TIFF Latest; 'It' Scaring Up Big Weekend; NFL Kickoff Scores In Ratings; 'Just Mercy' Review

What's news: Updates from Toronto, It Chapter Two is scaring up a big weekend at the box office, the #MeToo reckoning comes to the big screen, the NFL opens big, a Star Trek writer quits after using the n-word. Plus: A review of Just Mercy, and ESPN turns 40. --Alex Weprin [The Hollywood Reporter]( [The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment SEPTEMBER 07, 2019 What's news: Updates from Toronto, It Chapter Two is scaring up a big weekend at the box office, the #MeToo reckoning comes to the big screen, the NFL opens big, a Star Trek writer quits after using the n-word. Plus: A review of Just Mercy, and ESPN turns 40. --Alex Weprin What's news: Updates from Toronto, It Chapter Two is scaring up a big weekend at the box office, the #MeToo reckoning comes to the big screen, the NFL opens big, a Star Trek writer quits after using the n-word. Plus: A review of Just Mercy, and ESPN turns 40. --Alex Weprin [The Latest From Toronto] The Latest From Toronto ►The news from TIFF: In a keynote conversation at TIFF, Ron Howard said his film version of J.D. Vance's lauded bestseller Hillbilly Elegy for Netflix is set to get a limited theatrical release to boost its chances for awards season glory. [The story](. +Cannes Directors' Fortnight programmer Paolo Moretti told a TIFF panel that French filmmakers need to find common ground with Netflix and other emerging streaming players, rather than erect barriers to change. [More](... British auteur Sally Potter is at work on Alba, a Brexit-inspired comedy to be [shopped to potential co-production partners]( at TIFF... +Susan Sarandon on Friday jumped into the hot button debate over physician-assisted suicide as she [discussed her latest role]( playing a terminally ill family matriarch saying goodbye to her family in Roger Michell's Blackbird... ►The #MeToo reckoning comes to the big screen. Nearly two years after the epic fall of Harvey Weinstein and the dawn of Hollywood’s #MeToo era, the first wave of films reflecting that new sensibility is hitting the screen, Tatiana Siegel writes. And this year’s Toronto festival and market is chock full of interpretations of sexual harassment and assault. All are directed by women. [The story](. +A press conference for I Am Woman — the Helen Reddy biopic that recalls the 1971 megahit anthem for the women’s liberation movement — lost little time Friday before the film's cast and creative [addressed the Time's Up movement](... ►The deals from TIFF: Apple [has acquired worldwide rights]( to Bryce Dallas Howard's feel-good documentary Dads ahead of its world premiere at TIFF... Kino Lorber has [picked up the North American rights]( to Martin Eden, Italian director Pietro Marcello's period drama based on Jack London's 1909 novel and set in 20th century Naples... +Also: Producer Mark Kassen is [expanding his production company]( Like Minded Entertainment into technology startups by acquiring the Canadian tech firm Vantrix Technology... Indie distributor Unobstructed View has acquired the exclusive [Canadian distribution rights](to the art house-focused Criterion Collection... +The scene: Dev Patel, Sarah Paulson, Riz Ahmed, Hugh Laurie, Neve Cambell and others attended the festival. [The photo gallery](. ►TIFF interviews: Knives Out director Rian Johnson speaks to Scott Roxborough about shifting from Star Wars to his TIFF entry, an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit. [The interview](. German director Katrin Gebbe [discusses her new film]( Pelican Blood... Sheryl Clark, the president of production forThe H Collective and producer of TIFF film Blackbird [gives her take on the fest](... ^Review: Just Mercy. John DeFore reviews the anticipated film from Destin Daniel Cretton, and starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx. Quote: "[Bryan] Stevenson has been at the vanguard of a righteous fight. So it's not surprising if the film's edge is somewhat dulled by respect for its subject, who's drawn here as more hero than man. A sturdy example of this genre, in which persistence and faith lead to the righting of terrible wrongs, it will likely move younger viewers who haven't seen many like it. Those of us who've seen truly exceptional examples (in both feature and documentary form) will be content to admire Stevenson himself, and to enjoy a rich performance by Jamie Foxx as the man he saved from the electric chair." [The review](. +Video: Jordan, Foxx and the rest of the cast go "fishing for answers" in a video for THR. [Watch](. ►More TIFF reviews: David Rooney reviews [True History of the Kelly Gang](... Jordan Mintzer reviews [Pompei (Pompéi)](... Daniel Fienberg reviews [Limetown](... Deborah Young reviews [Radioactive](... John DeFore reviews [Human Capital](... Sherri Linden reviews [Cunningham](... Jordan Mintzer reviews [Made In Bangladesh](... Leslie Felperin reviews [Sweetness In The Belly](... +Also: Deborah Young reviews [The Friend](... Jonathan Holland reviews [Spider (Araña)](... Leslie Felperin reviews [Military Wives](... Todd McCarthy reviews [Hope Gap](... Jordan Mintzer reviews [Three Summers (Três Verões)](... Elsewhere in film... --Will Smith and Akiva Goldsman [are adapting]( the novel Brilliance for Paramount. --Thessaloniki Fest turns 60: Why organizers [aim to be "more dynamic"]( toward cinema's new era. --Harry Styles [explains passing](on the Little Mermaid Prince Eric role. --Over 100 writers, producers and filmmakers [packed a large conference room]( at the Writer’s Guild headquarters on Thursday night to participate in the panel on Black Muslim Narratives in Entertainment. The Latest From Toronto ►The news from TIFF: In a keynote conversation at TIFF, Ron Howard said his film version of J.D. Vance's lauded bestseller Hillbilly Elegy for Netflix is set to get a limited theatrical release to boost its chances for awards season glory. [The story](. +Cannes Directors' Fortnight programmer Paolo Moretti told a TIFF panel that French filmmakers need to find common ground with Netflix and other emerging streaming players, rather than erect barriers to change. [More](... British auteur Sally Potter is at work on Alba, a Brexit-inspired comedy to be [shopped to potential co-production partners]( at TIFF... +Susan Sarandon on Friday jumped into the hot button debate over physician-assisted suicide as she [discussed her latest role]( playing a terminally ill family matriarch saying goodbye to her family in Roger Michell's Blackbird... ►The #MeToo reckoning comes to the big screen. Nearly two years after the epic fall of Harvey Weinstein and the dawn of Hollywood’s #MeToo era, the first wave of films reflecting that new sensibility is hitting the screen, Tatiana Siegel writes. And this year’s Toronto festival and market is chock full of interpretations of sexual harassment and assault. All are directed by women. [The story](. +A press conference for I Am Woman — the Helen Reddy biopic that recalls the 1971 megahit anthem for the women’s liberation movement — lost little time Friday before the film's cast and creative [addressed the Time's Up movement](... ►The deals from TIFF: Apple [has acquired worldwide rights]( to Bryce Dallas Howard's feel-good documentary Dads ahead of its world premiere at TIFF... Kino Lorber has [picked up the North American rights]( to Martin Eden, Italian director Pietro Marcello's period drama based on Jack London's 1909 novel and set in 20th century Naples... +Also: Producer Mark Kassen is [expanding his production company]( Like Minded Entertainment into technology startups by acquiring the Canadian tech firm Vantrix Technology... Indie distributor Unobstructed View has acquired the exclusive [Canadian distribution rights](to the art house-focused Criterion Collection... +The scene: Dev Patel, Sarah Paulson, Riz Ahmed, Hugh Laurie, Neve Cambell and others attended the festival. [The photo gallery](. ►TIFF interviews: Knives Out director Rian Johnson speaks to Scott Roxborough about shifting from Star Wars to his TIFF entry, an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit. [The interview](. German director Katrin Gebbe [discusses her new film]( Pelican Blood... Sheryl Clark, the president of production forThe H Collective and producer of TIFF film Blackbird [gives her take on the fest](... ^Review: Just Mercy. John DeFore reviews the anticipated film from Destin Daniel Cretton, and starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx. Quote: "[Bryan] Stevenson has been at the vanguard of a righteous fight. So it's not surprising if the film's edge is somewhat dulled by respect for its subject, who's drawn here as more hero than man. A sturdy example of this genre, in which persistence and faith lead to the righting of terrible wrongs, it will likely move younger viewers who haven't seen many like it. Those of us who've seen truly exceptional examples (in both feature and documentary form) will be content to admire Stevenson himself, and to enjoy a rich performance by Jamie Foxx as the man he saved from the electric chair." [The review](. +Video: Jordan, Foxx and the rest of the cast go "fishing for answers" in a video for THR. [Watch](. ►More TIFF reviews: David Rooney reviews [True History of the Kelly Gang](... Jordan Mintzer reviews [Pompei (Pompéi)](... Daniel Fienberg reviews [Limetown](... Deborah Young reviews [Radioactive](... John DeFore reviews [Human Capital](... Sherri Linden reviews [Cunningham](... Jordan Mintzer reviews [Made In Bangladesh](... Leslie Felperin reviews [Sweetness In The Belly](... +Also: Deborah Young reviews [The Friend](... Jonathan Holland reviews [Spider (Araña)](... Leslie Felperin reviews [Military Wives](... Todd McCarthy reviews [Hope Gap](... Jordan Mintzer reviews [Three Summers (Três Verões)](... Elsewhere in film... --Will Smith and Akiva Goldsman [are adapting]( the novel Brilliance for Paramount. --Thessaloniki Fest turns 60: Why organizers [aim to be "more dynamic"]( toward cinema's new era. --Harry Styles [explains passing](on the Little Mermaid Prince Eric role. --Over 100 writers, producers and filmmakers [packed a large conference room]( at the Writer’s Guild headquarters on Thursday night to participate in the panel on Black Muslim Narratives in Entertainment. ['It Chapter Two' To Scare Away B.O. Competitors] 'It Chapter Two' To Scare Away B.O. Competitors ►Box office: New Line's It: Chapter 2 is on course to earn $42 million at the Friday box office for a domestic debut of $100 million or more, in line with expectations. That would mark the second-best preview gross ever for a horror film behind the first It, which scored a record-shattering debut of $123.4 million over the same weekend in 2017, not adjusted for inflation. [The numbers](. ►Star Trek writer quits after using the n-word. Author Walter Mosley penned an op-ed for the New York Times, published on Friday, in which he revealed that he quit his job as a writer on a television series after he was "chastised" by human resources for using the n-word on the job. Although Mosley did not reveal which show he departed, sources tell THR's Lesley Goldberg and Evan Real that it was CBS All Access' Star Trek: Discovery. [The story](. ►Former CBS News president David Rhodes is joining Spotify. Rhodes is serving as a consultant to the music streaming platform, helping them to develop news podcasts and programming. At the same time, Spotify has tapped former Facebook executive Amy Hudson to build out its sports podcasts and programming. Hudson is joining the company full-time. [More](. +Revolving door: Disney [has tapped]( Jonathan Igla to act as writer and executive producer for the Disney+ series Hawkeye... Former ABC executive Jamila Hunter is [rejoining her onetime boss](, Paul Lee, at the latter's indie studio Wiip. She had been in talks with NBCUniversal for a top programming job at its forthcoming streaming platform, but that's no longer in play... ►Hollywood mourns colleagues lost in California boat fire. Among the victims of the deadly Labor Day fire that killed 33 people aboard the dive boat Conception were at least two people with ties to Hollywood, leaving their friends and former co-workers reeling from the loss. Charles “Chuck” McIlvain, 44, was a visual effects designer for Walt Disney’s Imagineering, and Allie Kurtz, 25, was a former advertising manager at Paramount. [More](. Casting roundup: Bernadette Peters and Suki Waterhouse [have boarded]( The Broken Heart Gallery... Iko Uwais [is in negotiations](to suit up for the G.I. Joe spinoff, Snake Eyes... Hayley Atwell [is joining]( the next installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise... Mickey Rourke [is joining]( The Duff star Bella Thorne in Girl, a revenge thriller from writer-director Chad Faust... ►Happy 40th birthday, ESPN. The cable sports channel went on the air (er, on the coaxial cables?) for the first time 40 years ago today. Last night, in a surprise one-time appearance, Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann reunited to host the 11 p.m. hour of SportsCenter. [Watch](. ►A TV critic cuts the cord, part two: In part two of his series about dropping cable for streaming TV options, THR's chief TV critic Tim Goodman lays out 12 streaming basics everyone looking to do the same should know. [The list](. Elsewhere in TV... -- A scripted drama based on the life of famed chef Julia Child, with Joan Cusack set to play the chef, is [near a deal]( for a pilot order at HBO Max. --Greg Berlanti and Supergirl showrunners Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner [are reteaming to develop]( drama Tribeca, based on the Korean series SKY Castle, which has landed a put-pilot commitment at NBC. --Gabrielle Union [is developing]( another series at tSpectrum Originals — a dramedy set at a bikini bar called Tips. --Sacha Baron Cohen [on his dramatic]( The Spy turn and "pitching comic alternatives to every line." --Friends turns 25: Inside the NBC [sitcom's pop-up return]( to New York. 'It Chapter Two' To Scare Away B.O. Competitors ►Box office: New Line's It: Chapter 2 is on course to earn $42 million at the Friday box office for a domestic debut of $100 million or more, in line with expectations. That would mark the second-best preview gross ever for a horror film behind the first It, which scored a record-shattering debut of $123.4 million over the same weekend in 2017, not adjusted for inflation. [The numbers](. ►Star Trek writer quits after using the n-word. Author Walter Mosley penned an op-ed for the New York Times, published on Friday, in which he revealed that he quit his job as a writer on a television series after he was "chastised" by human resources for using the n-word on the job. Although Mosley did not reveal which show he departed, sources tell THR's Lesley Goldberg and Evan Real that it was CBS All Access' Star Trek: Discovery. [The story](. ►Former CBS News president David Rhodes is joining Spotify. Rhodes is serving as a consultant to the music streaming platform, helping them to develop news podcasts and programming. At the same time, Spotify has tapped former Facebook executive Amy Hudson to build out its sports podcasts and programming. Hudson is joining the company full-time. [More](. +Revolving door: Disney [has tapped]( Jonathan Igla to act as writer and executive producer for the Disney+ series Hawkeye... Former ABC executive Jamila Hunter is [rejoining her onetime boss](, Paul Lee, at the latter's indie studio Wiip. She had been in talks with NBCUniversal for a top programming job at its forthcoming streaming platform, but that's no longer in play... ►Hollywood mourns colleagues lost in California boat fire. Among the victims of the deadly Labor Day fire that killed 33 people aboard the dive boat Conception were at least two people with ties to Hollywood, leaving their friends and former co-workers reeling from the loss. Charles “Chuck” McIlvain, 44, was a visual effects designer for Walt Disney’s Imagineering, and Allie Kurtz, 25, was a former advertising manager at Paramount. [More](. Casting roundup: Bernadette Peters and Suki Waterhouse [have boarded]( The Broken Heart Gallery... Iko Uwais [is in negotiations](to suit up for the G.I. Joe spinoff, Snake Eyes... Hayley Atwell [is joining]( the next installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise... Mickey Rourke [is joining]( The Duff star Bella Thorne in Girl, a revenge thriller from writer-director Chad Faust... ►Happy 40th birthday, ESPN. The cable sports channel went on the air (er, on the coaxial cables?) for the first time 40 years ago today. Last night, in a surprise one-time appearance, Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann reunited to host the 11 p.m. hour of SportsCenter. [Watch](. ►A TV critic cuts the cord, part two: In part two of his series about dropping cable for streaming TV options, THR's chief TV critic Tim Goodman lays out 12 streaming basics everyone looking to do the same should know. [The list](. Elsewhere in TV... -- A scripted drama based on the life of famed chef Julia Child, with Joan Cusack set to play the chef, is [near a deal]( for a pilot order at HBO Max. --Greg Berlanti and Supergirl showrunners Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner [are reteaming to develop]( drama Tribeca, based on the Korean series SKY Castle, which has landed a put-pilot commitment at NBC. --Gabrielle Union [is developing]( another series at tSpectrum Originals — a dramedy set at a bikini bar called Tips. --Sacha Baron Cohen [on his dramatic]( The Spy turn and "pitching comic alternatives to every line." --Friends turns 25: Inside the NBC [sitcom's pop-up return]( to New York. [NFL Kickoff Game Dominates Ratings] NFL Kickoff Game Dominates Ratings ►NFL kickoff ratings rise. 22 million people, on average, watched the NFL kickoff game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers Thursday night, reaffirming the sport's place as the king of TV. An additional 627,000 people streamed the game. The 22 million figure, up 16 percent from last year, makes the game the 17th most-watched event of 2019, behind a slew of other football games, and in between the post-Super Bowl World's Best on CBS, and The Grammy Awards. [The numbers](. +According to the TV ad tracking technology firm EDO, the trailer for the upcoming Warner Bros. film Joker "generated more than 35x as much online activity as the median NFL Kickoff game ad in the minutes after the spot aired," making it the top-performing ad during the game. Movie trailers made up 4 of the top 10 ads during the game. Felicity Huffman is asking a Massachusetts federal judge for sympathy and leniency, after admitting to paying $15,000 to Operation Varsity Blues mastermind Rick Singer to falsify her daughter’s SAT scores. [The story](. +A legal threat led to a name change for the syndicated TV show Extra. When producer Telepictures named Billy Bush as the new anchor of the show in May, it also announced a name change to Extra Extra, along with a new set and some tweaks to its format. Now, following a legal complaint, it has dropped the second Extra and will stick with the one-word title it's had for the past 25 years. [The story](. +In other legal news: Amber Heard has added a prominent voice to her legal team and has filed new court papers arguing for the dismissal of her ex-husband Johnny Depp's defamation suit over an op-ed in The Washington Post. [The story](... A Philadelphia morning show anchor is suing several websites including Facebook and Reddit after her image was used for "prurient and illicit purposes" in sexually-oriented ads and posts. [More](. +Just days after Scarlett Johansson made headlines for defending Woody Allen in The Hollywood Reporter's latest cover story, the director spoke out about the backlash he's faced recently and said he still believes he should be the poster boy for the #MeToo movement due to his track record of working with actresses.[More](. THR In Studio: Actor Shameik Moore talks pressure of starring in Wu-Tang: An American Saga, meeting Raekwon & more. [Watch](. ►TV Long View: This week, Rick Porter turns his focus to Friday night on the upcoming fall season. "There are some small changes here and there to the Friday schedules of four of the five English-language networks — and one big one. Fox will bring WWE Smackdown back to broadcast TV for the first time since 2010. How might that affect the other networks?" [The column](. Obituaries: [Arthur Sando](, a veteran public relations executive, died of an apparent heart attack on Sept. 3 at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was 71... [Bill Harris](, the veteran Hollywood broadcast journalist who served as a co-host on the syndicated program At the Movies, has died. He was 75... Project Runway alumnus [Chris March]( has died. He was 56... What else we're reading... --"How an elite university research center concealed its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein" [[The New Yorker](] --"How Star Trek pushed Cory Booker to make it so" [[NY Times](] --"Liz Phair On being misunderstood, working with Ryan Adams, and the dawn of Girlville." [[Vulture](] Today's birthdays: Alex Kurtzman, 46, Corbin Bernsen, 65, Evan Rachel Wood, 32, Gloria Gaynor, 70, Julie Kavner, 69, Leslie Jones, 52, Michael Emerson, 65, Shannon Elizabeth, 46, Tom Everett Scott, 49. NFL Kickoff Game Dominates Ratings ►NFL kickoff ratings rise. 22 million people, on average, watched the NFL kickoff game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers Thursday night, reaffirming the sport's place as the king of TV. An additional 627,000 people streamed the game. The 22 million figure, up 16 percent from last year, makes the game the 17th most-watched event of 2019, behind a slew of other football games, and in between the post-Super Bowl World's Best on CBS, and The Grammy Awards. [The numbers](. +According to the TV ad tracking technology firm EDO, the trailer for the upcoming Warner Bros. film Joker "generated more than 35x as much online activity as the median NFL Kickoff game ad in the minutes after the spot aired," making it the top-performing ad during the game. Movie trailers made up 4 of the top 10 ads during the game. Felicity Huffman is asking a Massachusetts federal judge for sympathy and leniency, after admitting to paying $15,000 to Operation Varsity Blues mastermind Rick Singer to falsify her daughter’s SAT scores. [The story](. +A legal threat led to a name change for the syndicated TV show Extra. When producer Telepictures named Billy Bush as the new anchor of the show in May, it also announced a name change to Extra Extra, along with a new set and some tweaks to its format. Now, following a legal complaint, it has dropped the second Extra and will stick with the one-word title it's had for the past 25 years. [The story](. +In other legal news: Amber Heard has added a prominent voice to her legal team and has filed new court papers arguing for the dismissal of her ex-husband Johnny Depp's defamation suit over an op-ed in The Washington Post. [The story](... A Philadelphia morning show anchor is suing several websites including Facebook and Reddit after her image was used for "prurient and illicit purposes" in sexually-oriented ads and posts. [More](. +Just days after Scarlett Johansson made headlines for defending Woody Allen in The Hollywood Reporter's latest cover story, the director spoke out about the backlash he's faced recently and said he still believes he should be the poster boy for the #MeToo movement due to his track record of working with actresses.[More](. THR In Studio: Actor Shameik Moore talks pressure of starring in Wu-Tang: An American Saga, meeting Raekwon & more. [Watch](. ►TV Long View: This week, Rick Porter turns his focus to Friday night on the upcoming fall season. "There are some small changes here and there to the Friday schedules of four of the five English-language networks — and one big one. Fox will bring WWE Smackdown back to broadcast TV for the first time since 2010. How might that affect the other networks?" [The column](. Obituaries: [Arthur Sando](, a veteran public relations executive, died of an apparent heart attack on Sept. 3 at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was 71... [Bill Harris](, the veteran Hollywood broadcast journalist who served as a co-host on the syndicated program At the Movies, has died. He was 75... Project Runway alumnus [Chris March]( has died. He was 56... What else we're reading... --"How an elite university research center concealed its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein" [[The New Yorker](] --"How Star Trek pushed Cory Booker to make it so" [[NY Times](] --"Liz Phair On being misunderstood, working with Ryan Adams, and the dawn of Girlville." [[Vulture](] Today's birthdays: Alex Kurtzman, 46, Corbin Bernsen, 65, Evan Rachel Wood, 32, Gloria Gaynor, 70, Julie Kavner, 69, Leslie Jones, 52, Michael Emerson, 65, Shannon Elizabeth, 46, Tom Everett Scott, 49. [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. 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