Moonves Under Fire; Can Les Survive?; CBS Rocked; 'M:I 6' Cruising; Early Awards Season Buzz

What's news: Leslie Moonves' decades of alleged sexual misconduct detailed in a New Yorker exposé — will the longtime CBS chief keep his job? Plus: Disney and Fox approve deal, Mission: Impossible — Fallout's promising start and an early look at awards season. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( July 28, 2018 What's news: Leslie Moonves' decades of alleged sexual misconduct detailed in a New Yorker exposé — will the longtime CBS chief keep his job? Plus: Disney and Fox approve deal, Mission: Impossible — Fallout's promising start and an early look at awards season. — Will Robinson ^Moonves accused: CBS CEO Leslie Moonves has been accused of sexual misconduct by six women over the course of a couple decades, Ronan Farrow of the New Yorker reports. + Allegations: "Four described forcible touching or kissing during business meetings, in what they said appeared to be a practiced routine. Two told me that Moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers. All said that he became cold or hostile after they rejected his advances and that they believed their careers suffered as a result." + On the record: Actress Illeana Douglas spoke about how Moonves allegedly tried to kiss her and grab her in the '90s. Writer Janet Jones detailed a time when Moonves purportedly "threw himself on top of me" in 1985. Producer Christine Peters recounted when, in 2006, Moonves allegedly put his hand up her skirt during a business meeting. Writer Dinah Kirgo spoke how she turned down a business dinner presented as more in the '80s. * Culture at large: Others spoke about the environment at CBS and how it trickled down to CBS News, with allegations levied against current 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager. [[New Yorker](] * Farrow on CNN: "What’s so significant here is you’re dealing both with an individual who is at the top of his game, and on whom many, many other powerful people depend for their livelihoods, and also a corporation that is at the apex of our culture, that shapes our news, that shapes our fiction that we consume. And, as it turns out ... this wasn’t just Les Moonves. This was a culture of protecting powerful people.” [Watch.]( + Moonves' full statement: "Throughout my time at CBS, we have promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees and have consistently found success elevating women to top executive positions across our company. I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. "But I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career. This is a time when we all are appropriately focused on how we help improve our society, and we at CBS are committed to being part of the solution." [Details.]( + Shari Redstone's statement: "The malicious insinuation that Ms. Redstone is somehow behind the allegations of inappropriate personal behavior by Mr. Moonves or today’s reports is false and self-serving. Ms. Redstone hopes that the investigation of these allegations is thorough, open and transparent.” [More.]( * Market effect: By closing on Friday, CBS's stock dropped 6%. Meanwhile, Redstone's Viacom finished the day up 5%. + Julie Chen responds: "I have known my husband Leslie Moonves since the late '90s, and I've been married to him for 14 years. Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader," Moonves' wife wrote on Twitter. "He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. I fully support my husband and stand behind him and his statement." Done Deal Merger passes: Disney and Fox shareholders quickly voted to approve the former's $71.3 billion deal to acquire large parts of the latter, Etan Vlessing and Paul Bond report: + Swift approval: Within eight minutes, the "combination merger proposal" from 21st Century Fox received a majority of votes from its shareholders to approve the deal for Disney to acquire a number of Fox assets. * Minor concerns: At the Disney meeting, one shareholder complained the price was too high, but within 11 minutes the vote was tallied in favor of the merger. The 21st Century Fox meeting, chaired by Gerson A. Zweifach, group general counsel, fielded only two short questions from stockholders, including one that generously praised Rupert Murdoch, before the adjournment. + Fox shareholders' bounty: The agreement gives Fox stockholders $38 per share in either cash or shares of "New Disney," a new holding company that will become the parent of both Fox and Disney. Disney expects to pay about $35.7 billion in cash and issue about 343 million New Disney shares to Fox stockholders so that when the transaction closes after final regulatory approval Fox stockholders will own about 17-20 percent of New Disney. + What Disney acquires: Fox's TV and movie studios, Star India, FX, Nat Geo, Fox's 30 percent stake in Hulu and Fox's 39 percent stake in Sky. * What's left behind: Disney did not acquire networks Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FS1 and FS2. [Full story.]( + Sky's up in the air: Joe Mayes and Gerry Smith analyzed the fight for Sky and how Fox might try to contend with Comcast for the U.K. broadcaster. [[Bloomberg](] + How this affects what you watch: Edmund Lee summarized, with help of a graphics package, what recent mergers mean for streaming rights. [[New York Times](] Elsewhere in film... ► Carrie Fisher appearing in Star Wars: Episode IX. The late actress will [appear]( as Leia, using unreleased footage from 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. New stars joining the cast include Keri Russell, Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. ► Netflix acquires Andy Serkis' Mowgli. The streaming service has [picked up]( the rights to Mowgli from Warner Bros., THR has confirmed. Warner Bros. previously had set a release date of Oct. 19 for the film, a gritty live-action/CG retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. It will now debut some time in 2019 on Netflix. ► Netflix's All Day and a Night adds Aquaman actor. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who will play Black Manta in the upcoming Aquaman movie, will [join]( Ashton Sanders and Jeffery Wright in the streaming giant's drama. Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole wrote and will make his directorial debut with the movie. ► DOJ seeks to unseal AT&T-TW merger judge's private comments. The government [estimates]( that approximately 660 pages of trial transcripts remain under seal from the proceeding that resulted in U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon's 172-page opinion allowing the merger to move forward. The defendants didn't previously object to the release of trial transcripts, but, as the DOJ notes, stated “no objection to all bench conferences remaining under seal." ► Peter Dinklage assuming Rumpelstiltskin for Sony. The Game of Thrones actor is [attached]( to star in an adaptation from author Patrick Ness, who's the screenwriter. Ness is best known for books that include A Monster Calls, which was made into a 2016 movie by JA Bayona and stars Felicity Jones. [Quoted:]( "I'm all about female empowerment. We have a female director. We're working together to try to put together a great crew and cast, and just have a really positive, fun experience." — Alexandra Daddario, on producing the upcoming film Can You Keep a Secret?. ^Mission accepted. Paramount's Mission: Impossible — Fallout could [scale]( as much as $60 million in its U.S. debut, possibly a franchise best and one of the best showings of Tom Cruise's career, according to early Friday returns. Warner Bros.' family entry Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is on course for a debut anywhere in the $12 million-$15 million range. ► Lionsgate CEO's pay falls in fiscal 2018. Jon Feltheimer saw his pay [drop]( from $35.3 million in fiscal 2017 to $14.4 million. The latest compensation package follows Lionsgate merging with Starz and Feltheimer signing a new contract through 2023 that is front-end-loaded with stock options. ► MoviePass outage tied to cash crunch. MoviePass users weren't able to use their subscription cards to [purchase]( tickets Thursday. Parent company Helios and Matheson hinted in a filing that it's because merchants demanded money owed to them that the service could not pay, leading to them using $5 million in borrowed cash to pay the processors. ► Frank Miller regains Sin City's rights. Miller has [reacquired]( the rights to film and TV adaptations of Sin City, the noir comic book he created in 1991 and first adapted for the big screen in 2005 through a new settlement in the wake of Weinstein Co.'s sale to Lantern Capital Partner. ► Women in Animation, L.A. colleges launch women's symposium. The nonprofit has [partnered]( with USC, UCLA and CalArts to host "Breaking the Glass Frame: Women and Animation, Past, Present, Future." The symposium, running Oct. 5-7, is designed for women and LGBTQ+ people by spotlighting female contributions to the field of animation and exploring solutions to sexual harassment, bias and lack of diversity. ► RIP Yale Udoff. The screenwriter and playwright who [wrote]( the script for Nicolas Roeg's Bad Timing/A Sensual Obsession, a 1980 psychological thriller starring Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell and Harvey Keitel, died July 19 of cardiac arrest. He was 83. The promise of Fisher. Lucasfilm revealed the surprising news the late actor will appear in Episode IX as Leia, which could be a [tough situation]( to manage, Graeme McMillan writes. TCA Turns to Digital Brown pushes back: The third day of TCA's summer session featured Viacom, and digital outlets YouTube Premium and Rooster Teeth. Daniel Fienberg, current TCA president, emails in his three Friday takeaways: 1. It's his prerogative to ignore facts. One excepts a certain amount of eccentricity from Bobby Brown, but Bobby Brown should have expected a certain amount of fact checking from the reporters of the TCA. Instead, Brown was flustered when a reporter recited incidents of domestic violence from the public record. "The public record is wrong," he maintained. It's the way that he wants to live. 2. Welcome Rooster Teeth. Another day, another new programming player making its TCA press tour debut. Co-founders Burnie Burns and Geoff Ramsey took the stage by acknowledging confusion at their presence on the TCA stage and began with a lengthy TEDs Talk, going back-and-forth on the company's origins and development. They finally opened the floor to interested questions. I may not plan on watching Rooster Teeth going forward, but I definitely know what it is now. 3. YouTube's got Emmy thirst. Cobra Kai, the first clear mainstream breakout smash from YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red) received an Emmy nomination for stunt work, giving it one more Emmy nod this year than The CW. But that wasn't enough for YouTube's Susanne Daniels, who [declared]( with a big smile, "We were robbed." Hopefully, everybody will heed the wise words of Mr. Miyagi: "Never put passion in front of principle. Even if you win, you'll lose." (No clue what that has to do with anything.) Elsewhere in TV... ► Kenya Barris leaving ABC. The Black-ish creator and Girls Trip writer had grown [dissatisfied]( with the broadcast affiliated studio and, sources say, could join Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy at the streaming giant with a nine-figure overall deal. Barris' deal with ABC Studios will end in August as he and the studio have now negotiated his exit. ► Sony inks deal with Norman Lear. The iconic producer behind Netflix's One Day at a Time reboot has [signed]( a two-year first-look deal with the indie studio that includes the option to re-imagine titles from his extensive library, including iconic series All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. ► Former Grey's Anatomy showrunners moving to Universal TV. Married couple and writing partners Tony Phelan and Joan Rater have [moved]( their overall from CBS Television Studios, Lesley Goldberg reports. Phelan and Rater inked a two-year deal with Universal and will create, develop and supervise new projects for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. ► Edgar Ramirez in talks for Netflix thriller. The American Crime Story star is [in talks]( to star in The Last Days of American Crime, Netflix’s adaptation of a Rick Remender comic book title. The story is set in a near future where the U.S. government, fighting terrorism and crime, plans to begin broadcasting a signal that makes it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit an unlawful act. ► Netflix renews Altered Carbon with new star. Captain America star Anthony Mackie will [take over]( the leading role of Takeshi Kovacs, stepping in for season one star Joel Kinnaman. Alison Schapker (Scandal, The Flash) has joined the drama from Skydance Television as co-showrunner alongside Laeta Kalogridis. A season two episode count or return date have not yet been determined. ► New York revokes Charter-Time Warner cable merger. After failing to bolster and expand its local broadband services, Charter was ordered by a NY state commission to "effect an orderly transition" within 60 days to becoming a successful cable provider, or face losing its authorization to operate in the state. Charter acquired Time Warner Cable for $56.7 billion and rebranded as Spectrum. ► BBC's big-budget His Dark Materials fills cast. Georgina Campbell (Black Mirror) and Ian Gelder (Game of Thrones) are among those [joining]( Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McCoy and Dafne Keen in the major eight-episode series for the BBC and New Line Cinema. ► Viacom acquiring Awesomeness on discount. The $25 million deal, which sources say also [includes]( the assumption of some debt, is significantly lower than the $650 million valuation that Awesomeness had in 2016. As part of the deal, CEO Jordan Levin will leave the company following a post-acquisition transition period. [Quoted:]( "It was scary, Sean. I told ABC that I don't feel like I'm in a good mentally balanced place." — Roseanne Barr, on mental state before her Valerie Jarrett tweet. ^Coming next month. From Netflix's Disenchantment to Amazon's Jack Ryan and AMC's Better Call Saul, [prepare]( for the 10 most anticipated premieres in August. ► Killing Eve adds new blood for season two. Series creator and executive producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge has [hired]( Emerald Fennell to serve as head writer for the second season, THR has confirmed. Two new directors, Lisa Bruhlmann and Francesca Gregorini, will also be part of the creative team for BBC America's Emmy-nominated series. ► James Roday inks first-look deal with Psych producers. The star of USA's Psych has [signed]( a one-year deal with Universal Cable Productions for new projects from the actor, writer and director. Roday next stars in ABC's new fall drama A Million Little Things. ► Lethal Weapon adds Maggie Lawson. The former Psych star is the latest to join the Fox cop series. She'll play Dr. Natalie Flynn, the ex of Wesley Cole (incoming star Seann William Scott). The two met in the service, where he was a soldier and she a medic, and had a brief relationship that led to Natalie having their baby. ► TMNT among five Nickelodeon renewals. Nickelodeon, in the midst of a search for a permanent replacement for programming veteran Cyma Zarghami, [solidified]( its lineup by handing out renewals during its TCA summer press tour session: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Henry Danger, Knight Squad, The Dude Perfect Show and Hunter Street. ► Facebook Watch debuting Brat's teen soap. Gen Z media brand Brat is [prepping]( the premiere of teen soap Turnt on the social network's video platform. Turnt, which will span 40 episodes, is set to debut Aug. 1 with its first four episodes. After the launch, three new episodes will become available every three weeks for the remainder of the show's run. ► David Tennant joins Rooster Teeth's gen:LOCK. The former Doctor Who star is [joining]( a voice cast that already includes Michael B. Jordan, Dakota Fanning and Koichi Yamadera. Gen:LOCK will tell the story of a team of young pilots, led by Jordan's Julian Chase, who control the next generation of giant robots known as mecha as they fight on the losing side of a global war. ► AT&T Audience Network renews two series. Following its corporate parent's acquisition of Warner Bros., the cabler has [handed out]( a second-season renewal for conspiracy thriller Condor as well as picked up comedy You Me Her for a fourth and fifth season. ► A+E Networks Group names new president. Paul Buccieri has been [elevated]( to group president some four months after Nancy Dubuc abruptly vacated for the top job at Vice. The news follows an expedited rise through the management ranks for Buccieri, a former head of ITV Studios’ U.S. Group, who first joined the company in early 2015. ► Ed Westwick won't face rape charges. The L.A Country District Attorney's office say there was not sufficient evidence [to pursue]( a case against the Gossip Girl alum, who was accused in November of raping two women and sexually assaulting a third in 2014. ► NBC Nightly News EP exits. Sam Singal is [leaving]( his position as executive producer of the Lester Holt-anchored program, he announced to show staff on Friday. Senior broadcast producer Jenn Suozzo, who joined the network back in 1999, will step in to fill Singal's position on an interim basis. Singal is in discussions about other positions at the network. Nicole Kidman reuniting with Liane Moriarty. The Big Little Lies star's Blossom Films and Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories have [closed]( a preemptive deal for TV/film rights to Moriarty’s upcoming novel Nine Perfect Strangers. Kidman is set to star in and executive produce Nine Perfect Strangers, which a source said is likely heading to the small screen. Awards Season Gears Up Oscars' amuse bouche: A slew of announcements over the past few weeks by the major fall film festivals have helped to [clarify]( which awards hopefuls will be screening where in the coming months, Scott Feinberg writes. What to watch this weekend... THR critic Daniel Fienberg sends his recommendation: OK, so you've got some homework for the weekend and it involves reading! Take a trip to Castle Rock, Maine. Hulu's new drama Castle Rock doesn't have a direct Stephen King book or story as source material, but it exists in a world that includes Cujo, The Dark Half, Needful Things and more. The show is OK, but it's even better if you're able to make all the connections, so grab a book and alternate between some vintage Stephen King and some OK streaming TV. If the books are too big, try the short story "The Body." If this were academia, we'd call it an interdisciplinary study! What else we're reading... — "Mission: Impossible and the Duality of Tom Cruise." Josh Spiegel writes: "Even as he excels as Ethan Hunt, it's been hard for the actor to duplicate that magic in other would-be franchises." [[THR](] — "The 50 greatest special effects movies of all time." The AV Club staff lists, not ranks: "Whether achieved through purely physical/organic means, through the digital magic available at a mouse click, or through something as simple as a cut, the effects within them hold a monopoly on our imaginations." [[The AV Club](] — "How Bob Ley Became ESPN’s Most Important Broadcaster." Bryan Curtis profiles: "When Ley hosts the network’s Boston Marathon bombing coverage or captains its all-night wake for Muhammad Ali, a certain image takes hold in the public mind. Ley is a capital-J journalist, a man who rises above Bristol’s petty intrigues to a higher moral plane." [[The Ringer](] — "Roseanne, Hannity, and the One Joke That Reveals So Much." Megan Garber explores: "Barr, on Thursday, choosing to punctuate her 'apology' to Valerie Jarrett with a joke about Valerie Jarrett ... was suggesting, insidiously, division over all. She was attempting to minimize Jarrett, to belittle her once more—by trying to exert, even as she allegedly sought Jarrett’s forgiveness, an easy, impish kind of power over her." [[The Atlantic](] — "In Age of Cord Cutting, Many Cable Loyalists Cling to Remotes." David Caleb Mutua reports: "More than 90 million households still subscribe to some form of pay TV, and they often can’t envision a life without their hundreds of channels, live sports and generously sized remote controls." [[Bloomberg](] What else we're watching... + "Laura Linney still doesn't feel like she's made it." [[Late Show](] From the archives... + On July 28, 1954, Elia Kazan brought On the Waterfront to theaters, starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint. The drama took in eight Oscars and was hailed for its immediacy: "The story is as fresh and terrifying as today’s newspaper. ... Budd Schulberg... has turned out a script that is a masterpiece of screen journalism." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Sarah Snook, 31, Dustin Milligan, 33, John David Washington, 34, Tom Pelphrey, 36, Elizabeth Berkley, 46, Lori Loughlin, 54, Georgia Engel, 70, Sally Struthers, 71. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? 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