPOTIFYJOE ROGAN SITUATION WHAT’S THE NEXT ENTERTAINMENT MERGER/ACQUISITION ON THE HORIZON? Apple buys a studio. Lionsgate will be acquired. ViacomCBS will be acquired or merge with Comcast.…

In the opening sequence of The Contractor, a pastor leads his congregation in a prayer for “our protectors,” meaning the Army Special Forces headquartered in nearby Fort Bragg. Soldiers, ex-soldiers and their families fill the pews. Among them is Medical Sergeant James Harper, a man of few words and a thousand-yard stare, portrayed with a contained and subtle physicality by Chris Pine. When James’ thoughts drift from the sermon — perhaps to unpaid household bills, his torn-up knee or the deployment he just completed, his fourth in five years — it’s his son’s “amen” that brings him back. That instant of connection is fleeting but potent, a signal that this story is as much about fathers and sons as about the cost of being a good soldier. There are serious…

Some 65 years ago, long before TMZ turned the internet into a minefield of celebrity gossip and bad behavior, Confidential magazine traded in the sordid lives of the rich and famous. Launched in December 1952, the quarterly quickly caught on with readers who couldn’t resist stories like “Why Liberace’s Theme Song Should Be ‘Mad About the Boy!’” and “Robert Mitchum… The Nude Who Came to Dinner!” By 1957, fed-up stars enlisted California State Attorney General Pat Brown to intervene. During Brown’s investigation, a grand jury heard from witnesses like Maureen O’Hara, Mae West and Liberace himself — and returned an indictment on conspiracy to publish criminal libel; conspiracy to publish obscene material; and conspiracy to disseminate information in violation of California’s business code (for running ads for “male rejuvenation” and…

After nearly a decade of chatter about the crumbling linear TV ecosystem — pay TV households will drop from 98.7 million to 73 million by 2024, research firm MoffettNathanson estimates — CNN launched its first foray outside the bundle, CNN+, on March 29. The big question: Who’s buying? Streaming news options are plentiful, and mostly free. But it’s early enough in the streaming game that audiences are up for grabs, unlike on TV, where poaching linear viewers becomes more challenging. Below is a look at the landscape.…

After a four-year hiatus, FX’s Atlanta is back with its third season; stars Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz celebrated March 24 with a premiere at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This season takes the crew out of Georgia and onto a European tour, with Glover setting out to do “something that somebody else couldn’t do,” he told THR. “On the first day we wrote down, ‘Do what others can’t’ on the wall.” As for the years-long wait, he said, “People have been asking me for a long time, like, ‘What’s going on?’ I’m like, ‘I’ve got to do something interesting.’” Got tips? Email rambling@thr.com…

Netflix has no shortage of big personalities, but none are quite as colorful as decluttering gurus Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. Despite a shared affinity for ROYGBIV, the stars of Get Organized With The Home Edit are a bit of an odd couple. Before going into business together, entrepreneurial Teplin was a lone wolf — while Shearer, who cleared out closets for a high-end clothing consignment business, was looking to partner up. The California transplants, introduced by a mutual friend, established The Home Edit in Nashville as an organizing business in 2015. They’ve since expanded services to nine markets, amassed an Instagram following of 5.7 million, launched product lines at The Container Store and Walmart, released their Netflix series with producers Reese Witherspoon and Molly Sims, organized the homes of…

The Dresses…

— K.C.…

DANIEL BLACK Greenberg Traurig “I’ve been fortunate to be at the forefront of whatever the next new thing was,” Black says, whether that meant the earliest pay television output deals, video sell-through agreements and PPV deals, or the initial convergence of legacy Hollywood and Silicon Valley (such as a 2007 advertising/content deal between client Viacom and Microsoft). His clients these days include Pokémon and Bungie (Halo), as well as Bill Gates and his Gates Ventures. SCOTT EDELMAN Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Veteran litigator Edelman has represented some of Hollywood’s top companies, like Sony, ViacomCBS and Warner Bros. In 2020, he achieved one of the biggest wins of his career for AMC in a profit participation case over The Walking Dead from comics creator Robert Kirkman and others, knocking out hundreds…

The industry’s top attorneys have a wide variety of backgrounds, and no single path guarantees success breaking into, and thriving in, entertainment law. But there are a few schools that certainly will give aspiring Hollywood attorneys an edge. Each year, The Hollywood Reporter spotlights those top schools, determined and ranked by how many alumni are among the coterie of Power Lawyers as well as innovative and specialized course offerings, externship opportunities, and other program essentials designed to prepare students for negotiating complex deals in the conference room and arguing mega-high-stakes cases in the (sometimes virtual) courtroom. 1. UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW With a legion of alumni across Hollywood, UCLA boasts a roster of professors renowned for their industry expertise and connections. Every major entertainment topic offered through the Ziffren Center…

Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro have worked together on network sitcoms for the better part of two decades, having each had a hand in the 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory, the longest-running multicamera comedy in TV history, as well as five seasons of the show’s prequel spinoff series, Young Sheldon. Lorre, a television titan also known for Two and a Half Men, Mom and The Kominsky Method, started working with Molaro on the first season of Big Bang. At the time, Molaro was a writer for Nickelodeon, with credits on such children’s shows as iCarly, Zoey 101 and Drake & Josh — eventually becoming the series’ showrunner. On Young Sheldon, he again holds that role, overseeing day-to-day, while Lorre keeps a hand in the project from behind the…

After two online-only versions — a consequence of the global COVID-19 pandemic—international television market MIPTV is hoping to return with a bang. This year will mark MIPTV’s reboot, with the spring market planned as a more business-focused trade fair. After a one-day MIPDrama showcase of 10 top international fiction series on April 3, MIPTV proper will run over a concentrated three days — April 4 to 6 — with the formerly separate markets MIPDoc and MIPFormats (for documentary and reality TV/entertainment content, respectively) folded into the main event. THR’s annual hot list of the best new series heading to MIP includes a glossy British bodice-ripper, a Chinese gold-rush adventure tale, an all-American Western and an Irish drama to help ease the pains of Peaky Blinders withdrawal. Oh, and Halo too.…