BILLBOARD-2

THЄ ЄXISTЄNTIΛL CHRONICLЄS

►About | ►Explore | ►Links | ►Updates | ►Alerts

Roger Ailes' Lawyer Talks; Viacom's Next Steps; 'Magnificent' Box Office?

September 22, 2016

What's news: Meet the L.A. lawyer who helped Hulk Hogan take down Gawker and is now representing Melania Trump and Roger Ailes. Plus: Leslie Moonves positions himself for a Viacom power play, Marion Cotillard speaks out on the Pitt-Jolie split, The Magnificent Seven hopes to revive westerns and Zach Galifianakis' Between Two Ferns hosts Hillary Clinton. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman.

Return of the Western?

Box office preview: Get ready for horses and storks to invade theaters this weekend, Pamela McClintock forecasts:

The biggest question mark is Sony's The Magnificent Seven, a star-studded remake of the 1960 classic Western, which in turn was a remake of Seven Samurai. Magnificent Seven, which made its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival earlier this month, is tipped to open in the $30M-$40M range, a hearty start for a Western.

The weekend's other new nationwide offering is Warner Bros.' animated family film Storks, which is projected to gross $20M-$30M. There's plenty of upside, considering it's the only fresh family offering at the multiplex. The Lego Movie was its last animated box-office sensation, and Warners is hoping Storks marks another win.

Meanwhile...

↱ Quoted, Marion Cotillard: After tabloids claimed that the Allied actress had a role in the split of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, she responded with this statement: "Firstly, many years ago, I met the man of my life, father of our son and of the baby we are expecting. He is my love, my best friend, the only one that I need. Secondly to those who have indicated that I am devastated, I am very well thank you.

This crafted conversation isn't distressing. And to all the media and the haters who are quick to pass judgment, I sincerely wish you a swift recovery. Finally, I do very much wish that Angelina and Brad, both whom I deeply respect, will find peace in this very tumultuous moment." ↲

Elsewhere in film...

► Monster Trucks leads to $115M write-down (and it's not even out yet). Viacom cited "a programming impairment charge of $115 million" for the big-budget title. The film, set for January, has been delayed numerous times after being slotted to hit theaters more than a year ago.

► James Cameron's Battle Angel enlists Deadpool bad guy. Ed Skrein will once again play a heavy, closing a deal to join the cast that already includes Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz and Jackie Earl Haley. An October start in Austin is being targeted.

► Rooney Mara to topline pop-star drama. Vox Lux will take place from 1999 to present day, tracking the rise of singer Celeste to superstardom. Songwriter-singer Sia will provide original song s for the film's soundtrack. Production will begin in February.

↱ Exec suite: Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The producer of Mark Wahlberg's Deepwater Horizon producer discusses studios' self-destructive fear of controversy and Hollywood "abandoning" young men in this particularly candid interview with Tatiana Siegel. Full Q&A. ↲

► Pacific Rim sequel adds Great Wall actress. Chinese actress Jing Tian has been added to the mechs-versus-monsters sequel alongside John Boyega, Scott Eastwood and Cailee Spaeny. Production is set to begin in November in Australia.

► Reese Witherspoon-starrer Home Again gets U.S. distributor. Open Road Films has acquired the North American rights to the project. Michael Sheen, Nat Wolff and Lake Bell will be joining Witherspoon in the cast of the indie feature, which will begin production this fall.

► Mike Judge's Idiocracy to return to theaters. Think of the one-day release by Alamo Drafthouse as an Election Day reminder. At least 25 theaters nationwide from the chain were listed as participating in the showing planned for early October.

Miles Teller, Emma Watson passed on La La Land. Teller was holding out for more money and his deal never closed. One source says the CAA-repped actor balked at a $4M offer. As for why Watson fell out, sources say money wasn't a factor. But she waffled over the time commitment. More details.

Is This Leslie Moonves' Plan?

A Viacom succession update: With interim CEO Tom Dooley out and speculation focused on several would-be leaders, Shari Redstone must decide whether to make the top job appealing to CBS' vaunted leader Leslie Moonves, Kim Masters reports:

Now that Tom Dooley has been swept aside after a brief few weeks as Viacom's interim CEO, will the troubled company's board go through a serious search inside the company and out for new leadership, as Viacom indicates, or will it merely go through the motions as a buildup to a tough negotiation with CBS chairman and chief executive Leslie Moonves?

If that’s going to happen, it’s clear Moonves is going to drive a tough bargain. Sources say he has been telling friends he doesn't want to run Viacom, and even if he does, he certainly would not want any perception that CBS stakeholders are being sacrificed to save his company's beleaguered sibling.

"We are never going to do something that is bad for CBS shareholders," Moonves vowed Sept. 15 at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference. That means a premium for CBS shareholders must be part of any deal. And Moonves no doubt would also want considerable control over the board of the combined companies.

Meanwhile...

↱ Meet Roger Ailes' media litigator Charles Harder: After getting Gawker to fork over an extra $40 million on behalf of Hogan, Harder, arguably the highest-profile media lawyer in America, opens up to Eriq Gardner and states: "I'm anything but the enemy of a free press." ↲

Today's exec quotes...

► 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch said that "fundamentally, we have to make better movies," explaining that was why Stacey Snider was named studio head in June. He also vowed that Hulu "won't lose money forever."

► Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said that "there is room for improvement" in the DC superhero movie universe. And he echoed Murdoch's promise that Hulu will make money down the line.

► Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger called Rogue One: A Star Wars Story "an experiment, of sorts" and touted an upcoming digital version of ESPN.

Today in fall TV...

► Fox's Lethal Weapon, reviewed. Damon Wayans and Clayne Crawford star in the franchise reboot's premiere Wednesday, which leads chief TV critic Tim Goodman to say: "Oh, it's lethal alright."

► ABC's Notorious, reviewed. Daniel Sunjata and Piper Perabo are "pretty people behaving badly" in ABC's soapy misfire, which debuts tonight and TV critic Daniel Fienberg dubs "fall's worst new network drama."

► CBS orders Superior Donuts to series. The redeveloped comedy starring comedian Jermaine Fowler was picked up to pilot and shot this past development season. CBS opted to reshoot (and recast) the pilot and has now handed out a 13-episode order for the project.

► Elvis Presley limited series in the works. Weinstein TV has struck a deal with Presley's estate that grants it the rights to Presley's extensive musical catalog and will also allow the production to be the first to shoot in his Graceland home.