'Crazy Rich Asians' High Stakes; CBS Pushed for Moonves Probe; Hillary's Spielberg Show; MoviePass Rival; New THR Cover

What's news: The cast of Crazy Rich Asians discusses its upcoming landmark film. Plus: Hollywood insiders react to the Leslie Moonves allegations, AT&T's DirecTV predicament and Hillary Clinton's producer turn. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( August 01, 2018 What's news: The cast of Crazy Rich Asians discusses its upcoming landmark film. Plus: Hollywood insiders react to the Leslie Moonves allegations, AT&T's DirecTV predicament and Hillary Clinton's producer turn. — Will Robinson [On the cover:]( The cast and creators behind Crazy Rich Asians talk turning down life-changing money at Netflix to ensure the first all-Westernized Asian studio film in 25 years would be seen in theaters and reshape Hollywood, Rebecca Sun and Rebecca Ford report: + Theater experience over Netflix: Warner Bros. had outbid other traditional studios with a distribution offer for adaptation of Kevin Kwan's novel. But Netflix, the great disrupter, had come in hot, dangling complete artistic freedom, a greenlighted trilogy and huge, seven-figure-minimum paydays for each stakeholder, upfront. Warners had come back with not so much a counteroffer as an ultimatum, giving the filmmakers just 15 minutes to pick an option. * Going with WB: Director Jon M. Chu and the novelist passed on the crazy rich offer — "I could have moved to an island and never worked another day," says Kwan — and said no to Netflix. After more than a dozen advisers hung up in disappointment, Kwan called Chu. Both were in tears as Kwan asked, "What just happened?" + Why their decision mattered: A major studio was throwing its weight behind an all-Westernized Asian cast and creator in a theatrical film release for the first time since 1993, when Disney made The Joy Luck Club, until now the only Hollywood studio movie to feature an entirely Asian-American ensemble. + Industry eyes: Early tracking has the film's five-day opening weekend at around $20 million, a solid number that's ahead of most recent rom-coms — and the industry is watching closely. "I don't think any movie wants to have to carry the weight on its shoulders in terms of, 'If this movie doesn't work, is this a big stumbling block for this kind [of film]?' " says box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, of comScore. "But I think studios are learning that the biggest risks can reap the biggest rewards. To have that biggest punch, you want that wide theatrical release where everyone is talking about it." [Full cover story.]( MoviePass' Dire Situation The subscription battle: As MoviePass struggles and forces to make consumer-unfriendly changes, its competition is seizing the opportunity for a knockout punch, Pamela McClintock emails: + Unsustainable practice: For months, Hollywood studios and theater owners have maintained that MoviePass isn’t sustainable as a business at such a discounted offering ($9.95 a month for one movie a day). It looks like they were right. + New policies: MoviePass has been on a downward spiral, culminating with outages over the weekend and the announcement Tuesday that it will soon raise its price to $14.95 a month. Moreover, major new releases (like Mission: Impossible — Fallout) will be off-limits for several weeks. Its parent company, Helios & Matheson, has seen its shares nosedive, with its stock down another 38 percent on Tuesday to just under 50 cents. [Details.]( + AMC's rival service: Just as MoviePass revealed its new pricing and policy, AMC Theatres [paraded]( its new subscription service that allows patrons to see three movies a week — including in Imax theaters and other premium cinemas, a perk MoviePass doesn’t offer. AMC said Tuesday it has signed up 175,000 customers in the first five weeks, a strong number according to Wall Street analysts. All of a sudden, $19.95 doesn’t seem all that more pricey than MoviePass. [Full story.]( * AMC's big quarter: The cinema giant, which is owned by China's Dalian Wanda Group, [recorded]( earnings of 17 cents per share, which beat a consensus Wall Street estimate of 14 cents. Earnings for the three months to March 31 hit $22.2 million, a big swing from a year-earlier loss of $176.5 million. Overall revenue rose 20 percent to $1.44 billion, against a year-earlier $1.2 billion, which exceeded a $1.43 billion Wall Street forecast. + Atom Tickets jumps in: The online ticket service — whose owners include Disney, Fox and Lionsgate — [launched]( a sweepstakes for anyone dumping MoviePass. The winner will receive a year's worth of free movies, valued at $4,380. Elsewhere in film... ► J.J. Abrams' Overlord premiering at Fantastic Fest. The Austin, Texas-based festival has [announced]( the first wave of films it will screen in September, and the Abrams-produced World War II zombie project is getting its world premiere there. The Raid filmmaker Gareth Evans' upcoming Netflix thriller Apostle is also among the films screening at the fest. ► Disney's live-action Lady and the Tramp eyes Kiersey Clemons. Clemons, who's in talks, [would play]( one of the film's live-action roles in Darling, the owner of Lady. Justin Theroux will voice Tramp, the streetwise mutt who tries to win over the pampered Cocker Spaniel after she ends up on the street once her owners have a baby. Ashley Jensen has also been cast to voice Scottish Terrier Jackie. ► 20th Century Fox plotting Sandlot prequel. A prequel for the iconic 1993 baseball pic that followed the antics of a crew of kids who accidentally sacrifice a Babe Ruth-signed baseball to the neighborhood dog, is in advanced [development]( at the studio. It will be penned by the original director and writer, David Mickey Evans, and new writer Austin Reynolds. ► Refinery29 making push into films with Neon. The partnership with the studio behind I, Tonya and Three Identical Strangers will [mark]( Refinery29's first foray into feature-length films after it has dabbled in primarily digital video production. The first films distributed through the partnership will be Sam Levinson's comedy crime film Assassination Nation and Tessa Thompson-starrer Little Woods. ► Incredibles 2 crosses $1 billion globally. It is the seventh animated film to [achieve]( the milestone, bringing Disney's total tally to five, not adjusted for inflation. Incredibles 2 is the fourth title of 2018 to join the billion-dollar club so far after Disney and Marvel's Avengers: Infinity and Black Panther and Universal's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. ► Marc Maron joining Joker pic. The comedian and podcaster is in talks to [join]( Joaquin Phoenix in Warner Bros.’ upcoming Joker stand-alone movie, THR has confirmed. The Glow star would join Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz and Frances Conroy in the origin story from The Hangover helmer Todd Phillips. ► Jodie Foster signs with CAA in all areas. The two-time Academy Award-winner was [last seen]( in the crime thriller Hotel Artemis. Foster was previously represented by ICM for acting and UTA for directing. She continues to be represented by attorney Matt Saver. [Quoted:]( "He said those things. And people need to be reminded that the current president of the United States says things like that." — Spike Lee, on including President Trump's comments about the Charlottesville riot in his new film BlacKkKlansman. ^Unused Holy Grail sketches unveiled. More than 40 years after Monty Python and the Holy Grail was released, a treasure trove of material has been [uncovered]( that features sketches, characters and even an entire ending that never made it into the final scene. The scenes were in Michael Palin’s private archive, deposited at the British Library in London, which is set to go on display to the public later this month. ► Mel Gibson, Colin Farrell join revenge thriller. The two have [boarded]( War Pigs, a World War II action pic for Millennium Films to be directed by Tommy Wirkola, THR has confirmed. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian of di Bonaventura Productions will produce alongside Matt Berenson. ► Blumhouse making Fantasy Island pic. Blumhouse and Sony will co-finance and co-produce a feature [based on]( the popular ABC TV series about a magical, wish-fulfilling island that would attract travelers hoping to live out their wildest fantasies. Jeff Wadlow, who worked with Blumhouse on the recent release Truth or Dare, is attached to direct from a script he is writing with Chris Roach and Jillian Jacobs. ► Lady Macbeth star joins Hereditary director's next A24 horror pic. Florence Pugh, the British breakout star of last year's indie hit Lady Macbeth, is set [to play]( the female lead in an upcoming project by director Ari Aster, which A24 is once again producing. The untitled horror movie — currently filming — also stars fellow Brits Jack Reynor and Will Poulter. ► Rome Film Fest adds Watergate series. The Italian festival is set to broadcast the entire History Channel docuseries Watergate from Oscar winner Charles Ferguson (Inside Job). The festival under artistic director Antonio Monda has taken a great interest in American politics. The 2016 edition included a retrospective of American presidential films. [Other additions.]( ► Locarno Festival commits to pledge for gender parity, inclusion. The fest has agreed to [sign]( the Programming Pledge for Parity and Inclusion in Cinema Festivals after being introduced to the measure by the Swiss Women's Audiovisual Network (SWAN). Locarno will be the first A-list festival after Cannes and the first Swiss fest to sign the pledge, which came out of the French movement 5050x2020 during Cannes in May. ► Hispanic activist groups launch boycott, campaign targeting Paramount. Reviewing the top 100 grossing films in the U.S. from 2016 to 2017, researchers for the National Hispanic Media Coalition [concluded]( that the studio had the worst track record in terms of hiring Latino actors, writers and directors. ► Russian director, journalists killed in Africa while filming doc. Filmmaker and Putin critic Alexander Rastorguev, alongside cameraman Kirill Radchenko and reporter Orhan Dzhemal, were reportedly [making]( a film about Russian mercenaries operating in the Central African Republic. The three men were found dead outside the city of Sibut, located 188 kilometers north of the Central African Republic's capital Bangui, the Russian foreign ministry said. ► L.A. Film Festival unveils lineup. With an emphasis on introducing a diverse array of new filmmakers, the Film Independent-produced fest [shared]( a competition lineup in which 42 percent of the films are directed by women and 39 percent are helmed by people of color. The fest will be held Sept. 20-28 in venues throughout Los Angeles, in its new spot on the fall awards season calendar. David Glasser alleged to have used Weinstein scandal to enrich himself. The former TWC COO [denies]( unauthorized payments and interfering with rights, Eriq Gardner reports. His attorney says "wild and baseless accusations" are being thrown at Glasser to serve the benefit of Lantern Entertainment. Inside CBS What's Moonves' future?: As sexual misconduct claims threaten to bring down CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, industry insiders take sides and THR reveals a board letter that questioned why no action had been taken weeks before Ronan Farrow's bombshell investigation, Kim Masters reports: + Low odds for staying on: "I think it's inevitable that Les is history at CBS," longtime media analyst Porter Bibb said on CNBC as the CBS stock was sliding. And as one industry veteran notes, "In every one of these cases so far, there's been a second round [of allegations]. Every single one of them. That'll sink the ship." * L.A. DA declines sex abuse charges against Moonves: The case [centered]( on a woman who told police that Moonves allegedly sexually abused her on three separate occasions in the 1980s, a spokesman for the D.A.'s office said Tuesday. Her allegations were separate from Farrow's New Yorker report. + Shari Redstone's letter: In June, she and Robert Klieger, one of her allies on the CBS board, sent a letter to CBS requesting the appointment of outside counsel to look into alleged harassment, bullying and favoritism involving CBS upper management. The letter, which THR has reviewed, said Redstone had previously discussed certain allegations — unspecified but some specifically involving Moonves — with a number of board members, but no action had been taken. + Bombshell reservations: Some Hollywood veterans also are troubled about certain aspects of the Farrow story that don't quite ring true to them. Is it fair, a prominent producer asks, to hold Moonves responsible for an entire array of alleged corporate transgressions in the CBS universe, including accusations of misconduct at the Pop cable channel, which is a joint venture of CBS and Lionsgate? [Full story.]( + Redstone's company accuses CBS execs of destroying evidence: In an emergency discovery motion [filed]( by National Amusements, CBS has admitted the spoilage of certain evidence in the ongoing battle over control of the broadcast giant, Eriq Gardner reports. Dated a few days before The New Yorker's bombshell story detailing sexual misconduct allegations against Moonves, the filing notes that data has been collected for devices belonging to Moonves and COO Joe Ianiello. Elsewhere in TV... ► DirecTV's subscriber slide drags on AT&T. As the telecom bets $85.4 billion on Time Warner, its satellite TV offering is increasingly [vulnerable]( to cord-cutting, Paul Bond and Georg Szalai report. The impact for AT&T was jarring: At its entertainment group, consisting mostly of DirecTV and overseen by executive John Donovan, the company posted a 9.7 percent drop in EBITDA in the second quarter. ► NBC un-cancels Timeless for two-part series finale. The young sci-fi drama, canceled for the second time in only two seasons, is being [revived]( one (seemingly) last time for a two-part series finale. Answering the pleas of both fans and producers Sony Pictures Television, the brief revival is a fitting end for the Shawn Ryan and Eric Kripke drama. ► Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown returning for final season. The seven-episode 12th season, due this fall, does not yet have a premiere date for CNN. One episode had been [completed]( prior to Bourdain's death — a trip to Kenya with W. Kamau Bell, host of CNN’s United Shades of America — and will be the final episode to have Bourdain's narration. ► Chris Hardwick returning to NBC's The Wall. Less than a week after AMC [revealed]( it was reinstating Chris Hardwick as host of Talking Dead, the comedian and television personality is set to return as a host for NBC's The Wall and will also appear as a guest judge on America's Got Talent, THR has confirmed. ► HBO greenlights Steven Moffat's Time Traveler's Wife. HBO has [handed out]( a straight-to-series order for a take on Audrey Niffenegger's novel. The drama, which landed at the premium cabler after a multiple-outlet bidding war, will be adapted by Moffat (Sherlock, Doctor Who). An episode count and premiere date have yet to be determined. ► Amazon pilot The Wilds finds its first four castaways. The YA drama from Sarah Streicher (Daredevil) about a group of teenage girls forced to survive far from their homes has [cast]( Mia Healey, Helena Howard, Reign Edwards and Shannon Berry in series regular roles, Rick Porter reports. ABC Signature and Amazon Studios are co-producing the show, which landed a pilot order in June. ► Hulu's Less Than Zero reboot casts star. The streamer has [handed out]( a pilot order to the reboot and cast Austin Abrams (The Walking Dead) to step into the role originally played by Andrew McCarthy in the 1987 feature film. The drama is based on Bret Easton Ellis' 1985 novel and will explore the culture of wealthy, decadent youth in L.A. ► Grey's Anatomy books Nashville alum for recurring gig. The Shondaland effort has [recruited]( Chris Carmack for a big recurring role in the upcoming 15th season of the medical drama. Carmack, fresh off the series finale of ABC-turned-CMT drama Nashville, will play an orthopedic surgeon who comes to work at Grey Sloan Memorial and is known as an "Ortho God." [Quoted:]( "I had become the story too often. ... I knew it wasn’t getting better and I wanted to make sure that I was ready because at some point I knew the end was coming, and I knew it was sooner than later."" — Sean Spicer to Jimmy Kimmel, on why he left the White House. ^Clinton, Spielberg team up for women's voting drama. Steven Spielberg and Amblin TV has [optioned]( the rights to Elaine Weiss' acclaimed book The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, with former secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton attached as an exec producer, Lesley Goldberg reports. ► Apple boasts strong quarter. The iPhone maker [reported]( Tuesday that it earned $2.34 per share during its fiscal third quarter and brought in quarterly revenue of $53.3 billion, up 17 percent year over year. iPhone sales, what many analysts use to gauge the health of the company, were 41.3 million units during the period. Its services division brought in revenue of $9.5 billion, up 31 percent year over year. Analysts were expecting the division to reach $9.22 billion during the same period. ► OWN renews Love Is_. The romantic drama from and inspired by prolific TV writer-directors Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil has been [given]( a second season. The series has been a solid performer for the cabler since its June 19 debut, regularly winning its time slot among women 25-54 and performing particularly well in the network’s targeted demo of African-American women. ► Netflix teams with Sony for optimized TVs. Sony is [launching]( its new top-of-the-line "Master series" OLED and LCD TVs with "Netflix Calibrated Mode," created in partnership with the streaming giant, with the goal of helping viewers see Netflix content in the way that the filmmakers intended. ► MTV, VH1 centralize scripted under Logo's Pamela Post. Post, Logo's senior vp originals, has been [promoted]( to head of scripted and will add oversight of originals at MTV and VH1 in addition to her duties at Logo. Additionally, Post — a decade-long Logo exec — will oversee scripted for the recently launched MTV Studios. ► Jennifer Lopez to be feted at VMAs. The singer-actress is set to [perform]( live on this year's MTV Video Music Awards for the first time since 2001, where she will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award. Norman Lear's simple birthday wish. The TV legend, who was recently honored by AARP's TV for Grownups Honors, said the only thing he [wanted]( for his 96th birthday was... a monogrammed towel. Fake Account Clean-Up Facebook acts: The social media giant revealed it had discovered 32 accounts "that engaged in coordinated political agitation and misinformation efforts ahead of November’s midterm elections, in an echo of Russian activities on the platform during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign," Robert McMillan and Deepa Seetharaman report. + Suspicious users: The accounts, created between March 2017 and May 2018 were found on Facebook and Instagram and primarily targeted liberal causes, as well as promoting real-life events. The accounts in question produced nearly 10,000 posts and had over 290,000 followers. + Russian ties: "Facebook said that there was evidence connecting the accounts to the previous Russian activity, including that a known IRA account holder was a co-administrator of one of the newly deleted pages for seven minutes. But there were also differences: The IRA accounts sometimes appeared to connect with Facebook directly from computers based in Russia, whereas that was not the case with the new accounts, Facebook said." [[Wall Street Journal](] What else we're reading... — "Hollywood Revisits Fred Rogers' Neighborhood in PBS Doc." Carita Rizzo reports: "Mister Rogers: It's You I Like enlisted A-list stars such as Sarah Silverman, Michael Keaton and Judd Apatow to reveal the importance of the long-running children's program and its host." [[THR](] — "The 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century." The Ringer's staff ambitiously ranks, with clips: "The result is a list of 100 episodes of TV that covers the medium’s vast variety of genres and recognizes the wealth of greatness delivered on the small screen for the last two decades." [[The Ringer](] — "Film Forum, the Elder Statesman of New York Cinema, Reopens." Olivia Aylmer reports: "For countless New York cinephiles and artistic luminaries—including Patti Smith, Greta Gerwig, Matthew Broderick, RuPaul, Frances McDormand, and Ethan Hawke—Film Forum has long served as a beloved home away from home where films are not simply screened, but unabashedly celebrated." [[Vanity Fair](] — "How Chyrons Took on a Life of Their Own." Paul Farhi digs in: "But in an era of shrinking viewer attention spans, chyrons seem almost to have come to life and achieved self-awareness. Now chyrons not only tell viewers what the news is, they tell them what to make of it. They snark. They troll. They correct in real time." [[Washington Post](] — "Forget Photo Shoots. Why GQ and Gucci are Betting on Culty Podcasts." Jacob Gallagher details: "In an increasingly post-print world, fashion brands and publications are finding new audiences through podcasting." [[Wall Street Journal](] What else we're watching... + "Paul Giamatti has a weird vacation hobby." [[Late Show](] + "Amy Adams keeps accidentally calling celebrities." [[Late Night](] + "Jimmy Kimmel interviews Sean Spicer." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] + "Alicia Silverstone responds to Clueless rumors." [[Tonight Show](] From the archives... + On Aug. 1, 1973, American Graffiti rolled up to the big screen and did gangbusters at the box office. But George Lucas' cultural touchstone had a difficult path to being made. Co-producer Gary Kurtz: "Almost every studio in town turned down the first draft screenplay after United Artists which developed it decided to pass. ... They couldn't visualize the movie from the script and no one had faith in us." [Flashback report.]( Today's birthdays: Oona Laurence, 16, Jack O'Connell, 28, Jason Momoa, 39, David Wain, 49, Sam Mendes, 53, John Carroll Lynch, 55, Demian Bichir, 55. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2018 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. 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