SAG Awards Noms; Verizon's $4.6B Media Mistake; 'Aquaman' Reviews; 'Modern Family' Deal Close; Animation Roundtable; Netflix's Vague Viewer Stats

What's news: Verizon takes makes a big concession in its digital advertising push by writing down Oath. Plus: CBS settles with three women over allegations against Charlie Rose, the animated films audiences want and the latest films added to the National Film Registry. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( December 12, 2018 What's news: Verizon takes makes a big concession in its digital advertising push by writing down Oath. Plus: CBS settles with three women over allegations against Charlie Rose, the animated films audiences want and the latest films added to the National Film Registry. — Will Robinson Breaking: The SAG Awards unveiled its nominees this morning. Scott Feinberg emails a few takeaways: + Outperforming expectations: BlacKkKlansman, which earned nods for its ensemble, lead actor John David Washington and supporting actor Adam Driver; A Quiet Place (Emily Blunt, with a supporting nod); and Mary Queen of Scots (Margot Robbie, with a supporting actress nomination). + Meanwhile: If Beale Street Could Talk was shut out, with no nominations — not even for Regina King. And Roma was eligible for the nominations but wasn't expected to be among the best ensemble nominees. Happiest camper: A Star Is Born! Fun fact to remember this morning: only twice in 23 years has a film not nominated for the best ensemble SAG Award still gone on to win the best picture Academy Award — 1995's Braveheart and 2017's The Shape of Water. [Full nominees list.]( ^Wave of duotone: Two of the year's most critically acclaimed films — which also happen to be colorless — are attempting to make history by earning nominations for cinematography and, maybe, best picture, Scott Feinberg writes: + Personal tales: Roma and Cold War hail from very different parts of the world — Mexico and Poland — but each tells a deeply personal story about the filmmaker's parents. And, interestingly enough, at a time when streaming services are under fire for allegedly threatening cinema as we know it, both projects — not exactly "easy sells" — are being distributed and promoted heavily by none other than Netflix and Amazon, respectively. + Recent track record: Members of the Academy's cinematographers branch, who determine the best cinematography nominees, have continued to respond to black-and-white films, nominating nine films including The Last Picture Show, Raging Bull, The Artist and most recently, Ida. But, as far as best cinematography Oscar wins, which are determined by the full Academy, only one post-1967 black-and-white film has won: Schindler's List. + Black and white renaissance?: It will take a few years to know for sure. Regardless, it is rather remarkable to note that these two contenders are now sharing some theaters with another entirely (save for the red coat) black-and-white film, Schindler's List, which is being re-released on its 25th anniversary — while many viewers are simultaneously streaming a partially black-and-white work, Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind. [Full column.]( Verizon Devalues Oath Advertising flop: Verizon Communications has recorded a steep goodwill impairment charge of $4.6 billion on its Oath media division, which includes HuffPost and Yahoo, Etan Vlessing and Natalie Jarvey report: + Massive devaluation: The telecom giant noted the creation of Oath after it acquired Yahoo for $4.5 billion and merged it with AOL has led to a charge of around $4.6 billion during the fourth quarter of 2018. "The goodwill balance of the Oath reporting unit was approximately $4.8 billion prior to the incurrence of this impairment charge," Verizon revealed in an SEC filing Tuesday. Oath's goodwill value has been virtually eliminated. + Failed experiment: Verizon acquired legacy internet giant AOL in 2015 for $4.4 billion as part of an effort to build out its media and advertising business. But amid a challenging climate for media businesses that don't have the scale of Google or Facebook, new Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg has retreated from the media business and doubled down on Verizon's 5G technology. Former CEO Tim Armstrong, meanwhile, left the company earlier this year. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► CBS settles with three women over Charlie Rose allegations. "The suit against Rose remains open," Abby Jackson reports. Per a CBS News spokesperson, "the matter was resolved and that the plaintiffs requested that the financial amount remain confidential." [[Business Insider](] ► Sinclair urges FCC to reject petition calling for early license review. The American Cable Association has [pointed to alleged]( malfeasance in the aborted Sinclair-Tribune deal and challenges whether Sinclair holds basic character qualifications to continue running Fox and ABC stations in the D.C. area. ► Cosby lawyers appeal conviction, listing 11 alleged trial errors. The defense asked to have the 81-year-old comedian [released]( from a Philadelphia prison while his appeal proceeds, but their pleas have so far been rejected. ► ABC's Modern Family season 11 inches closer; cast negotiates new deals. The comedy's six adult leads are in talks to [return]( for an 11th season in 2019-20. Series co-creator Steven Levitan had previously said "the plan was to end it at 10" seasons, but that was before 20th Century Fox TV was poised to become part of Disney, which also owns ABC. ► Lake Bell comedy moves from Fox to ABC with series order. Dax Shepard co-stars in Bless This Mess, from New Girl's Elizabeth Meriwether. Fox, meanwhile, has [also passed]( on possible midseason comedies Dan the Weatherman and Leah Rimini's Mean Jean. ► Disney planning on splitting up Fox's 22 RSNs? "Concerns about continued cord-cutting among cable TV subscribers have forced the bankers, JPMorgan Chase and Allen & Co., to get creative as they scramble to fetch a solid overall price, insiders say." [[New York Post](] ► Fox Network Group launches streamer FoxNow in Europe. The SVOD platform [will debut]( on Vodafone TV in Spain, streaming episodes of series including The Walking Dead, Deep State and Legion. ► Netflix testing scene replay feature. The feature is being tested on a small number of users and is only available on a select number of movies or TV shows, David Ng reports. [[Los Angeles Times](] Deals and greenlights... ► Netflix developing Ted Bundy true crime series. Emmy-winning documentarian Joe Berlinger is [directing]( and executive producing the four-part series, Conversations With a Killer. ► Netflix greenlights Selena scripted series. The family of the late Tejano music legend is on board to [produce]( what the streamer describes as a coming-of-age story. ► Young Pope producers developing Audrey Hepburn drama series. Italian production company Wildside [will develop]( the series together with Hepburn's son Luca Dotti and Italian journalist Luigi Spinola, authors of the bestseller Audrey at Home. ► Amazon renews Goliath. The Billy Bob Thornton drama has [added]( Dennis Quaid and Amy Brenneman, among others, for its third season. ► Epix renews Get Shorty. The premium cable network [will keep]( the Ray Romano and Chris O'Dowd comedy around for at least a season three. ► Issa Rae, Columbia ink production pact to promote diverse writers. The deal will function as part mentorship program, under which selected participants will work with Rae and the studio to [develop and write]( features based on their original ideas. ► Comedy Central cancels Detroiters. Sam Richardson and Tim Robinson [starred]( for two seasons as lifelong friends who run a small ad agency in the Motor City. ► Disney Channel acquires animated dinosaur series Gigantosaurus. The show, which premieres Jan. 18, [follows]( four dinosaur friends on their adventures. ^Netflix releases more vague viewership data: The streaming giant released year-end data on its most-watched programs, but did not indicate any metric or rankings, Rick Porter reports: + The rewatchables: The Kissing Booth was the service's most rewatched movie of 2018 (through Nov. 28), followed by To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Roxanne Roxanne, the biopic about hip-hop pioneer Roxanne Shanté that was released in March. * Fuzzy claims: When Netflix says more than 50 percent of viewers of its rom-coms The Kissing Booth and To All the Boys watched more than once, no one knows how big that audience is. Five thousand people? 500,000? 5 million? It's anyone's guess! + Shows with highest "binge quotient": Not in any particular order: On My Block; Making a Murderer: Part 2; 13 Reasons Why, season two. [Full story.]( Digital digest... ► Google CEO Sundar Pichai gets grilled on bias before Congress. Pichai is facing the Republican-majority House Judiciary Committee before Democrats [take control]( of the House in January. Lawmakers are asking him about alleged bias in the company's search results, as well as its reported plans to launch a censored search engine in China. ► Instagram testing creator accounts with direct message filters, growth insights. A small group of high-profile Instagram users are [testing]( the new "creator account" profiles, which offer tools tailored to influencers, Natalie Jarvey reports. Ratings notes... ► Young and the Restless marks 30 straight years as No. 1 daytime soap. The CBS mainstay has been the most-watched soap opera for a remarkable 1,560 consecutive weeks. This year, the show [averages]( 4.42 million daily viewers — more than about a third of primetime shows on the broadcast networks and more than every single daytime talk show and every single late-night program. California recovers... ► Wildfires cleanup to cost at least $3 billion. Disaster relief officials said the cleanup costs will [far surpass]( the record cleanup expense of $1.3 billion the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent on debris removal in Northern California in 2017. In memoriam... ► RIP Bill Siegel. The Chicago documentary producer and director, who earned an Emmy for The Trials of Muhammad Ali, died at 55. [Obit.]( Talking points... ► Donald Trump awarded $300K in legal fees in Stormy Daniels defamation fight. Daniels [must pay]( Trump $293,052.33 in attorneys' fees, costs and sanctions after losing her defamation lawsuit against him, a California federal judge has ruled. Trump, wedding crasher, results in bad copyright news for Esquire. "Stealing a copyrighted photograph to illustrate a news article, without adding new understanding or meaning to the work, [does not transform]( its purpose," a judge wrote in holding Hearst liable for copyright, "regardless of whether that photograph was created for commercial or personal use." Animation Roundtable State of the industry: Six pros — Sony Pictures Animation president Kristine Belson, Brad Bird, Rich Moore, Latifa Ouaou, Bonne Radford and Peter Ramsey — gathered to discuss the impact of #MeToo on the toon trade and whether the Lion King reboot is actually an animated film, Carolyn Giardina reports: + John Lasseter's departure: "He threw himself between us and the people who wanted to shut [The Incredibles] down because it was 'too much like Spy Kids,'" Bird recalls. "He allowed it to exist at Disney. I said to my crew, 'Just don't get bogged down in this right now. Focus on why you're here, which is to tell stories.; That's what John would've done and that's what anyone that loves this medium would do." + Timeline of diversity changes: "Animation is a glacier that's moving pretty slowly [in terms of diversity]," Ramsey says. "The changes are happening, but it kind of goes back to that chain of places where you can start to make a difference. One of the big gateways to animation is art school. And who gets to go to art school? When I was growing up, I grew up in South Central L.A., that mentality was a thousand miles away from me." [Full roundtable.]( -> Which animated feature genres do audiences want?: Comedy, Adventure and Fantasy scored highest, with 62 percent, 57 percent and 55 percent of those answering enjoying those genres, respectively. The least popular genre for animation was horror, surprisingly, at 54 percent dislike, a new THR/Morning Consult poll finds. [Results.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Disney sued by writer over home video profits. The Jerk scribe and Head of the Class creator Michael Elias, through his loanout corporation Neversink Productions, [claims]( Disney has been violating his contract for 1982's Young Doctors in Love by only including 20 percent of home video revenue when it calculates the amount due to profit participants. ► Scott Derrickson returning to direct Doctor Strange sequel. A search for a writer to pen the script is about to get [underway](. Sources tell Borys Kit that the plan is for the script to be hashed out in 2019 with an eye toward a spring 2020 production start. If all goes well, the movie would be casting its spell on audiences in May 2021. ► Jurassic Park, The Shining, Brokeback Mountain enter National Film Registry. The 30th annual selection of 25 films deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant to the nation's film heritage helps ensure that those on the list will be preserved for all time. [Full list.]( ► Black Panther named best film by African American Film Critics Association. Other major honorees of the world's largest group of black film critics included The Hate U Give, If Beale St. Could Talk and BlacKkKlansman. [Winners list.]( ► Japanese superhero Ultraman reboot in the works. Japan's Tsuburaya has [hired]( Jeff Gomez's Starlight Runner Entertainment to do a new take on the futuristic policeman-turned-extraterrestrial savior for the international market. ► Birds of Prey adds Chris Messina as villain Victor Zsasz. In DC comic book lore, Zsasz is a serial killer and [foe]( of Batman. The Warners pic stars Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and is directed by Cathy Yan. ► Jai Courtney, Geoffrey Rush drama Storm Boy nabbed by Good Deed Entertainment. The film is being theatrically [released]( by Sony in Australia and New Zealand in January and will be released In theaters in North America in spring 2019. ► John Wick producer challenges lender's claim in bankruptcy. MJW Films and its subsidiary J Wick Productions each [declared]( bankruptcy in October. ► World War Z producer teams with music industry vet on new company. Tim Headington (Argo, Hugo) is [launching]( Ley Line Entertainment with Theresa Steele Page, who played a key role in overseeing the early careers of Britney Spears, 'N Sync, Justin Timberlake and Backstreet Boys. ► Films starring women out-earn men-starring pics. "According to findings from the Creative Artists Agency and shift7, a company started by the former United States chief technology officer Megan Smith, the top movies from 2014 to 2017 starring women earned more than male-led film." [[The New York Times](] [Quoted:]( "You never know when you’re going to give up. But I’m enjoying it." — Clint Eastwood, on when he'll consider retirement. ^ Warner Bros.' Aquaman, reviewed. "[James Wan's film] is so elemental in its tall-tale telling and its concentration on royalty and the overriding significance of battle that it feels closer in nature to ancient myth than do most comics-derived epics," Todd McCarthy writes. "This is arguably what works in its favor in comparison to most Warner Bros./DC features other than those by Christopher Nolan." [Review.]( * What critics are saying: Currently, the DC pic is breaking out of the non-Wonder Woman slump with 76 percent on [Rotten Tomatoes](, but a less impressive 53 on [Metacritic](. [Roundup.]( Latest reviews... ► Fox's Once Upon a Deadpool. "Given how generous the filmmakers have been with non-movie footage, though — multiple teasers for the sequel hit the web before its initial release, each packing as much wit as has gone into this version's new material — it's not such a treat that it demands another trip to theaters," John DeFore writes. [Review.]( The Oscars race... -> Weighing the odds in the best song and score races. The Golden Globe nominations [elevate some]( (noms leader Vice), while others are left in the dust (Widows and The Front Runner are MIA), Scott Feinberg analyzes. ► 24 fest-recognized docs, mine foreign pics eligible for doc feature under new rules. Lovers of documentary features and foreign language films may wish to keep an eye on whether or not a new rule impacts documentary feature shortlist, whose voting ends today at 5 p.m. PT. [Details.]( For your consideration... ► Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem among nominees for Spain's Goya Awards. With 13, political thriller The Realm led the nominations to the Goya Awards unveiled Wednesday in Madrid, followed closely by Spain’s foreign-language Oscar nominee Champions, which got 11 nods. [Nominees.]( ► Sorry Angel wins France's Louis Delluc prize. Christophe Honore's 1990s-set AIDS drama [took]( France's prestigious critics prize. ► A Star Is Born leads Australian Academy International nominees. A total of 17 films earned nominations, with the music-fueled drama in the lead with five nods. Vice closely follows with four nominations. [Full list.]( On the festival circuit... ► John David Washington, Elsie Fisher among eight tapped for Santa Barbara's Virtuoso Award. Yalitza Aparicio, Sam Elliott, Claire Foy, Richard E. Grant, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie and Steven Yeun will also be [honored]( on Feb. 5. From the stage... ► Clueless, reviewed. "It was probably too much to hope that this recycled iteration could recapture lightning in a bottle, but the flame of originality barely flickers, leaving a show that feels only intermittently fresh, despite the commitment of a perky young cast," David Rooney writes. [Review.]( ► Avenue Q musical to close after 16-year run. The production premiered in 2003 and quickly made a name for itself, [beating out]( Wicked for best musical at the 2004 Tony Awards. After the final performance April 28, Avenue Q will have been seen more than 6,500 times. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: Bird Box sees Sandra Bullock threatened by supernatural forces. Familial scenes are intercut with desperation, horror and disruption as Bullock fights for survival amid chaos. [Watch.]( ► Trailer: Shaun the Sheep goes sci-fi in Aardman's first Farmageddon. The film, which follows the $106 million success of the original Shaun the Sheep Movie in 2015, is directed by Richard Phelan and Will Becher. [Watch.]( Questionable Star Wars lightsaber withdrawn from auction. The listing was for a lightsaber [described]( as used by Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker in 1977's A New Hope. It was set to easily fetch six figures. The actor said the lightsaber prop may be legit, but it is not as rare as it may seem because numerous models were made for both himself and his stunt double. Jackman Hitting the Road "Bucket-list moment": Hugh Jackman, the musically inclined actor, announced last month that he is launching a world tour in 2019, featuring music from The Greatest Showman, Les Misérables and more, Evan Real reports: + Inspiration: "What initially made me most nervous about doing arenas was that, for me, it's all about the connection with the audience," Jackman says. "I want intimacy. I wasn't sure if that was achievable in an arena. But when I did the arena tour of The Boy From Oz in 2006, I could feel the people. That's when I realized that this works." + Dream guest stars: "I would love Pink to come and do 'A Million Dreams' with me," he insists. "We're actually going to be on tour at the same time in Europe, so I'd love for her to come and sing a little harmony for 'A Million Dreams' with me. I'd even love to have her daughter, Willow, who sang the reprise on that album, come sing it with me. I'd also love to have Kelly Clarkson and Taron Egerton." [Full interview.]( What else we're reading... — "Ellen DeGeneres Is Not as Nice as You Think." Jason Zinoman profiles the talk-show host and comic: "In person, she is more blunt, introspective and interesting than she is on the show, willing to express mild irritation that might seem off-key in front of a national audience. She’s also much more likely to explore dark corners of her psyche, regrets, second thoughts, anxieties that linger." [[The New York Times](] — "Andy Serkis Details His Groundbreaking Motion-Capture Performances." Chris Lee interviews the shapeshifter: "With Gollum there was no facial capture; it was all key frame animated over the top of my performance. And for shots that didn’t involve any interaction with other characters, I’d go into the studio for a wide shot where he’s crawling around. It was all my physicality that was captured." [[Vulture](] — "The Cloying Fantasia of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." Emily Nussbaum writes: "The show is downright Sorkinian in its emphasis on Midge’s superiority—and more than a bit Streisandian, too, except that Midge starts and ends as a swan." [[The New Yorker](] — "Late-Night TV Hosts Give Publicity-Starved Novelists Star Treatment." Alexandra Alter and John Koblin report — Seth Meyers: "We ... saw it as an opportunity to have diverse writers and writers who are publishing their first or second novel, because this will probably mean more for them than people who are already established." [[The New York Times](] — "I’m Tired of Looking At All These Bad Wigs on Black Actors." Bim Adewunmi writes: "It is a mirror reflection of a society that understands black people as barely sentient props, in place only to serve a grander narrative without thought to their own fates." [[BuzzFeed News](] What else we're watching... + "How Robert Klein saved Rodney Dangerfield's life." [[Tonight Show](] + "Whoopi Goldberg proposes an Oscar host." [[Late Show](] + "How Nicole Kidman's kids reacted to her Emmy." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] + "Nicole Byer teaches Seth how to shoplift." [[Late Night](] From the archives... + On Dec. 12, 2003, Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton starred in Something's Gotta Give, a rom-com from Nancy Meyers that went on to gross over $266 million behind its star power: "Mr. Nicholson and Ms. Keaton ... spar with the freedom of professionals with nothing left to prove, and Mr. Nicholson has the gentlemanly grace to step aside and let Ms. Keaton claim the movie. She in turn brings out the best in everyone around her." [[The New York Times](] Today's birthdays: Lucas Hedges, 22, Gbenga Akinnagbe, 40, Mayim Bialik, 43, Jennifer Connelly, 48, Regina Hall, 48, Bill Nighy, 69, Bob Barker, 95. Enjoy reading this? Six days a week, look for Today in Entertainment in your inbox to stay up-to-date on the industry. Sign up for this newsletter (and others) at [THR.com/Newsletters](. 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]( December 12, 2018