CBS Suspends Exec; CA's Law for Board Parity; Wayans Quitting 'Lethal Weapon'; Favreau's 'Star Wars' Series; Oscars Forecast; Sunset Tower's New Era

What's news: CBS places exec Vinnie Favale on administrative leave following multiple complaints about his language in the workplace. Plus: Fan Bingbing returns to Beijing, Damon Wayans says he's quitting Lethal Weapon, details about Jon Favreau's Star Wars series emerge and inside the changing of the guard at Sunset Tower. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( October 04, 2018 What's news: CBS places exec Vinnie Favale on administrative leave following multiple complaints about his language in the workplace. Plus: Fan Bingbing returns to Beijing, Damon Wayans says he's quitting Lethal Weapon, details about Jon Favreau's Star Wars series emerge and inside the changing of the guard at Sunset Tower. — Will Robinson ^Meeting CA's new edict: A new California law requiring women on corporate boards could have a scattershot effect on entertainment companies, if a court doesn't block it, Jonathan Handel reports: + The requirements: The #MeToo-era legislation sponsored by State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson requires any public company headquartered in California to have at least one woman on its board of directors by the end of 2019. * Escalating minimums: Two years later, the requirement gets tougher: three female directors if the board size is six or more; two for boards of five; and one for smaller boards. Violations result in fines of as much as $300,000 per year. Norway, France and Germany have similar laws. + Who's complaint: Disney, whose board includes General Motors CEO Mary T. Barra, and Netflix, which boasts former U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and former Disney-ABC Television president Anne Sweeney. + Out of compliance: Apple, Alphabet, Live Nation (which has Fox TV Group chairman Dana Walden on its board), Lionsgate and Facebook, whose Sheryl Sandberg leans in on an otherwise all-male board. Other studio and network owners — like CBS, AT&T, Comcast and Sony — are headquartered in New York or elsewhere. + Future legal challenges: Many public companies are incorporated in Delaware, which guards its corporate law prerogatives. A legal principle called the internal affairs doctrine holds that matters involving corporate boards are subject to the laws of the state of incorporation, not where the headquarters are located. The new California law appears to run afoul of that doctrine. [Full story.]( CBS Suspends Exec Pattern of innappropriate comments: CBS Studios executive Vinnie Favale has been placed on administrative leave after several current and former employees alleged he regularly used sexual and homophobic language in the workplace, Rick Porter reports: + Purported comments: Among the things Favale is purported to have said include telling people on set he "got four erections" watching Jennifer Hudson rehearse a Late Show performance in 2015; referring to some Late Show guests — and even Stephen Colbert — as "homos" or "gay"; and asking the show's booking staff to find "hotter" female guests, CNN's Chloe Melas reports. + Resurfaced allegations: The allegations against Favale came to light a few weeks after CBS Corp. chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves left the company amid a second wave of allegations of sexual misconduct against him, and a day after CBS Studios terminated an overall deal with former NCIS: New Orleans showrunner Brad Kern over repeated allegations of harassment of female staffers. + Favale's denial: "Allegations that I have ever retaliated against anyone in any fashion are 100 percent false," Favale said in a statement. "I have spent my entire career working at comedy shows, where there has always been a wide latitude to make transgressive jokes while preparing the program. "While we make a lot of jokes, these jokes attributed to me, whether said in rehearsals or production meetings, are being taken out of context and were not said in the way being presented here." + CBS' statement: "The comments reported in this story are offensive and not consistent with the standards we expect from our executives or the culture we want at CBS. The network investigated a complaint for inappropriate language that was received in January 2016, and corrective action was taken. "However, since concerned voices are speaking up nearly three years later, additional review is warranted. Mr. Favale has been placed on leave while we look into this situation further." [Full story.]( + Colbert addresses the report: "[CBS] investigated twice, but I don't really know what, if anything, happened," the late-night host said Wednesday. "It seemed like someone was protecting this guy. I don't know who it was. We eventually convinced the network to make a change." * Thankful for reporting: "I'm grateful to CNN for writing this article, because the press is not the enemy of the people," Colbert said. "This is why you want a free press, this is why you want investigative journalism. It's to make sure that government and companies and people are accountable for their actions." [Full story.]( High-profile network exits... ► Damon Wayans says he's quitting Fox's Lethal Weapon. The actor said in an interview that he plans [to leave]( the Fox procedural in December, after production on the initial 13-episode season three order wraps. "I'm a 58-year-old diabetic and I'm working 16-hour days," Wayans said, noting he's that "done" with the series. ► Chelsea Peretti exiting Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The actress [reveals]( that she won't be a series regular on the forthcoming sixth season of the Fox-turned-NBC comedy series. "I want to thank you for the hours you spent watching Gina be Gina," Peretti wrote in part on Twitter. Elsewhere in TV... ► Netflix to create TV series & films based on The Chronicles of Narnia. Under the terms of a multi-year deal between Netflix and The C.S. Lewis Company, the streaming service will [develop]( classic stories from across the Narnia universe into multiple projects. ► Jake Johnson to lead animated Netflix comedy series Lord & Miller. The streamer has [handed out]( a 10-episode order to Hoops, as the streamers' push for animated fare continues to ramp up. Johnson will voice the lead, a hot-headed, foul-mouthed high school basketball coach. ► European Parliament approves Netflix content quota. Under the new guidelines, 30 percent of all content [carried]( on streaming services in Europe will have to come from the region. ► Sara Gilbert, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf address Roseanne Barr's racist tweet. The trio and new Conners stars opened up together in a new interview for People about Barr's Twitter scandal and subsequent [firing]( from her eponymous ABC series. ► The Late Show scores premiere week ratings win over The Tonight Show. The CBS show [drew]( the biggest total audience for the week of Sept. 24, and it tied NBC's Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the adults 18-49 demographic. That's a shift from the same week in 2017, where Colbert's show still led in total viewers but Fallon had the edge in the demo. ► Jay-Z's Roc Nation, Participant board BBC's Noughts & Crosses YA adaptation. Roc Nation will executive produce and [handle]( the soundtrack to the six-part series, based on Malorie Blackman's award-winning young adult novel series set in an alternative world where the dark-skinned ruling class of the Crosses looks down on the white Noughts.T ► will.i.am inks first-look TV, film deal with eOne. Under the multiple-year deal, will.i.am will create, develop and executive produce film and TV series. The first project under the deal is a TV adaptation of graphic novel Masters of the Sun — The Zombie Chronicles, which was originally [published]( by Marvel Comics and featured will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas. ► Mischa Barton joins The Hills reboot. Following speculation that MTV would welcome new faces to the cast of the reality series revival, the O.C. actress has been [named]( its newest star. ► Syfy's Krypton casts its Lobo for season two. Emmett J. Scanlan has been [tapped]( to take on the iconic role of the DC Comics villain in the sophomore season of the Superman prequel drama. Scanlan will recur as Lobo, the ruthless bounty hunter who murdered his entire species. ► The Nun director signs on for Gareth Evans' Gangs of London series. Corin Hardy will [direct]( three episodes of the Sky/Cinemax thriller series from the creator of The Raid. ► Jimmy Kimmel teams with Caesars for His own Las Vegas comedy club. The aptly named Jimmy Kimmel's Comedy Club will open in the spring of 2019, with Kimmel curating everything from talent to food. Kimmel [downplayed]( the possibility of leaving ABC at the end of his deal next year. [Quoted:]( "If I choose to keep my opinions and my activism to myself then I'm not affecting any change in my time here on Earth." — Logan Browning, on being politically active. ^Edited Heathers reboot will air on Paramount Network, after all. Executives have omitted specific content that had caused concern over airing the series, which will now run as a nine-episode marathon around Halloween, Lesley Goldberg reports. * Initial delay: Paramount Network scrapped the series and attempted to find a new domestic home for the series its planned March 7 premiere was designed to be respectful of the victims and families affected by February's deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead. [Details.]( DC Universe gears up... ► Kaley Cuoco to lead star-studded Harley Quinn voice cast. The Big Bang Theory star will [take on]( the title role in the 26-episode animated series that is due to launch in 2019. The actress, who is currently in production on the 12th and final season of CBS' Big Bang, will also serve as an executive producer on the animated comedy via her Warner Bros. TV-based Yes, Norman Productions banner. ► Matt Bomer joins Doom Patrol. The Normal Heart and White Collar grad will have a voiceover and onscreen role in the Titans spinoff. Due in 2019, the live-action drama is [based on]( the DC Comics title of the same name. ► Titans gets early season two renewal. The SVOD platform's first scripted series [hosted]( its world premiere Wednesday in New York ahead of its Oct. 12 debut. Digital digest... ► Blizzard names Warcraft exec new president. J. Allen Brack will [succeed]( former president Mike Morhaime. “I am incredibly honored and humbled to serve as Blizzard’s next president, and to lead one of the best entertainment companies in the world, thanks to the passion and dedication of our player community and employees,” he said in a statement. #WhyIDidntReport extends to Hollywood... ► Busy Philipps & Ellen DeGeneres reflect on the "unoriginal horror" of their sexual assaults. "When I saw her standing there [speaking]( her truth after 30 years, I was like it's been 25 for me and I can do this," said Philipps about how Christine Blasey Ford inspired her to open up about her own rape. ► Connie Chung reveals sexual assault in open letter to Christine Blasey Ford. "The exact date and year are fuzzy. But details of the event are vivid — forever [seared]( in my memory," the veteran broadcast journalist wrote in the op-ed for The Washington Post. Talking points... ► Lawsuit argues Trump's mental state in denying sexual assault is relevant evidence. Ex-Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos [demands]( documents, but a court brief on Wednesday indicates she's gotten some already that her attorney points to as demonstrating "this is no fishing expedition," Eriq Gardner reports. Coming attractions... ► First look: Helen Mirren as Catherine the Great in HBO, Sky miniseries. Set against the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of Russian empress Catherine the Great, who wielded supreme power throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century, the limited series follows Catherine towards the end of her reign during her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin (Jason Clarke). [Photo.]( ► First look: Walking Dead launches new opening credits sequence for season nine. Showrunner Angela Kang explains the change for the new season to THR's Josh Wigler, filled with Easter eggs for fans: "There's what's there on the surface, and then there's what you'll find if you dig around in the dark corners." [Watch.]( Jon Favreau's Star Wars TV series details revealed. Favreau will pen the script and exec produce the live-action series, The Mandalorian, for the forthcoming Disney streaming service. [Details.]( Tackling Racism in Hollywood Making an impact: George Tillman Jr. explains how he "really pushed" to adapt the novel and his decision to let go one of the film's actors after an offensive video surfaced, Tatiana Siegel reports: + Reservations about YA?: "With a vision, you can stay away from the cliches. I don't feel like I've got to bind it together to make it easy for the audience to be able to understand. I started thinking: The book was No. 1. And there's hard‑hitting issues in that book. So, why are the kids responding to that? I believe they want something smarter, and they want to be challenged as well." + Industry adapting to address racism: "Now it's changing because there are more women and African‑American men directing. These are individuals who have new ideas and new stories. And with all these different artists, you cannot contain them to tell the same generic stories. They have things to say. And hopefully by backing that up with success and economics, it's opening the doors." + Firing Kian Lawley: "When he called apologizing, saying he was young, I asked him, 'Is this what you really feel about us as African‑Americans?' He says, 'No. I was very young. I apologize to you and Angie.' But I felt as a director and as a human being, I couldn't stand for it. "So, me and Amandla and the studio came together. [We] felt like it was the right thing. ... It was the hardest thing I've ever done, especially because the movie [was] working." + Long partnership with Fox 2000: "There's a trust factor and there's Elizabeth Gabler. And you look at Unfaithful, Walk the Line, all the films she did. And all the books-to-films that she did. With [Hate U Give], the studio allowed me to be as authentic as possible." [Full interview.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Fan Bingbing back in Beijing after secret detention. The star reportedly was held for weeks in a remote "holiday resort" used to investigate Chinese officials suspected of corruption. [Details.]( ► Lilo & Stitch live-action remake in the works at Disney. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who are already [working]( on the live-action remake of Aladdin, are producing what will be a live-action/CG hybrid, Borys Kit reports. ► Jon Stewart, Steve Carell team for political satire Irresistible. Plan B, the Brad Pitt-led [production]( banner behind the upcoming dramas Beautiful Boy and If Beale Street Could Talk, will produce with Stewart. The film is based on an original idea by Stewart. ► Armie Hammer joins Gal Gadot in Death on the Nile. Kenneth Branagh will [return]( to direct the Murder on the Orient Express follow-up, which is being written by Michale Green. Death on the Nile is eying a mid-2019 start date, with Fox already dating the movie for Dec. 20, 2019. ► Rosie Perez joins Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey. Perez will play Renee Montoya, a Gotham City police detective who would go on to [adopt]( the masked identity of the Question in the comics. Montoya, who is a lesbian, rose to become one of DC's more prominent LGBTQ characters in the 2000s. ► The Conjuring 3 finds director with Curse of La Llorona filmmaker. James Wan, who [directed]( The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, steps back to let Michael Chaves play in the scary sandbox. ► Amber Heard's legal team calls Johnny Depp profile "outrageous." Depp [denied]( his ex-wife's accusations of physical abuse in a sprawling story for British GQ. "If GQ had done even a basic investigation into Mr. Depp’s claims, it would have quickly realized that his statements are entirely untrue," a statement from Heard's lawyer reads in part. ► Free screenings set for Ruth Bader Ginsburg doc. Magnolia and Participant will [show]( the film, RBG, on Monday, Oct. 29 in theaters nationwide. [Quoted:]( "I can understand people wanting to protect their experience, but I’m certainly glad — not that this is an issue movie. It’s a story about a marriage, but it is exciting that there is something out there that touches on it.” — Kathryn Hahn, on how film Private Life opens dialogue about infertility in marriages. ^Updated Oscars forecast. Scott Feinberg checks in on the Oscars race midway through the New York Film Festival. Roma and A Star Is Born lead the obvious contenders, as well as Amazon's period romance Cold War. [Forecast.]( On the festival circuit... ► New North Carolina fest aims to join awards circuit. Dozens of awards-contending titles, plus the stars of Roma and co-writer of Green Book, are [headed south]( for the inaugural Film Fest 919 in Chapel Hill, Scott Feinberg reports. ► Austin reveals Vox Lux as opening night film. Writer and director Brady Corbet will be [on hand]( to present the drama, which stars Natalie Portman and Jude Law. 33 days until the midterms... ► Biden draws Hollywood insiders to "heartfelt" fundraiser hosted by Jeffrey Katzenberg. More than $100,000 was [raised]( at a fundraiser for the former vice president held inside the Beverly Hills offices of WndrCo and attended by Katzenberg, Jim Gianopulos, Tom Rothman, Byron Allen and Chris Silbermann, Chris Gardner and Peter Kiefer report. From the stage... ► Tina Turner musical, Tina, to make Broadway debut in 2019. The production currently is playing to [sellout]( houses on London's West End at the Aldwych Theatre, where it debuted in April 2018. The arts scene... ► Ai Weiwei bows third L.A. exhibit at UTA Artist Space. The prolific artist-activist's "Cao/Humanity," [dedicated]( to his late agent Josh Roth, opens tonight at the agency's Beverly Hills gallery, Jordan Riefe reports. In memoriam... ► RIP Marrissa O'Leary. The former vp with MGM Worldwide Television Group and New World Television [died]( Tuesday after a long battle with endometrial cancer. She was 61. ► RIP Geoff Emerick. Emerick worked as recording engineer for The Beatles for many years and played an important role in the creation of Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and other albums. He [died]( Tuesday at 72. Coming attractions... ► Photo: Dwayne Johnson shares first look at Fast and Furious spinoff. Johnson shared a still of him and Jason Statham on the set of the Hobbs and Shaw, in which they reprise their roles as law enforcement Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) and assassin Deckard Shaw (Statham). [Photo.]( ► Song: Hear a track from the Venom score early. Ludwig Goransson returns to comic book movies after February's Black Panther. "'Run Eddie Run' is the first big action cue the movie. It’s always fun to write for someone running for their life," Goransson says. [Listen.]( Why this Hollywood daughter was the quiet star of L.A.'s A Star Is Born premiere. All eyes were on Skye Peters, whose father, Jon Peters, had five sexual harassment lawsuits [resurfaced]( last month, while her mother made a sexual misconduct claim against Leslie Moonves, Chris Gardner reports. Sunset Tower's Maitre D' Handoff Power change: Beloved host Dimitri Dimitrov spent 18 months training ex-magazine editor Gabé Doppelt to take over his perch. The duo, along with owner Jeff Klein, speak with Maer Roshan about the ins and outs of running a Hollywood hotspot: + New era: Klein: "Gabé has a different shtick than Dimitri. She brings a party to the restaurant — she’s naughty, gossipy and funny. Dimitri has this profound, old-fashioned sense of how to take care of guests. What’s been so neat is watching them the past year. It took a while for Dimitri to teach her the ropes, but she’s now ready to fly on her own." + Seating rules: Dimitrov: "Two guys who are here to discuss business get a certain kind of table. Lovers we usually seat in the corners. When we get two gorgeous actresses, I display them in the middle of the room! Or Amal and George Clooney. If I have to choose between displaying or hiding big stars, I always prefer to display!" + Coolest event hosted there: Klein: "People say that Vanity Fair made us. But it was CAA. They endorsed this place before anybody did, they got their clients to stay with us, and they throw their unbelievable Globes party here, with the most famous people in the world tightly packed in one room. The CAA party is so exclusive that some of their agents can’t get in!" [Full Q&A.]( What else we're reading... — "Inside Stand Up to Cancer's All-Star Script Read of Terms of Endearment." Scott Huver reports: "The entire experience proved to be a cathartic one for [Greg] Berlanti and his family, a year and a half after his mother’s passing. 'All those scenes are just so resonant,' he said." [[THR](] — "The 2018 New Establishment List." Vanity Fair ranks the top 100: "This year’s New Establishment list attempts to reconcile the revolutionary fluctuations in the zeitgeist, and contextualize them in a firmament, if only for a fleeting moment." [[Vanity Fair](] — "The Nightman Cometh: An Oral History of Always Sunny's Greatest Episode." Jennifer M. Wood talks to the key players — Charlie Day: "I think there's a certain inherent entertainment value in a musical. Things are heightened just by the fact that people are up there singing and dancing, and then who knows?" [[GQ](] — "Live TV Is All But Dead." David Sims analyzes Hulu CEO Randy Freer's comments: “I do believe that traditional pay TV, bundled cable networks, scheduling things for you, will become increasingly unnecessary in a world where you get to curate and choose what you want." [[The Atlantic](] — "Discovering Eugene O’Neill’s San Francisco." Joy Lanzendorfer explores: "Home, to O’Neill, was a loaded concept. ... His father, James O’Neill, was a once-promising Shakespearean actor who purchased the rights to The Count of Monte Cristo. ... With his family, James traveled the country, playing the same part 5,000 times in 30 years." [[New York Times](] What else we're watching... + "Bill Gates breaks down why foreign aid is so important." [[The Daily Show](] + "Bradley Cooper leaves with Jimmy mid-interview to check if he outfit repeated." [[Tonight Show](] + "Nick Kroll went to Burning Man and was really into it." [[Late Show](] + "Ryan Gosling's daughters think he's an astronaut." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] From the archives... + On Oct. 4, 1990, Fox debuted Beverly Hills, 90210, a teen drama that exploded into a sensation. The signs of its future success — lasting 293 episodes and launching a spinoff (Melrose Place) — were evident: "This series establishes itself well in its first broadcast, presenting a story that soundly sets up Brandon and Brenda’s entry into a strange, alien world, aka Beverly Hills." [Flashback review.]( Correction... In yesterday's newsletter, the birthdays listed were actually for today, Oct. 4, not for Oct. 3. Apologies for the error, and best wishes to Alicia Vikander (30), Tessa Thompson (35), Lena Headey (45) and more who became another year older and wiser. Today's birthdays: Dakota Johnson, 29, Melissa Benoist, 30, Caitriona Balfe, 39, Rachael Leigh Cook, 39, Alicia Silverstone, 42, Liev Schreiber, 51, Christoph Waltz, 62, Susan Sarandon, 72. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? 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