'Endgame' Eyeing $2B; Fox's NFL Ad Change; CBS Casting Chief Out; 'Jeopardy' Ratings Bump

The Weekender: CBS casting chief Peter Golden is stepping down, in the wake of being connected to former CEO Leslie Moonves' alleged sexual misconduct. Plus: Endgame is gunning for $2 billion, Fox's Super Bowl ad changes and inside the Jeopardy champ's effect on ratings. — Will Robinson May 04, 2019 The Weekender: CBS casting chief Peter Golden is stepping down, in the wake of being connected to former CEO Leslie Moonves' alleged sexual misconduct. Plus: Endgame is gunning for $2 billion, Fox's Super Bowl ad changes and inside the Jeopardy champ's effect on ratings. — Will Robinson ^Another CBS exec out: Peter Golden, the head of the company's casting department, is leaving effective immediately, Rick Porter reports: + Golden was mentioned in a New York Times exposé about former CBS chief Leslie Moonves in which he was told to make a casting offer to actress Bobbie Phillips after Phillips claimed Moonves had sexually assaulted her. The actress went public with her allegation in the newspaper's November story. Golden told THR that he didn't know the intent behind Moonves' request at the time. [Background.]( + Diversity claims: In April, former CBS diversity and inclusion executive Whitney Davis said in an essay that Golden "doesn't find minority performers to be as talented as white actors," which Golden called "categorically untrue." CBS has been criticized for its lack of onscreen diversity in the past, though it made some strides in 2018-19 by picking up several new series — including The Neighborhood, God Friended Me and Magnum P.I. — with actors of color in lead roles. [Full story.]( 'Jeopardy' Ratings Bump Chasing Ken Jennings: Though former sports gambler James Holzhauer's run has goosed viewership for the game show, it hasn't done so to the extent Jennings did 15 years ago, Rick Porter reports: + The movement: Holzhauer first appeared on Jeopardy on Thursday, April 4; the show averaged 9.58 million daily viewers that week. The audience grew in each of the two subsequent weeks, rising to 10.09 million the week of April 8 and 10.67 million the week of April 15 (the last frame for which syndicated ratings are available), an improvement of 11 percent over that time. + Jennings' effect: Comparing raw ratings numbers now to those of 15 years ago — when less than 10 percent of TV homes even had DVRs, let alone multiple options for streaming video — won't tell us much. But over the course of Jennings' run, which spanned the end of the 2003-04 TV season and the first couple months of 2004-05, the show's ratings improved by 22 percent, per a press release from then-distributor King World. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Fox changing up Super Bowl ad format. "The network will shift from five scheduled breaks per quarter for games in recent years to four longer breaks, with the amount of total advertising time and length of individual commercials largely unchanged." [[The Wall Street Journal](] ► Sharon Tal Yguado departing Amazon as head of genre. Brought in under Roy Price to oversee genre programming in a mandate from CEO Jeff Bezos, the executive wound up replacing Joe Lewis and heading drama and comedy as well before being [relegated back]( to her original role under Jennifer Salke. ► Sinclair buying Disney RSNs made official. Walt Disney [agreed to sell]( the channels — for $10.6 billion — to get regulatory approval for its $71.3 billion acquisition of large parts of 21st Century Fox. ► WGA boots judge in agency lawsuit. The move may have been strategic but was [prompted]( by the fact that the judge’s spouse has apparently worked for a talent agency and two production companies. -> Toronto Screenwriting Conference head talks WGA-Agency fight. Conference founder Glenn Cockburn says Hollywood's talent agencies [battling]( the Writers Guild of America will be a hot-button issue this weekend. ► NBCUniversal ups research execs Jeff Bader, Lisa Heimann. Bader [will expand]( his duties as the company's chief research officer, and Heimann will oversee a new corporate research and strategy group. ► Former NBCU, IFC exec Evan Shapiro named president of National Lampoon. Shapiro will attempt to [help revive]( the iconic comedy brand with a series of TV and digital ventures. -> Listen: Tommy Chong reassures Felicity Huffman that prison isn't so bad. The Up in Smoke actor detailed his nine-month stint in prison in 2003 on the latest episode of the It Happened in Hollywood podcast: "You're going on a mission. I swear to God. There's no punishment in the federal prison." [Listen]( | [Subscribe]( Digital digest... -> Read: The making of Amazon Prime. Jason Del Rey presents his oral history — Greg Greeley former vp of Amazon Prime: "It’s the only time in the 19 years I’ve worked with Jeff [Bezos] where he pretended ... to ignore a recommendation. He was so convinced Prime was the right name." [[Vox](] ► Vice Media secures $250 million debt investment. The Nancy Dubuc-led company [has unveiled]( a flurry of moves during its NewFronts presentation this week, as the money comes from investment firm 23 Capital as well as billionaire George Soros' firm, Soros Fund Management, and investment groups Fortress and Monroe Capital. ► Alexa Chung launches YouTube channel. The designer’s first full-length video [will focus]( on the gown she’s creating for the 2019 Met Gala. From the stage... ► Creative team steps away from Magic Mike musical. Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey [have exited]( the developing show due to "creative differences," causing the postponement of a planned workshop this week. Scientology ship quarantined after measles diagnosis heads to Curacao. The ship left St. Lucia late Thursday after spending two days [under quarantine](. 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](. Gay Hollywood in the '70s Whole different era: Oscar-winning Call Me by Your Name producer Howard Rosenman recalls the entertainment industry pre-AIDS crisis, when homosexuality was hush-hush but "no one cared who you f***ed as long as you were making money for them": + "The most wonderful thing about those days was that the gay folks in power lent a hand to young gay people trying to get a foothold in the business," Rosenman recalls. "There was a powerful network of older successful gay men like theatrical agent Milton Goldman and entertainment attorney Arnold Weissberger who introduced younger gay men to successful showbiz types at their beautiful apartment on Sutton Place overlooking the East River." + Hard climate to navigate: "To be gay in the '70s in New York and L.A. (where I moved in 1973 with Ron Bernstein to open RSO Films for music entrepreneur Robert Stigwood) was sheer magic. However, there were two contrapuntal strains at work in show business. There was rampant homophobia by studio and network executives and by some older agents. "The homophobia, though, was pervasive. I remember pitching the life story of Leonard Bernstein to an executive at a cable network who exclaimed: 'He's a faggot and no one knows who he is! Are you insane?'" [Full column.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Avengers: Endgame hits $1.785 billion heading into weekend. The Marvel Studios installment is now the fifth highest grossing film of all time, earning $121.4 million at the global box office on Thursday. The superhero film recently surpassed Universal's Jurassic World ($1.67 billion). [Weekend box office.]( ► Sonic director vows to change character design following fan criticism. "The message is [loud and clear]( ... you aren't happy with the design & you want changes. It's going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be... #sonicmovie #gottafixfast," an account believed to be Jeff Fowler's tweeted. ► Mark Wahlberg, Jason Blum team to adapt hot article The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence. The article by Ezra Marcus and James D. Walsh was the cover story of New York magazine this week. The article [detailed]( a group of young women and men attending the prestigious liberal arts college of Sarah Lawrence who found themselves in the orbit of a charming but manipulative father of one of their classmates. ► Bradley Cooper denied ticket to appeals court over Weinstein debt. The producer, stars and director of Silver Lining Playbook [objected]( to the sale of their talent participation agreements. The Third Circuit rejects a petition that presented a "critical" issue impacting Hollywood. ► HBO fights Leaving Neverland suit. The Michael Jackson Estate [aims to compel]( arbitration, but HBO tells a court there is no basis for doing so. HBO now argues that the legal claims are premised on an old agreement that has been fully performed by the parties and thus terminated. Casting call... ► Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts join French Exit comedy. Azazel Jacobs is [directing]( the adaptation of the Patrick deWitt novel about a tart widow, her directionless husband and the family cat. Oscars rule change... ► Makeup artists applaud move. "This is going to [give us a chance]( to put more of our work up there and have more of our members recognized by the whole world," says Julie Socash, president of the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylist Guild, IATSE Local 706. ^British acting trailblazer: Femi Oguns — who discovered John Boyega and Letitia Wright — opens up about launching the Identity School in the U.S. and Hollywood’s embrace of diversity, Alex Ritman reports: + It all began with his groundbreaking Identity School of Acting — initially dubbed the U.K.'s "first black drama school," it has grown from 10 students to a truly multicultural mix of 900 — followed by the Identity Agency Group, launched to offer representation for its best pupils. Now, 16 years after he put his acting career on ice to start Identity, he's looking to do the same for L.A., after opening its doors last fall. + Anti-British sentiment: "You can understand the frustration of many people who feel as though they give these jobs to the Brits, but that's what we're attacking," Oguns says in response to a criticism levied against Daniel Kaluuya starring in Get Out, notably by Samuel L. Jackson. "We're saying: You've got an opportunity now to receive the same kind of training. This is your chance." [Full interview.]( On the festival circuit... ► Leonard Maltin & family establish new Hollywood film fest. The event, which the legendary film critic is organizing in collaboration with his wife, Alice, and daughter, Jessie, [will take place]( May 10-12. ► Rocketman to open Toronto's Inside Out LGBTQ Film Fest. Along with the Elton John biopic, Amazon's Mindy Kaling-Emma Thompson comedy Late Night [will close]( the festival. Latest reviews... ► Fox Searchlight's Tolkien. "While snugly fitting within the conventions of respectable British period biographical dramas, the handsome film stresses both the daunting trials he endured ... and his brilliance as a scholar and incipient creator," Todd McCarthy writes. [Full review.]( * What critics are saying. The biopic has 53 percent on [Rotten Tomatoes]( and 50 on [Metacritic](. Musical notes... ► Kelly Clarkson undergoes appendix surgery after hosting Billboard Music Awards. The songstress [confirmed]( the news Thursday in a tweet, writing, "Not gonna lie.... I may or may not have broken down in tears after the show from pain." Coming attractions... ► First Look: Johnny Depp as colonial oppressor in Waiting for the Barbarians. Depp stars as a sinister, murderous colonel alongside Mark Rylance and Robert Pattinson in the adaption of J.M. Coetzee's novel. [Photo.]( Kelli O'Hara joins Awards Chatter. One of the greatest leading ladies in Broadway history reflects on her unlikely path from Oklahoma to the Great White Way, how she found her voice thanks to a special teacher and her "voice" through the roles she played and why, even at the top, she finds it hard to make ends meet. [Listen]( | [Subscribe]( Taking Flight Depicting true female friendship: Tuca & Bertie creator Lisa Hanawalt wants men to hate-watch her new Netflix animated comedy "to get comfortable with the idea of women being funny and gross," Jessica Toomer reports: + "I wanted to make a weird, surreal, warm, silly show about female friendship, about women in their 30s because I hadn't seen a lot of that before. A friendship where one friend is worried about getting left behind, and they're kind of going in different directions, which often happens in this decade, Hanawalt says. "On the inside, we all still feel like a mess and we're desperately trying to work and make money and [get our shit together](." What to watch this weekend... THR critic Daniel Fienberg sends his recommendation: With Broad City, You're the Worst and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend among the shows focused on female friendship that have concluded this spring, Netflix chose a smart weekend to debut a pair of comedies featuring strong female leads. Tuca & Bertie, from BoJack Horseman production designer Lisa Hanawalt is bright, crazy, musical and fun, another Netflix [adult animation winner](. Dead to Me isn't as consistently enjoyable, but thanks to the mystery at its core, it's probably more [binge-friendly]( and the performances by Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini are first rate. What else we're reading... — "In the Netflix Era, Hollywood Wants to Know: What’s a Movie, Anyway?" Nicole Sperling reports: "While Avengers: Endgame may be pounding global box office records on a daily basis, large swaths of Hollywood are still consumed with how Silicon Valley is disrupting its business." [[Vanity Fair](] — "How Trans Actors Are Rewriting the Rules of TV Casting." Nico Lang details: "Tearing open those boxes in which trans actors are often placed doesn’t just create greater opportunities in the television industry; it can also encourage others to live more openly." [[The New York Times](] — "Dan Rather, Still Fighting." Josef Adalian profiles the newscaster: "I was surprised that [Leslie] Moonves would just let me go. I was stunned by what followed. He became part of an effort to tarnish my CBS record, to obliterate that I was even there, almost literally like they used to in the Kremlin in the Stalin days." [[Vulture](] — "How Chef’s Table Turned Food TV Into Mouthwatering Art." Calum Marsh examines: "Whether a quenelle of caviar crowned with gold leaf or a chunky wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano, the objects under the show’s gaze are treated with a care that verges on reverence." [[Grub Street](] — "The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Final Frontier." Miles Surrey poses: "If the MCU wants to convince its audience that the future slate of villains and conflicts can measure up to the apocalyptic might of Thanos ... there’s only one place they should be looking, and that’s the final frontier." [[The Ringer](] From the archives... + Today in 1944: MGM premiered Gaslight in New York at the Capitol Theatre. The thriller — featuring 18-year-old Angela Lansbury's debut — went on to claim two Oscars at the 17th Academy Awards, including a best actress nod for Ingrid Bergman: "[Producer Arthur Hornblow Jr.] is to be congratulated for his sagacity in avoiding the usual Hollywood 'production touches.'" [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Shameik Moore, 24, Ashley Rickards, 27, Erin Andrews, 41, Will Arnett, 49, Ana Gasteyer, 52, Randy Travis, 60, Richard Jenkins, 72. 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]( May 4, 2019