What's news: John Oliver talks becoming a U.S. citizen and the 2020 election, movie studios sitting out the Super Bowl, Netflix to face layoffs in marketing shift, the Oscars will honor Kobe Bryant, China's film biz grinds to a halt amid coronavirus fears, will John Malone or Joe Ianniello get Univision? Plus: The Costume Designers Guild Awards, and Apple and AT&T earnings. --Alex Weprin

 John Oliver: All-American

On the cover: John Oliver, HBO's incendiary 'Last Week Tonight' host (and recently sworn-in American) returns with plenty to say about Trump's 2020 campaign, Harry and Meghan, his awkward run-in with an AT&T exec ("We sized each other up"), and the secrets behind his Emmy-winning brand of "aggressively-researched comedy" in a conversation with Marisa Guthrie.

--On becoming a U.S. citizen: Oliver became a citizen on Dec. 13, 2019 in lower Manhattan. "Oliver, along with 159 other people from 49 countries, raised his right hand and took the oath. He was given a tiny American flag as Lee Greenwood's 'Proud to Be an American' played and a photo of Donald Trump glowered from a wall. 'The feeling you get at the end of that process is overwhelming relief,' he says. 'And that it's nothing to do with the current president.'"

--On covering Donald Trump: "Despite Oliver's command of political satire, Trump actually gets less attention on Last Week Tonight than he does on many other late night shows. Trump, he says, 'takes up so much of the oxygen in the news. And when you're reacting to the news, that's all you're reacting to. We are in the very fortunate position where we can protect the vast majority of our show from him.'"

Oliver won't preview what deep dives they'll be doing this season. 'If you describe any of the shows we did last year — SLAAP suits, the National Weather Service — you could go, 'Oof, that sounds like a miss-able one to me,' ' he says. 'Just hearing the subject in isolation would make you think, 'That sounds really bad.' "

--Creative freedom from owner AT&T: "Oliver maintains that HBO gives him complete creative freedom. Even his frequent jabs at corporate overlords AT&T, which acquired HBO's parent in 2018 for $85 billion, have raised no alarms. Oliver has yet to meet AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, but he did encounter WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey when he was in Los Angeles in September for the Emmy Awards.

'It was brief,' Oliver says with a laugh. 'We sized each other up and realized, 'I think we can get through this in 30 seconds.'" The cover story.

►Super Bowl LIV: Most movie ads sitting out The Big Game as price soars. For the second year in a row, there will be fewer movie ads during the Super Bowl, Pamela McClintock reports. More and more, Hollywood studios are migrating to the pre-game and post-game shows, where an ad can cost half as much. This year, a 30-second spot airing during Super Bowl LIV carries a steep price tag of $5.6 million, up from $5.2 million last year. Fox is carrying the NFL championship.

--Universal and Disney were the only major studios suiting up in 2019 for the actual game, and that appears to be the case again this time out. Paramount, home of this summer's Top Gun: Maverick, will have a major presence in the pre-game — Disney and Universal are expected to use this block as well — while Warner Bros. and Sony are staying home completely. The story.

►Kobe Bryant to be remembered at Oscars ceremony. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is planning to acknowledge the passing of the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant at the 2020 Oscars on Feb. 9 ceremony, sources tell Tatiana Siegel. More.

Elsewhere in film...

--DC Universe subscribers will be invited to early screenings of Birds of Prey (and the Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

--Sundance deal: Sony Pictures Classic is partnering with Stage 6 Films for worldwide rights to the immigration love story I Carry You With Me, which is set to be released later this year.

--The Berlin Film Festival unveiled its lineup, including the world premiere of Pixar's Onward.

--Seth Rogen has been part of numerous memes, and now he is developing a movie centered on one. Lionsgate is in final negotiations to pick up Memetic, a horror thriller about a killer meme, that Rogen will produce along with partners Evan Goldberg and James Weaver via their Point Grey banner.

--CAA's philanthropy arm is partnering with Democracy Works in launching the Civic Alliance, a non-partisan group through which dozens of businesses will work to increase voter turnout ahead of the 2020 election.

 Netflix Shift

►Netflix to lay off employees as it shifts marketing strategy. Sources tell Kim Masters and Bryn Elise Sandberg that at least 15 people are expected to exit this week as the company moves to better advertise the service rather than its individual shows.

Quote: "Though specifics about the strategy are being worked out, an ad campaign built around a big premiere film like Sandra Bullock’s Bird Box or an Emmy-winning series like The Crown might be coupled with a general pitch for Netflix as the home for thousands of premium movies and awards-caliber shows." The story.

+Netflix, Sony team for Matilda movie based on stage musical. Roald Dahl's beloved children's book is once again getting the big-screen treatment, this time with Netflix joining the production. More.

The 21st Costume Designers Guild Awards were held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening. The show was hosted by Mindy Kaling, who wore a Kate Middleton-inspired gown with 2,000 Swarovski crystals. Only one Oscar-nominated film for costume design, JoJo Rabbit (Mayes C. Rubeo), took home a prize — for Excellence in Period Film. Other films honored were Knives Out (Jenny Eagan) for Contemporary Film and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Ellen Mirojnick) for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film.

--Winners in television included Schitt’s Creek "The Dress" (Debra Hanson) for Contemporary Television, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel "It’s Comedy or Cabbage" (Donna Zakowska) and Game of Thrones "The Iron Throne" (Michele Clapton). The full list of winners.

+Attendees at the ceremony were greeted, upon entry, with paddles on their seats calling for "Pay Equity Now." In a speech during the ceremony, Guild president Salvador Perez added, "The issue of pay equality is something we know everyone in this room supports. Last year I was so happy to see you raising your fans so I ask you to raise your fans again this year. Time is up. Pay equity now." More.

^John Malone plays long game with Univision stake bid. The billionaire investor in 2017 was rebuffed by the broadcaster, but has always shown he will keep an eye out for a better deal, Etan Vlessing and Georg Szalai report. The story.

+Meanwhile: The Wall Street Journal reports that another Univision bidder, Platinum Equity, has approached CBS CEO Joe Ianniello (rumored to be on the way out at the broadcaster) about fronting its bid for the Spanish-language giant.

+AT&T earnings: The company said that it lost 219,000 subscribers at its AT&T TV Now streaming service in the period and 945,00 premium TV subscribers at DirecTV and U-Verse, with WarnerMedia earnings in the quarter down amid investment and foregone revenue tied to HBO Max. More.

+Apple earnings: Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple TV+ was off to "a rousing start," but wouldn't give any subscriber numbers. Overall, Apple's services business grew to $12.7 billion in revenue during the final three months of 2019, the tech giant reported Tuesday. The operating division, which houses subscriptions including Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Arcade, was up 17 percent year-over-year, helping to drive a 9 percent overall boost in quarterly revenue to $91.8 billion. More.

►True Detective reunion: FX orders Matthew McConaughey drama From Nic Pizzolatto. Pizzolatto has also moved his overall deal from HBO to Fox 21 TV Studios and FX Productions, while the Emmy-nominated actor has inked a first-look pact with the latter, Lesley Goldberg reports. As for Pizzolatto's decision to leave HBO, sources say the showrunner met with executives at the WarnerMedia-owned premium cable network to discuss a new deal and all parties involved agreed that it was time to part ways. The story.

Elsewhere in TV...

--The Good Place creator Mike Schur has found his next series project. He will executive produce a comedy pilot for HBO Max from three veterans of Comedy Central's Broad City: Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky.

--Grammy: producer Ken Ehrlich explains how the Kobe Bryant tribute came together.

--PBS chief Paula Kerger says she is prioritizing member stations with its streaming strategy. And: Discovery's Kathleen Finch reveals the perks and pains of counter-programming an election year.

--Locke & Key: Inside the beloved comic's decade-long path to Netflix

--Ratings: CBS and Fox are leading the broadcast networks in ratings halfway the 2019-20 season — and there's a pretty good chance they'll end up in first come May as well.

--Also: The Bachelor slipped a little in the ratings Monday, but the ABC franchise nonetheless remained the night's top show among adults 18-49. America's Got Talent: The Champions finished first in total viewers, and 911: Lone Star held steady with its second outing in its regular time slot.

 Coronavirus Grounds China's Film Biz

►China's film industry grinds to a halt amid coronavirus epidemic. Global box office may take a $1 billion-plus hit as the world's second-biggest market shutters 70,000 screens while grappling to contain the outbreak, Pamela McClintock and Patrick Brzeski report. The story. 

+Steven Soderbergh's 2011 thriller Contagion hit the top 10 on iTunes movie charts amid coronavirus outbreak. The sci-fi thriller about a China-born virus is not currently available on any streaming service. More.

+China's state broadcaster CCTV is calling off its usual live red carpet coverage of the Oscars in response to the worsening coronavirus crisis, a source at the public television network said Wednesday. More.

 An artist named Sweet Cecily Daniher on Monday sued Disney, Pixar and Onward producer Kori Rae for allegedly conspiring to secretly create an animated doppelganger of her one-of-a-kind van without permission. She calls it the "Vanicorn," and, according to her lawsuit, it's the result of her lifelong love of the mythical beasts. The story.

+POW! Entertainment, the company co-founded by Stan Lee in 2001, is asking a California federal judge to knock out a suit from Lee’s daughter that it describes as “a grossly selfish and inconsiderate waste” of the court’s time. JC Lee in September sued POW in an effort to reclaim control of her father’s intellectual property and likeness rights. Prior to his death in 2017, the prolific comic book creator sued the company himself but later dropped that $1 billion claim. More.

More awards season news...

+People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Tuesday announced the Hollywood actors and movies it is honoring this year for being animal-friendly with annual Oscats awards for Joaquin Phoenix, Cynthia Erivo and Tom Hanks. More.

+Cesar Awards: France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences on Wednesday morning unveiled the nominations for this year’s Cesar Awards — the country’s equivalent to the Oscars — during a breakfast press conference, with Roman Polanski's An Officer and a Spy leading the nominations with 12, including for best director and best film. The nominees.



^Clive Davis' Grammy party class photo: Joni Mitchell, Janet Jackson, Cynthia Erivo and more. Legends like Carlos Santana joined rising stars Adrienne Warren and Khalid at the mogul's annual bash held amid Recording Academy controversy: "Tonight we come together to celebrate music." More.

Sundance reviews...

►Tesla review: David Rooney writes of the Ethan Hawke-starring drama, Pinging back and forth in audacious ways between the late 18th century and the present, Almereyda assembles an aptly livewire account of an unknowable outsider whose ideas about a world connected by wireless technology now make him seem like a field-leading visionary." The review.

►McMillion$ review: Daniel Fienberg writes that "though it's not especially good as a piece of formal filmmaking through its first three hours, McMillion$ tells a quirky and frequently hilarious tale filled with enough twists and turns that you'll swear it came from the keyboard of a Carl Hiaasen or Elmore Leonard." The review.

+Also: Dream Horse... Farewell Amor... The Last Shift... The Reason I Jump... The Trade season two... Surge... Lost Girls...

►Kathryn Murdoch on the "frank and factual" Murdoch family politics. Murdoch, wife of former Fox CEO James Murdoch, was interviewed for Politico's Women Rule podcast, out this morning. She is asked by host Anna Palmer about those intra-family political debates.

Quote: "I would say that I’ve always had a very respectful relationship with everyone in the family. I’ve had very frank and factual conversations about all of these types of things for many, many years. Nothing has changed; our views two days ago are exactly the same as they were when I first started to learn about climate change 14 years ago."

"There’s always a difference between what gets seen out in the public, or what’s on the surface, and what is actually happening in a family or behind the scenes. There’s a diversity of opinion on all of those things within the family — as there are in many families. There’s no line that everyone has to adhere to, or cross, or anything like that. There are lots of conversations that can be had, and they are had." 

Video of the day: Turner Sports' Inside The NBA dedicated its show on Tuesday to Kobe Bryant, with the hosts reminiscing about the Lakers star. Still, this video from Shaquille O'Neal stuck with me, as he remembers Bryant. Watch.

Casting roundup: One more star is headed to The Matrix 4. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is in negotiations to join the Warner Bros. sequel... The indie drug drama Take Out Girl is getting an assist from hip-hop artist Stupid Young, who makes his acting debut in the small role of an LAPD officer...

Obituary: Christopher "Kit" Hood, the co-creator of the long-running Canadian Degrassi TV franchise, which launched the young acting careers of rapper Drake and actresses Nina Dobrev and Shenae Grimes, has died. He was 76.

What else we're reading...

--"CollegeHumor helped shape online comedy. What went wrong?" [Wired]

--"Hackers hijacked nearly half of the NFL’s Twitter accounts, as well as ESPN and UFC" [The Verge]

--"BuzzFeed News editor Ben Smith to join New York Times as media columnist" [NBC News]

--"BBC News to close 450 posts as part of £80m savings drive" [BBC]

--"We tried to predict J. Lo's first song at the Super Bowl" [FiveThirtyEight]

Today's birthdays: Oprah Winfrey, 66, Paul Ryan, 50, Adam Lambert, 38, Heather Graham, 50, Sara Gilbert, 45, Tom Selleck, 75.