D23 Day; 'Tone Deaf' Venice; Spicer Backlash; Mogul Self-Sabotage; Taylor Swift's 'Safe' Album

What's news: D23 kicks off today, the "completely tone deaf" Venice Film Festival, the Sean Spicer backlash continues, Taylor Swift drops her new album, Hasbro makes a $4 billion bet on entertainment. Plus: Stephen Galloway on self-sabotaging media moguls. --Alex Weprin [The Hollywood Reporter]( [The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment AUGUST 23, 2019 What's news: D23 kicks off today, the "completely tone deaf" Venice Film Festival, the Sean Spicer backlash continues, Taylor Swift drops her new album, Hasbro makes a $4 billion bet on entertainment. Plus: Stephen Galloway on self-sabotaging media moguls. --Alex Weprin What's news: D23 kicks off today, the "completely tone deaf" Venice Film Festival, the Sean Spicer backlash continues, Taylor Swift drops her new album, Hasbro makes a $4 billion bet on entertainment. Plus: Stephen Galloway on self-sabotaging media moguls. --Alex Weprin [Disney's D23 Kicks Off] Disney's D23 Kicks Off Today is day one of Disney's D23 Expo. Aaron Couch emails with a preview... "D23 kicks off in Anaheim today and runs through the weekend. It's getting an extra boost this year thanks to Disney+ and the Disney-Fox merger. A look at the two main panels that matter… Friday, Disney+ (3:30 – 5 p.m.): The trailer for the Star Wars series The Mandalorian is expected, as is a first-look at Tessa Thompson's Lady & The Tramp remake, the High School Musical series and Marvel Studios' shows. Saturday, Walt Disney Studios (10 a.m. – noon): Marvel and Star Wars will surely have a presence (Black Widow footage and a Rise of Skywalker trailer?). What about Avatar 2? The public has never seen footage from James Cameron's sequel. The other lingering question: Marvel's Kevin Feige unveiled an ambitious post-Endgame slate at Comic-Con last month, but teased he didn’t have time to talk about a number of things in the works. Will he bring word of the X-Men or Fantastic Four to D23? Disney is embroiled in a few controversies with Mulan and its high-profile Sony/Spider-Man split, but it’s unlikely either of those will spill into the slickly produced, tightly controlled event…unless Jeremy Renner [shows up]( to make a #SaveSpiderMan joke." You can see the full agenda, [here](, and can follow THR's coverage, [here](. +How the Sony-Marvel Spider-Man split shows "the ugly side of fandom." Richard Newby writes that "Battle lines have been drawn on social media, and by way of willful ignorance on the parts of adults online behaving like children, Sony has been made the bad guy for refusing to give up its asset." [More](. Revolving door, part one: Tim Connolly, who joined Quibi at the end of 2018 as head of partnerships and distribution, [has left]( the company... Oscar-winning cinematographer John Toll is[in negotiations]( to shoot the new Matrix movie... AMC Entertainment[laid off](35 corporate staffers and will not fill an additional 15 jobs that had been open, the result of a restructuring... Sony's Uncharted movie is in search of a director once again, as 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg [has exited]( the project... ^The Sean Spicer backlash continues. While Spicer [told THR]( yesterday that he hopes the new season of Dancing with the Stars "will be a politics-free zone," ABC is now having to contend with open criticism from inside its house. Thursday evening Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff tweeted that she "deeply abhor[s]" the decision to include the former White House press secretary in the show's 28th season. She also tagged Disney CEO Robert Iger in her plea to reconsider the decision, writing that "This man lied daily, to our faces" and "It's not too late to change this plan." [More](. +Meanwhile, Omarosa Manigault Newman tells Jeremy Barr that she believes President Trump will try to help Spicer win via Twitter. "He'll see this as people voting for or against him, which is why he'll insert himself into the process," she said just minutes before the president tweeted that Spicer "will do great" on the dance competition show. [More](. ►WWE is jumping into the podcast ring. The media and entertainment company has struck a deal with Endeavor Audio to create a podcast network that will feature several series focused on its superstar wrestlers. Additional details about the podcast lineup will be announced at a later date. The company already works with Endeavor's streaming unit to power the WWE Network. [More](. Elsewhere in TV... --HBO's Ballers, starring Dwayne Johnson, [will end]( after its upcoming fifth season. --Here's a [first look]( at Paul Rudd's dual roles in the Netflix comedy Living With Yourself. --Access Hollywood [will become]( a live nightly show when its 24th season debuts in September. The syndicated newsmagazine is also adding a companion series called All Access that will focus on stories outside the entertainment business. --Daniel Fienberg files [a critic's notebook](: The end of Baskets and the struggle of loving niche TV. Disney's D23 Kicks Off Today is day one of Disney's D23 Expo. Aaron Couch emails with a preview... "D23 kicks off in Anaheim today and runs through the weekend. It's getting an extra boost this year thanks to Disney+ and the Disney-Fox merger. A look at the two main panels that matter… Friday, Disney+ (3:30 – 5 p.m.): The trailer for the Star Wars series The Mandalorian is expected, as is a first-look at Tessa Thompson's Lady & The Tramp remake, the High School Musical series and Marvel Studios' shows. Saturday, Walt Disney Studios (10 a.m. – noon): Marvel and Star Wars will surely have a presence (Black Widow footage and a Rise of Skywalker trailer?). What about Avatar 2? The public has never seen footage from James Cameron's sequel. The other lingering question: Marvel's Kevin Feige unveiled an ambitious post-Endgame slate at Comic-Con last month, but teased he didn’t have time to talk about a number of things in the works. Will he bring word of the X-Men or Fantastic Four to D23? Disney is embroiled in a few controversies with Mulan and its high-profile Sony/Spider-Man split, but it’s unlikely either of those will spill into the slickly produced, tightly controlled event…unless Jeremy Renner [shows up]( to make a #SaveSpiderMan joke." You can see the full agenda, [here](, and can follow THR's coverage, [here](. +How the Sony-Marvel Spider-Man split shows "the ugly side of fandom." Richard Newby writes that "Battle lines have been drawn on social media, and by way of willful ignorance on the parts of adults online behaving like children, Sony has been made the bad guy for refusing to give up its asset." [More](. Revolving door, part one: Tim Connolly, who joined Quibi at the end of 2018 as head of partnerships and distribution, [has left]( the company... Oscar-winning cinematographer John Toll is[in negotiations]( to shoot the new Matrix movie... AMC Entertainment[laid off](35 corporate staffers and will not fill an additional 15 jobs that had been open, the result of a restructuring... Sony's Uncharted movie is in search of a director once again, as 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg [has exited]( the project... ^The Sean Spicer backlash continues. While Spicer [told THR]( yesterday that he hopes the new season of Dancing with the Stars "will be a politics-free zone," ABC is now having to contend with open criticism from inside its house. Thursday evening Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff tweeted that she "deeply abhor[s]" the decision to include the former White House press secretary in the show's 28th season. She also tagged Disney CEO Robert Iger in her plea to reconsider the decision, writing that "This man lied daily, to our faces" and "It's not too late to change this plan." [More](. +Meanwhile, Omarosa Manigault Newman tells Jeremy Barr that she believes President Trump will try to help Spicer win via Twitter. "He'll see this as people voting for or against him, which is why he'll insert himself into the process," she said just minutes before the president tweeted that Spicer "will do great" on the dance competition show. [More](. ►WWE is jumping into the podcast ring. The media and entertainment company has struck a deal with Endeavor Audio to create a podcast network that will feature several series focused on its superstar wrestlers. Additional details about the podcast lineup will be announced at a later date. The company already works with Endeavor's streaming unit to power the WWE Network. [More](. Elsewhere in TV... --HBO's Ballers, starring Dwayne Johnson, [will end]( after its upcoming fifth season. --Here's a [first look]( at Paul Rudd's dual roles in the Netflix comedy Living With Yourself. --Access Hollywood [will become]( a live nightly show when its 24th season debuts in September. The syndicated newsmagazine is also adding a companion series called All Access that will focus on stories outside the entertainment business. --Daniel Fienberg files [a critic's notebook](: The end of Baskets and the struggle of loving niche TV. [The 'Tone Deaf' Venice Film Festival] The 'Tone Deaf' Venice Film Festival Who's afraid of poor optics? Apparently, not the Venice Film Festival. Tatiana Siegel and Scott Roxborough write that one year after signing a gender-parity pledge as #MeToo and Time's Up concerns swept the film industry, the festival has raised eyebrows with a series of moves that are being met with condemnation. Quote: "First, fest director Alberto Barbera drew fire by inviting Roman Polanski to premiere his latest film, An Officer and a Spy, in competition at this year's edition. He then upped the ante by adding Nate Parker's American Skin to the official lineup, in the (noncompetitive) Sconfini section... All the while, Venice continued to show little welcome to female directors, selecting only two for its 21-film competition roster this year." [The story](. +Is the festival still worth it for studios? Scott Roxborough and Pamela McClintock report that it can cost upwards of $800,000 to launch a title in Venice, on par with Cannes. "Insiders wonder how much bang they really get for their buck (or euro)." [More](. +The eight most anticipated premieres: David Rooney runs down the list of the hot films and possible awards contenders debuting at this year's festival, including Brad Pitt's Ad Astra, and Alex Gibney's Citizen K. [The list](. ►Taylor Swift "plays it safe" with her new album Lover. In a critic's notebook, Jonny Coleman writes that "While Lover feels like more quantity over quality and doesn't deliver any show-stopping moments, it should hopefully come at the right time to soundtrack back to school for the Swifties around the world." [The review](. +Taylor Swift on Thursday [released the music video]( for the title track off of her upcoming album Lover. ^Why do Hollywood moguls keep sabotaging themselves? Stephen Galloway finds that Hollywood has a long history of people making it to the top, only to do something — whether harassing an employee, embezzling cash, or some other act — to torpedo their careers. Quote: "Some call this the arrogance of power. I’d argue the opposite: These men’s very doubts about their power contributed to their demise. The more power Hollywood’s alpha males have, the more they feel its absence. The greater their authority, the less authority they believe they possess." [The column](. The day in deals: Saban Films [has acquired](the North American rights to thriller mystery Death of Me, starring Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth... Fox Searchlight Pictures [has acquired]( the North American rights to Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield, starring Dev Patel... Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment Group [has launched]( a new Asian division, with a Paul Feig TV comedy among the first projects... Lionsgate [has acquired]( the North American and key international rights to Fatale, starring Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy... ►Hustlers looks to give STX a box office win. Lorene Scafaria's star-studded, female-led drama is tracking for a strong $24 million debut at the U.S. box office, according to those with access to the surveys. The movie stars Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer, Cardi B and Lizzo. Hustlers hits theaters on Sept. 13, following its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. [More](. ►Another big number for The Lion King. The Jon Favreau-directed movie leapt past the $500 million mark at the North American box office on Wednesday, becoming only the second release of 2019 to do so behind fellow Disney blockbuster Avengers: Endgame. Globally, Lion King is already a member of billion-dollar club, amassing $1.46 billion to date in global ticket sales. [More](. Elsewhere in film... --Miley Cyrus says she was [let go]( from the animated movie Hotel Transylvania due to a lewd birthday cake. --Postproduction business Company 3 [has acquired]( the New York-based firm Sixteen19. --Warner Bros. Pictures released[the first trailer](for Edward Norton's Motherless Brooklyn on Thursday. --Amazon released the[teaser trailer]( for The Report, starring Adam Driver and Annette Bening. --Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Jeph Loeb [will be honored]( at the Saturn Awards next month. The 'Tone Deaf' Venice Film Festival Who's afraid of poor optics? Apparently, not the Venice Film Festival. Tatiana Siegel and Scott Roxborough write that one year after signing a gender-parity pledge as #MeToo and Time's Up concerns swept the film industry, the festival has raised eyebrows with a series of moves that are being met with condemnation. Quote: "First, fest director Alberto Barbera drew fire by inviting Roman Polanski to premiere his latest film, An Officer and a Spy, in competition at this year's edition. He then upped the ante by adding Nate Parker's American Skin to the official lineup, in the (noncompetitive) Sconfini section... All the while, Venice continued to show little welcome to female directors, selecting only two for its 21-film competition roster this year." [The story](. +Is the festival still worth it for studios? Scott Roxborough and Pamela McClintock report that it can cost upwards of $800,000 to launch a title in Venice, on par with Cannes. "Insiders wonder how much bang they really get for their buck (or euro)." [More](. +The eight most anticipated premieres: David Rooney runs down the list of the hot films and possible awards contenders debuting at this year's festival, including Brad Pitt's Ad Astra, and Alex Gibney's Citizen K. [The list](. ►Taylor Swift "plays it safe" with her new album Lover. In a critic's notebook, Jonny Coleman writes that "While Lover feels like more quantity over quality and doesn't deliver any show-stopping moments, it should hopefully come at the right time to soundtrack back to school for the Swifties around the world." [The review](. +Taylor Swift on Thursday [released the music video]( for the title track off of her upcoming album Lover. ^Why do Hollywood moguls keep sabotaging themselves? Stephen Galloway finds that Hollywood has a long history of people making it to the top, only to do something — whether harassing an employee, embezzling cash, or some other act — to torpedo their careers. Quote: "Some call this the arrogance of power. I’d argue the opposite: These men’s very doubts about their power contributed to their demise. The more power Hollywood’s alpha males have, the more they feel its absence. The greater their authority, the less authority they believe they possess." [The column](. The day in deals: Saban Films [has acquired](the North American rights to thriller mystery Death of Me, starring Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth... Fox Searchlight Pictures [has acquired]( the North American rights to Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield, starring Dev Patel... Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment Group [has launched]( a new Asian division, with a Paul Feig TV comedy among the first projects... Lionsgate [has acquired]( the North American and key international rights to Fatale, starring Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy... ►Hustlers looks to give STX a box office win. Lorene Scafaria's star-studded, female-led drama is tracking for a strong $24 million debut at the U.S. box office, according to those with access to the surveys. The movie stars Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer, Cardi B and Lizzo. Hustlers hits theaters on Sept. 13, following its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. [More](. ►Another big number for The Lion King. The Jon Favreau-directed movie leapt past the $500 million mark at the North American box office on Wednesday, becoming only the second release of 2019 to do so behind fellow Disney blockbuster Avengers: Endgame. Globally, Lion King is already a member of billion-dollar club, amassing $1.46 billion to date in global ticket sales. [More](. Elsewhere in film... --Miley Cyrus says she was [let go]( from the animated movie Hotel Transylvania due to a lewd birthday cake. --Postproduction business Company 3 [has acquired]( the New York-based firm Sixteen19. --Warner Bros. Pictures released[the first trailer](for Edward Norton's Motherless Brooklyn on Thursday. --Amazon released the[teaser trailer]( for The Report, starring Adam Driver and Annette Bening. --Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Jeph Loeb [will be honored]( at the Saturn Awards next month. [Hasbro's $4B Entertainment Bet] Hasbro's $4B Entertainment Bet ►Hasbro is making a play at the entertainment business. On Thursday the toy company announced that it would buy the Canadian film and TV studio Entertainment One in a $4 billion all-cash deal. The studio, known as eOne, produces movies and TV shows for TV networks and streaming services, with shows including Designated Survivor and The Rookie. It's also known for its family business, which includes Peppa Pig and PJ Masks. +So what's next? Hasbro told analysts that it intends to use eOne to develop "underutilized IP" into movies and TV shows. Hasbro's existing deal with Paramount, which includes the GI Joe franchise, will not be affected. Hasbro will also bring merchandising for shows like Peppa Pig in-house. [More on the deal](. Universal Music Group is asking a California federal judge to delay discovery in a dispute over master recordings that may or may not have been affected by a 2008 blaze on the Universal Studios backlot. [The story](. +Harvey Weinstein is facing a new indictment in New York for alleged sexual assault. The disgraced movie mogul will be arraigned Monday, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office. [More](. +Deaths in entertainment become problems for the federal judiciary, as a judge decides that the nuances of copyright law gives her the ability to become involved in a 12-year-long James Brown family feud. [More](. +Riot Games, the Santa Monica-based video game developer behind League of Legends, has settled a class action lawsuit filed against the company alleging discrimination and sexual harassment. [More](. Revolving door, part two: Longtime Entertainment Weekly writer Anthony Breznican [has joined]( Vanity Fair as a special correspondent, while Hillary Busis has been promoted to senior editor... Fox News [has signed]( Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a contributor... Will Speck and Josh Gordon, perhaps best known for comedies such as Blades of Glory, have [signed on]( to direct Distant, a comedic sci-fi adventure from Amblin Partners... ^Clint Eastwood pulls back the curtain on his Carmel development. The movie legend and onetime mayor of the eccentric central California community "couldn't afford any mistakes" with his 90-home development, dubbed Tehama, that protects the region's wildlife and natural beauty. [More](. ►In Studio with Laverne Cox. In an interview with THR Laverne Cox explains why she wants to "share" her historic third Emmy nomination. [Watch](. Exclusive excerpt: THR has a first look at the next book from World War Z author Max Brooks. His new book, Devolution, will be released in May 2020 and "is described as a found-document novel, chronicling a horrific sasquatch attack on an isolated eco-community." [The excerpt](. TV's Top 5 podcast: This week, Lesley Goldberg and Daniel Fienberg discuss HBO Max's development strategy, the Sean Spicer Dancing with the Stars controversy, and talk to Almost Family showrunner Jason Katims. [Listen](. Series Regular podcast: This week Josh Wigler sits down with The Terror: Infamy showrunner and co-creator Alexander Woo. [Listen](. Casting roundup: Netflix's live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop [has cast]( Elena Satine... Angela Bassett is headed to Disney+. The Black Panther star [will narrate]( the original documentary series The Imagineering Story for Disney's upcoming streaming service... South African actress Nomzamo Mbatha and Garcelle Beauvais [have joined]( the cast of Coming 2 America... Sarah Michelle Gellar [is attached]( to star in and executive produce a dramedy that is in development at Fox, Other People's Houses... Shiloh Fernandez, Val Kilmer and Ewan McGregor [have joined](the mob crime drama The Birthday Cake... What else we're reading... --"A dead cat, a lawyer's call and a 5-figure donation: How media fell short on Epstein" [[NPR](] --"News Corp readies news app to address publishers’ concerns about Google and Facebook" [[WSJ](] --"Streaming video will soon look like the bad old days of TV" [[NY Times](] --"Salinas renews its agreement with Live PD, but many take issue with how the cop-centric reality TV show portrays the city to the world" [[Monterey County Weekly](] --"The end-credits songs forever burned into former movie-theater employees’ brains" [[Vulture](] Today's birthdays: Andrew Rannells, 41, Barbara Eden, 88, Jay Mohr, 49, Kobe Bryant, 41, Lil Yachty, 22. Hasbro's $4B Entertainment Bet ►Hasbro is making a play at the entertainment business. On Thursday the toy company announced that it would buy the Canadian film and TV studio Entertainment One in a $4 billion all-cash deal. The studio, known as eOne, produces movies and TV shows for TV networks and streaming services, with shows including Designated Survivor and The Rookie. It's also known for its family business, which includes Peppa Pig and PJ Masks. +So what's next? Hasbro told analysts that it intends to use eOne to develop "underutilized IP" into movies and TV shows. Hasbro's existing deal with Paramount, which includes the GI Joe franchise, will not be affected. Hasbro will also bring merchandising for shows like Peppa Pig in-house. [More on the deal](. Universal Music Group is asking a California federal judge to delay discovery in a dispute over master recordings that may or may not have been affected by a 2008 blaze on the Universal Studios backlot. [The story](. +Harvey Weinstein is facing a new indictment in New York for alleged sexual assault. The disgraced movie mogul will be arraigned Monday, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office. [More](. +Deaths in entertainment become problems for the federal judiciary, as a judge decides that the nuances of copyright law gives her the ability to become involved in a 12-year-long James Brown family feud. [More](. +Riot Games, the Santa Monica-based video game developer behind League of Legends, has settled a class action lawsuit filed against the company alleging discrimination and sexual harassment. [More](. Revolving door, part two: Longtime Entertainment Weekly writer Anthony Breznican [has joined]( Vanity Fair as a special correspondent, while Hillary Busis has been promoted to senior editor... Fox News [has signed]( Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a contributor... Will Speck and Josh Gordon, perhaps best known for comedies such as Blades of Glory, have [signed on]( to direct Distant, a comedic sci-fi adventure from Amblin Partners... ^Clint Eastwood pulls back the curtain on his Carmel development. The movie legend and onetime mayor of the eccentric central California community "couldn't afford any mistakes" with his 90-home development, dubbed Tehama, that protects the region's wildlife and natural beauty. [More](. ►In Studio with Laverne Cox. In an interview with THR Laverne Cox explains why she wants to "share" her historic third Emmy nomination. [Watch](. Exclusive excerpt: THR has a first look at the next book from World War Z author Max Brooks. His new book, Devolution, will be released in May 2020 and "is described as a found-document novel, chronicling a horrific sasquatch attack on an isolated eco-community." [The excerpt](. TV's Top 5 podcast: This week, Lesley Goldberg and Daniel Fienberg discuss HBO Max's development strategy, the Sean Spicer Dancing with the Stars controversy, and talk to Almost Family showrunner Jason Katims. [Listen](. Series Regular podcast: This week Josh Wigler sits down with The Terror: Infamy showrunner and co-creator Alexander Woo. [Listen](. Casting roundup: Netflix's live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop [has cast]( Elena Satine... Angela Bassett is headed to Disney+. The Black Panther star [will narrate]( the original documentary series The Imagineering Story for Disney's upcoming streaming service... South African actress Nomzamo Mbatha and Garcelle Beauvais [have joined]( the cast of Coming 2 America... Sarah Michelle Gellar [is attached]( to star in and executive produce a dramedy that is in development at Fox, Other People's Houses... Shiloh Fernandez, Val Kilmer and Ewan McGregor [have joined](the mob crime drama The Birthday Cake... What else we're reading... --"A dead cat, a lawyer's call and a 5-figure donation: How media fell short on Epstein" [[NPR](] --"News Corp readies news app to address publishers’ concerns about Google and Facebook" [[WSJ](] --"Streaming video will soon look like the bad old days of TV" [[NY Times](] --"Salinas renews its agreement with Live PD, but many take issue with how the cop-centric reality TV show portrays the city to the world" [[Monterey County Weekly](] --"The end-credits songs forever burned into former movie-theater employees’ brains" [[Vulture](] Today's birthdays: Andrew Rannells, 41, Barbara Eden, 88, Jay Mohr, 49, Kobe Bryant, 41, Lil Yachty, 22. [Image] [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2019 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. AUGUST 23, 2019 [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [MANAGE PREFERENCES]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [TERMS OF USE](