Smollett Arrested; Ellison's Moment of Truth; WGA vs. Agents; How to Fix the Oscars; Netflix's Big China Buy

What's news: Jussie Smollett is under arrest and in custody on suspicion of filing a false police report. Plus: Inside Megan Ellison's Annapurna, Alan Horn opens up about Disney's plans and the life of a Hollywood stand-in. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( February 21, 2019 What's news: Jussie Smollett is under arrest and in custody on suspicion of filing a false police report. Plus: Inside Megan Ellison's Annapurna, Alan Horn opens up about Disney's plans and the life of a Hollywood stand-in. — Will Robinson ^Smollett arrested: Empire actor Jussie Smollett turned himself in to Chicago Police, who detailed the case Thursday morning prior to a bond hearing, police representatives say. + The charge: The charge is a class 4 felony, which carries a potential sentence of one to three years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines. According to the relevant section of the Illinois statute, such a charge occurs when a person makes a report of a crime to a police officer while knowing that the information isn't true, doesn't have the "reasonable grounds necessary" to believe that it will contribute to the public's safety or calls 911 with a "false alarm or complaint." [Mugshot.]( * Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson: "This announcement today recognizes that Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. I'm left hanging my head and asking, 'Why?' ... How can an individual who's been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in this city in the face by making these false claims?" [Watch presser.]( + Smollett's lawyers: "Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense." * Fox mum: Fox and 20th Century Fox Television had on Wednesday declined to comment on the new classification. Earlier in the day, before Smollett was classified as a suspect, Fox released a supportive statement of Smollett, noting he wouldn't be written out of Empire. [Full story.]( Ellison's Moment of Truth Perception not reality?: As talk circulates that Annapurna, the Oscar-winning studio run by Oracle heiress Megan Ellison, is broke and dying, insiders paint a very different picture, blaming a former big-spending lieutenant plus straight-up misogyny for the company's bad rap, Tatiana Siegel reports: + Ellison's dedication: Those with inside knowledge dispute the rumors that Ellison has checked out. "She's in the office every day," says one staff member. They assert that Ellison has actually been taking a more hands-on approach of late, with a new mandate to produce, finance and distribute three to five films per year with the Annapurna label. Other projects, like MGM crown jewel Bond 25, will be released by United Artists Releasing. + Bucking convention: One manager with an A-list client who has worked with Annapurna says the reason Ellison has so many Hollywood haters is that she doesn't kiss up to the power structure. "People cannot stand that she is powerful and doesn't need to return your phone calls. She just doesn't need you," says the manager. "But the woman has great taste and is making movies that no one else is making." [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► How to Train Your Dragon 3 to fly past $40M. The weekend's other new nationwide offering is the Dwayne Johnson-produced Fighting With My Family, a WWE biographical drama based on the life and career of professional wrestler Paige (Florence Pugh). The pic is tracking to open in the $7 million-$10 million range. [Weekend box office.]( ► Netflix acquires Chinese sci-fi blockbuster The Wandering Earth. Considered China's first sci-fi action film produced at a Hollywood scale, the film [has earned]( over $610 million at the Chinese box office. ► Paramount's Jim Gianopulos launches new studio-wide diversity initiative. The effort [involves]( a Content Creative Council, which will review how successful individual projects are in terms of inclusion. ► Charles King's Macro inks first look with Warner Bros. The Mudbound banner is [set to co-finance]( studio title Just Mercy starring Michael B. Jordan. ► First Purge director tackling Michael B. Jordan's The Silver Bear. The action thriller, from director Gerard McMurray, is [set up]( at Lionsgate and will see Jordan play a respected underworld hitman. ►Darryl Hammond's family sues studios for wrongful death. The late football player turned actor's family [is suing]( the Arena Football League, Disney, Paramount and Columbia Pictures for fraud, negligence, breach of contract and wrongful death after an autopsy revealed he had CTE. Casting call... ► Chris Hemsworth to play Hulk Hogan in Todd Phillips-directed biopic. Deals for the Hogan project are in the [midst of closing]( with Netflix. Producing will be Michael Sugar (Spotlight), who will produce via his Netflix-based Sugar23, and Phillips and Bradley Cooper, who will produce via their banner Joint Effort. ► Kevin Costner, Diane Lane to star in thriller Let Him Go. In the Focus Features' film, the duo will play a married couple on a mission [to rescue]( their grandson from a dangerous family living off the grid. ^How to fix the Oscars: As younger viewers continue to opt out of the live Oscars telecast (and linear television in general), it seems the mad dash to stop the hemorrhage may have the Academy and host network ABC putting effort in the wrong places, Mia Galuppo reports: + Act natural: Overwhelmingly, the younger viewers said they're interested in off-the-cuff moments — ones that don't involve politics or inside Hollywood jokes. "[The bloat] is all these forced bits and unfunny takes on the industry. Cut those and show the presenters having a good time," offers a 29-year-old writer and development exec. "If you get to watch The Rock and, like, Diane Keaton present, it's, 'Wow, that's weird and fun.' Just let them riff for 30 seconds." * Once again, those ratings... : Among the all-important 18-to-49 demo, the show notched a 6.8 rating, down a whopping 25 percent from a year earlier, while the even more precious 18-to-34 set dipped 29 percent. [Full story.]( Three days until the Oscars... ► Barbra Streisand among presenters set to introduce best picture noms. Chef Jose Andres, Dana Carvey, Queen Latifah, Congressman John Lewis, Diego Luna, Tom Morello, Mike Myers, Trevor Noah, Amandla Stenberg and Serena Williams also will be presenting the nominees in that category. [Presenters.]( -> Predictions: The math points to a Spider-Man animated feature win. Also in Part 2 of Ben Zauzmer's model: Lady Gaga's "Shallow" has the best chance of collecting the best original score Academy Award. [Best odds.]( Console wars... ► Kingdom Hearts 3 tops January video game sales. Despite the success of Kingdom Hearts and Resident Evil, total video game sales for January [were down]( 19 percent year-over-year with $893 million in 2019 compared with $1.1 billion in 2018. That downturn was true across all areas, from software to hardware to video game accessories. ► EPA accused of using Nintendo music in game without permission. "We are [looking into]( whether the contractor received permission to use the music, to the extent permission was necessary in this instance," an EPA spokesperson told Patrick Shanley. ^The Mouse's empire: Even-keeled executive Alan Horn, 75, now presides over the most powerful film empire in town, about to become even bigger with the addition of 20th Century Fox's film units alongside Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Disney Animation Studios and Disney's own live-action suit, Pamela McClintock reports: + A Disney movie vs. a Fox movie: "With Fox, we can make movies that right now I say no to. Take Bohemian Rhapsody, which is PG-13. It's a hit movie and very, very good. But there's no way we could make it under the Disney label because the characters smoke cigarettes and other content," Horn says. "The audience for a Disney movie may not know what they are going to see, but they know what they aren't going to see. There are certain things we just can't include because we'll get letters." + Lessons from James Gunn: "I don't think we do extensive background checks to see what a person has said. I feel sad for some of the people ensnared in all of this," Horn says. "And sometimes I feel like, 'Wow, what they said is so outrageous that it must have occurred to them that it would have repercussions.' It's a very open world now, and this stuff is a matter of record. The admonition is: Be careful." [Full interview.]( Oscar parties. Among tonight's events: ICM Partners' fete at the private residence of longtime agent Hildy Gottlieb and husband Walter Hilll, with possible attendees including nominees like Spike Lee, Olivia Colman and Regina King. [Calendar]( | [Inside the soirees]( 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](. WGA vs. Agents Vote set: Just a day after the WGA and Association of Talent Agents held a meeting toward a negotiated renewal of the WGA-ATA agreement, the guild posted a speech to members by the organization’s president that makes clear the union is now at war with the talent agency community, Jonathan Handel reports: + Setting expectations: “High-profile writers will be asked at a certain point to publicly state support for this campaign and their willingness to walk away from their agency as necessary,” said WGA West president David Goodman. “There may well be a struggle required and hardship for some of us.” + What's at stake: A negotiated agreement is unlikely, said Goodman, who said he would ask the membership to vote March 25 on a mandatory Code of Conduct for agents that would uproot large talent agencies’ current business models by prohibiting the packaging of films and television series and prohibiting production-type activities. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Joe Scarborough, Don Lemon were on arrested Coast Guard lieutenant's hit list. Christopher Paul Hasson, who prosecutors have deemed a "domestic terrorist," is [due in court]( Thursday in Maryland. ► Lena Waithe sets comedy anthology as next Showtime project. How to Make Love to a Black Woman (Who May Be Working Through Some Sh*t), part of Waithe’s first-look deal with the network, [comes from]( The Chi writer Casallina “Cathy” Kisakye. ► WE breakout Love After Lockup extended after hitting ratings highs. The docuseries about ex-cons and the civilians who love them has been on a steady [upward climb]( in its second season. Casting call... ► Zach Woods joins HBO comedy Avenue 5 from Veep creator. The Silicon Valley breakout [will star opposite]( Hugh Laurie in the space comedy. ► NBC comedy pilot taps Hamilton actor. Rory O'Malley [will star]( alongside Jee Young Han in Like Magic, set at a Magic Castle-like club. ► Marley Shelton, NeNe Leakes join Pop TV spin-class murder mystery. The duo [will play]( leads in the pilot Ride or Die; another pilot, Best Intentions, has also filled its cast. -> Why Sean Spicer joined Extra as a correspondent. "This is the personal, not the politics, not the policy," the former Trump White House spokesperson told Jeremy Barr. "The idea is to [give people]( a different angle on some of the people they see on the cable news channels every day." ^A look at the TV landscape: An understandable delay for Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, wise decisions by WarnerMedia and Killing Eve, and other observations about the latest in the medium, Tim Goodman writes: + Warner's strong sign: Kevin Reilly as chief creative content officer of the soon-to-be-a-thing WarnerMedia streaming makes me not worry about that service because he is one of the best and smartest execs in the business (NBC, Fox, FX, TBS/TNT). He already said sharing Friends with others, like Netflix, is not a great idea. Or, put another way, friends don't let Friends be on Netflix, which he clearly gets. [Full column.]( Digital digest... ► Disney pulls YouTube ads after predatory comments on child videos. "On Sunday, Matt Watson, a video blogger, posted a 20-minute clip detailing how comments on YouTube were used to identify certain videos in which young girls were in activities that could be construed as sexually suggestive." [[Bloomberg](] ► Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine lands investment from Otter Media, Emerson Collective. Otter, a division of AT&T's WarnerMedia, [teamed]( with Witherspoon to launch Hello Sunshine in late 2016. ► FuboTV adding Viacom portfolio to live-streaming lineup. Networks including BET, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon will now [be available]( as part of Fubo's base $45-per-month package. Musical notes... ► The Lonely Island going on tour. Andy Samberg's comedy rap trio will play their songs, some that debuted as Saturday Night Live digital shorts, during their eight-stop trek. [[Vanity Fair](] ^The Masked Singer's latest eliminated celeb speaks: One of the two latest cuts from the Fox reality show opens up about their experience to Jean Bentley: "I [felt like a douche]( lying to everybody." From last night... ► Jeff Probst breaks down that brutal final moment of Survivor premiere. The executive producer and host tells Josh Wigler about what's ahead for the Edge of Extinction castaways: "It won't be easy." [Spoilers]( | [Inside that Tribal Council]( Ratings notes... ► Walking Dead hits all-time lows. Airing opposite the NBA All-Star Game on TNT and TBS, the AMC series recorded its smallest total audience and adults 18-49 rating in its nine-season history, [averag]([ing]( just 4.54 million viewers and a 1.7 rating. ► Lethal Weapon ties season high. A week ahead of its season finale, the Fox series [drew]( a 0.8 rating among adults 18-49, up from 0.7 a week ago. Kim Kardashian sues style copycat website for using her image without permission. Kardashian says Missguided is [tricking]( consumers into thinking she works with the company by using her name and image without permission — on top of selling "knockoff" versions of clothes she wears. Stars & Stand-ins The people behind the stars: Stand-ins have their roster of critical duties — all performed while dealing with their share of far-from-star treatment, as Amy Adams, who once was mistaken for hers, can attest — as well as awkward situations. Five high-profile pairs detail their relationships. + Like a marriage: "We've been doing it so long that it would feel odd not to have my partner with me, you know," Jeff Bridges says of Loyd Catlett. Heading into productions, the two rehearse and run lines together. Off set, the two spend time together, playing guitar and seeing bands at local bars. "We grew up together," says Catlett, whose son, Jeffrey Cole, is named after Bridges. + Strong trust: When Sterling K. Brown's actress wife, Ryan Michelle Bathe, nabbed a recurring role, Brown's stand-in Miriam Crawford Grant stepped in as babysitter for their first child. "I remember being like, 'Who do we trust to take care of this baby?'" says Brown. "My wife was instantly at ease" and became a mentor to Grant. "As another black woman who's an actress, she schooled me," says Grant. [Full story]( | [What it's like]( What else we're reading... — "Miley Rising." Zach Baron profiles Miley Cyrus: “I remember getting my license and it being a big deal that I was driving. Almost like the milestones in my life were milestones for America. It almost felt like America was a weird godparent, you know?” [[Vanity Fair](] — "Time’s Up a Year Later: Hollywood Women Test Their Clout." Cara Buckley reports: "They are bold, and they are loud, and they have the ability to amplify their mission and message better than any other organization in the space." [[The New York Times](] — "He Sounds Just Like Freddie Mercury. And That’s Good for Business." Gavin Edwards profiles Marc Martel, who lent some vocals for Bohemian Rhapsody: "But even if I don’t try to sing like Freddie Mercury, people still hear him in my voice, no matter what I do. I have this weird unique thing where I can sound like him, so why wouldn’t I?" [[The New York Times](] — "Stand-Up Comedians' Therapy." Elizabeth Blair talks to comics about providing catharsis for audiences: "There are some comedians who I actively want to see when something happens that makes me angry, say, politically. ... It might be a real empathy with how I'm feeling about it." [[NPR](] — "Why Is TV So Obsessed With the Afterlife Right Now?" Anna Silman asks a professor who wrote the book on afterlife in pop culture: "We’re living in a time of really high tension — for some people, it feels like we’re living in hell — and these shows use fantasy to help us deal with real-life concerns and issues." [[The Cut](] What else we're watching... + "This joke got Reba McEntire booed off stage." [[Late Show](] + "Armie Hammer & Felicity Jones have a ridiculous argument." [[Graham Norton](] + "What Hasan Minhaj misses from The Daily Show." [[Patriot Act](] + "Stephen Merchant's wrestling persona is clever, not intimidating." [[Late Late Show](] From the archives... + Today in 1925: Harold Ross and Jane Grant published the first issue of The New Yorker, whose cover was graced with the now iconic monocled man, Eustace Tilley: "There is no getting rid of him. He’s the enigma who came to stay." [[The New Yorker](] Today's birthdays: Sophie Turner, 23, Joe Alwyn, 28, Ellen Page, 32, Justin Roiland, 39, Jordan Peele, 40, Jennifer Love Hewitt, 40, Tituss Burgess, 40, Kumail Nanjiani, 41, Kelsey Grammer, 64, William Petersen, 66, Anthony Daniels, 73. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? 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