Top 25 Power Authors Revealed; Superrich Turn to Luxury Bunkers; 'South Park' Trolls Scientology

It's magazine day: Girl on the Train star Emily Blunt and author Paula Hawkins front THR's spooky power authors issue. Plus: Michael Wolff breaks down Shari Redstone's competing Viacom narratives, South Park trolls Scientology and luxury underground bunkers are all the rage. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman. [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment] September 28, 2016 It's magazine day: Girl on the Train star Emily Blunt and author Paula Hawkins front THR's spooky power authors issue. Plus: Michael Wolff breaks down Shari Redstone's competing Viacom narratives, South Park trolls Scientology and luxury underground bunkers are all the rage. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman. In THR's annual power authors issue, Girl on the Train's Emily Blunt and Paula Hawkins get candid about gender stereotypes. [Some notable][quotes][:] ► Emily Blunt: "Women are held to what a man considers a feminine ideal. You have to be pretty. You have to be 'likable,' which is my least favorite bloody word in the industry." ► Paula Hawkins on the film's comparisons to Gone Girl: "The comparisons have done me no harm. But I don't actually think they're very similar books." ► Emily Blunt on her Girl on the Train character: "Rachel isn't 'likable.' What does that mean? To be witty and pretty and hold it together and be there for the guy? And he can just be a total drip?" ► [Cover story] | [Hollywood's 25 most powerful authors] I [Video interview] It's Shari Redstone's Show Now Firmly in charge but without a clear plan, Shari Redstone must find a CEO, earn Wall Street trust or convince Leslie Moonves to fix everything. Two competing narratives point to Redstone's next move, Michael Wolff [writes in his latest column]: In the "A" narrative, the board of the beleaguered media company will emphasize good governance principles in its search for a new CEO. In the "B" narrative, it's all about the inevitability that Viacom will be slammed together with its sibling CBS, whose leader, Leslie Moonves — whether he wants to or not — will solve everybody's problems. Shari, for so long kept at a distance from her father's universe, is now the master of it — and enjoying her power to do almost anything. "She's flailing around like a fish on the dock but is as happy as a clam in deep water," says one observer. Or, more generously, from a former Viacom executive, "She's been intrepid enough to dive into the mess, and the fact that she's taken the dive without a plan is actually fairly courageous on her part, albeit not necessarily comforting." [Then there's the Moonves wild card.] Elsewhere in TV... ↱ [Debate ratings are in]: The event has surpassed 84 million viewers, which doesn't yet include the likely record-breaking showing among streamers. Regardless, the first debate is ahead of the 1980 debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, which saw 80 million viewers. ↲ ► South Park irks Scientology with trolling billboards. To promote South Park's 20th season, Comedy Central placed [mobile billboards] around the country, depicting scenes from the show's past seasons that coincide with the trucks' placements (The Scientology truck featured the infamous 2005 episode "Trapped in the Closet," which skewered the church and Tom Cruise). ► Annapurna Pictures is expanding into TV. The Megan Ellison-led film company has [tapped] veteran producer Sue Naegle to serve as president of its newly launched TV division, which will focus on building out a slate for broadcast, cable and digital platforms. ► This Is Us scores full-season order. After airing only one episode, NBC has [handed out] a full-season order to Dan Fogelman's family drama. The series becomes the first freshman of the season to get a back-nine pickup. ↱ [Marvel's Luke Cage, reviewed]. See why TV critic Daniel Fienberg calls Netflix's newest superhero series "TV's most topical comic book adaptation." ↲ ► It's the end of the road for FX's The Strain. The cabler said that it has renewed Guillermo del Toro's vampire drama for a fourth and [final season] set to air in summer 2017. An episode count has not yet been determined. ► CBS unveils Tony Awards 2017 dates. Next year's Broadway kudos will take place on Sunday, June 11, with nominations to be announced on May 2.The awards eligibility [cut-off date] for all productions opening in the 2016-2017 season is April 27. ► Lifetime plans more programming on JonBenet. The cabler is dedicating [a full night]to mark the 20th anniversary of the day JonBenet Ramsey died. In addition to scripted TV movie Who Killed JonBenet? the network has added a doc special, JonBenet's Mother: Victim or Killer. ► Netflix's Ted Sarandos responds to claims of curtailed creative freedom. "Our job is to pick the right shows, pick the right storytellers and create an environment where they can do the best work of their life," [Sarandos said] at a Royal Television Society event in London. In THR, Esq... [Frank Darabont] is seeking more than $280M from AMC at The Walking Dead profits trial ... Nickelodeon says it doesn't collect ["personal information"] from children ... [Robocop studio sued] after threatening security firm ... Record labels move to dismiss the lawsuit over [50 Cent's "P.I.M.P."] ... A lawsuit claims [NBC's Timeless] is a ripoff of a Spanish series. Legal Battles Behind Scorsese's New Film ^Recognize this movie? You will by awards season. It's Martin Scorsese's historical drama Silence, and there's been a 26-year road to the passion project's December release, Eriq Gardner [explains]: In November, Paramount Pictures will release Silence, about the persecution of a Jesuit missionary in 17th century Japan. The movie, based on an award-winning Japanese novel by Shusaku Endo and starring Liam Neeson, took an astonishing 26 years to complete and has been the subject of all sorts of litigation and dealmaking. It's no accident that there are seven or eight credited production companies depending on where one looks. As for the writing, Jay Cocks (Gangs of New York) is currently listed as the screenwriter, but that's been the subject of a quiet legal war that culminated in a settlement earlier this month with screenwriter Nicholas Kazan, the son of revered filmmaker Elia Kazan (On the Waterfront, East of Eden). [How the legal war unfolded.] Elsewhere in film... ► Who benefits from Sony-Wanda partnership? The marketing pact looks to fill gaps of the Chinese giant's film empire and [give it an edge] to possibly beat Disney in the theme park business. ► Steve McQueen's heist thriller enlists Viola Davis. McQueen and Gone Girl author-screenwriter Gillian Flynn co-wrote the script for New Regency project Widows, which [centers on] four women who team up to complete a heist. ↱ Trailer watch: Leonardo DiCaprio's climate change doc [Before the Flood] releases first look ... [Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids] debuts new trailer with the popstar singing "Mirrors" ... Annette Bening shares her wisdom in the coming-of-age tale [20th Century Women]. ↲ ► Danny Glover joins Robert Redford in Come Sunday. The Netflix film is [inspired by] the true-story of an evangelical minister told in a 2005 This American Life episode. Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace) is directing, which will also star Chiwetel Ejiofor. ► Governors Awards finds producer. No word on Oscar host or producer yet, but the Academy tapped casting director David Rubin to produce this year's Governors Awards. [Details.] ^Primer: For the divorce, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie enlisted heavy hitters to handle newfound legal and publicity needs. Jolie has turned to "disso queen" Laura Wasser (Johnny Depp, Jennifer Garner) and a duo of U.K.-based publicists who reportedly have been confidantes for years, Chloe Dalton and Arminka Helic. Pitt, 52, then hired family law veteran Lance Spiegel (Eva Longoria, Michael Jackson) and crisis PR guru Matthew Hiltzik (Justin Bieber, Ryan Lochte). They're not leaving their go-to reps behind, of course: Jolie's longtime attorney Robert Offer is said to be a key architect in her aggressive strategy, and Pitt's manager Cynthia Pett is a constant adviser. And more film... ► Eazy-E's widow launches production company. After producing Universal's Straight Outta Compton, Tomica Woods-Wright has launched [Ruthless Entertainment,] developing drama series Ruthless, animated comedy Eazy Duz It and doc feature The Hip Hop Thugsta: Eazy-E. ► Vivica A. Fox to star in sci-fi Crossbreed. The film, described as [a throwback] to action films of the 1980s, also will star Stink Fisher, Devanny Pinn, Vernon Wells and John T. Woods. The indie will begin filming in Los Angeles and then Buffalo, New York, in October. ► Toronto fest favorite Jackie sets U.S. premiere. The Fox Searchlight drama, starring Natalie Portman as former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy (a performance for which she's gathering awards buzz), will screen [Oct. 13]as part of the New York Film Festival. Hollywood's 25 most powerful business managers. THR's sixth annual list unveils the industry's most trusted moneymen and women looking after the cast and investments of the industry's stars (and not letting them fly private). [See the list here]. L.A.'s Superrich Turn to Luxury Bunkers An entertaining, but sad, apocalypse read of the day: Why L.A.'s superrich are turning to luxury bunkers, Ingrid Schmidt [reports:] Given the increased frequency of terrorist bombings and mass shootings and an under-lying sense of havoc fed by divisive election politics, it's no surprise that home security is going over the top and hitting luxurious new heights. Or, rather, new lows, as the average depth of a new breed of safe haven that occupies thousands of square feet is 10 feet under or more. Those who can afford to pull out all the stops for so-called self-preservation are doing so — in a fashion that goes way beyond the submerged corrugated metal units adopted by reality show "preppers" — to prepare for anything from nuclear bombings to drastic climate-change events. Gary Lynch, GM at Rising S Bunkers, a Texas-based company that specializes in underground bunkers and services scores of Los Angeles residences, says that sales at the most upscale end of the market — mainly to actors, pro athletes and politicians (who require signed NDAs) — have increased 700 percent this year compared with 2015, and overall sales have risen 150 percent. [A Trump bump?] "Any time there is a turbulent political landscape, we see a spike in our sales. Given this election is as turbulent as it is, we are gearing up for an even bigger spike," says marketing director Brad Roberson of sales of bunkers that start at $39,000 and can run $8.35 million or more (FYI, a 12-stall horse shelter is $98,500). ↱ [Also: Beverly Hills real estate war turns ugly.] Accusations of “xenophobia” have been injected into the ongoing political brawl between multi-millionaire Benny Alagem, owner of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and the man behind the Wanda Group. ↲ And finally... Chris Gardner writes: Days before Paramount's No. 2 Rob Moore Moore exited his post, the exec appeared on Chinese TV to propose to girlfriend Betty Zhou, host of a show co-created by Moore for CCTV6. The appearance, sources say, didn't sit well with Viacom's new shot-caller Shari Redstone. [The backstory.] 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] September 28, 2016