Netflix to Spend Even More; Obama "Passes the Baton"; Jared Leto vs. TMZ; Venice Lineup Unveiled

What's news: The movie awards season picture is coming into focus with the Venice Film Festival lineup reveal. Plus: Dems top Republicans in the ratings and an anti-Hillary doc becomes the biggest grosser of 2016. — executive editor Matthew Belloni, assignment editor Erik Hayden [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment] July 28, 2016 What's news: The movie awards season picture is coming into focus with the Venice Film Festival lineup reveal. Plus: Dems top Republicans in the ratings and an anti-Hillary doc becomes the biggest grosser of 2016. — executive editor Matthew Belloni, assignment editor Erik Hayden Venice Film Fest Unveils Lineup The Venice Film Festival, the world's oldest major film event, laid out the plans for its 73rd edition on Thursday, with a host of major names among the 55 features due to descend upon the historic Italian city next month, correspondent Alex Ritman [writes.] Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals is among the biggest titles set to screen in competition, with the thriller's stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams expected to attend. The film will compete alongside Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi Arrivals, plus Emir Kusturica's On the Milky Road and Terrence Malick's Cate Blanchett-fronted documentary Voyage of Time. Audiences will also get to see the film that brought Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander together, Derek Cianfrance's The Light Between Oceans, and also assess Natalie Portman's turn as Jackie Onassis in Pablo Lorraine's biopic Jackie. [Full lineup here.] Elsewhere in film... ► Pinewood agrees to $435 million takeover. The company behind the U.K.'s iconic studio facilities and home to the latest Star Wars films looks set to be bought by Venus Grafton. [Details here.] ► Horror hit Lights Out is getting a sequel. After a stellar opening, New Line is developing a sequel to the film, which cost $5M and has nabbed $27M already. Producers James Wan, Peter Safran and Lawrence Grey [are planning] to be back. ↱ [Quoted, Adam Fogelson]. The STX film chief, speaking at the Bad Moms premiere, on the studio tackling more female-driven comedies: "We know there's a huge audience for this, not just women, men. And the next female comedy that comes down the pipe, we'll say yes to just as fast as we did this one."↲ ► Annabelle director to helm thriller for Broad Green. John Leonetti has signed on [to direct] Wish Upon, a script that was on the 2015 Black List. It was written by Barbara Marshall and will be produced by Busted Shark Production’s Sherryl Clark. ► Charlie's Angels reboot nabs playwright to adapt. Sony has lined up Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn to pen the latest incarnation of the franchise, which will be directed by Elizabeth Banks. "His ability to create three new dynamic yet grounded Angels is very exciting," Banks [said.] ► Disney's The Nutcracker enlists Interstellar actress. Mackenzie Foy has been cast [as lead character] Clara in the live-action adaptation of the classic story. The project is eyeing a fall start. ↱ [Film review, Pete's Dragon]. Bryce Dallas Howard and Robert Redford star in this sluggish reconceptualization of the 1977 Disney film. The takeaway, by critic Michael Rechtshaffen: "A dismayingly dull reboot." ↲ ► Batman: The Killing Joke surprises in specialty release. The controversial animated film from Warner Bros. and Fathom Events [made a bundle] in its limited two-day theatrical run, grossing $3.8 million on Monday and Tuesday nights. ► Dinesh D'Souza's new film is the top doc of the year. Hillary's America has quickly become the top-grossing doc of the year to date at the U.S. box office, amassing $5.2 million in its [first dozen days.] ↱ [Film review, Bad Moms]. Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn star as burnt-out soccer moms in this raunchy comedy. The takeaway, by reviews editor Jon Frosch: "Funny enough, mostly thanks to Kathryn Hahn." ↲ **Sony's Ghostbusters endorses Hillary Clinton? The official Twitter account for the film sent out an ["#ImWithHer" tweet] that was quickly noticed. Sony declined to comment.** Netflix's $6 Billion+ Road Map The Death March with Cocktails, aka Television Critics Association tour, kicked off with Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos, who gave interesting quotes about the streamer's growth strategy, staff writer Natalie Jarvey [reports:] ► On spending $6 billion a year — and counting — on original programming. "It'll go up," he said. "We're hitting where we said we would last year and we'll have an update on that in the next few months." ► On when to cancel a show after one season. "Does it get the audience satisfaction — streaming completions, the rate of which people complete a show, social media buzz and [critics and bloggers] keeping it in the zeitgeist? Then we're happy to make more — as long as there's the creative direction that will take you to a second season," the exec explained. ► On the Peak TV narrative. "There are too many mediocre shows on television," Sarandos said. "But at a time when the industry has glut of series that fail to have an impact, we've been able to give fans what they want: adventurous storytelling with original voices." Elsewhere in TV... ► MTV going back to its roots. [Starting Aug. 1], VH1 Classic will be rebranded as MTV Classic — with a focus on 1990s programming. The change will see former MTV staples make their way to the relaunched network. ► Netflix's Bloodline is staying put in Florida. The series, renewed for a third season, will [continue to film] in the Florida Keys. The state has been home to the drama, but the loss of the state's tax incentives program raised questions about relocating to a less expensive location. ► John Malkovich to star in marijuana drama series. The actor is set to star in Humboldt, which was written on spec by Michael A. Lerner. The project is set up at Sony Pictures TV and Anonymous Content and [will be taken] to premium cable networks and streaming services. ↱ [Quoted, Baz Luhrmann.] The exec producer of Netflix drama The Get Down, speaking at TCA, reacted to a Variety report saying the project cost $120 million: "Yes, it took longer and it's been more difficult than I imagined. As for the number, it wasn't cheap. But I don't think it's the most expensive show. I think it's on the high end of storytelling."↲ ► Amazon is moving forward with The Last Tycoon. The streamer has [picked up] the drama starring Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammer to series. It's based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final unfinished novel, inspired by the life of film mogul Irving Thalberg. ► Laura Linney is making her TV return. The Big C alum has been tapped [to star] opposite Jason Bateman in the Netflix drama Ozark. The series will premiere worldwide on Netflix in 2017. Bateman will also direct and exec produce. ↱ [Quoted, Mike Colter]. The Luke Cage star, at TCA, described bringing to life the first live-action superhero series centering an African-American character: "We have no agenda, but I hope that the black community can feel good about it as well." ↲ ► Peep Show is heading stateside to Starz. An adaptation of the award-winning U.K. comedy is [in the works], with series creators Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong serving as consulting producers on the U.S. adaptation. ► Homeland casts female president for new season. The Showtime drama has cast actress Elizabeth Marvel as a president-elect character, a former junior senator who's [yet to be inaugurated] when the action picks up. Production starts in New York in August. ► Gilmore Girls revival gets premiere date. The event will [launch Nov. 25] on Netflix. All four episodes will premiere on the same day, ending speculation that each of the 90-minute installments, titled "Winter," "Spring," "Summer" and "Fall," would roll out individually. A secret Arrested Development project. Chief TV critic Tim Goodman writes: Yesterday, series creator Mitch Hurwitz said he's actually recut the entirety of the 15-episode fourth season into — wait for it — 22 episodes with a running time of 22 minutes. [It's true.] DNC Night 3: Obama "Passes the Baton" The #ImWithHer onstage celeb-parade on Day 3? Sigourney Weaver, Lee Daniels and Angela Bassett held court and, also, 40 Broadway stars belted out "What the World Needs Now Is Love" ([Watch here]) at the Democrats' convention last night. But this was also about Barack Obama's big night, critic Frank Scheck [writes:] The President's speech was at once a victory lap; a bemused commentary on the current state of politics; a surgical dissection of the Republican nominee; an enthusiastic endorsement of Hillary; and finally a sort of valedictory in which he said he was ready to "pass the baton" ([Watch here]). Earlier in the night, Michael Bloomberg did the heavy-lifting with the Trump attacks, making it a battle of the billionaires. He concluded by asking his "fellow Independents" to vote not for Trump, but rather for a "sane, competent person," which pretty well sums up the public perception of how low the bar has been set with this election ([Watch here]). Elsewhere in Philadelphia... ► Lee Daniels' call to action on curbing gun violence. The filmmaker introduced two survivors of the Orlando nightclub attack and the mother of one of the victims. "There's only one candidate willing to take on the gun lobby," he said ([Watch here]). ► Sigourney Weaver unveils James Cameron's anti-Trump short. The film referenced Trump's "reckless denial" of climate change. Earlier, the Avatar filmmaker called the GOP candidate a "madman" on the issue ([Watch here]). ► "Why is the DNC Trying to Silence Nina Turner?" Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover, Shailene Woodley, Rosario Dawson and more Bernie Sanders supporters rallied for the former Ohio State Senator during a last-minute event. Turner was supposed to help nominate Sanders, but was allegedly told that [she wasn't allowed] to participate. ► What the SNL "Weekend Update" guys are up to. Senior writer Seth Abramovitch, in the city all week, caught up with Colin Jost and Michael Che, who spoke candidly about Sanders' reluctance to relinquish the spotlight and differences between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to comedy. [Q&A here.] ► How Elizabeth Banks' "Fight Song" video happened. The idea for the celebrity-studded a cappella video, which was a rousing centerpiece of the second night of the DNC, was triggered more than a year ago. [The backstory.] ► [All top moments] I [Not seen on TV] I [Hollywood reactions] I [Ratings race]. Jared Leto vs. TMZ The battle is far from over: There wasn't much subtlety when Jared Leto cursed Taylor Swift at his recording studio, but a lawsuit filed by the star over TMZ's posting of a video showing what Leto had to say now figures to turn on some, senior editor Eriq Gardner [reports:] The actor and musician disputes the contention he doesn't own the video where he curses Swift. In response to a claim of infringing the copyright of Leto's Sisyphus Touring outfit, TMZ has pointed to its source — the videographer, Naeem Munaf — and argued he's the real owner of the video who licensed use. TMZ contends that the only way Leto owns the video is if he had a work-for-hire agreement with the videographer before the footage was shot. On Tuesday, Leto's company responded with word that it did have an agreement — [albeit an oral one]. Elsewhere in THR, Esq... ► Jackson nephews file $100M libel suit against Radar Online. The lawsuit claims a series of stories published by the gossip website defame the late King of Pop and his three nephews. [Details here.] ► Reagan shooter's release terms: Must stay away from Jodie Foster. John Hinckley Jr. shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in an attempt to impress the actress and, after decades of treatment for mental illness, will soon leave the hospital subject [to 34 conditions.] ► KTLA reporter sues AARP over Movies for Grown-Ups Awards. Sam Rubin says he used all his industry goodwill to land a nationwide distributor for the newly televised ceremony [but AARP backed out.] Today's Birthdays: Randall Wallace, 67, Scott Pelley, 59, Peter Cullen, 75, Soulja Boy, 26. Follow The News Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.] ©2016 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. [Unsubscribe] | [Manage Preferences] | [Privacy Policy] | [Terms of Use] July 28, 2016