Oprah Wants More; Agents of Change List; Downey Jr.'s Payday; Tony Noms; Singleton's Gift; THR 'Empowerment' Cover

What's news: Oprah Winfrey opens up about her Apple deal, the Democrats' fighting to be the 2020 nominee and how she fostered her voice. Plus: The leading agents of empowerment in Hollywood, Robert Downey Jr.'s massive Endgame payday and Tony nominations are unveiled. — Will Robinson April 30, 2019 What's news: Oprah Winfrey opens up about her Apple deal, the Democrats' fighting to be the 2020 nominee and how she fostered her voice. Plus: The leading agents of empowerment in Hollywood, Robert Downey Jr.'s massive Endgame payday and Tony nominations are unveiled. — Will Robinson [On the cover:]( In a wide ranging interview, Oprah Winfrey explains her streaming strategy (including a possible interview series), who she's eyeing for 2020 ("I'd like to see what's up with Butta" — aka Pete Buttigieg) and the creative fire that fuels her now, Lacey Rose reports: + Lessons from 2016: "I know that there is an underlying level of discontent and dissatisfaction that was stronger than anything I could've imagined," Winfrey says. "Had I been doing the Oprah show at the time of the 2016 election, I wouldn't have been the least bit surprised by the outcome because every day that audience was my focus group on the world — every day they came from red states and blue states with every kind of belief system, gathered together in this communal moment of the Oprah show." + Producing advice to Obamas: "When they were starting, [Barack] called me for names to run [their company], and I offered him some. They ultimately were not the people he chose, but that's fine. There's nobody like them. Nobody," Winfrey says. "Their desire to want to use this medium to tell stories, to show us our history, to bring an informational, inspirational approach to content — I'm looking forward to seeing whatever that's going to be." + Leaving 60 Minutes: "It was an interesting experience for me. I enjoyed working with the teams, and I'm probably going to work with some of the freelance people on my Apple stuff, but it was not the best format for me," she explained her leaving, before last summer's exposés. "How should I say this? Never a good thing when I have to practice saying my name and have to be told that I have too much emotion in my name." [Full cover story.]( 50 Agents of Empowerment Breaking industry expectations: Meet the creative and business forces — including Kenya Barris, Laverne Cox, Jon M. Chu and Norman Lear — who are shifting the industry's landscape to drive opportunities onscreen and off for fresh talents and leaders: + Shonda Rhimes, Netflix: With a landscape-shifting nine-figure Netflix overall deal, Rhimes bet on herself like never before, taking a greater ownership stake in the programming she creates and produces. It's a welcome payday for the 49-year-old showrunner who — on the strength of hits Grey's Anatomy and Scandal — is largely credited with the way TV now increasingly reflects today's world. + Plan B Entertainment: When Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Brad Pitt brought Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave to the Telluride Film Festival in 2013, a young director named Barry Jenkins was the moderator for its first screening, and a creative kinship sparked between the producers and the filmmaker. Three years later, Plan B was back at the festival, this time with Jenkins in the director's chair, for Moonlight. Both movies went on to win the Academy Award for best picture, and their filmmakers are two of the six black directors who have been nominated for the directing Oscar. [Full list.]( -> The Hollywood diversity officer's dilemma: The industry has moved quickly to hire and elevate executives [focused on]( diversifying teams and content — in a changing landscape, the complex role "is tiring, but it's rewarding," Rebecca Keegan reports. -> How Michael B. Jordan pulled off Hollywood's first officially "inclusive" production: Just Mercy was staffed and filmed under WarnerMedia's company-wide drive for more diverse hiring after the actor and producer [pushed for]( an inclusion rider, Keegan reports. Elsewhere in TV... ► Phil Lord, Chris Miller developing Marvel TV universe with nine-figure Sony overall deal. The duo have [departed]( the longtime home at 20th Century Fox TV for a massive five-year deal with the indie studio. -> 88 percent of showrunners are white, WGA West finds. The Writers Guild of America West has released its first-ever inclusion report card. Based on WGAW employment data on the 2,895 jobs during the 2017-18 TV staffing season, the guild found that "systemic discrimination against writers from historically underrepresented groups remains pervasive in the hiring of television writers." [Details.]( ► Octavia Spencer inks overall deal with Disney's 20th TV. The Oscar winner has [also launched]( a production company with WME's Brian Clisham set to run it alongside her. ► Larry King hospitalized after chest pain, undergoes angioplasty. Currently, the radio and TV icon hosts Larry King Now, which appears on Hulu and RT America. He was [suffering]( from cheat pains but King did not have a heart attack, nor did he go into cardiac arrest, despite other media reports, reads the statement. ► Charter loses 145,000 pay TV subs in Q1. The broadband business [led the way]( in the first quarter as Charter recorded 428,000 internet subscriber net additions. Quarterly earnings came in at $253 million, up 51 percent from $168 million in the year-ago period. -> Viacom CEO Bob Bakish remains mum on CBS merger rumors. "This is the third time this rumor mill has [gone around](," Bakish said at the Milken Institute Global Conference. "What I told my teams to do is 'stay focused' ... as far as the other noise? There's always noise; there's always distractions. You gotta play through and see where it goes." ► AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan's pay falls to $20.5M in 2018. The boss of the company behind The Walking Dead home [made]( $29.6 million in 2017. ► Showtime, Sacha Baron Cohen win first round in Roy Moore lawsuit. The former Alabama judge [objects]( to the insinuation he's a sex offender, but Showtime is throwing up a roadblock to the lawsuit in the form of a consent agreement signed as a condition for appearing on Who Is America?. Deals and developments... ► CBS sets Big Bang Theory post-finale retrospective. Stars Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco [will host]( the 30-minute special after May 16's series finale. ► Netflix renews On My Block. The [third round]( of the coming-of-age comedy, set in an inner-city L.A. neighborhood, will be for eight episodes. ► Showtime renews Black Monday. The comedy starring Don Cheadle, Andrew Rannells and Regina Hall [will be back]( in 2020 for season two. ► CBS All Access renews The Twilight Zone. The Jordan Peele-produced revival will [get to tell]( more eerie tales in a second run on the streamer. ► Fox sets aftershow spoof What Just Happened with Fred Savage. The nine-episode hybrid half-hour comedy/talk show [comes complete]( with a fictional pre-show, The Flare. ► Will Packer-produced entertainment news show lands trial run on Fox stations. Julissa Bermudez and Sanya Richards-Ross [will host]( Central Ave. for a five-week run in fall 2019. ► The Hills, My Super Sweet 16 headed to Viacom's Pluto TV. Cable brands MTV, BET, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon will [each have]( dedicated channels on the free, ad-supported streaming service, due to a licensing agreement. ^Game of Thrones breakout details her war moment: Bella Ramsey, who plays the pugnacious Lyanna Mormont, talks to Josh Wigler about her scene-stealing moment: "I was very pleased. ... She's always been sticking up for what's right, especially in a room filled with grown men and women." [Spoilers.]( Digital digest... ► Google's advertising sales miss Wall Street expectations. The internet giant [collected]( $30.7 billion in ad revenue, short of the $32.6 billion that analysts had modeled. Without adjustments for traffic acquisition, Alphabet's revenue was up 17 percent to $36.3 billion. ► YouTube gets 13-game MLB package. The deal [includes]( exclusive North American rights and rights beyond, with a YouTube executive highlighting MLB's "expanding international fan base." ► Twitter, Univision team on Spanish-language programming. The Wall Street Journal and Time will also produce programming for the social media network. [Details.]( * Second season of Twitter's House of Highlights show will focus on tentpole events including NBA Finals. With more than 12 million Instagram followers, Bleacher Report-owned HoH in April became the only U.S. sports media brand to [surpass]( ESPN across social platforms. Labor movements... ► Matthew Modine running for SAG-AFTRA president. His announcement [sets the stage]( for a hard fight, likely against incumbent Gabrielle Carteris. Legal briefs... ► Bones dispute weighs power of judges & arbitrators. In evaluating whether to [uphold]( one of the largest arbitration awards in Hollywood history, a California judge will also decide how much authority the court has to keep arbitrators in check, Ashley Cullins reports. Around town... ► Cory Booker sets L.A. fundraiser with Ben Affleck, Jeffrey Katzenberg. Booker, who has some serious catching up to do in the race for campaign dollars, has been [courting]( industry donors and support for years and was most recently in L.A. for two events in the fall. ► Paley Center for Media sets board appointees Including Bob Greenblatt, Ted Sarandos. The media-focused nonprofit's string of appointments to its boards of trustees and governors [also includes]( Nielsen CEO David Kenny and Univision Communications CEO Vincent Sadusky. Ratings notes... ► NFL Draft pulls record ratings for second-straight year. Coverage of all three days [is up]( 11 percent (6.1 million viewers on average) vs. 2018, which previously had been the most-watched draft. Talking points... ► Michael Avenatti pleads not guilty to charges of tax fraud. When [asked to enter]( a plea in federal court in Santa Ana, California, Avenatti told the judge, "Not guilty to all charges." How Avengers: Endgame sets up Disney+'s Marvel shows. There are teases for potential WandaVision, The Falcon and Winter Soldier, Hawkeye and Loki plotlines to be found in the mammoth superhero saturnalia, Graeme McMillan details. [Spoilers.]( 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](. Singleton's Gift Humanizing eye: John Singleton — the director of Boyz n the Hood who died Monday at 51 — was a cinematic gamechanger, revealing the horror, beauty and humanity of L.A.’s South Central to an unsuspecting America, Eisa Nefertari Ulen writes: When Singleton showed us South Central L.A., most of us back East were, well, stunned. On the East Coast, shootings were up close and personal; on the West Coast, Jheri curled brothers did drive-bys. In South Central, the hood had single family houses, driveways, even palm trees (palm trees!). Where were the high-rise, Good Times-style projects? We wondered, “Out West, they have lawns in the hood — what do they have to be so angry about?” Boyz’s Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne) had an answer for that. Singleton showed us how our West Coast cousins were living. And, in a stunning cinematic montage, he also showed us how they were dying. We were beautiful in his vision, and each loss was Greek-tragedy tragic. The structure of Boyz n the Hood is classic, and so is the film as it stirs us to mourn the loss of black life, of one particular black boy meant to represent all the others. [Critic's notebook]( | [Obit]( + Hollywood pays tribute to "a brave artist and a true inspiration." A number of Hollywood stars, including Jordan Peele, Chance the Rapper, Samuel L. Jackson, Janelle Monae and Regina King paid tribute to the late director, screenwriter and producer — Boyz actress Nia Long: "John Singleton was my beginning...the first person to see [me as] special." [More tributes]( | [Watch final interview]( Elsewhere in film... ► Jon M. Chu, Thai director join Netflix, SK Global Project about cave rescue. Chu and Nattawut "Baz" Poonpiriya [will bring]( the story of the 2018 Thai cave rescue of a soccer team to the streaming giant's global audiences. ► China's Huahua Media buys stake in Legendary's Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The Beijing- and Shanghai-based company [declined to share]( the size of the "major investment." The investor and film marketer says there will be more Hollywood dealmaking to come in 2019. ► Elle Fanning, Kelly Reichardt join Cannes' Competition Jury. The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos and Cold War director Pawel Pawlikowski will [also join]( Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's panel deciding the Palme d'Or. ► Kevin Hart plans Extreme Job comedy remake at Universal. Tracy Oliver, who wrote Girls Trip and Little, is [on board to pen]( the script for the remake of the Korean hit. ► Imax CEO Richard Gelfond's pay jumps to $6.2M in 2018. Gelfond received a base salary of $1.2 million last year, and saw his bonus [rise]( to $1.7 million. ► Russell Wilson, Ciara launch joint production company for film, TV, digital content. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback and his Grammy-winning wife will [focus on]( inspirational and aspirational stories across a variety of genres through Why Not You Productions. ► Fantastic Beasts 3 sets 2021 release. Audiences of the Harry Potter spinoff from J.K. Rowling [will return]( to the cinematic Wizarding World on November 12, 2021. ► HBO sets equal justice doc True Justice. The doc will [center on]( Bryan Stevenson and his work in the criminal justice system. ► Biopic on NFL star DeAndre Hopkins’ mother in the works. Brown Girls co-creator Sam Bailey [will direct]( the feature film about Sabrina Greenlee, with Kristen Buckley penning the script and Bron Studios financing. Casting call... ► Nicholas Hoult joins Angelina Jolie in Taylor Sheridan's Those Who Wish Me Dead. The thriller is [based on]( a book by Michael Koryta. * Rising actor Finn Little nabs lead opposite Jolie. The casting is a coup for 12-year-old Little, an Australian actor with few credits but who appears in the Jai Courtney and Geoffrey Rush drama Storm Boy. Little was one of four boys who [tested]( opposite Jolie, impressing both the Oscar winner and Sheridan. ► James Gunn's The Suicide Squad casts David Dastmalchian. The Ant-Man actor is going [to play]( comic book villain Polka-Dot Man. ^Summer box office needs help: Even after Marvel's Avengers: Endgame's stunning $1.22 billion debut, studio pics will need to overperform to make up for a dismal winter and spring, Pamela McClintock reports: + Though the Avengers extravaganza snapped its metaphorical fingers and obliterated opening-weekend box office records, North American revenue is still down 13.3 percent year-over-year during the January-to-April corridor, throwing cold water on predictions that 2019 could eclipse the best-ever $11.9 billion of 2018. + Critical piece of the pie: Tickets sold during the summer season usually amount to about 40 percent of total yearly revenue. But this year, to make up for the poor winter and spring, the summer domestic revenue would have to hit $5 billion — $500 million more than the all-time best season, summer of 2016. * For reference: In 2018, the May through Labor Day haul made up only 37 percent of the year's total, thanks to an unusually strong February with Black Panther. [Full story.]( * Slight Endgame update: The superhero tentpole [officially opened]( to $356 million in North America and $866 million overseas for a stunning global launch of $1.2 billion, including $330.5 million in China and $56 million in the U.K. -> Robert Downey Jr.'s massive payday tops Endgame star deals. The Iron Man actor had negotiated a unique financial arrangement with studio chief Kevin Feige to receive backend profit on the series, resulting in what sources say was at least a $75 million haul for Infinity War, Borys Kit reports. [Details.]( On the festival circuit... -> Talk of Tribeca: David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence [discuss]( creative partnership... Parkland survivors [express]( cynicism & hope for change on gun violence... Festival [teams with]( iHeartRadio for podcast about Fierce women. Musical notes... ► Woodstock 50 has been canceled. Organizers say "we don’t believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name." Reps for the festival say concerns about the capacity of the festival, site readiness and permitting issues led to the [cancellation]( of the commemorative event. From the stage... ► Hadestown leads Tony nominations. The acclaimed musical earned the most nominations, with 14, followed by Ain't Too Proud with 12 and Tootsie, an adaptation of the 1982 Dustin Hoffman film, with 11. [Full list]( | [Snubs]( -> Frank Marshall makes stage directorial debut with magic show Invisible Tango . Opening May 7 at Westwood's Geffen Playhouse, the one-man show stars magician Helder Guimarães, [who calls it]( "a conversation about mystery," and will play to just 100 theatergoers per night, Deborah Walker reports. ► Sing Street to become stage musical. John Carney's film about Dublin teenagers starting a new wave band in the mid-1980s has been [adapted]( with a book by Enda Walsh and music and lyrics by Carney and Gary Clark. ► Laura Linney to return to Broadway in My Name is Lucy Barton. The one-woman drama adapted from Elizabeth Strout's novel and directed by Richard Eyre comes to New York [following]( its acclaimed premiere at London's Bridge Theatre. The arts scene... ► Robert Rodriguez teams with Cirque du Soleil for stunt-centered Vegas show. The Montreal-based acrobatic entertainment company is [searching]( for younger audiences with a "live action thriller" written by the Alita: Battle Angel director. In memoriam... ► RIP Anne Neyland. The actress who portrayed a love interest of Elvis Presley's character in the 1957 movie Jailhouse Rock died Wednesday at 84. [Obit.]( Dining review: Westwood's Audrey. "Audrey is supposed to be the signature new offering of an on-the-rise institution that sees itself as one of the most rigorous, idiosyncratic museums in the world," Gary Baum writes. "So far, that ambition is not yet on exhibit." [Full review.]( A New Co-Working Space Not Soho House: The founders of Second Home Hollywood, opening late this summer, hope to spark creativity by fostering an inclusive environment, Peter Kiefer reports: + Think of Second Home as a mashup of all the office-space disrupters that have emerged in the past decade — but with a lot more greenery and no velvet ropes. It's part incubator, part co-working space and part social hub where members will be able to record a podcast or hold an "all-hands" meeting right after a morning meditation or yoga class. + Mix of companies: Second Home also will offer free use of the space to some nonprofits. The mix of members is based on a 20/80 policy: 20 percent are mostly blue-chip firms; 80 percent are a mix of people and startups that reflect the spirt of the city. Three "community concierges" will promote member interaction. U.K. production group All3Media has committed to a satellite office. [Full story.]( What else we're reading... — "She Draws Deeply Human Characters. They’re Just Animals." Amanda Hess profiles BoJack Horseman illustrator Lisa Hanawalt: "[She] has created a whole universe of anthropomorphic characters with deeply human concerns and base animal instincts: alcoholic he-horses, anxious she-moose, dog-girls reeling from trauma and cat-women struggling to succeed in a cat-man’s world." [[The New York Times](] — "I Attended Felicity Huffman’s Boarding School And I Learned More Than I Bargained For." Allison Lirish Dean reflects: "It’s not that elites are more prone to social hierarchies or sexism than other groups — these problems permeate all of society. But they are particularly insidious in expensive progressive schools like Putney." [[HuffPost](] — "Endgame’s Gay Moment Is a Nice Gesture That Just Feels Exhausting." Jackson McHenry writes: "It’s [also] exhausting to watch a movie pat itself on its back in a battle scene by having all the female heroes band to together for a big moment, while knowing that most of them are secondary to the male characters in their respective movie plots." [[Vulture](] — "The Real Danger of Going on Shark Tank: Copycats." Ruth Simon reports: "About five weeks after the show aired, Ms. Lazzari got a call from a disgruntled customer who said she hadn’t received her order. When Ms. Lazzari dug further, she discovered that someone online was mimicking her brand." [[The Wall Street Journal](] — "Why Is Gen Z Obsessed with The Office?" Sonia Saraiya examines: "Generation Z has a way of adoring some of the most bizarre artifacts from the final years of the pre-online world in a way that combines irony with nostalgia." [[Vanity Fair](] Last night, on late night... + "How often is Seth Rogen high in his movies?" [[Late Show](] + "How Zac Efron ruined his first TV kiss." [[Graham Norton](] + "Glenn Howerton was a door-to-door meat salesman." [[Late Night](] From the archives... + Today in 1997: ABC aired "The Puppy Episode," the famous installment of Ellen where the titular character comes out as a lesbian, hours after its star Ellen DeGeneres came out during an appearance on Oprah: "DeGeneres has always been confrontational in the warmest and least aggressive way possible, which is probably how you draw in 42 million viewers." [Retrospective.]( Today's birthdays: Gal Gadot, 34, Kirsten Dunst, 37, Kunal Nayyar, 38, Sam Heughan, 39, Johnny Galecki, 44, Lars von Trier, 63, Burt Young, 79, Cloris Leachman, 93. 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 30, 2019