What's news: Disney and Cinemark execs forgo salaries in cost-control efforts, Academy Museum on track to open in December despite the pandemic, Fox Corp. warns of "material" impact despite strong news ratings, Esports are rising as pro leagues are dark, Sony delays much of its film slate. Plus: Tiger King backlash, HBO Max tops Peacock in consumer interest, and how a Walking Dead legal fight could redefine Hollywood dealmaking. --Alex Weprin

 Corporate Cost-Cutting

►Disney execs forgo pay amid virus crisis. The Walt Disney Co. said on Monday that executive chairman Robert Iger will forgo his entire salary and recently named CEO Bob Chapek will take a 50 percent salary cut amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to an email from Chapek sent to employees obtained by THR. Other executives in the Walt Disney Co. will also take salary cuts, according to the email. The story.

+Cinemark CEO forgoes full salary, institutes deep employee pay cuts. Like CEO Mark Zoradi, other top executives working for the country's third-largest theater circuit are voluntarily taking steep pay cuts while maintaining full workloads in order to support the company in this time of crisis, Zoradi wrote in an email to staff. Among the rank and file, employees will work reduced hours and make no more than 50 percent of their salary. At the same time, they will maintain full benefits. More.

+Lionsgate film group lays off more than a dozen staffers. According to a source familiar with the matter, some 15 to 20 employees across the company were given pink slips as part of an ongoing restructuring of the film group's marketing and distribution divisions. The source added that the layoffs had been in the works for months, and were not impacted by the shutdowns caused by the growing coronavirus pandemic. No other layoffs are currently planned at the studio, which concludes its fiscal year on March 31. More.

►Academy Museum construction halted, but director says opening date on track for December. "I think we're in a great position to open," museum director Bill Kramer tells THR's Scott Feinberg. "The building is done. Our exhibitions are locked in. We're fine-tuning the exhibitions' text and labels. So if this [pandemic] was going to happen, this is a moment where it is not knocking us off our schedule, and we're grateful for that." The story.

►Fox Corp. says virus impact could be "material" as it eyes new debt. The company on Tuesday became the latest media giant to say that the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could be serious and said it is looking to amend a credit agreement. But the owner of Fox News also highlighted "strong" news ratings.

--"The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) and measures to prevent its spread are affecting the macroeconomic environment, as well as the business of Fox Corporation, in a number of ways," it said. "For example, while the company’s national news ratings remain strong, sports events for which the company has broadcast rights have been canceled or postponed and the production of certain entertainment content the company acquires has been suspended." The story.

►Sony delays... almost everything.  Sony has rearranged its entire upcoming slate, including Spider-Man spinoff Morbius, the new Ghostbusters movie, the Tom Hanks-starring Greyhound and the Tom Holland-starring Uncharted. The schedule changes, announced late Monday, underscore the uncertainty facing Hollywood amid the coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented theater closures.

--Morbius, which was set to hit theaters on July 31, is now set to open on March 19, 2021. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is moving off of a July 10, 2020 release to March 5, 2021, which was previously occupied by the studio's splashy video game adaptation Uncharted. The story.

►How I'm Living Now: Noah Hawley, Fargo showrunner. With the novel coronavirus keeping Hawley at home in Austin, he opens up about shutting down production on Fargo, staying off Twitter and teaching his kids how to get back to the basics. The interview.

 Esports Rise As Pro Leagues Go Dark

►Esports gain prominence as major leagues go dark. With the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL all currently inactive, virtual sports tournaments now stand alone in a vacant market, and organizations are taking advantage as dealmaking heats up and broadcast networks welcome live competitive content, Patrick Shanley reports.

Quote: "[iRacing for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Series is] filling the void for NASCAR fans," says Brad Zager, executive producer, head of productions & operations at Fox Sports. In the process, it may also be opening the door for more esports coverage on the network. "We're always looking for compelling and engaging content and sometimes it takes something crazy and unfortunate to happen for ideas like this to come to the surface for broadcast," Zager says. The story.

+Fresh data: Comcast released some data from the past few weeks, and found that in the gaming space "gaming downloads are up 50 percent generally and 80% during new releases." In addition, streaming and web video consumption is up 38 percent. Here are the numbers.

►ABC nixes Bachelor Summer Games amid coronavirus pandemic. The summer spinoff, boasting an international cast, would have aired throughout the Tokyo Games, which — in an unprecedented move — have since been postponed until July 23 of 2021. Development on the ABC and Warner Bros. series has been halted; it's unclear if the reality dating show could return in 2021. The story.

+My 600-Lb. Life keeps up on-location work even after network call to shut down. The medical drama nonfiction program and its spinoff Where Are They Now? was on location in at least two states — Louisiana and Mississippi — on March 28 and 29, THR has learned from multiple sources and documents obtained. More.

►New Directors Guild deal tradeoffs, residuals impact revealed. Newly reported details of the pact, which is expected to be ratified, also include creative rights and safety provisions, Jonathan Handel reports. Here's what's in the deal.

+SAG-AFTRA to give dues relief for affected members amid virus crisis. Under the program, members experiencing financial hardship resulting from work stoppages related to COVID-19 will be granted a due date extension and an installment plan for those payments. No late fees will be assessed and there will be no adverse impact on members’ work eligibility during this time. The story.

►IAB moves 2020 NewFronts to June. Te Interactive Advertising Bureau says the date shift will "give publishers time to be creative, fine tune their messages and do their best work." The NewFronts were originally scheduled to run from April 27 to May 6. But after the novel coronavirus outbreak hit the United States, the IAB decided to turn it into a virtual event with partners including YouTube and Twitter agreeing to live stream their presentations. More.

►CBS This Morning team anchors from home "out of an abundance of caution." The network will continue to evaluate the evolving situation, but says the remote broadcast is the plan for now. While King admitted that the separation was taking some getting used to, she added, "I get it because if something happens to one of us then we all go down." More.

►DC to release digitally during print hiatus. The comics publisher will continue to put out new material via ComiXology as the coronavirus pandemic shutters comic shops around the country. More.

In other coronavirus-related news...

--Twitter has taken action against Fox News host Laura Ingraham, removing a tweet she published on March 20 for violating the platform's policies against spreading misleading coronavirus information.

--The National Association of Theater Owners and the Pioneers Assistance Fund have created a $2.4 million emergency grant program for cinema employees impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

--The Canadian government's bailout of a virtually idle film and TV production sector is gathering pace. Ottawa's latest cash drop for content producers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis will see 75 percent of the wages paid by entertainment companies subsidized so they can stay in business. 

--Corona could hardly be more timely as director Mostafa Keshvari touts his trapped-in-elevator drama as the first COVID-19 movie of the coronavirus era.

--Macy's says it will stop paying tens of thousands of employees who were thrown out of work when the chain closed its stores in response to collapsing sales during the pandemic.

--Deepak Chopra's global meditation livestream event Sunday drew too many people into a cluster that it crashed the website, forcing a last-minute reschedule.

 HBO Max Tops Peacock In Consumer Interest

►HBO Max tops Peacock in viewer interest ahead of streaming launches. About 16 percent of U.S. adults say they’d be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to buy HBO Max when it debuts in May, more than those who say they're likely to buy Peacock (10 percent) or Quibi (10 percent), a new Hollywood Reporter/Morning Consult poll finds.

--For HBO Max and Peacock, the group most likely to express interest in buying the services was the age 30-44 demographic. For Quibi, more respondents in the 18-29 age group say they are "very" or "somewhat" likely to buy the service than older age groups. The numbers.

 How The Walking Dead legal fights could redefine dealmaking. Two court decisions involving the zombie series could shape how creators are paid in a future where every studio has its own streamer, Eriq Gardner writes.

Quote: "Because AMC both produces the series (through its studio) and distributes it (via its cable network), the core issue is license fees. Is a formal transaction required between two sister companies, or does AMC get to "impute" an amount? If the latter, must the fee be on fair-market terms? The answers go to how much The Walking Dead is booking in revenue, which changes the pool for profit participants. The creatives say if a fair market fee was used, it would have resulted in hundreds of millions more for profit participants. AMC disputes that." The story.

►Tiger King: Carole Baskin speaks out against Netflix documentary. The founder and CEO of Florida-based non-profit animal sanctuary Big Cat Rescue, Baskin is heavily featured in Tiger King, which centers on Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka "Joe Exotic." The series chronicles Joe Exotic's eventual arrest and conviction on multiple charges of animal abuse as well as a murder-for-hire plot to kill Baskin. More.

+Netflix's Tiger King prompts sheriff to seek new leads in 1997 cold case. The 1997 disappearance of Jack Donald "Don" Lewis is a part of the series which revolves around the bizarre tale of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka "Joe Exotic," a former tiger zoo owner who is currently in prison for a murder-for-hire plot. More.

►Michael Bay inks first-look deal with Sony Pictures. Bay and his Bay Films banner have signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures for both film and television. Bay made his feature directorial debut, Bad Boys, with the studio, where he is now set to direct his next feature action feature, Black Five. Based on his original idea, plot details are being kept under wraps about the thriller but sources indicate that it centers on an elite military team. Ehren Kruger is writing the screenplay. The story.

►Anne Hathaway to star in French Children Don't Throw Food adaptation. Based on the autobiography from Pamela Druckerman, the project is still in development and would be financed by StudioCanal, with Blueprint Picture set to produce. More.

►Locke & Key renewed. Netflix on Monday handed out a second-season renewal to the long-gestating drama series based on the comics by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. The renewal caps a wild, decade-long path to the screen for the beloved IDW comic. Multiple film and TV incarnations had been in the works over the years, with the Netflix take originally set up at Hulu. More.

+V-Wars and October Faction canceled. Two of Netflix's three IDW-produced drama series are no longer moving forward. Fresh off of Locke & Key's renewal, the streamer has opted to cancel its two remaining comic-inspired shows from the publisher as both V-Wars and October Faction will not move forward. V-Wars and October Faction both ran for one season each after launching Dec. 5 and Jan. 23, respectively. More.

►Joe Biden launches podcast amid presidential campaign. The former vice president on Sunday launched Here's the Deal with Joe Biden. The description of the podcast says that the show "will feature in-depth conversations about pressing issues with some of the nation's top experts." In the first episode, Biden is joined by Ron Klain, former White House Ebola response coordinator, to discuss President Donald Trump's handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The story.

►TV ratings: Fox got solid returns from its iHeart Living Room Concert for America special on Sunday. The hourlong fundraiser topped the second hour of American Idol head-to-head and delivered Fox's largest audience of the season in the 9 p.m. slot. Idol, meanwhile, came down slightly week to week, while CBS' 60 Minutes drew more than 10 million viewers for the third consecutive week. The numbers.

►Gaming review: Resident Evil 3 remake. Capcom's latest reimagining of an entry from the classic survival horror franchise doesn't quite reach the heights of last year's Resident Evil 2, but it's undoubtedly a worthy addition to the catalogue and another standout release from the studio, writes Michael Koczwara. The review.

In other news...

--Love Is Blind’s Giannina Milady Gibelli has signed with CAA.

--Zack Snyder shares secrets from Batman v Superman and his planned five-movie arc.

--Atari to bring back the classic franchise PONG in a new role-playing adventure.

--Joaquin Phoenix appears on new billboards featuring pig vigils.

--Rare photographs from the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari are going to auction.

What else we're reading...

--"ESPN moving up highly anticipated Michael Jordan documentary in wake of coronavirus" [NY Post]

--"Jeffrey Epstein’s Hollywood pipeline ran straight to Harvey Weinstein" [The Daily Beast]

--"CNN Chief Jeff Zucker defends not cutting away from Trump’s coronavirus pressers" [The Daily Beast]

--"Trump is self-isolating at his safe space: Fox News" [CNN Business]

Today's birthdays: Angus Young, 65, Ewan McGregor, 49, Al Gore, 72, Rhea Perlman, 72, Jessica Szohr, 35.