What's news: Disney to furlough employees, Amazon helps take SXSW online, how late night is adapting, Paradigm calls lawsuit "frivolous," Top Gun: Maverick pushed, Cannes Lion canceled, layoffs at Hollywood's Chinese Theatre, Wolfgang Puck wants a restaurant bailout, how podcasters are working now. Plus: Will Smith gets new shows on Snapchat and Quibi, Nicole Kidman's Amazon drama, and Joanna Gaines' self-filmed Food network special. --Alex Weprin

 Disney Furloughs

►Disney to furlough staffers "whose jobs aren’t necessary at this time." Affected employees will be furloughed as of April 19, and "will receive full healthcare benefits, plus the cost of employee and company premiums will be paid by Disney," the company said. Earlier this week, senior executives announced that they would take salary cuts to offset the impact of the pandemic.

--Numerous divisions are expected to be hit, including Disney’s film empire, which comprises myriad labels as well as marketing and distribution and a host of operational units. Since the company closed its $71.3 billion acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox last year, there have been staff reductions in multiple divisions.

--Workers United Local 50 president Christopher Duarte, who represents food and drink castmembers at Disneyland, tells THR the furloughs may impact non-union hourly employees, which he estimated at around 10,000 workers for the Anaheim park. Disneyland executives are currently in talks with the union on how to proceed since union workers are protected from furloughs, Duarte says. The story.

+Hollywood's iconic Chinese Theatre lays off staff amid virus crisis. The historic movie palace, along with six smaller adjacent auditoriums, have been shut for business since March 16. At that time, workers were furloughed without pay and told every attempt would be made to protect their jobs. Now, the situation has changed, according to a Wednesday memo obtained by THR's Pamela McClintock that was signed by TCL Chinese Theatres principals Eli Samaha, Carol Braidi and Hina Rizvi. More.

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►Amazon teams with SXSW to launch a virtual fest. Amazon Prime Video is teaming with the festival to launch a so-called film festival collection. Filmmakers who had been scheduled to screen films at the fest were notified this morning and will have the option to opt in. Some, who already have distribution with an Amazon rival, will likely choose to forgo the virtual festival.

--Those who opt in will see their films play exclusively on Prime Video in the U.S. for the 10-day virtual fest, which Amazon will likely launch in late April. The online event will be available in front of the Prime Video paywall and free to U.S. audiences. The story.

+Toronto Film Festival weighing onsite, digital options for September event. Festival co-heads Joana Vicente and Cameron Bailey on Thursday said they are moving ahead with planning for the traditional September event, but are considering moving some events online, if necessary, to comply with safety precautions during the coronavirus pandemic. The story.

►Top Gun: Maverick pushed to Christmas amid coronavirus pandemic. The studio also announced a new September date for A Quiet Place Part II, and moved The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run to the end of July, while taking holiday tentpole The Tomorrow War off the calendar for now. The story.

►How I'm Living Now: Clive Davis, music industry icon. With the coronavirus keeping Davis in Palm Springs with three friends, the executive opens up about the hardest adjustments he's had to make, his favorite newscaster and catching up with Taylor Swift's Miss Americana. The interview.

 How Late Night Adapted

►"It's super janky, but it works": How late-night producers have adapted to remote filming. Creative workarounds and different joke styles all factor into the work-from-home versions of broadcast's longstanding franchises, Rick Porter reports: "We are opening different doors than we have done before."

Quote: "It's incredibly difficult, incredibly surprising and weirdly rewarding, if that makes sense," said Gavin Purcell, producer of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "It's difficult because you're used to producing a show like this where there are 100 to 150 people in the building, all working around one big thing, and they’re now suddenly across multiple cities, multiple places." The story.

►Cannes Lions Festival canceled due to coronavirus pandemic. The advertising and marketing festival had previously been postponed until October. "It has become clear to us our customers’ priorities have shifted to the need to protect people, to serve consumers with essential items and to focus on preserving companies, society and economies," organizers said. The story.

►Paradigm claims former agent's $2 million lawsuit is "false, frivolous." After being laid off amid the pandemic, former senior rep Debbee Klein has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit. "We have seen Ms. Klein's complaint and it is littered with false, frivolous and scurrilous allegations, which, fortunately for her, are protected by the First Amendment, otherwise she would be facing a defamation suit," outside counsel Dale Kinsella said Thursday in a statement. "Both Paradigm and Mr. Gores expect to be 100 percent vindicated, and our intention is to respond further in court filings." The story.

►AMC Entertainment gets ratings downgrade on COVID-19 impact. S&P Global expects the mega-exhibitor could have a "liquidity shortfall" within six months without reducing its borrowings or getting a waiver from its lenders. More.



^"Time is of the essence": Wolfgang Puck on why he’s lobbying Trump for a restaurant industry bailout. Hollywood’s favorite chef crusades for insurers to pay up on COVID-19 business interruption claims. He also wants a return of the meal expenses deduction, Gary Baum reports: "It’ll help us a lot." The story.

►Podcasters adapt to makeshift studios, shifting listening behavior amid coronavirus. As in-home listening rises, many hosts have kept up regular production on lower-tech set-ups, Natalie Jarvey reports: "We thrive in moments of experimentation and necessity." The story.

+Armchair Expert's Dax Shepard, Monica Padman on podcasting amid a pandemic. The cohosts, who are quarantined together at Shepard and wife Kristen Bell's Los Angeles home, talk about how they're handling coronavirus panic while video chatting guests in the attic. More.

In other coronavirus-related news...

--Producer Mark Kassen's multi-media company, Like Minded Media Launches, has launched the COVID Help Network, an online platform that is meant to connect medical facilities with companies looking to adapt their current operations to assist with the making of emergency medical supplies.

--How the Academy of Country Music Awards switched to a unifying evening amid a pandemic.

--The Democratic National Committee is delaying its presidential nominating convention until the week of Aug. 17 after prospective nominee Joe Biden said he didn't think it would be possible to hold a normal convention in mid-July because of the coronavirus pandemic.

--Dem Congressman says he went on Tucker Carlson's show to reach Trump: "It's too important not to try."

--James Patterson starts fund for indie booksellers hurt by coronavirus closures.

--In the midst of theater shutdowns, social distancing and home isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic, a series of familiar musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber are set to appear online each week for free viewing.

--Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, he revealed on Wednesday night in a video posted on Twitter... Former ESPN president and current DAZN chairman John Skipper tested positive as well.

--Emma Chamberlain reveals her top tips for "quarantine fashion."

Obituaries: William Wolf, a longtime film and theater critic and former Drama Desk president, has died of complications related to the novel coronavirus. He was 94... Julie Bennett, who provided the voice of love interest Cindy Bear on Yogi Bear cartoons for nearly three decades, has died. She was 88... Jazz guitarist John "Bucky" Pizzarelli, who was inducted to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, has died. He was 94...

 Stars Still Striking Deals

Some big names in Hollywood are still striking deals for new programming...

+Will Smith launches a stay-at-home Snapchat series. Will From Home, which dropped on Snapchat on Friday morning, will feature the actor and musician hanging out in his garage during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Over 12 episodes, Smith will talk to his family, special guests like Tyra Banks and everyday people who are also practicing social distancing by staying at home. The story.

+Will Smith will also host and produce Quibi stand-up series. Smith will host and executive produce a stand-up comedy series called This Joka for the short-form streaming service. The 16-episode show comes from Smith's Westbrook Studios and Topgolf Entertainment Group. The latter's Las Vegas outlet will serve as one of the locations for the series. The story.

+Nicole Kidman to star in, produce Amazon drama. The streamer outbid multiple other outlets for the rights to develop author Janelle Brown's upcoming novel Pretty Things. Kidman, who has a first-look deal at Amazon, is attached to star and executive produce via her Blossom Films. Brown will adapt her book and also serve as an exec producer. with Emmy-winning director Reed Morano — who has an overall deal at Amazon — and Kidman's Blossom Films partner Per Saari also executive produce. The story.

+Joanna Gaines is producing a self-filmed cooking special for Food Network. While the TV personality and lifestyle guru has been staying in her Waco, Texas, home to help combat the spread of COVID-19, she’s also been filming time spent in her kitchen — mostly shot by her children. The former Fixer Upper star, whose Magnolia network with husband Chip Gaines arrives this fall, will also use the hourlong special (set to air 12 p.m. ET, April 5) to preview elements of her own cooking show. The story.

 Six "exceptional television programs that are impact society through thoughtful, powerful and innovative storytelling" are this year's Television Academy Honors recipients, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced Thursday. The honorees are Showtime's 16 Shots, HBO's At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal, Netflix's Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, OWN's Queen Sugar, Netflix's Unbelievable and HBO's Watchmen. The story.

 Months after being put on hold, Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi series is finding a new path. The Star Wars series starring Ewan McGregor has enlisted writer Joby Harold to chart the course. Harold is known for executive producing John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, as well as producing King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Trumbo. He also co-wrote Zack Snyder's upcoming Netflix zombie movie, Army of the Dead. More.

►TV ratings: The Masked Singer scored its best ratings since a post-Super Bowl episode two months ago, leading Wednesday's primetime in both adults 18-49 and total viewers. CBS' Survivor also continued its strong recent performance as the two unscripted shows topped a night where NBC aired reruns of its Chicago dramas. The numbers.

►TV review: Daniel Fienberg reviews the CBS sitcom Broke.

►TV's Top 5 podcast: During this week's podcast, hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg are joined by Home Before Dark showrunner Dana Fox, preview what to watch in April and take a look at Quibi's launch with THR digital editor Natalie Jarvey. More.

In other news...

--Authorities in Florida have a hunch the wildly popular Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness will inflame some sour relationships between those featured in show, which in turn leads to some tips on a cold case.

--Netflix has released a first look at Ryan Murphy's debut series for the streamer, Hollywood — a show he has called a "love letter to the Golden Age of Tinseltown."

--Disney+ launched in India with "virtual red carpet premiere" amid the coronavirus lockdown.

--MGM’s recently hired chairman, Michael De Luca, has brought in a new crop of executives to beef up the studio’s film group. Elishia Holmes has been tapped to serve as executive vp at MGM while Johnny Pariseau will act as senior vp. The two are already working in their new roles.

--CAA has signed Paul Mescal, star of Hulu's upcoming Normal People.

--Emmy-winner Leslie Jordan has joined the cast of Fox comedy Call Me Kat.

--Randall Park talks Top Chef guest judge spot and cooking in quarantine.

--Why the time is right for Batman: The Animated Series.

What else we're reading...

--"In 30 Rock’s coronavirus episode, Liz Lemon wouldn’t flee to GE’s secret island" [Vulture]

--"Why working actors are anxious about paying their next bills too" [LA Times]

--"HBO is making over 500 hours of content totally free to watch" [Decider]

--"Local TV sees spike in viewers, drop in ads in coronavirus crisis" [WSJ]

--"Amazon pushes into making video games, not just streaming their play" [NY Times]

Today's birthdays: Alec Baldwin, 62, David Hyde Pierce, 61, Eddie Murphy, 59, Amanda Bynes, 34, Wayne Newton, 78.