'Solo' Soul-Searching; Cosby Accuser Speaks; HBO's Moguls Series; ESPN's NBA High

What's news: Everyone has a theory about why Disney's Han Solo movie disappointed in its box office debut. Plus: HBO's mogul series Succession meets critics, ESPN's NBA ratings soar and NBC lands an interview with Cosby accuser Andrea Constand. — Erik Hayden [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( May 29, 2018 What's news: Everyone has a theory about why Disney's Han Solo movie disappointed in its box office debut. Plus: HBO's mogul series Succession meets critics, ESPN's NBA ratings soar and NBC lands an interview with Cosby accuser Andrea Constand. — Erik Hayden 'Solo' Soul-Searching The film's underwhelming $103M stateside launch may force Lucasfilm to re-evaluate its plan to release one movie per year if it means anything shorter than a 12-month gap, Pamela McClintock writes: The outlook: Insiders concede Disney and Lucasfilm aren't likely to release two Star Wars movies so close together again, regardless of whether they are anthology films, like Solo, which tells of Han Solo's beginnings, or part of the official episodes, like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its follow-up, The Last Jedi. Worse abroad: Its $65M launch, which includes a paltry $10.1M debut in China, fell short of expectations. Foreign box-office grosses often make up 65 to 70 percent of a Hollywood tentpole's bottom line. The share for the last three Star Wars films was closer to 50 percent; Solo is looking at a much smaller split. Disney's spin: "There's a question of frequency, and how many times people will go to the movies. Is this too much and too soon for a third time in a five-week period?" says Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis, suggesting Solo's underwhelming start may have been affected by Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2. Hollis added: "Let's measure how we feel about this until more time passes." Disney's fear: Solo may not gross much more than $400M in all after costing at least $250M to produce before marketing. [Full story.]( + [About the surprise cameo.]( Meanwhile... + Harvey Weinstein's arrest is a test for Manhattan D.A. The New York Times [reports]( on Cyrus Vance Jr.: "If he wins a conviction, he will restore his reputation as a progressive champion for women’s issues. A loss, however, could seal his political fate, especially among his liberal base in Manhattan." + Morgan Freeman back at work? People [writes](: "The actor, 80, was spotted in Georgia on Monday heading to the set of The Poison Rose, in which he stars opposite John Travolta. Freeman was dressed in a pastel dress shirt and a pair of jeans as he kept a low profile with a blue hat. + Freeman's attorney lashes out at CNN. [10-page legal retort.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Russian cinema chains lobbying for more Hollywood films. Major chains have come up with [a list]( of upcoming titles, including The Incredibles 2 and the next Mission: Impossible film, that they say are vital for the exhibition industry and shouldn't be rescheduled in favor of homegrown movies. ► Karlovy Vary Fest unveils lineup. Romanian director Radu Jude's I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians and The Fireflies Are Gone, by Sebastien Pilote, are among the fest's main competition movies. [Full list.]( *R.I.P., Allyn Ann McLerie. The actress and dancer who starred in the Broadway and big-screen versions of Where's Charley? and played a freaked-out contestant in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, has died. She was 91. [Full obit.]( Rep Sheet Roundup: Costa Ronin has signed with Paradigm. … Randy Jackson has left CAA for UTA. … BuzzFeed Studios has signed with WME, while Fortnite developer Epic Games has signed an exclusive licensing deal with IMG. … Teyonah Parris has signed with CAA. [More.]( It's Not About Murdoch TV's latest wave of shows fascinated by and sympathizing with the plight of the grotesquely wealthy brings its ultimate challenge to viewers with HBO's Succession (airing this Sunday), Daniel Fienberg writes: The Roys, the media clan at the heart of the show, are more powerful than the Carringtons (Dynasty), chillier and more remote than the Gettys (Trust) and somehow more dysfunctional than the Bluths (Arrested Development). The reptilian characters, their insular existence and a tonal balance that's partway between profane farce and Shakespearean tragedy will prove a tough barrier of entry for some audiences, but those who stick around will find performances to relish and dialogue to savor. Noted: Co-creator Jesse Armstrong also rather notoriously wrote an unproduced screenplay about Rupert Murdoch, and the temptation to compare Succession and the Roys' WayStar to Murdoch's News Corp is an irresistible starting point. [Full review.]( New reviews in brief... + AMC's Dietland (airing next Monday). Marti Noxon's latest drama (adapted from Sarai Walker's bestselling novel) comes to AMC, tackling fat acceptance and feminist vengeance. [The takeaway](: "Instantly intriguing and cathartic." + HBO's John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls. The documentary serves as a biography, a salute and a eulogy to the ailing senator. [The takeaway:]("A deferential and sometimes defensive profile." Elsewhere in TV... ► NBC lands Bill Cosby accuser interview. "Andrea Constand, the first woman to accuse disgraced comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault in court, is breaking her silence after more than a decade," NBC News reports. [Full clip.]( ► ESPN hits NBA highs with Cavaliers-Celtics. The game averaged [a 9.1 rating]( among metered market households, besting everything else on television and ranking as ESPN's best-ever playoff game. *R.I.P., Cornelia Frances. The actress, whose sharp-tongued villainous characters on Australian TV made her a household and international name, has died. She was 77. [Full obit.]( New Awards Chatter podcast: Freddie Highmore. Speaking with Scott Feinberg, The Good Doctor actor looks back on child stardom, re-emerging as an adult on the drama series Bates Motel and then heading right into another, very different show. [Listen.]( Michael B. Jordan's Take New Drama Actor Roundtable highlight: Michael B. Jordan explains why he originally turned down a role in HBO's Fahrenheit 451 adaptation, and why he changed his mind. [Full clip.]( What else we're reading... — "TMZ Goes MAGA." Lachlan Cartwright reports on Harvey Levin: "The president and the king of gossip have a relationship that’s paid off for them both. Never more so than when Trump almost lost the election." [[The Daily Beast](] — "Digital publishers with Hollywood ambitions adapt to new economics." Tim Peterson reports: For BuzzFeed, Vox and others, selling shows to platforms like Netflix "can complicate, if not constrict, other revenue opportunities." [[Digiday](] — "It’s not easy being evergreen." Jim Henson Productions executives, talent and writers get interviewed in an oral history looking at "the origins, appeal and future of the Muppets." [[Slate/Studio 360](] — "How Wired lost $100,000 in bitcoin." Louise Matsakis writes: "A small fortune was soon amassed ... Then, we lost the money. Forever." [[Wired](] Today's birthdays: Riley Keough, 30, Daniel Tosh, 44, Laverne Cox, 47, Noel Gallagher, 52, Annette Bening, 61, Danny Elfman, 66, Peter Chernin, 68. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2018 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Preferences]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use]( May 29, 2018