Omarosa's TV Tour; 'Asians' Rising; China's Celeb Pay Cap; Kareem on 'BlacKkKlansman'

What's news: Crazy Rich Asians' box office tracking keeps rising to deliver a promising debut. Plus: China restricts celebrity pay, Kerry Washington returns to TV and the power of Sorry to Bother You and BlacKkKlansman. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( August 14, 2018 What's news: Crazy Rich Asians' box office tracking keeps rising to deliver a promising debut. Plus: China restricts celebrity pay, Kerry Washington returns to TV and the power of Sorry to Bother You and BlacKkKlansman. — Will Robinson ^Other crazy rich stories: Director Jon M. Chu and stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Awkwafina and more reveal stories from set and the making of Warner Bros.' romantic comedy that didn't make it into THR's cover story, Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun report: + Jon M. Chu's unknown book tie: Kevin Kwan's 2013 novel contains a reference to Rachel Chu’s extended family in Cupertino, Calif, and a cousin who made it big in Hollywood making movies. Chu's family also hails from the Bay Area, a coincidence that he pointed out to Kwan when the two finally met for the film project. "Kevin's like, 'No, I am talking about you,'" Chu says. + Actors' homecomings: After wrapping in Malaysia, most of the cast moved directly to Singapore for three more weeks of shooting. But Nick Santos added a side trip to the Philippines — his first visit in 21 years. The Superstore star was born in Manila but moved to the U.S. when he was 16. "I got reunited with my nanny in the Philippines, and it was a really sort of like, crazy, emotional experience," he says. "It's really amazing to be back home." + Asian stars are out there: "People so often, say, 'Oh my gosh, I want to cast more Asians, but it's so hard to find them.' It's not," Wu says. The Fresh Off the Boat star, who says Henry Golding is "fantastic," reveals that she tested with "a bunch of other guys who were fucking amazing." [More stories.]( + Box office outlook up: The Warner Bros. rom-com is now tracking to post a five-day debut of $26 million-plus, according to the latest prerelease surveys. That's up from $20 million several weeks ago, Pamela McClintock reports. [Full analysis.]( China's Pay Crackdown Celebrity cap: China's largest studios said they would follow strict pay limits for actors, while new reports reveal that models, sports stars and other prominent personalities are also being targeted by investigators, Patrick Brzeski reports: + What the caps are: China's largest video sites iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video signed a joint pledge over the weekend promising to limit the pay of television actors to a maximum of 1 million yuan ($145,000) per episode and 50 million yuan ($7.25 million) for an entire season, regardless of its length. * New regulations: The document also stated that signees would follow a recent government directive designed to sharply curtail the remuneration of movie stars. The new guidelines, issued by China's media regulator in June, stipulate that the total pay for a movie's cast should not exceed 40 percent of the budget and that individual actors cannot take home more than 70 percent of the total pay that goes to the cast. + Scandals forced hand: The changes follow the very public tax evasion scandal that engulfed the Chinese entertainment industry earlier this summer, when a prominent TV host leaked documents demonstrating an alleged tax-dodge scheme by an unnamed major star, which some reports have tabbed as actress Fan Bingbing. * Juking authorities: The materials were said to reveal the widely used practice of "yin-yang contracting," whereby production companies provide actors with two sets of pay contracts: one small one to submit to the tax authorities, and a second revealing the star's much larger true pay. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► China's Tencent buys film studio New Classics Media. The $2.25 billion deal [brings]( together one of China's largest content development platforms with the production outfit behind Chinese blockbusters like Never Say Die ($334 million) and Goodbye Mr Loser ($226 million). ► Tyler Perry Studios hires president of production and development. Michelle Sneed, who most recently served as director of physical production at BET Network, will [oversee]( both film and television. Sneed has spent the majority of her 12-year career in both scripted and unscripted television. ► TIFF lands Netflix's Outlaw King to open festival. The historical drama starring Chris Pine as Robert the Bruce will [kick off]( Toronto on Sept. 6. TIFF also said it will close on Sept. 16 with a first look at Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy, the Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern-starrer from director Justin Kelly. ► Disney hits snag to limit knock-off characters at birthdays. A New York federal judge refused to grant summary judgment in favor of Disney in its ongoing case against Nick Sarelli, alleged to run a "knock-off business ... built upon the infringement of Plaintiffs' highly valuable intellectual property rights," Eriq Gardner reports. [Details.]( ► Oliver Stone plans next film, with Benicio Del Toro starring. White Lies is a New York-set [drama]( following Jack (Del Toro), a child of divorce that is now repeating his parents’ mistakes in his own marriage and with his troubled son. Feeling trapped, he embarks on a lust-filled journey to free himself, but only becomes more lost. [Quoted:]( "I think it's better sometimes to have a black guy comment on a white movie, and [vice versa], to take yourself out of the place that you're comfortable in and comment on it from a different perspective. Especially movies, because I'm not making a movie just for black people. I'm not making it just for white people. I'm just making a movie." — Antoine Fuqua, on worrying about diversity of film critics. ^Disney shares first look at live-action Mulan. Disney [shared]( a photo of star Liu Yifei as the titular heroine, who disguises herself as a man in order to spare her elderly father from having to join the military. Production is now underway. ► Razzies respond to Oscars' popular film category. "The Oscars lowering themselves to 'honor' popular fare just to get more eyeballs is not conducive to their brand," an open letter read in part. "The Razzies are co-dependent on Oscar. If you are devalued — so are we." [Full letter.]( ► Paramount names exec vp of worldwide promotions. Michelle Hagen will be responsible for the design and [creation]( of global partnerships in support of Paramount's worldwide theatrical releases. Hagen was last at NBCUniversal, where she worked on global franchises including Despicable Me, Fast & Furious and Jurassic World. ► Paramount moves up Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne's Instant Family. The new release date (Nov. 16) for the pic means that the Paramount family comedy will be able to [partake]( in the lucrative Thanksgiving holiday corridor. ► It Follows filmmaker tackling horror thriller They Hear It. David Robert Mitchell will [write]( the script for Legendary's adaptation of the short, to be directed by Julian Terry. ► Venom, Girl in the Spider Web using Sony's expanded sound services. Sony recently [opened]( three new theater-style studios and two upgraded mix stages on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City. Located inside the Stage 6 facility, the studios offer digital projectors and projection screens. ► Australian VFX company Animal Logic eyes live-action production. The Peter Rabbit producer and leading Australian digital/VFX house [announced]( new production shingle Truant Pictures, which will primarily develop and produce live-action genre films in collaboration with emerging and established Australian talent. The aim is to produce the pics in Australia for a global market. How Lake Bell became marijuana's "unlikely" new superstar. "It's very normalized in our home," says the actress, who recently landed the cover of Ember, a quarterly from pot dispensary MedMen and Paper magazine. [Interview.]( Stand-Up's New Rulers Netflix's reign: For the last few years, the streamer has made a giant push to corner the stand-up comedy market by cornering established and rising stars alike, CNN's Allen Kim reports. + Netflix's giant bids: Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock inked deals with the streamer for $20 million per special, while Amy Schumer signed on for $13 million per special. In 2015, the average cable stand-up deal was reportedly $5-10 million. + Comedy demand: Films by Adam Sandler, one of Netflix's huge talent plays, racked up 500 million hours viewed in 16 months. Comedy Central exec Jonas Larsen revealed that on CC alone, people watched 166 million hours of stand-up in 2017. * Easy foothold: "HBO invested in stand-up early in the '70s. Stand-up is cheap, and you can get a huge amount of attention for something that only requires a microphone stand and one employee," New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman told Kim. + Star-making potential: Ali Wong and W. Kamau Bell have been two of the platform's breakouts. Wong went from Groupon deals to unload tickets to booking theaters without a sweat. Bell sees a similar trend: "Sometimes with the HBO special, even if people didn't have HBO, that sometimes legitimized you in and of itself. Netflix has now taken that spot." [[CNN](] Elsewhere in TV... ► Omarosa's whirlwind news cycle. After NBC News and MSNBC on Monday morning, Omarosa Manigault Newman made another appearance on MSNBC on Monday night, along with the PBS NewsHour. She appeared on CBS This Morning on Tuesday morning, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Tuesday night, Entertainment Tonight and Extra later in the week, and Jake Tapper's State of the Union on Sunday morning. * Media tour bump. The early signs of Manigault Newman's media tour, along with revealing taped conversations with Trump and his staff, seem to have bumped her book up the Amazon best sellers list to No. 5. [Full story.]( ► Trump claims N-word tapes don't exist. "@MarkBurnettTV called to say there are NO TAPES of the Apprentice where I used such a terrible and disgusting word as attributed by Wacky and Deranged Omarosa," Trump [alleged]( via tweet Monday night. "I don’t have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. She made it up." * Trump's follow-up calls Omarosa "a dog." "When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn't work out," Trump [tweeted]( Tuesday morning. "Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!" John Kelly is White House chief of staff. ► Vimeo removes InfoWars after surge in uploads. Alex Jones' platform [uploaded]( 50 videos on Thursday and Friday. A spokeswoman for the IAC-owned company confirmed that the InfoWars account was removed since the content violated its terms of service, citing "discriminatory and hateful content." ► YouTube giving stars cash to tout new features. Lucas Shaw reports the payments "range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars," in response to stars complaining there were limited ways to earn money outside of ad dollars. [[Bloomberg](] ► Kerry Washington to star in, produce Hulu drama Old City Blues. Gore Verbinski is attached to [direct]( Makeready's limited series take on the Boom! Studios graphic novel that's set in the not-so-distant future of a grimy Greece, Lesley Goldberg reports. ► Bull adds MacKenzie Meehan in recurring role. The Vinyl actress will [join]( the CBS show's ensemble in the wake of Annabelle Attanasio's departure, playing Taylor, the newest member of the Trial Analysis Corporation team. [Quoted:]( "As soon as I heard that the article came out, I knew that I'd have to talk about it on Monday night because we talk about everything, so this is the thing to talk about. ... And there was no pushback. Nobody said a damn thing." — Stephen Colbert, on addressing allegations against CBS CEO Leslie Moonves during The Late Show. ^Netflix unveils Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina in first photos. The former Mad Men actress stars as Sabrina Spellman in Netflix's dark, coming-of-age Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series. Its first 10-episode season bows Oct. 26 on Netflix. [Exclusive photo.]( ► Mark Millar launching comic Prodigy for Netflix. The new release [centers]( on Edison Crane, the world's smartest man, who isn't content with running the world's most successful business. Like all Millar creations, Prodigy is intended to be a franchise that will start as a comic book then be adapted by the streaming giant into other forms. ► History renews Knightfall, adds Mark Hamill. The Star Wars actor [joins]( the medieval drama's sophomore run, one that also marks the arrival of new showrunner Aaron Helbing. ► Patrick Dempsey to star in Sky Italia series Devils. Based on the best-selling novel by Guido Maria Brera, Devils is a high-stakes financial [thriller]( set during the European debt crisis. Nick Hurran (Sherlock, Doctor Who, Fortitude) will be the series' showrunner and director, with Jan Michelini also working behind the camera. ► City National acquires payments firm Exactuals. Mike Hurst will [remain]( CEO of Exactuals, and he and other top executives are being retained with multiyear contracts. A royalties and residuals payment company, Exactuals boasts clients that include SAG-AFTRA and a variety of film, TV and music companies. ► Teen Mom star charged with battery, obstructing a peace officer. Farrah Abraham [pleaded]( not guilty stemming from an incident in June at the Beverly Hills Hotel and is due back in court in September. Variety shows strut their stuff with expanded categories. The song-and-dance roots of the format are in [evidence]( across multiple races this year, including two recognizing specials, Scott Feinberg analyzes. The Summer Movie Protest Song Power to the people: Amid Trump's national anthem rhetoric, Spike Lee's latest film and Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You reinforce satire as the preferred genre of the oppressed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes: + Having voices heard: The daily challenge for African-Americans is getting white Americans to listen to their song, especially when it isn't a grinning, grateful or pandering patriotic song. Sorry to Bother You and BlacKkKlansman sing songs that define black America's continuing frustrations and outrage. * Speaking up in troubling times: Both movies are about black people finding their voices and then having the courage to use those voices to tell their truths. But will America listen to what they're singing, especially in today's post-truth and "alternative facts" environment? + Riley's call to action: Sorry to Bother You tells us that just exposing the injustices to people isn't enough and may even profit the villains, as we've seen with the tally of Trump's over 4,000 lies and misrepresentations only making his base's support more fervent. Some slaves don't want their freedom or their own song. The ending of Boots Riley's film suggests that justice may require a more hands-on involvement. [Full column.]( What else we're reading... — "Why HBO Needs to Grow." Matthew Ball deeply analyzes, in two parts: "HBO is one of the most successful media brands in history. But like all businesses, it will still need to change and grow if it wants to remain king." [[REDEF](] — "In the Year of Black Panther, the Oscars Are in Panic Mode. Should They Be?" Sean Fennessey opines: "The Academy is worried about the waning relevance of its signature event. Based on the nominees to come and a way-too-early forecast, it may be right. But are the new changes the right fix?" [[The Ringer](] — "Inside Jeff Bezos' Amazon Play." May Jeong reports on the $10 billion JEDI contract: "Amazon’s high-ranking connections in the Pentagon underscore how Jeff Bezos continues to wield influence in Washington, even as the president himself rails against the online goliath. It also raises a larger question: How do you drain a swamp when the alligators are bigger than ever?" [[Vanity Fair](] — "The Twisted Power of White Voice." Doreen St. Félix examines: "In Sorry to Bother You, white voice is a dangerous intoxicant; in BlackKkKlansman, it is a stereotype the black man can deploy against its creators. Both films acknowledge how, for the black social actor, the use of white voice can trigger the treacherous assimilation of the black bourgeoisie to the white status quo." [[New Yorker](] — "The Gun Guru of YouTube." Graeme Wood details: "About once a day, [John Correia] posts a video depicting graphic real-life violence. Then he slows down the video and explains what happened, and how the good guys might have prevailed, or avoided the confrontation altogether." [[The Atlantic](] What else we're watching... + "Rob Reiner on the Oscar's best popular film category." [[Late Late Show](] + "What breaking news would Wolf Blitzer leave vacation early for?" [[Jimmy Kimmel](] + "Nicki Minaj updates 'Barbie Dreams' to include Stephen." [[Late Show](] + "Topher Grace on playing David Duke in BlacKkKlansman." [[Late Night](] + "Ryan Reynolds reveals the original Deadpool 2 plot he wanted." [[Tonight Show](] From the archives... + On Aug. 14, 1975, Fox brought London viewers into Dr. Frank N. Furter's lab with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Though tepidly received by contemporary critics, the film caught a vibrant life after interactive midnight screenings caught on: "The freelance cult members [...] made going to see Rocky Horror a cross between sitting ringside at a Las Vegas floor show and ogling the crowd at a punk rock concert, perhaps the biggest audience‐participation movie ever made." [[New York Times](] Today's birthdays: Brianna Hildebrand, 22, Mila Kunis, 35, Christopher Gorham, 44, Scott Michael Campbell, 47, Halle Berry, 52, Emmanuelle Béart, 55, Marcia Gay Harden, 59, Steve Martin, 73. 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. 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