Bezos 'Extortion'; Grande vs. Grammys; RIP Albert Finney; Woody Sues Amazon; The Rock's Oscar Dream

What's news: Jeff Bezos goes on the offensive against the National Enquirer after it allegedly tried to blackmail the billionaire. Plus: Woody Allen sues Amazon, Oprah finds an exec for her Apple initiative and remembering Albert Finney. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( February 08, 2019 What's news: Jeff Bezos goes on the offensive against the National Enquirer after it allegedly tried to blackmail the billionaire. Plus: Woody Allen sues Amazon, Oprah finds an exec for her Apple initiative and remembering Albert Finney. — Will Robinson ^Jeff Bezos vs. National Enquirer: The Amazon billionaire is hitting back against the tabloid and its owner American Media alleging that the publication tried to blackmail him and is threatening to publish explicit photographs of both him and Lauren Sanchez-Whitesell, Chris Gardner reports: + The Medium post: "Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten," writes Bezos at the start of his post, which explains the complicated backstory of how one of the world's top executives has found himself in a legal tussle with one of America's most controversial tabloid publication. + Looking into leak: Bezos said he launched his own investigation "to learn how those texts were obtained, and to determine the motives for the many unusual actions taken by the Enquirer." Bezos then writes that his team found out that AMI chairman and CEO David Pecker was "apoplectic" about the investigation, and shortly thereafter they were approached with "an offer." + Political innuendo: "AMI, the owner of the National Enquirer, led by David Pecker, recently entered into an immunity deal with the Department of Justice related to their role in the so-called 'Catch and Kill' process on behalf of President Trump and his election campaign," Bezos explains in the essay. "Mr. Pecker and his company have also been investigated for various actions they’ve taken on behalf of the Saudi Government." * AMI responds: "American Media believes fervently that it acted lawfully in the reporting of the story of Mr. Bezos, it was in good faith negotiations to resolve all matters with him," reads the statement. "Nonetheless, in light of the nature of the allegations published by Mr. Bezos, the Board has convened and determined that it should promptly and thoroughly investigate the claims. Upon completion of that investigation, the Board will take whatever appropriate action is necessary." [Full story]( | [Read the post]( Allen Sues Amazon Breach of contract?: Filmmaker Woody Allen questions the validity of the termination, saying it is based on decades-old allegations that Amazon knew about when it signed up Allen for new work, Eriq Gardner reports: + Breach of contract claim: In a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York federal court, Allen says that in June 2018, Amazon attempted to terminate its agreements with Allen. "Amazon has tried to excuse its action by referencing a 25-year old, baseless allegation against Mr. Allen, but that allegation was already well known to Amazon (and the public) before Amazon entered into four separate deals with Mr. Allen." + Sunk cost: Allen says that pursuant to the agreement, he and investors have put $20 million into financing the production of A Rainy Day in New York, starring Jude Law and Selena Gomez, but that Amazon is refusing to make guaranteed payments on the film. He alleges being owed $9 million in such guarantees plus additional amounts based on the success of the pic. + Eight-figure demand: Besides claiming breaches of various contracts, Allen alleges Amazon has violated an implied covenant to deal fairly and in good faith and that Amazon has been unjustly enriched through his involvement in helping bolster the value of its film business. He is now demanding the $68 million in guarantees and further monetary damages. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Raven Capital Management buys Open Road for $87.5 million. The company [takes over]( rights to films from the now-bust U.S. distributor, including Chef, Nightcrawler and Oscar winner Spotlight. ► Starz powers Lionsgate to profit as film TV revenue fall. Third-quarter revenues came to $933 million against a year-earlier $1.14 billion. The company said its Starz cable asset [finished]( the quarter with 25.1 million domestic subscribers, "up 1.1 million year over year and driven by strong OTT subscriber growth." ► Kevin Spacey, demanding sex abuse lawsuit dismissal, attacks accuser's anonymity. The actor [claims]( being the one vulnerable to privacy invasion and tells a court that he'll be prejudiced if his accuser isn't named. -> "Who Has Seen Roma? Netflix Offers Clues." Brooks Barnes reports: "[The film] caught fire in Mexico: Mr. Cuarón’s film has been viewed on 50 percent of Netflix’s Mexico accounts, or nearly four million, ranking as the service’s second most popular original movie ever in the country, behind Bird Box." [[The New York Times](] Deals and developments... ► Lionsgate developing I Can Only Imagine follow-up. The faith-based film was the biggest indie hit of 2018. I Still Believe is [set to start]( shooting in the spring and is slated to bow March 20, 2020, as a wide release. ► Universal, Lorne Michaels teaming for movie about Navy SEAL that killed Bin Laden. The movie will be based on Rob O’Neill's biography The Operator. Michael Russell Gunn, whose credits include series The Newsroom and is currently a supervising producer on Showtime’s Billions, is [adapting]( the screenplay. ► Issa Lopez to write, direct supernatural revenge thriller for Legendary. J.H. Wyman, who executive produced sci-fi TV shows Fringe and Almost Human, and Sherry Marsh, behind TV’s Vikings and Pose, are [attached]( to produce the project. ► Netflix acquires animated adventure film Pachamama. Director Juan Antin's film, set in the Andes, has been [nominated]( for a Cesar Award and will be the opening film at the New York International Children's Film Festival later this month. ► Roadside Attractions picks up Leonard Cohen doc Marianne & Leonard. Nick Broomfield is behind the feature that [screened]( in Sundance's doc premieres section. From the Berlinale... ► Netflix greenlights first German-language films. The streaming giant, which [produces]( such German-language series as Dark and Dogs of Berlin, has ordered a trio of original German features including Betongold starring David Kross and Frederick Lau. ► Sara Colangelo to direct Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci in What Is Life Worth. The real-life biopic is [based on]( the memoir of Ken Feinberg, a powerful insider D.C. lawyer put in charge of the 9/11 Fund. ► Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie film The Banker sells wide. The true-life story of two African American entrepreneurs who [hired]( a white man to pose as their boss, was snatched up by distributors from Germany to Japan and Latin America. ► Freddie Highmore to produce, star in Spain-set heist film. TF1 Studio is [handling]( international sales on Way Down, the new film from Spanish director Jaume Balaguero. -> Other deals: A24 [scores]( major deals on Hereditary director Ari Aster's next horror film... He-Man doc [finds]( U.S. home with High Octane... Chinese streamer Huanxi [takes]( At Eternity's Gate, Never Look Away... VMI [ties knot]( with Russian Bride... Uncork’d [swoops on]( The Child Remains... Film Mode [strikes deals]( on Crypto, Burn. -> Chiwetel Ejiofor talks challenges of directing in debut. Ahead of the European premiere of his directorial debut The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, the helmer discussed shooting in the very same village where the story is set: "All of that was incredibly [important to capture]( a feel of that kind of authentic experience while giving the film its own epic scale." ► Review: Lone Scherfig's The Kindness of Strangers. "The capable actors do what they can, but audiences are more likely to [glaze over]( than share the qualities of mercy and compassion so dutifully stitched into this diagrammatic patchwork," David Rooney writes. ^Oscar's "what if": Dwayne Johnson said he met multiple times with Oscars broadcast producers Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss, and began to assemble a team and laid out specific bits and performance numbers, Rebecca Keegan reports: + Schedule problems: “We spoke to the producers and it pained me not to be able to host because of the schedule,” Johnson says. “I live in a world of possibility, but was the immediacy of rolling into Jumanji that put a vice grip on things.” + Ideal focus: “We were going to turn the Oscars on their head this year and make it something special and unique and different, and start a new era of how Oscars are going to be enjoyed,” Johnson adds. “I wanted to try and create a scenario where, at the end of the night, my friends who won, my friends who didn't win, all had, despite not winning, had the greatest time.” [Full story.]( On the festival circuit... ► Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile to screen at Mammoth. The Zac Efron-starring Ted Bundy drama first [screened]( at Sundance. Honorees... ► African-American Film Critics celebrate Quincy Jones, Black Panther. Jason Blum, BlacKkKlansman and If Beale Street Could Talk were [among]( the other recipients of awards at the 10th annual gala. ► NYFW fetes Oscar-nominated costume designer Ruth E. Carter. The one-night-only installation showcased the cultural relevancy of Carter's work today in themed vignettes such as "Women In Protest" and "The Hero." [Photos.]( Latest reviews... ► Saban Films' Berlin, I Love You. "[The anthology film] makes you nervous that if you don't like one segment, which you surely won't, another mediocre to awful one will follow," Frank Scheck writes. [Full review.]( ► Mimi deGruy's Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy. "It is a beautifully filmed documentary with some amazing underwater footage (much of it shot by Mike himself), and it also succeeds as a touching personal reminiscence and as an understated but effective environmental manifesto," Stephen Farber praises. [Full review.]( Musical notes... ► On appeal, Universal Music allowed to escape profits dispute over Drake albums. A New York appeals court says the company founded by Lil Wayne's former manager [hasn't shown]( Birdman's Cash Money was an "alter ego" of Universal. Console wars... ► Apex Legends draws 10 million players in first 72 hours. The quick success of Respawn Entertainment's free-to-play Battle Royale title comes as parent company EA's shares [drop]( up to 19 percent in the stock market after a disappointing earnings report. ► Fox launches indie game development fund. The first title in the new program [will be]( the puzzle game Etherborn. In memoriam... ► RIP Albert Finney. The esteemed British actor and five-time Oscar nominee known for his shape-shifting work in such films as Tom Jones, The Dresser, Murder on the Orient Express and Erin Brockovich died Friday. He was 82. [Obit.]( Coming attractions... ► Trailer: Samuel L. Jackson makes fighting crime a family affair in Shaft reboot. Jessie T. Usher, Richard Roundtree, Regina Hall and Alexandra Shipp also star in the latest addition to the Shaft film series. [Watch.]( Will this be the year originality in entertainment goes on trial? Copyright trials abound in 2019, Eriq Gardner details. Up for debate: An Oscar-nominated film, a Grammy-winning song and a Tom Brady joke. [Primer.]( 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](. Spotify's Podcast Plays Stocking up: Spotify is buying podcast producer Gimlet Media and distributor Anchor and ramping up to spend more on acquisitions this year, Natalie Jarvey reports: + Aiming high: "Our goal is to become the world's number one global audio platform," content chief Dawn Ostroff said following the announcement of the acquisitions. She points to the difference between the size of the video industry (digital video ad spend was $13.2 billion in 2017, per eMarketer) and the size of the audio market ($314 million in podcasting revenue in 2017, per IAB) as a sign that there is significant growth potential in the space. + Industry validation: Gimlet co-founder and president Matt Lieber said he and co-founder Alex Blumberg were struck by Ek's pitch that "the ear is undervalued." He added, "The reason we feel like it's time [to sell] is in order to evolve podcasting to its full potential, we need better discovery, better data, better monetization and global scale. Those are all things that Spotify has." [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► HBO drama co-head David Levine departing. Francesca Orsi [will now run]( the department solo at the premium cabler. ► Oprah Winfrey finds new Harpo exec to lead Apple push. Terry Wood, who’d been with Netflix for the past four years, [heads back]( to the Winfrey-verse — having previously worked for her company in Chicago in the 1990s. ► TBS scuttles Michael Moore's TV Nation. The show, announced in 2017, is [being scrapped]( because of Moore's commitments to other projects. ► Showtime's President Is Missing taps Christopher McQuarrie, Invictus writer. Anthony Peckham [will adapt]( the Bill Clinton-James Patterson novel, with McQuarrie on board as an exec producer. ► Universal inks Black-ish star Marsai Martin to first-look deal. The first project out of the new pact with the 14-year-old actress will be StepMonster, in which Martin [will also star](. ► Epix snags limited series from Downton Abbey creator. Julian Fellowes is [reuniting]( with Downton producer Carnival Films to adapt his novel Belgravia. Grammy discord... ► Ariana Grande breaks silence on canceling Grammys performance. The pop star called out the show's producer Ken Ehrlich for "lying about me," claiming that her "creativity & self expression was stifled" by him. [Full comments.]( * Speaking of Grande. The singer [dropped]( her fifth studio album, thank u, next, Friday morning. It's her second album in six months. ^Catching up: From an odd Showtime ad to a possible Lost reboot (no!) and a show based on a John Mayer song, THR chief TV critic Tim Goodman offers his take on the latest small-screen happenings: + Rocky reboot waters: New ABC president Karey Burke can "reboot" Alias if she wants, but Lost? No. Oh, no you don't. Let it live as is: thrilling, imperfect, frustrating, confusing, passionately told. [Do. Not. Touch.]( It's one of the last network dramas I watched religiously and looked forward to each week the most. Lost was what it was. Trying to reboot it is pointless. Also, I would argue, impossible. + Atlanta delayed: After the first season ended in November 2016, the show didn't come back until March 2018. So FX saying S3 won't be in the next Emmy window makes sense. In fact, a big chunk of my S2 review was devoted to how it's a miracle anyone in this suddenly in-demand cast had time to re-gather for that season and wondered aloud if FX itself believed anyone was coming back to work last season. But they did, eventually. [Full column.]( Digital digest... ► Saudi Arabia met with Vice to consider joint venture Rory Jones, Benoit Faucon and Keach Hagey report: "Prince Khalid initiated his brother’s meeting on the yacht last year, believing Vice, in partnership with SRMG, could speak to young Saudis more attracted to online platforms like YouTube than the satellite channels their parents watch." [[The Wall Street Journal](] ► Macro inks first-look deal with former head of digital. Aaliyah Williams has [launched]( her own production company, Just a Rebel. Ratings notes... ► World's Best is no match for Masked Singer. The CBS talent competition opened to a modest 1.0 rating among adults 18-49 and 5.55 million viewers in its regular time period Wednesday. Fox's offering [slipped]( about 15 percent from last week's strong outing, but its 2.2 in adults 18-49 still led the night by a good margin. Book report... ► Henry Holt to publish Bill O'Reilly's new History book about Trump. The former Fox News host recently [spent time]( on Air Force One interviewing the president, his friend. The arts scene... ► George Michael's art collection to tour L.A. ahead of Christie's Auction. Paintings by Tracey Emin and Harland Miller will be [among]( the works on view at Christie's Los Angeles starting Monday, coinciding with Freize LA and multiple other art events across the city. MRC, Dan Lin's Rideback team for TV incubator. The new diversity initiative will [offer]( a paid eight-month residency program to a select group of eight writers who want to create their own dramatic series. Making 'Free Solo' Inside the craft: Free Solo director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi 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: + Upbringing: The award-winning filmmaker, who took home best documentary at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival for her film A Normal Life, has always had a love for storytelling since growing up in New York City. "My love was always in books. I was just one of those avid readers. Films came later, but the stories were always present," she says. + Free Solo's protagonist: "This film is always going to honor this idea of a life of intention because Alex [Honnold] has thought more deeply about his own mortality than most people," Chai Vasarhelyi says. "He thinks about it on daily basis and given that, he has decided to live his life this way because that’s how he wants to live the limited time that we have on this earth." [Watch]( | [Magic Hour]( What else we're reading... — "The Rise of the iPhone Auteur." Ben Lindbergh writes: "The case for smartphones as a disruptive force in film—both as a democratizing implement for low-budget directors and as a budget-slashing or artistically liberating tool for higher-profile projects—is growing stronger as smartphone-camera hardware and the software supporting it improves." [[The Ringer](] — "Inside Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Partnership." Seth Fiegerman explores: "The divide and conquer strategy proved successful. ... The pair helped to firmly establish Facebook as an internet behemoth with vast influence over the media and advertising worlds, a trail of vanquished rivals." [[CNN Business](] — "The Story of (500) Days of Summer." Mary Sollosi catches up with the writers & directors — co-writer Michael H. Weber: "So it was something that was being built really just for us, a love letter to this genre that at the time was no longer what it once was." [[EW](] — "How Aerosmith, Run-DMC Begrudgingly Made a Masterpiece." James Parker details how in Geoff Edgers' new book: "So you could say it was rather a retrograde business, really; hip-hop, having artistically appropriated the beat from 'Walk This Way,' was now being dragged back into it, back into the leering, writhing body of the song, by Rick Rubin." [[The Atlantic](] — "Justin and Hailey Bieber Open Up About Their Romance." Rob Haskell profiles; Annie Leibovitz shoots: "It is impossible not to feel, in Justin’s presence, that he is still recovering from something—the fame whose price was his childhood, the mortification of a thousand magnified adolescent peccadilloes, an accumulated uncertainty about the attentions of those in his orbit—and these scars crowd the surface like his innumerable tattoos." [[Vogue](] What else we're watching... + "Tracy Morgan's 30 Rock character was almost named Bobo Jordan." [[Conan](] + "Meghan McCain didn't want Jared & Ivanka at father's funeral." [[Late Show](] + "Will Arnett played an FBI agent in The Sopranos." [[Late Late Show](] From the archives... + Today in 1915: D.W. Griffith debuted his Civil War feature The Birth of a Nation at Los Angeles' Clunes Auditorium. From a technical standpoint, the three-hour epic was an achievement in film; however, the film's racist depictions of black people and the founding of the KKK greatly complicate its legacy: "Griffith’s artistry only makes his ideological purpose all the more insidious." [Remembrance.]( One final note... -> THR nominated for National Magazine Awards: We’re a finalist in the General Excellence — Special Interest category for the magazine industry’s highest honor. National Geographic, New York and The New Yorker lead the Nominations. [Full list here.]( Today's birthdays: Cecily Strong, 35, William Jackson Harper, 39, Seth Green, 45, John Grisham, 64, Mary Steenburgen, 66, Creed Bratton, 76, Nick Nolte, 78, John Williams, 87. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2019 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. 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