Hollywood Takes Action Amid Protests; THR Pride Issue; Warner Music Sets IPO; Theater Chains Reveal Pandemic Losses

What's news: Warner Music prices its IPO as it gets set to go public, AMC Theatres and Cinemark release pandemic-hit Q1 earnings and tease reopenings, words alone are "not going to cut it" as Hollywood takes action amid protests, Dick Wolf fires a Law & Order writer over threatening social media post, the first Cannes selection will appear in San Sebastian. Plus: THR's inaugural Pride Issue, featuring conversations between Janet Mock and Ted Sarandos, Billy Porter and Anna Wintour, and the LGBTQ power list. --Alex Weprin [The Hollywood Reporter]( [The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment JUNE 03, 2020 What's news: Warner Music prices its IPO as it gets set to go public, AMC Theatres and Cinemark release pandemic-hit Q1 earnings and tease reopenings, words alone are "not going to cut it" as Hollywood takes action amid protests, Dick Wolf fires a Law & Order writer over threatening social media post, the first Cannes selection will appear in San Sebastian. Plus: THR's inaugural Pride Issue, featuring conversations between Janet Mock and Ted Sarandos, Billy Porter and Anna Wintour, and the LGBTQ power list. --Alex Weprin What's news: Warner Music prices its IPO as it gets set to go public, AMC Theatres and Cinemark release pandemic-hit Q1 earnings and tease reopenings, words alone are "not going to cut it" as Hollywood takes action amid protests, Dick Wolf fires a Law & Order writer over threatening social media post, the first Cannes selection will appear in San Sebastian. Plus: THR's inaugural Pride Issue, featuring conversations between Janet Mock and Ted Sarandos, Billy Porter and Anna Wintour, and the LGBTQ power list. --Alex Weprin The Pride Issue On the cover: In its inaugural Pride Issue, The Hollywood Reporter honors the most powerful LGBTQ people in the industry who are making global culture more inclusive: "I'll feel good about representation when 'gay actor,' 'gay director,' 'gay writer,' 'gay story' are no longer labels even worth mentioning." THR homed in on the talent and makers helping boost visibility and creating opportunities for members of the extended LGBTQ community. These 50-plus power players, from Laverne Cox to the cast of Queer Eye, each make a unique contribution — and share here where they first felt seen by Hollywood and what work still needs to be done to achieve equitable representation. Also on the list: Greg Berlanti, Casey Bloys, RuPaul, Andy Cohen and Ellen DeGeneres. [The full list](. Also from the Pride Issue... ►Pose producer Janet Mock in conversation with ally Ted Sarandos. When Mock signed an overall deal with Netflix in 2019, she became the first transgender person to do so with a big media company. She talks with the chief content officer at Netflix, named by GLAAD as the No. 1 streamer for LGBTQ content for 2019-20. Quote: "[A]s a creator or commissioner what I would say is, always ask why. And then make the show or the movie that feels real to you. We see time and again that the stories people love — wherever they live, whatever their background — are the ones that feel authentic and real. And there is no real world without LGBTQ or other underrepresented groups of people in it." [The conversation](. ►Billy Porter and LGBTQ Ally Anna Wintour on fashion's inclusivity and arriving at the Met Gala as an "Egyptian Sun King." The Vogue editor-in-chief and Conde Nast artistic director and global content adviser chats with Porter about what being an LGBTQ ally means to her. [The conversation](. ►Lilly Wachowski shares how the Matrix franchise was inspired by "rage" and "oppression" before her transition. The filmmaker and Showtime's Work in Progress producer reflects on trans community members sharing the importance of her films in their own coming-out journeys: "I’m extraordinarily grateful that I could offer that to people." [The story](. ^Warner Music set to go public. Warner Music Group on Wednesday priced its much-anticipated initial public offering at $25 per share, at the higher end of the $23-$26 range and valuing the company at $12.75 billion. The music major's shares will start trading on Nasdaq today under ticker symbol "WMG," kicking off the biggest U.S. IPO week of the year after a quiet time due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the recession it is expected to cause. [The story](. +The stock had been expected to price on Tuesday, but the company delayed that to Wednesday to support Blackout Tuesday when the music and entertainment industries went dark to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. WMG and controlling shareholder Len Blavatnik's (pictured above) Blavatnik Family Foundation also announced Wednesday a $100 million fund "to support charitable causes related to the music industry, social justice and campaigns against violence and racism." Two of the major movie theater chains released delayed and pandemic-impacted financials for the first quarter of 2020 Wednesday morning... +AMC Theatres told investors that expects to take a loss of up to $2.4 billion, driven by a big impairment charge spurred by the novel coronavirus pandemic. AMC said in a regulatory filing that it would post a loss of $2.1 billion-$2.4 billion due to the charge of $1.8 billion-$2.1 billion "related to estimated long lived assets, indefinite-lived intangible assets and goodwill." AMC said its revenue for the first quarter fell about 22 percent to approximately $941.5 million from $1.2 billion. It expects to reopen its theaters "this summer," but warned that a resurgence of COVID-19 could make it difficult to stay afloat. [The story](. +Cinemark swung to a loss for the first quarter due to the initial financial hit from the novel coronavirus pandemic starting in mid-March. It posted a quarterly loss of $59.6 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with a profit of $32.7 million in the year-ago period, or 28 cents a share. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, another profitability metric, fell to $66.2 million from $152.3. Revenue dropped 24 percent from $714.7 million to $543.6 million. It expects the first phase of reopening its theaters to start June 19. [The story](. The Pride Issue On the cover: In its inaugural Pride Issue, The Hollywood Reporter honors the most powerful LGBTQ people in the industry who are making global culture more inclusive: "I'll feel good about representation when 'gay actor,' 'gay director,' 'gay writer,' 'gay story' are no longer labels even worth mentioning." THR homed in on the talent and makers helping boost visibility and creating opportunities for members of the extended LGBTQ community. These 50-plus power players, from Laverne Cox to the cast of Queer Eye, each make a unique contribution — and share here where they first felt seen by Hollywood and what work still needs to be done to achieve equitable representation. Also on the list: Greg Berlanti, Casey Bloys, RuPaul, Andy Cohen and Ellen DeGeneres. [The full list](. Also from the Pride Issue... ►Pose producer Janet Mock in conversation with ally Ted Sarandos. When Mock signed an overall deal with Netflix in 2019, she became the first transgender person to do so with a big media company. She talks with the chief content officer at Netflix, named by GLAAD as the No. 1 streamer for LGBTQ content for 2019-20. Quote: "[A]s a creator or commissioner what I would say is, always ask why. And then make the show or the movie that feels real to you. We see time and again that the stories people love — wherever they live, whatever their background — are the ones that feel authentic and real. And there is no real world without LGBTQ or other underrepresented groups of people in it." [The conversation](. ►Billy Porter and LGBTQ Ally Anna Wintour on fashion's inclusivity and arriving at the Met Gala as an "Egyptian Sun King." The Vogue editor-in-chief and Conde Nast artistic director and global content adviser chats with Porter about what being an LGBTQ ally means to her. [The conversation](. ►Lilly Wachowski shares how the Matrix franchise was inspired by "rage" and "oppression" before her transition. The filmmaker and Showtime's Work in Progress producer reflects on trans community members sharing the importance of her films in their own coming-out journeys: "I’m extraordinarily grateful that I could offer that to people." [The story](. ^Warner Music set to go public. Warner Music Group on Wednesday priced its much-anticipated initial public offering at $25 per share, at the higher end of the $23-$26 range and valuing the company at $12.75 billion. The music major's shares will start trading on Nasdaq today under ticker symbol "WMG," kicking off the biggest U.S. IPO week of the year after a quiet time due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the recession it is expected to cause. [The story](. +The stock had been expected to price on Tuesday, but the company delayed that to Wednesday to support Blackout Tuesday when the music and entertainment industries went dark to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. WMG and controlling shareholder Len Blavatnik's (pictured above) Blavatnik Family Foundation also announced Wednesday a $100 million fund "to support charitable causes related to the music industry, social justice and campaigns against violence and racism." Two of the major movie theater chains released delayed and pandemic-impacted financials for the first quarter of 2020 Wednesday morning... +AMC Theatres told investors that expects to take a loss of up to $2.4 billion, driven by a big impairment charge spurred by the novel coronavirus pandemic. AMC said in a regulatory filing that it would post a loss of $2.1 billion-$2.4 billion due to the charge of $1.8 billion-$2.1 billion "related to estimated long lived assets, indefinite-lived intangible assets and goodwill." AMC said its revenue for the first quarter fell about 22 percent to approximately $941.5 million from $1.2 billion. It expects to reopen its theaters "this summer," but warned that a resurgence of COVID-19 could make it difficult to stay afloat. [The story](. +Cinemark swung to a loss for the first quarter due to the initial financial hit from the novel coronavirus pandemic starting in mid-March. It posted a quarterly loss of $59.6 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with a profit of $32.7 million in the year-ago period, or 28 cents a share. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, another profitability metric, fell to $66.2 million from $152.3. Revenue dropped 24 percent from $714.7 million to $543.6 million. It expects the first phase of reopening its theaters to start June 19. [The story](. [What Hollywood Needs To Do] What Hollywood Needs To Do ►As Hollywood takes action amid protests, words alone are "not going to cut it." As the industry signals it will work to combat racial injustice, companies scramble to roll out concrete plans beyond donations — and expectations, Natalie Jarvey and Mia Galuppo report. Quote: "We are quite accustomed to seeing liberal individuals align themselves with various movements," says Todd Boyd, a professor of critical studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. "The next time you see some stereotypical violent, threatening black male in a movie, all of a sudden those nice comments get put in a different context. You can't have it both ways. You can't circulate dehumanized images of black men and then when they get killed, 'This is wrong and we are sorry it happened.'" [The story](. ►Dick Wolf fires writer following threats to "light up" looters. Craig Gore was hired in early May to work on NBC's Wolf-produced Law & Order: SVU spinoff starring Christopher Meloni. On Monday night, amid protests in West Hollywood, Gore posted a photo of himself armed with what appears to be a large firearm. "Sunset is being looted two blocks from me. You think I wont light motherfuckers up who are trying to f*ck w/ my property I worked all my life for? Think again…" --"I will not tolerate this conduct, especially during our hour of national grief. I am terminating Craig Gore immediately," Wolf said in a statement to THR's Lesley Goldberg. --Gore has also been fired by his agency, Paradigm, the company said in a statement Tuesday afternoon: "Craig Gore is no longer a Paradigm client. We condemn his post in the strongest possible terms." [The story](. +Black Lives Matter co-founder calls for defunding of police departments. Patrisse Cullors, a TV writer on Freeform's Good Trouble, describes the ongoing protests as "a human reaction to a deeply unstable and dysfunctional relationship to a country that has dehumanized us for centuries." Quote: “Our vision is for a world rooted in the care and love and humanity for every human being... A world that relies on an economy of care versus one with an economy of punishment. An abolitionist believes in freedom.” [The story](. +Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast and showrunner donate $100K to National Bail Fund Network. "We encourage you to look up your local bail fund: the National Bail Fund Network is an organization that can lead you to them. #blacklivesmatter," showrunner Dan Goor said in a social media post Tuesday. [More](. +ABC re-airs Black-ish police violence episode. The network re-aired the 2016 episode of Black-ish dealing with police brutality on Tuesday. Series creator Kenya Barris said it "breaks my heart" that the episode is still relevant today. [More](. +Don Cheadle pleads to white friends and colleagues: "Get on the front lines with us." The actor joined a conversation on NBC titled 'Can You Hear Us Now?' dedicated to making progress toward race relations in America. [More](. +Keke Palmer addresses National Guard soldiers at L.A. protest: "March beside us." The actress led a passionate exchange between protesters and National Guard soldiers during one of the many protests on Tuesday afternoon. [More](. +Where things stand: New York City extended an 8 p.m. curfew all week and [said it would prohibit]( many types of nighttime traffic in Manhattan... There were several sizable demonstrations in Los Angeles and Mayor Eric Garcetti [took a knee]( at one while in a crowd outside police headquarters... President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he is[seeking a new state]( to host this summer’s Republican National Convention after host North Carolina refused to guarantee the event could be held in Charlotte without restrictions because of ongoing concerns over the coronavirus... What Hollywood Needs To Do ►As Hollywood takes action amid protests, words alone are "not going to cut it." As the industry signals it will work to combat racial injustice, companies scramble to roll out concrete plans beyond donations — and expectations, Natalie Jarvey and Mia Galuppo report. Quote: "We are quite accustomed to seeing liberal individuals align themselves with various movements," says Todd Boyd, a professor of critical studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. "The next time you see some stereotypical violent, threatening black male in a movie, all of a sudden those nice comments get put in a different context. You can't have it both ways. You can't circulate dehumanized images of black men and then when they get killed, 'This is wrong and we are sorry it happened.'" [The story](. ►Dick Wolf fires writer following threats to "light up" looters. Craig Gore was hired in early May to work on NBC's Wolf-produced Law & Order: SVU spinoff starring Christopher Meloni. On Monday night, amid protests in West Hollywood, Gore posted a photo of himself armed with what appears to be a large firearm. "Sunset is being looted two blocks from me. You think I wont light motherfuckers up who are trying to f*ck w/ my property I worked all my life for? Think again…" --"I will not tolerate this conduct, especially during our hour of national grief. I am terminating Craig Gore immediately," Wolf said in a statement to THR's Lesley Goldberg. --Gore has also been fired by his agency, Paradigm, the company said in a statement Tuesday afternoon: "Craig Gore is no longer a Paradigm client. We condemn his post in the strongest possible terms." [The story](. +Black Lives Matter co-founder calls for defunding of police departments. Patrisse Cullors, a TV writer on Freeform's Good Trouble, describes the ongoing protests as "a human reaction to a deeply unstable and dysfunctional relationship to a country that has dehumanized us for centuries." Quote: “Our vision is for a world rooted in the care and love and humanity for every human being... A world that relies on an economy of care versus one with an economy of punishment. An abolitionist believes in freedom.” [The story](. +Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast and showrunner donate $100K to National Bail Fund Network. "We encourage you to look up your local bail fund: the National Bail Fund Network is an organization that can lead you to them. #blacklivesmatter," showrunner Dan Goor said in a social media post Tuesday. [More](. +ABC re-airs Black-ish police violence episode. The network re-aired the 2016 episode of Black-ish dealing with police brutality on Tuesday. Series creator Kenya Barris said it "breaks my heart" that the episode is still relevant today. [More](. +Don Cheadle pleads to white friends and colleagues: "Get on the front lines with us." The actor joined a conversation on NBC titled 'Can You Hear Us Now?' dedicated to making progress toward race relations in America. [More](. +Keke Palmer addresses National Guard soldiers at L.A. protest: "March beside us." The actress led a passionate exchange between protesters and National Guard soldiers during one of the many protests on Tuesday afternoon. [More](. +Where things stand: New York City extended an 8 p.m. curfew all week and [said it would prohibit]( many types of nighttime traffic in Manhattan... There were several sizable demonstrations in Los Angeles and Mayor Eric Garcetti [took a knee]( at one while in a crowd outside police headquarters... President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he is[seeking a new state]( to host this summer’s Republican National Convention after host North Carolina refused to guarantee the event could be held in Charlotte without restrictions because of ongoing concerns over the coronavirus... [Diverse Directing Workshops Go Online] Diverse Directing Workshops Go Online ►Diverse directors workshops push production and move online mid-pandemic: "We're undaunted." Though programs from the Film Independent labs to the AFI Directing Workshop for Women involve working on-set, some are shifting their curriculums to Zoom and developing safety guidelines to meet the moment, Katie Kilkenny reports. Quote: "In one sense, they have this really special time where they get to focus on the creative process, but at the same time, there's so much uncertainty about where they'll be able to take their films" in terms of film festivals and distributors, Film Independent's director of artist development, Lisa Hasko, says. [The story](. ►Cannes selection to premiere in competition in San Sebastian. "Exceptional circumstances, exceptional measures," said Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux in a transcript of the speech he will give today in Paris at the Official Selection unveiling. The Cannes Festival released the transcript of the speech, revealing details of this year's line-up without naming any of the films selected. [The story](. ►A new Batwoman: Whoever ends up under the cowl in season two of Batwoman, they won't be playing Kate Kane. Following the surprise departure of Ruby Rose from the title role at the end of The CW superhero drama's first season, the show has opted to create a new character to play Batwoman rather than recast Rose's role of Kate Kane, a cousin of Bruce Wayne.[More](. ►TV ratings: NBC topped Monday's ratings as The Titan Games improved on its premiere last week and The Wall got a sizable boost by moving to a new night. The finale of The Baker and the Beauty on ABC also improved and ratings in general were up a bit from last week's Memorial Day holiday. [The numbers](. Obituaries: [Peggy Pope](, the veteran character actress who appeared on Broadway and Soap and played the tipsy office secretary Margaret in the hit 1980 film 9 to 5, has died. She was 91.... Mexican comic [Héctor Suárez](, whose decades-long career celebrated the common man and satirized the rich, corrupt and arrogant, has died at 81... In other news... --Former Hollywood filmmaker Renny Harlin is returning to his roots for a comedy feature [that will begin shooting]( in Finland later this month under strict COVID-19 safety protocols. --Dan Abrams has set another courtroom drama with A&E. A+E Networks [has greenlit]( Killer Cases, a new series that takes viewers inside America's most notorious courtoom murder trials, from Dan Abrams' Law&Crime Productions and Cineflix Rights. --Kino Lorber [has acquired]( U.S. rights to Jerry Rothwell's critically-acclaimed documentary The Reason I Jump, based on the international bestseller by Naoki Higashida. --In the wake of nationwide unrest following the death of George Floyd, Activision [has postponed]( new seasons of its first-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty. --Michael Che [responded to a stand-up bit](that recently resurfaced on social media when he visited Late Night on Monday. In his 2016 Netflix special Michael Che Matters, the comedian discussed the semantics of the phrase "Black Lives Matter" in response to people arguing that "all lives matter." --Deep Inside Valley of Dolls excerpt: How film rights for Jacqueline Susann's novel [prompted a bidding war](. What else we're reading... --"People can’t stop watching videos of police and protesters. That’s the idea" [[NY Times](] --"The brands, they are a-postin’" [[Vanity Fair](] --"Why the N.B.A. is planning on Going to Disney World" [[NY Times](] --"Facebook’s Zuckerberg defends decision to leave Trump posts alone" [[WSJ](] Today's birthdays: Suzi Quatro, 70, Rafael Nadal, 34, Imogen Poots, 31, Bill Paterson, 75, Anderson Cooper, 53. Diverse Directing Workshops Go Online ►Diverse directors workshops push production and move online mid-pandemic: "We're undaunted." Though programs from the Film Independent labs to the AFI Directing Workshop for Women involve working on-set, some are shifting their curriculums to Zoom and developing safety guidelines to meet the moment, Katie Kilkenny reports. Quote: "In one sense, they have this really special time where they get to focus on the creative process, but at the same time, there's so much uncertainty about where they'll be able to take their films" in terms of film festivals and distributors, Film Independent's director of artist development, Lisa Hasko, says. [The story](. ►Cannes selection to premiere in competition in San Sebastian. "Exceptional circumstances, exceptional measures," said Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux in a transcript of the speech he will give today in Paris at the Official Selection unveiling. The Cannes Festival released the transcript of the speech, revealing details of this year's line-up without naming any of the films selected. [The story](. ►A new Batwoman: Whoever ends up under the cowl in season two of Batwoman, they won't be playing Kate Kane. Following the surprise departure of Ruby Rose from the title role at the end of The CW superhero drama's first season, the show has opted to create a new character to play Batwoman rather than recast Rose's role of Kate Kane, a cousin of Bruce Wayne.[More](. ►TV ratings: NBC topped Monday's ratings as The Titan Games improved on its premiere last week and The Wall got a sizable boost by moving to a new night. The finale of The Baker and the Beauty on ABC also improved and ratings in general were up a bit from last week's Memorial Day holiday. [The numbers](. Obituaries: [Peggy Pope](, the veteran character actress who appeared on Broadway and Soap and played the tipsy office secretary Margaret in the hit 1980 film 9 to 5, has died. She was 91.... Mexican comic [Héctor Suárez](, whose decades-long career celebrated the common man and satirized the rich, corrupt and arrogant, has died at 81... In other news... --Former Hollywood filmmaker Renny Harlin is returning to his roots for a comedy feature [that will begin shooting]( in Finland later this month under strict COVID-19 safety protocols. --Dan Abrams has set another courtroom drama with A&E. A+E Networks [has greenlit]( Killer Cases, a new series that takes viewers inside America's most notorious courtoom murder trials, from Dan Abrams' Law&Crime Productions and Cineflix Rights. --Kino Lorber [has acquired]( U.S. rights to Jerry Rothwell's critically-acclaimed documentary The Reason I Jump, based on the international bestseller by Naoki Higashida. --In the wake of nationwide unrest following the death of George Floyd, Activision [has postponed]( new seasons of its first-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty. --Michael Che [responded to a stand-up bit](that recently resurfaced on social media when he visited Late Night on Monday. In his 2016 Netflix special Michael Che Matters, the comedian discussed the semantics of the phrase "Black Lives Matter" in response to people arguing that "all lives matter." --Deep Inside Valley of Dolls excerpt: How film rights for Jacqueline Susann's novel [prompted a bidding war](. What else we're reading... --"People can’t stop watching videos of police and protesters. That’s the idea" [[NY Times](] --"The brands, they are a-postin’" [[Vanity Fair](] --"Why the N.B.A. is planning on Going to Disney World" [[NY Times](] --"Facebook’s Zuckerberg defends decision to leave Trump posts alone" [[WSJ](] Today's birthdays: Suzi Quatro, 70, Rafael Nadal, 34, Imogen Poots, 31, Bill Paterson, 75, Anderson Cooper, 53. [Image] [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2020 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. JUNE 03, 2020 [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [MANAGE PREFERENCES]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [TERMS OF USE](