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Grammy Noms Unveiled; 'Duck Dynasty' Fraud Probe; Sundance Star Power; Politics of "Pussy"

December 06, 2016

Oscars' Kimmel Pick, Explained

After all that time for the search, how did the Academy pick Jimmy Kimmel to host the Oscars? Scott Feinberg explains:

ABC and the Academy have always engaged in a bit of a wrestling match: The network pays a fortune for the right to air the Oscars, and the Academy fights for and retains final sign-off on the host selection.

However, back in August, with the Academy's bargaining position looking awfully weak following a string of poorly rated shows and at a time when the organization still is trying to pay for its under-construction Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the parties extended a deal, that was set to expire in 2020, all the way through 2028.

In other words, ABC bailed the Academy out — but the network got several concessions of its own, including greater influence in the host selection process. In the months since, ABC chief Ben Sherwood has made no secret of the fact that he wanted his guy to get the gig.

Oddly, in light of the drawn-out selection process, I'm told that first-time Oscar show producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd actually went out to very few candidates other than Kimmel, and never to the guy who I've long been pushing: comedy superstar Kevin Hart.

Elsewhere in film...

↱ Brando, Bertolucci, Schneider and the Politics of an Actor's Consent. The reignited Last Tango in Paris controversy gets context and an explainer from Seth Abramovitch, who traces the history of the 1972 film that opened amid the height of "porno chic" and now has major Hollywood figures suggesting the director and Godfather star are guilty of rape. ↲

► Roman Polanski extradition request rejected. Poland's Supreme Court rejected the government's request to extradite the Oscar-winning director to the U.S. over a 1977 child sex conviction. The extradition case, which went on for more than two years, is now officially closed.

► Alibaba Pictures names tech exec CEO. A star of China's internet sector, 40-year-old executive Yu Yongfu has little film experience, but he joins Jack Ma's fledging studio at a crucial juncture. Details.

► Sundance unveils Premieres, Midnight, Spotlight films. Highlights include films starring Jack Black (The Polka King), Jeremy Renner (Wind River) and Cate Blanchett (Manifesto). As was the case with the Sundance Competition lineup, more social commentary is featured, including Dee Rees' Mudbound, set in the post-World War II South. Full lineup.

↱ The Accused oral history. A brutal rape scene, traumatized actors and producers' fights to make the movie: Jodie Foster, Kelly McGillis, Sherry Lansing and others reveal to Rebecca Ford the backstory of the 1988 film that gave voice to sexual assault victims. ↲

► How to Train Your Dragon 3 pushed back to 2019. Universal has moved the DreamWorks Animation film from May 18, 2018, to March 1, 2019. The Dean DeBlois-directed feature will see the return of the cast, which includes Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett and Kristen Wiig.

► Rogue One L.A. premiere prompts full week of street closures. Road closures related to Saturday's red-carpet premiere at the Pantages Theatre went into effect last night and will last until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Sidewalks will remain open to pedestrian traffic.

► Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 teaser is Marvel's biggest ever. In just 24 hours, the new Guardians trailer has topped 81M views, becoming Marvel's biggest teaser and the second most watched trailer of any kind after Captain America: Civil War.

► Transformers: The Last Knight debuts first trailer. The fifth installment of director Michael Bay's franchise, out June 23, 2017, sees Mark Wahlberg return to face off against the villain Megatron. Watch the trailer.

► R.I.P., Margaret Whitton. The actress who played Cleveland Indians owner Rachel Phelps in The Major League died on Sunday after a battle with cancer. She was 67. Full obit.

► At Norman Brokaw's memorial. Vertigo star Kim Novak spoke and Tony Orlando performed — all against a backdrop of a wall of 19,000 red roses — at Monday's memorial service at the Hillcrest Country Club for the legendary William Morris agent. Details.

Updated: Oscar standings. In the latest heat index of awards contenders, Feinberg sorts through the debris of Critics' Choice noms, National Board of Review winners, critics groups' picks from both coasts and the first screenings of Silence. Full forecast.

Netflix Exec Takes Shot at Amazon

Amazon Studios has upped its spending on original programming, but the release of ambitious shows like The Grand Tour doesn't have Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos worried, Natalie Jarvey reports:

Netflix is the reigning leader of the streaming television world, and when it comes to creating buzzy programs Sarandos doesn't believe he has much competition among other online players like Amazon.

"It doesn't appear they're gaining much traction against all that spending," he told investors Monday at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York. "Maybe it sells Prime memberships or other things I'm not privy to, but right now it just looks like they're spending a lot of money."

Netflix, which has nearly 87 million subscribers worldwide, is spending a lot of money, too. The streamer has said it would spend $6 billion on programming next year. According to Sarandos, that means more than 1,000 hours of original programming, including upping its production of unscripted fare to 20 shows.

Elsewhere in TV...

► Duck Dynasty producers put on leave amid fraud probe. Scott and Deirdre Gurney, the founders of the reality TV production company Gurney Productions, have been temporarily suspended amid an internal fraud investigation. No charges have been filed.

► TNT orders John Wells mystery thriller. The cabler has greenlit a pilot for the thriller The Deep Mad Dark from the Animal Kingdom executive producer. The pilot, written by Megan Martin, is described as a "propulsive, layered mystery."

► Tom Colicchio apologizes for Top Chef plantation setting. The Bravo show's judge apologized after Top Chef: Charleston filmed a challenge at Boone Hall Plantation. Twitter users criticized the show for its "insensitive" location choice.

► Westworld, This Is Us, Stranger Things top WGA TV nominations. New shows vying for the top prize for TV scribes also include critical favorite comedies such as FX's Atlanta and Better Things. Better Call Saul and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt dominated their categories.

► NBC unveils Schwarzenegger Apprentice poster. The new host, surrounded by flames and airborne conference room chairs, heralds the post-Trump era with the tag line "It's a whole new boardroom." The Apprentice returns to NBC on Jan. 2.

► R.I.P., Van Williams. The actor, who portrayed the masked crime-fighter The Green Hornet in a memorable but short-lived companion TV series to Batman in the 1960s, has died. He was 82. Full obit.

In THR, Esq: Bill Cosby accusers request pause on defamation lawsuit ... Rolling Stone asks judge to toss jury's defamation verdict ... A&E Networks accused in $33M lawsuit of pushing out Killer Kids producer.

Time to Reclaim the Word "Pussy"?

Post-Trump, has "pussy" joined the pantheon of formerly taboo terms that have been neutered by pop culture? Female humor writers discuss:

Comedian Eliza Skinner cautiously embraces the word, at least in her act. "I guess it feels like a scary, disruptive term, and if dudes are going to use it, I am definitely going to use it when I have a mic," she says. "I don't want to make my female audience uncomfortable, but I totally want to make my male audience uncomfortable."

Comedian/producer Sue Kolinsky sums it up tidily. "Not a fan," she says. "I'm more of a hoo-ha kind of a girl." Julieanne Smolinski, a writer and philanthropist, says she doesn't like using the word. "And I don't really know any women who do, even from a 'reclaim it' sense. Even when women use it in porn, they sound tentative and remorseful."

Also from this week's Women in Entertainment issue:

► Omarosa: I'm Black, Female, and Donald Trump Is My Friend. In a guest column, former Apprentice star Omarosa Manigault shares a personal side of the president-elect "the world has not seen" as she spearheads his directive to "make his administration the most diverse in history."

► Ryan Murphy'sTV Directors Are More Than 50 Percent Female Now. The American Horror Story creator will receive inaugural Equity in Entertainment Award at the THR Women in Entertainment Power 100 breakfast on Wednesday for his 10-month-old Half foundation.