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'Rogue One' Reshoots; Top Showrunners; NBC's Trump Problem; Murdoch Office Politics

October 12, 2016

It's magazine day: Felicity Jones talks Inferno and what those Rogue One reshoots were all about. Plus: Mel Gibson's comeback, THR unveils the 50 most powerful showrunners, and why NBC's conflicting agendas led to Billy Bush's Trump debacle. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman.

In THR's latest issue, Inferno actress Felicity Jones opens up about Rogue One and finding herself at a career crossroads. About those Star Wars reshoots:

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy waves away any concerns as if performing a Jedi mind trick. "I'm sure if you picked up the phone and called every single large, technical movie and said, 'You ever gone in and done reshoots?' they'd all say, 'Oh God, yes,'" Kennedy says. "So why has it turned into a big story? Because it's Star Wars, and they put a spotlight and scrutinize every single thing that gets done. But it was always planned and nothing unusual."

Jones plays down the reshoots as well. "Obviously when you come to the edit, you see the film come together and you think, 'Actually, we could do this better, and this would make more sense if we did this,'" she says. "I've done it so many times. I mean, you wouldn't just give your first draft on this story, would you?"

► Full cover story

Most Powerful Showrunners Unveiled

Yep, it's time for an annual rundown of the top showrunner talent, as chosen by THR's TV team: Lesley Goldberg, Michael O'Connell, Bryn Elise Sandberg and Kate Stanhope. The intro:

To stand out as a showrunner, one can't simply write and produce. Those at the top of the game have upward of six series on the air (calm down, Greg Berlanti!), pull exceptional ratings (Game of Thrones' 25 million-strong audience), keep viewers and awards voters talking (The Americans finally got its Emmy nominations) or have a vision so specific (Darren Star's hip, un-TV Land Younger) that a network or streamer is willing to build a brand around their vision.

The 2016 Power Showrunners class | The Duffer Brothers I Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang I Kenya Barris and Jonathan Groff I Greg Berlanti I Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom I Robert Carlock and Tina Fey I Many more.

Elsewhere in TV...

► How NBC's infotainment agenda led to its Trump debacle. In a guest column, news analyst Andrew Tyndall argues that NBC is a news operation at odds with itself and serving too many agendas, leading to Billy Bush's current fiasco. Full column.

(Meanwhile, Bush has brought in some communications firepower as he eyes a transition out of NBC News, hiring Goldin Solutions, the New York-based crisis PR and strategy firm.)

About the moderators: No surprise that Matt Lauer had the highest percentage of tweets expressing hate, meanwhile Anderson Cooper, who co-moderated with Martha Raddatz on Oct. 9, was the most loved...

And more TV...

► Law & Order: SVU plans Trump-inspired episode. Ripped from the headlines, Gary Cole will play a politician whose campaign is hit hard when several women go public with damaging accusations. The episode is set to air on Oct. 26.

► Heathers reboot begins to take shape. TV Land has tapped newcomer James Scully to play J.D., while Grace Victoria Cox is set to star as Veronica. The duo will take on roles played by Christina Slater and Winona Ryder in the 1988 feature film of the same name.

► Murder in the First canceled at TNT. The Steven Bochco procedural wrapped its three-season run Sept. 4 with just more than 1 million viewers — down considerably from its series debut of 3 million-plus.

↱ American Housewife, reviewed. ABC's new Katy Mixon comedy, which premiered last night, is about being overweight in the skinny suburbs. Fienberg's scathing takeaway: "One of the fall's worst new comedies." ↲

► TV Land turns lens on Korean American stereotypes. The cabler is teaming with Paramount Television, Anonymous Content and Hawaii Five-O's Daniel Dae Kim to develop Re Jane, a half-hour adaptation of Patricia Park's debut novel of the same name.

► CBS TV Studios is going all-in on reality. It is launching a new unscripted department with network alum Ghen Maynard, who will serve as senior executive vp, alternative programming at CBS' in-house operations.

↱ Amazon's Goliath, reviewed. Premiering Oct. 14, Billy Bob Thornton shines as a washed-up attorney in David E. Kelley's drama. Fienberg's takeaway: "the most conventional and familiar of legal thrillers. ↲

In THR, Esq... Gawker mulls lawsuit against Peter Thiel ... Gabrielle Union sues BET for breach of contract ... Rolling Stone demands trial over its since-retracted rape story be postponed due to a 20/20 episode ... Kim Kardashian is suing mediatakeout.com for libel.

Mel Gibson Gets Out of Director Jail

He's back, for real? For the past decade, Mel Gibson has received the cold shoulder from Hollywood. Hacksaw Ridge is his big chance at a comeback, Tatiana Siegel reports:

Ten years in director jail, and the freeze-out is thawing. Hacksaw Ridge marks his first foray behind the camera since Apocalypto, a film that opened four months after the infamous comments.

"I've known Mel for many years, and his talents as a filmmaker are undeniable," says Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing and distribution.

He's also currently filming The Professor and the Madman opposite Sean Penn. As Gibson's heat index rises, the jockeying to rep him has intensified. CAA and UTA are said to be chasing the star, now repped solely by manager Rick Nicita.

“I think Mel has been misunderstood by people who may not know him, but nobody can take his talent away” says Hacksaw Ridge producer David Permut. "Ultimately, I think time heals."

Elsewhere in film...

↱ The Accountant, reviewed. Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick star in Gavin O'Connor's thriller, out Oct. 14, about an anti-social math genius in "both an intriguingly and maddeningly schizophrenic action drama." ↲

► Mulan mania: Disney, Sony hunt for Asian directors. A global search is on as the studios look to cast Chinese leads for their upcoming live-action adaptations of the animated hit (Disney's take is slated for a November 2018 release).

► Benicio Del Toro exits Shane Black's Predator reboot. Twentieth Century Fox is eyeing Narcos star Boyd Holbrook to replace him as the film's lead. Fox had actually pushed back the start date to February for Del Toro, and sources say scheduling issues again became a problem.

↱ "A Feared Film Blogger, a Dancefloor and a Dark Accusation." Devin Faraci is one of fandom's most intimidating movie writers. Now he's embroiled in a sex-assault scandal that has cost him his job. ↲

► Spy actress joins Disney's Nutcracker. Miranda Hart, The scene-stealer from Paul Feig's Spy, has been added to the cast of the live-action adaptation of the classic ballet. Mackenzie Foy and Keira Knightley are starring.

► Mr. Church actress joins Will Smith fantasy film. Lucy Fry has nabbed a key role in Bright, the Netflix feature project from David Ayer and Max Landis. Will Smith, Joel Edgerton and Noomi Rapace are starring in the thriller, due to begin shooting in Los Angeles later in October.

Foreign-language Oscars contenders unveiled. Among the countries vying for Oscar’s attention: France's Elle, Germany's Toni Erdmann and Yemen submitted its first film ever. See the full list.

New Murdoch Office Politics...

The Murdochs apparently don't like to waste empty office space, Rambling columnist Chris Gardner finds:

Lachlan Murdoch, 21st Century Fox exec chairman, has moved into Jim Gianopulos' former office in Building 88 on the Fox lot.

Gianopulos, the longtime chairman and CEO of Fox's film unit, was ousted in August, and sources confirm to THR that Murdoch has taken over the digs while maintaining an office in the executive tower across the street.

He likely will divide his office time to be closer to the film unit, now run by Stacey Snider. The change comes on the heels of another Murdoch exec move on the East Coast.

Meanwhile: Murdoch's father, Rupert Murdoch has been making use of the office of Roger Ailes, the fired Fox News chairman.