THR's Oscar Issue Arrives!; Why the Show Still Matters; Exclusive Viewer Poll; New Gender Equality Push; Brutally Honest Ballot

It's magazine day: In the biggest THR Oscars issue ever, 20 A-listers open up about why the show still matters to them. Plus: 52 industry leaders join a new campaign to tackle gender inequality in Hollywood and Judge Judy shops her reruns for $200M. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman. [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( February 22, 2017 It's magazine day: In the biggest THR Oscars issue ever, 20 A-listers open up about why the show still matters to them. Plus: 52 industry leaders join a new campaign to tackle gender inequality in Hollywood and Judge Judy shops her reruns for $200M. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman. It's here: In the annual Oscars issue, notable artists, thinkers and public figures share their personal remembrances: [Jeffrey Katzenberg:]( "Our industry may be obsessed with billion-dollar blockbusters, but the Oscars still remind me of what matters most. Which is why, given the choice in 1974 or in 2017 between a pot of gold or that golden statue, it would be Oscar every time." [Gayle King:]( "I lived in Turkey when I was a kid, from first grade to sixth grade, so I didn't grow up thinking, 'I've got to watch the Oscars.' In my early 20s was when I started watching it — and I've just been hooked ever since." [Michael Ovitz:]( "The Oscars are critical to the survival of the movie business. One of the greatest exports of this country is culture. We dominate at that — always have." [Ryan Murphy:]("For me, it's the gay Super Bowl. And yes, I've lost many an Oscar pool. My most devastating loss was when "Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie lost the original song Oscar to the theme from Norma Rae. I'm still fuming about that one." [Donna Langley:]( "During my most formative years, I watched films like Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Amadeus and Out of Africa win best picture. Films about extra­ordinary people doing extraordinary things helped shape my view of the world and made me fall in love with film." But, some perspective... [The THR Oscar Poll:](National Research Group surveyed 800 people in early February (half Hillary Clinton supporters, half Donald Trump voters) for their opinions about movies, awards shows and politics. There's lots more interesting trivia there, including: ► On average, Clinton fans were slightly more cinema-aware and were more likely to have seen the nominated films. ► 39 percent of Clinton voters knew that La La Land was up for an Oscar, and even fewer Trump voters (26 percent) did. ► 16 percent of Dems knew that Moonlight was a best picture contender, compared to 6 percent of Republicans. ► Both sides were equally oblivious of Hell or High Water; 95 percent of each group didn’t know it’d been nominated. [Oscars Math:]( It's back! For the sixth year in a row, here's Ben Zauzmer's predictions for which title is likeliest to win on Sunday using just numerical factors — from prior awards shows to critics’ scores to betting markets. Flashback: "I was Carrie Fisher's 1978 Oscar date." Tom Coleman, a 30-year member of the Academy, now recounts a wild night with the Star Wars star, which included waltzing with Debbie Reynolds and ended at Richard Dreyfuss' apartment. Fisher: "[This is just like prom!](" Tackling Hollywood Gender Inequality Enough talk: Studio and agency insiders, producers, directors and industry leaders have formed ReFrame, a focused and results-oriented push to break entertainment's gender-parity logjam, Rebecca Sun [reports:]( The group is diverse in gender, race and affiliation — with just two elements in common: industry power and an interest in making progress for women. Twenty-two studios and networks already have agreed to take meetings, [including all six majors](, HBO and Netflix. "Sending out these senior-level ambassadors to meet with top executives and decision-makers at studios, networks and agencies is a very collegial approach," says Sundance Institute exec director Keri Putnam. "It isn't about outsiders saying what should be done." "My immediate goal is to get every person we meet with to sign their companies up for the unconscious bias training," says Michael De Luca, who's producing this year's Academy Awards show. "The biggest challenge will be getting people past the idea that they are doing enough," says director Paul Feig. "Everyone agrees with the cause and thinks, 'We're on that.' But it's about getting to that next level where you actually physically do it." Elsewhere in film... ► Angelina Jolie lines up new acting, directing projects. Tatiana Siegel's scoop: The actress is in talks to star in The Spy Who Loved Me and a Catherine the Great project, both at Universal. She's also developing Without Blood as a directing vehicle and has signed on to produce The One and Only Ivan for Disney. [Details.]( ► Martin Scorsese gangster film The Irishman heads to Netflix (!). The streamer has [picked up]( the rights to the long-gestating project, which was originally set up at Paramount. It will see the director reunite with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino. ► Kyle Chandler to star in Godzilla sequel. The Bloodline star [has joined]( Legendary and Warner Bros.' Godzilla: King of the Monsters, along with Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown. It is slated for release on March 22, 2019. ► Charlize Theron to star in spy thriller Need to Know. Theron will [star in]( and produce Universal’s adaptation of the novel Need to Know, about a young mother who works as a CIA analyst. ^[The Han Solo crew:]( That's Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke and Woody Harrelson pictured with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, as well as Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. ► Game of Thrones actor joins Shane Black's The Predator. Alfie Allen, who plays Theon Greyjoy, has joined the cast of the Predator reboot. The 20th Century Fox movie began shooting Monday in Vancouver, with Boyd Holbrook leading [the ensemble cast.]( ► Alien: Covenant image confirms James Franco casting. Franco appears in a new image showing the full crew of Ridley Scott's Covenant for the first time. The new image heralds the debut of new footage from the movie Wednesday, [so stay tuned](. ► R.I.P., Leah Adler. The mother of Steven Spielberg who fostered his interest in filmmaking, died Tuesday at 97. [Full obit.]( Job listing: Paramount seeks studio chief. Stephen Galloway and Kim Masters write: Brad Grey's exit comes amid a $450M loss, a tug-of-war with Viacom's CFO and a plan to impose a "steering committee" to greenlight movies, which may hurt the effort to [recruit his replacement](. Judge Judy's $200M Reruns Judge Judy has moved from the bench to the negotiating table. In addition to a $47M CBS salary, Judge Judith Sheindlin also negotiated rights to her repeats, which she's quietly pitching to potential outlets, Lacey Rose [reports:]( If all goes as Sheindlin hopes, she'll soon sell that catalog for as much as $200M — and in doing so throw cold water on a long-held theory that there's little to no aftermarket for such syndicated shows. Shopping the library on Sheindlin's behalf is former Bear Stearns banker Lisbeth R. Barron. [Her pitch:]( Per multiple sources who have heard it, TV stations — those that currently air Judge Judy originals as well as their competitors — will be salivating for anything Judy once the first-run episodes conclude in 2020; plus, the No. 1 court show has yet to be exploited in much of the streaming, cable or global marketplace. At least a few of the more traditional Hollywood players are said to have balked at the nine-figure tag, calling it "too risky" at that price point. "Is it sellable? Yes. Is it sellable for hundreds of millions of dollars? I don't think so," says one. Elsewhere in TV... ► Fox News orders Harvey Levin's OBJECTified. The [10-episode series](, which began as a hourlong special in which the TMZ founder toured President Trump's home, will debut fall 2017. ► NBC renews Days of Our Lives (for season 52!). The show aired its [13,000th episode]( in January. The renewal comes after speculation that the network may cancel the drama to open up the time slot for Megyn Kelly's new daytime show. ► Fox renews The Mick for season 2. The show was a [strong performer]( out of the gate for Fox, opening to a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49 in January. Season two will consist of 13 episodes. [Memo to staff:]( Keith Cox is set to lead Paramount Network and TV Land. The exec will report to Kevin Kay, president of TV Land, CMT and Spike TV, with the latter set to be rebranded in 2018. ► Comedy Central programming exec exits. Gary Mann is leaving his post after 13 years, per [a memo](. He served as programming exec on such series as Key and Peele and @midnight with Chris Hardwick. ► HBO's Alan Ball family drama casts Tim Robbins. The Academy Award winner is set to star in the untitled 10-episode, [straight-to-series]( family drama. ► Fox's Empire books Demi Moore. The hip-hop drama has enlisted the actress for a multiple-episode role, her [biggest TV role]( since her regular run on General Hospital. She will make her debut in the season three finale. ► ABC's Gospel of Kevin finds star. Parenthood alum Jason Ritter has been tapped for [the drama pilot](, which centers on a down-on-his-luck man who is tasked by God with a mission to save the world. ► Marvel's Inhumans enlists Thrones actor. Iwan Rheon has been tapped [to star]( in the straight-to-series drama on ABC, which will also bow on Imax screens over Labor Day weekend. ► Fox's Behind Enemy Lines reboot enlists CSI grad. Marg Helgenberger has [boarded]( the series, which is loosely based on the 2001 movie of the same name. Nikki Toscano the penned the pilot, which McG will direct. Trump Hollywood star vandal gets sentenced. The 53-year-old Los Angeles man who destroyed the Walk of Fame star belonging to Trump last fall was ordered to pay $3,700 to the Hollywood Historic Trust and $700 to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. [Details.]( Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot It's that time of year: Anonymous Oscar voters are sharing their ballots with Scott Feinberg. First up (of more than a few): A voter says Meryl Streep is "like a clown" and La La Land is "not memorable." [Brutally Honest Ballot #1.]( What else we're reading... — "Bill Maher, faulted for booking Milo Yiannopoulos, takes credit for his fall." Dave Itzkoff checks in: "If you were disappointed that Bill Maher brought Milo Yiannopoulos onto his HBO show Real Time last week, Mr. Maher is not especially bothered." [[The New York Times](] — "Inside Disney’s troubled $675 mil. Maker Studios acquisition." Sahil Patel reports: "There was the internal dysfunction at Maker, including multiple leadership changes, an inability to meet admittedly aggressive growth targets and difficulties in creating original content." [[Digiday](] — "Could HBO be the new Netflix?" Jeff Ihaza points out: "HBO’s deep catalog of old shows and movies, as well as a solid offering of news shows ... create a good enough reason to check in on the site regularly, an advantage over Netflix’s more static offerings that update monthly." [[The Outline](] — "The secret reason La La Land will win best picture." Michael Salfino notes: "Of the 89 winners of the best picture award to date, a startling 19 have focused on characters pursuing careers in show business." [[The Wall Street Journal](] — "My 2017 Oscar predictions." Film critic Richard Brody writes: "I’ll balance punditry with pessimism — I’ve learned to assume that my favorite films won’t win ... But I think that Moonlight will win big." [[The New Yorker](] Today's Birthdays: Drew Barrymore, 42, James Blunt, 43, Thomas Jane, 48, Paul Lieberstein, 50, Kyle MacLachlan, 58. Follow The News Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2017 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Preferences]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use]( February 22, 2017