October Box Office Boom; 'Star' Wows Academy; Swift Gets Political; 'Walking Dead' Premiere; 'SNL' Rejects Kanye Rant

What's news: Venom and A Star Is Born power a record-breaking October (already!) at the box office. Plus: Rose McGowan slams the #MeToo movement, Doctor Who's Jodie Whittaker earns rave reviews in her debut and Taylor Swift gets political. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( October 08, 2018 What's news: Venom and A Star Is Born power a record-breaking October (already!) at the box office. Plus: Rose McGowan slams the #MeToo movement, Doctor Who's Jodie Whittaker earns rave reviews in her debut and Taylor Swift gets political. — Will Robinson ^Irving Azoff gains full control in MSG venture: The Madison Square Garden Company has sold its half-stake in a joint venture offering artist management, music publishing, television production and live event branding for $125 million to the music industry heavyweight, Etan Vlessing reports: + The origin: The original Azoff MSG Entertainment joint venture was launched in 2013, with Azoff contributing his Azoff Music Management entity in return for $125 million and a 50 percent stake in the company. Azoff MSG Entertainment will become The Azoff Company once the transaction is completed. + Advisory role established: As Azoff takes full ownership of the joint venture, his management company and MSG have inked multi-year consultancy agreements that will see The Azoff Company continue to advise MSG, including on the Forum and MSG Sphere initiative, which includes plans to build state-of-the-art venues in Las Vegas and London. + MSG statement: From CEO and executive chairman Jim Dolan: “Irving has been a valued business partner and we know that he will continue to enjoy incredible success in his company and in his continued role with us." [Full story.]( 'Venom' Feasts Worldwide Record-breaking weekend: Sony's comic book movie Venom devoured a massive $80 million from 4,250 theaters in its domestic opening, easily the best showing ever for an October title, Pamela McClintock reports: + International appeal: The Tom Hardy-led Marvel antihero film soared to $125.2 million from 58 markets for a global bow of $205.2 million, also an October best. South Korea turned in $16.3 million, followed by Russia with a stellar $13.6 million. * Why Venom divides critics and audiences: Ten years of Marvel Studios domination has [taught]( people to expect a certain tone from comic book movies, Richard Newby writes. + Warners' dream autumn continues: The studio's critical darling A Star Is Born likewise came in ahead of expectations, collecting $42.6 million domestically from 3,686 cinemas. Offshore, the music-infused romantic drama started off with a more modest $14 million from its first 31 territories for a worldwide launch of $56.6 million. The U.K. led with $5.3 million. + History-making month already: The combined power of the two very different movies drove total North American revenue to an all-time high of roughly $174 million for the month of October. And, until now, the top October opening had belonged to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, which blasted off with $55.7 million in 2013, not adjusted for inflation. [Full analysis.]( China's holiday dip... ► China box office drops 22 percent during holiday week as local titles underperform. Project Gutenberg, produced by Bona Film Group, Alibaba Pictures and others, pulled in $85.4 million during the frame, coming from behind to beat local comedy Hello, Mrs. Money, from Funage Pictures, which totaled just $55.5 million for the week. [Details.]( A Star Is Born continues to wow... ► The drama amazes full houses at enthusiastic Academy screenings. Members who [attended]( official screenings in L.A. and New York dish about fighting for seats, overflow theaters, seated ovations and the impact of a Gaga appearance at the unveiling of the season's most anticipated awards hopeful, Scott Feinberg reports. ► Bradley Cooper's best roles. The leading man/director gives what many are [touting]( as a career-best turn in A Star Is Born, but these 10 performances already established Cooper as one of our finest actors, Stephen Dalton ranks. Elsewhere in film... ► Rose McGowan slams #MeToo movement as "bullshit." "I just think they're douchebags," she said of women's groups and others in the industry. "They're not champions. I just think they're losers. I don't like them. How do I [explain]( the fact that I got a GQ Man of the Year award and no women's magazines and no women's organizations have supported me?" ► Bollywood director Vikas Bahl accused of sexual misconduct; Phantom Films dissolved. Bahl, along with directors Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, was one of the [founders]( of Phantom, the edgy production company behind Netflix's first Indian series Sacred Games. ► Lukas Dhont's transgender drama Girl wins Zurich Film Festival. Victor Polster stars as a transgender girl [training]( to be a ballerina in the Dhont's feature debut. The feature is Belgium's candidate for the 2019 Oscars in the foreign-language category. [Quoted:]( "[James Bond is] a male character. He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male. And that’s fine. We don’t have to turn male characters into women. Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.” — Barbara Broccoli, on the possibility of a female 007. ^Taylor Swift takes a political stand for Tennessee races. The country crooner turned pop superstar publicly endorsed two candidates on Instagram on Sunday, after years of criticism for staying quiet on political issues. + Why now: "In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now," she wrote. "I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country." + Who she supports: Swift endorsed former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for the House of Representatives — both Democratic candidates. [Full story.]( Musical notes... ► Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200, scores second-largest streaming week ever. Of Tha Carter V’s 480,000 units, most were driven by SEA units: 325,000. The rest of the title’s opening overall unit sum is comprised of album sales totaling 141,000 and TEA units equaling 14,000. [Details.]( ► Kanye West deletes his Twitter and Instagram accounts. West had come [under fire]( as of late for his support of President Trump on SNL and on social media, where he also published a tweet suggesting "we abolish the 13th amendment" of the U.S. Constitution, which brought an end to slavery when it was ratified in 1865. From the NYCC floor... ► First Hellboy footage electrifies Con crowd. David Harbour and Mike Mignola led a panel that won over fans of the character Saturday morning, [bolstered]( by a two-minute sizzle reel. Animated Spider-Man brings surprise 35 minutes to NYCC. Into the Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller recalled [telling]( the studio they would only make the movie if it centered on the black-Latino teen Miles Morales, with Miller reminding the audience there have already been six Spidey pics focused on Peter Parker. 'Walking Dead' Returns Season nine kicks off: After more than 100 episodes inhabiting the iconic role of post-apocalyptic cowboy Rick Grimes, Andrew Lincoln is about to say farewell to The Walking Dead. + Premiere recap: The groundwork for his exit is now clear and present thanks to the events of Sunday's premiere — showrunner Angela Kang details — which casts Rick as a wide-eyed and optimistic leader of the Alexandria Safe-Zone, even if he's not exactly comfortable with his newfound celebrity status, Josh Wigler reports. [Spoilers.]( + Star talks about their death scene: Not every series regular survived the AMC zombie drama's season nine premiere, Wigler reports. The latest on-screen casualty dishes on their demise. [Spoilers.]( + The show's tribute to late actor Scott Wilson: At the conclusion of the season nine premiere, called "A New Beginning," a title card paid [tribute]( to Wilson, who died Oct. 6 following a battle with cancer. Following a preview of what's ahead in the second episode, an image of Wilson in character as Hershel emerged, with the words: "In Memory of Scott Wilson." Elsewhere in TV... ► Banijay Group buys majority stake in French production house Terence Films. The French drama leader [founded]( in 2005 by Stephane Meunier and Bertrand Cohen is behind TF1's Les Innocents and France 2 and Arte's Fortunes. Les Innocents also runs on Amazon Prime Video. Financial terms weren't disclosed. ► Kim Kardashian West sues former guard over Paris robbery. The lawsuit [claims]( that Pascal Duvier failed to address several security breaches at the hotel, including a missing or broken lock on the hotel's courtyard gate. ► Cosby lawyers ask court to void conviction, prison sentence. The defense motion [argues]( that trial Judge Steven O'Neill erred in declaring Cosby a sexually violent predator who should be imprisoned to protect the community. ► Gina Gershon to play Jughead's mom in Riverdale. Gershon's character, a "Serpent with a GED," will be [introduced]( a couple months into the show's third season, creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa revealed Sunday. The Doctor is in... ► Doctor Who season 11, reviewed. "[Jodie] Whittaker is more winning than I could have ever imagined — her Doctor is loose and lively, cheeky and irreverent, sporting a deliciously homey Yorkshire brogue that will be catnip for anyone entranced by a Midlands accent," Robyn Bahr writes. [Full review.]( ► Whittaker's first outing snares 8.2M U.K. viewers, 40 percent share. The [debut]( of the first female Doctor Who beat the openers for both Peter Capaldi and Matt Smith and had the best U.K. ratings for a season opener of the series in more than 10 years. [Quoted:]( "One of my goals on Meet the Press every week is to piss you off for five minutes every time. And if we’re not, if everybody isn’t uncomfortable in their own political bubble for five minutes then we’re not doing our job. So that’s the goal also with this film festival." — Chuck Todd, on objective of second annual Meet the Press Film Festival With AFI. ^Pete Davidson blasts Kanye West pro-Trump rant last week. “What Kanye said after we went off the air last week was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen while working here,” the castmember said during the "Weekend Update" segment of the latest edition of SNL. [Details.]( More from Studio 8H... ► Republican Senators party over Kavanaugh's confirmation in cold open. The scene [took place]( in a locker room of Republican senators, who were all celebrating the Kavanaugh confirmation as if it were a sports victory. “Everyone is pumped! From white men over 60 to white men over 70!” Beck Bennett’s Sen. Mitch McConnell declared. ► Awkwafina thanks Lucy Liu for "opening the door" as host. The rapper and Crazy Rich Asians actress was the first woman to host the NBC sketch comedy since Liu did it 18 years ago. [Monologue.]( From the NYCC floor... ► Trailer: Star Trek: Discovery debuts first look at Spock in season two tease. The first words from Ethan Peck's take in the CBS All Access series: “As a child, I had the same vision again and again. Now I understand its meaning, and where it must lead.“ [Watch.]( ► Daredevil season three will introduce an iconic villain. Marvel executive producer Jeph Loeb [acknowledged]( that Wilson Bethel’s character Agent Benjamin "Dex" Poyndexter real identity is “maybe the worst kept secret in the history of Marvel,” indicating the show will detail his origin story of how he becomes noted bad guy Bullseye. Rep Sheet Roundup: Little America producer Epic Magazine and its founders Joshua Davis and Joshuah Bearman have signed with CAA, as has Jack Ryan’s Dina Shihabi … The Outpost’s Anand Desai-Barochia has signed with Luber Roklin … Sharp Objects cinematographer Ronald Plante has signed with DDA. [More here](. Paging Female Superheroes Need for representation: Data from BBC America and the Women's Media Center suggest girls feel more confident when they see on-screen heroes who look like them, Rick Porter reports: + Seeking onscreen avatars: The new study suggests teenage girls are less likely than boys to describe themselves as confident, brave and listened to, and nearly two-thirds of girls 10-19 say they don't see enough role models or strong and relatable characters of their own gender on screen. + Listening gap: The study notes that while majorities of both boys and girls describe themselves as confident and brave, there's a significant gap between genders. A majority of girls surveyed (57 percent) said they're not listened to (the percentage was even higher among girls of color than their white counterparts), compared to 38 percent of boys. + Proven positive effect: The good news is that images of female heroes can be powerful as well. In the study, three-fourths of girls 10-19 said their favorite female superheroes make them feel strong, brave, or inspired. And nearly six in 10 say watching female heroes makes them believe they can do anything — with girls of color more likely to strongly agree with that statement. [Full analysis.]( What else we're reading... — "Disney World Finds a New Way to Milk Early Risers." Rick Munarriz details: "[Park revenue has] inched its way up to a 34% slice of the revenue mix pie through the first nine months of fiscal 2018, and that's with the seasonally potent summer quarter coming up next to wrap up the fiscal year. Adding these hard-ticket events -- to its resorts on both coasts -- gives Disney more ways to cash in on its industry-leading attractions." [[The Motley Fool](] — "The Long Hollywood History of A Star Is Born." Todd S. Purdum details: "Each iteration of the classic film draws audiences in with an allure that transcends generations. The players who’ve contributed to the central story over the years suggest the reason for its enduring appeal." [[The Atlantic](] — "25 Years After Her ‘#MeToo Moment,’ Vicki Lawrence Reclaims TV Stardom." Josef Adalian interviews: "It was an accident I ended up on The Carol Burnett Show. I was literally kidnapped by television." [[Vulture](] — "Jill Solloway's Personal History Informs Transparent." The creator shares her dad's coming out story: "I wondered what I was supposed to think about the old version of my dad that I remembered. The big one with the beard that wasn’t actually dead, but was—where, exactly?" [[The New Yorker](] — "The Internet Gave Us Great TV—Now Where’s Our Great TV Guide?" David Pierce searches: "As TV moves to the web, we need a new guide. It needs search and sorting and personalization built in. It has to help us find something to watch even when we don’t know what we want." [[Wall Street Journal](] What else we're watching... + "John Oliver details rise of Brazilian far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro." [[Last Week Tonight](] What's ahead this week... Monday: Vanity Fair's New Establishment summit begins. Tuesday: Fox is expected to complete Sky stake sale to Comcast... The Flash and Black Lightning return for The CW's DC slate. Wednesday: Riverdale season three begins on The CW, while All American debuts. Thursday: The CW's Supernatural begins season 14. Friday: First Man blasts off for Universal... Sony unleashes Goosebumps 2... Fox's noir Bad Times at the El Royale opens... NBC's Blindspot kicks off season four... Amazon unveils Matthew Weiner's The Romanoffs... HBO's first Pod Save America special airs... Netflix bows The Haunting of Hill House. Sunday: ABC sets The Alec {NAME} Show... HBO debuts Camping starring Jennifer Garner... The CW returns Charmed. From the archives... + On Oct. 8, 2004, lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart reported to federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia after being convicted for insider trading. The prison stint barely affected her empire, as Stewart quickly bounced back upon her release on March 4, 2005. [[New York Times](] Today's birthdays: Bella Thorne, 21, J.R. Ramirez, 38, Nick Cannon, 38, Matt Damon, 48, David Yates, 55, Darrell Hammond, 63, Sigourney Weaver, 69, Chevy Chase, 75. 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 8, 2018