What's news: What will it take to get Hollywood back to work? The WGA suffers a blow in its lawsuit against the talent agencies, what will film festivals look like in a world with COVID-19? Trolls World Tour scores $100 million on VOD, CNN's virus coverage pushes personal stories over partisan debate, more features go to streaming and on-demand. Plus: How Mary Neely became a viral quarantine star with musical theater videos. --Alex Weprin

 Getting Hollywood Back to Work

►As Hollywood maps out its return, new on-set protocols take center stage. Studios and guilds are debating a phased approach that includes pretesting for antibodies, quarantining sets and airline-style packaged meals, Bryn Elise Sandberg and Etan Vlessing report: "The days of doing an eight-episode show and traveling to five countries are done."

Quote: “There are a lot of discussions surrounding what re-entry should look like,” says California film commissioner Colleen Bell, who has been actively involved in the conversations — which have picked up pace in recent weeks. She adds that the specifics will depend heavily on the type of production, and that there’s not necessarily a one-size-fits-all approach. “There will be new production procedures and protocols that are rooted in safeguarding health, but what exactly they’ll end up being will look different for, say, a small production company compared to a large studio.” The story.

+Actors' Equity enlists former OSHA chief to help reboot live stage safely. Epidemiologist and policy veteran Dr. David Michaels will consult for the union, effective immediately, to help develop health and safety standards for theater work in the era of COVID-19. The engagement of Michaels comes about a week after Equity issued a statement that it is “unclear under the current circumstances” how production can resume and asked members to call their regional Equity office if they are offered work. More.

+Unions ask Congress to restore business expense deductions for Hollywood workers. The deduction was effectively eliminated in the 2017 tax revision championed by Republicans and President Donald Trump. That was a change that hit unionized actors, crew, directors and writers especially hard, because entertainment is one of the few industries in which workers are categorized as employees yet have potentially large unreimbursed business expenses: agent and manager commissions, attorney fees, training classes, equipment and more can add up to as much as an estimated 30 percent of a worker’s income. More.

Writers Guild suffers big loss as court dismisses almost all its claims against agencies. The hardest hitting claims – for federal price fixing and racketeering – were dismissed with prejudice, meaning that the guild cannot refile them. Many of the dismissals were based on lack of standing, i.e., that the proper party for the claims are individual members, not the guild. But Judge Andre Birotte flatly disagreed with the WGA’s contention that packaging fees, an open and common agency practice, amount to bribes, kickbacks or racketeering activity.

--Dueling statements: The talent agencies declared the ruling a "resounding victory" and said that "David Young, David Goodman and this WGA leadership have led thousands of writers over a cliff..." WGA West chief David Goodman said “We obviously would have preferred a complete victory... But the court’s decision assures that the Guild’s core claims, namely that packaging is a breach of fiduciary duty and that agencies have committed antitrust violations by fixing the price of those packages, will be explored through discovery, and ultimately in court."  The story.

 The COVID-Era Film Festival

►Half-full screenings, red carpet masks, Zoom Q&As: Welcome to the COVID-era film fest. Normally the fall film festival season is a starry, sold-out, globe-trotting affair that sets a course for the Oscars. But this year, Hollywood is preparing for a smaller, socially distanced series of events that will function more to prove that the wounded film industry is still standing during the pandemic than to anoint awards contenders.

Quote: “We’re all rooting for this to happen and to go back to whatever the new normal is,” says one studio source. “But you start planning for the fall and an hour later the CDC makes it feel like that’s not going to be a viable option.” The story.

+YouTube, Tribeca Enterprises plan international online film festival. The 10-day event, kicking off May 29, will feature films from this year's online version of the Tribeca fest, as well as highlights from other international festivals, including Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Berlin and the animation festival in Annecy. The story.

►"It's good TV": CNN's virus coverage pushes personal stories over partisan debate. While all three cable news channels have flooded the airwaves with medical experts and government officials from morning to night, CNN viewers have been treated to on-air testimonials from three anchors who have tested positive for the virus.

--While some have questioned the ethics of having news anchors speak so personally about their health and family life, not to mention Chris Cuomo's chummy interviews with his governor brother, the network has undeniably offered a mix of content that has been unmatched in the medium. In turn, CNN has received a larger ratings boost than its rivals. Jeremy Barr has the story.

In business news...

+Endeavor's credit rating downgraded by Moody's. The financial services company on Monday revised its credit facility ratings on Endeavor — the parent company of talent agency WME, modeling agency IMG, Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Bull Riders — from stable to negative. Moody's noted that the novel coronavirus pandemic "has limited the ability to hold live events and complete media production as anticipated." More.

+Saudi Arabia buys $500 million stake in Live Nation. The country's sovereign wealth fund disclosed the 5.7 percent stake in the Ticketmaster owner on Monday, begging the question, what other Hollywood assets--public or private--could the Kingdom be interested in? More.

+Scopely acquires Scrabble GO studio PierPlay. Scopely has been on an acquisition spree of late, buying the FoxNext game studios from Disney earlier this year, and DIGIT Game Studios last year. The story.

+SiriusXM adds self-pay subs, says car sales and advertising "fell swiftly" amid pandemic. The firm, led by CEO Jim Meyer, lost 143,000 overall satellite radio subs in the first quarter due to fewer paid promotional users and withdraws its guidance due to the virus crisis. More.

+Also: SiriusXM is planning more formal talks with Howard Stern over the coming months about a potential contract renewal for his The Howard Stern Show as the current five-year deal for it expires at the end of this year. "I want Howard Stern to be on SiriusXM for as long as Howard wants to work." The story.



►Alamo Drafthouse won't reopen Texas theaters this weekend. Texas is allowing some businesses, including theaters, to open at the end of the month, with limits on the number of patrons. "Opening safely is a very complex project that involves countless new procedures and equipment, all of which require extensive training. This is something we cannot and will not do casually or quickly. We will not be opening this weekend," an Alamo spokesperson said in a statement. "But know this, when we do open, we will be providing the safest possible experience for both our staff and our guests and we can’t wait to see you all again!” The story.

►How Mary Neely became a viral quarantine star with musical theater videos. The actress, writer, and director takes THR behind the scenes of her self-shot tributes, which have generated millions of views amid the pandemic. "I've done a lot of work in like the past year to be, like, 'I love myself,' all these things," she said. "And so I thought, who needs a romantic partner? What if I just pretend like I'm in love with myself and I'm playing both roles?" The interview.

►How I'm Living Now: Wanda Sykes, comedian. Sykes is waiting out the pandemic from her home in Pennsylvania, which she shares with her wife, Alex, their 11-year-old twins and an au pair. From the basement, the Emmy-winning comedian has kept busy writing her forthcoming Netflix series, The Upshaws, and pitching new ones. Here, she opens up about her new normal, which includes "weird" Zoom pitches, a necessary cocktail and watching the news in secret. The interview.

In other coronavirus-related news...

--The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers have repaid a loan of roughly $4.6 million from coronavirus business relief funds after learning the program had been depleted.

--RuPaul's DragCon pivots to digital YouTube event following coronavirus cancellation.

--Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts and Rob Lowe are among the stars set to participate in the upcoming 24-hour global live-stream event, The Call to Unite.

--Comcast-owned European pay TV giant Sky's U.K. unit has moved up some shows and delayed others amid the coronavirus pandemic, but "in terms of 2020, it is pretty set" with "a few changes," Zai Bennett, managing director content at Sky U.K., said on Monday.

--The U.K.'s COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund, which recently saw its coffers run dry after just two weeks of applications, has received a major boost from the British Academy.

--Original castmembers from the hit '90s primetime soap Melrose Place are reuniting for Tuesday's Stars In the House YouTube series benefitting The Actors Fund.

--Kim Kardashian West, Ashley Graham, amfAR unite for CR Runway event to aid virus relief efforts.

 Big VOD Returns For 'Trolls World Tour'

►Trolls 2's VOD revenue: Universal's Trolls World Tour, which went straight to VOD, has generated nearly $100 million in rental fees from almost 5 million rentals in the three weeks it has been out, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal claims that Universal netted about $77 million from the release. The big question for Universal and the other studios: Is Trolls 2 a fluke? Or could it be a harbinger of changing consumer habits?

With theaters closed, it certainly seems like the hot new feature films are all on digital and VOD...

+Judd Apatow's King of Staten Island to skip cinemas, going straight to on-demand. The Universal comedy was slated to open in cinemas June 19. It will now be made available via on-demand June 12. The King of Staten Island stars Pete Davidson in his first lead feature role alongside Marisa Tomei and Steve Buscemi. The semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy incorporates elements from Davidson's own life. The story.

+HBO Max picks up Seth Rogen's An American Pickle from Sony. Sony didn't have the movie scheduled but was eyeing a release later this year. That, however, was before the coronavirus crisis upended the economics and release strategies of studios. Many studios have pushed back their big-budget tentpole releases into the late summer and fall seasons, as well as next year, with smaller movies now facing a pile on. Sony last month said it remains committed to theatrical exhibition. The story.

+Top-secret Michelle Obama doc to drop on Netflix May 6. Becoming, like reigning best documentary feature Oscar winner American Factory, originated from Higher Ground, the production company run by former President Barack Obama and the former First Lady, which has an exclusive pact with Netflix. The doc shares the name of the former First Lady's bestselling 2018 memoir, and recounts some of the same history of her life. But it also picks up where that story left off by following her on a 34-city tour that she undertook while promoting her book. The story.

There's still new TV to be found...



+America's Got Talent sets debut date with production in limbo. The 15th season of America's Got Talent will debut at 8 p.m. May 26. It will be paired on Tuesday nights with World of Dance, which premieres at 10 p.m. May 26. The latter finished filming its fourth season before the coronavirus pandemic shut down most TV production in mid-March. America's Got Talent, however, had only filmed part of its season before production stopped. Producers are figuring out next steps. More.

+The Daily Show expands to 45 minutes. The expansion is the first in the show's 24-year history. The change comes as the show has found an increased audience and a number of high-profile bookings during the coronavirus pandemic, when it has rebranded as The Daily Social Distancing Show. More.

+On the other hand: Turn Up Charlie's set at Netflix has ended. The streamer has opted to cancel the scripted comedy starring and created by Idris Elba after a single season. The series debuted in March 2019 to middling reviews (it currently has a 53 percent score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes). More.

+In development: HBO is developing a potential TV series based on the Hellraiser movies. The project comes from writers Mark Verheiden and Michael Dougherty, and David Gordon Green (Halloween) is attached to direct several initial episodes. More... Discworld, the wildly colorful fantasy universe created by the late British author Terry Pratchett across more than 40 novels, looks set to get a fresh TV revival, with with Endeavor Content and Brit banner Motive Pictures as partners. More...

 Is the Star Trek-themed comic book, Oh, the Places You'll Boldly Go!, a market substitute for Dr. Seuss' famous 1990 work? On Monday, in a closely-followed copyright case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard dueling arguments on this question. The story.

+Banks hit with suit over Paycheck Protection Program loan fees. The country's largest banks are being sued for allegedly failing to pay as much as $3.8 billion in required fees in connection with the Small Business Administration's program. More.

►TV review: Inkoo Kang reviews Hulu's Normal People. The review.

►TV ratings: American Idol's first remote episode put up season-low ratings on Sunday, but it still topped the broadcast 18-49 rankings in primetime. CBS' God Friended Me ended with numbers on par with its season average. The numbers.

►Webby Award nominees: THR scores a nom in the general website category, with Trevor Noah, Billie Eilish, Leonardo DiCaprio and Idris Elba among contenders for the awards recognizing the best of the internet. The full list of nominees.

In other news...

--Steven Yeun has inked a first-look TV deal with Amazon Studios. Under the pact, the financial terms of which were not immediately available, Yeun will create television series for the retail giant/streamer.

--The Trump campaign is hailing "supporters" Diamond and Silk after their reported ouster from Fox Nation.

--Fox News host Sean Hannity will publish his first book in 10 years. Live Free or Die will be published by ViacomCBS' Simon & Schuster business.

--Star Wars star Daisy Ridley is in talks to take a lead role in the crime thriller The Ice Beneath Her for STX Entertainment.

--Los Angeles-based management and production company The Cartel has unveiled a multi-movie development and production deal with the management company Untitled Entertainment.

--CMT Artists of the Year event shifts from fall to summer, and shifts its focus to honor coronavirus pandemic heroes.

--The Russo Bros. reveal new Avengers secrets... Michael Madsen gives details about Quentin Tarantino's abandoned Vega Brothers film.

What else we're reading...

--"Jeffrey Katzenberg wakes up at 2:30 A.M. right now" [WSJ]

--"Trump looks to Hope Hicks as coronavirus crisis spills over" [Politico]

--"In Kayleigh McEnany, Trump taps a press fighter for the coronavirus era" [NY Times]

Today's birthdays: Jay Leno, 70, Elena Kagan, 60, Penelope Cruz, 46, Jessica Alba, 39, Todd Shaw aka Too Short, 54.