Revenge of Old White Men; O'Reilly's Woman Problems; Why 'Ghost in the Shell' Bombed; Malibu's Rising Sea Fears

What's news: Not a good weekend for Bill O'Reilly, Fox News' $18M-a-year star. The New York Times reported that he's at the center of five separate harassment claims. Then why did Fox recently extend his contract? Plus: Paramount's marketing chief explains why Ghost in the Shell didn't perform and Malibu home buyers head for high ground. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman. [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( April 03, 2017 What's news: Not a good weekend for Bill O'Reilly, Fox News' $18M-a-year star. The New York Times reported that he's at the center of five separate harassment claims. Then why did Fox recently extend his contract? Plus: Paramount's marketing chief explains why Ghost in the Shell didn't perform and Malibu home buyers head for high ground. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman. Can Fox News keep pretending there is no Bill O'Reilly scandal? That appears to be the default position of the cable news channel after The New York Times published an expose detailing alleged misconduct by the Fox News anchor: [NYT key graf:]( "An investigation by The New York Times has found a total of five women who have received payouts from either Mr. O’Reilly or the company in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations against him. The agreements totaled about $13 million." Shortly thereafter, the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal published a story confirming that the cabler had recently re-upped the network star despite the allegations: [WSJ key graf:]( "Mr. O’Reilly’s contract, which was due to expire at the end of this year, was recently renewed, according to people close to the parties involved. The recent review of the allegations against Mr. O’Reilly was taken into consideration when the network negotiated a new contract with the anchor, a person familiar with the matter said." This morning, attorney Lisa Bloom, who had represented multiple Trump accusers last year, is holding [a press conference]( in Woodland Hills with radio host Dr. Wendy Walsh, who is set to "speak out about her claims of sexual harassment and retaliation" by O'Reilly. Matt emails: Remember when the Murdochs fired Roger Ailes and put out a lengthy statement detailing how Fox News won't tolerate harassment of women in the workplace? Well, this new report about Fox's biggest star puts fresh pressure on James and Lachlan. How will they respond? O'Reilly hires "master of disaster" for P.R. battle. Another detail from the Times piece to watch: the Fox host [hired]( Mark Fabiani, who had been a special counsel to Bill Clinton, advised Lance Armstrong during his doping scandal and consulted for the Beverly Hills Hotel during the Sultan of Brunei ownership protests. 'Lies' Soapy, Satisfying Finale HBO's Big Little Lies, which aired its finale on Sunday, wasn't always subtle, and it was full of contrivances, but it had magnificent performances, critic Daniel Fienberg writes in his post-mortem: My partner-in-reviewing-crime Tim Goodman was [NOT a fan]( of Big Little Lies. His review questioned its realism, its dramatic stakes, its mystery structure and its lack of subtlety. Having now completed the seven-episode miniseries, I can accept many of the flaws that Tim saw and I can acknowledge them with an enthusiastic, "Sure, but…" Big Little Lies was absolutely the most Rich White People Problems of Rich White People Problems shows. Behind every impediment and all the sadness lurking in these swanky coastal mansions was a core issue that offered something more universal to discuss or experience. [Finale spoiler talk here.]( [Lies director: There shouldn't be a season two]( I [Alexander Skarsgard Q&A.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Black Sails creator breaks down last night's finale. "It's largely the ending we were hoping for when we started at the very beginning of the series," series creator Jon Steinberg [explains](. ► About Feud's "love letter" to the 1963 Oscars. Ryan Murphy, the creator of the FX anthology, talks about last night's re-creation of the awards and getting inside Joan Crawford's head. [Full Q&A.]( ► About The Walking Dead's season finale. Last night, the AMC zombie drama opened the door to a full-scale attack — and pivotal comic book arc — to come in season eight. [Spoilers here.]( ↱ [It's MLB opening day! Here's a Q&A]( with incoming Dodgers TV announcer Joe Davis, who'll be stepping in to permanently replace legend Vin Scully, starting with the team's game against the Padres. ↲ [^Soccer star Pele getting scripted TV treatment.]( Keeping Up With the Kardashians producers Bunim/Murray Productions is teaming with Pele and his manager Paul Kemsley to develop a limited series based on the icon's life. No network is yet attached. ► Star Trek: Discovery enlists Rainn Wilson. The Office grad has boarded the CBS All Access drama, [taking on the role](of Harry Mudd, the character first introduced in the original Star Trek TV series. ► NBC greenlights game show hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. Coming off the continued success of Little Big Shots, Genius Junior [will test]( the smarts of the most brilliant children in the country. The first season will run 10 episodes. ► R.I.P., Gary Austin. The founder of the improv group The Groundlings, which launched the careers of countless comedic actors, has died following a long battle with cancer. He was 75. [Full obit.]( Amazon takes over Hollywood Athletic Club for big FYC events. The streaming service is transforming numerous rooms within the historic club into an extensive "for your consideration" event encompassing eight nights [spanning April 18-28.]( Why 'Ghost in the Shell' Bombed While Paramount tried some innovative marketing to launch the Scarlett Johansson action film, it limped into theaters with a $19M domestic opening. Gregg Kilday looks at [what went wrong:]( Its notoriety — both among fans of the original Japanese manga on which it was based and among those who argued an Asian star should have been cast in the central role — may have raised its profile only to make it a more tempting target for demanding critics who appear to have sealed its fate. In North America, the audience for the film was dominated by older males — men comprised 61 percent of the opening weekend crowd, and 76 percent of the audience was over 25. The film played better in cities than rural areas, and it attracted a relatively upscale crowd. Forty-four percent of the audience opted to see the movie in 3D and Imax theaters accounted for 15 percent of the opening weekend take. “I think in the end we did an OK job with the fan base, many of them came out,” says Megan Colligan, Paramount president of worldwide distribution and marketing, “[but this movie wasn’t allowed to just be a movie](.” Elsewhere in film... ► U.S. box office: Boss Baby gets surprise win. The DreamWorks Animation release grabbed an estimated $49M, unseating Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which collected $47.5M during its third weekend as its domestic gross rose to $395.5M. [Full weekend chart.]( ► China box office: Kong rules quiet pre-holiday weekend. After opening to a mighty $72M in the Middle Kingdom last week, the film slipped to $23.4M during its sophomore frame, taking its 10-day total to $123.6M.[Full wrap.]( ► Japan looks to make filming in public places easier. Few international productions shoot in Tokyo or around major landmarks, partly due to the difficulty in obtaining permission. The government is now looking [to streamline]( the process for applications. ↱ ["Hollywood's revenge of the old white male."]( Steven Galloway's new column: The truth is, Hollywood’s experiencing a riptide of its own, and rarely was that more apparent than last week, when the Old White Guys reasserted their grip on power. ↲ [^How Tom Cruise helped save Zero Dark Thirty.]( Wait, what? Jessica Chastain reveals the backstory to the thriller, including getting Cruise to let her out of her Oblivion contract in order to make the Kathryn Bigelow film. ► WonderCon: Warner Bros. touts three Wonder Woman clips. Director Patty Jenkins and DC Films' Geoff Johns shared three scenes with fans, showing off Gal Gadot's superheroine[in action](. ► Writers Guild talks to resume next week. The WGA and studios agreed to recommence negotiations hours after the guild proposed five days of talks to “seek to finalize a new agreement” ahead of [a May 1 contract expiration](. ► Dana Brunetti, Dominic West enlisted for film competition. The aspiring filmmaker contest from Jameson [will pick]( three writer-directors based on their submitted scripts and then fly them to L.A. to direct short films that will star West and be produced Brunetti. Rep Sheet Roundup: Taylor Lautner leaves WME for UTA … The Chainsmokers and R&B singer K. Michelle sign with publicity firm 42West … Francesca Eastwood signs with Brillstein ... Shaun White signs with UTA. [More here.]( Malibu's Rising Sea Fears Beach buyers in the L.A. enclave, including Brad Pitt and Lady Gaga, are moving on up (literally) and over to the once-unimaginable side of Pacific Coast Highway, Alexandra Abramian finds: Teal estate insiders say a new variable is driving sales in the area to record levels: [concerns over rising sea levels](. "The whole 'being on the beach' thing has started to fade away in Malibu because of global warming and climate change," says Sotheby's International agent Anthony "TJ" Paradise. "Some people will buy on the land side because they're fearful that ocean-side homes may disappear." Arana sees a new market rising amid those concerns. "The smaller the beach gets at Broad Beach, the bigger the numbers are going to get here [in Malibu Park]," he says, adding, "Right now, prices are starting to move into the $15 million to $20 million range. Some of that has to do with the fact that in the last five years, people have started looking at beachfront differently." [^Some home buyers are flocking to bluff-side areas like Malibu Park](, perched 50 feet above PCH. Pictured above, and marked on the map, is 6110 Merritt Drive, an $8M listing. What else we're reading... — "The escape artist." Jason Zinoman's new book excerpt: "How David Letterman became a Gen-X icon by bailing out of his own jokes and committing to a lack of commitment." [[New York](] — "The Vin Diesel formula." Bee Shapiro's interview: "The former bouncer and current action hero decided to make himself a movie star after Hollywood didn’t give him a chance." [[The New York Times](] — "Tucker Carlson's fighting words." Kelefa Sanneh's new profile of the Fox News host: "In place of a grand ideology, Carlson embraces an unsentimental form of tribalism." [[The New Yorker](] — "Dodger Stadium should be the model for all sports venue deals." Jerald Podair's op-ed: the venue "has also paid hundreds of millions in property taxes ... money that would not exist without private ownership." [[The Los Angeles Times](] — "Becoming Joan Didion." Emmett Rensin writes: "Her new book South and West didn't predict Trump. But it is a fascinating work in progress." [[The New Republic](] What's ahead this week... Monday: AMC hosts The Son (Pierce Brosnan) premiere in L.A. ... Point Foundation holds its annual Point Honors gala in N.Y. to recognize leaders in the LGBTQ community. Tuesday: HBO hosts the L.A. premiere of The Leftovers season three ... Amazon hosts the L.A. premiere of American Playboy ... Fox Searchlight holds the L.A. premiere of Gifted (Chris Evans) ... Fox's New Girl airs finale, Prison Break revival premieres. Wednesday: Amazon hosts the L.A. premiere of Lost City of Z (Charlie Hunnam). Thursday: TCM Classic Film Festival kicks off in Hollywood. Friday: The Smurfs: The Lost Village, Going in Style and The Case for Christ hit theaters in wide release ... Carl and Rob Reiner get hand and footprint ceremony in Hollywood. Today's Birthdays: Rachel Bloom, 30, Leona Lewis, 32, Cobie Smulders, 35, Matthew Goode, 39, Adam Scott, 44, Ben Mendelsohn, 48, Eddie Murphy, 56, Alec {NAME}, 59, Doris Day, 95. 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]( April 3, 2017