Roger Ailes Dead; Cannes Dealmaking; Studios Scorecard at Upfronts; TV's 'Script Fatigue'

What's news: Roger Ailes, one of the most powerful figures in TV, has died less than a year after being ousted as Fox News chief. Also: Todd Haynes' new film impresses Cannes, how studios fared at upfronts and what agencies are doing amid a spec script frenzy. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( May 18, 2017 What's news: Roger Ailes, one of the most powerful figures in TV, has died less than a year after being ousted as Fox News chief. Also: Todd Haynes' new film impresses Cannes, how studios fared at upfronts and what agencies are doing amid a spec script frenzy. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman End of an era in cable news: Roger Ailes, who resigned from Fox in the wake of numerous sexual harassment allegations last summer, died on Thursday at age 77. Details have yet to be disclosed by the family. [Full obit]( I [Reactions](. Wife Elizabeth Ailes' statement: "I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning. Roger was a loving husband to me, to his son Zachary, and a loyal friend to many. He was also a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him so much opportunity to work hard, to rise—and to give back. During a career that stretched over more than five decades, his work in entertainment, in politics, and in news affected the lives of many millions. And so even as we mourn his death, we celebrate his life." 'Wonderstruck' in Cannes Tatiana Siegel emails: It’s Day 2 in Cannes, and opening night security jitters are behind us. Instead, it’s already time to Oscar prognosticate. Film editor Gregg Kilday says Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck (the team pictured above) has a shot, based on the reception the decades-spanning film received at the morning press screening (with only a small role, previous best actress winner Julianne Moore would be relegated to supporting actress race). Meanwhile, Alejandro G. Inarritu unveiled his VR installation Carne y Arena (Virtually present, Physically invisible), which simulates how it feels for an immigrant trying to cross the Mexican border into the U.S. Writer Scott Roxborough [called](the experience “a bit like being inside a high-end video game.” Mark the calendar: For those who like their entertainment via press conferences, Friday night is the Michael Moore-Weinstein brothers Cannes Q&A. Bob and Harvey are in town, but the documentarian will participate via Skype, offering some details on his new Trump doc. And, about Wonderstruck, here's critic David Rooney's [glowing review:]( "Alive with the magic of pictures and the mysteries of silence, this is an uncommonly grownup film about children, communication, connection and memory." Elsewhere in film... ► Day two of your Cannes fest paper has arrived. Available in print to attendees, THR's fest daily has all the deals, reviews and notes on what's going on: A look at the heavily-patrolled opening night, a recap of everyone's thoughts on Netflix and a chat with Todd Haynes about his competition entry. [Download here](. ► U.S. box-office preview. Pamela McClintock forecasts: Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant will likely rule this weekend with a North American debut of [$40M or more](, rocketing past Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Two smaller films targeting kids and tweens also open — a Diary of a Wimpy Kid reboot and YA adaptation, Everything, Everything, both projecting about $10M debuts. [^Cannes first look:]( Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the world's greatest hitman in Why We’re Killing Gunther, directed by SNL alum Taran Killam. ↱ [Trailer watch, Patti Cake$](. The Sundance hit and Geremy Jasper's feature directorial debut, hitting theaters Aug. 18, follows aspiring rapper from New Jersey named Patricia "Killa P" Dombrowski. ↲ ► Zosia Mamet, Scott Speedman to star in Shadow Girl. The [romance drama]( centers on Holly (Mamet), who has faded to the point of becoming literally invisible, and meets Shane (Speedman), who can see her. Claudia Myers will direct from a screenplay she wrote. ► Sam Rockwell, Taraji P. Henson to star in race drama. The indie is being helmed by Robin Bissell and [centers]( on the unlikely friendship between a black activist and a member of the Ku Klux Klan. ► Richard Linklater's new film enlists Billy Crudup. The actor will [join]( Cate Blanchett and Kristen Wiig in the big-screen rendering of Maria Semple's best-selling book Where’d You Go, Bernadette? from Annapurna. ► Sony Classics snaps up Cannes competition title. The studio has [nabbed]( all rights in North America and Latin America to Andrey Zvyagintsev's Russian-language drama Loveless. The film makes its world premiere at the festival today. ([Read the review.]() [^Cannes hidden gem](: Ali Soozandeh's daring directorial debut Tehran Taboo chronicles life in the country's capital, where sex and drugs are open secrets. ► Ethan Hawke actioner finds distributor. Saban Films has [acquired]( U.S. distribution rights to Brian Smrz's 24 Hours to Live. Xu Qing and Paul Anderson also star in the thriller. It will receive a theatrical release later this year. ► Indie thriller Three Seconds finds star-studded cast. Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common and Clive Owen will [appear]( in the film, an upcoming action thriller by Andrea Di Stefano and based on the Swedish novel. ► Dylan Sellers returns to Weinstein Co. The exec [will resume]( the post of president of U.S. production, acquisitions and development, which he surrendered in 2014. ► R.I.P., Harry Archinal. The exec, who served as president of Buena Vista International, the foreign distribution arm of the Walt Disney Studios, for nearly two decades, has died. He was 88. [Full obit.]( In THR, Esq: A judge explores boundaries of authorship with nods to Star Wars, Spike Lee and [Love Actually]( ... [James Bond fan]( fights MGM's bid to toss box set class action suit ... U.S. government is working to settle foreign corruption claims over [Wolf of Wall Street](. Upfronts: How Studios Fared The gap between studios narrows as the five broadcast networks fill fewer holes on their schedules with content that's largely produced in-house, Lesley Goldberg [writes](: In a television universe of diminishing viewership returns and greater focus on streaming, international and other revenue streams, the Big Four networks aligned even closer with their studio counterparts this season. (Fox and NBC bought exclusively from 20th Century Fox and Universal Television, respectively, in a key change from last year.) Off-network sales, meanwhile, became increasingly rare as shared ownership is largely the new lay of the land in that space. [How all the studios fared this season](: CBS Television Studios: 10 series ordered, 16 returning. Universal Television: 9 series ordered, 12 returning. ABC Studios: 8 series ordered, 11 returning. Warner Bros. Television: 8 series ordered, 16 returning. 20th Century Fox Television: 6 series ordered, 15 returning. Sony Pictures Television: 3 series ordered, five returning. Also at upfronts... ► About CBS' pitch. Lacey Rose and Marisa Guthrie write: Stephen Colbert, Leslie Moonves and 2018 Grammys host James Corden reminded everyone that the network is winning a war of buzz, if not one of ratings. Colbert, the day's main attraction, skewered Trump with jokes after performing in top hat, but before Moonves defended the noticeable lack of women in the network's fall slate. The remainder of CBS' time before the buyers was filled out by a gaggle of stars who stepped in for a still-recovering CBS entertainment president Glenn Geller and introduced the latest batch of shows. Of all of them, The Big Bang Theory prequel Young Sheldon generated the biggest response. (Star Trek: Discovery, soon to hit CBS All Access, was also featured center stage.) [Full CBS upfront breakdown]( I [CBS fall schedule]( | [New CBS show trailers](. ► About Turner's pitch. Samantha Bee led the string of famous faces yesterday, Wednesday, where their portfolio of networks stressed innovation in programming and envelope-pushing, buzzworthy content (like Full Frontal). TBS and TNT boss Kevin Reilly highlighted new and returning series, capping off a day that featured a slew of announcements including a new deal with Conan O'Brien, a Michael Moore and Sarah Jessica Parker docuseries, and Daniel Radcliffe/Owen Wilson anthology. [Full Turner upfront breakdown](. Elsewhere in TV... ↱ [Ratings: CNN, MSNBC beat Fox News]( as wall-to-wall coverage of the ongoing — and rapidly evolving — crises in the Trump White House continues. CNN won the night among adults 25-54. Between 8 and 11 p.m., the network averaged 719,000 adults 25-54 — over MSNBC's 650,000 and FNC's 539,000. ↲ ► FX enlists Dennis Quaid to play George W. Bush. He joins a cast of Katrina: American Crime Story that includes Matthew Broderick, Annette Bening, Courtney B. Vance, Sarah Paulson and Cuba Gooding Jr. in the second installment of the franchise, [set to debut in 2018](. ► ABC's The Bachelorette unveils diverse cast. After all the hype over whether or not the network would buck its tradition of trotting out a mostly-white cast (again), host Chris Harrison introduced the new crop of men as franchise's "most successful, [most diverse]( and, of course, most dramatic cast." ► Amazon taps William Forsythe to play J. Edgar Hoover. The former FBI director [will appear](in Man in the High Castle's third season. The show explores what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. ► Netflix officially brings back Arrested Development. The streaming giant (finally) [confirmed]( that it has ordered a fifth season of the cult comedy. Creator Mitchell Hurwitz and the entire series regular cast will return for the new episodes. CBS' Mom donates Emmy budget to Planned Parenthood. In lieu of spending $250,000 on campaigning for an Emmy this year, the funds will instead be donated to support the organization. [Details.]( TV's "Spec Script Fatigue" Netflix's Stranger Things phenomenon sparked a deluge of material and backlash from execs and agents expected to read an unsustainable average of 20 original scripts all weekend long, Bryn Sandberg finds. [What agencies are doing about it.]( What else we're reading... — "90 years of the Chinese Theatre." Susan King pays tribute: "It opened on Hollywood Boulevard 90 years ago in spectacular fashion with the lavish premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s religious epic The King of Kings." [[The Los Angeles Times](] — "Tina Fey is in empire-building mode." Alison Herman writes: "The 30 Rock star and creator is busy behind the camera  ...  and making work that’s thorny and tack-sharp as ever." [[The Ringer](] — "Revisiting the nightmarish Twin Peaks movie." David Sims writes: "Fire Walk With Me, David Lynch’s film version of his hit series, was derided upon release. Today, it might offer a glimpse of what’s to come." [[The Atlantic](] — "The personal essay boom is over." Jia Tolentino observes: "A genre that partially defined the last decade of the Internet has essentially disappeared." [[The New Yorker](] — "Lost in the digital swamp, link by link." Amanda Hess notes: "Companies occupy real estate at the margins of websites and fill them with links to content landfills, stoking our most primal browsing habits." [[The New York Times](] — "Chris Cornell, singer of Soundgarden and Audioslave, dies at 52." Joe Lynch's early obit: Cornell and "Soundgarden were an essential force in establishing the sound of grunge, a mélange of sludge metal, punk, distorted guitars, wounded vocals and lyrics about alienation." [[Billboard](] Today's Birthdays: Allen Leech, 36, Jack Johnson, 42, Tina Fey, 47, Chow Yun Fat, 62, Mark Mothersbaugh, 67, Hugh Keays-Byrne, 70. 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]( May 18, 2017