CBS' Fager Fired; Disney's 'Netflix Killer'; 3 Days With Anderson Cooper; 'Predator' vs. 'Nun'; Trump's Forgotten Reality TV Horror

What's news: Jeff Fager is officially out at CBS News following a threatening text message sent to a CBS News correspondent. Plus: How Disney's streamer will work, The Predator looks to best The Nun despite its casting controversy and Peter Farrelly's surprise Oscar bid out of Toronto. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( September 13, 2018 What's news: Jeff Fager is officially out at CBS News following a threatening text message sent to a CBS News correspondent. Plus: How Disney's streamer will work, The Predator looks to best The Nun despite its casting controversy and Peter Farrelly's surprise Oscar bid out of Toronto. — Will Robinson ^Three days with Anderson Cooper: Marisa Guthrie trails the busiest man in TV news as he bounces back and forth from his West Village firehouse to CNN, interviewing nervous White House staffers, planning trips to hotspots and FaceTime-ing with his old buddy Andy Cohen: + Breakneck schedule: The 51-year-old news anchor spends nearly every single day working. There's Anderson Cooper 360, his five-nights-a-week newscast on CNN; his gig as a 60 Minutes corre­spondent (he'll shoot 10 pieces for the CBS newsmagazine this season); and his new Facebook news series, Full Circle; not to mention the live road show he does with pal Andy Cohen, AC²: Deep Talk and Shallow Tales. + Sadness behind NYE: Cooper started hosting the broadcast in 2002, mostly because nobody else wanted to work on the holiday. It was a welcome distraction from a difficult time of year. “My dad died five days after New Year's Eve, on January 5th in 1978 and I remember that New Year's Eve, watching with my brother and it was very scary because my dad was in the hospital and I was ten and…” he trails off. “So anyway, I started volunteering to work.” + Liquid diet: "I don't care about food," he says, nodding toward the mini-fridge stocked with Soylent energy drink that purports to provide all known human nutritional needs. "So I'm trying to replace all food with this because it would be, like, three less decisions in a day." * Shamed by Bourdain: Not surprisingly, his eating habits used to drive his late CNN colleague Anthony Bourdain more than a little crazy. “We had lunches together and he would just look at me like I was a creature from another planet,” he says. “Everything I thought about food was completely antithetical to his beliefs.” + How he turns off: "I'm a night owl," he says. "I stay up till 1 or 2. I watch a lot of TV [like The Rain on Netflix and The Missing on BBC]. When I get home, that's what I do. I watch stuff." [Full story.]( Fager Out at CBS News CBS changes continue: Jeff Fager had been at CBS News for 36 years and has been a leading figure at the news division for decades, including his most recent stint as the executive producer of 60 Minutes — the show's second-ever ep — before his Wednesday firing, Marisa Guthrie reports: + Violated company policy: CBS News president David Rhodes announced the move in a statement, noting "this action today is not directly related to the allegations surfaced in press reports, which continue to be investigated independently. However, [Fager] violated company policy and it is our commitment to uphold those policies at every level." * Filling in: Executive editor Bill Owens has been tapped as 60 Minutes' temporary executive producer while Rhodes and executive vp Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews look for a new ep. + Rhodes faces staff: He was peppered with questions about what policy Fager had violated, but he would not (or could not) say. Many employees wanted to know why they would not simply wait for the results of the investigation being conducted by two outside law firms. + Fager's side: In a statement: “The company’s decision had nothing to do with the false allegations printed in The New Yorker. Instead, they terminated my contract early because I sent a text message to one of our own CBS reporters demanding that she be fair in covering the story. My language was harsh and, despite the fact that journalists receive harsh demands for fairness all the time, CBS did not like it. One such note should not result in termination after 36 years, but it did.” [Full story.]( + The text message: CBS News national correspondent Jericka Duncan [revealed]( Fager's threatening text messages to her: "If you repeat these false accusations without any of your own reporting to back them up, you will be responsible for harming me. Be careful. There are people who lost their jobs trying to harm me and if you pass on these damaging claims without your own reporting to back them up that will become a serious problem." + Fager's First Amendment Award rescinded by Quinnipiac University: "He will no longer be [recognized]( as a recipient of the award," John W. Morgan, a spokesperson for the university, said in an email to THR on Wednesday night. Fager had received the award at a luncheon ceremony in June. Elsewhere in TV... ► Viacom CEO avoids CBS talk, trumps Paramount turnaround. Bob Bakish did not directly address the ouster of CBS CEO Leslie Moonves and what that could mean for plans to combine the business with Viacom, saying only "what we're very focused on is operating the assets we already own." [More.]( ► BMI demands licensing documents from Irving Azoff-led competitor. Global Music Rights looks to quash a subpoena and tells a judge that it shouldn't have to give a dominant competitor "near-comprehensive access to the heart and soul of GMR’s business." [Details.]( ► Trump's relationship with Fox News featured in Supreme Court petition. TVEyes tells the high court that democracy can only thrive when discourse is examined in sunlight — and that a copyright holder like Fox News shouldn't be able to preclude criticism, Eriq Gardner reports. [Details.]( ► Insatiable renewed for season two at Netflix. The streaming giant [re-upped]( its controversial "revenge comedy." The series, starring Debby Ryan, will return in 2019. ► 13 Reasons Why's Katherine Langford to star in Frank Miller's Cursed at Netflix. Langford will play the lead role in Miller and Tom Wheeler's [take]( on the King Arthur legend. The series is based on a book for young readers of the same name written by Wheeler (The Lego Ninjago Movie) and illustrated by Miller. It's due to be published in fall 2019. ► Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, Bruce Springsteen set for Stand Up for Heroes. The event, presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival, has [raised]( more than $45 million since it began in 2007 to help injured service members and their families. The 2018 benefit will take place Nov. 5 at New York City's Madison Square Garden. ► AMC Networks CEO says he's been prudent amid industry consolidation. Josh Sapan [told]( Wall Street watchers that his cable channels group has "been using the balance sheet for a careful, surgical and strategic M&A." ► Happy Valley producer Nicola Shindler named StudioCanal U.K. CEO. Shindler — who will move into her new role Oct. 1 — [replaces]( Danny Perkins, who announced he was stepping down earlier this summer after eight years, and will report to StudioCanal CEO Didier Lupfer. [Quoted:]( "I am completely behind the #MeToo movement. You'd have to have Down Syndrome to not feel sorry for— #MeToo is what you want for your daughters and you want that to be the future world, of course." — Norm Macdonald to Howard Stern, clarifying Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr comments during a THR interview. ^Fall TV preview. The battle against Fox's new Thursday NFL slate features CBS' Murphy Brown revival, ABC's Station 19 and NBC's dramatic stalwart Law & Order: SVU, Rick Porter reports. [Analysis.]( Ratings notes... ► NBC vs. CBS: Who's really No. 1? NBC and CBS are both laying claim to the title of "America's most-watched network." Neither one is wrong — they're arguing over time frames and bragging rights. Rick Porter emails: NBC will finish the 52-week 2017-18 season at the top of the total-viewer rankings for the first time in 16 years, thanks in part to its having aired the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in February. A robust summer lineup led by America's Got Talent put the network over the top. That's the rub for CBS: It (rightly) notes a total-viewer victory in the traditional September-to-May season, topping NBC by about 150,000 viewers despite the latter having the huge ratings engines of the Super Bowl and Olympics. It's nice PR to have the "most-watched" title, but in the demographic ratings that are the currency of the business, NBC's season-long victory (no matter which time frame is used) was never in doubt. Both networks, however, are down a little vs. the same time in 2017 in the 18-49 demo. [Full analysis.]( Digital digest... ► Apple introduces super-sized, lower-priced iPhones. The technology company unveiled three new iPhone models — the XS, XS Max and XR — and updated the Apple Watch. [Details.]( ► Tim Armstrong to step down as CEO of Oath. Former Alibaba executive K. Guru Gowrappan will [run]( the asset that includes AOL, Yahoo and HuffPo. He will report to Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg and Armstrong will stay on as an adviser for the remainder of the year, reporting to Lowell McAdam, the board chairman. ► Discovery CEO says Hulu streaming deal is "big day" for media giant. The exec said the deal ensures the media company's programming continues to [dominate]( live and on-demand subscription products in the U.S. market. "Today is an affirmation that, in the end, the consumer wins. When they buy those skinny bundles ... they want the channels they love," David Zaslav said. ► European parliament approves controversial new copyright laws. Article 13 puts the [onus]( on web giants such as Google and Facebook to ensure content posted to their platforms conforms with European copyright laws and that rights-holders are properly compensated. Talking points... ► NRA TV show slams diversity in Thomas & Friends, puts KKK hoods on characters. The beloved British show's move to add more female and international characters [elicited]( a jarring rebuke from NRA TV host Dana Loesch. ► Stormy Daniels to release memoir. The porn star, who [alleges]( an affair with President Donald Trump, announced Full Disclosure on ABC's The View on Wednesday. Set to come out Oct. 2, the memoir will detail Daniels' life and legal standoff with the president. Daniels says, "there's a lot" she has to say. ► Drake, Cardi B lead 2018 AMA nominations with eight each. Ed Sheeran and Post Malone are tied for the second-most nominations with six nods each, followed by Camila Cabello with five nominations and Bruno Mars, Khalid and Taylor Swift with four nods each. [Full list.]( Emmys: Who viewers think should win. THR readers voted for who they think should win the best drama, best comedy and best limited series categories, as well as the best actors and actresses in the drama, comedy and limited series races. [Results.]( How Disney Play Will Work Going all in: As Bob Iger bets the Mouse House on a streaming service, all of Hollywood will feel the impact of the shift to a direct-to-consumer model, writes showbiz lawyer Ken Ziffren: + Features future: For the first two windows, a Disney movie will be licensed on a wholesale basis, as it is today. No changes in the existing model, although the time periods may be compressed. But then, instead of licensing to premium pay or ad-supported services, a Disney movie will go to Disney Play (or, if it has an R rating, to Hulu — assuming Disney retains control at 60 percent when it absorbs Fox's stake in the streamer). * Radical change: On a worldwide basis, a hit movie like Black Panther probably generates more than $150 million from licensing to premium pay and ad-supported linear television over roughly nine years, commencing seven or eight months after its initial theatrical release. Disney will be giving that up in exchange for a hoped-for profit margin on subscription revenue that domestically will run around $6 to $8 per subscriber per month. + Sorting out TV plan: Unlike Netflix or Amazon, Disney has well-known and specialized brands, like ABC or FX, as opposed to an "all you can eat buffet." My guess, to copy a phrase, is, "If the shoe fits, wear it." So the genre of the shows will be the predominant factor in determining the original exhibition window, which fits Disney's "multiple app" branding to a T. * Syndication shift: After a show ends its run, instead of being licensed out for syndication or another streamer, it would move for its second and subsequent windows to Disney Play or Hulu for the rest of its existence. I would estimate that Disney is presently earning well over $2 billion annually from its wholesale television activities; again, the company is putting this revenue at risk against the potential profits to be derived from the new DTC activities. [Full analysis.]( Elsewhere in film... ► The Predator to prey on The Nun with $25M-$30M bow. New Line's The Nun, which debuted to a heavenly $53.8 million last weekend, could earn as much as $25 million in its second outing up against the Fox actioner, Pamela McClintock reports. It's unclear how badly Hurricane Florence will dent the box office, with 20 theaters in the Carolinas and Virginia already shuttered in advance of the storm. [Analysis.]( ► Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood films at Playboy Mansion. The Charles Manson film [marked]( the first shoot at the Holmby Hills property in the post-Hugh Hefner era, Peter Kiefer reports. The new owner, 35-year-old business mogul Daren Metropolous, will receive an associate producer credit. ► Netflix lands Jennifer Aniston dramedy Dumplin'. Patti Cake$'s Danielle Macdonald stars as the teenage daughter of a former beauty queen who [signs up]( for her mom’s pageant as a protest that escalates when other contestants follow in her footsteps. ► Netflix scores Jennifer Garner comedy Yes Day. The New York Times best-seller adaptation will be directed by Miguel Arteta from a script by Justin Malen. The premise of the film is that parents set one day a year where they say "yes" to their kids' [every request](. ► CMG Worldwide facing lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by CEO. Christina Chang, a former attorney at the firm that represents James Dean and the heirs of hundreds of deceased icons, [claims]( women at CMG are objectified and demeaned in a hostile work environment fostered by Mark Roesler, Eriq Gardner reports. ► Prosecutors want to know if Harvey Weinstein has an alibi. Prosecutors are [fighting]( Weinstein's request to review records of what happened before the grand jury that indicted him — and they claim the mogul can't present an alibi at trial because he hasn't turned over that information to the Manhattan D.A.'s office, Ashley Cullins reports. ► Halloween set for 40th anniversary theatrical re-release. The restored and remastered digital print was [created]( under the supervision of original cinematographer Dean Cundey. The re-release is coming from CineLife Entertainment and is set for theaters in the U.S., the U.K., France, Canada and Australia, among other territories beginning Sept. 27. ► Wanda Sykes, Gabriel Iglesias join Uglydolls. Nick Jonas, Pitbull and Kelly Clarkson are also set to star in the STXfilms' animated movie and will [contribute]( original songs to the film's soundtrack, which will be released by Atlantic Records. ► Film Arcade takes U.S. rights to Taylor Schilling's Family. Laura Steinel wrote and directed the feature that [premiered]( in March at SXSW. Family follows an emotionally stunted aunt (Schilling) tasked with watching her 12-year-old niece who finds her life unfurling when the girl runs away to become a Juggalo, a super-fan of the group Insane Clown Posse. ► 2018 Student Academy Award winners revealed. The competition, in its 45th year, [received]( a total of 1,582 entries from 278 domestic and 122 international colleges and universities, which were voted upon by a record number of Academy members. Nineteen students will be honored during the Oct. 11 ceremony. [Quoted:]( "I'd probably fit the suit. I'd have to work out a lot, which I don't love. But, I am sure there's an interesting version of that being out there. And if they wanted to tap me on the shoulder and ask me to do it, why not?" — Jon Hamm, on if he'd theoretically be interested in playing Batman. ^The Oscar favorite no one saw coming? Peter Farrelly's Green Room demands making room for new contenders in the races for lead actor (Viggo Mortensen), supporting actor (Mahershala Ali) and maybe even best picture, Scott Feinberg praises. [Oscar chances.]( ► Austin Film Festival adds The Front Runner, The Favourite and more to lineup. In addition to Jason Reitman's Hugh Jackman-starrer and the British period drama that stars Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman, come a number of short films from emerging female voices that will premiere during the fest this year. [Details.]( TIFF deals... ► Robert Pattinson's High Life lands at A24. French director Claire Denis’ sci-fi English-language debut, which also stars Juliette Binoche, had its world [premiere]( at TIFF. A24 plans a theatrical release for the film. [Review.]( Reviews from Toronto... ► Shannon Service and Jeffrey Waldron's Ghost Fleet. "[Stylistic] drawbacks hardly take away from the underlying power of Ghost Fleet and what it [reveals](: that slavery still exists in certain parts of the world, with only a few people trying to fight it," Jordan Mintzer praises. ► Rosamund Pike enters jam-packed actress race with A Private War. Pike has never given a better — or more Oscar-friendly — performance than she does as the legendary war correspondent Marie Colvin in Matthew Heineman's narrative directorial debut, Scott Feinberg writes. [Analysis]( | [Film review]( ► Nicole Holofcener's The Land of Steady Habits. "The [Ted Thompson book adaptation] is [a good fit]( for the writer-director, whose brief filmography runs deep with wisdom and wit on the aches, rages and frequent ridiculousness of modern adulthood," Sheri Linden writes. Talk on the ground... ► New Susan Sarandon film criticized by mother of slain journalist in Syria. Diane Foley, mother of journalist James Foley, says the drama Viper Club was made [without]( her advance knowledge, consent or participation, Jeremy Barr reports. For your Oscars consideration... ► Panama selects Ruben Blades Is Not My Name for foreign-language category. The film follows actor and multiple Grammy award winner Ruben Blades (Fear the Walking Dead) through several of his concerts around the world, as well as in Panama City and New York City, [delivering]( an intimate portrait of Panama's most popular star, who also sat as a minister of tourism, and ran for president in 1994. ► Iraq submits The Journey. The film [follows]( a young woman suicide bomber who stalks the Baghdad train station. The Journey is Al-Daradji's fourth feature. The director's best-known film on the international festival circuit is his 2009's Syn Babilonu (Son of Babylon). From the stage... ► Andrew Lloyd Webber plans new Cinderella musical project. Fresh from [securing]( EGOT status, the British musical-theater luminary is diving into work on a modern revisionist take on the classic fairy tale with L.A.-based British writers Tom MacRae and Emerald Fennell, David Rooney reports. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: Coen bros. return to Old West in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The six-part Western anthology film, with separate titles for each part, stars James Franco, Liam Neeson, Tim Blake Nelson, Zoe Kazan, Tom Waits and Tyne Daly. [Watch.]( After a Superman shake-up, what happens to the DC Film Universe? With Henry Cavill out as the Man of Steel, Graeme McMillan [examines]( what the Warner Bros. film team could be planning for its Kryptonian focus, for Supergirl and beyond. Agencies Push to Own Content Creative & business tension: WME and CAA lead a rush into producing and owning stakes in film and TV shows, a practice they say helps create opportunities but the Writers Guild believes raises potential conflict issues, Rebecca Sun and Jonathan Handel report: + Finding footing in new landscape: As studios consolidate or get acquired by telecom conglomerates and as deep-pocketed Silicon Valley streamers flex their muscles, the agencies say they have to grow just to stand their ground, let alone make headway for their clients. * Big worry? Self-dealing: "It's a dangerous game if you're not taking it out to the market and laying out the other options," says one top agent at a WME competitor. "At the end of the day, you're supposed to deliver the best possible deal to your client. If [Endeavor Content] is the best possible deal, then it shouldn't be a problem. Where you're hearing a lot of complaints is they are taking movies off the market without exploring other options." + Creators' reservations: Many in Hollywood are suspicious of or outright opposed to agencies getting into the ownership game — none more so than the very faction they are charged to represent. THR reached out to more than two dozen showrunners and experienced writers, and many expressed apprehension about agents producing. * Changing client-agent dynamic: "The headline is that it's bad for creators," declares The Good Fight co-creator Robert King, who, notably, is a client of Paradigm, one of the agencies not moving into ownership (yet). "This is a black-and- white situation where agencies should not be a boss to clients." [Full story.]( What else we're reading... — "Donald Trump's MTV Reality Show Contestants Recall 'A Horrible, Horrible Experience.'" Benjamin Svetkey reports: "Participants in the one-season Girls of Hedsor Hall, which aimed to reform 'bad girls' into proper ladies, reveal claims of sexual harassment, being deprived of food, and the inability to quit the show after producers took their passports." [[THR](] — "Here Are the 100 Best Shows Right Now." TV Guide ambitiously ranks: "Peak TV deserves its own spotlight, a ranking of the very best shows that are being created right now, across every platform." [[TV Guide](] — "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs: An Oral History of Frasier." Marc Freeman interviewed the principal players — here's David Hyde Pierce: "When I got the script, I read it and thought, 'This is terrible—they’ve written two of the same character.' It wasn’t until the table read when I saw how two peas in a pod were an asset and not a shortcoming." [[Vanity Fair](] — "How Hans Zimmer Makes Music That You Remember." Karen Han interviews — Zimmer's process with Steve McQueen: "Movies are sort of ultimately made in a moment. They freeze a moment in our life, and that’s how we felt, this is who we were at that moment when we were making the movie. There’s a lot of Steve sitting in my room and me playing the wrong notes or playing whatever notes." [[Vice](] — "BoJack Horseman’s Raphael Bob-Waksberg Comes to Terms With the Show's 'Original Sin.'" Inkoo Kang interviews the creator: "The fact that I’m still making this show with mostly white people in every episode fills me with tremendous guilt. I say this not to just flagellate myself or to show off what a great guy I am, but because I want to put this on the record and to hold myself up to this when I go about making other shows." [[Slate](] — "He Saw Our Darkness." John Hayes opines on Johnny Cash, 15 years after his death: "The tragic, doleful sensibility through which he sang of Christianity and the national story had — and still has — resonance. It was a sensibility generated out of a genuinely Southern experience and a striking alternative to sweeping assertions about the religious politics of the white South." [[The Bitter Southerner](] What else we're watching... + "Daniel Radcliffe reacts to Harry Potter memes." [[Tonight Show](] + "Keira Knightley grew up obsessed with Emma Thompson movies." [[Late Show](] + "Maya Rudolph reveals the bet Seth made about Paris Hilton." [[Late Night](] + "Christina Aguilera would do a song with Britney Spears." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] From the archives... + On Sept. 13, 1990, Dick Wolf began his TV empire when NBC's Law & Order premiered. Without eventual franchise stalwarts Jerry Orbach, S. Epatha Merkerson and Sam Waterston, the drama took time to find its footing: "Through the concept of the following legal procedure must have sounded intriguing when first advanced, its execution comes off as leaden and contrived." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Lili Reinhart, 22, Robbie Kay, 23, Ben Savage, 38, Colin Trevorrow, 42, Jeffrey Ross, 53, Isiah Whitlock Jr., 64, Jean Smart, 67, Frank Marshall, 72, Jacqueline Bisset, 74. 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]( September 13, 2018