Murdoch's Fox News Pledge; Benghazi Movie's Trump Bump; Oscars Add Digital Screeners; Seacrest's Late Night Rio Plan

Good morning: As Fox News' internal harassment probe expands, the Murdochs are underscoring that the network's "unique voice" won't change without Roger Ailes. Is that possible? Plus: Suicide Squad takes a critical beating and a Benghazi movie gets a Trump bump. — executive editor Matthew Belloni, assignment editor Erik Hayden [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment] August 04, 2016 Good morning: As Fox News' internal harassment probe expands, the Murdochs are underscoring that the network's "unique voice" won't change without Roger Ailes. Is that possible? Plus: Suicide Squad takes a critical beating and a Benghazi movie gets a Trump bump. — executive editor Matthew Belloni, assignment editor Erik Hayden Murdoch's Fox News Pledge The ouster of Fox News chief Roger Ailes over sexual harassment allegations was the hot topic during Fox's earnings call, with exec chairman Lachlan Murdoch (at right) addressing the changes, business editor Paul Bond [writes:] "Let me first say a few words about Fox News, which has been the news over recent weeks," Murdoch said. "We have moved quickly and decisively to protect the business, to protect its employees, and to protect the unique and important voice Fox News broadcasts." He said that no significant changes are afoot at Fox News yet, beyond leadership at the top, from Ailes to his father Rupert Murdoch. The company's cable programming segment dominated, as usual, with revenue of $3.9B, up from $3.6B in the same quarter last year. Elsewhere in earnings season... ► Viacom beats lowered expectations. Weighed down by falling ad sales at its domestic cable networks and the under-performance of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Viacom reported 27 percent less quarterly profit than [it did a year ago]. ► What Hulu gains from Time Warner's investment. The media giant’s 10 percent stake in the streamer is much smaller than its other owners, who all are equal majority shareholders. And the deal will not give Time Warner a seat on the board, meaning that it will not be active in Hulu’s governance. [More here.] ► DreamWorks Animation quietly impresses. The company, in the midst of being acquired by Comcast, posted revenue of $221M while Wall Street analysts had predicted just $182M. Operating income of $16M [easily beat projections]. ► AMC Networks meets expectations. The company saw net income fall to $77.1M, against a year-earlier $83M, even as overall revenue rose 14 percent to $684.8M, driven in part by [advertising growth at AMC]. L.A. power dining right now. Senior writer Gary Baum unveils the latest THR ranking of hot restaurants: Danny Trejo's place (Trejo's Tacos) and Moby's vegan place (Little Pine), as well as the Silver Lake Thai spot Same Same, have dropped off the top 20 list. Debuting at No. 1 is TV chef Curtis Stone’s tasting-menu-only Gwen in Hollywood. [Full interactive map.] Benghazi Movie Gets Trump Bump In an election-year surprise for Paramount, Michael Bay's 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is doing herolike business in home video, amassing more than $40M since it became available digitally in May, senior writer Pamela McClintock [finds:] Digital purchases total about $7.1M, digital and physical rentals are at $20.2M, and $13.5M is from Blu-ray and DVD sales. "The gross could end up being on par with the box office," says Bob Buchi, Paramount's president of worldwide home media distribution. Interestingly, Paramount says Bay's $50M-budgeted film is doing well everywhere in America despite depicting an event conservatives often use against Hillary Clinton. Insists Buchi, "The movie is showing broad appeal because it's based on a true story of American heroes." Elsewhere in film... ► Barbra Streisand's Gypsy remake loses distributor. STX's bowing out is a blow for the project, which Barry Levinson is attached to direct, and leaves the film looking for a new home. Producer Joel Silver is still [shopping the project] to a new studio. ► Rami Malek joins Papillon remake. The Mr. Robot actor is in talks [to star] with Charlie Hunnam in the prison break movie. Michael Noer is directing the film, which is produced by Red Granite’s Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland along with Ram Bergman and Roger Corbi. Yes, that's the same Red Granite under federal investigation for alleged Malaysian money-laundering. ↱ [Office Visit with Ben-Hur director] Timur Bekmambetov. Film reporter Rebecca Ford writes: Walking into his home office, one wouldn't expect to find a shrine to Walt Disney. After all, the filmmaker made his mark with the R-rated horror title Night Watch, Russia's highest-grossing film in 2004. Now, he lives in Disney's former Los Feliz property and has filled it with sketches of animated characters and a pingpong table with Mickey Mouse figurines. [Full Q&A.] ↲ ► Warner Bros. casts Ruby Rose in Meg. The Orange Is the New Black star is [in talks] to join Fan Bingbing and Jason Statham in the creature feature. Jon Turteltaub is directing the movie, which is currently set for a March 2018 release. ► Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit riots drama adds to cast. Rising star Will Poulter, most recently seen in The Revenant, as well as Jack Reynor and Ben O'Toole, [have joined] the project. John Boyega was earlier added to the film. ↱ [Quoted, Clint Eastwood.] The directing legend, speaking with Esquire magazine, on his support for Donald Trump: "[S]ecretly everybody's getting tired of political correctness, kissing up. That's the kiss-ass generation we're in right now. We're really in a pussy generation." ↲ ► Warner Bros. ticking clock on DC universe expansion. Heat Vision writer Graeme McMillan asks: After Suicide Squad's poor reviews, can the endless expectation of what's next maintain enough of a level of excitement to continue to greenlight future projects if every single WB/DC movie [underwhelms]? Oscars click on digital screeners. In 2012, the introduction of online voting for the Oscars caused a panic among many members of the Academy. This year a sizable portion not only will cast e-ballots but will do so after streaming contenders through the organization's online portal. [Details here.] New Series Take TCA Noms Who will take home the top prizes at the Television Critics Association awards? Once again, new series led the nominations, staff writer Kate Stanhope [reports:] Mr. Robot (USA) and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX) each netted four mentions, including for program of the year. For that honor, the two will compete against two other rookie series, UnREAL (Lifetime) and Making a Murderer (Netflix), as well as returning shows The Americans (FX), Fargo (FX) and Game of Thrones (HBO). The awards are voted on by critics across the country. Winners for the annual honors will be announced Saturday. [Full nominees list here.] Elsewhere in TV... ► USA Network is keeping Suits. The cabler has [renewed] the drama for a seventh season. The show is averaging 3 million total viewers and 1.1 million among adults 18-39 when factoring in three days of delayed viewing. The network is also looking to build a Sunday night [procedural slate.] ► SAG-AFTRA mobilizes against Telemundo. Actors at the Spanish-language NBCUniversal unit don’t get health insurance, residuals or other benefits; those at English-language NBC do. A new initiative seeks to end what the union blasted as "[double-standard practices.]" ► Orphan Black producer buys animation studio. Boat Rocker Media said it has [acquired] digital animation producer Jam Filled Entertainment to expand into 2D and 3D cartoon production. Financial terms were not disclosed. ↱ [Quoted, Mariah Carey.] Speaking at TCA, where the artist was asked what she learned during her time as a judge on American Idol: "Oh, it was the most abusive experience," she said, lifting her glass of Veuve Clicquot. "By the way you’ve just driven me to drink." ↲ ► The View officially adds Sara Haines. The ABC News correspondent has been [in talks] for a permanent role on the daytime series for at least the past two months and has appeared as a guest co-host since full-time co-host Michelle Collins left the series after one season. ► TV pilot production in L.A. sees decline. Specifically, local comedy pilot production in the city has dropped by 23 percent compared to last year, according to [a new report] released by nonprofit FilmL.A.'s research division. ► It's game over for Powers. The PlayStation Network comic book drama from Sony TV has been [canceled] after two seasons. The series marked Playstation's first foray into original series programming. ► Up sets Gilmore Girls marathon. The cabler announced a massive marathon that will feature a whopping [153 straight hours] of the dramedy timed to the debut of Netflix's Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in November. Shondaland adds to staff. Joining the ABC Studios-based company are former PR exec Kristen Andersen, who will serve as vp marketing and communications; Sara Fischer as head of production; and Sandie Bailey as director of branding and engagement. [Details here.] Scientology Battle's Surprise Twist The Church of Scientology's controversial boss, David Miscavige (pictured at left), may be an unwitting catalyst for a dramatic power shift in the U.K. media landscape, correspondent Alex Ritman [reports:] In December, a story ran on the website of the U.K.'s Daily Mail tabloid titled "Exclusive: Inside the 'bromance' of Tom Cruise and Scientology leader David Miscavige." It laid out the usual tale of the star's links to the church and his unusually close relationship with Miscavige. Upset by the story, Miscavige filed a complaint with the U.K.'s Independent Press Standards Organization, arguing that many of the claims previously had been disproved. U.K. law is much less tolerant of press freedoms than American law, so IPSO upheld the complaint, but in an unexpected turn, Mail Online argued that since the article originated in its U.S. division, it fell outside IPSO's remit. The case has thrown British media into a quandary: Will news sites set up foreign bureaus to sidestep oversight and handle the salacious stories that drive big online traffic? Elsewhere in THR, Esq... ► Trump fails in bid to end racketeering lawsuit. Whether or not Trump becomes president, he's set to stand trial after the November election on racketeering claims. A judge rejected his summary judgment bid in [a class action lawsuit] brought over the operation of Trump University. ► Simon Fuller eyeing fraud claims against Idol owner. The creator of American Idol and an executive producer on So You Think You Can Dance is investigating [potential claims] against Core Media Group, the rights-holder of those shows. ► Appeals court upholds TMZ's defamation victory. The news/gossip site didn't defame Sara Evans' ex-husband by saying the music star found photos of him having sex with other people on his phone, according to [a decision] from the CA appellate court filed Tuesday. James Corden, Denis Leary reimagine "Asshole" song. Dressed as Bill and Hillary Clinton, respectively, Leary and Corden paid musical tribute to Donald Trump on the Late Late Show with an updated version of Leary's song dedicated to the GOP contender. The musical number ended with a kiss and balloons ([Watch]). Ryan Seacrest's Rio Late Night Plans What's Ryan Seacrest up to in Rio? He's just days away from adding "late night host" to his already crowded resume, TV editor Lacey Rose [writes:] Beginning Saturday, the long-time American Idol host will debut his informally titled Olympic Late Night show, live from Copacabana beach. For two consecutive weeks, the hour-long entry will close out NBC’s day of coverage. "It won’t be quite as formal as the other broadcasts, which is fantastic for me,” he tells THR by phone, "and you’ll get a little bit of everything.” Having touched down this past weekend, Seacrest has spent the past few days familiarizing himself with Rio — with help from super-models and Brazil natives Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima — and studying up on the many athletes poised to come through. On Wednesday, he took a break from both to discuss the drumbeat of negative headlines surrounding the Games, the big “gets" when it comes Olympic interviews and his unfiltered thoughts on the future of Idol — and yes, he does believe there's a future. [Full Q&A here.] Today's Birthdays: Greta Gerwig, 33, Abigail Spencer, 35, Daniel Dae Kim, 48, Billy Bob Thornton, 61, Frank Vincent, 77. 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] August 4, 2016