What's news: Paul Reubens is shopping around a gritty Pee-wee Herman reboot, another big day of testimony in the Harvey Weinstein trial, Vanessa Bryant breaks her silence, Joe Buck talks Super Bowl and Tony Romo, a slew of streaming pickups, Disney+ boosts Verizon. Plus: New studio deals keep celluloid film alive, and broadcast TV's ratings "sea-change." --Alex Weprin

 Pee-wee's 'Dark' Comeback

►Pee-wee Herman's "dark" reboot: Paul Reubens is ready to stage a comeback. Three decades after Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and a career-threatening scandal, the 67-year-old has become a comedy cult hero with a shocking new Pee-wee script, he tells Seth Abramovitch: "I make the rules about when I'm coming back."

--About that reboot, called The Pee-wee Herman Story: "Apatow still isn't interested and Sarandos passed on the project for Netflix, saying it 'doesn't check off all the boxes' of a Pee-wee movie, according to a source with knowledge of the exchange. Undeterred, Reubens approached the Safdie brothers, the sibling-director wunderkinds behind Uncut Gems, who are considering the project. With his quote being a firm $3 million, and de-aging technology alone running around $1.5 million, the viability of the film has drawn skepticism from the finance departments of CAA, UTA and Endeavor Content."

--Still, a U.K. fan is said to have offered to finance up to $10 million for the project, if Reubens can find the rest. "I do feel like it's going to probably happen," Reubens says. "I have a couple of people that are interested. But this is Hollywood. A couple people interested and five bucks will get you five bucks." The story.

►The Weinstein trial: Aspiring actress testifies that Harvey Weinstein assaulted her, pressed for threesome in 2004: "I was shocked." Onetime aspiring actress Dawn Dunning testified Wednesday morning that Harvey Weinstein sexually penetrated her without her consent in 2004 and pressed her for a threesome with his assistant, screaming at her that it was “how the industry worked” when she protested. The story.

+Key supporting witness testifies that Weinstein raped her in 2005. Tarale Wulff, one of four key additional witnesses in the prosecution’s case, said the movie mogul masturbated in front of her and then later raped her in his apartment: “I told him I can’t, and he said, ‘Don’t worry, I had a vasectomy.’” The story.

+The Assistant debuts in New York amid Harvey Weinstein trial. The special screening was hosted by Michelle Williams, Marielle Heller, Roxane Gay, Amber Tamblyn and Elaine Welteroth. More.

►Despite Writers Guild's string of victories, its agency fight is far from over. ICM and Paradigm have been notable holdouts to the union's efforts to gather signatories on its code of conduct and franchise agreements, Jonathan Handel writes. Asked whether ICM was in talks with the WGA or expected to be, an agency rep said, “Not a peep. Don’t expect there will be. We have no interest in letting [WGA executive director] David Young run our business.” A Paradigm rep was at Sundance and did not respond to a request for comment. More.

+SAG-AFTRA reveals qualifications and protocols for intimacy coordinators. Nearly half a year after SAG-AFTRA announced it would standardize guidelines for intimacy coordinators, the actor's union revealed requirements for workers in the role and a set of protocols for projects using them, from pre- to postproduction. More.



^Vanessa Bryant breaks silence on husband Kobe Bryant's death: "I wish they were here with us forever." "My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time," Vanessa wrote in an Instagram post. "Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri." The story.

Kevin Hart, Jason Statham in talks to team for an action comedy. Kevin Hart and Jason Statham are in negotiations to team up for The Man from Toronto, an action comedy set up at Sony Pictures. Patrick Hughes, who directed the Ryan Reynolds-Samuel L. Jackson action comedy Hitman’s Bodyguard, is on board to helm Toronto, which the studio has slotted for a Nov. 20, 2020 release. The story.

+Linda Hamilton "would be quite happy to never return" to Terminator. The actor, who has fond memories of making Dark Fate, confirms she has made peace with leaving Sarah Connor behind and the film's box office disappointment: "Today’s audience is just so unpredictable." More.

+Green Hornet could be on his way back to the big screen. Amasia Entertainment, the banner of former Marvel Studios president Michael Helfant and Bradley Gallo, has won the motion picture rights to the classic pulp crime-fighting hero. More.

►Studios re-up Kodak deals to keep celluloid film alive. The five major studios — Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. — have inked new deals with Kodak, the film manufacturer said Wednesday, committing to buying undisclosed amounts of motion picture celluloid and thus guaranteeing its continued use for the foreseeable future, Carolyn Giardina reports. The story.

Elsewhere in film...

--Sony has bought Jennifer Harrington's spec script in a high six-figure deal, with Jake Kasdan to produce.

--Magnolia Pictures has scooped up the Kerry Washington-produced documentary The Fight. A source pegged the deal at low seven figures... And: The Gotham Group has picked up the English language remake rights to the Italian feature film The Nest (Il Nido), Italian director Roberto De Feo's debut feature...Also: A24 is circling the worldwide rights for Kajillionaire, the crime drama from writer-director Miranda July.

--Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun will open in U.S. theaters July 24, Searchlight Pictures announced Wednesday.

--This filmmaker is buying theaters so they'll play his new movie.

--Frank Scheck reviews The Rhythm Section, starring Blake Lively, Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown.

 In Business News...

►How soon can Comcast's $40 billion Sky deal pay off? A new global news venture will arrive this summer as analysts question when touted synergies with NBCUniversal will materialize, Paul Bond and Georg Szalai report. The story.

►M&A mega-deals might slow in 2020. After ViacomCBS and Disney-Fox, Wall Street expects "fewer giant-dollar" buys in the near future, Paul Bond and Georg Szalai report. The story.

►MoviePass and parent company Helios and Matheson file for bankruptcy. Both companies and affiliates have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which signal they no longer have a viable plan to continue business. The move, announced in a Jan. 28 SEC filing and coming "after considering strategic alternatives," will allow a bankruptcy court trustee to liquidate the holdings of MoviePass, its parent and affiliate companies. The story.

►No Canadian "Netflix Tax." A new report on Canada's broadcasting and telecommunications sector has urged the federal government to require foreign streaming services like Canadian market leader Netflix to invest in local programming. But a seven-member panel led by former cablecaster Janet Yale has rejected any direct tax to be aimed at internet giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook similar to "digital taxes" being considered by governments in Europe. The story.

+Verizon earnings: The company beat expectations in its mobile business, thanks in part to the free Disney+ promotion. More.

+Facebook earnings: Facebook's business and user growth remained strong as the social media giant closed out 2019, even as its stock price slid in after-marketing trading. Facebook on Wednesday reported that revenue grew 25 percent during the fourth quarter to $21.08 billion. It also recorded earnings per share of $2.56. More.

+Microsoft earnings: Revenue from Microsoft's gaming division fell $905 million (21 percent) in its most recent fiscal quarter when compared to the same period the year prior, the company reported Wednesday. More.



^Joe Buck talks Fox Super Bowl plans and the MLB cheating scandal. On the eve of TV’s biggest event, the network’s lead football broadcaster opens up in a Creative Space interview about his future plans, Tony Romo, his haters and why mixing politics and sports is "never a great idea."

--THR: "Your deal at Fox is up in three years. What's next?"

--Joe Buck: "At some point, I want to have some time to do other projects, whether it's to produce something or host something else or do a game show. I don't want to keep doing the same thing over and over for the rest of my life." The interview.

 Jessica Biel is moving her overall TV deal. The actress and producer's Iron Ocean Productions banner has signed a two-year, first-look pact with Paramount Television Studios. The company's previous overall was with Universal Content Productions, for whom she developed USA Network anthology The Sinner. Under the Paramount pact, Biel and her Iron Ocean partner Michelle Purple will create and develop scripted TV projects for the ViacomCBS-owned studio fronted by Nicole Clemens. The story.

+Also: Kristin Burr— the Disney veteran whose credits include Sweet Home Alabama, The Prestige and The Muppets— has signed a multi-year, overall deal with Lionsgate. More.

It was a busy day for pickups from the big streaming services...

+At Amazon: Amazon is adding to its animation roster with a two-season order for an adult comedy from the studio behind Netflix's Big Mouth. The tech giant's Prime Video streaming platform has ordered two eight-episode seasons of Fairfax, about four middle school best friends on a never-ending quest for clout along Fairfax Avenue, L.A.'s pulsing heart of hypebeast culture.

--Also at Amazon: Animal Pictures, the banner run by Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne, has teamed with writer-producer Cirocco Dunlap for The Hospital, a sci-fi-themed animated series.

+At HBO Max: Upcoming young adult novel I'll Be the One is being developed as a feature by HBO Max, with Nahnatchka Khan set to produce with an eye to direct.

+At Netflix: Netflix has greenlit a live-action adaptation of One Piece, one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

+At Apple: Apple TV+ is nearing a series order for Physical, a dramedy set against the backdrop of the '80s aerobics craze, which would star Rose Byrne.

+At Disney+: Disney+ is adding to its growing unscripted slate, announcing four new projects — including competition The Maze, natural docuseries Meet the Chimps and a serialized look at the making of Pixar’s SparkShorts program, as well as development on a reboot of reality competition The Quest.

Elsewhere in TV...

--NBC is turning to one of best-selling author Dan Brown's most beloved characters for its next drama. The network on Wednesday handed out a formal pilot order to Langdon, based on the Robert Langdon character.

--NFL Hall of Famer, Fox Sports host and Masked Singer contestant Terry Bradshaw is headed to E! Bradshaw and his family will be the subjects of a comedic docuseries called The Bradshaw Bunch that's set to premiere on the NBCUniversal cable network in the summer.

--Syndicated talk show The Mel Robbins Show will end after its first season.

--Why Netflix will sell clothing from Next in Fashion winners on Net-a-Porter.

 The Ratings Long Game

►Rethinking broadcast TV's long-tail ratings "sea change." The Big 4 networks are using 35-day (and beyond) viewership data to make the case that their shows' delayed-viewing audience is relevant in the streaming era, even if the loss of "immediate mass reach" complicates the ad-buying process, Rick Porter writes. The story.

 Jon Favreau's The Lion King won the Visual Effects Society Awards' top category for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. The photoreal retelling of the Disney animated classic — made using newly-developed virtual production techniques — bested a field of nominees that also included Alita: Battle Angel, Avengers: Endgame, Gemini Man and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Here's the full list of winners.

 More than a dozen music publishers don't have to sweat Peloton's claim that they engage in anticompetitive conduct as a New York federal judge on Wednesday dismissed the indoor cycling giant's counterclaim. The fight began in March 2019 when 15 music publishers sued Peloton for copyright infringement. While the company had negotiated licenses with some of the publishers for the music Peloton instructors play during their classes, not every publisher struck such a deal. Talks with the National Music Publishers Association to expand the licensing agreements to others fell apart, and the copyright infringement suit followed. The story.

+Facebook to pay $550 million in biometric privacy class action settlement. The social media giant will pay a landmark settlement to end a dispute with Illinois users over its face-tagging technology. The details.

Revolving door: Two days after stepping down from his post as Starz programming president, Carmi Zlotnik has moved to Apple, signing an exclusive producing deal with the tech company... The CW has upped long-time marketing chief Rick Haskins to the newly created post of president, streaming and chief branding officer... Kate Fenske has been tapped to serve as chief creative executive at Sister, the production and development company founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone... UTA has signed actor Theo James... Dean-Charles Chapman (1917) has left WME for CAA...

 Kerry Washington calls Bob Iger "ultimate Disney princess" as Disney boss urges inclusive hiring. The Disney chairman and CEO shared a stage with fellow TV Academy Hall of Fame inductees Cicely Tyson, Seth MacFarlane and Nickelodeon and Oxygen trailblazer Geraldine Laybourne, Chris Gardner reports. More.

What else we're reading...

--"ABC News suspends correspondent over erroneous report on Kobe Bryant crash" [LA Times]

--"Gloria Allred is not done with Harvey Weinstein" [Vanity Fair]

--"A decade ago, the Oscars looked down on superhero movies. now one might win best picture" [The Ringer]

--"BoJack Horseman and The Good Place took us to hell and back" [NY Times]

Today's birthdays: Gene Hackman, 90, Dick Cheney, 79, Christian Bale, 46, Phil Collins, 69, Vanessa Redgrave, 83.