Sex Trafficking Mars Cannes; Saudis' Movie Kingdom; Muted H'Wood Georgia Backlash; Spielberg's Exit

What's news: Cannes' insidious sex trafficking persists, even in the #MeToo era. Plus: Saudi Arabia is still trying to launch its film industry, Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV leaves CBS' Bull and a look at if labor strikes are upcoming in Hollywood. — Will Robinson May 10, 2019 What's news: Cannes' insidious sex trafficking persists, even in the #MeToo era. Plus: Saudi Arabia is still trying to launch its film industry, Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV leaves CBS' Bull and a look at if labor strikes are upcoming in Hollywood. — Will Robinson ^Sex trafficking mars Cannes' mystique: Each May, young women arrive in the South of France with big-screen ambitions, but even after the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement, their journey to Hollywood often begins with producers promising movie roles and visas in return for sex, Tatiana Siegel reports: + A specific evil: "The casting couch is [a form of] sexual harassment. It's using your position of power to coerce women to get them to agree to engage in sexual activity for a part," says Jeff Herman, an attorney for some #MeToo abuse victims. "You can be morally offended by that and [say it's] ethically wrong, but those are two adults making that decision. "What makes it sex trafficking with regard to Harvey is that he coerced these women using violence, threats, fraud. They basically didn't have a choice." + Warning signs: A producer says it should raise a red flag any time you see a foreign-born actress with no credits suddenly make her way into a U.S.-shot movie. "No one would legitimately pay for the H-1 visa for that kind of role. No way. It costs four or five thousand bucks." Yet it happens with disturbing frequency, with the Cannes Film Festival playing a pivotal role. THR has learned of at least one now-prominent actress who made her first connections on a Cannes yacht and quickly landed her debut role in a U.S.-shot movie. In exchange, she told confidants, she was passed around to a group of Hollywood men, sometimes coerced. Another name actress has a nearly identical trajectory. + The cycle: A source familiar with the inner workings of yacht life says services that pay to bring women to such places are particularly reliant on Eastern Europeans and will groom them in their home countries before moving them to high-profile events. Girls who have received refinement training — so they will blend in at premieres and posh restaurants — typically fetch more for the service. [Full story.]( Has the festival delivered on its 50-50 gender parity pledge? Female representation is up, but fest director Thierry Frémaux has [yet to reveal]( data about its selection process, Rebecca Keegan reports: "There are different excuses each year." Movie Kingdom? Developing industry: Seven months after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi derailed Crown Prince Mohammed  bin  Salman's plan to open up the country — and its $1 billion in potential box office — the kingdom is quietly mounting a comeback, Alex Ritman reports: + Untapped market: As it currently stands, there are still less than 50 screens across the whole of the kingdom. AMC has a solitary one (which one Saudi producer laments "hasn’t even been fitted with proper cinema seats" a year after opening), the rest coming from regional chain Vox, which has theaters in Riyadh and the coastal city of Jeddah, including two IMAX screens. + Governmental red tape: To reorganize matters, the day after the Saudi Film Festival closed in March, Saudi's first-ever Ministry of Culture — under which many will operate — officially launched at a major event in Riyadh. The ministry's formation was, THR has learned, the reason for much of the inactivity, with the council recalibrating itself beneath it. "Saudi Arabia is basically functioning like a startup at the moment," notes a local producer. + Condemned business: "Culture is one of our biggest exports and one of the biggest tools MBS is using to show the world, 'Hey, he's OK,' " says Karen Attiah, Khashoggi's editor at The Washington Post and an outspoken critic of the Saudi regime. "The Trump administration has pretty much sided with him, so I think that's why there's a hope that other nodes of American power — including Hollywood — could assert a bit more and use their leverage. But they're in the business of making money." [Full story.]( Stories on the Croisette... -> How China's "cold winter" could cast a chill over the market. A perfect storm of adverse conditions — the U.S. trade war, censorship and plummeting stock prices — [will lead]( to a noticeably smaller Chinese presence in the south of France, Patrick Brzeski reports. -> This movie is too good to get into the fest. Chinese regulators have prevented One Second, auteur Zhang Yimou's drama about China's Cultural Revolution, from competing at film fests out of fear that it [could actually win](. [Top 25 financiers.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Three production companies say they won't film in Georgia over abortion law. David Simon's Blown Deadline Productions, Killer Films CEO Christine Vachon and Mark Duplass [pledged]( to no longer shoot in the state as long as the law exists: "I must undertake production where the rights of all citizens remain intact." -> Muted reaction shows how much studios have to lose. "The state hosted 15 of the 100 highest-grossing domestic films in 2017 and 17 of the top 100 in 2016. ... Georgia has significant infrastructure in place to support filmmaking, with 60 soundstages and 1.2 million square feet of stage space." [[Los Angeles Times](] ► British Film Institute CEO Amanda Nevill to step down. Nevill had been in the position since 2003, the first female in the position, and [transformed]( it into the U.K.'s lead organization for film, TV and the moving image and, in 2012, took on a new expanded remit as the U.K.’s National Lottery distributor for film ► Viacom film unit earnings rise amid box office gains. Theatrical releases in the latest quarter included What Men Want and Wonder Park, with spillover from the late 2018 release of Bumblebee. The company, led by CEO Bob Bakish, [posted]( adjusted earnings of $383 million, or 95 cents per share, compared with $371 million, or 92 cents a share, in the year-ago period. ► MPAA promotes Gail MacKinnon to oversee global policy. The executive will have [oversight]( of international advocacy and policy, including in the Asia Pacific and European regions. Box office preview... ► Can Detective Pikachu dethrone Avengers: Endgame? The MCU tentpole is looking to pick up $75 million at the domestic box office in its third weekend. Meanwhile, Legendary's new offering eyes $55 million-$60 million. [Weekend sneak peek.]( ► Godzilla tracking for $50M debut, as Rocketman looks to blast off with $25M. Taron Egerton stars as Elton John in the biopic, while Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown leads the monster movie sequel. [Post-Memorial Day window.]( Deals and developments... ► Brit music doc sensation Bros: After the Screaming Stops secures U.S. release. The film — charting the rise and fall of pop star twins Luke and Matt Goss — became a meme-friendly, word-of-mouth phenomenon in the U.K. over the festive season. It'll [hit]( VOD services May 28. Casting call... ► Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield to play televangelists in biopic. The Fox Searchlight project about Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker will be [directed]( by The Big Sick director Michael Showalter. ► Liam Neeson to star in action thriller The Minuteman. Voltage Pictures [will shop]( director Robert Lorenz's film about a Vietnam veteran caring for a young boy being chased by a cartel in Cannes. ► Kristen Stewart, Tom Glynn-Carney to star in Ben Foster's directorial debut. The untitled movie [will adapt]( William Burroughs' early writings, with Foster and Oren Moverman penning the screenplay about a love triangle. ► Andi Mack star to lead Disney+ movie Second Born Royals. Peyton Elizabeth Lee [will play]( a contemporary princess in the project for the forthcoming streaming service. Latest reviews... ► STX Entertainment's Poms. "It lands as voyeuristic condescension and flattens the presumably full lives of women elders [with a top-notch cast] into hollow inspiration fodder," Beandrea July pans. [Full review.]( * What critics are saying. Far from the golden years: The pic has 26 percent on [Rotten Tomatoes]( and a 35 on [Metacritic](. ► MGM's The Hustle. "[The film] is a beat-for-beat [Dirty Rotten Scoundrels] copy in which plot points are slavishly reproduced, almost never varying from the last iteration unless technological advances or the changed gender of the protagonists requires it," John DeFore maligns. [Full review.]( * What critics are saying. Another critical dud: 11 percent on [Rotten Tomatoes]( and 36 on [Metacritic](. Legal briefs... ► Michael Jackson's final days to be explored at trial beginning next week. A lawsuit brought seven years ago by the singer's mysterious ex-manager, Tohme Tohme, finally gets tested at trial. [Family set to testify.]( And the nominees are... ► A Star Is Born, Roma, Us lead Golden Trailer Awards noms. Rocketman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and both picked up nominations before their debuts at the Cannes Film Festival. [Other contenders.]( From the stage... ► To Kill a Mockingbird becomes top-grossing American play in Broadway history: Producer Scott Rudin and playwright Aaron Sorkin's blockbuster stage adaptation of the 1960 Harper Lee novel about racial injustice in the Jim Crow-era Deep South has [surpassed]( $40 million in just 27 weeks. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: First It: Chapter Two look brings back Pennywise. The sequel to the 2017 Stephen King adaptation opens Sept. 6. [Watch.]( ► Trailer: Renee Zellweger transforms into Judy Garland in biopic. The Roadside Attractions film Judy — which explores the final days of the late actress' life — is set to hit theaters this fall. [Watch.]( ► Trailer: Hilary Swank battles autonomous robots in I Am Mother. Clara Rugaard and Rose Byrne, as the voice of the robot "Mother," also star in the Netflix thriller about the relationship between humans and machines, directed by Grant Sputore and Michael Lloyd Green. [Watch.]( Inside Steve Golin's celebration of life service with Laura Dern, Alejandro González Iñárritu. David Lynch, Sam Esmail and Laurene Powell Jobs [also heard]( tributes from family and colleagues of the Oscar-winning producer at the Wilshire Ebell on April 30, where Beck performed. 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](. Labor Strikes Coming? Labor unrest: It has been more than half a century since actors and writers simultaneously staged walkouts, but the current fight between the guild and the ATA could domino into a summer 2020 sequel, Jonathan Handel reports: + Ticking time bomb?: The two guilds' contracts expire within two months of each other next year at a time when legacy studios — desperate to compete with digital media companies — are content-hungry and particularly vulnerable to a work stoppage. As the mid-2020 contract expirations approach, the stars are aligned for an even bigger fight that could involve side deals with streamers and a crushing blow to the guilds' traditional adversaries. + Digital workaround?: The legacy studios' services can't take on Netflix without quality content (beyond their legacy libraries), which makes them even more vulnerable to a strike. And they're bound together in the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a bargaining unit consisting solely of traditional media companies. There's nothing to prevent Netflix or other streamers from making a side deal with the WGA or SAG-AFTRA on terms more favorable for labor than the AMPTP would be willing to offer. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV leaves CBS' Bull over harassment scandal. Spielberg's company [walks away]( from the recently renewed show months after the network paid $9.5 million to settle claims against lead Michael Weatherly. ► Fox launching unscripted studio with The Masked Singer. Fox Alternative Entertainment [will give]( the newly independent broadcast network a way to control production and stronger ownership over its in-house shows going forward. -> Fox News CEO touts digital expansion beyond streaming service. "We find our audiences are [ravenous]( for our content, anywhere and everywhere we can provide it," CEO Suzanne Scott told investors during Fox Corp's investor day. "We believe the power of now and the power of live will drive the success of Fox News going forward." ► Tribune Media earnings driven by retransmission, carriage fee gains. The company says it remains [on-track to close]( its sale to Nexstar late in the third quarter. During the first quarter, earnings reached $113.2 million, or $1.27 per share, compared with $141.2 million, or $1.60 a share, in the same period of 2018. ► Viacom charging less for channels. "The rate reductions signal that Viacom is in a weaker bargaining position after years of sinking ratings at its cable networks. But [CEO Bob Bakish] is betting the company can make up the gap from lower carriage fees in part by distributing its content on other platforms." [[The Wall Street Journal](] ► TBS cancels Angie Tribeca. The comedy starring Rashida Jones [will not return]( for a fifth season. The future of TBS' scripted originals remain under the microscope as new parent company WarnerMedia plans to launch its streaming platform. ► Power to end with season six on Starz. The drama will say farewell with an extended 15-episode run, returning Aug. 25, as spinoffs are [in the works]( from creator and showrunner Courtney A. Kemp. Deals and developments... ► Netflix inks first-look deal with Umbrella Academy publisher Dark Horse. The two recently [worked together]( on Mads Mikkelsen-starrer Polar. ► Netflix signs exclusive deal with House of Flowers creator. Mexico's Manolo Caro [will develop]( TV content for the streamer. ► StoryBots creators to expand children's franchise under Netflix overall deal. The streamer has [acquired]( the preschool-focused animated franchise from JibJab and signed co-creators Evan and Gregg Spiridellis to an exclusive pact. ► Adult Swim greenlights Harvey Birdman spinoff with Paget Brewster. The Criminal Minds actress [will star]( in Birdgirl after playing the character on the parent show numerous times. Casting call... ► ABC's All in the Family-Jeffersons live event adds to star-packed cast. Anthony Anderson, Amber Stevens West, Ike Barinholtz and Sean Hayes are among those who have [signed on]( to the restaging of Norman Lear's classic sitcoms. ^New fight starts: A judge's May 2 decision to wipe out $128 million in punitive damages is big, but it won't be the last word in the Bones legal fracas, Eriq Gardner reports: + What's next: The Bones dispute now heads to a California appeals court, where three judges rather than one will look at the controversy. The parties will reprise familiar arguments. If anything is different at this new phase of the fight, it could be a greater emphasis on the issue of whether it's legally permissible to contract around a fraud. * Who's favored?: Now that both sides have experienced successes and setbacks in this legal fight, there's always the possibility that rather than risk an all-or-nothing $128 million ruling, the parties will settle somewhere in the middle. But common ground will be difficult to find given the amount of money at play. What's more, both sides have reason to maintain confidence after groundbreaking decisions. The dispute will be reviewed de novo, basically meaning with fresh eyes. [Full story.]( New slates... ► Fox first foray as indie broadcaster orders up four dramas, two comedies. Deputy, Next, Prodigal Son and Sisters join the animated comedy The Great North and the multicamera comedy Outmatched at the Charlie Collier-run network. [Details.]( ► Dick Wolf, Chuck Lorre, Patricia Heaton series among seven CBS pickups. The Good Fight creators Robert and Michelle King also score a pickup for Evil, which joins FBI: Most Wanted and All Rise on the drama side and the comedies Bob Hearts Abishola, Broke, Carol's Second Act and The Unicorn. [Also on tap.]( Other upfronts orders... -> CBS [renews]( six dramas, including Bull, Madam Secretary... ABC [orders]( Cobie Smulders private-eye drama to series, axes Shondaland's For the People... Scott Wolf [replaces]( Freddie Prinze Jr. in CW's Nancy Drew... NBC [orders]( Paul Feig musical dramedy Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist to series. Digital digest... -> How Sling makes its money. Jason Gurwin explores the streamer's success: "While other services have competed to add more and more local affiliates, Sling TV has pushed subscribers to get them OTA. ... That's because the price of broadcast channels keeps going up every year, reaching about $10-15 per subscriber." [[The Streamable](] ► Meek Mill to produce DAZN doc about U.K. boxer Anthony Joshua. The film, produced by Jay Z's Roc Nation, [will follow]( Anthony's training for the June 1 fight against Andy Ruiz Jr. -> How platforms endear themselves to sports leagues. Sahil Patel details: "There are more publishers than sports leagues in the world, and therefore it makes sense that 'news partnerships' teams at these platforms would be stretched thin relative to their counterparts on the 'sports partnerships' team." [[Digiday](] ^Telling her story: The Good Place actress and activist Jameela Jamil was featured on Emerging Hollywood, a new interview series hosted by Charlamagne tha God, where they discussed her calling out other women for oppressive beauty standards, how the entertainment industry perpetuates those and her upbringing. [Watch.]( Around town... ► LAPD makes arrest in 1985 Hollywood cold case murder of TV director. The 57-year-old victim Barry Crane was a well-known director and producer of such TV shows as The Incredible Hulk, Dallas and Wonder Woman. Edwin Hiatt, now 52, was [taken into custody]( in North Carolina by the FBI Fugitive Task Force after detectives with LAPD said they identified him as Crane's killer through DNA evidence. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: Russell Crowe channels Roger Ailes in Showtime's Loudest Voice. The full-length trailer for the limited series also spotlights Naomi Watts as former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson. [Watch.]( Conan O'Brien joke theft lawsuit settled before trial. Alex Kaseberg [alleged]( that Conan writers took material posted in tweets and on his blog. The terms of the settlement haven't been revealed. Capturing Black Culture Celebrating "black joy and dignity": A longtime fan and onetime subject of NFL-pro-turned-renowned-painter Ernie Barnes, columnist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores the "revelation and inspiration" of the late artist's new exhibit at Los Angeles' California African American Museum — "a testament to an artist who gave his people a voice": Every time the theme song for Good Times blasted from my TV, The Sugar Shack would appear — serving as a symbol of what the show itself stood for: average black people celebrating the sensual pleasures of music and dance and one another's company. Barnes' style, which carries through many of his other works, is on display here: Men are mostly skinny, bald and boneless, seeming to flap like those balloon stick figures waving in the wind at car dealerships. Women are wide-hipped with muscled legs planted to the ground like trees. This extensive collection is a revelation and inspiration — a testament to an artist who gave voice to his people and oh, what a mighty voice it is. [Full column.]( What else we're reading... — "Even Astronauts Binge-Watch TV While in Space." Marina Koren looks to the stars: "Astronauts watch all kinds of entertainment on the ISS, from TV shows and films to sporting events and cable news, usually on their laptops. ... On Saturday nights, the crew might watch a movie together on a 65-inch screen." [[The Atlantic](] — "What Happens When Christian Movies Go Mainstream?" Alison Willmore explores: "2019 feels poised to be a pivotal year for the faith-based industry — and not just because of the expansionist plans of the Erwins, whose Kingdom Studios rollout won't start until 2020." [[BuzzFeed News](] — "Louis C.K. Is Trying to Outlaw Leaks. Can He Do That?" Reggie Ugwu examines: "[B]y seeking to prohibit not only recording but all reproduction of his jokes, 'in whole or in part,' in any medium, he is pushing the demand for discretion to a new extreme." [[The New York Times](] — "Christopher Abbott Isn’t Working by the Book." Evan Roman talks to the Girls grad and Catch-22 star — George Clooney: "He has a unique quality that makes you root for him. That’s not something that can be learned—either you have it or you don’t. And he has it." [[Vanity Fair](] — "Imogen Heap Is Building Tech to Change the Music Industry." John Jurgensen reports: "Called Creative Passport, it will provide verified, searchable profiles where musicians can collect and control their data—from biographies and detailed song credits, to information about publisher and record label representation—and, eventually, feed information to [music platforms]." [[The Wall Street Journal](] Last night, on late night... + "Tom Holland & Zendaya have a fierce air hockey rivalry." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] + "Which Veep actor has the dirtiest mouth off-camera?" [[Late Show](] + "Dr. Ruth Westheimer survived the Holocaust." [[Late Night](] From the archives... + Today in 1996: Warner Bros. unveiled the Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton disaster thriller Twister in theaters. The film went on to nab two Oscar nominations, for sound and visual effects: "While the special effects are clearly the star of this masterwork, the storyline itself, although predictable, is crisp and full of heart." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Odette Annable, 34, Kenan Thompson, 41, David Mackenzie, 53, Rich Moore, 56, Bono, 59, Marion Ramsey, 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 10, 2019