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Zucker Talks CNN Hot Streak; Matt Weiner's Next Show; 'Inferno' Heat; Murdoch Courts Megyn

October 27, 2016

What's news: Yes, CNN chief Jeff Zucker has seen Trump TV. And? "Anybody can be a broadcaster," he tells THR in a new interview. Plus: Mad Men's Matthew Weiner heads to Amazon, Kevin Hart might play Santa, Pixar sequels get release dates and a rare interview with Charlie Sheen about Major League 3 and an update on his health. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman.

"CNN Is Closer to Fox Than We've Been at Any Point"

Two weeks shy of the election, Zucker speaks with Michael O'Connell about CNN's hot streak during this volatile election year. A few newsy quotes from the Q&A:

► The soundbite: "In terms of demos, CNN is closer to Fox than we've been at any point in 15 years, and we have a bigger lead over MSNBC than we've had in the last 13 years."

► On keeping election pundits post-election: "We're going to continue to employ a number of commentators going forward. I don't think it will be at the same level that we've had this year, but we'll begin to assess that after the election."

► On the reported $100M in extra 2016 revenue for CNN: "I'm not going comment on that other than to say that NPR is a fine journalistic organization."

► On Trump TV: "I've seen a little bit of what they're doing. The beauty of the internet is that anybody can be a broadcaster now. Again, I think the future of that depends on the next 13 days."

Meanwhile, in Murdochland...

↱ How big a news star is Megyn Kelly? Matt emails: Rupert Murdoch went on the record in his Wall Street Journal today to declare how much he hopes she'll re-sign with Fox News before her contract expires next year.

Kelly, fresh from destroying Newt Gingrich on The Kelly File Tuesday night, is said to be asking for $20 million or more (on par with Fox News' ratings leader Bill O'Reilly) or she'll bolt. If that negotiation was going as Fox hoped, Murdoch likely wouldn't feel the need to go public.

Of course, this might also be Rupert's way to send a message: $20 million is our best offer, take it or leave it. In the meantime, Kelly will guest-host an episode of ABC's Live With Kelly on Nov. 9 and her book arrives Nov. 15. ↲

In Trumpland...

► Donald Trump's Walk of Fame star to be replaced. In what became top trending news yesterday, the star was destroyed by a vandal who took a pickaxe to it. According to police, a felony vandalism investigation is now underway.

► Joss Whedon unveils new anti-Trump ad. The director's organization, Save the Day, released an emotionally charged political ad showing what a Trump presidency may mean for Hispanic-Americans. Watch here.

► Ben Affleck and Funny or Die call on New Hampshire to vote. "Seeing as how this election is a bigger disaster than the New York Knicks, the people from New Hampshire are going to have to register and vote," said the actor-director in a thick Boston accent.

Elsewhere in TV...

► New Viacom CEO named soon? Per Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw: "Viacom Inc. is close to naming longtime executive Bob Bakish interim chief executive officer as the company explores a possible merger with CBS Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter."

► Showrunner Bryan Fuller exits Star Trek: Discovery. Fuller has stepped down from his role on the CBS All Access digital series. The news comes as Fuller is busy prepping Starz's American Gods as well as a revival of NBC's Amazing Stories.

► Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner returns to small screen. With multiple outlets bidding, Amazon has handed out an eight-episode straight-to-series order for Weiner's next project. The series is said to have scored a $70M commitment.

► Great British Bake Off ends BBC run on a high. Last night's episode averaged 14.0 million viewers, according to overnight data released by BBC representatives. That would make it the most watched program of 2016 in the U.K.

► Fargo adds Jim Gaffigan to season 3. Fresh off TV Land's The Jim Gaffigan Show, the comedian joins a cast that includes Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Production is set to begin later this year for a 2017 debut on FX.

↱ Are Fox shows helped or hurt by recognizable titles? Daniel Fienberg writes: Lethal Weapon and The Exorcist are both decent shows with some promise, but they were burdened with titles that left them unable to meet expectations, especially when the had pilots that didn't immediately provide reassurance. ↲

► Samantha Bee scores Obama interview. He will appear on Monday's Full Frontal to cover "a range of topics, from the 44th president's legacy to the challenges the new Commander in Chief will face when she takes office in January. (Yes, 'she.' Spoiler alert.)"

► HBO picks up J.K. Rowling's Cormoran Strike. The pay cabler will air the limited series based on the Harry Potter author's crime novels. Cormoran Strike will be broken up into three separate event series, with filming beginning this fall in London.

► Spike TV steps up to scripted plate. The cabler has landed The Weinstein Co.'s Waco miniseries about cult leader David Koresh. The project arrived at Spike in a competitive situation, with six other bidders. Friday Night Lights grad Taylor Kitsch will star as Koresh.

► R.I.P., Michael Gleason. The Emmy-nominated writer and producer who co-created the 1980s NBC detective drama Remington Steele, has died. He was 78. Full obit.

Deal of the day: Verizon buys Vessel, shutters it. The telecom giant has agreed to acquire the tech that powered Vessel, Jason Kilar's subscription video startup. As part of the deal, Vessel, which provided early access to content from popular YouTube stars, will be shut down.

Box Office: A Horror-Light Halloween

While summer was jam-packed with horror titles, Halloween is lacking in scares, Pamela McClintock writes in the weekend forecast:

The only new movie opening nationwide this weekend is anything but a traditional Halloween offering: Ron Howard's Inferno, the third installment in Sony's Da Vinci Code series starring Tom Hanks. Prerelease tracking suggests the adult-leaning film will open anywhere between $20M and $30M, enough to win the weekend crown.

The biggest Halloween-themed title this season is Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, a comedy-horror parody that debuted to a stellar $28.5M last weekend and easily bested this year's sole holiday horror offering, Universal and Blumhouse Production's prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil, which opened to $14.1M.

"Horror has become a 52 week-a-year business and is no longer defined by any particular season or holiday," notes box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of comScore, who adds that with Halloween falling on a Monday, many consumers will be more focused on celebrating the holiday over the weekend than taking a trip to the multiplex.

Elsewhere in film...

↱ A rare Charlie Sheen interview: The actor opens up about his health (he "feels excellent") as well as an R-rated Major League 3 hopes: "The script that we've all been sitting on is pure gold and absolutely shootable," says Sheen. "We could be in pre-production tomorrow." ↲

► Two high-profile Pixar sequels get new release dates. The Incredibles 2 will now hit theaters in June 2018 while Toy Story 4 was pushed back to June 2019. The two films are swapping dates thanks to an accelerated production schedule for Incredibles 2, insiders say.

► Kevin Hart in talks to play Santa Claus. The comedian is in negotiations to star in Dashing Through the Snow, a family Christmas comedy being developed by Disney. Will Packer, who worked with Hart on the Ride Along movies, is producing with John Jacobs (Ted).

↱ Podcast: Helen Mirren. In conversation with Scott Feinberg, the Oscar winner discusses a long-ago visit to a prophetic palm reader, her experiences of sexual harassment, what she wrote in a letter to Queen Elizabeth II and the one award she hasn't yet won but really wants. ↲

► Gerard Butler to topline Olympus Has Fallen threequel. The actor is set to star in Angel Has Fallen, which is targeting a production start in the first half of 2017. Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt, who created the franchise, will write the script.

► R.I.P., Michael Massee. The actor who unfortunately will be known as the man who accidentally shot and killed Brandon Lee on the set of the 1994 film The Crow has died. He was 61. Full obit.

Asian actors and Oscar recognition. Journalist Wayman Wong writes: "It's one thing if Academy voters don't nominate you because they haven't seen your picture, but what are the odds that they see your film, love it and still skip an entire minority-group of actors?"

Today in '55: A 'Rebel Without a Cause'

On Oct. 27, 1955, Rebel Without a Cause hit theaters, just a month after star James Dean's untimely death. The film would go on to earn three Oscar noms, including the first for Natalie Wood. An excerpt from THR's original review:

"It contains some extraordinarily good acting by the late James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo (who is coming up fast and reveals himself to be a real trouper in this one). The direction by Nicholas Ray is outstanding.

Ray stages police station scenes with true realism and he catches the mood of the sub-world of teenage savagery in an attention-holding manner. There is a reckless, silly, and (from an adult point of view) thoroughly unnecessary duel with switch blades that is chilling and a frenzied contest, in which two punks vie with each other to see who will be the last to throw himself out of a car that is racing toward a cliff, that is hair raising.

The dialogue of Stewart Stern's screenplay and Irving Shulman's adaptation catches the stumbling inarticulate voice of youth with singular accuracy."