Polanski Sues Academy; Netflix's Shuffle?; Kareem on Admissions Scandal; Mueller Ratings

The Weekender: Roman Polanski is suing the Academy to allow him to return as a member. Plus: Netflix is testing a shuffle feature, fans are already mourning the Avengers and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dissects the vanity behind the college admissions scandal. — Will Robinson April 20, 2019 The Weekender: Roman Polanski is suing the Academy to allow him to return as a member. Plus: Netflix is testing a shuffle feature, fans are already mourning the Avengers and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dissects the vanity behind the college admissions scandal. — Will Robinson Polanski's Fight Lawsuit filed: Nearly a year after being kicked out of the Academy, Roman Polanski is suing to get back in, Ashley Cullins reports: + The Rosemary's Baby director was expelled last year, along with Bill Cosby. Polanski's attorney Harland Braun argues that although the Academy let Polanski petition for reconsideration it failed to give him an opportunity to be heard on the matter, which he contends is a violation of its policies. + "The Academy committed a prejudicial abuse of discretion in that the Academy failed to proceed in a manner required by law, the Academy's expulsion decision is not supported by the findings, and the Academy's findings are not supported by the evidence," writes Braun. * Academy stands ground: "The procedures taken to expel Mr. Polanski were fair and reasonable. The Academy stands behind its decision as appropriate," an Academy spokesperson stated. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Lionsgate struggling in changing landscape. "Several people familiar with the studio’s business say the overhaul reflects an increasingly cautious approach to the movie business, meant to protect the company from costly flops. The new regime has been slow to develop projects as [motion picture group chairman Joe] Drake has installed his new team." [[Los Angeles Times](] ► WarnerMedia bails on ad sales consortium OpenAP. Turner had been a founding partner in the young program to [offer]( audience-based buying across networks. ^Fans are already mourning the Avengers: Endgame will be goodbye to several characters, and as UCLA psychology professor Yalda Uhls notes: “Absolutely that can feel like real grief," Kyle Kizu reports: + No hope for end credits: "We’re used to looking forward, but Endgame might be the first one which makes us look back at their whole journey," Ratnadip Das, a fan from India, says. "I don’t think the fact that some of them might hang their boots up or die has sunk in yet.” [Full story.]( Musical notes... ► Coachella's 2019 livestream audience jumps 90 percent in first weekend. Performers at the festival's first weekend included Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, Blackpink, Diplo, Janelle Monae, Jaden Smith and Billie Eilish. Weekend 1 of the annual flower crown-populated event in Indio [earned]( 82 million live views. ► Lil Dicky enlists 30 artists — including DiCaprio — for star-studded climate change video. Nearly two dozen Hollywood figures make cameos in the rapper's new animated visual, "Earth," promoting environmental sustainability. [Watch.]( In memoriam... ► RIP Nancy Gates. The actress, who starred opposite Randolph Scott in Comanche Station and appeared in the Frank Sinatra films Suddenly and Some Came Running, died March 25. She was 93. [Obit.]( RIP Lorraine Warren. The paranormal investigator and author, whose decades of ghost-hunting cases alongside her late husband were the inspiration for films such as The Conjuring and The Amityville Horror, died Thursday at 92. [Obit.]( 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](. A Tale of Two Series Divergent success: FX's Fosse/Verdon and TruTV's Tacoma FD premiered with very different expectations — and both are going against that grain, despite pulling in similar ratings, Rick Porter reports: + Awards darling flickers: Fosse/Verdon premiered to 614,000 viewers on April 9, along with a 0.14 rating among adults 18-49 (equivalent to about 180,000 viewers in the demo). It benefited heavily from DVR playback, rising to 1.2 million after three days — but that's a middle-of-the-pack number for FX at best. The first two episodes of FX's What We Do in the Shadows outdrew it, and it's well below the typical American Horror Story or Mayans MC episode. + Cult favorite: Meanwhile, the Broken Lizard show has performed very solidly. Following Impractical Jokers on Thursdays, Tacoma FD is averaging 416,000 same-day viewers, improving to just under 800,000 after three days. That's better than anything on TruTV aside from its lead-in. More than 70 percent of the three-day audience (573,000) falls in the 18-49 demo. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Netflix testing shuffle feature to randomize TV viewing. Per an Android Police report, the Netflix test includes a feature to "play a popular episode." It is also experimenting with a Random Episode button at the bottom of a video that would essentially allow a user [to shuffle]( the episodes of a series. ► WGA launches new effort to cut agents from pitch process. The guild's new Weekly Feature Memo will allow screenwriters to list available spec scripts and pitches in a format that [will be sent]( to producers and development executives every Friday by subscription email. ► Superstore changing showrunners for season five. Creator Justin Spitzer will [hand the reins]( over to series vets Gabe Miller and Jonathan Green as he focuses on development. ► Natalie Morales out as Access anchor. Morales is [staying]( with NBC News as Today West Coast anchor and Dateline correspondent. Co-anchor Kit Hoover is staying with Access. ► Mueller report coverage draws 11 million viewers, Fox News leads. The cable news networks were all above average during their special reports, but the Mueller report's release was not as big a TV draw as some other recent events that drew blanket coverage — including a couple that figured into the special counsel's investigation. [Details.]( ► Heiress Clare Bronfman pleads guilty in NXIVM case. The 40-year-old daughter of the late billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr. told the judge that she had wanted to help people through NXIVM but ended up [dishonoring]( her family. -> "What will Hollywood do with Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin?" Nicole Sperling reports: “'It’s interesting to see who comes back,' said the Netflix source. 'On one hand, Mel Gibson has been rehabilitated to an extent. On the other hand, Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein have not. What does that mean? Is it just recency? Is it severity?'” [[Vanity Fair](] ^Women behind the scenes: In an industry where women make up only 27 percent of behind-the-scenes roles on television, Killing Eve being a female-led show in front of and behind the camera seems radical. But stars Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh both attest it had been the norm for them, Rosie Knight reports. [Full story.]( Ratings notes... ► Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy hit lows. Both series record their smallest 18-49 ratings ever on Thursday. [Notes.]( Talking points... ► Sarah Sanders says she didn't lie, despite Mueller report claims. Trump's White House spokeswoman also [disputed]( allegations that she personally misled the media and TV viewers when she said that "countless" members of the FBI had lost confidence in James Comey, which led to his firing. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: Central Park Five vow to fight for justice in powerful When They See Us. Netflix’s four-part miniseries from Ava DuVernay will be told from the perspective of the five men — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — who were at the center of the famous wrongful conviction case in 1989. [Watch.]( Bosch's Titus Welliver takes THR for an on-set spin. Author and executive producer Michael Connelly of the Amazon series says the "character is a square peg in a round world — so is that Jeep." Welliver on the car: “Bosch is a guy who’s an observer, he’s not going to [draw attention]( to himself and I don’t see him driving a muscle car.” Vanity of the Admissions Scandal Using kids as props: When the famous bribe their kids into college or parade them on TV they are really using the façade of a perfect family to burnish their own image and justify their own bad behavior, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes: + Sadly, some parents actually believe their own narcissistic fictions. They think that they can abuse others all day at work, then go home at night and kiss their kids, or buy them a college degree, and that means they’re still a good person. Like the hit-and-run drunk driver who runs someone over but still thinks they’re basically good because they tucked their child in that night. Maybe it’s time to hold ourselves to a higher standard. For the children. [Full column.]( What to watch this weekend... THR critic Daniel Fienberg sends his recommendation: Ramy Youssef's new Hulu comedy Ramy is occasionally a raucous examination of being in your 20s in New Jersey and struggling to live up to your parents' expectations for you. It's also one of the most inquisitive and sincere examinations of the challenges of faith in a modern, secular world that [you'll ever see](. Now, because Youssef's faith happens to be Islam, you won't see religious advocacy groups lining up to encourage people to watch, but that doesn't make Ramy any less spiritually rich. It's also a showcase for an extraordinarily promising comic mind and the show's flashback episode focusing on 9/11 and its impact on the main character's identity is one of the best half-hours you'll watch this year. What else we're reading... — "The Rise of Pregnant Stand-Up." Elizabeth A. Harris explores: "No longer seen as something vaguely unhip that gets in the way of the act and the microphone stand, a baby on the way is now a rich source of stand-up material: stretch marks, placentas and all." [[The New York Times](] — "Chloe Grace Moretz Want to Be 'the Outspoken Girl.'" Alexandra Peachman interviews the actress: “Now, everyone says it’s cool to be woke. When I was doing it before, people were like: ‘You’re crazy. You’re going lose your career over this. You’re so outspoken.’" [[The Guardian](] — "Do You Remember When You First Fell in Love With Music?" Rob Harvilla talks to Alice Merton, his son's first favorite artist: "Thus far I have been determined not to force 'cool' music on my children, so as not to accidentally infect them with overwrought critical wonkiness." [[The Ringer](] — "How to Talk Like You're on Billions." Nate Jones lays it out: "How to summarize the way everyone speaks in this universe? The short version is that Billions is a financial drama about people who think they’re in a Quentin Tarantino movie." [[Vulture](] From the archives... + Today in 1977: United Artists brought Annie Hall, directed by Woody Allen and starring Diane Keaton, to theaters. The film went on to win four Oscars at the 50th Academy Awards, including best picture: "Never before has the diminutive comedian been so urbane, so open — so funny. And with lovely [Keaton] as consort, it becomes well-nigh irresistible." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Clayne Crawford, 41, Shemar Moore, 49, Andy Serkis, 55, Crispin Glover, 55, Clint Howard, 60, Jessica Lange, 70, George Takei, 82. 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 20, 2019