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Viacom's Perilous Next Steps; A Reporter's CAA War; Little People, Big Woes

August 25, 2016

What's news: At beleaguered Viacom, Philippe Dauman is out, Tom Dooley is in and Shari Redstone is pulling the strings. Now what? Plus: Doug Liman drops Gambit for Justice League, Lifetime is making a Britney biopic and an in-depth look at the plight of Hollywood's little people. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman.

What Viacom's Future Holds...

After the drama: As Shari Redstone and her new board weigh everything from major investment to selling off one or both companies, Michael Wolff breaks down key scenarios that may shape the company's future post-Philippe Dauman:

About the CBS merger idea: It is as likely not in the Redstone interest to have the companies merge. In fact, it may not be in their interest to own both companies. If Shari is not going to be running these businesses, as her father once did, and if they are functionally just portfolio investments, then diversification from what are now holdings overwhelmingly concentrated in the media sector would be the strategic approach.

Because Viacom is the undervalued entity, that makes CBS the more likely sale. Or, to the same effect, CBS itself is probably in a position to buy out the Redstone interests. In other words, Viacom is existentially alone. Other scenarios.

Meanwhile, in film...

↱ Box-office preview: With the summer tentpole season over, genre films and indie distributors vie for attention this weekend. Horror-thriller Don't Breathe is expected to win the race with up to $14M. Jason Statham's Mechanic: Resurrection may gross $8M. Boxing drama Hands of Stone and Obama first date movie Southside With You both open in 800 theaters, but it looks like Southside has the edge. Elsewhere, Chris Pine's Hell or High Water makes a nationwide push. ↲

► Captain Marvel director search narrows. Niki Caro, Lesli Linka Glatter and Lorene Scafaria are on the shortlist to helm Marvel Studio's first female-centric superhero movie, sources tell THR. The next stage will involve Marvel giving a treatment to directors to prepare a presentation.

► Doug Liman to direct Justice League Dark for Warner Bros... The project was in development for several years as a directing vehicle for Guillermo del Toro, a master of the macabre whose tastes lined up with the material. Liman’s boarding signals a tonal shift for the project.

►...Which leaves Channing Tatum's Gambit without a director. Insiders tell senior writer Borys Kit that the studio is still intent on starting production in January and has Josh Zetumer on writing duties. A source describes the split as a "mutual parting of ways."

↱ Hackers target Leslie Jones. Personal information (including a scanned passport and drivers license) as well as photos were leaked on the official website of the Ghostbusters actress by unidentified hackers. Jones has stayed silent on the hack, but SNL colleagues and her director Paul Feig spoke out: "What's happening to @Lesdoggg is an absolute outrage. Alt right, haters, trolls, 'comedians,' whoever the f—you all are, you're just sad." ↲

► Doctor Strange gets some help. When Marvel needed a writer to whip up some last-minute scenes for the Benedict Cumberbatch film, it called on Dan Harmon, co-creator of Community.

► Christoph Waltz in talks for Alita. The actor is in early talks to star alongside Rosa Salazar as cybersurgeon Doctor Dyson Ido in Alita: Battle Angel, James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation of the popular manga graphic novels.

↱ Exec suite: The Broad Green brothers: Heading into the fall festivals, Gabriel and Daniel Hammond invited THR to their sleek offices near the Paramount lot to discuss the Netflix threat, films they regret not buying and why they didn't buy The Birth of a Nation. Full interview | Video ↲

► Blood in the Water sells to Tristar. Amy Pascal's production banner Pascal Pictures and Tristar have won a heated bidding war for the rights to the book Blood in the Water about the true story of the 1971 Attica prison riot.

► R.I.P., Andrea Jaffe. The prominent publicist, a member of one of Hollywood’s legendary dynasties who promoted the careers of Tom Cruise and Oliver Stone, died Wednesday in Wilmington, N.C., following a lengthy illness. She was 66. Full obit.

In THR, Esq: Glenn Beck won't reveal sources. The commentator won't disclose who told his producers that Abdulrahman Alharbi was the "money man" who gave the "go order" for the Boston Marathon bombing ... Also: Pharrell, Robin Thicke and T.I. urge the court to overturn its $5.3M "Blurred Lines" judgment.

Hollywood's Little People Woes

For as long as show business has existed, little people have delighted audiences — usually for the wrong reasons. And the recent death of a cabaret act reveals the uncomfortable reality of how slowly Hollywood has evolved in its exploitation. Seth Abramovitch writes in about his new feature:

Never before have the major little people stars of Hollywood come together for a story of this scope. It traces the fascinating history of little people in Hollywood, from Barnum to Oz to Star Wars and beyond.

It delves into the seedy world of Beacher’s Madhouse, whose star performer, Mini Kim Kardashian, was discovered dead earlier this year. And if it does its job, it could help change the conversation about how little people are routinely exploited and objectified by the industry.

"I was once offered a superhero role — it’s almost too stupid to talk about — where when I came out to save lives, it was from under Abraham Lincoln’s hat," says Verne Troyer. "It was like, ‘I don’t care how desperate I am. I’m not doing that.'"

► Little People, Big Woes I Video: A Conversation | Video: Warwick Davis.

Elsewhere in TV...

► Britney gets the Lifetime treatment. Natasha Bassett will star as Spears in the biopic Britney, which will detail the "tumultuous true story" of her rise to fame. Anne-Marie Hess will pen the script with Leslie Libman directing. The singer's rep says the star isn't participating.

► Nashville star Connie Britton eyes reduced role. While CMT unveiled a January season five premiere date for the music drama, star Connie Britton has only signed for 10 episodes (so far) of the 22-episode season. Sources tell THR that talks are ongoing with the actress. Also: How will fans react to the change? A critic's take.

↱ Quoted, Shane Smith. The Vice mogul on Disney eyeing an acquisition of the new media company: "It makes sense for them and it makes sense for us ... And then I could finally say Rupert Murdoch doesn’t f—ing own Vice." More fun quotes from the Edinburgh TV Fest. ↲

► ITV drops takeover offer for eOne. The U.K. TV giant withdrew its takeover bid today. Earlier this month, eOne had rejected a $1.3 billion offer, but analysts said ITV could consider a sweetened bid.

► WGN America's Underground has cast Harriet Tubman. Star Trek Into Darkness alum Aisha Hinds has been tapped to play the famed abolitionist on season two of the cable network's drama, which will return in 2017.

► Jon Favreau to direct Seth MacFarlane space series. The actor and director is set to helm the first episode of the live-action Fox dramedy, and will serve as exec producer and consult on the series after his directorial duties have wrapped.

↱ Review: FX's Atlanta. Donald Glover stars with Brian Tyree Henry in a new existential comedy, which premieres in early September. Chief TV critic Tim Goodman's upbeat takeaway: "Simple but soulful." ↲

► Starz renews Survivor's Remorse for season four. Viewership for the third season of the basketball comedy has jumped 20 percent from season two. Season three is currently averaging 2.9 million viewers per episode across platforms.

► Better Call Saul star plans memoir. Bob Odenkirk’s first book of personal essays has been acquired by Random House. The essays will be a comic exploration of Odenkirk’s life and career. Details.

T.D. Jakes leaves WME for CAA. Earlier this week, OWN said that it had nabbed rights to the mega-pastor and producer's upcoming hourlong syndicated talk show. And now news arrives of an agency change.

My Battles With Michael Ovitz

A personal history: As Hollywood pours over a new book about CAA, editor at large Kim Masters remembers how the agent's fit at the Palm and her follow-up kicked off one of the industry's prickliest pas de deux. An excerpt:

Two years before I ever met Michael Ovitz I heard from him. In 1988, Premiere — then a fairly new, gorgeous and glossy movie magazine (that eventually would collapse) — hired me to write a monthly column called "California Suite" about the film business. Right out of the gate, I found myself writing an item about Ovitz. In short order, Susan found herself on the line with Murdoch.

Ovitz was so powerful in that era — swathed in carefully manufactured mystery and highly inaccessible to the press. He had reinvented the agency business and built something sleek, disciplined and aggressive. Everyone in town called CAA agents "Moonies" because of the way they seemed to march in lockstep in Armani uniforms. Powerful executives and producers liked to accuse the media of creating a myth around Ovitz, but we only were reacting to their fear of him. And that fear wasn't unreasonable.

↱ In other agency news... Principal Sylvie Rabineau tells THR why indie agency RWSG sold to WME: With "the amount of competition among the feature players, it felt like a crossroads." Rabineau will now co-head WME's book-to-film/TV division along with Jill Holwager Gillett.

Also: PMK*BNC has hired veteran publicist Jodie Magid Oriol as a vice president and expanded the role of vp Rachel Aberly. The hiring is a nod to PMK*BNC's priority to synergize across its various practices on both coasts. ↲

Today's Birthdays: Blake Lively, 29, Alexander Skarsgard, 40, Ben Falcone, 43, Tim Burton, 58, Gene Simmons, 67, Regis Philbin, 85, Sean Connery, 86.