What's news: Hollywood giants prepare for further cost-cutting, SAG-AFTRA and agencies persuade studios to pay idled actors, the IAB moves forward with the NewFronts, why theatrical windows could grow stronger post-pandemic, Ridley Scott and The Roots ink first-look TV deals, Vampire Chronicles land at AMC. Plus: Patriot Act and Top Gear ready to resume production, and networks plan virtual fans and crowd noise when sports return. --Alex Weprin

 Hollywood Giants Prepare For Further Cost-Cutting

►Hollywood giants plan more cost-cutting, brace for pandemic recession. "There has been a very thoughtful process on behalf of management teams about treating employees with as much respect as possible in the current times," Wolfe Research analyst John Janedis tells THR's Georg Szalai. "Temporary furloughs and salary reductions across a large portion of the employee base are a very effective way to reduce the cost base in the short term, otherwise, layoffs would need to be dramatic." The story.

In other business news...

+Parasite distributor Neon signs revolving credit facility. Neon said it will use the capital from MUFG Bank to continue building out its film business and to expand its production slate. The company in April promoted Elissa Federoff and Christina Zisa to president of distribution and president of publicity, respectively. More.

+Live Nation gets credit rating downgrade at S&P Global. The research firm said postponed and canceled concerts due to the novel coronavirus risk "dramatic revenue declines" of between 65 percent and 80 percent. More.

+AT&T COO John Stankey talks up HBO Max launch, customer demand. The next AT&T boss told an investors conference about using the service to sell consumers on buying more premium TV, wireless and internet products. More.

►SAG-AFTRA, agencies persuade some studios to pay actors idled under contract during pandemic. Who's paying and who's not? While Netflix decided to compensate its actors their full guarantees on some shows, others are said to be weighing their path forward, Jonathan Handel reports.

Quote: “SAG-AFTRA is a mashup of Dialing for Dollars and Let’s Make a Deal,” said the lawyer. “They’re calling companies and respectfully acknowledging that the force majeure language doesn’t work.” Added retired management attorney Howard Fabrick, “We used to get into arguments over what constituted force majeure.” The story.

+Former L.A. County director of public health to advise SAG-AFTRA on COVID-19. "Developing guidelines to safeguard people’s health as they work is a critical element of reopening this important industry," said Jonathan Fielding. More.

►Just in: IAB moves forward with virtual NewFronts. The group has scheduled a five-day digital showcase in June featuring participation from companies including YouTube, Facebook, Snap, Hulu and Roku. More.

►NAB CEO touts TV broadcasters as a local lifeline amid pandemic. “We know this is likely the most challenging time local stations have ever encountered,” Gordon Smith said in his opening remarks. “This pandemic has crippled our nation’s economy and our industry has not been spared. Broadcasters are confronting plummeting advertising sales and enormous operational challenges. And yet, stations are doing what they do best: delivering the trusted and lifesaving information your communities need.” The story.

►Why global theatrical windows may emerge stronger after COVID-19. Government pressure in China, and commercial pressure elsewhere, could lead to stricter norms, Scott Roxborough and Patrick Brzeski report: "A good chunk of that box office revenue wouldn't be replaced." The story.

 Deals Keep Coming

Apple has signed Ridley Scott and his Scott Free Productions to an overall deal. Following a competitive dealmaking process with other outlets bidding, the prolific producer has inked a first-look TV deal with the tech giant, for whom he once directed its famed "1984" commercial that introduced the company's first Macintosh computer. The story.

+The Roots founders ink Universal TV first-look deal. Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Tarik "Black Thought" Trotter will create and develop scripted and unscripted series and specials for multiple platforms through their Two One Five Entertainment banner. More.

+Mark Duplass to direct adaptation of A Horse Walks Into a Bar. Village Roadshow is behind the screen version of David Grossman's 2017 Man Booker International Prize winner. More.

+Black Christmas filmmaker Sophia Takal to direct Where I End. The project follows a husband that returns from the dead, suspecting his loving wife may have been involved in his death. He must uncover the truth before it’s too late. More.

►Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles lands at AMC. AMC will develop projects based on the books via its AMC Studios banner. Rolin Jones, who recently signed an overall deal with the cabler, will be involved in developing projects from the Rice catalog for TV. The author and her son, Christopher Rice, will be executive producers of all TV and film projects that result from the deal. The story.

Other TV pickups and renewals...

+Great Expectations limited series set at FX. The team behind FX and the BBC's A Christmas Carol, including writer and exec producer Steven Knight, will also produce this Dickens adaptation. More.

+A Little Late With Lilly Singh renewed at NBC. The pickup comes as the 1:35 a.m. show finishes airing its first season, all of which was filmed in the fourth quarter of 2019. Singh, a YouTuber with some 36 million followers across social media channels, is currently the only woman hosting a late night show on the broadcast networks. More.

+And a pair of cancelations: USA has canceled the scripted series The Purge and Treadstone amid a larger shift in strategy at the NBCUniversal-owned cable network. More.

 'Patriot Act,' 'Top Gear' Set To Resume Production

TV shows around the globe prepare to resume production...

+Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act returns with virtual episodes. Patriot Act is returning on Sunday, May 17, with an all new virtual episode centered on a timely topic: “What Happens If You Can't Pay Rent?” Minhaj will film the episode, along with six others, from his home in front of a green screen, Bryn Elise Sandberg reports. The show's signature graphics will be produced remotely. The story.

+BBC flagship shows EastEnders, Top Gear to start production again in June. Filming has effectively been on hold on all British TV since lockdown in the U.K. began in late March amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, but BBC director of content Charlotte Moore has now set out a timeframe for the public broadcaster's long-running soap opera and motoring series to begin again. The return to work will include such precautions as strictly limited crews and others to adhere to all necessary government guidelines. More.

►How I'm Living Now: Ricky Gervais, comedian. Ricky Gervais should be on a world tour, in support of his latest stand-up set, SuperNature; instead, the comedian is at home in London — with at least a six-month supply of wine — crafting the third season of After Life, his Netflix series about humanity in which he writes, produces, directs and stars. He took a break to talk about the path back for stand-up, how COVID-19 will factor into his work, and, yes, the pitfalls of cutting his own hair. The story.

►How will TV networks adapt to broadcasting live sports without fans? They may bring them back virtually. Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck told Andy Cohen on his radio show yesterday that it "is pretty much a done deal." "Fox and these networks will have to put crowd noise under us to make it as normal a viewing experience at home," he said, adding that "they are looking at ways to put virtual fans in the stands, so when you see a wide shot it looks jam-packed."

 HBO Max enters the Emmys fray with Anna Kendrick's Love Life set for comedy categories. There was some question about whether HBO Max would enter the show — and whether the Television Academy would approve the show — as a comedy series or a limited series, Scott Feinberg reports.

►The first wave of Walt Disney World employees will be back at the park on Saturday to get a portion of the Florida resort ready for its partial reopening on May 20. The theme park has been shuttered since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in more than 100,000 employees companywide being furloughed. But in three days, 117 custodians will return to work. Eric Clinton, president of UNITE HERE, Local 362 told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday that park staff have a "mixed bag of emotions" about returning to work: potential infection is a major concern, but so is not being able to pay rent. The story.

Pickups: Bleecker Street has picked up the U.S. rights to The Secrets We Keep, starring Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman and Chris Messina... Netflix has taken global rights to The Hater, the Polish drama from director Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi) that won the best international narrative feature honor at this year's virtual Tribeca Film Festival...

►Frontieres unveils genre line-up for virtual Cannes market. Rules For Werewolves, the new project starring Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard, is among the highlights of this year's Frontieres slate, which will screen for buyers at next month's Marche du Film online. More.

+Also: New streaming platforms HBO Max and Quibi have joined the virtual film market and will host keynotes at the online-only event, which runs June 22-June 26. More.

►Tribeca-bound director details his doc's 25-year journey to screen, before virus crisis hit. Miles Hargrove's Miracle Fishing, which chronicles his father's 1975 kidnapping by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and inspired the 2000 film Proof of Life, will have to wait longer to make its world premiere, as he writes in a guest column for THR. The column.

In other news...

--The New Mutants has finally been given a new release date after it was taken off the spring calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic. The horror-tinged X-Men spinoff will hit theaters Aug. 28, Disney announced Wednesday.

--Dakota Johnson is in negotiations to join the high-wattage cast of Olivia Wilde’s psychological thriller, Don’t Worry Darling.

--The Hollywood Bowl is canceling its 2020 summer season, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced Wednesday. The move marks the first time in 98 years that the iconic amphitheater in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles has canceled its season.

--Oscar-nominated screenwriter David Arata, who co-wrote Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men, and Angela LaManna (The Punisher, Hannibal) are turning novels into movies for the digital story-telling app Wattpad.

--Beckett Cypher, Melissa Etheridge’s son with her former partner Julie Cypher, has died. He was 21.

--Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star Maurice Fayne, aka Arkansas Mo, on Wednesday was charged with federal bank fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

--Michelle Williams, Amy Poehler, Natasha Lyonne, Tamron Hall, Naomi Watts, Angela Yee, Norah O'Donnell, Niecy Nash, Stephanie Beatriz and Soledad O’Brien are among the honorees for the 45th annual Gracie Awards, which recognize women in television, radio and digital media.

--As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to lead to furloughs and layoffs at news organizations, People's digital team has announced its intention to form a union, joining its print division, which is already unionized.

--Veteran RuPaul's Drag Race performers Michelle Visage, Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley are among the stars that will show up — virtually, of course — to help the Los Angeles LGBT Center raise money as part of its upcoming Rainbowthon.

►TV ratings: The Voice slipped a little bit in Tuesday's ratings, but the NBC show still scored the night's best numbers in both adults 18-49 and total viewers. A Hollywood Game Night special posted its best ratings in more than a year, and ABC got a good-sized audience for its tribute to producer and director Garry Marshall. The numbers.

What else we're reading...

--"What it takes to make American Idol in lockdown? Confetti cannons in the mail" [WSJ]

--"Free streaming services rescue cash-strapped couch potatoes" [Bloomberg]

--"Condé Nast, BuzzFeed make more cuts after pay reductions aren't enough" [CNN Business]

--NBC Sports talent agree to pay cuts, following a similar push by ESPN to relieve costs during the pandemic [Sports Business Journal]

--"FOX’s Bundesliga TV plans are a ‘kick in the teeth’ to German league and soccer fans" [World Soccer Talk h/t Dylan Byers]

Today's birthdays: George Lucas, 76, Mark Zuckerberg, 36, Cate Blanchett, 51, Rob Gronkowski, 31, Tim Roth, 59.