THR 100 List; Iger On Disney's New Era; Murdoch Talks Fox News; Redstone's Plan; New THR Cover

What's news: Disney CEO Bob Iger talks Disney+, Lachlan Murdoch talks about his plans for Fox Corp., The Hollywood Reporter's 100 most powerful people in entertainment list, Shari Redstone's plan for a Fox News competitor, Elizabeth Warren in the hot seat at last night's Democratic debate. Plus: A new job for Kevin Feige, and the fall TV season has its first casualty. --Alex Weprin [The Hollywood Reporter]( [The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment OCTOBER 16, 2019 What's news: Disney CEO Bob Iger talks Disney+, Lachlan Murdoch talks about his plans for Fox Corp., The Hollywood Reporter's 100 most powerful people in entertainment list, Shari Redstone's plan for a Fox News competitor, Elizabeth Warren in the hot seat at last night's Democratic debate. Plus: A new job for Kevin Feige, and the fall TV season has its first casualty. --Alex Weprin What's news: Disney CEO Bob Iger talks Disney+, Lachlan Murdoch talks about his plans for Fox Corp., The Hollywood Reporter's 100 most powerful people in entertainment list, Shari Redstone's plan for a Fox News competitor, Elizabeth Warren in the hot seat at last night's Democratic debate. Plus: A new job for Kevin Feige, and the fall TV season has its first casualty. --Alex Weprin Disney's New Era [On the cover](: With the launch of Disney+ just one month away, Natalie Jarvey speaks with Disney CEO Bob Iger and the company's direct-to-consumer executive team to tee up what the company has in store, and explore why Disney is betting its future on streaming. +Iger's epiphany: The Disney CEO says that Aug. 4, 2015 was the day he realized Disney needed to embrace its streaming future. He was on an investor call discussing the erosion of the cable bundle, and its impact on ESPN. Disney's stock price fell by six percent that evening. Quote: "'That was, in effect, an alarm bell,' Iger reflects. 'It incentivized us to address the issue quickly and aggressively.' The next summer, Disney invested $1 billion in the MLB's industry-leading BAMTech streaming technology business. (It later acquired a majority stake in the company, since renamed Disney Streaming Services, to make it the infrastructure of its D2C product.)" +So how did Disney come up with the $7 price point? The company surprised analysts with its reasonable monthly price, but Disney's direct-to-consumer chief Kevin Mayer suggests that it was not an easy call. Quote: "'We struggled with [the decision] a little bit,' Mayer says. 'We wanted to find the right price that we felt reflected the quality of the service and the product itself while also maintaining something that is pretty important at Disney, democratizing the availability of the app.' The final decision didn't come down to a lot of consumer research but, instead, what a small team of executives felt was right based on their subscriber goals and the larger competitive landscape." --Disney's streaming efforts by the numbers: $3.9 billion: estimated direct-to-consumer losses in 2019. $4.9 billion: estimated direct-to-consumer losses in 2020. $150 million: estimated loss of third-party licensing revenue in 2019. Between 60 and 90 million: the number of global subscribers Disney is targeting by 2024. $15 million: the estimated cost per episode of The Mandalorian. $25 million: the estimated cost per episode of Marvel series like Hawkeye and Falcon and The Winter Soldier. [The cover story](. The Hollywood Reporter 100: The Most Powerful People in Entertainment 2019 ►Bob Iger has topped the THR 100 list every year since it first launched in 2016, and this year is no different. That being said, In a roller-coaster year of megamergers and megadeals, the annual ranking of showbiz’s most powerful execs, makers and stars sees some big moves and a more dynamic and diverse group of powerhouses than ever before — as the Obamas join the entertainment universe, Phoebe Waller-Bridge ignites the town's creatives and J.Lo hustles in. +Top movers: Shari Redstone, Kevin Feige and Ava DuVernay all saw their places on the list rise as their clout has grown. +First timers: Barack and Michelle Obama, now producers for Netflix and Spotify, join the list this year, as does Jennifer Lopez, WGA West executive director David Young, and Aquaman director James Wan. +The execs: Netflix's Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos and Comcast/NBCUniversal's Brian Roberts and Steve Burke are still at numbers two and three respectively, but Redstone, now in the process of unifying Viacom and CBS, secures the number four spot. +The filmmakers and producers: Marvel's Feige cracked the top five, of course, with J.J.Abrams in the top 20. Ryan Murphy and Greg Berlanti delivered strong showings, while Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi and Quentin Tarantino also secured spots. +The talent: Margot Robbie, Donald Glover, Scarlett Johansson, Lopez, and Kevin Hart were all represented. [The full THR 100 list](. Disney's New Era [On the cover](: With the launch of Disney+ just one month away, Natalie Jarvey speaks with Disney CEO Bob Iger and the company's direct-to-consumer executive team to tee up what the company has in store, and explore why Disney is betting its future on streaming. +Iger's epiphany: The Disney CEO says that Aug. 4, 2015 was the day he realized Disney needed to embrace its streaming future. He was on an investor call discussing the erosion of the cable bundle, and its impact on ESPN. Disney's stock price fell by six percent that evening. Quote: "'That was, in effect, an alarm bell,' Iger reflects. 'It incentivized us to address the issue quickly and aggressively.' The next summer, Disney invested $1 billion in the MLB's industry-leading BAMTech streaming technology business. (It later acquired a majority stake in the company, since renamed Disney Streaming Services, to make it the infrastructure of its D2C product.)" +So how did Disney come up with the $7 price point? The company surprised analysts with its reasonable monthly price, but Disney's direct-to-consumer chief Kevin Mayer suggests that it was not an easy call. Quote: "'We struggled with [the decision] a little bit,' Mayer says. 'We wanted to find the right price that we felt reflected the quality of the service and the product itself while also maintaining something that is pretty important at Disney, democratizing the availability of the app.' The final decision didn't come down to a lot of consumer research but, instead, what a small team of executives felt was right based on their subscriber goals and the larger competitive landscape." --Disney's streaming efforts by the numbers: $3.9 billion: estimated direct-to-consumer losses in 2019. $4.9 billion: estimated direct-to-consumer losses in 2020. $150 million: estimated loss of third-party licensing revenue in 2019. Between 60 and 90 million: the number of global subscribers Disney is targeting by 2024. $15 million: the estimated cost per episode of The Mandalorian. $25 million: the estimated cost per episode of Marvel series like Hawkeye and Falcon and The Winter Soldier. [The cover story](. The Hollywood Reporter 100: The Most Powerful People in Entertainment 2019 ►Bob Iger has topped the THR 100 list every year since it first launched in 2016, and this year is no different. That being said, In a roller-coaster year of megamergers and megadeals, the annual ranking of showbiz’s most powerful execs, makers and stars sees some big moves and a more dynamic and diverse group of powerhouses than ever before — as the Obamas join the entertainment universe, Phoebe Waller-Bridge ignites the town's creatives and J.Lo hustles in. +Top movers: Shari Redstone, Kevin Feige and Ava DuVernay all saw their places on the list rise as their clout has grown. +First timers: Barack and Michelle Obama, now producers for Netflix and Spotify, join the list this year, as does Jennifer Lopez, WGA West executive director David Young, and Aquaman director James Wan. +The execs: Netflix's Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos and Comcast/NBCUniversal's Brian Roberts and Steve Burke are still at numbers two and three respectively, but Redstone, now in the process of unifying Viacom and CBS, secures the number four spot. +The filmmakers and producers: Marvel's Feige cracked the top five, of course, with J.J.Abrams in the top 20. Ryan Murphy and Greg Berlanti delivered strong showings, while Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi and Quentin Tarantino also secured spots. +The talent: Margot Robbie, Donald Glover, Scarlett Johansson, Lopez, and Kevin Hart were all represented. [The full THR 100 list](. [Lachlan Murdoch Talks Fox] Lachlan Murdoch Talks Fox ►Lachlan Murdoch talks post-Disney strategy, studio plans and Fox News infighting. Murdoch, CEO of the slimmed-down Fox Corp. (and number 28 and the THR 100 list), spoke with Matthew Belloni about what the company has planned. +For starters, Fox intends to rebuild its studio business, which it had sold to Disney. "Owning your IP is incredibly important. But what we're trying to do is look at a new model where we can do it with as little overhead as possible. So whether it's the acquisition of Bento Box, or, we've taken over production of Masked Singer in-house, which was important. And then with Gail Berman rejoining the team as well, it was important to re-engage in production but with as streamlined an overhead as possible." +As for reported infighting between the news and commentary teams at Fox News: "I can't speak to if Roger [Ailes] were around or not, but unfortunately in this country there's less and less civil debate. Civil debate among our countrymen and our colleagues at work is something we always aspire to." [The interview](. Speaking of Fox News... ►Shari Redstone explores launching Fox News competitor. In the midst of closing a merger between CBS and Viacom, Shari Redstone is quietly exploring a plan to launch a conservative TV outlet meant to square off with the Fox News Channel, Kim Masters and Paul Bond report. Redstone has approached current and former Fox News personalities about such a plan, and she has spoken with former NBC News host Megyn Kelly. A rep for Kelly declined to comment. Redstone also recently met with President Trump in the White House. A rep for Redstone confirmed the White House meeting, but said there were no plans to launch a conservative news channel. [The story](. +Flashback: CBS CEO Joe Ianniello spoke to the [L.A. Times]( in August, and was asked how the Viacom merger could impact CBS News. After discussing the opportunities of streaming, he added that "newsgathering as a business has tremendous opportunity around the world. Would we have a cable news channel? Obviously we'll consider all of those things," he said. In other business news... --Will Ferrell and iHeartMedia are teaming on a new podcast venture. Their new company, Big Money Players Network, plans to release 10 comedy podcasts over the next two years, all to be executive produced by Ferrell and to be distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network and elsewhere online. Listeners can expect the new shows to start rolling out in 2020. [More](. ►NBC drops Sunnyside for Will & Grace. The freshman comedy is the first casualty of the 2019-2020 broadcast TV season. Sunnyside, co-created by and starring Kal Penn and executive produced by Mike Schur, has underperformed on air, drawing the smallest ratings of any first-year show on the big four networks thus far this season. Will & Grace will take over the 9:30 pm Thursday slot starting Oct. 24. [More](. ^It was Elizabeth Warren's turn in the hot seat at last night's Democratic primary debate. Warren's Democratic competitors jumped at the chance to attack her, with her health care plan [the first target](of the night. Warren and Kamala Harris [also sparred]( over Harris' declaration that Twitter should suspend President Trump's account. --"Elizabeth Warren on the defensive. Mayor Pete on the attack. Bernie Sanders looking vigorous. Amy Klobuchar giving her strongest performance yet. Some familiar faces missing, and one new face. Those were the chief takeaways from the latest in the seemingly never-ending series of Democratic debates," writes Frank Scheck [in his latest critic's notebook](. This morning AMC Theatres chief content officer Elizabeth Frank, one of the most powerful women in exhibition, will be honored with ShowEast's inaugural Empowerment Award during a breakfast event highlighting women in cinema. Pamela McClintock spoke to Frank ahead of the honors. On discussions with Netflix about bringing their movies to theaters: "We've been talking to them for, gosh, several years. Certainly they know better than we do, but I believe their business model is going to evolve as they see maturation of their core model and face more competition, and as they spend more and more money on big movies. It only makes sense that they would lean into the theatrical business." [The interview](. Elsewhere in film... --Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski [are teaming for]( Imaginary Friends, a fantastical comedy that is in the process of being picked up by Paramount. --Just days after The Addams Family opened to a better-than-expected $30.3 million at the North American box office, an untitled sequel [has been set]( for release on Oct. 22, 2021. --John DeFore [reviews Zombieland: Double Tap](. --Kevin Smith [defends comic book films](and argues that Martin Scorsese made the "biggest superhero movie ever" with The Last Temptation of Christ. --SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Patron of the Artists Awards [has added]( Leonardo DiCaprio and Awkwafina as presenters. ►AFI Fest: Eight performers currently garnering awards buzz for their work in 2019 independent films [will appear]( on the 33rd AFI Fest's Indie Contenders Panel on Nov. 17, which will be moderated by Scott Feinberg. The panelists will include Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Cynthia Erivo, Jimmie Fails, Jon Hamm, Florence Pugh, Kerry Washington and Alfre Woodard. Also: Terrence Malick's historical drama A Hidden Life and Alex Gibney's Citizen K [have been added]( to the AFI Fest 2019 lineup. Tuesday was a big day for news about HBO and HBO Max... ►HBO Max has ordered a Grease spinoff. Six months after rights-holders Paramount announced a Grease feature film prequel, a live-action TV spinoff based on the John Travolta and Olivia Newton John 1978 musical is in the works. WarnerMedia's HBO Max has handed out a straight-to-series order for musical Grease: Rydell High, with its name stemming from the school at the center of the beloved original. Not much else is know about the show for now. [The story](. +The West Wing is leaving Netflix for HBO Max. Bob Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and direct-to-consumer, indicated that the Warner Bros. TV-produced political drama, which ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1999-2006, will be part of the HBO Max offering when the service launches in the U.S. in April. Greenblatt, speaking Tuesday at a keynote at the MIPCOM market in Cannes (more from Cannes farther below), said he would be mining the “thousands of titles” in the Warner Bros. library to help stock HBO Max. [The story](. +A new drama is in the works at HBO from Amy Adams and Laura Dern. The Sharp Objects and Big Little Lies stars are among the executive producers of a drama series in development at the premium cable outlet based on the best-selling novel The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. [More](. Elsewhere in TV... --In a [critic's notebook](, Daniel Fienberg identifies the fall TV trends so far. "ICE plotlines, lots of dead wives/mothers and even more mediocrity are among the patterns on small screens this season." --Netflix is [adding to its roster]( of young-adult programming with a series order for a romantic comedy called Dash & Lily. --Former Today show booker Melissa Lonner alleges Matt Lauer [exposed himself]( to her. --Ratings: NBC's The Voice and Fox's 911 [maintained their status]( as Monday's top shows among adults 18-49, although both came down some in the same-day ratings versus last week. Lachlan Murdoch Talks Fox ►Lachlan Murdoch talks post-Disney strategy, studio plans and Fox News infighting. Murdoch, CEO of the slimmed-down Fox Corp. (and number 28 and the THR 100 list), spoke with Matthew Belloni about what the company has planned. +For starters, Fox intends to rebuild its studio business, which it had sold to Disney. "Owning your IP is incredibly important. But what we're trying to do is look at a new model where we can do it with as little overhead as possible. So whether it's the acquisition of Bento Box, or, we've taken over production of Masked Singer in-house, which was important. And then with Gail Berman rejoining the team as well, it was important to re-engage in production but with as streamlined an overhead as possible." +As for reported infighting between the news and commentary teams at Fox News: "I can't speak to if Roger [Ailes] were around or not, but unfortunately in this country there's less and less civil debate. Civil debate among our countrymen and our colleagues at work is something we always aspire to." [The interview](. Speaking of Fox News... ►Shari Redstone explores launching Fox News competitor. In the midst of closing a merger between CBS and Viacom, Shari Redstone is quietly exploring a plan to launch a conservative TV outlet meant to square off with the Fox News Channel, Kim Masters and Paul Bond report. Redstone has approached current and former Fox News personalities about such a plan, and she has spoken with former NBC News host Megyn Kelly. A rep for Kelly declined to comment. Redstone also recently met with President Trump in the White House. A rep for Redstone confirmed the White House meeting, but said there were no plans to launch a conservative news channel. [The story](. +Flashback: CBS CEO Joe Ianniello spoke to the [L.A. Times]( in August, and was asked how the Viacom merger could impact CBS News. After discussing the opportunities of streaming, he added that "newsgathering as a business has tremendous opportunity around the world. Would we have a cable news channel? Obviously we'll consider all of those things," he said. In other business news... --Will Ferrell and iHeartMedia are teaming on a new podcast venture. Their new company, Big Money Players Network, plans to release 10 comedy podcasts over the next two years, all to be executive produced by Ferrell and to be distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network and elsewhere online. Listeners can expect the new shows to start rolling out in 2020. [More](. ►NBC drops Sunnyside for Will & Grace. The freshman comedy is the first casualty of the 2019-2020 broadcast TV season. Sunnyside, co-created by and starring Kal Penn and executive produced by Mike Schur, has underperformed on air, drawing the smallest ratings of any first-year show on the big four networks thus far this season. Will & Grace will take over the 9:30 pm Thursday slot starting Oct. 24. [More](. ^It was Elizabeth Warren's turn in the hot seat at last night's Democratic primary debate. Warren's Democratic competitors jumped at the chance to attack her, with her health care plan [the first target](of the night. Warren and Kamala Harris [also sparred]( over Harris' declaration that Twitter should suspend President Trump's account. --"Elizabeth Warren on the defensive. Mayor Pete on the attack. Bernie Sanders looking vigorous. Amy Klobuchar giving her strongest performance yet. Some familiar faces missing, and one new face. Those were the chief takeaways from the latest in the seemingly never-ending series of Democratic debates," writes Frank Scheck [in his latest critic's notebook](. This morning AMC Theatres chief content officer Elizabeth Frank, one of the most powerful women in exhibition, will be honored with ShowEast's inaugural Empowerment Award during a breakfast event highlighting women in cinema. Pamela McClintock spoke to Frank ahead of the honors. On discussions with Netflix about bringing their movies to theaters: "We've been talking to them for, gosh, several years. Certainly they know better than we do, but I believe their business model is going to evolve as they see maturation of their core model and face more competition, and as they spend more and more money on big movies. It only makes sense that they would lean into the theatrical business." [The interview](. Elsewhere in film... --Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski [are teaming for]( Imaginary Friends, a fantastical comedy that is in the process of being picked up by Paramount. --Just days after The Addams Family opened to a better-than-expected $30.3 million at the North American box office, an untitled sequel [has been set]( for release on Oct. 22, 2021. --John DeFore [reviews Zombieland: Double Tap](. --Kevin Smith [defends comic book films](and argues that Martin Scorsese made the "biggest superhero movie ever" with The Last Temptation of Christ. --SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Patron of the Artists Awards [has added]( Leonardo DiCaprio and Awkwafina as presenters. ►AFI Fest: Eight performers currently garnering awards buzz for their work in 2019 independent films [will appear]( on the 33rd AFI Fest's Indie Contenders Panel on Nov. 17, which will be moderated by Scott Feinberg. The panelists will include Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Cynthia Erivo, Jimmie Fails, Jon Hamm, Florence Pugh, Kerry Washington and Alfre Woodard. Also: Terrence Malick's historical drama A Hidden Life and Alex Gibney's Citizen K [have been added]( to the AFI Fest 2019 lineup. Tuesday was a big day for news about HBO and HBO Max... ►HBO Max has ordered a Grease spinoff. Six months after rights-holders Paramount announced a Grease feature film prequel, a live-action TV spinoff based on the John Travolta and Olivia Newton John 1978 musical is in the works. WarnerMedia's HBO Max has handed out a straight-to-series order for musical Grease: Rydell High, with its name stemming from the school at the center of the beloved original. Not much else is know about the show for now. [The story](. +The West Wing is leaving Netflix for HBO Max. Bob Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and direct-to-consumer, indicated that the Warner Bros. TV-produced political drama, which ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1999-2006, will be part of the HBO Max offering when the service launches in the U.S. in April. Greenblatt, speaking Tuesday at a keynote at the MIPCOM market in Cannes (more from Cannes farther below), said he would be mining the “thousands of titles” in the Warner Bros. library to help stock HBO Max. [The story](. +A new drama is in the works at HBO from Amy Adams and Laura Dern. The Sharp Objects and Big Little Lies stars are among the executive producers of a drama series in development at the premium cable outlet based on the best-selling novel The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. [More](. Elsewhere in TV... --In a [critic's notebook](, Daniel Fienberg identifies the fall TV trends so far. "ICE plotlines, lots of dead wives/mothers and even more mediocrity are among the patterns on small screens this season." --Netflix is [adding to its roster]( of young-adult programming with a series order for a romantic comedy called Dash & Lily. --Former Today show booker Melissa Lonner alleges Matt Lauer [exposed himself]( to her. --Ratings: NBC's The Voice and Fox's 911 [maintained their status]( as Monday's top shows among adults 18-49, although both came down some in the same-day ratings versus last week. [Kevin Feige's New Role] Kevin Feige's New Role ►Disney's Kevin Feige is adding to his kingdom. In a reflection of his growing authority, the Marvel Studios president has also been named the Marvel's chief creative officer, Disney said on Tuesday. The move puts the overall creative direction of Marvel’s storytelling and content creation across mediums, including publishing, film, TV, and animation, under Feige. [More](. +Will Feige rethink Marvel's comic books? Graeme McMillan writes about what ciould be in store for the fabled comics company, now that the Marvel Studios chief will have more direct oversight over it. [The column](. The latest from MIPCOM... +Changes coming to MIPTV: The spring conference, long twinned to MIPCOM in October, will add a major focus on data and analytics, adding a market intelligence strand. MIPTV will also add three dedicated screening summits in the vein of the Sunday MIPDrama event, with factual, formats and kids content programs. [More](. +The news: Globally, television broadcasters, and to a lesser degree online streamers, [fork out]( fully 26 percent of their total content spend on sports rights, according to a report published Wednesday by Ampere Analysis... Darren Star [talks about]( creating iconic characters, and diversity on TV... Discovery and its European sports channel Eurosport [are teaming]( with Twitter to bring Eurosport's coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics to users of the short message platform across Europe... +Also: Twitter's Kay Madati [touts]( Love Island's social media success... Netflix [has acquired]( another women's prison drama, taking global rights to Avlu, a Turkish prison series adapted from the Australian hit Wentworth... Viacom International Studios U.K. is [moving into scripted]( development with five co-production projects being showcased at the MIPCOM market... The Weinstein Co. appears to have cleared a big obstacle for suing its former co-chairman Harvey and Bob Weinstein as well as more of the company's former officers and directors. On Tuesday, the debtor submitted revised papers in Delaware bankruptcy court to hire a law firm in connection with anticipated litigation. [The story](. In other legal news... +Judge urged to reject "broad immunity" for Facebook. The $5 billion deal to end a government investigation into the social media company's privacy practices included a liability waiver that critics are seizing upon as intolerable. [More](. +Felicity Huffman on Tuesday reported to Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., to begin her 14-day sentence. The actress was sentenced to the short stint in September for her part in the college admissions scandal that rocked the nation earlier this year. [More](. +Cuba Gooding Jr. has pleaded not guilty to an indictment alleging two instances of sexual misconduct. [More](. ►As part of Time's Up growing mission and evolving leadership under new CEO Tina Tchen, on Tuesday the organization [announced a partnership]( with The Latinx House, an initiative to create community, engagement and further opportunities for Latinx voices in and outside of Hollywood. Also: The founder of #MeToo is using the second anniversary of the movement [to launch](a new effort intended to mobilize voters heading into the 2020 election... Casting roundup: Neil Patrick-Harris [is joining]( the cast of The Matrix 4... Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, and Charles Dance [have joined]( Gary Oldman in Mank, David Fincher’s drama about the writer who co-wrote screen classic Citizen Kane with Orson Welles... Willem Dafoe [is joining]( Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley... What else we're reading... --"Ad giant wins over Disney with big-data pitch" [[NY Times](] --"'Heil me, man' How Taika Waititi learned to play Hitler" [[Vulture](] --"Gloria Allred says her New York Times critics ‘don’t understand the practice of law’" [[LA Times](] --"Netflix is cutting back on stand-up comedy specials" [[Bloomberg](] From the archives... On Oct. 16, 1973, Sydney Pollack's romantic drama The Way We Were held its premiere in New York at Loew's State 1 theater. The Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford film went on to be nominated for six Oscars at the 46th Academy Awards, winning two for original dramatic score and the title song. [The Hollywood Reporter's original review](. Today's birthdays: Angela Lansbury, 94, Barry Corbin, 79, David Zucker, 72, John Mayer, 42, Suzanne Somers, 73, Tim Robbins, 61, Kevin Feige's New Role ►Disney's Kevin Feige is adding to his kingdom. In a reflection of his growing authority, the Marvel Studios president has also been named the Marvel's chief creative officer, Disney said on Tuesday. The move puts the overall creative direction of Marvel’s storytelling and content creation across mediums, including publishing, film, TV, and animation, under Feige. [More](. +Will Feige rethink Marvel's comic books? Graeme McMillan writes about what ciould be in store for the fabled comics company, now that the Marvel Studios chief will have more direct oversight over it. [The column](. The latest from MIPCOM... +Changes coming to MIPTV: The spring conference, long twinned to MIPCOM in October, will add a major focus on data and analytics, adding a market intelligence strand. MIPTV will also add three dedicated screening summits in the vein of the Sunday MIPDrama event, with factual, formats and kids content programs. [More](. +The news: Globally, television broadcasters, and to a lesser degree online streamers, [fork out]( fully 26 percent of their total content spend on sports rights, according to a report published Wednesday by Ampere Analysis... Darren Star [talks about]( creating iconic characters, and diversity on TV... Discovery and its European sports channel Eurosport [are teaming]( with Twitter to bring Eurosport's coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics to users of the short message platform across Europe... +Also: Twitter's Kay Madati [touts]( Love Island's social media success... Netflix [has acquired]( another women's prison drama, taking global rights to Avlu, a Turkish prison series adapted from the Australian hit Wentworth... Viacom International Studios U.K. is [moving into scripted]( development with five co-production projects being showcased at the MIPCOM market... The Weinstein Co. appears to have cleared a big obstacle for suing its former co-chairman Harvey and Bob Weinstein as well as more of the company's former officers and directors. On Tuesday, the debtor submitted revised papers in Delaware bankruptcy court to hire a law firm in connection with anticipated litigation. [The story](. In other legal news... +Judge urged to reject "broad immunity" for Facebook. The $5 billion deal to end a government investigation into the social media company's privacy practices included a liability waiver that critics are seizing upon as intolerable. [More](. +Felicity Huffman on Tuesday reported to Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., to begin her 14-day sentence. The actress was sentenced to the short stint in September for her part in the college admissions scandal that rocked the nation earlier this year. [More](. +Cuba Gooding Jr. has pleaded not guilty to an indictment alleging two instances of sexual misconduct. [More](. ►As part of Time's Up growing mission and evolving leadership under new CEO Tina Tchen, on Tuesday the organization [announced a partnership]( with The Latinx House, an initiative to create community, engagement and further opportunities for Latinx voices in and outside of Hollywood. Also: The founder of #MeToo is using the second anniversary of the movement [to launch](a new effort intended to mobilize voters heading into the 2020 election... Casting roundup: Neil Patrick-Harris [is joining]( the cast of The Matrix 4... Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, and Charles Dance [have joined]( Gary Oldman in Mank, David Fincher’s drama about the writer who co-wrote screen classic Citizen Kane with Orson Welles... Willem Dafoe [is joining]( Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley... What else we're reading... --"Ad giant wins over Disney with big-data pitch" [[NY Times](] --"'Heil me, man' How Taika Waititi learned to play Hitler" [[Vulture](] --"Gloria Allred says her New York Times critics ‘don’t understand the practice of law’" [[LA Times](] --"Netflix is cutting back on stand-up comedy specials" [[Bloomberg](] From the archives... On Oct. 16, 1973, Sydney Pollack's romantic drama The Way We Were held its premiere in New York at Loew's State 1 theater. The Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford film went on to be nominated for six Oscars at the 46th Academy Awards, winning two for original dramatic score and the title song. [The Hollywood Reporter's original review](. Today's birthdays: Angela Lansbury, 94, Barry Corbin, 79, David Zucker, 72, John Mayer, 42, Suzanne Somers, 73, Tim Robbins, 61, [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. OCTOBER 16, 2019 [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [MANAGE PREFERENCES]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [TERMS OF USE](