What's news: The first Democratic primary debate to include Mike Bloomberg set a ratings record, President Trump takes on Parasite's Oscars win and plans a big YouTube ad buy, coronavirus concerns hit the Berlinale, writers vs agencies headed toward mediation, a First Wives Club reunion, a Borderlands movie. Plus: Tyler Perry to receive THR's Oprah Winfrey Empowerment Award, and a review of the West Side Story revival. --Alex Weprin

 Debate Ratings Record

►Debate ratings: Nearly 20 million people tuned into the ninth Democratic primary debate. The 19.66 million viewers for the two-hour telecast breaks the previous Democratic primary record of 18.1 million by a sizable margin. The previous mark was set in June 2019 for night two of the first Democratic debate, carried by NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo. The debate also averaged 417,000 streaming viewers, bringing the total average audience just above 20 million. The numbers.

+Context: Those numbers make the debate one of the most-watched non-football events of the year, only a few million viewers shy of the 23.6 million people that tuned in for this year's Oscars telecast. An August 2015 Republican primary debate, the first with Donald Trump, set the primary debate record with 24 million viewers.

And speaking of President Trump...

►Trump vs. Parasite: During a campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado, President Donald Trump criticized the Oscar-winning Korean film Parasite and took aim at fellow award winner Brad Pitt during a speech that targeted recent events in pop culture.

--Speaking at the podium in front of his supporters, Trump asked, "How bad were the Academy Awards this year?" He went on to say, "And the winner is... a movie from South Korea! What the hell was that all that about? We've got enough problems with South Korea, with trade. On top of that, they give them the best movie of the year. Was it good? I don't know. Let's get Gone With the Wind back, please? Sunset Boulevard. So many great movies."

--Neon, the U.S. distributor for the pic, responded minutes later in a tweet, saying, "Understandable, he can't read." The story.

+Trump's 2020 campaign has already acquired some prime advertising real estate. Bloomberg's Mark Bergen and Joshua Brustein report that the campaign has bought the ad space on YouTube's homepage in early November and on election day, essentially guaranteeing that its messaging will be seen by tens of millions of Americans right ahead of the election.

►Writers vs. agencies case will go to court-ordered mediation, eventually. The packaging fee litigation between the Writers Guild of America and the three largest talent agencies is going to court-ordered mediation by the end of the year before an experienced entertainment lawyer whom the parties stipulated Thursday, but the likelihood that this means anything much is close to zero, Jonathan Handel writes.

--That’s not only because the mediation deadline isn’t until Dec. 25, according to a Jan. 8 court order; it’s also because the two sides remain at loggerheads, the federal judge in the case still hasn’t ruled on the agencies’ motion to dismiss the case, the guild is gearing up to ask that Hollywood studios freeze out the agencies — and the parties can’t even agree on whether they’ve been having conversations already. The story.

A pair of notable film projects are in the works...



►Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton will share the big screen for the first time in over two decades, since 1996's First Wives Club, in multigenerational comedy Family Jewels from New Republic Pictures. They play three women forced to spend the Christmas holidays together, along with their kids and grandkids, after the man they were all once married to drops dead in a New York City department store. The story.

►Borderlands movie in the works from Eli Roth, Lionsgate. The Cabin Fever and Hostel director is set to direct the movie adaptation of the action video game franchise the studio. Emmy-winning screenwriter Craig Mazin penned the script for the project, to be produced by producers Avi Arad and Ari Arad through their Arad Productions banner, and Erik Feig, who oversaw development, through Picturestart. The story.

►The Hunt tracking for $10M opening after landing 11th-hour release. The satire will now open in mid-March after originally being pulled from the fall 2019 calendar in the wake of a trio of mass shootings across the country. More.

Elsewhere in film...

--A new production company called A-Major Media focused on Asian American content has launched with a majority investment from Valence Media. Financial terms were not disclosed.

--The 2020 Sundance Film Festival wrapped 17 days ago, but major deals continue to be struck. Amazon Studios has acquired Garrett Bradley's documentary Time in a deal worth $5 million.

--Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite will be digitally remastered into the Imax format and will be released in select Imax cinemas for one week, beginning Feb. 21.

--The animated feature Cupid, which will voice-star Justin Bieber, is bringing on new behind-the-screen talent. The Black List veteran Mike Vukadinovich will pen the screenplay for Mythos Studios about the Greek god of love, while The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey is joining the production as an executive producer. 

--Alcon Entertainment has green lit the horror feature Lullaby, with Annabelle director John R. Leonetti attached to helm and Game of Thrones star Oona Chaplin in a lead role.

--John DeFore reviews Impractical Jokers: The Movie.

 The latest from Berlin...

►Dealmakers fret over industry impact of the coronavirus. With China’s film sector essentially shut down and release dates for even Hollywood tentpoles still up in the air, sellers are reluctant to commit to the Middle Kingdom, Patrick Brzeski reports: "The situation for the film industry is terrible." The story.

►Moment of silence held for German shooting victims during opening ceremony. On the eve of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, a fatal mass shooting occurred in the western Germany city of Hanau. A far-right extremist, deliberately targeting people from minorities backgrounds, killed ten people before killing himself. Mariette Rissenbeek, the festival's new executive director of the Berlinale, began the opening night's gala ceremony Thursday with a call for a moment of silence (pictured above) in honor of victims of Hanau. More.

+Deals: Viacom International Studios has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Infinity Hill, co-producer of Berlin Film Festival competition entry The Intruder, to develop and produce Spanish-language feature films... CAA is giving financial backing to Danny Perkins' Elysian Film Group as it launches a new distribution arm. The new company, Elysian Film Group Distribution, will receive an unspecified minority investment from the Los Angeles-based entertainment and sports agency and will have its launch at the European Film Market in Berlin...

+More deals: Leonine, the new producer/distributor formed via multiple acquisitions by private equity giant KKR in Germany, has acquired all rights to Asterix & Obelix, The Silk Road for Germany and Austria... South Korea’s Contents Panda has sold director Yeon Sang-ho’s upcoming action film Peninsula, a sequel to the 2016 cult zombie action flick Train to Busan, to 15 territories, including North America (Well Go USA) and U.K. (Studio Canal)...

+Review: My Salinger Year. Boyd van Hoeij reviews this year's Berlinale opener, which stars Margaret Qualley as the assistant to a high-powered literary agent played by Sigourney Weaver, writing "Often more jocular than insightful or touching, the film has an emotional temperature that doesn’t begin to rise until very late into the proceedings..." The review.

+Review: Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue (Yi zhi you dao hai shui bian lan). Jia Zhangke completes his documentary trilogy about the arts in China with a look at contemporary writers and the times they lived in. The review.

+In development: William Brent Bell, the helmer of such horror films as The Boy, The Devil Inside and Wer, has come on board to direct Esther, the prequel to 2009 hit Orphan... John Cusack is in talks to star alongside J.K. Simmons in director Mark Palansky's dark comedy/heist thriller My Only Sunshine...

+Also: Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof will not be attending the Berlin Film Festival for the premiere of his new film, There Is No Evil after the Iranian government re-enforced a travel ban on the 48-year-old director... Cate Blanchett and Stateless team talk giving a voice to different political views in new series... Pixar's Onward helmer on the film's unlikely origins and casting Chris Pratt and Tom Holland... A hidden gem: Voices in the Wind depicts a sense of connection in Japan... Berlin 2020 according to producer Flaminio Zadra... Johnny Depp on Minamata: "Films like this don't get made every day"...

Download THR's day 2 Berlin daily here.

►YouTube TV to distribute HBO Max in expanded WarnerMedia carriage deal. This is the first deal that WarnerMedia has announced for the third-party distribution of HBO Max but more are expected in the lead up to the service's May launch. YouTube TV, which already offers WarnerMedia's portfolio of entertainment, sports and news networks to its subscribers, will also now make HBO and Cinemax available to subscribers for the first time. The story.

TV renewals: NBC has renewed drama The Blacklist for an eighth season in 2020-21. The show's cast and crew learned of the pickup at a celebration for the 150th episode, currently in production in New York... So You Think You Can Dance will return for another summer. Fox announced Thursday that the reality competition has been renewed for a seventeenth season...

Elsewhere in TV...

--BattleBots is coming back in a big way. Discovery Channel has greenlighted what it's calling "an unprecedented 50 hours of programming" revolving around the robot-fighting series.

--Emily Kapnek is back in business at ABC. The Suburgatory creator has landed an untitled single-camera comedy pilot at the network and, as part of the overall deal she signed last year with ABC Studios, has also launched the production company Specifica Productions.

--Regina King on the chances of more Watchmen: "It's hard to think we could top season one."

--Trailers: Here's a trailer for season three of HBO's Westworld... And here's the trailer for Hulu's Little Fires Everywhere...

--Robyn Bahr reviews the Netflix docuseries Babies.

 The Weinstein Trial

 Thursday was another long day for the 12 men and women of the Harvey Weinstein jury, who have now spent three days deliberating on the five criminal charges against him. The jurors appeared only once in the court room on Thursday, after 4 p.m., when they used their only note of the day to request a re-read of a piece of testimony and to also let the judge know they were done for the day.

--Several clearly tired jurors laughed when Judge James Burke read the note aloud and conveyed their conclusion of the day's discussions. "Welcome back, jurors," the judge told them when they first appeared. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time." The story.

+Riot Games' proposed $10M settlement withdrawn by new counsel in gender discrimination suit. In December, the video game studio reached the settlement with former female employees alleging gender discrimination and harassment, but new legal counsel is seeking more. More.

►Tyler Perry to receive Oprah Winfrey honor at Hollywood Reporter empowerment event. Perry is set to receive THR's Oprah Winfrey Empowerment Award at its annual Empowerment in Entertainment gala in May. The award honors those who have created opportunities for people of color, women, members of the LGBTQ community and the next generation of the entertainment industry. Winfrey will present Perry with the award, which she first received at last year’s event, where it was renamed in her honor. Details.

►The Black Tapes co-creator inks multi-series deal with Spotify. Paul Bae has two new projects in development for the streaming platform. More.

►Sony opts out of Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, citing coronavirus concerns. The announcement follows last month's news that Sony would be skipping Los Angeles' E3 convention in June for the second consecutive year as well as the upcoming PAX East event in Boston this month, also due to coronavirus concerns. More.

►A Fresh Off the Boat producer recounts the ABC comedy's path to history. Ahead of the ABC comedy's series finale, Melvin Mar reflects on six seasons of the show that helped usher in a new era of inclusion on the small screen in a guest column for THR.

Quote: "For our pilot table read, we had Din Tai Fung — a popular soup dumpling restaurant located 30 miles away — cater with trays of xiaolongbao (pork soup dumplings). Hudson [Yang] was so excited that he wolfed down two heaping plates of dumplings, essentially putting himself into a food coma right before the read. He spent the table read slumped in his chair and dozing off." The column.



^Theater review: West Side Story. Director Ivo van Hove and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker reshape the classic tale of bitter street-gang rivalry for a new generation with this boldly contemporary revival, David Rooney writes. The review.

+Also: One of the anticipated frontrunners for best play honors at this year's Tony Awards, The Inheritance, will not be hanging around until nominations are announced. Lead producers Tom Kirdahy, Sonia Friedman Productions and Hunter Arnold confirmed Thursday that Matthew Lopez's two-part drama will play its final performance March 15 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. More.

►Why this former child actor is running for judge in L.A. County. Defense attorney Troy Slaten — whose career began at age 5 on CBS' Cagney & Lacey — says his past vocation might be "an advantage for some and … a drawback for others." More.

►TV's Top 5 podcast: This week hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg are joined by Hunters showrunner David Weil, take a critical look at the year in TV so far and more. Listen.

Casting roundup: Priyanka Chopra Jonas is set to star in Amazon Studios drama Sheela... Delroy Lindo, who's been a regular on the CBS All Access' The Good Fight since its beginning, will depart the drama after the coming fourth season...

Revolving door: Danai Gurira has signed a two-year overall deal with ABC Studios... Naomi Watts has left CAA for WME... The Banff World Media Festival has named Sandra Dewey, president of business operations and productions at HBO Max, to its board of directors... Peter Levinsohn has been promoted to vice chairman and chief distribution officer of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group... Comcast has named Jennifer Khoury chief communications officer, succeeding D'Arcy Rudnay, who is retiring after 16 years with the company...

Obituary: Jack Gordon, who spent 44 years as a distribution and international executive at MGM, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, his family announced. He was 90...

What else we're reading...

--"'The culture game matters.' Inside the building of Bernie's grassroots celebrity army" [Vanity Fair]

--"Recording Academy & suspended CEO Deborah Dugan begin settlement negotiations" [Billboard]

--"Peter Chernin's unexpectedly successful third act" [The Information]

--"The hidden pro-union politics of Space Jam" [Mel Magazine]

--"ViacomCBS' parts might add up to a greater whole" [Bloomberg]

Today's birthdays: Kelsey Grammer, 65, Ellen Page, 33, Sophie Turner, 24, Harald V of Norway, 83, Jordan Peele, 41.