BILLBOARD-2

THЄ ЄXISTЄNTIΛL CHRONICLЄS

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

Fall TV Awards; Colbert's Choice for Obama; Billy Bush Whacked; Rose McGowan’s Letter to Hollywood

October 18, 2016

What's news: Billy Bush's NBC drama has ended and he's free to work elsewhere (if anyone will hire him). Plus: Billionaire Wang Jianlin outlines his big plans for Hollywood-China cooperation, pioneering sound company THX gets sold and CBS orders a Candy Crush live-action game show. — Matthew Belloni and Erik Hayden.

► About Billy Bush's official exit at NBC. Matt writes: Hard to believe it’s only been 10 days since the Billy Bush/Donald Trump tapes leaked to The Washington Post, changing the trajectory of the presidential race and, as of last night, Bush’s career at the Today show. In terse, highly negotiated statements, NBC wished Bush well and Bush said he had spent a lot of time talking with his daughters.

The takeaway? Billy Bush will be back. I’m told a key part of the settlement is no non-compete clause, meaning Bush is free to work at another network whenever he wants. Sure, he’s radioactive now, and I doubt his phone is ringing off the hook. But once the election passes and everyone moves on to another scandal, he’ll be back on the air. Maybe not at a plum, female-targeting platform like morning television, but Bush is a seasoned TV personality so some outlet will give him another chance.

Colbert's Choice for Obama

Last night on CBS' Late Show, Stephen Colbert presented a choice for Obama: A shriveled tangerine or a nutrient bar. Yes, those are presidential candidates, as Jackie Strause writes:

Colbert, in character as office manager Randy, helped prep Obama for future interviews, since he will soon be out of a job. At the end of the mock interview, Colbert said he couldn't ask Obama to endorse a candidate on network TV.

Instead he asked the President which snack he preferred: an extra-fiber nutrient bar "which has traveled to more than 100 countries," or a shriveled tangerine (topped with a mini Trump wig) "filled with bile that I wouldn't leave alone with the woman I love." His choice? Watch here.

Elsewhere in TV...

► Netflix plans new family comedy series. Following prolonged talks, the streamer has handed out an 8-episode straight-to-series order for Atypical, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Keir Gilchrist and Michael Rapaport. The dark comedy hails from Sony Pictures TV.

► Tracy Morgan is moving from FX to TBS. FX ordered a pilot and ultimately passed on Morgan's comedy project after reviewing the first script. Now TBS has ordered 10 episodes, which will capture Morgan's stand-up. Jordan Peele and John Carcieri will rewrite the script.

↱ THR Critics' Fall TV Awards. In brief: Most Welcome Return to Network = Kristen Bell, The Good Place (NBC), Least Welcome Return to Network = Matt LeBlanc, Man With a Plan (CBS), Dumbest Show About Smart People = Bull (CBS), Freshest New Voice = Issa Rae, Insecure (HBO), Breakout Performance = Kylie Bunbury, Pitch (Fox), Least Promising Comedy = Graves (Epix). ↲

► CBS confident about its new fall shows... The network has handed out full-season orders to freshman dramas Bull and MacGyver, and first-year comedy Kevin Can Wait. All three series have received orders for an additional nine episodes, bring their season totals to 22 each.

►... but abandoning ship on summer originals.... CBS has canceled dramas BrainDead and American Gothic after one season each. Of the network's three summer 2016 dramas, only the previously renewed Zoo will return.

► ...and planning a Candy Crush live-action game show. The network has handed out a straight-to-series order for a show based on the popular mobile game Candy Crush, created by Matt Kunitz of Wipeout and Fear Factor. How the TV series will work.

↱ Fox's The Rocky Horror Picture Show, reviewed. Laverne Cox makes an acceptable Frank-n-Furter, but Kenny Ortega's new version, airing Thursday, lacks any cult appeal. The takeaway from Daniel Fienberg: "Suffers from suffocating staging." ↲

► Freeform is expanding its comedy slate. The young-skewing network has ordered multi-camera pilot Brown Girls from writers Shilpi Roy and Nastaran Dibai about two girls of Indian descent. Tracy Katsky, Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor will serve as exec producers.

► Bravo development exec segues to showrunner. Lara Spotts has exited her post as senior vp development at the cabler to take over as showrunner on Odd Mom Out, Bravo's first scripted comedy effort. Spotts' development role has yet to be filled.

► HBO finds new marketing head. The cable network has promoted Chris Spadaccini into the role of executive vice president of consumer marketing. He replaces Pam Levine, who left HBO in Sept. to join 20th Century Fox. He'll direct all branding efforts. Details.

↱ Hollywood porn workers protest condom measure. Prop 60, the latest legislation from the controversial AIDS Healthcare Foundation CEO Michael Weinstein, would allow porn viewers to blow the whistle on adult actors caught without a condom on. Says Alec Knight, 44, a porn actor who has also worked as an animator on shows like Family Guy: "It’s pretty much harassment." ↲

In THR, Esq: Fox News says Andrea Tantaros wants lawsuit in open court to sell books ... Disney's Lucasfilm sues academy that teaches people how to use lightsabers ... Kate Hudson's fashion company exec sues for wrongful termination ... Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter loses bid to shield emails from subpoena.

Wang Jianlin's L.A. Moment

Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, met with Hollywood A-listers last night at a Los Angeles County Museum of the Arts gala where he unveiled plans for U.S.-China cooperation, as Mia Galuppo writes:

Movies and TV project that film at Wanda's Qingdao Movie Metropolis facility will receive a new 40 percent rebate. The rebate will be co-funded by the Qingdao regional governments and Wanda from a development fund worth $750 million that will be given out over a five-year period.

Set to shoot at Metropolis: Legendary/Universal's Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to Guillermo Del Toro's monster movie, will be the first U.S. production to shoot at the Qingdao studio. And Legendary/Warner Bros.' Godzilla 2, the follow-up to Gareth Edwards' film, will shoot at the studio.

Notable quotes from Wang Jianlin last night, drawn from his official transcript:

► On storytelling: "There needs to be more Chinese elements in films. I want to emphasize that I am speaking from a purely business perspective, and have no political motivation. Because I’m a businessman, my goal is to be successful in business, so I only speak of attaining success."

► On sequels: "Hollywood, which is famous for its storytelling, apparently is not as good as it used to be in telling stories, which has contributed to its films’ decreased success in the Chinese market in recent years. Those sequels might have worked before, but Chinese audiences are more sophisticated now."

► Up ahead: "I predict that for the next 10 years, China’s box office will see a 15% growth rate per year. Based on this projection, by 2026 China’s box office will reach USD30 billion, accounting for 40% to 50% of the global market share."

**And, about that Hollywood buying spree: "the best companies would not sell to us,” Jianlin told The New York Times.

Elsewhere in film...

► Leonardo DiCaprio plans Captain Planet movie. Paramount and DiCaprio's Appian Way are in talks for the rights to the 1990s series, and are eyeing Jono Matt and Scream Queens star Glen Powell to write the script, planned as a subversive take on the material.

► Sony hiring director for live-action Mulan. Game of Thrones director Alex Graves is in early talks to helm the project. Sony is one of two studios working on a live-action version. Disney, which made the 1998 animated film, has set a release date of Nov. 2018 for its new film.

► Jon Bernthal to star in crime thriller Stingray. The Accountant actor is joining a project to be directed by Anthony Hayes. It's in pre-production and looking at an April 2017 start in Canada. Hayes is producing with John and Michael Schwarz of Deeper Water.

↱ Renee Zellweger's The Whole Truth, reviewed. Keanu Reeves is a Louisiana attorney and Zellweger the mother of his client in a courtroom drama directed by Courtney Hunt. The takeaway from Sheri Linden: A "curiously uninvolving exercise in procedure." ↲

► Kevin Costner in talks for Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game. The actor is in negotiations to play Jessica Chastain’s father in the directorial debut of the Oscar-winning screenwriter. Entertainment One and The Mark Gordon Company are financing the feature.

► Hugh Grant joins Paddington sequel. The Bridget Jones actor is set to play a vain, charming acting legend whose star has fallen somewhat in recent years. Brendon Gleeson has also boarded the film as a safe-cracker. A U.K. release date has been set for Nov. 2017.

↱ Rose McGowan: "Dear Hollywood." In a follow-up note after disclosing last week that she was raped by an unnamed studio exec, the actress tweeted an image from a text note on Monday that is addressed to "women and men in the entertainment industry who know exactly whom and what I am talking about." ↲

► Don DeLillo's White Noise getting movie treatment. BB Film Productions, the production banner run by Uri Singer, has picked up the rights to the author's 1985 break-out, setting 2000's Hamlet filmmaker Michael Almereyda to write the script.

► Box office: A Monster Calls opens big in Spain. Juan Antonio Bayona’s supernatural thriller set a new high for a domestic title at the Spanish box office in 2016, earning $12.6M with more than 1.7 million tickets sold since its Oct. 7 premiere.

► Deal of the day: THX gets sold. The San Francisco-based company that was founded by George Lucas in 1983 to focus on theatrical sound has been acquired by gaming brand Razer for an undisclosed sum, with plans to expand to virtual reality. Details.

Updated: Oscar standings now. In the latest heat index of awards contenders, analyst Scott Feinberg checks in on which titles are benefiting after the 54th New York Film Festival concluded. New Feinberg Forecast.

Netflix's New Studio

It's a deal: Netflix has signed a 10-year lease to occupy multiple stages at the Sunset Bronson Studios in Los Angeles, Peter Kiefer reports:

The deal, which was struck with Hudson Pacific Properties, which owns the stages at 5800 W. Sunset Blvd., will help consolidate Netflix’s presence in Hollywood over the next decade.

The company has already agreed to lease the entire 323,000-square-foot, 14-story ICON office tower, which is currently under construction (seen in rendering above). Netflix is expected to move into the ICON tower, which is also owned by Hudson Pacific, in early 2017.

The streamer is already shooting the TV show Girl Boss at Sunset Bronson Studios.

(The other good news: Netflix added 3.57 million subscribers during the third quarter, more than the 2.3 million additions expected.)

Today's Birthdays: Zac Efron, 29, Freida Pinto, 32, Graham Moore, 35, Nic Pizzolatto, 41, Jean-Claude Van Damme, 56, Chuck Lorre, 64.