Today In Entertainment

APRIL 07, 2021

What's news: Former staffers for prolific producer Scott Rudin speak out, why Wall Street is interested in NBCU and WarnerMedia spinoffs, analyzing Endeavor's IPO, the whodunit behind Netflix's Knives Out power play, why Rege-Jean Page left Bridgerton, Harry and Meghan's first Netflix show. Plus: The Visual Effects Society Awards, and why Godzilla vs. Kong may be a pandemic box office anomaly. --Alex Weprin

 Bully

►On the cover: "Everyone just knows he's an absolute monster": Scott Rudin's ex-staffers speak out on abusive behavior. Even as other Hollywood bullies are being sidelined, the uber-producer behind The Social Network and Broadway’s To  Kill a Mockingbird has been given a pass for his volcanic temper. Now, former employees open up to Tatiana Siegel about a boss who left many traumatized: "It was a new level of unhinged."

--"On a brisk Halloween day in 2012, the thin facade of normalcy at Scott Rudin Productions shattered. Literally. At about 4:15 p.m. — more than 10 hours into a typical Rudin day that began at 6 and never wrapped before 8 — the Oscar-winning producer was enraged that one of his assistants failed to get him a seat on a sold-out flight. In a fit of fury, he allegedly smashed an Apple computer monitor on the assistant's hand. The screen shattered, leaving the young man bleeding and in need of immediate medical attention. One person in the office at the time described the incident as sounding like a car crash: a cacophonous collision of metal, glass and limb. The wounded assistant headed to the emergency room, and Rudin called his lawyer, according to another staffer there that Halloween afternoon."

--"We were all shocked because we didn't know that that sort of thing could happen in that office," says Andrew Coles, a then-assistant and now-manager and producer, whose credits include Queen & Slim. "We knew a lot could happen. There were the guys that were sleeping in the office, the guys whose hair was falling out and were developing ulcers. It was a very intense environment, but that just felt different. It was a new level of unhinged — a level of lack of control that I had never seen before in a workplace." Through a spokesperson, Rudin declined to comment on any of the specific allegations mentioned in this story. The alleged victim declined to comment.

--"Since its earliest days, Hollywood has been prone to abuses of power," Siegel writes. "Abusive behavior tends to be overlooked or accommodated when the power imbalance dynamic is at its most extreme. Nowhere is that more evident than at Scott Rudin Productions, where a conveyor belt of assistants — typically recent NYU grads who are hungry, vulnerable and willing to put up with maltreatment — rotates in and out, providing the backbone for the prolific producer behind There Will Be Blood and Doubt, the latter for both stage and screen, and TV's What We Do in the Shadows, The Newsroom and the Emmy-winning limited series The Night Of. None of them is over the age of 25." The cover story.

 Should NBCU and WarnerMedia Be Set Free?

►Why some on Wall Street want AT&T and Comcast to spin off their media units. The telecom giants bet big on acquiring legacy Hollywood studios, but "pure-play" content companies are now gaining investor favor, Georg Szalai writes.

--"Pure content companies are commanding markedly higher premium-valuation multiples versus pay TV and/or wireless companies,” says CFRA Research analyst Tuna Amobi. Put simply, says Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeff Wlodarczak, “Investors tend to prefer pure-plays” now. The story.

+Analyzing Endeavor's IPO: In the two years since it first tried to go public, the Ari Emanuel-led company has fine-tuned its pitch to investors: Whereas in 2019, the company’s representation business was front and center, with Endeavor saying its job was to “create value for our clients – talent, brands and owners of intellectual property (‘IP’),” now in 2021 it pitches itself as the owner of the IP, a company that was “founded as a client representation business” but has “expanded” in the last couple of years to be something quite different: What it calls an “integrated global platform," built around sports and events. The story.

+In other business news: Authentic Artists, a start-up whose investors include James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, on Wednesday unveiled the launch of an artificial intelligence-powered virtual artist platform for music, gaming and streaming applications... Fox Corp.'s stock earned an upgrade from Wells Fargo on Wednesday thanks to the sports rights cost "clarity" provided by the recent NFL rights renewal and its role as "a potential participant in media M&A."...

 Two Hollywood Mysteries Solved

The Hollywood Reporter got to the bottom of two of this week's entertainment biz mysteries: The backstory behin Netflix's Knives Out shocker, and why Rege-Jean Page left Bridgerton...

►Knives Out sequels: The whodunit behind Netflix's $469 million power play. Sources tell Borys Kit that Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman and Daniel Craig stand to walk away with upwards of $100 million each.

--"The pact gave Johnson immense creative control, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. He doesn’t have to take notes from the streamer. The only contingencies were that Craig must star in the sequels and that each must have at least the budget of the 2019 movie, which was in the $40 million range." The story.

►Inside Rege-Jean Page's Bridgerton departure. The breakout star from Netflix's first Shonda Rhimes drama had a one-year deal and, sources tell Lesley Goldberg, turned down an opportunity to return in season two.

--"Page, sources say, is laser focused on his burgeoning film career. The actor, who previously worked with Shondaland on ABC's two-season legal drama For the People, recently wrapped filming the Russo brothers' Netflix film The Gray Man, opposite Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas. He next stars in Paramount's big-budget Dungeons and Dragons feature, opposite Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith. Sources note Page's camp has also been flooded with film offers following his breakout role in Bridgerton, which also led to a critically praised gig hosting NBC's Saturday Night Live in February." The story.

►Harry and Meghan's first Netflix show. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Archewell Productions has announced the first series from its multi-million-dollar deal with Netflix. Heart of Invictus will be a docuseries looking at the human stories behind the Invictus Games, the international sporting event founded by Harry. The story.

+Fox continues to shore up its animation offerings. The broadcast network has handed out an early season three renewal for animated comedy Duncanville. The pickup arrives months before season two of the series from Amy Poehler and Mike and Julie Scully returns to the schedule. More.

►Box office: Why Godzilla vs. Kong may be a pandemic anomaly. The impressive $48.1 million domestic bow signals pent-up demand for moviegoing, but studio insiders caution against seeing a day-and-date release as the norm, Pamela McClintock writes.

--“I still believe that in order to maximize revenue, you still need an exclusive theatrical window. The window might be shortened but you still need to start with that,” says analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners. "What we got was a victory for theatrical. It’s a nice win in a crappy environment." The story.

+Sam Mendes has found his follow-up to his Oscar-winning drama, 1917, teaming up with Olivia Colman and Searchlight for a 1980s-set love story. Mendes will direct Empire of Light, which he also wrote, with Colman set to star in the drama. The feature project is already on the runway, with Mendes once again working with Roger Deakins, his cinematographer on 1917, Skyfall and Revolutionary Road.  A fall 2022 release is being eyed. The story.

+In other film news: George Clooney and Julia Roberts' romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise will open in theaters on Sept. 30, 2022, Universal announced Tuesday. More.

►Visual Effects Society Awards: George Clooney's meditative sci-fi drama The Midnight Sky won the top category of outstanding visual effects in a photoreal feature and a second trophy for its model work, Tuesday during a virtual presentation of the 19th annual Visual Effects Society Awards.

--Pixar's Soul swept the feature animation categories, winning five trophies in all, including outstanding VFX in an animated feature. In series work, Disney+'s The Mandalorian collecting three awards including one for outstanding VFX is a series episode, and HBO's Lovecraft Country claimed two trophies. The full list of winners.

+iHeartRadio Music Awards: Beyonce, BTS, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd were among the artists receiving multiple nominations. More.

►Tarana J. Burke and Mervyn Marcano are putting down roots. The founder of the #MeToo movement and her producing partner's Field/House Productions have inked a multiple-year producing deal with CBS Studios. Under the pact, Burke and Marcano will team with the ViacomCBS-backed studio to develop scripted, unscripted and documentary fare for linear and streaming platforms. The story.

+Jean-Marc Vallée is formalizing his long working relationship with HBO. The Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects director and producing partner Nathan Ross have signed a first-look deal with HBO and HBO Max. The three-year pact will see the pair's company, Crazyrose, develop projects for both WarnerMedia platforms. More.

Revolving door: The Banff World Media Festival has booked an "In Conversation With" session with Channing Dungey, Greg Berlanti and Kaley Cuoco for its upcoming virtual edition... To All the Boys: Always and Forever star Lana Condor has been tapped to host the Costume Designers Guild Awards... Publicist Erica Gray has exited Viewpoint PR to launch her own firm, The Spotlight Company... Participant has elevated Laura Kim to evp of marketing... NAB CEO Gordon Smith will transition to an advisory and lobbying role at the ene of the eyar, with Curtis LeGeyt set to succeed him...

Casting roundup: A new slasher film from A24 has enlisted Amandla Stenberg and Borat 2 breakout and Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova to star...Olivier Richters has entered the world of Borderlands... Sylvester Stallone will not appear in the upcoming Creed III...

►TV reviews: Robyn Bahr reviews TBS' Chad, writing that star Nasim "Pedrad's precise and springy character work here, honed during her years on Saturday Night Live, calibrates the exact level of petulance you need to believe this vexing protagonist without ever hating him. Chad is often hilarious, bracing and sweet: everything this try-hard wishes he could be." The review.

+Daniel Fienberg reviews The CW's Kung Fu, writing that "the inevitability that fans of the '70s show of the same title checking out this semi-remake will freak out and then tune out is absolutely a feature and not a bug." The review.

In other news...

--NBA all-star Carmelo Anthony is further solidifying his Hollywood plans. Anthony has launched production and content banner Creative 7 with a slate of projects set up with partners that include Plan B and producer Will Packer.

--Spanish-language service Pantaya starts a new chapter after Lionsgate sale.

--Tyler Perry, who got his Covid-19 vaccine on TV in January in an effort to instill trust in it, is now helping his production crew get the shot. Over the weekend, the film and television mogul set up a vaccination site at his Tyler Perry Studios production facility in Atlanta, Georgia.

--In a deal combining three of the hottest things in business: Trading cards, NFTs and SPACs, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner is taking trading card firm Topps public in a $1.3 billion SPAC deal.

--Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott, the creative team behind the well-reviewed indie Shiva Baby, have set their next feature. Seligman and Sennott will co-write high school sex comedy Bottoms for MGM's Orion Pictures, with Seligman directing and Sennott starring. Elizabeth Banks' Brownstone Production is set to produce.

--The Ellen Burstyn and James Caan starring Queen Bees has been acquired by Gravitas Ventures in North America, with a day-and-date theatrical and digital release set for June 11.

--California plans to lift most coronavirus restrictions on businesses and workplaces June 15, with officials saying enough people should be vaccinated by then to allow for life to almost get back to a pre-pandemic normal.

--The U.S. State Department on Tuesday confirmed that it is weighing the possibility of a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, set to be held in Beijing, China.

--The Cannes Lions festival of creativity said on Wednesday that its 2021 edition would go virtual after the 2020 edition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

What else we're reading...

--"Fox files lawsuit against Flutter over FanDuel ownership stake as IPO looms" [CNBC]

--"'A sense of belonging' for Hispanic children with puppets" [NY Times]

--"Sinclair's tough road ahead" [Sports Business Journal]

--"Intel backs video data firm offering an ad-targeting alternative to cookies" [WSJ]

Today's birthdays: Jackie Chan, 67, Francis Ford Coppola, 82, Tim Peake, 49, Russell Crowe, 57.

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APRIL 07, 2021

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