Saudi Crackdown; Cable News Revolving Door; 'The Connors' Meets Critics; Netflix's Next Battleground

What's news: After the disappearance of a journalist, some media personalities are distancing themselves from the regime in Saudi Arabia while other Hollywood heavyweights have remained silent so far. Plus: A close look at the pro-Trump revolving door in cable news, The Connors meets critics and Netflix's next battleground. — Erik Hayden [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( October 13, 2018 What's news: After the disappearance of a journalist, some media personalities are distancing themselves from the regime in Saudi Arabia while other Hollywood heavyweights have remained silent so far. Plus: A close look at the pro-Trump revolving door in cable news, The Connors meets critics and Netflix's next battleground. — Erik Hayden Who's Speaking Out? Saudi crackdown: As the investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi intensifies, activists are questioning the relationship between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Hollywood heavyweights, Tatiana Siegel and Alex Ritman write: + No comment (mostly): Multiple outlets with business interests in Saudi Arabia contacted by THR — including WME, AMC, Imax and others — either refused to comment on the Khashoggi situation or issued statements saying they are "monitoring the situation." + Who's invested: A flurry of business deals between Hollywood and the Middle Eastern kingdom kicked off in January with reports that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was acquiring a 5 to 10 percent stake in WME holding company Endeavor for $400 million. In December AMC Entertainment said it would explore building theaters in Saudi Arabia. + Film trip halted: Gerard Butler canned a trip to Riyadh to promote action thriller Hunter Killer as details of the Saudi dissident's disappearance came to light. "Given the circumstances, it was no longer appropriate to make the trip," the rep [stated](. + Flashback: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman had been praised for his efforts to reform Saudi Arabia's historically repressive culture and open up his insular country to outside investment, including the removal of a 35-year ban on theatrical movies, which was celebrated with a gala screening of Marvel's Black Panther in Riyadh in April. [Full story]( I [Media exodus.]( Weekend news briefs... ► On-set death on Sony's Mr. Rogers film to be investigated. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Thursday night death of a crewmember on the Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania set. [Details.]( ► Google to fight subpoena demands over "Shitty Media Men" spreadsheet. Author Stephen Elliott has brought a defamation lawsuit over his inclusion on a list of allegedly sexually exploitive men — and the case could break new ground in many different ways. [Analysis.]( ► Star Wars comic writer says Marvel fired him over his tweets. Chuck Wendig says he was removed from the Shadow of Vader series, with two issues left unwritten, over the "negativity and vulgarity" his tweets bring. No comment from Marvel. [His tweets.]( ► Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters nabs another prize. The Vancouver Film Festival on Friday night unveiled its top audience awards, with Hirokazu Kore-eda's Cannes winner picking up the most popular international feature award. [Other winners.]( *R.I.P., Carol Hall. The singer, songwriter and recording artist best known for writing the music and lyrics for the long-running Broadway hit The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas has died. She was 82. [Full obit.]( Meanwhile... Hollywood's new power move: Going "full bald." Vincent Boucher notes: Jeff Bezos, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Avenatti and other high-profile media players have committed to completely hairless pates: ["It projects a certain confidence."]( Cable News Revolving Door What's going on with those pro-Trump voices: A string of forced departures has led some to question CNN's hiring practices, contending that the caliber of contributors sets them up for self-destruction, Jeremy Barr writes: + MSNBC vs. CNN: CNN's insistence on hiring pundits to take Trump's side, despite the protestation of viewers, represents a clear difference in strategy with MSNBC, which strives to provide balance by giving airtime to Never-Trump Republicans — like former John McCain strategist Steve Schmidt — who reinforce viewers' dislike of the president. + Direct from the White House: CNN, while publicly despised by the president, also is more likely to book Trump staffers than MSNBC. One senior Trump staffer says that White House officials are informally banned from appearing on the network's morning show, Morning Joe, due to bad blood between the hosts and the president. [Full story: "Hey, it's good TV. Keep going."]( Elsewhere in TV... > Sunday preview: ABC's The Alec {NAME} Show premieres tomorrow at 10 pm. Lacey Rose on what to expect: To differentiate {NAME}’s show from the many others, there will be no monologue, no studio audience and, at least while {NAME} and his guest are talking, no pauses for commercial breaks. [An eclectic guest list.]( < ► Netflix cancels Iron Fist after two seasons. The Marvel drama is the first to fall at the streamer, with news arriving as Disney is planning a direct-to-consumer platform of its own. Season one was panned by critics. [Details.]( ► Fox extends Lethal Weapon's run. The network has picked up two more episodes of its drama — with star Damon Wayans set to be part of it — to bring the season total to 15. The inclusion of Wayans in the extra episodes is [no small thing.]( [Quoted:]( "I've heard that there's an Alias reboot happening, but no one's talked to me about it. I mean it would be totally different. But if they didn't have me on as a guest, I would be very, very angry." — Jennifer Garner on a possible Alias reboot. ► ABC's The Connors meets critics (airs next Tuesday). [Hollywood Reporter:]( "No Roseanne? No problem." [USA Today:]( "lacks Roseanne's bite but provides a satisfying meal." [IndieWire](: "fans won't feel out of place." ► Showtime's Roger Ailes series adds to cast. Seth MacFarlane, Sienna Miller, Simon McBurney and Annabelle Wallis have joined the eight-episode series, which focuses primarily on Ailes (Russell Crowe) in the last decade of his life. [Based on a book.]( ► HBO acquires prison movie O.G. The cabler nabbed the rights to the narrative feature starring Westworld star Jeffrey Wright. The film is directed by Emmy-winner Madeleine Sackler and written by Stephen Belber. [Premiered at Tribeca.]( And... Longtime CBS HR exec's exit pay detailed in filing. Anthony Ambrosio, who joined the company in 1985 and will be replaced by Laurie Rosenfield, will receive a $1,875,000 severance payment, a $1,302,083 bonus in 2018, and a $2,970,000 bonus severance, for a total amount of[$6 million+.]( Streaming's Next Battle In Europe: The lines between established broadcasters and the insurgent FAANGs (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) are being drawn, Scott Roxborough writes: + Soaring growth. The U.S. remains the biggest single territory for online streaming, but with growth slowing, Europe is catching up. A report in September from Research and Markets forecasts SVOD revenue in Western Europe will nearly triple from $4.4 billion in 2017 to about $12.5 billion in 2023, near the value of the SVOD market in the U.S. today. + Regional Netflix rivals. Local broadcasting giants are boosting their online presence. Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 has linked up with Discovery Communications' Eurosport network on a joint SVOD platform, and France TV, M6 and TF1 have launched Salto, a French-language streamer. ["There is a lot of space for everyone."]( What to watch this weekend... Dan Fienberg emails: This might be a good time to binge the recently completed fourth season of Better Call Saul, or to finally take a stab at AMC's trippy and lovely Lodge 49, which not only finished its first season, but also was finally picked up for a second run. Really, though, if you've got a pre-Halloween appetite for horror, you won't do much better than Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, which offers two or three quality scares per episode and some quality performances and emotional moments to boot. Grab yourself some popcorn and a warm blanket, turn off the lights and enjoy this one before it goes from hyped to over-hyped. What else we're reading... — "Jill Soloway is building a gender-free empire." Penelope Green profiles Amazon's Transparent creator, who writes about Jeffrey Tambor's firing from her show in her new memoir She Wants It: Desire, Power and Toppling the Patriarchy. [[New York Times](] — "In China, a dot-com déjà-vu." Phred Dvorak and Liza Lin report: " The rewards are rich, as are valuations. And the risks are rising. How it will play out depends upon whom you ask." [[The Wall Street Journal](] — "The sci-fi–science feedback loop." Kevin Bankston notes: "For nearly a century, Hollywood has both drawn from and driven real scientific advances." [[The Atlantic](] — "The return of quiet storm." Elias Leight reports: "How streaming services are helping down-tempo, smoothed-out R&B acts like H.E.R. and Daniel Caesar build a career without club or radio hits." [[Rolling Stone](] — "Looking back at Peak Grunge." Allison Stewart writes an oral history "of the time when grunge’s Big Four - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains - shared chart space with Stone Temple Pilots and Candlebox, and music was gloriously miserable." [[Washington Post](] From the archives... ^43 years ago today: Star Wars gets pitched. In 1975, while employed at United Artists, literary agent-turned-studio executive Marcia Nasatir read an unusual story at the request of UA production chief Mike Medavoy, who was seeking an interesting sci-fi project. [What the memo said.]( Today's birthdays: Sacha Baron Cohen, 47, Kate Walsh, 51, Matt Walsh, 54, Chris Carter, 61, Avi Lerner, 71, Paul Simon, 77. 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]( October 13, 2018