'Hobbs & Shaw' $60M?; Biden 'Piñata'; UTA’s Sports Play; '13 Reasons' To End; Producer’s Quest to ‘Live Forever’

What's news: Hobbs & Shaw is poised to have a big weekend, Joe Biden was the "piñata" at night two of CNN's Democratic primary debate, can LeBron James' agent boost UTA's sports division? 13 Reasons Why gets one last season. Plus: A.J. Calloway is out at Extra, and Woodstock 50 is officially canceled. --Alex Weprin August 01, 2019 What's news: Hobbs & Shaw is poised to have a big weekend, Joe Biden was the "piñata" at night two of CNN's Democratic primary debate, can LeBron James' agent boost UTA's sports division? 13 Reasons Why gets one last season. Plus: A.J. Calloway is out at Extra, and Woodstock 50 is officially canceled. --Alex Weprin How Big Will 'Hobbs & Shaw' Open? Universal's "Hobbs & Shaw" appears poised to keep the momentum going at the box office, and reaffirm the value of big-budget cinematic franchises. ►The Fast & Furious spinoff is tracking for a $60-$65 million domestic debut weekend, with worldwide gross expected to be just shy of $200 million. As Pamela McClintock notes, "The high-octane series is an especially big draw overseas." The film will open in China on Aug. 23. The Fast & Furious franchise is Universal's biggest, having brought in nearly $5 billion in ticket sales at the global box office since 2001's The Fast and the Furious. [The story](. +What's next for the franchise? Borys Kit talks to Chris Morgan, who has penned every Fast & Furious film since 2006's The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Morgan suggests that the Fast & Furious cinematic universe could expand to NBCUniversal's upcoming streaming service. "It's been a major focus for the studio to expand the universe, and that would mean this spinoff was the first chance to widen the Fast world," he says. [The interview](. +Hobbs & Shaw review. The offshoot of the Fast & Furious franchise is a "gigantic, sometimes rollicking and enjoyably absurd venture," Todd McCarthy writes. "The film's highly elaborate physical scenes and innumerable effects reflect the money said to have been spent, and they mostly pay off in action that's both visceral and amusing." [The review](. +What the other critics are saying: Entertainment Weekly ‘s Leah Greenblatt [describes]( the screenplay as “necessary nonsense.”... For Rolling Stone, Peter Travers [writes that](the ninth chapter in the Furious series is “more deserving of a road test than a review.”... Time's Stephanie Zacharek [writes that]( the action sequences can become “so elaborate that they start to weigh the movie down.” [The roundup](. Night two of CNN's Democratic primary debate included former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris, whose exchange in the first debate in June dominated the conversation. Indeed, the first storyline from Wednesday's debate was Biden's "go easy on me, kid" [greeting]( to Harris before the debate began. ►Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez told THR's Jeremy Barr, who is reporting from Detroit, that the Committee was happy with CNN's stewardship of the debate. "They talked about hand size when they were here four years ago, the Republicans," he said. "We didn't talk about that. We talked about all the important issues." [More](. +In his critic's notebook, Frank Scheck [writes that]( Biden was clearly positioned as the front-runner. "The former vice-president was placed in the center of the ten-person line-up, which made it all the easier for everyone to train their weapons on him. If his presidential race doesn't work out, he could make an excellent living as a piñata." +Also: Protestors [interrupted]( New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Senator Cory Booker's opening remarks... Booker used the word "s***hole" in a heated exchange over immigration policy. The comment [went uncensored](... Biden and Harris [had a few]( memorable exchanges, though none as memorable as the exchange over busing from the first debate... Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was the [most-searched]( for candidate on Google following the debate... +Tuesday night's debate delivered strong ratings for CNN, with 8.7 million viewers tuning in, but the numbers were down sharply--43%--from the first Democratic debate hosted by NBC News in June. The NBC debate aired cross three networks, including the NBC broadcast network, making it a not quite apples-to-apples comparison. CNN's Oct. 2015 Democratic primary debate drew more than 15 million viewers. [The numbers](. The day in deals: Actor Elijah Wood, through his SpectreVision banner, [has inked]( a first-look pact with Legendary Television... ICM Partners and Good Charlotte co-founder Joel Madden [are developing]( an A&R-style partnership to help the agency identify and develop emerging artists and music-related brands... ►Craig Mazin drops out of WGA election. Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin, who was challenging incumbent Marjorie David in the upcoming Writer's Guild of America West elections, has dropped out, citing a family medical issue. Mazin has been critical of the WGA's approach to negotiations with the talent agencies. [The details](. Casting roundup: Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver [is joining]( the feature the adaptation of best-seller Penguin Bloom... James Russo [has joined]( Sean Penn's next directorial venture, Flag Day... Elsewhere in film... --Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel [is buying]( a $35 million mansion in Bel Air. --The Japanese government's Cool Japan Fund [has invested]( $30 million in U.S. anime distributor Sentai. --Japan's Rakuten and The H Collective [will form]( a joint movie production company in Japan, to be known as Rakuten H Collective Studio. UTA's Big Bet On Rich Paul Will LeBron's agent boost UTA's sports division? Marisa Guthrie profiles Rich Paul, the founder of Klutch Sports Group, and the newly-minted head of UTA Sports. With the sports business booming, and athletes increasingly becoming content creators, agencies are seeking to secure a larger piece of the pie. +The opportunity: With UTA, Klutch will be able to offer its non-LeBron players similarly synergistic opportunities in TV, film, publishing, speaking and podcasting. +The business: "The deal gives UTA an on-court business to the tune of $1 billion in contract value as well as instant credibility in athlete representation at a time when star players — unshackled by unwritten constraints of the past and exercising their social media-powered branding prowess — are increasingly in-demand." [The story](. ►Hulu development shakeup: Now that it has full operational control, Disney is changing Hulu's organizational structure. Hulu's scripted originals team is being integrated into Walt Disney Television, with senior vp Craig Erwich now reporting to Disney TV Studios and ABC Entertainment chairman Dana Walden. [More](. +Revolving door: James Wan [will direct]( an untitled original horror film later this year... Jeff Blackburn, head of Amazon’s entertainment, business development and advertising businesses and a top advisor to Jeff Bezos, [is taking]( a year-long sabbatical... ABC's Claudia Lyon [is the new head]( of talent and casting for CBS... CAA Global CEO Steve Hasker [is leaving]( for a senior advisory role at parent company TPG... ^13 Reasons Why has been picked up for a fourth--and final--season at Netflix. The controversial series will premiere its third season on the streaming service Aug. 23, Lesley Goldberg writes. "Sources say Netflix is prone to redistributing financial resources to new series as those tend to bring in more subscribers than veteran shows." [More](. +Pickups and cancelations: Showtime has given a [straight-to-series order]( for a drama series called Rust, with Jeff Daniels attached to star and executive produce... The Aug. 22 season-four finale of the FX comedy Baskets [will also]( be the show's series finale... Quibi [has picked up]( The Last American Vampire, a project that was developed at NBC last year... Tyler Perry [has announced]( his second series for the conglomerate's BET: dramatic comedy Sistas... ►No Governor's Award at this year's Emmys. For the first time in a quarter century, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards nominating committee chose not to recommend an honoree to its board of governors. It's only the second time since the award's inception in 1978 that it will not be presented, the last time being in 1994. [More](. +The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave away $3.8 million in scholarships and grants to 74 entertainment-related nonprofits at its annual grants banquet Wednesday night at the Beverly Wilshire. Scott Feinberg and Tara Bitran have the report from the room. "In addition to being journalists, most of us are immigrants," HFPA president Lorenzo Soria said of the organization's members, adding to cheers, "and not going back!" [The story.]( Earnings roundup: Mobile game developer Zynga [reported]( a massive year-over-year increase in revenue — $306 million, a 43 percent bump — for its second quarter of 2019... Telecom giant Verizon on Thursday [reported that]( it lost 52,000 net pay TV subscribers for its Fios video service in the second quarter... In other news... --Daniel Fienberg [reviews]( HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show. --MGM TV [is teaming]( with digital entertainment startup Brat to create programming for YA audiences. --The founder of the popular entertainment blog Just Jared [has launched a new career]( as a Hollywood stylist. --The creator of Jane the Virgin [explains]( the show's "fairytale" series finale. --Rockstar Games says its online "Casino" update [is the biggest]( since the show's launch in 2013. 'Extra' Shakeup ►A.J. Calloway is out at Extra. The host, who had been with the entertainment show for 14 years, was suspended in February as rape allegations were made against him. In a statement, Warner Bros. told Kim Masters that “the company has investigated the claims made into Mr. Calloway’s conduct and he and the company have mutually agreed to part ways.” [More](. Broadcasters sue Locast streaming service. ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox have filed a copyright suit against the streaming app, claiming that despite its status as a non-profit, "Locast is not the Robin Hood of television; instead, Locast’s founding, funding, and operations reveal its decidedly commercial purposes." [The story](. +Some context: When Locast launched a year and a half ago, Goodfriend told reporters that he was hoping for and indeed expecting a lawsuit, believing that the service had found a legal way to operate based on an exemption in the 1976 Copyright Act. In a conference call earlier this year, Goodfriend said that the service was nearing 100,000 subscribers, but that it was in urgent need of cash to stay afloat. "We need some corporate contributions and we need them soon," he said. In June, AT&T donated $500,000 to Locast, shortly after adding its app to DirecTV and Uverse boxes. +In other legal news: Woody Allen's $68 million lawsuit against Amazon for terminating his lucrative film deal has taken a hit. On Wednesday, a judge dismissed several of the filmmaker's claims. [More](. ►Woodstock 50 has been officially canceled. The troubled music festival had, in the words of its organizers, "a series of unforeseen setbacks" that left it without a venue. A last-ditch effort to hold a smaller event at the Merriweather Pavilion in Maryland also fell through. [More](. +Here's the tick-tock explaining what went wrong: "When the festival began considering a move to Maryland, it began a domino effect of artists pulling out and the scope shrinking before it was canceled once and for all." [More](. ^From the magazine: THR contributing editor and film and TV producer Gavin Polone writes about his "humble quest to live forever." Quote: "At 55, my program for health maintenance was working … as far as I could tell. It was the question of what I couldn't tell — the unknown possibility of a 'by the time they caught it, it was too late' condition — that brought me to this accounting of my health balance sheet at 5:35 a.m. on the 5 Freeway, driving to the high-tech health assessment company, Health Nucleus, in San Diego." [The column](. +Also: [A guide]( to Quentin Tarantino’s L.A. secrets in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Obituaries: [Nick Buoniconti](, who helped lead the Miami Dolphins to the NFL's only perfect season before spending 23 years on the HBO program Inside the NFL, has died. He was 78... [Harold "Hal" Prince](, the masterful producer and director who served as the driving force behind such acclaimed Broadway musicals as Damn Yankees, West Side Story, Cabaret and Sweeney Todd, has died. He was 91... [Phil Hymes](, the longtime lighting director for Saturday Night Live who began with the show in its inaugural 1975-76 season and won Emmy Awards 53 years apart, has died at age 96... What else we're reading... --"Imagine founders, with eye on legacy, embrace streaming era" [[NY Times](] --"Facebook approached Netflix, Disney to support TV chat device" [[The Information](] --"Where everyone’s an influencer." Inside Instagrams "Instabeach" party. [[The Atlantic](] --"Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein partied together. Then an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion came between them." [[Washington Post](] From the archives... On August 1, 1973, George Lucas brought his nostalgic film American Graffiti to the big screen at the Avco Cinema Center in Los Angeles. [The Hollywood Reporter's original review](. Today's birthdays: Jason Momoa, 41, Chuck D, 59, Coolio, 56, David Wain, 50, Sam Mendes, 54, Steve Schirripa, 62. Thanks for reading! Please send me feedback, tips, and suggestions so that I can help make Today In Entertainment more useful to you. You can email me at Alex.Weprin@THR.com. 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]( August 1, 2019