What's news: Hollywood unions grapple with police ties, how movie theaters came around to embracing masks, Netflix sued by estate of Sherlock Holmes creator, the pandemic TV ratings spike is over, Beijing buyers sit on Cannes virtual sidelines, TIFF plans for hybrid festival in September. Plus: Major League Baseball finalizes its return, and THR's Drama Actress Roundtable. --Alex Weprin

 THR Drama Actress Roundtable

On the cover: "I'm not settling for lip service": Janelle Monae, Jennifer Aniston, Zendaya, Reese Witherspoon, Helena Bonham Carter, Rose Byrne and the Drama Actress Roundtable. Six top actresses get real about everything from dismantling systemic racism ("It can't just be, 'We're going to march with you and do a hashtag'") to fighting typecasting ("For the life of me, I could not escape 'Rachel from Friends'").

--Janelle Monae: "This is an interesting time and an important time for all of us to check our perspective. For me and my people, for the Black community, this is not an exciting time. This isn't a time that we get to really reflect. We're dealing with a lot of trauma. We were dealing with COVID-19, which affects us disproportionately — if America sneezes, the Black community gets pneumonia — and now we're having to deal with the very color of our skin making us a target.

For me, I'm trying to figure out how to channel my anger. That's my emotion. Black people make up the essential workers who are making sure that we have our packages and our food, and this is not a time for them to reflect in the ways that we, as artists, have the privilege to do. So, I'm checking my privilege and I'm also mourning with my people. One of the things that I learned about me is that I'm not settling for those who say that they're allies. I'm not settling for lip service. If you want to show me that you're an ally, it's going to have to be rooted in acts of service."

--Reese Witherspoon: "Examining privilege, as Janelle said, I went through a reckoning probably four or five years ago with the Time's Up movement, realizing that we work and exist inside of systems that are really broken, and trying to get strategic about using my influence and platform to create change. Every time I took a job, I'd call whoever was the head of the studio and ask, 'What does your board look like? Where are your female executives? Where are the people of color?' I started to ask more questions about how the money flows through companies, what kind of representation is at my agency, like, 'Are there people of color who are agents?'"

--Jennifer Aniston: "I mean, I could not get Rachel Green off of my back for the life of me. I could not escape 'Rachel from Friends,' and it's on all the time and you're like, 'Stop playing that f*cking show!' (Laughter.) The Good Girl was the first time I got to really shed whatever the Rachel character was, and to be able to disappear into someone who wasn't that was such a relief to me. But I remember the panic that set over me, thinking, 'Oh God, I don't know if I can do this. Maybe they're right. Maybe everybody else is seeing something I'm not seeing, which is you are only that girl in the New York apartment with the purple walls.' So, I was almost doing it for myself just to see if I could do something other than that. And it was terrifying because you're doing it in front of the world." The roundtable.



^How Hollywood guilds are confronting their ties to a police union. While other industry groups within the AFL-CIO are split, WGA East is calling for a disaffiliation from the International Union of Police Associations: "It's not just about bargaining contracts; it's also about social and civil justice."

Quote: "The AFL-CIO cannot, in good faith, represent the best interests of the police and also represent the best interests of all the other working people who are out here getting arrested, beaten up and abused by the police," says Hamilton Nolan, a member of the WGA East council that passed the resolution and a labor reporter for In These Times magazine. The story.

►Just in: The Conan Doyle estate has sued Netflix over a coming movie about Sherlock Holmes' sister. The complaint was filed on Tuesday in New Mexico federal court and targets Netflix, Legendary Pictures, Penguin Random House and others, including author Nancy Springer, whose book series forms the basis of the new movie Enola Holmes starring Millie Bobby Brown. The story.

 Mask Mea Culpas

►Masks now required: How some U.S. movie theaters "fumbled" safety plan rollout. Customers expressed outrage after AMC — the country's largest cinema circuit — initially said that customers wouldn't be required to wear mouth and nose coverings when it reopens. "Requiring customers to wear face masks is a smart business practice. We are still in uncertain times," says Wall Street analyst Eric Wold of B. Riley FBR. "There is obviously a fine line between trying to protect your guests and scaring your guest." The story.

+Fandango launches mask and social-distancing guide as movie theaters reopen. The service, which launched Tuesday, will feature a rundown of mask and protective-equipment policies and enhanced cleaning measures being implemented at more than 100 theater chains. There's also a special search filter to find reopened cinemas by location. The story.

+In other theatrical news: Universal has set M. Night Shyamalan's next movie for July 2021. The untitled movie was originally set to debut on Feb. 26, 2021, but Universal removed it from the calendar in early April amid the release date shuffle sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. More.... Russell Crowe's Unhinged thriller to get international theatrical release. Solstice Studios will quickly follow the nationwide U.S. theatrical release from July 10 for the road-rage drama with a rollout elsewhere. More.

+And: Cineplex adapts "poison pill" to fight hostile takeover bids. Also known as a stockholder rights plan, the action is a defense against hostile takeover attempts that take advantage of weakened stock prices. More.

Meanwhile, at (virtual) Cannes...



^CAA's Benjamin Kramer and Roeg Sutherland on launching the virtual Cannes market: "We are all thinking outside the box." The industry vets discuss teaming up with rival agencies to keep the business going, what they'll miss about Cannes and the resilience of the indie film sector in a time of crisis. Says Sutherland: "It isn’t the death of the film business, it’s a rebirth." The interview.

►Beijing buyers sit on Cannes' virtual sidelines as Chinese cinemas remain shuttered. Chinese dealmakers emerged as a major buying force in the last decade, but with the Middle Kingdom now lagging the world in reopening cinemas amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Beijing industry is in limbo, Patrick Brzeski reports. Says one insider: "There's a sinking sense of despair." The story.

+Also: Fred Kogel of German studio Leonine on why he's betting on cinemas post-pandemic... Abel Ferrara on collaborating with Willem Dafoe for the sixth time on Tomasso: "He's a partner in crime"...

 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review part of of the case that lead to Bill Cosby's 2018 conviction of the aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand. Cosby in January petitioned the state's high court to take up his case arguing his due process rights were violated amid "#MeToo hysteria."

--After two trials and multiple bids for reconsideration, the Pennsylvania high court on Tuesday announced it will revisit two issues. First, it will consider whether uncharged allegations of sexual misconduct and the use of quaaludes from five women should have been admitted as evidence. Second, it will look at the larger issue of whether Cosby should have been put on trial given his argument that he had a non-prosecution agreement with the sitting Montgomery County District Attorney when he agreed to give a deposition in Constand's civil suit that eventually lead to these proceedings. The story.

+Ron Jeremy charged with raping three women. The porn star was charged with three counts each of forcible rape and forcible penetration by a foreign object and one count each of forcible oral copulation and sexual battery, according to the district attorney's office. More.

+David Guillod pleads not guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault. Guillod was charged Monday with kidnapping to commit rape, and rape of a drugged victim, among other crimes. He faces 11 felony charges in all. More.

►Toronto Film Festival unveils first-ever virtual edition amid pandemic impact. The festival, set to run Sept. 10-19, has opted for a hybrid event with limited in-person film screenings and mostly virtual red carpets, press conferences and industry events amid the coronavirus outbreak, Toronto organizers said on Wednesday. The story.

+TIFF also saw pandemic-era layoffs and salary cuts. TIFF has eliminated 31 jobs, or 17 percent of its workforce, as the COVID-19 crisis has slashed revenues ahead of its September festival, Etan Vlessing reports. Toronto fest organizers are forecasting a 50 percent reduction in overall revenues this year, compared to 2019. More.

►Peacock inks a deal with Google. NBCUniversal's streaming service continues to ink deals with distribution partners, and the latest is a notable one. The company says that Peacock will be available at launch July 15 in Android and Android TV devices. More notably: Android users will get Peacock Premium for free until October 15. It normally costs $5 per month. Peacock follows Disney+ (Verizon) and Quibi (T-Mobile) in offering its premium service free to customers of some of its partners.

 Pandemic-Fueled TV Ratings Fall

►The quarantine TV ratings spike is over. Overall TV use has been trending down across the board since late March. There are bright spots — streaming usage is way above its year-ago levels — but the spike in viewing levels amid the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic has almost entirely gone away, Rick Porter reports. The story.

►Jimmy Kimmel's apology: Jimmy Kimmel is apologizing for a blackface impression he did of NBA star Karl Malone in the mid- and late 1990s. The ABC late-night host, who's currently taking a summer break from Jimmy Kimmel Live, issued the statement Tuesday. It comes amid a continued reckoning in the industry over racist depictions of Black people and other people of color in the past, ranging from Gone With the Wind being temporarily removed from HBO Max to Hulu pulling down four episodes of 30 Rock that featured blackface scenes.

--"I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me. I love this country too much to allow that. I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas." The full statement.

+Mel Gibson took... a different approach. Gibson says renewed allegations of anti-semitic comments leveled against him by Winona Ryder are as false now as they were 10 years ago. Gibson's rep, Alan Nierob, told THR's Ryan Parker: "She lied about it over a decade ago, when she talked to the press, and she’s lying about it now." More.

►Netflix news: #BlackAF is coming back. Netflix has handed out a second season renewal for the scripted comedy created by and starring Black-ish creator Kenya Barris... Lucifer has new life — again — at Netflix. The streamer has renewed the Warner Bros. TV-produced series for a sixth season, a year after saying the fifth season would be the last. Netflix picked up Lucifer in 2018 after Fox, its first home, canceled the show after three seasons... Oscar winner Barry Jenkins will team with Leonardo DiCaprio for Netflix's narrative adaptation of the Oscar-nominated documentary Virunga...

+Meanwhile: Amazon is ready to put a new spin on Nancy Drew. The streamer, following a competitive bidding process, has landed a comedy called Nancy Wu Done It, a potential series described as a Pleasantville meets Nancy Drew. The comedy, which is currently in development, revolves around a frustrated Asian American YA novelist who suddenly finds herself transported to one of her own books and must work with the titular character she created — and now hates — to solve an unfinished mystery. More.

+And at HBO Max: Lana Condor has set her follow-up role to the To All the Boys I've Loved Before franchise. The actress will star in Moonshot, a rom-com with a sci-fi twist that is in development at HBO Max, with Greg Berlanti attached to produce. More.

+Parasite producer, Skydance TV team for K-drama adaptation. Altered Carbon showrunner Alison Schapker will develop a "reimagined" take on Hotel Del Luna, which was a hit in South Korea in 2019. More.

►Good news for Fox, ESPN and Turner Sports: Major League Baseball has a deal to hold its pandemic-shortened season. Spring Training will begin July 1, with Opening Day set for July 23 or 24. The season will only be 60 games, with schedules designed to minimize traveling, and special rules for the season (like the National League having a designated hitter). 

►#OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign partners with Overture Global to launch digital content studio. The onetime lawyer, marketing expert and cultural leader is partnering with Overture and Donnovan Andrews to launch a full-service content studio with a focus on content for and by people of color. More.

In agency news: Verve, the boutique literary agency, is branching into talent representation. The agency has hired veteran talent agent Sean Grumman to head Verve Talent, a move that comes on the agency’s 10-year anniversary... Chris D’Elia on Tuesday was dropped by Creative Artists Agency amid sexual misconduct allegations which surfaced last week...

►Broadcast TV ratings: NBC captured the top spot on the broadcast networks in all three hours of primetime Monday, as The Titan Games and The Wall both equaled season highs in adults 18-49. The network also scored a narrow total-viewer win for the evening. The CW's Whose Line Is It Anyway and Penn & Teller: Fool Us also drew decent ratings to start their summer runs. The numbers.

Casting roundup: Ruth Wilson, Cush Jumbo and Rosamund Pike are in negotiations to star in Greatest Days, the film adaptation of the stage musical The Band... Lil Rel Howery is returning to NBC. The Carmichael Show alum has signed on to host and exec produce the network's forthcoming game show Small Fortune... Anne Hathaway and Bill Murray are set to star in Bum's Rush...

Film reviews: John Defore reviews the action comedy My Spy... David Rooney reviews the Netflix comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga...

In other news...

--The early moments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China are set to get the big-screen treatment in Wuhan!, Wuhan!, a feature documentary that has been set up as a U.S.-China co-production, with Hong Kong martial arts star Donnie Yen and Oscar winner Donna Gigliotti  signed on as producers.

--British crime thriller Gangs of London has a new U.S. home. AMC will air the first season of the critically acclaimed series in the fall as Cinemax, its initial stateside destination, is winding down its original programming. 

--The CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful has switched COVID testing labs after a rash of false positives delayed production.

--ViacomCBS' ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS) has struck a deal with Miramax, in which the entertainment giant owns a 49 percent stake, to co-produce The Turkish Detective, a detective series set in modern-day Istanbul based on the 21 books in The Cetin Ikmen Crime Novels series by Barbara Nadel.

--As Paris Jackson and boyfriend Gabriel Glenn release the debut EP for their band The Soundflowers, the duo are set to launch a docuseries on Facebook Watch to allow fans to follow their folk-indie musical collaboration as the daughter of Michael Jackson explains her insecurities as an artist.

--The annual White House Correspondents' Dinner has officially been canceled. The dinner, which is normally held in late April, had already been postponed until the end of August due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

--Tiger King to Murder in the Bayou: How true crime docuseries shine a light on larger cultural issues.

--From Little Fires Everywhere to Normal People: How novelists act as "tuning forks" to TV scribes.

 What else we're reading...

--"Amazon is looking to add live TV to Prime Video" [Protocol]

--"Director of Trump-Comey TV series criticizes postelection release date" [NY Times]

--"Push-up contests, Kevin Hart, and $100K tournaments: Inside the world of poker's super high rollers [Vanity Fair]

--"‘I love you my beautiful #QAnon!’: When lifestyle influencers also peddle conspiracy theories" [Glossy]

--"Advertisers shift gears to promote the reopening" [WSJ]

Today's birthdays: Jeff Beck, 76, Mick Fleetwood, 73, Solange Knowles, 34, Mindy Kaling, 41, Lionel Messi, 33.