Spotify’s Podcast Plan; Grammy Noms, Snubs; 'Joker' Sequel; New THR Cover

What's news: Spotify's plan to dominate the podcasting space, Lizzo, Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish lead Grammy nominations, Taylor Swift, BTS, Lady Gaga and Beyonce among the snubs, Todd Phillips eyes a Joker sequel and more DC origin stories, why did Charlie's Angels bomb at the box office? Plus: Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun and the imminent rerecording war. --Alex Weprin [The Hollywood Reporter]( [The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment NOVEMBER 20, 2019 What's news: Spotify's plan to dominate the podcasting space, Lizzo, Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish lead Grammy nominations, Taylor Swift, BTS, Lady Gaga and Beyonce among the snubs, Todd Phillips eyes a Joker sequel and more DC origin stories, why did Charlie's Angels bomb at the box office? Plus: Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun and the imminent rerecording war. --Alex Weprin What's news: Spotify's plan to dominate the podcasting space, Lizzo, Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish lead Grammy nominations, Taylor Swift, BTS, Lady Gaga and Beyonce among the snubs, Todd Phillips eyes a Joker sequel and more DC origin stories, why did Charlie's Angels bomb at the box office? Plus: Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun and the imminent rerecording war. --Alex Weprin Spotify’s Plan To ‘Win’ Podcasts [On the cover](: Having helped transform the music industry, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and content chief Dawn Ostroff set their sights (and your ears) on spending hundreds of millions on exclusive podcasts and recruiting Jordan Peele, Mark Wahlberg and the Obamas in a race for scale with Apple and Amazon, Natalie Jarvey reports. +Ek's ambitions: The 36 year-old Swedish CEO says that his goal is to become "the world's number one audio platform," and podcasts are now seen as a vital part of that strategy. The company has earmarked $500 million on the effort, and it appears to be paying off. "Industry insiders estimate the company, which now distributes more than 500,000 podcasts, captures between 10 and 20 percent of the overall podcast audience," Jarvey writes. +An accidental start: Spotify's origins are in the music business, but a surprise discovery in Germany sparked the company's interest in the spoken word. Usage of the app skyrocketed in 2017, and "I couldn't figure out why, and no one seemed to have an idea," he recalls. So he boarded a plane to Berlin, where he huddled with his team and soon discovered that the German music labels own the rights to most audiobooks in the country and had been uploading them onto Spotify. "By accident, we ended up becoming one of the largest audio platforms, period, and one of the largest audiobook platforms in Germany," he says. +The Obama deal: Spotify made headlines earlier this year when it struck an exclusive podcast deal with Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions. The deal, reported to be worth around $10 million, will include scripted an unscripted fare, with one or two expected to debut in 2020, per Ostroff. Dan Fierman, the former Grantland and MTV editorial director, will lead their podcasting efforts from L.A. +Boldfaced names: In addition to the Obamas, Spotify has quietly set up deals with a number of high-profile stars and producers, including Jordan Peele, Paul Feig, Mark Wahlberg and YouTube influencer Lele Pons. [The cover story](. +Spotify has also inked a deal to bring the eight-year-old show The Last Podcast on the Left exclusively to its platform. [More](. ^A Joker sequel is in the works as director Todd Phillips eyes more DC origin movies. Phillips, who will earn close to $100 million for his work on Joker, pitched Warner Bros. on a portfolio of DC origin stories, Tatiana Siegel reports. While the studio balked at that plan, Phillips has secured the rights to one other DC story, and is in negotiations to helm a sequel to the gritty supervillain film. [The story](. +Meanwhile, in the Star Trek universe: Noah Hawley, who is best known for TV's Fargo and Legion, will direct the next Trek film for Paramount. It is expected that Chris Pine will reprise his role as Captain James T. Kirk alongside such castmates as Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana, who have been with the film series since J.J. Abrams revamped the franchise in 2009. This fourth Star Trek stands separate from one that Quentin Tarantino has been attached to for two years. [The story](. Spotify’s Plan To ‘Win’ Podcasts [On the cover](: Having helped transform the music industry, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and content chief Dawn Ostroff set their sights (and your ears) on spending hundreds of millions on exclusive podcasts and recruiting Jordan Peele, Mark Wahlberg and the Obamas in a race for scale with Apple and Amazon, Natalie Jarvey reports. +Ek's ambitions: The 36 year-old Swedish CEO says that his goal is to become "the world's number one audio platform," and podcasts are now seen as a vital part of that strategy. The company has earmarked $500 million on the effort, and it appears to be paying off. "Industry insiders estimate the company, which now distributes more than 500,000 podcasts, captures between 10 and 20 percent of the overall podcast audience," Jarvey writes. +An accidental start: Spotify's origins are in the music business, but a surprise discovery in Germany sparked the company's interest in the spoken word. Usage of the app skyrocketed in 2017, and "I couldn't figure out why, and no one seemed to have an idea," he recalls. So he boarded a plane to Berlin, where he huddled with his team and soon discovered that the German music labels own the rights to most audiobooks in the country and had been uploading them onto Spotify. "By accident, we ended up becoming one of the largest audio platforms, period, and one of the largest audiobook platforms in Germany," he says. +The Obama deal: Spotify made headlines earlier this year when it struck an exclusive podcast deal with Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions. The deal, reported to be worth around $10 million, will include scripted an unscripted fare, with one or two expected to debut in 2020, per Ostroff. Dan Fierman, the former Grantland and MTV editorial director, will lead their podcasting efforts from L.A. +Boldfaced names: In addition to the Obamas, Spotify has quietly set up deals with a number of high-profile stars and producers, including Jordan Peele, Paul Feig, Mark Wahlberg and YouTube influencer Lele Pons. [The cover story](. +Spotify has also inked a deal to bring the eight-year-old show The Last Podcast on the Left exclusively to its platform. [More](. ^A Joker sequel is in the works as director Todd Phillips eyes more DC origin movies. Phillips, who will earn close to $100 million for his work on Joker, pitched Warner Bros. on a portfolio of DC origin stories, Tatiana Siegel reports. While the studio balked at that plan, Phillips has secured the rights to one other DC story, and is in negotiations to helm a sequel to the gritty supervillain film. [The story](. +Meanwhile, in the Star Trek universe: Noah Hawley, who is best known for TV's Fargo and Legion, will direct the next Trek film for Paramount. It is expected that Chris Pine will reprise his role as Captain James T. Kirk alongside such castmates as Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana, who have been with the film series since J.J. Abrams revamped the franchise in 2009. This fourth Star Trek stands separate from one that Quentin Tarantino has been attached to for two years. [The story](. [Grammy Nominations] Grammy Nominations The nominees for the 62nd Grammy Awards were announced on CBS this morning, selected from more than 20,000 submissions across 84 categories. ►Leading nominees by the numbers: Lizzo leads all nominees with eight nominations, including record of the year, song of the year and best new artist. Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish each secured six nominations, and each are nominated for record of the year, album of the year, and best new artist. Ariana Grande had five nominations, including for album of the year and record of the year. Nipsey Hustle, who was killed in March, secured three posthumous nominations. [The complete list of Grammy nominees...]( +Surprising snubs: Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift each secured only three nominations, and neither was nominated for album of the year or record of the year. Beyonce's Homecoming: The Live Album, which was considered a frontrunner for album of the year and other categories, wasn't nominated, though the Homecoming film was. The Jonas Brothers and Ed Sheeran secured only one nomination each, while K-pop superstars BTS were completely shut out. [The full snubs list](. +New records: The 17-year-old Eilish set a record as the youngest nominee in Grammy history to receive nominations in all four general field categories: record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist... Lizzo and Eilish also set another record: This is the first time in Grammy history that two artists have been nominated in all four general field categories. +From the world of Hollywood: Jim Gaffigan, Ellen DeGeneres, Dave Chappelle, Trevor Noah and Aziz Ansari are the nominees for best comedy album, while John Waters and Michelle Obama are among the nominees for best spoken word album. The Lion King, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Rocketman and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse were the nominees in the compilation soundtrack category. ^Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun and the imminent rerecording war. In the streaming age, "boilerplate" contract provisions may be outdated for artists who want to reclaim their older songs, Eriq Gardner reports: "I see broader blanket prohibitions coming." [The story](. ►Charlie's Angels' box office bomb: When to put an expiration date on old IP. Days after Sony's Charlie's Angels reboot fell to earth with a mere $8.4 million opening at the U.S. box office, industry experts are trying to figure out just where to point the finger of blame, Pamela McClintock reports. And more importantly, how much weight does aging intellectual property carry these days when it comes to reboots of classic franchises? [The story](. Elsewhere in film... --Bad Hombre, the horror-centric banner run by Don’t Breath filmmaker Fede Alvarez and his partner Rodolfo Sayagues, [has signed a first-look deal](with Legendary Pictures. The company is coming into the deal hot, with at least two projects in development: An untitled horror thriller described as “The Shining set in the White House,” and a reboot of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. --Lionsgate [has picked up](a comedy set in the world of K-pop from Rebel Wilson, called Seoul Girls. --Judy hair and makeup pro[reveals how]( Renee Zellweger became Judy Garland. --Jonathan Pryce urges [The Two Popes viewers]( to "show compassion." --Harriet Screenwriter reveals studio exec [once suggested]( Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman. --The second trailer for Tom Hooper's film adaptation of Cats dropped Tuesday, offering viewers [another window]( into the world of the fantasy film. ^Kevin Mayer addresses Disney+ launch day glitches. "Some limits to the architecture that we had in place were made apparent to us that weren't before," the chairman of Disney's direct-to-consumer and international division explained Tuesday afternoon at the Code Media conference. Mayer also discussed the decision to raise the price of Hulu's love TV bundle, and its international expansion plans. [The story](. Pickups and renewals: Johnny Galecki is [returning to CBS](. The Big Bang Theory grad is redeveloping multicamera comedy Bait and Tackle for the network after the project narrowly missed a pilot order last year... History channel's longest-running scripted original [will continue](with a new series — but on Netflix. The streaming giant announced it has handed out a straight-to-series order forVikings: Valhalla, a continuation of creator Michael Hirst's show... Science Channel [has greenlit](The Explosion Show, hosted by Tory Belleci of MythBusters fame and Street Bike Tommy Passemante... Nickelodeon [has renewed]( preschool series Blues Clues & You for a second season... Elsewhere in TV... --The streaming video platform Roku is [looking to raise](well over $100 million in a sale of its Class A common stock. --The Politician star Ben Platt on [playing a high school student]( and what's ahead in season two... Mindhunter star Jonathan Groff [on balancing]( his "impossibly bleak" aeries with Beyonce... --Ratings: CBS comedies The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola [hit season highs]( in total viewers Monday night. NBC topped primetime on the broadcast networks in adults 18-49 thanks to The Voice. --Kal Penn was "disappointed" in TV Academy [for excluding]( Sunnyside from immigration focused panel. --Paul Rudd on [acting opposite Paul Rudd](in Living With Yourself. Grammy Nominations The nominees for the 62nd Grammy Awards were announced on CBS this morning, selected from more than 20,000 submissions across 84 categories. ►Leading nominees by the numbers: Lizzo leads all nominees with eight nominations, including record of the year, song of the year and best new artist. Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish each secured six nominations, and each are nominated for record of the year, album of the year, and best new artist. Ariana Grande had five nominations, including for album of the year and record of the year. Nipsey Hustle, who was killed in March, secured three posthumous nominations. [The complete list of Grammy nominees...]( +Surprising snubs: Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift each secured only three nominations, and neither was nominated for album of the year or record of the year. Beyonce's Homecoming: The Live Album, which was considered a frontrunner for album of the year and other categories, wasn't nominated, though the Homecoming film was. The Jonas Brothers and Ed Sheeran secured only one nomination each, while K-pop superstars BTS were completely shut out. [The full snubs list](. +New records: The 17-year-old Eilish set a record as the youngest nominee in Grammy history to receive nominations in all four general field categories: record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist... Lizzo and Eilish also set another record: This is the first time in Grammy history that two artists have been nominated in all four general field categories. +From the world of Hollywood: Jim Gaffigan, Ellen DeGeneres, Dave Chappelle, Trevor Noah and Aziz Ansari are the nominees for best comedy album, while John Waters and Michelle Obama are among the nominees for best spoken word album. The Lion King, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Rocketman and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse were the nominees in the compilation soundtrack category. ^Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun and the imminent rerecording war. In the streaming age, "boilerplate" contract provisions may be outdated for artists who want to reclaim their older songs, Eriq Gardner reports: "I see broader blanket prohibitions coming." [The story](. ►Charlie's Angels' box office bomb: When to put an expiration date on old IP. Days after Sony's Charlie's Angels reboot fell to earth with a mere $8.4 million opening at the U.S. box office, industry experts are trying to figure out just where to point the finger of blame, Pamela McClintock reports. And more importantly, how much weight does aging intellectual property carry these days when it comes to reboots of classic franchises? [The story](. Elsewhere in film... --Bad Hombre, the horror-centric banner run by Don’t Breath filmmaker Fede Alvarez and his partner Rodolfo Sayagues, [has signed a first-look deal](with Legendary Pictures. The company is coming into the deal hot, with at least two projects in development: An untitled horror thriller described as “The Shining set in the White House,” and a reboot of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. --Lionsgate [has picked up](a comedy set in the world of K-pop from Rebel Wilson, called Seoul Girls. --Judy hair and makeup pro[reveals how]( Renee Zellweger became Judy Garland. --Jonathan Pryce urges [The Two Popes viewers]( to "show compassion." --Harriet Screenwriter reveals studio exec [once suggested]( Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman. --The second trailer for Tom Hooper's film adaptation of Cats dropped Tuesday, offering viewers [another window]( into the world of the fantasy film. ^Kevin Mayer addresses Disney+ launch day glitches. "Some limits to the architecture that we had in place were made apparent to us that weren't before," the chairman of Disney's direct-to-consumer and international division explained Tuesday afternoon at the Code Media conference. Mayer also discussed the decision to raise the price of Hulu's love TV bundle, and its international expansion plans. [The story](. Pickups and renewals: Johnny Galecki is [returning to CBS](. The Big Bang Theory grad is redeveloping multicamera comedy Bait and Tackle for the network after the project narrowly missed a pilot order last year... History channel's longest-running scripted original [will continue](with a new series — but on Netflix. The streaming giant announced it has handed out a straight-to-series order forVikings: Valhalla, a continuation of creator Michael Hirst's show... Science Channel [has greenlit](The Explosion Show, hosted by Tory Belleci of MythBusters fame and Street Bike Tommy Passemante... Nickelodeon [has renewed]( preschool series Blues Clues & You for a second season... Elsewhere in TV... --The streaming video platform Roku is [looking to raise](well over $100 million in a sale of its Class A common stock. --The Politician star Ben Platt on [playing a high school student]( and what's ahead in season two... Mindhunter star Jonathan Groff [on balancing]( his "impossibly bleak" aeries with Beyonce... --Ratings: CBS comedies The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola [hit season highs]( in total viewers Monday night. NBC topped primetime on the broadcast networks in adults 18-49 thanks to The Voice. --Kal Penn was "disappointed" in TV Academy [for excluding]( Sunnyside from immigration focused panel. --Paul Rudd on [acting opposite Paul Rudd](in Living With Yourself. [TV Director Diversity Rising] TV Director Diversity Rising ►Television director diversity reaches new high, DGA study finds. For the first time, half of all TV episodes were helmed by women or directors of color, the Directors Guild of America revealed Tuesday in its latest Episodic Television Director Inclusion Report covering the 2018-19 season. That number was up from last year’s prior high of 42.5 percent, and from 21 percent five years ago. [More](. Will CBS CEO Joseph Ianniello have to take the witness stand at a trial next month and talk about Leslie Moonves and the company's problems on the "me too" front? On Monday, CBS took steps to avoid that possibility. [The story](. +Also: Two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein the night he killed himself have [been charged]( with falsifying prison records... In gaming news... --Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick made a rare public appearance at Tuesday's CNBC Evolve Conference in Los Angeles, where he touched on recent controversies surrounding his company, among other topics. [More](. --Esports organization Cloud9 has been fined by Riot Games for violating a rule regarding employee stock plans for the company's League of Legends competitive league. [More](. The Producers Guild of America has announced its [documentary motion picture nominees]( for the 2020 Producers Guild Awards. The films nominated for outstanding producer of documentary motion pictures are: Advocate, American Factory, Apollo 11, The Cave, For Sama, Honeyland and One Child Nation. In other awards news... +The nominees for the sixth annual Game Awards, set to honor the best in video games Dec. 12 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, [have been revealed](. Leading this year's crop of nominees is Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding, the action-adventure title starring Norman Reedus. +Also: Eddie Murphy is [set to receive]( the Career Achievement Award at the Celebration of Black Cinema on Monday, Dec. 2... Chinonye Chukwu, Marielle Heller and Lulu Wang [have been tapped]( for honors at the San Francisco Film Festival... Leah Remini [will be honored]( by the International Documentary Association for her work exposing "the truth behind Scientology" through her A&E documentary series... Kim Kardashian West's makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic [stole the show]( at 2019 American Influencer Awards... Impeachment update... +Ambassador Gordon Sondland told House impeachment investigators Wednesday that Rudy Giuliani was pushing a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine and that he had to go along with it because it’s what President Donald Trump wanted. [More](. +During impeachment testimony on Tuesday, House Democrats took aim at comments made by Fox News opinion hosts about the morning's star witness, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. [More](. +One top national security aide who listened to President Donald Trump’s July call with Ukraine’s president called it “improper.” Another said it was “unusual.” The two testified Tuesday at House impeachment hearings as the inquiry reached deeper into the White House. [More](. Casting roundup: Pom Klementieff has [signed on]( for the next installments of Paramount and Skydance's Mission: Impossible franchise... Showtime's drama pilot Yellowjackets is [firming up its cast](, with Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci signing on for key roles... Timothee Chalamet is to tread London's boards for the very first time, [making his West End debut]( next year in a revival of 4000 Miles at the Old Vic Theater... Revolving door: NBC Sports [has named]( Molly Solomon executive producer and President of NBC Olympics Production, succeeding Jim Bell, who left the company earlier this month... What else we're reading... --"Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy on Rise of Skywalker and the future of Star Wars" [[Rolling Stone](] --"Trying to trademark a meme? OK Boomer" [[NY Times](] --"RuPaul: The philosopher queen" [[Vanity Fair](] --"The 100 greatest albums of the 2010s" [[Billboard](] Today's birthdays: Bo Derek, 63, Dierks Bentley, 44, Joe Biden, 77, Joel McHale, 48, Judy Woodruff, 73. TV Director Diversity Rising ►Television director diversity reaches new high, DGA study finds. For the first time, half of all TV episodes were helmed by women or directors of color, the Directors Guild of America revealed Tuesday in its latest Episodic Television Director Inclusion Report covering the 2018-19 season. That number was up from last year’s prior high of 42.5 percent, and from 21 percent five years ago. [More](. Will CBS CEO Joseph Ianniello have to take the witness stand at a trial next month and talk about Leslie Moonves and the company's problems on the "me too" front? On Monday, CBS took steps to avoid that possibility. [The story](. +Also: Two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein the night he killed himself have [been charged]( with falsifying prison records... In gaming news... --Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick made a rare public appearance at Tuesday's CNBC Evolve Conference in Los Angeles, where he touched on recent controversies surrounding his company, among other topics. [More](. --Esports organization Cloud9 has been fined by Riot Games for violating a rule regarding employee stock plans for the company's League of Legends competitive league. [More](. The Producers Guild of America has announced its [documentary motion picture nominees]( for the 2020 Producers Guild Awards. The films nominated for outstanding producer of documentary motion pictures are: Advocate, American Factory, Apollo 11, The Cave, For Sama, Honeyland and One Child Nation. In other awards news... +The nominees for the sixth annual Game Awards, set to honor the best in video games Dec. 12 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, [have been revealed](. Leading this year's crop of nominees is Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding, the action-adventure title starring Norman Reedus. +Also: Eddie Murphy is [set to receive]( the Career Achievement Award at the Celebration of Black Cinema on Monday, Dec. 2... Chinonye Chukwu, Marielle Heller and Lulu Wang [have been tapped]( for honors at the San Francisco Film Festival... Leah Remini [will be honored]( by the International Documentary Association for her work exposing "the truth behind Scientology" through her A&E documentary series... Kim Kardashian West's makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic [stole the show]( at 2019 American Influencer Awards... Impeachment update... +Ambassador Gordon Sondland told House impeachment investigators Wednesday that Rudy Giuliani was pushing a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine and that he had to go along with it because it’s what President Donald Trump wanted. [More](. +During impeachment testimony on Tuesday, House Democrats took aim at comments made by Fox News opinion hosts about the morning's star witness, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. [More](. +One top national security aide who listened to President Donald Trump’s July call with Ukraine’s president called it “improper.” Another said it was “unusual.” The two testified Tuesday at House impeachment hearings as the inquiry reached deeper into the White House. [More](. Casting roundup: Pom Klementieff has [signed on]( for the next installments of Paramount and Skydance's Mission: Impossible franchise... Showtime's drama pilot Yellowjackets is [firming up its cast](, with Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci signing on for key roles... Timothee Chalamet is to tread London's boards for the very first time, [making his West End debut]( next year in a revival of 4000 Miles at the Old Vic Theater... Revolving door: NBC Sports [has named]( Molly Solomon executive producer and President of NBC Olympics Production, succeeding Jim Bell, who left the company earlier this month... What else we're reading... --"Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy on Rise of Skywalker and the future of Star Wars" [[Rolling Stone](] --"Trying to trademark a meme? OK Boomer" [[NY Times](] --"RuPaul: The philosopher queen" [[Vanity Fair](] --"The 100 greatest albums of the 2010s" [[Billboard](] Today's birthdays: Bo Derek, 63, Dierks Bentley, 44, Joe Biden, 77, Joel McHale, 48, Judy Woodruff, 73. [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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