Cannes Lineup; Where's Tarantino?; WGA Sues; NFL vs. AT&T; Mueller Day

What's news: Johnny Depp's battle with his former lawyer Jake Bloom has dragged in Kevin Tsujihara and Elon Musk. Plus: Cannes releases the lineup for its 72nd annual film festival, WGA files a lawsuit against agents, Disney scraps a big-budget Fox project that was about to start production and the Mueller report arrives today. — Will Robinson April 18, 2019 What's news: Johnny Depp's battle with his former lawyer Jake Bloom has dragged in Kevin Tsujihara and Elon Musk. Plus: Cannes releases the lineup for its 72nd annual film festival, WGA files a lawsuit against agents, Disney scraps a big-budget Fox project that was about to start production and the Mueller report arrives today. — Will Robinson ^Back to the Croisette: The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday unveiled the lineup for its 72nd edition, letting the world know which stars and directors will climb the iconic steps of the French town's Palais this year, Rhonda Richford reports: + In competition: Among the titles fighting for Cannes' Palme d'Or are Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, Xavier Dolan's Matthias and Maxime, Terrence Malik's A Hidden Life, Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory and Ken Loach's Sorry We Missed You. Jim Jarmusch's zombie film The Dead Won't Die will open the fest, as was previously announced. * Out of competition: Dexter Fletcher's Elton John biopic Rocketman, Asif Kapadia's Maradona and Nicolas Winding Refn's TV series Too Old to Die Young highlight the non-competing films. [Full lineup.]( + No Netflix films, again: Of interest this year [would have been]( Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, Meryl Streep-starrer The Laundromat and Noah Baumbach’s The King, but none of the streamer's titles will make it to Cannes. Personally, Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux has no problem with Netflix, but opposition from French distributors — which want to force Netflix to release its films in theaters, not just online — pushed Fremaux to take a hardline stance. -> Where's Tarantino?: Fremaux said that Quentin Tarantino's new film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is not ready yet as the director is in post-production, adding that in 35mm the production process is long. But he said it could still make it to Cannes as long as he finishes it in time. Stay tuned. The buzz films that won't be at the festival. Outside of no Tarantino and no Netflix, other high-profile omissions from the 2019 lineup including Ari Aster's Midsommar, Benh Zeitlin's Wendy and The Truth, Hirokazu Kore-eda's follow-up to last year's Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters, Scott Roxborough details. [Snubs list.]( WGA Goes to War Going nuclear: The WGA on Wednesday filed suit against the major talent agencies, turning a roiling conflict into an outright war in which neither side is likely to compromise, Jonathan Handel reports: + The lawsuit alleges that packaging fees are a breach of fiduciary duty and an illegal kickback under federal and state statutes, including California’s Unfair Competition law. "We will see it through to the end," Writers Guild general counsel Tony Segall said at press conference. The named defendants in the case are the major agencies: WME, CAA, UTA and ICM. + ATA blasts suit: "Today’s move confirms that the WGA’s leadership is on a predetermined path to chaos that never included any intention to negotiate," ATA executive director Karen Stuart said in a statement. "Knowing that it could take months or even years for this litigation to be resolved, WGA leaders are unnecessarily forcing their members and our industry into long-term uncertainty." * WGA responds: “This matter is very simple. If the major agencies would abide by existing law — antitrust and racketeering law — this deal would have been done 11 months ago. The ATA’s repeated use of anti-union rhetoric illustrates how much in denial the big agencies are.” [Full story.]( -> Will the WGA-agents fight lead to Uber-ification of Hollywood? If licensed agents were [confronted]( by new competition from unlicensed agents, then perhaps the free market would dictate the future rewards for helping an artist find work, Eriq Gardner details. -> "I Like My Agents — But I Fired Them Anyway." Novelist and TV writer Karl Taro Greenfield explains his decision, as a workaday writer: "We lower- and mid-level writers haven’t forgotten that our predecessors walked picket lines so that we could earn that money. When our union tells us to fire our agents, we fire our agents." [[The Atlantic](] Elsewhere in TV... ► Chicago prosecutor thought charges vs. Jussie Smollett were too severe. Newly released messages from Chicago's Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx reveal that she believed the 16 disorderly conduct charges [brought against]( the "washed up" Empire star were harsh. ► Stranger Things creators headed to trial for allegedly stealing series idea. A judge denies summary judgment to Matt and Ross Duffer as they — and Netflix— [quickly fight]( to guard information about dealmaking and future plot points from becoming public next month. ► Magic Johnson joins Ice Cube's bid for Fox RSNs. Snoop Dogg and Serena Williams are also a part of Big3's bid, going up against Liberty Media and Sinclair. [[Bloomberg](] ► Fox cancels The Gifted, Rel. The cancellations mark the [first to come]( for the newly independent Fox Entertainment. Both shows were produced by 20th Century Fox Television, the TV studio that was included in the $71.3 billion asset sale from Fox to Disney. ► Netflix sets comedy series with Mike Myers. The former SNL star [will play]( multiple characters in the untitled limited series. ► Swamp Thing order reduced as DC Universe's role in WarnerMedia streaming plans unclear. Sources tell Lesley Goldberg that the original 13-episode order for the drama has [been cut]( to 10 after experienced creative differences with its home at Warners-backed streaming platform DC Universe. The series will stick with its planned May 31 premiere date. ► Yemenite children affair Series in the works. Moon Shavit will [star and produce]( the drama after ADD Content and MGMT Entertainment acquired a series of articles to use as source material for the project. ► The CW sets biggest-ever summer lineup. Six new shows will [join returnees]( like Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Burden of Truth, totaling 11 total shows. -> Alex Trebek shares health update amid cancer battle. The Jeopardy! host thanked people for sending him well wishes and said he would see viewers in September for the show's 36th season. [Video.]( ^NFL searching for Sunday Ticket partners: The most popular sports league in America is in talks with Amazon and Disney about finding a home for its season games package, which has been with AT&T for 25 years, Dylan Byers reports. + AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson "may renew the deal before September, but not without embarrassing Goodell: 'The NFL does not like being blacked out,' one source said [regarding AT&T TV platforms dropping NFL Network, a week before the NFL Draft]. 'It’s wildly embarrassing to them that partners can do this.'" + What can Goodell do?: The NFL commissioner "has the option to end the League's exclusivity deal with AT&T at the end of the 2019 season, and said last month that he's 'looking to see how we can change the delivery.'" [[NBC News](] Casting call... ► Pablo Schreiber to play Master Chief in Showtime's Halo series. The Orange Is the New Black alum [will lead]( the series as the iconic video game character. ► Patrick Stewart's Star Trek series adds Newsroom, Penny Dreadful actors. Alison Pill, Harry Treadaway and Isa Briones are [joining]( the CBS All Access show centered on Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard. Musical notes... ► Madonna to world premiere "Medellin" in Global MTV special. The Queen of Pop will be [joined by]( British DJ Trevor Nelson and fans at the London live event, which will include a Q&A, with additional MTV-hosted events in New York, Milan and Sao Paulo. ► Producer of Madonna's "Vogue" wins fees fight with Warner on appeal. Shep Pettibone [claimed]( the publisher was improperly withholding his royalties to pay its attorneys fees from a copyright fight over the song. Ratings notes... ► The Voice sinks to all-time low. The show posted a 1.0 rating in the key ad demographic, [down]( from its previous low of 1.2. ► Game of Thrones premiere tops Nielsen's first weekly LGBTQ ratings. Nielsen's inaugural weekly rankings for same-gender partner homes show put the HBO series at the top of the charts. [Full list.]( Mueller day arrives... ► Attorney General gives his summary of Mueller report. William Barr laid out conclusions he drew from Robert Mueller's report ahead of its release to Congress and to the public. It will be released to Congress at 11 a.m. ET. [Press conference.]( Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez signs with CAA. The freshman New York congresswoman has mulled a book deal that did not materialize, Maxwell Tani and Gideon Resnick report. [[The Daily Beast](] 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](. Disney Scraps Fox Holdover Red light: Only two weeks before production was set to begin and with a number of starry castings under its belt, Mouse Guard, Fox's adaptation of the Archaia/Boom! Studios comic, has been halted by Fox's new parent company, Disney, Borys Kit and Katie Kilkenny report: + New home?: The producers, which include Matt Reeves, Ross Ritchie and Stephen Christy, are being allowed to shop the project to other studios, sources indicated. Several studios are already interested. The project is a ready-to-go, four quadrant franchise starter from Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind the Maze Runner series. + Behind the decision: One source indicated that the production, which was to use motion capture and heavy digital effects to bring animals to life, veered too close to Disney's homegrown CGI-made fare such as The Lion King and The Jungle Book. Another source said Disney does not want Fox in the big-budget game, which Mouse Guard, with a budget of $170 million, found itself in. Instead, Disney wants its new studio division to focus on lower cost family movies, as well as PG-13 and R-rated fare. One of the few exceptions to this will be Avatar, the big-budget sci-fi movies series from James Cameron. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Johnny Depp's lawyer battle drags in Elon Musk, Kevin Tsujihara. Several top attorneys and executives were served deposition notices on Wednesday in connection with a lawsuit filed by the actor against his former representative Jake Bloom, Tatiana Siegel reports. * Sabotage allegations. Sources familiar with the deposition requests say Tsujihara will be asked to testify under oath about whether or not he played a role in "blacklisting" Heard at Warner Bros. Depp, a star in the studio’s Fantastic Beasts franchise, is alleged to have personally lobbied Tsujihara to remove the actress from Aquaman (which she starred in) and block her from getting other projects. [Full story.]( ► AT&T amps up search for new Warner Bros. studio chief. Current movie boss Toby Emmerich is a candidate for John Stankey, while former 21st Century Fox chief Stacey Snider is not, Anousha Sakoui and Lucas Shaw report. [[Bloomberg](] ► Ex-20th Century Fox execs join Paramount Pictures. Danielle Kupchak has been [named]( executive vp of global creative content and Len Iannelli becomes senior vp of special projects and events on the theatrical marketing team. ► Filming in L.A. down nearly 10 percent in early 2019. The decline is result of a simultaneous slowdown in feature, television and commercial production, according to FilmLA. In total, filmmakers [logged]( nearly 8,843 shoot days from January through the end of March, compared to 9,724 last quarter. ► The Boys in the Band movie coming to Netflix, Ryan Murphy says. The entire cast of the Broadway production [will return]( for the film, which will arrive in 2020. ► Giant South Korean cinema chain plans U.S. expansion in S.F. CJ CGV Cinemas' auditorium complex is [expected to open]( in early 2020. Casting call... ► Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo set Bridesmaids follow-up at Lionsgate. Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar will be produced by Gloria Sanchez and [star]( the two writers behind the 2011 hit comedy. ► John Cena eyed for role in Suicide Squad sequel. James Gunn is set to write and direct. He [would join]( the already announced cast of Idris Elba and Margot Robbie. ► Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green team to star in family adventure Dakota. It's the first time the real-life husband and wife team [will headline]( a movie together, in a project from Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s AMBI Media Group and Iervolino Entertainment S.p.A. ^The myth of comic book startups as the "next Marvel." James Murdoch is the latest to invest in comics, backing the new publisher Artists, Writers & Artisans to the tune of $5 million. But that any comic publisher could be “the next Marvel” is one that seemingly misses the fact that Marvel caught lightning in a bottle and no one has been able [to replicate the formula](, Graeme McMillan writes. On the festival circuit... ► Alain Delon to receive honorary Palme d'Or. The star of Le Samourai and Once a Thief will be [honored]( at Cannes this year. Book report... ► Demi Moore to release long-awaited, "deeply candid" memoir this fall. The book, Inside Out, will [hit shelves]( in September, nine years after her deal with HarperCollins was announced. Console wars... ► Will Smith, Stanford among investors raising $46M for e-sports organization. The new capital will support Gen.G's expanding global footprint, its youth e-sports academy program and the [launch]( of the company’s Los Angeles headquarters opening in July 2019. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: New Dark Phoenix look sees X-Men pick sides. The latest promo for the Simon Kinberg-written and -directed origins film features more characters and more reveals about where key mutants will fall in the fight over and with Jean Grey. [Watch.]( The most revealing moments from Beyoncé's Homecoming. "Instead of pulling out my flower crown, it was more important that I brought our culture to Coachella," Beyoncé recalls of her stage performance. [Top moments.]( Rebuilding Notre Dame Aid for France: The entertainment world has stepped up to contribute funds toward rebuilding the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, which experienced severe damage from a fire earlier in the week. + Disney pledges $5 million for restoration: The move [follows]( big donations from Louis Vuitton, Kering and L'Oreal, bringing the total to more than $735 million. + Ubisoft pledges $500,000: The French video game company is [also offering]( its 2014 game, Assassin's Creed: Unity, which features the cathedral, for free. * French president Macron wants to rebuild Notre Dame within five years: "We have so much to rebuild," Macron said in a televised address to the nation. "We will rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral even more beautifully. We can do it, and once again, [we will mobilize]( (to do so)." What else we're reading... — "The Most Measured Person in Tech Is Running the Most Chaotic Place on the Internet." Daisuke Wakabayashi profiles YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki: "In an industry that celebrates eccentricity, Ms. Wojcicki presents as exceedingly normal, bordering on boring, even as elements of her digital realm burst into the real world in forms that are increasingly grotesque and sometimes dangerous." [[The New York Times](] — "The Annette Bening Method." David Edelstein interviews the actress: "Some actors are superintellectual; others navigate by instinct. Bening strikes me as embodying the best of both worlds. She learns everything she can about her character for weeks and months and then forgets it all and lets fly." [[Vulture](] — "The Enduring Mystery of Soundgarden’s 'Black Hole Sun.'" Alan Siegel explores the seminal '90s song: "The song is iridescent. Depending on your perspective, the colors change. It can be unsettling, uplifting, soothing, even scary. Or all of those at once." [[The Ringer](] — "Are Podcasts Killing Music or Just Wasting Our Time?" Chris Richards considers: "We should be listening to podcasts with the same broad, discerning, variety-craving ears that we apply to music." [[The Washington Post](] — "A Fan’s Love, Requited at Last: Conan O’Brien Lands Robert Caro." Josh Koblin details the chat: “'They probably told you,' Mr. O’Brien said. 'I’m a fan to a disturbing level.'” [[NYT](] Last night, on late night... + "Linda Cardellini tells Seth MacFarlane she was fired from Family Guy." [[Late Late Show](] + "Conan goes to Australia, learns local slang." [[Conan](] + "Isaac Hempstead Wright describes Bran's creepy stare." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] + "Ralph Macchio named his son after Karate Kid." [[Tonight Show](] + "Anne Hathaway gets into 'hangry' fights with her husband." [[Graham Norton](] From the archives... + Today in 1973: MGM unveiled Richard Fleischer's dystopian, 98-minute sci-fi drama Soylent Green in Los Angeles at Red Carpet theatres. The Charlton Heston thriller's signature line carries the plot's twist: "The secret of ... shouldn't be revealed; suffice it to say that it isn't quite as chilling as it should be, given the energy put into making it mysterious." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Chloe Bennet, 27, Britt Robertson, 29, Alia Shawkat, 30, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 32, America Ferrera, 35, Melissa Joan Hart, 43, Edgar Wright, 45, Eli Roth, 47, David Tennant, 48, Maria Bello, 52, Eric McCormack, 56, Conan O'Brien, 56, Eric Roberts, 63, Kenny Ortega, 69. 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. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Preferences]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use]( April 18, 2019