CBS' 'Bull' Harassment Payoff; Best Shows of 2018; Director Roundtable; Peak TV Update; 'Mockingbird' Review; Kareem on New Blaxploitation

What's news: CBS paid a secret $9.5 million settlement to Eliza Dushku over on-set sexual harassment from Bull star Michael Weatherly. Plus: 2018's top directors discuss how they navigate the art and the business, scripted TV's new watermark and the best shows of the year. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( December 14, 2018 What's news: CBS paid a secret $9.5 million settlement to Eliza Dushku over on-set sexual harassment from Bull star Michael Weatherly. Plus: 2018's top directors discuss how they navigate the art and the business, scripted TV's new watermark and the best shows of the year. — Will Robinson ^The Director Roundtable: Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuaron, Marielle Heller, Yorgos Lanthimos and Spike Lee discuss how they conquer the fears of actors, the politics of art in "dangerous times," what you learn in film school and what can ruin a project, Stephen Galloway reports: + Making a political film: "We live in very dangerous times. Artists reflect what's happening in the world or what they want to happen, and the great thing about art is everybody can follow their own vision," Lee says. "But for me, this guy in the White House, Agent Orange — these are not America's brightest moments. If you're an artist and you make the decision that you're not going to include politics, that's a political decision in itself." + Indies vs. blockbusters: "The biggest difference was actually in the lack of restrictions," Coogler says. "We all started relatively small. When you're dealing with not a lot of money, you've got a lot of limitations, and it helps you to move faster. You can't do just anything. What I found made it a lot harder on Black Panther was you're dealing with so many more people." + The thrill: "For it to be as joyful as it was. I felt like I was in exactly the place that I was supposed to be in that moment," Cooper says. "You can't see the light at the end of the tunnel with prep. You've just got to go down into the cave every day and hope that one day you're going to see the light. But then it becomes fun." [Full roundtable.]( CBS' Secret Settlement Bull misconduct: The New York Times reports actress Eliza Dushku was paid a secret settlement of $9.5 million to quiet reports of sexual harassment she allegedly received from Bull star Michael Weatherly while filming a number of episodes of the CBS show last year, Patrick Shanley writes: + What happened: Hired to play a love interest of Weatherly's character on the show, Dushku came on for a three-episode run that was meant to be a much larger role as the series went on. However, after Dushku reported sexually charged comments made by the star to her, she was [written off]( the show. + Alleged harassment: Dushku claims Weatherly referred to her as “legs,” joking that he would pull her over his knee and spank her, asking her if she would like to have a “threesome” and inviting her to his “rape van.” She claims the experiences, which took place in front of the entire cast and crew, left her "humiliated." * Weatherly's apology: "During the course of taping our show, I made some jokes mocking some lines in the script. When Eliza told me that she wasn’t comfortable with my language and attempt at humor, I was mortified to have offended her and immediately apologized. After reflecting on this further, I better understand that what I said was both not funny and not appropriate and I am sorry and regret the pain this caused Eliza." [[The New York Times](] Elsewhere in TV... ► Peak TV update: Scripted originals hit yet another high in 2018. In FX's annual update on the state of scripted, total volume [hit another high]( of 495, falling short of the 520 FX CEO John Landgraf predicted for the year. * Streaming overtakes broadcast. All told, streamers represented 32 percent of the total number of scripted originals, with broadcast coming in at 30 percent, followed by basic cable (29 percent) and premium cable (9 percent). ► NBC tops fall ratings by shrinking margin as New Fox makes a big play. Collectively, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW have lost about 4 percent of their overall viewership vs. this time last season: They're averaging 32.34 million viewers over the first 11 weeks of the season (Sept. 24-Dec. 9) vs. 33.54 million at the same time in 2017. The big four nets are off by just 2 percent, 30.9 million vs. 31.66 million a year ago. [Analysis.]( ► New Emmy rule shuts out shorter TV movies. The ruling means made-for-television films have to have a minimum running time of 75 minutes. The rule change [will keep out]( the one-off episodes of some anthologies from the running. ► Cybill Shepherd says show was canceled after denying Moonves’ advances. "He was, well, he was telling me his wife didn't turn him on, some mistress didn't turn him on," Shepherd [explained](. "And ... he says, 'Well, you know, why don't you let me take you home?' I said, 'No, I've got a ride.' And I had my car outside with a good friend of mine who is an off-duty LAPD officer." ► Facebook pushing for HBO subscriptions. "Industry sources say Facebook’s media team has been discussing deals with HBO and others for months and would like to launch the product in the first half of 2019. ... If it happens, it would be both a logical path for Facebook, given its big ambitions to become a video hub." [[Recode](] ► Apple to grow Culver City workforce to over 1,000 employees. The iPhone maker is expected [to move]( into a new building in Culver City in 2019. ► Alias reunion: Apple casts Jennifer Garner for J.J. Abrams Apple drama. The iPhone maker has [handed out]( a straight-to-series order for mini My Glory Was I Had Such Friends. ► Jordan Peele's Amazon Nazi drama casts Logan Lerman. Inspired by real-life events, The Hunt [revolves]( around a group of Nazi hunters in 1970s New York. ► MTV renews Jersey Shore Family Vacation. The renewal comes as little surprise, as the unscripted effort is the cabler's [top-rated series]( and has helped MTV to a run of ratings growth. Season two is averaging a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49 for initial airings; it typically doubles with a week of delayed viewing. ► Facebook Watch renews Sorry For Your Loss, Sacred Lies. The scripted half-hours are among a [slate of renewals]( at the social media giant. Also getting second seasons are unscripted series Huda Boss starring Huda Kattan and Kerry Washington-produced midform drama series Five Points. ► Amy Poehler options AIDS novel The Great Believers for TV. In a competitive situation, Poehler's Universal Television-based Paper Kite banner [landed]( the highly sought-after book, which is a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. ► Netflix taps Kaya Scodelario to replace Emma Roberts for figure skating drama. The Maze Runner actress [will play]( the lead role in Spinning Out as Kat Baker, an injured skater who tries to get back on her feet. ► Chris Harrison hopes Bachelor franchise will return to fire-damaged mansion. The Agoura Hills home was [singed]( but survived the Woolsey fire. Now, the "goal is to get back there" next season, says the longtime host, to help support the devastated community. [Quoted:]( "I am done with the lying. I am done being loyal to President Trump." — Michael Cohen, to ABC's George Stephanopoulos. ^Best shows of the year: THR TV critics Tim Goodman and Daniel Fienberg each ranked their top shows of the year, filled with newcomers (Succession), auteur-driven works (Atlanta) and dramatic stalwarts (The Americans) alike. + Goodman's top five: The Americans (FX), Patriot (Amazon), Counterpart (Starz), The End of the F---ing World (Netflix), The Good Place (NBC). [Full list.]( + Fienberg's top five: America to Me (Starz), Atlanta (FX), Succession (HBO), The Americans (FX), The End of the F---ing World (Netflix). [Full list.]( Digital digest... -> Why Verizon's $9 billion Oath bet failed. "It’s now clear that Oath was subject to this same grim reality that’s weighing down every other media company," Simon Owens writes. "Instead of increasing its share of the advertising market, its ad revenues are falling." [[Intelligencer](] * Layoffs coming: NBC News' Dylan Byers reports that Verizon [plans to cut]( 10% of Oath's 11,500-strong workforce in 2019's first quarter. ► YouTube warns creators that spam purge could lower subscriber counts. The Google-owned video giant posted a note to creators on Dec. 13 [notifying]( them about a scheduled purge of spam subscribers from Dec. 13-14. ► YouTube 2018 Rewind replaces Justin Bieber's "Baby" as most disliked video on the platform. This year's video has received [immense backlash]( since it was first published on Dec. 6, with YouTube creators deeming it "inauthentic." ► Sega introduces its own classic lineup of games on Amazon Fire TV. Sega Classics aims [to capitalize]( on the trend of nostalgia consoles that Nintendo and Sony have already released with a downloadable app that brings Sonic the Hedgehog and a few other classic titles into the new millennium. Ratings notes... ► Elf, Christmas Vacation make holiday magic for AMC. In the first two weeks of AMC's "Best Christmas Ever," which started Nov. 26, primetime airings of feature films on AMC have drawn 40 percent more viewers than the same timeframe in 2017: 989,000 vs. 708,000 a year ago. [Analysis.]( Legal briefs... ► Meek Mill docuseries producers say lawyer can't seize "off the record" interview tape. Roc Nation and Amazon [argue]( that "spoken words" are not property that can be recovered. Talking points... ► MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski apologizes for using homophobic slur. The Morning Joe co-anchor said she was ["really, really sorry"]( for calling Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a "wannabe dictator's butt boy" on Wednesday's show. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: Star Trek: Discovery season two puts Spock in the spotlight. The teaser for the new season of Discovery has the famous Vulcan in the center of several potential game-changing moments. [Watch.]( Marc Lamont Hill: "Profoundly OK" after CNN fired him for Israel speech. "I think it was a hasty decision. I disagree with the decision. And I think [history will vindicate]( the claims that I made," said Hill, who lost his job as a CNN contributor on Nov. 29. Disney's International Leaders Team set: Kevin Mayer, recently appointed chairman of Disney's newly created direct-to-consumer and international division, has named his key deputies who will oversee the Disney brand abroad, Natalie Jarvey reports: + Staying put: Staying in their current roles are Rebecca Campbell, president of EMEA at Disney, who will also add oversight of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States to her purview, and Diego Lerner, who serves as president of Latin America at Disney. * New additions: Uday Shankar, president of 21st Century Fox Asia and chairman and CEO of Star India, will become chairman of Star and Disney India and president of the Asia Pacific region at Disney. Longtime Disney distribution executive Janice Marinelli has also added to her role. Campbell, Lerner, Shankar and Marinelli all added to their teams, too. * Still to come: The division is expected to announce additional executive appointments for the three regional leadership teams and the global sales group in the coming weeks. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Ari Greenburg named president of WME. Greenburg was one of the first employees of the original Endeavor talent agency in 1995, moving from trainee to agent and, seven years later, the [first homegrown partner]( at the firm. He was part of Endeavor's executive committee that led the agency's physical expansion. ► Poll: Kevin Hart viewed as favorably as past Oscars hosts. Despite his recent controversy with old homophobic tweets and jokes, Hart was viewed favorably as an Oscars host by about 51 percent of respondents in a THR/Morning Consult survey. Chris Rock, who hosted in 2016, was viewed favorably by 51 percent of respondents, while Jimmy Kimmel was given a 48 percent favorability rating for his turn as emcee in 2017 and 2018. [Results.]( ► CAA tries in vain to hush up star agent's $15 million arbitration win. Menacing, profane emails and texts [weren't enough]( for CAA to show it had cause to terminate Ben Dogra. Despite CAA's best efforts to keep the matter confidential, what happened in arbitration doesn't stay in arbitration, Eriq Gardner reports. ► Luc Besson's EuropaCorp posts $101 million loss. The latest financial report comes as the company is [selling off]( assets in an effort to keep the studio financially afloat. ► Once Upon a Deadpool opens to $1 million on Wednesday. The PG-13 version of Deadpool 2 hopes to [take part]( in the holiday mayhem at the multiplex, starting at 1,566 screens. ► Netflix nabs Taylor Swift's Reputation tour concert film. The special, a trailer for which dropped on Thursday, will start streaming on New Year's Eve. [Watch.]( ► D.J. Caruso in talks to direct Are You Afraid of the Dark? movie. Gary Dauberman, the writer behind the New Line horror movies It and Annabelle: Creation, [wrote the script]( and will produce the project. ► Ozark star Julia Garner in talks for Harvey Weinstein assistant movie. Casting JonBenet filmmaker Kitty Green is behind the script. James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain), the former Focus Features head turned producer, is [on board]( to produce alongside Scott Macaulay. It's a date... ► Sam Mendes' World War I pic 1917 set for December 2019. Mendes is [reteaming]( with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Pictures for the project. ► Rian Johnson murder mystery Knives Out eyes 2019 holiday window. Daniel Craig [will topline]( as a detective tasked with solving a modern-day whodunit, set for next Thanksgiving. [Quoted:]( "Kevin is in a position, because he is a brilliant comedian, to kind of decide what he wants to do He doesn't have to step down. But he can. And when you look at the situation — well, who got screwed in that deal?" — Jerry Seinfeld, on the Oscars hosting controversy. ^High-brow blaxploitation in Trump era: Classic '70s films like Shaft and Super Fly featured swaggeringly badass men and women fighting an oppressive system, so with a racist in the White House, it's no surprise that new takes on the genre — Widows and Black Panther — are seeing a screen renaissance, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes: + Modern twists: Despite the genre plot conventions of contrived reversals, stereotypical villains (in this case, all the men are one-dimensionally evil) and downtrodden protagonists triumphing over their abusers, Widows accomplishes all this with artful style and touching character depth that pays off more intellectually and emotionally than expected. Most exploitation films end with the heroes taking a stick-it-to-the-villains victory lap; Widows is much more sophisticated and heartfelt. [Full column.]( Out on the town... -> Watch: '80s nightlife queen remembers heyday. Helena Kallianiotes talks acting opposite Jack Nicholson; how Sam Shepherd “was the best” at her poetry nights; the pleasures of “kicking out people” even though “they all were famous”; and being best friends with Anjelica Huston, now and when they both lived on Nicholson’s compound: “We’re like sisters — [we’d cook together, fight together](.” On the festival circuit... ► Michael B. Jordan, Oprah set for Blackhouse Foundation's Sundance schedule. For its 12th year of Sundance programming, the foundation has added OWN Network as a partner. [Details.]( ► The Favourite star Olivia Colman tapped for Palm Springs' Desert Palm Achievement Award. For her work in the film, Colman has [already won]( the Venice Film Festival's and Los Angeles Film Critics Association's best actress prizes, and is nominated for two Critics' Choice Awards and a Golden Globe. From the stage... ► Aaron Sorkin's To Kill a Mockingbird, reviewed. "Sorkin, [Bartlett] Sher and their estimable cast work together to give every significant figure on the stage a distinct identity without a whiff of cliché," David Rooney hails. "This is not starchy masterpiece theater, it's very much alive and emotionally impactful." [Review.]( ► Isabelle Huppert to return to New York stage in The Mother. The U.S. premiere of French playwright Florian Zeller's drama, [translated]( by Christopher Hampton, will also star Chris Noth, Justice Smith and Odessa Young. In memoriam... ► RIP Sondra Locke. The Oscar-nominated actress made six movies with Clint Eastwood before their relationship disintegrated and she sued him for palimony and then fraud. Locke died Nov. 3 at 74. [Obit.]( ► RIP Patricia Marshall. The former actress and singer who was married to two-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter Larry Gelbart died Tuesday at her home in Westwood, a family spokesperson said. She was 90. [Obit.]( Coming attractions... ► Poster: Jordan Peele reveals look at new horror film Us. The trailer drops Christmas Day, Peele said. Us is set for a March 15, 2019, release. [Photo.]( Paramount defeats Wolf of Wall Street libel suit from Stratton Oakmont alum. The Martin Scorsese film was based on a true story, but used composite characters. A judge rules former Stratton Oakmont general counsel Andrew Greene can't establish [actual malice](. Dressing the Character Inside the craft: Academy Award-nominated costume designer Mary Zophres is the latest to be featured on THR's Magic Hour, an original creators series profiling the process behind the most inspiring creatives in the entertainment industry: + Her credits: Zophres has designed wardrobe for films, such as First Man, La La Land, True Grit, Catch Me If You Can and The Big Lebowski, but she’s had a knack for design since she was 7-years-old. “My mother was the first one to point out, ‘You’ve been designing for people since you were a little kid,'" she recalls. + Coen bros. contribution: After John Turturro tried on his O Brother, Where Art Thou? costume, he became his character. “I always like to think it gave him the idea of Pete. It gave him his walk, it gave him is talk, it gave him his look, so you get goosebumps,” she said. “That’s the best part of my job. That part right there.” [Watch]( | [Magic Hour]( What else we're reading... — "How Roma Reveals the Complex Reality of Domestic Work." Ai-jen Poo writes: "It’s a story that tests the limits of our existing frameworks for understanding work and family, private and public, practical and emotional. Domestic workers perform some of the most intimate tasks in our lives and yet there is a clear distance between us." [[THR](] — "A Long Talk With David Lee Roth." Lane Brown chats with the Van Halen singer: "The life of a rock star is a limiting existence. Actually, it closely resembles that of a federal witness: You’re inside a hotel room with handlers. You’re transported urgently to a waiting vehicle." [[Vulture](] — "Stan Lee Unleashed the Heroic Power of the Outcast." Adam Rogers remembers: "Where DC’s popular heroes had been gods and oligarchs, confident white men, Lee’s creative team was fascinated by the implications of what happened when outcasts got abilities they didn’t ask for. Lee added a new super­power: angst." [[WIRED](] — "The Teen Rom-Com Was Reborn In 2018." Pier Dominguez reflects: "[Three films] feature the kind of protagonists who have historically been marginalized as comic relief or sidekicks in plots about thin, white, straight characters nursing secret crushes, making life-changing declarations of love, and coming into themselves as quirky outsiders." [[BuzzFeed News](] — "Tony Kushner: 'Trump Has a Sinkhole Instead of a Soul.'" Alexis Soloski interviews the playwright: "I hate watching my plays. They’re all so long and they take for ever and the only one that’s not true of is Caroline." [[The Guardian](] What else we're watching... + "Liam Hemsworth rescued Miley Cyrus' animals from Malibu wildfire." [[Tonight Show](] + "Natalie Portman had embarrassing texting accident with Meryl Streep." [[Late Night](] + "Amy Adams rejected a hug from Brad Pitt." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] + "Diane Kruger's latest scene partner was a tennis ball." [[Late Show](] From the archives... + On Dec. 14, 1984, David Lynch unveiled a divisive 140-minute epic based on Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic, Dune, to mixed results in theaters: "This lofty $40 million allegory of interplanetary insurrection, long thought unfilmable, is at once a work of almost visionary beauty and surprisingly conventional adventure. Fans shouldn't mind the excessive length and too-deliberate pacing." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Vanessa Hudgens, 30, Jackson Rathbone, 34, Matthew McNulty, 36, Miranda Hart, 46, Michaela Watkins, 47, Natascha McElhone, 49. 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 14, 2018