J.J. Abrams Deal Watch; TV Death Guide; 'GOT' Director's Insight; Met Gala's Best Dressed

What's news: The race to land J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot may have hit a speed bump. Plus: Colin Firth's WWII drama, Wine Country meets critics, and what "camp" meant to the Met Gala. — Erik Hayden May 07, 2019 What's news: The race to land J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot may have hit a speed bump. Plus: Colin Firth's WWII drama, Wine Country meets critics, and what "camp" meant to the Met Gala. — Erik Hayden J.J. Abrams Deal Watch The ongoing battle between writers and agencies has slowed one of the industry's biggest talent pursuits: the quest to land an overall deal with prolific producer J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot banner, Lesley Goldberg writes: + Sources tell THR that after Abrams and Bad Robot have stopped working with longtime agency CAA in all areas (save for directing). That has impacted the deal making process as Bad Robot had been taking meetings all over town for a potential new place to call home. + Sources say that Comcast, WarnerMedia, Sony Pictures Television and Apple, among others, have all had meetings about signing Bad Robot to a lucrative new overall deal. Some sources note that such a pact could be worth as much as $500 million when film, digital and other areas are factored in. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Adult Swim orders Amy Poehler-produced series. The cable channel has given a series order to Three Busy Debras, a live-action comedy that counts Poehler among its executive producers. [TBD premiere date.]( ► NBC revives Who Do You Think You Are? An unscripted series that last aired on the network seven years ago is returning home. The new season, in which celebrities trace their genealogy, will run [13 episodes.]( ► Netflix musical drama adds Amandla Stenberg. The eight-part series The Eddy has enlisted The Hate U Give breakout. She joins Andre Holland in the Paris-set series from Damien Chazelle. [Set for next year.]( *Game of Thrones director David Nutter reveals the final season's key ingredient. [Spoilers.]( ^All the broadcast TV shows canceled this season. An updating guide that breaks down why some series didn't make the cut or ended their runs. [So far.]( ► CBS TV Studios expands Star Trek universe. The studio is launching a new business unit to expand the brand beyond TV and streaming. The new group will be headed by Veronica Hart. [Details.]( ► Universal TV signs Megan Amram. The writer, producer and actress behind the shortform comedy An Emmy for Megan has inked an overall deal. She will create, develop and produce new projects for the studio. [Details.]( ► Just For Laughs festival hires TV exec. Former Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and Big Breakfast exec Spencer Griffin is joining the comedy festival as head of TV development. [More.]( HBO, The Wing launch event partnership. All-female workspace network The Wing is showing its support for the cabler's female-driven ensemble drama Big Little Lies. On Tuesday, the companies announced a ["first-of-its-kind" deal.]( 'Wine Country' Meets Critics Amy Poehler's directorial debut on Netflix is seeing the first critical takes arrive — so far, among 7 critics, it is [86 percent]( fresh on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. + THR critic Sheri Linden: "There are hints of a complex varietal in the Napa-set lark, but mainly it's a fizzy blend of dependable ingredients: seasoned comedy talents and an episodic story that, despite glimmers of anarchy, sticks to a reassuring comfort zone." [Full review.]( Elsewhere in film... ► See-Saw Films plans WWII drama with Colin Firth. The actor is teaming with John Madden, who directed Shakespeare in Love, for Operation Mincemeat from the company behind King's Speech. [Shopping at Cannes.]( ► Highland Film Group plans comedy Happy Life. Evangeline Lilly and Ike Barinholtz are set to star in David Stassen's film, which will be shopped in Cannes before production starts. UTA is handling the [U.S. sale.]( ► Spyglass Media resurrects Hellraiser. David S. Goyer is set to write and produce the company's re-imagining of the 1987 film, one of horrormeister Clive Barker's best-known creations. Keith Levine [will produce.]( ► Sony Pictures Animation hires Illumination vp. Alison Mann joins SPA in the role of vp creative/strategy, where she "will be assigned across projects with a particular focus on fostering international talent." [Letter to staff.]( ► Studiocanal/Picture Company thriller adds Paul Giamatti. Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado are directing Gunpowder Milkshake, which also has Karen Gillan and Angela Bassett on the [cast list.]( ► Lucky Red to distribute Woody Allen film overseas. Although Amazon Studios has nixed its U.S. release of A Rainy Day in New York, the film will be released overseas in Italy on Oct. 3 and in several [other countries.]( ► Berlin Film Fest adds new competition section. Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek, the new duo that will take over the Berlin International Film Festival as co-directors next year, on Tuesday unveiled their first [major changes.]( U.S. returns seized Wolf of Wall Street millions to Malaysia. The country's attorney general said that it had received the first installment of funds seized by the U.S. DoJ, whose kleptocracy department in 2016 filed the largest ever forfeiture complaint, citing [$1 billion in assets.]( Best of the Met Gala The meaning of "Camp" — Lindsay Weinberg emails: Everyone from Cardi B to Lupita Nyong'o brought their fashion A-game for the wild 2019 Met Gala. + The "camp" theme inspired a flurry of feathers, rainbow hues, gilded styles and extravagant headpieces. Lady Gaga [stole the show]( by giving a quick-change performance with four pink-and-black ensembles designed by her former stylist Brandon Maxwell, while Katy Perry dressed as [a lit-up candelabra]( by Moschino. + Another bright spot was Zendaya's transformation into [a lit Cinderella]( by her fairy god-stylist Law Roach, in an animatronic dress created by Tommy Hilfiger. Some looked dazzlingly beautiful, without sticking their necks out enough to get "camp" right, while others were downright excessive, missing the tongue-in-cheek twist. + The best dressed of the night — including Elle Fanning, Janelle Monae, Jared Leto, Billy Porter and Cara Delevingne — accomplished the feat of being both stylish and on-theme. + [Full arrivals gallery]( I [Best dressed women]( I [Best dressed men.]( What else we're reading... — "Vanity Fair owner stages its next act." Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg writes: "Advance Publications is investing $10 billion outside its core media business to ease reliance on ad revenue." [[Wall Street Journal](] — "MPAA’s new film ratings chief Kelly McMahon brings fresh eyes." Ryan Faughnder notes: "On Monday, McMahon took over as head of the MPAA’s ratings board." [[Los Angeles Times](] — "Jumping from Hollywood to advertising’s A-list." Doug Zanger writes: "Brands are tapping actors as they put an emphasis on storytelling." [[Adweek](] — "Spotify's fight with Apple has turned ugly." Lionel Laurent argues: "Complaints about the iPhone maker taking a 30 percent cut of App Store subscriptions have merit. But it’s hard to feel too sorry for Spotify." [[Bloomberg](] Last night on late night... + "Seth Rogen's Lion King experience was intimidating." [[Late Late Show](] + "Magic Carpet race with Will Smith." [[Tonight Show](] + "Rachel Dratch talks improv over red wine." [[Late Show](] + "Diane Keaton on new movie Poms." [[Jimmy Kimmel Live](] From the archives... + 20 years ago today: On May 7, 1999, Universal resurrected The Mummy franchise in theaters as an actioner starring Brendan Fraser: "often rewardingly imaginative." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Aidy Bryant, 32, Maya Erskine, 32, Breckin Meyer, 45, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, 47, Asghar Farhadi, 47, Brian Kilmeade, 55. 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 7, 2019