Katzenberg's $3.8B Payday; 'Idol' Owner Bankrupt; L.A.'s Vegan War

Good morning, its Thursday and Jeffrey Katzenberg has finally sold DWA, Brett Ratner is eyeing China and the American Idol owner is deeply in debt. Also: it's war for L.A. vegans! — executive editor Matthew Belloni, assignment editor Erik Hayden [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment] April 28, 2016 Good morning, its Thursday and Jeffrey Katzenberg has finally sold DWA, Brett Ratner is eyeing China and the American Idol owner is deeply in debt. Also: it's war for L.A. vegans! — executive editor Matthew Belloni, assignment editor Erik Hayden Katzenberg Finds a DreamWorks Buyer Early today, Comcast's NBCUniversal agreed to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, as int'l business editor Georg Szalai [reports]. DWA has been one of the last remaining publicly traded independent studios and it has in recent years held talks with the likes of Japan’s SoftBank and toy giant Hasbro, among others. CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg stands to get a payout of about $21.9 million if the studio is sold and he leaves, according to the company’s recent proxy statement. Elsewhere... ► There are good signs for subscription businesses. [Time Warner Cable] added 21,000 net pay TV subs, its future owner Charter added 15,000, while [SiriusXM]boosted its full-year sub growth target. ► Two Hollywood giants posted weaker film results overnight. [Viacom] reported a film unit loss of $136 million for its latest quarter, which included two theatrical flops in Zoolander 2 and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. ► And at [Sony], the success of Spectre wasn’t enough to boost the conglomerate’s film unit, which posted a 34 percent drop in its full fiscal-year operating profit. [Exclusive]: A Sundance darling and a vet of Soho House’s exec team are launching a new social network called Rex, with $2.9 million in initial fundraising rounds, senior writer Gary Baum reports. Key backers: Sean Bailey, president of production at Walt Disney Pictures, and Robyn Ward, who heads new media ventures at UTA. It's War (For L.A. Vegans)! What happens when the owners of the most prominent vegan chain in Los Angeles were found to be raising and slaughtering meat at home? Senior writer Gary Baum has a fascinating story about what's happening to [industry haunt Cafe Gratitude]: Matthew and Terces Engelhart, the husband-and-wife proprietors of Gratitude, tell THR they’ve been receiving death threats as part of a quickly growing, Internet-bred campaign against them. "People have taken up the mob mentality,” says Matthew. Elsewhere in LA... Power Dining: At Bouchon in Beverly Hills, Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall recently lunched with Wendy Stark on back-to-back days. Meanwhile, AMPAS’ Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Dawn Hudson joined TIFF director Cameron Bailey at AOC. 'Idol' Owner Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Core Media Group, the company behind American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York, senior editor Eriq Gardner [reports]: In the bankruptcy filing, the company says it owes $398 million to third parties including from two matured loans from Tennenbaum Capital Partners, Crestview Media Investors, Bayside Capital and Hudson Bay Capital Management. Also in THR, Esq from Gardner: ► The dispute between Kesha and Dr. Luke is hardly over, but the artist's mother has now [dropped]counterclaims against the producer. ► A quarrel over the discovery of pop superstar Lady Gaga has evolved into a fight over whether some prized copyrights will be put up for [auction]. Meanwhile... ► Prescription painkillers were found in Prince’s possession when he died in his house in Minnesota, according to an NBC News [report]. ► The battle over control of Sumner Redstone's health care pits [privacy] against public interest, and on Wednesday the court tilted the balance toward the latter, staff writer Ashley Cullins reports. “In this country we have open trials," Judge David J. Cowan said. "This is not Russia.” ► Cameron Thor, a former acting coach and mentor to numerous Hollywood A-listers, was [sentenced] to 6 years in state prison following his conviction on charges of sexual misconduct with a minor, senior writer Scott Johnson reports. Emmys: How to Compete Against Yourself FX has a problem of a sort that every TV network would like to have at this time of the year, awards analyst Scott Feinberg [reports]. The cable outlet has three programs — American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson, American Horror Story: Hotel and the second season of Fargo — that all are strong contenders for Emmy nominations in the category of best limited series. The puzzle it now has to solve is how to campaign for each of them in a way that is both realistic and considerate to the talent associated with the projects, some of whom have long-term relationships with FX. Today's Hollywood Birthdays: Jay Leno, 66, Jessica Alba, 35, Penelope Cruz, 42 Larry Wilmore Is Ready for Saturday Ahead of Obama's final White House Correspondents' Dinner this Saturday, Nightly Show host Larry Wilmore previews his barbs and admits that he's been [angling for the job]: "I made it known to my people a few years ago that I would hopefully be in contention," Wilmore recalls. "Believe me, I didn't think it would happen." Elsewhere in TV... ► Netflix has nabbed global rights to a four-part CGI miniseries adaptation of [Watership Down] with John Boyega, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult among the cast. It'll stream TBD in 2017. ► Ryan Seacrest has inked a new four-year deal to front ABC's long-running ball-drop special, [New Year’s Rockin’ Eve]. Is he a possible replacement for Michael Strahan? ► Is [Limitless] network TV's most creative procedural? Critic Daniel Fienberg ponders the question. ► HBO's [The Leftovers] is moving filming locations again. Sources tell staff writer Bryn Sandberg the final season of the drama will take place in Australia, both on- and off-screen, due to a new storyline. TV ticker ► Fox orders 24: Legacy, Lee Daniels' Star to [series] ► CBS' entire day lineup renewed through at least [2017] ► Vice taps NBC News vet Madeleine Haeringer as ep of HBO [show] ► Eight more episodes of Wet Hot American Summer ordered at [Netflix] ► Martin Short, Derek Hough join NBC's [Hairspray Live!] Brett Ratner Eyes China Brett Ratner and James Packer's RatPac and Warner Bros. are poised to deepen their investments in China with the launch of a new film fund, which they will use to finance Chinese-language movies, correspondent Patrick Brzeski [reports]. Elsewhere in film... ► Whitney Houston is getting the doc [treatment] from the British banner behind the acclaimed, Oscar-winning Amy. ► [Papa: Hemingway in Cuba], the first Hollywood movie to shoot on the island since 1959, gets reviewed and ... the THR verdict is mixed: "The settings are authentic, but the dialogue isn't." ► This year's [Venice Film Fest] jury will be presided over by British film director Sam Mendes. Film ticker ► Will Ferrell to play Ronald Reagan in [Reagan] ► Jamie Foxx in talks for [Happytime Murders] ► Katheryn Winnick joins [The Dark Tower]► Michael Pena, Uzo Aduba in talks for [My Little Pony]► Lionsgate has a new release date for Woody Allen's [Cafe Society] ► Paramount to distribute Matthew Espinosa film [Be Somebody] Tips/suggestions? Email: newsletter@thr.com. Follow The News Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.] ©2016 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. [Unsubscribe] | [Manage Preferences] | [Privacy Policy] | [Terms of Use] April 28, 2016