Cleaning Up Bryan Singer Mess; New Fox Soars; Disney-Hulu Update; Vice Write-Down; Amazon Rankles Indie Creatives

What's news: How will the WGA-agents fight affect the Cannes market? Plus: Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher's journey, Disney and Fox Corp. tout strong earnings and how Amazon Prime rankles indie filmmakers — Will Robinson May 09, 2019 What's news: How will the WGA-agents fight affect the Cannes market? Plus: Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher's journey, Disney and Fox Corp. tout strong earnings and how Amazon Prime rankles indie filmmakers — Will Robinson ^Stepping up: Dexter Fletcher reflects on working on the Elton John biopic Rocketman, which he was prepping when he got a call from Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek saying director Bryan Singer had gone AWOL, Rebecca Keegan reports: "If you come to set and s*** on the floor, you'll still do a better job than this guy": + Bohemian Rhapsody savior: When Bryan Singer's set absences grew increasingly problematic for Fox, exec Emma Watts called Matthew Vaughn. "Singer did a very good job," Vaughn says. "He just hadn't finished it. I said, 'I'm not the man to finish it, but I know who is.' " Vaughn saw three weeks of mop-up duty on Rhapsody as the perfect gig for Fletcher: "I told Dexter, 'This is going to be '70s pop icon boot camp for you.' " + Tackling Rocketman: "You know in five minutes that Dexter is the perfect guy to make a visually extravagant musical," says Wyck Godfrey, president of Paramount's motion picture group. "He just has a buoyancy. He is literally jumping up out of his chair." As an actor, "Dexter knows exactly how to coax and encourage," says Taron Egerton. "He understands the seemingly unimportant things than are crucial for an actor to feel happy and settled. He knows my insecurities, and he knows my areas of strength and always makes me feel like I can do anything." * Telling John's true story: Paramount committed at the beginning to an R-rated Rocketman. "That was important to Elton," Godfrey says. "Elton's life is an R-rated life." There was some back and forth between the filmmakers and the studio about one of the love scenes in the film, between Egerton and Richard Madden, who plays Elton’s former manager, John Reid. "It was a natural process of finding the right balance," Godfrey says. [Full story.]( Disney Eyes Hulu Control Studio lags: Though Disney reported strong earnings again, its crown jewel film unit did not lead the way last quarter, Paul Bond reports: + The studio segment posted $2.1 billion in revenue during the quarter, down 15 percent from the same frame last year, and it was the only of Disney's four segments to show a decline. The studio's operating income sunk 39 percent to $534 million. * Top earners: Revenue for Disney's most profitable segment, media networks, was flat at $5.53 billion with ESPN making up for lost subscribers with higher fees. The segment's operating income was down 3 percent to $2.2 billion. Its parks segment posted $6.2 billion in revenue, up 5 percent. [Full story.]( + Bob Iger confirms talks with Comcast over Hulu stake sale: The executive says that Comcast-owned NBCUniversal would likely still [continue to license]( programming to Hulu. It's unclear how advanced these negotiations are or what a potential timeline would be for a Comcast sale of its Hulu stake. -> Disney discloses new $353M write-down on Vice Media investment: The entertainment giant previously [recorded]( a $157 million impairment charge on its Vice stake. Elsewhere in film... ► STX chief operating officer stepping down. Tom McGrath's departure comes the weekend after the studio's UglyDolls [opened]( to a disappointing $8.6 million at the domestic box office. ► AMC Theatres swings to quarterly loss, on "industry-wide softness." CEO Adam Aron, who [leads]( the Dalian Wanda Group-owned circuit, said he was "bullish" about the full-year box office prospects as Avengers: Endgame plays on his screens. The mega-exhibitor posted a loss of $130.2 million, compared with year-ago profit of $17.7 million, on revenues of $1.2 billion, down from a year-earlier $1.38 billion. ► European box office hits four-year low in 2018. Theatrical revenue across the European Union [fell]( more than $260 million last year to $7.6 billion. Overall attendance fell 2.9 percent, with 956 million tickets sold across Europe last year, 28.7 fewer than in 2017. ► Ana Lily Amirpour to direct female-led Cliffhanger reboot. Neal Moritz and Toby Jaffe [will produce]( under their Original Film banner, alongside Thorsten Schumacher and partner Lars Sylvest for Rocket Science, who will also finance. Casting call... ► Juliette Binoche to star in Ethan Hawke's Camino Real movie adaptation. Passage Pictures [will produce]( as Hawke directs Tennessee Williams’ 1953 stage play for the big screen. Cannes heats up... ► Mel Gibson to play rowdy Santa in Fatman. The action comedy — [heading]( to the Cannes market — is a darkly comic Christmas movie. -> Other notes. George Clooney-produced doc Art of Political Murder [heads to market](... Michael Shannon [boards]( Pretty in Pink director's Swing... Sylvester Stallone [to present]( first look at Rambo 5... Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar [cast in]( Broken Heart Gallery. ^L.A. aftershocks: While the writers-agents standoff mostly affects TV packaging, insiders predict a ripple effect on film in the Cannes market and beyond, Tatiana Siegel and Scott Roxborough report: + Scope of deals: Most of the producers, sales company executives and distributors that THR spoke with anticipate that the fallout will be limited (Endeavor Content, CAA, UTA and ICM are sending sales teams to the festival as usual). "It could be a challenge going forward — to navigate and continue to hire writers," says Glen Basner, CEO of film production and sales outfit FilmNation. The future looks especially murky for business at fall markets like Toronto and AFM. "We might have a real slowdown of new material" later this year, notes David Garrett of sales group Mister Smith Entertainment. * Who's side are they on?: While sales agents and financiers are loath to take sides in the spat given that they have to work with both writers and agencies, the vast majority privately say they support the WGA. The expansion of the agencies into production and international sales (think WME sibling company Endeavor Content taking a majority stake in international sales company Bloom) has put them in, as Stuart Ford of AGC Studios puts it, "a very obvious conflict of interest." [Full story.]( On the festival circuit... ► Stephen Colbert hosts first Tolkien screening with cast, director. Colbert revealed how he was asked to make an appearance in The Hobbit, while Collins explained what musician inspired her dancing scene in the upcoming film. [Inside the event.]( ► Nantucket to honor SNL writers, performers in all-female screenwriters tribute. The 24th annual event also added a few more projects to its 2019 lineup. [Event details.]( ► Berlin names Cristina Nord head of Forum sidebar. The film critic, writer and curator will [take over]( Berlin's art-house sidebar for the 2020 festival. Musical notes... ► Deborah Dugan officially named new Recording Academy president, CEO. The former (RED) CEO makes history as the first woman to hold the post, which she [will assume]( on Aug. 1. ► Recording Industry Association hires trio in policy, financial, legal roles. Morna Willens has been [elevated]( to chief policy officer and Karen Silhol to chief financial officer, while Ken Doroshow was hired as the industry lobby group's chief legal officer. Console wars... ► Congressman wants to ban "exploitative" loot boxes in games. "Game developers who [knowingly exploit]( children should face legal consequences," Sen. Josh Hawley states in his proposal. ► John Wick video game in the works. The assassin [made famous]( by Keanu Reeves will have a new adventure in Hex. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: The Outsider brings revenge to Western town. The film centers on a railroad worker who must fight a corrupt marshal. [Watch.]( James Cameron congratulates Marvel after Avengers: Endgame overhauls Titanic record. The director tweeted that it took "The Avengers to sink my Titanic," along with a photo depicting a literal interpretation of that. [Photo.]( 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](. New Fox Soars Slimmed-down empire: Fox Corp., the Murdoch family's remaining assets after Disney's deal for most of 21st Century Fox, has Fox News as its financial crown jewel, which bolstered quarterly earnings, Etan Vlessing reports: + The boosts: The cable network division saw revenues rise 4 percent to $1.38 billion, while the TV division, which includes Fox Entertainment, saw revenues jump 20 percent to $1.37 billion, in part due to higher digital sales at Fox News and stronger ratings for daily studio programming at FS1. * Around 90 percent of Fox Corp. consists of the Fox News brand, which includes Fox Business Network, and the stand-alone entity has a focus on TV, live events news and sports. During the latest quarter, Fox Corp. posted higher overall revenues due to raised affiliate and advertising revenue growth from the TV business. + From Lachlan Murdoch: “Our first quarterly results as Fox Corporation demonstrate the strength of our businesses as we delivered strong top line growth across our operating segments and across our key revenue categories. Fox commences as a standalone company with strong assets in unique positions to succeed in the evolving media landscape." [Full story.]( + Fox Corp. won't reunite with News Corp: Fox will consider deals, but only ones that [won't push it]( into areas that get it too far beyond its focus on news, entertainment and sports, the CEO said during Fox's investor day. * No Fox-branded direct-to-consumer service in the works. "Apart from FoxNation, [we see no reason]( for a Fox branded direct-to-consumer offering," COO John Nallen said, adding there would not be a "substantial or profitable future for a Fox family" offering. Elsewhere in TV... ► Univision Q1 earnings fall as Dish dispute hits revenue. The Spanish-language media giant, led by CEO Vince Sadusky, [reported]( a first-quarter profit of $24.3 million, compared with a year-ago profit of $47.4 million. First-quarter revenue from continuing operations declined 8.2 percent to $666.2 million, with core advertising revenue down 8 percent to $606.2 million. ► ABC Studios ink 2 Dope Queens breakout Phoebe Robinson to overall deal. The writer, stand-up comedian and actress will [write and act]( in new projects across multiple platforms for the studio. ► FX, BBC team for star-studded A Christmas Carol miniseries. Set to air in December, the three-part special from Scott Free and Tom Hardy is the first in a series of new takes on classic Charles Dickens novels. Guy Pearce and Andy Serkis [lead the cast](. ► Comedy Central launches in-house studio with roster of overall deals. The Other Two and Broad City duo Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs, Beetlejuice musical writer Anthony King and the producers behind Inside Amy Schumer and Klepper have all inked multiple-year pacts with the Viacom-owned network. [Details.]( ► Anthony Anderson to star in, produce sports-themed rom-com Football or Me. Stuart Ford's AGC Studios is producing and fully financing the feature, [based on]( the hit Argentine comedy El Futbol O Yo. ► Netflix sets Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt interactive special. Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski and Carol Kane [will return]( for the 2020 special. ► Showtime renews Billions. The pickup [arrives]( a month before the season four finale of the Damian Lewis drama. ► Doc on Rep. John Lewis in works at CNN Films. Directed by Dawn Porter (Gideon’s Army), the film [follows]( the Georgia representative and civil rights icon while he campaigned during the 2018 U.S. midterm elections and throughout the first year of the historic 116th Congress. [Quoted:]( "I'll know when it's the end. I'll know when I feel it. And I don't feel that right now, so we'll see how long I go." — Ellen DeGeneres, on possibly ending her talk show. ^Amazon Prime puzzles indie filmmakers: Several emerging filmmakers who relied on Amazon Prime to distribute their work report that their movies have disappeared from the platform without warning from the streamer, which contends it occasionally removes poorly viewed titles, Natalie Jarvey reports: + Develop a following: Streaming residuals are secondary as to what filmmakers lose. Though they can distribute on other platforms, like transactional service Vimeo, they say Prime Video offers the most cache. “Filmmakers want audiences or, if they are career-minded, they want the visibility and discoverability that a platform like Amazon offers,” says indie filmmaker Alejandro Adams, adding, “You can’t convince A-list actors and producers to run off and pay fees to see your films, whereas they absolutely will watch them on Prime.” + Although it has drawn comparisons to YouTube because of its self-distribution focus, Prime Video Direct was not meant to provide unencumbered access to Amazon’s 100 million-plus membership, and Amazon says it regularly assesses the entertainment selections that are available via Prime. Essentially, titles can be booted if they are seldom viewed by its members. [Full story.]( Digital digest... -> "It's time to break up Facebook." Co-founder Chris Hughes contends: "Mark is still the same person I watched hug his parents as they left our dorm’s common room at the beginning of our sophomore year. ... But it’s his very humanity that makes his unchecked power so problematic. Mark’s influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government." [[The New York Times](] ► Roku grows user base to 29 million. The technology company [grew]( revenue by 51 percent to $207 million during the first quarter of the year. Roku, which sells advertising against that audience, grew its platform revenue by 79 percent to $134 million. -> How the Apple Store lost its luster. Mark Gurman and Matthew Townsend report: "It’s become harder to buy something, even when the place isn’t busy. Buying a product there used to be a revered thing, now you don’t want to bother with the inconvenience." [[Bloomberg](] Casting call... ► Hilary Swank to star in Netflix's Jason Katims-Matt Reeves space drama. The Path grad Jessica Goldberg will serve as showrunner on Away, with Ed Zwick [set to direct]( the pilot. ► Ty Burrell joins Amy Poehler's Fox animated series. The Modern Family star will voice the lead character's father in Duncanville, which is [set for]( the 2019-20 season. From the Live Feed... ► Modern Family boss opens up about road to final season (and spinoffs). Steve Levitan spoke to Jean Bentley about his plan for an abbreviated season, whether the season 10 finale could've doubled as a series finale, and what lessons he's taking from other long-running shows that are ending their runs. [Spoilers.]( Coming attractions... Teaser: First teaser for Damon Lindelof's Watchmen arrives. HBO's highly anticipated comic book adaptation will debut this fall. [Watch.]( Cannes History Meet Mati Diop: With her debut feature, Atlantics, accepted into the Cannes Film Festival's lineup, the director's inclusion as the first black female helmer ever in competition marks a significant milestone in the festival's 72-year history, Rebecca Ford reports: + Behind her feature: Diop made her first short film at 22 while also acting and writing. After starring in Claire Denis' 2008 film 35 Shots of Rum, she was encouraged by the French auteur (who has become a bit of a mentor) to dedicate herself to her filmmaking ambitions. To Diop, that meant exploring her roots. "What I really wanted to do was to return to Senegal, to return to my origins and try to reconnect with them," she says. "When I went, I realized that I had arrived at a very particular moment in Senegalese history." + Blaze a trail: "It was sad to learn that in 2019 such a thing had never happened before — there is still a long way to go. If as a young African filmmaker I can represent a minority that still has very little access to that kind of selection, that’s a good thing," she says. "But I’d rather stay a little detached. It was almost as if my smaller story was encountering a much larger story. I really want the film to be taken for what it is, not for what I represent." [Full story.]( What else we're reading... — "Al Franken and Mark Halperin Are Back. Some Accusers Speak Out." Rachel Dodes reports: "The calculus should perhaps involve the nature of the allegations, and what the perpetrators have done to make amends." [[Vanity Fair](] — "Google Struggles to Attract Paying Music Subscribers." Anne Steele reports: "More people listen to music on YouTube than on any other streaming service. ... But the company has struggled to convert those users into paying customers, with a high number bailing out after free trials of its premium tiers." [[The Wall Street Journal](] — "When Pop Culture Pretends to Be Gay." Stéphanie Verge contests: "When celebrity women unleash a campaign of voyeuristic, lesbian titillation, who exactly is it serving?" [[The Walrus](] — "Is There Life After the Alt-Right?" Justin Charity explores, in the wake of social media bans: "Johnson, Jones, and Yiannopoulos haven’t reconfigured themselves in order to reenter the mainstream. They are disavowed, and, more notably, deplatformed. But they nonetheless represent the right’s dominant grievances in the culture wars." [[The Ringer](] — "BoJack Horseman Creator on Writing Surreal Love Stories." Hannah Giorgis talks to Raphael Bob-Waksberg: "I do think overwhelmingly we are told as a culture that that is the happy ending. ... I try to counter that a little bit in my work or suggest that, no, you cannot depend on a person to make you happy." [[The Atlantic](] Last night, on late night... + "Jimmy, Maya Rudolph reminisce about favorite SNL stories." [[Tonight Show](] + "When Bryan Cranston botches a line on Broadway." [[Late Show](] + "Lena Dunham made out with Jared Leto’s head at the Met Gala." [[Late Night](] + "Christina Applegate & Sir Kenneth Branagh remember first cusses." [[Late Late Show](] From the archives... + Today in 1958: Alfred Hitchcock premiered his latest thriller, the San Francisco-set Vertigo, in the city that played host. The film earned to technical nods for the 31st Academy Awards but was ranked No. 9 in AFI's top 100 films list: "Vertigo is performed in the manner expected of all performers in Hitchcock films." [[The New York Times](] Today's birthdays: Noah Centineo, 23, Grace Gummer, 33, Rosario Dawson, 40, Chris Diamantopoulos, 44, J.A. Bayona, 44, Joe Carnahan, 50, Billy Joel, 70, Candice Bergen, 73, James L. Brooks, 79. 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. 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