Lasseter Out; Shonda's New Series; 'First Man' Trailer; 'Ocean's 8' Avoids Trolls; Fassbender's Car Racing Obsession

What's news: After a six-month sabbatical, Disney decides that Pixar creative force John Lasseter is exiting at the end of the year. Plus: Ocean's 8 has avoided the trolls, Shonda Rhimes plans her first Netflix project and a close look at Michael Fassbender's race car obsession. — Erik Hayden [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( June 09, 2018 What's news: After a six-month sabbatical, Disney decides that Pixar creative force John Lasseter is exiting at the end of the year. Plus: Ocean's 8 has avoided the trolls, Shonda Rhimes plans her first Netflix project and a close look at Michael Fassbender's race car obsession. — Erik Hayden John Lasseter Out John Lasseter, the Disney/Pixar creative force who admitted "missteps" that left some employees feeling "disrespected or uncomfortable," is [exiting]( at the end of the year. + Kim Masters emails: "I don’t think Disney realistically had any alternative when it came to Lasseter. Whatever we knew about his conduct when THR broke the story of his self-described '[missteps](' in November, Disney knew more. It would have been awkward to paper over the problem and a risk going forward, especially for Disney given its invaluable brand. What I don’t understand is why Disney prolonged the agony and pushed back so hard against our reporting. When THR published [an in-depth story]( about Lasseter in April, Disney issued a statement slamming my coverage as 'character assassination' and 'rumor mongering.' Surely by then the company knew that bringing Lasseter back would be a hard if not impossible call. Certainly that is what all my sources believed. This type of strategy, reminiscent of the ill-advised ban on the LA Times for legitimate reporting on issues in Anaheim, does not seem to be in the company‘s best interest. Going forward, audiences can hope that gifted creators like Pete Docter and Jennifer Lee will continue to bring magic to the screen." Elsewhere in film... ► Feature: Why Ocean's 8 has avoided Ghostbusters trolls. Unlike 2016's gender-bending Ghostbusters reboot or Disney's female-led Star Wars films, the star-studded Ocean's 8 has yet to become a major target for online backlash. Why? + Director Paul Feig: "The big movies are more line-in-the-sand moments for the intolerant. I’ve been in the geek community long enough to know the difference between the true geeks and new wave of people who got into geek culture. It’s not even about true fandom. It’s more like not being able to handle the new demographics of the world." + Producer-director Jovanka Vuckovic: "The more intelligent people are saying, ‘How can we do better in terms of diverse casting and diverse writing roles with diversity in mind?’ and then the less intelligent people are having tantrums because girls are chasing ghosts in the movies.” [Full story.]( ^First Man trailer: Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling's La La Land follow-up. The teaser shows the perils and challenges of the Apollo 11 mission, as well as the toll it took on Neil Armstrong and his family. [Full clip.]( ► Box office: Ocean's 8 heads for solid weekend. The Warner Bros. heist film will have no trouble stealing the crown from holdover Solo with a domestic debut in the [$40M-plus]( range from 4,145 theaters. ► Warner Bros. finds new writers for Suicide Squad. David Bar Katz and Todd Stashwick are set [to pen]( the script for the sequel alongside director Gavin O'Connor, sources say. ► Fox Searchlight's astronaut drama adds cast. Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn [will join]( Natalie Portman, Jon Hamm, Zazie Beetz and Dan Stevens in the untitled film from Fargo showruner Noah Hawley. ► Universal unveils trailer for Halloween sequel. The teaser for the Jamie Lee Curtis film ignores decades of continuity, allowing Michael Myers and Laurie Strode to return to their roots. [Full clip.]( *In tribute: Jerry Maren. The last living dwarf actor who played a Munchkin in the 1939 Wizard of Oz died May 24 at 98, after decades of celebrating the blockbuster's impact, writes the author of The Munchkins of Oz. [Full column.]( In Heat Vision: A24 horror title Hereditary’s most demanding scene. Star Alex Wolff took a leap of faith with first-time director Ari Aster on the buzzy film, out this weekend: "We were both the same amount of anxious, but we both trusted each other." [Full interview.]( Remembering Bourdain As with many of us who never had the opportunity to enjoy the steak frites at Brasserie Les Halles, my first exposure to Anthony Bourdain came through Kitchen Confidential, writes Daniel Fienberg: + In tribute: "The book was a raucous chronicle of the highs and lows of restaurant life, a rock-n-roll peek behind the curtain of a world unknown if you never had the opportunity to work in the food service industry. The vignettes were full of drug use, colorful language and horrifying truths about the food we eat and the people who prepare it. The tendency to crown Bourdain as the Hunter S. Thompson of the kitchen was irresistible." [Full column.]( + CNN's weekend of specials. On Sunday night, the network will air as scheduled the sixth episode of Parts Unknown, which is in its 11th season. The episode, which is set in Berlin, will have a "special introduction" from anchor Anderson Cooper. [Details.]( + Travel Channel's marathon. Also on Sunday, the network will air a 12-hour marathon of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, which ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2012. [Details.]( + Netflix show dedicated. At a panel for the upcoming second season of Somebody Feed Phil, the host Phil Rosenthal discussed just how influential Bourdain was in creating a new genre and dedicated his entire series to him. [Quotes.]( Elsewhere in TV.. .► TV studio chiefs explain appeals of being independent. Executives from Blumhouse, Annapurna, Miramax and Entertainment One spoke at ATX TV Fest in Austin on their varying business models and what they offer that Netflix and vertically aligned studios can't. [Full story.]( ► Netflix plans Shonda Rhimes' first project. The uber producer has [acquired]( the rights to the New York mag story "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People" by Jessica Pressler. Rhimes is attached to write the series. ► HBO orders first Game of Thrones prequel pilot. Jane Goldman [will serve]( as showrunner on the new series, set thousands of years before the events of Thrones and co-created by source material author George R. R. Martin. ► Bravo's Project Runway gets band back together. Following a decade-long run at Lifetime, the venerable fashion competition is also [reteaming](with original series producers Magical Elves, led by Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth. About those TV reboots. NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt: "I'd love to bring back West Wing and The Office but there aren't any plans to do that now. I talked to Aaron Sorkin about A Few Good Men and he says if he had a great idea and creatively thought it was the right time [for West Wing], he'd love to do it."[Details.]( "Either You're the Fastest or Not" Michael Fassbender is part of a small club of actors turned race car drivers and is fresh off a first-place finish in the first of six series at the Daytona Ferrari Challenge, with another race on June 9. [His Hollywood obsession]( I [Full racing video.]( What else we're reading... — "It’s buy or die in media as tech takes over." Ben Fritz writes: "Traditional Hollywood firms scramble to expand their reach and content mix to compete with cash-rich digital rivals." [[Wall Street Journal](] — "Art is becoming a financial product, and Blockchain is making it happen." Scott Reyburn writes: "Investors have shied away as an asset class. But new technology could make it a better bet." [[New York Times](] — "Star Wars lovers’ #FanArtForRose shows a better way to fight online trolls." Inkoo Kang writes: "The campaign offers a tactic for going high and not giving trolls undue attention." [[Slate](] — "The summer of sequels no one asked for." Sean Fennessey writes: "Ocean’s 8 kicks off a sustained run of movies seeking to ride the vapor trail of blockbusters like Avengers: Infinity War. Is this a bad thing for the movies?" [[The Ringer](] — "Why is Michael Ferro slowing down Patrick Soon-Shiong’s deal to buy the L.A. Times?" Ken Doctor reports: "Any would-be scenarios involving Tronc include odd tradeoffs, weird valuations, and questions of sheer feasibility." [[Nieman Lab](] Today's birthdays: Natalie Portman, 37, Johnny Depp, 55, David Koepp, 55, Michael J. Fox, 57, Aaron Sorkin, 57, T.D. Jakes, 61. 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]( June 9, 2018