Day of Political Infamy; Murdochs' Disney Pay Raise; What's Next for Hulu?; 'Murphy Brown' Ratings

What's news: The fallout from Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's intense day of testimony shows partisan divides keep growing. Plus: The Murdochs cash in from the Disney deal, Taron Egerton's first look as Elton John and SAG-AFTRA pickets ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegerty. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( September 28, 2018 What's news: The fallout from Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's intense day of testimony shows partisan divides keep growing. Plus: The Murdochs cash in from the Disney deal, Taron Egerton's first look as Elton John and SAG-AFTRA pickets ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegerty. — Will Robinson ^Political infamy: Following Christine Blasey Ford's compelling testimony, Thursday's hearing with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh devolved into a depressing spectacle that confirmed how morally corrupt the Republican party has become, Frank Scheck analyzes: + Ford's lasting impression: Only the most rigid right-wing ideologue could argue that she was anything but a wholly credible and deeply sympathetic figure. During her opening statement, in which she laid out the details of the alleged assault, her voice quavered and she seemed perpetually on the verge of tears. It broke your heart. It's hard to imagine anyone listening to Ford's opening statement and not feeling deeply for her. [Testimony recap.]( + Fiery Kavanaugh: Clearly attempting to please President Donald Trump, who reportedly thought that his nominee looked "weak" in his Fox appearance, Kavanaugh was angry, defiant and aggressive, attacking the Democrats for their "calculated and orchestrated political hit" and claiming they were exacting "revenge on behalf of the Clintons." He also frequently cried, especially when talking about the toll the last weeks had taken on his family. [Testimony recap.]( * Graham's tirade: Finally, Sen. Lindsey Graham [snapped](. "This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics!" he thundered. "This is not a job interview, this is hell!" The hearing soon became much less about Kavanaugh's behavior when he was a young man (although we heard plenty of details) than whether the Democrats acted inappropriately and were guilty of railroading him. + History repeats itself: Once again, a woman's credible testimony was being pushed aside to make room for a political agenda. Maybe we could have gotten to the truth, or at least made an honest stab at finding it, if the Republicans hadn't used their power to — as Sen. Mitch McConnell so shamelessly put it — "plow through" the process to get their man confirmed before the midterm elections. History will not be kind to them. [Full analysis.]( + When will the Senate vote?: The initial vote to confirm Kavanaugh by the Senate Judiciary Committee will happen Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Reactions from across media... -> New York Times: "Producers had [lined up]( the usual anchors and analysts to offer comment," Michael M. Grynbaum writes. "But the emotions of the day were too raw to be captured by pundits alone." -> Vanity Fair: "[Kavanaugh's] raw political defiance [impressed]( Trump," Gabriel Sherman reports. "'This was why he nominated him from the beginning,' Kellyanne Conway told [Sherman] during a break late in Kavanaugh’s testimony. 'He stepped up and delivered a tour de force opening statement.'" -> The New Yorker: "It should be as plain as day that what we [witnessed]( was the patriarchy testing how far its politics of resentment can go. And there is no limit," Doreen St. Félix writes. "There was, in this performance, not even a hint of the sagacity one expects from a potential Supreme Court Justice." -> Columbia Journalism Review: "The impact of normal reporting tactics, [twisted]( by those who wished to discredit her, became too much for Ford to bear," Alexandria Neason and Nausicaa Renner analyze the media's reporting. Hollywood's #WhyIDidntReport... + Busy Philipps reveals she was raped at 14: The actress [shared]( her story on Instagram in light of Ford's testimony against Kavanaugh. "Today is the day we are silent no more. All of us. I'm scared to post this. I can't imagine what Dr. Ford is feeling right now," Philipps wrote in part. + Sarah Hyland says she was sexually assaulted in high school: "I hoped it was a dream but my ripped tights proved otherwise," the Modern Family star [wrote]( in an emotional tweet. TV fallout... + Fox News fires contributor after he calls Kavanaugh accusers "lying skanks." Kevin Jackson also said that Ford should stop "opening her legs." A Fox news spokesperson: "Kevin Jackson has been [terminated]( as a contributor. His comments on today’s hearings were reprehensible and do not reflect the values of FOX News.” Will Doc Boom Last? Bubble coming?: Several docs this year have already established themselves as genuine box office draws, and collectively they’ll be competing with each other in what is shaping up as one of the most competitive Oscar races in years, Gregg Kilday reports: + Highest waves: The bar for nonfiction films at the 2018 box office has been set by Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Morgan Neville’s portrait of Mr. Rogers. Riding a wave of nostalgia, with many reviewers noting that Rogers’ basic decency offers an antidote to our fractured times, the Focus Features release has grossed more than $22 million domestically, a small fortune for a doc. + Moore's warning: Michael Moore also warns that the current doc box-office boom could be short-lived, because he’s seen it before. His first film, Roger & Me, in 1989, followed by Steve James' Hoop Dreams in 1994, seemed to kick off a doc wave, making it cool for audiences to see documentaries in theaters, but then that wave petered out. + Finding right distribution: If the current box-office boom isn’t going to follow a similar trajectory as the late '90s, Moore suggests documentary filmmakers need to show some discipline: Some docs belong on TV, while others are capable of entertaining moviegoers in theaters. “We need theatrical documentaries and they should get true theatrical runs,” he attests. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch's annual Fox pay soars on Disney deal. The entertainment conglomerate, which has agreed to sell large parts to Walt Disney for $71.3 billion, shows increased stock awards for the Murdochs for the fiscal year ended in June. [Details.]( ► Bruce Dern to replace Burt Reynolds in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The star [steps]( into Quentin Tarantino's next film following the death of Reynolds earlier this month. Dern will play George Spahn, the real-life rancher who owned the ranch where Charles Manson and his followers lived in the late 1960s. ► Clint Eastwood's The Mule gets December release date. The pic will open Dec. 14, the beginning of the lucrative Christmas corridor, Warner Bros. announced Thursday. The prolific filmmaker both directs and stars in the crime drama, [marking]( his first onscreen appearance since 2012's Trouble With the Curve. ► Asia Argento responds to Rose McGowan's apology for abuse allegations. "Now go on, live your life and stop hurting other people, will you Rose?" the Italian actress wrote to McGowan on Twitter. "Best wishes." [More.]( ► Seth Rogen to star in untitled pickle comedy for Sony. Brandon Trost is set to make his directorial debut, with Simon Rich writing the screenplay for the Columbia project. The story is based on a New Yorker novella about a young man who [falls]( into a factory pickle barrel and emerges, 100 years later, into hipster Brooklyn. ► Donald Sutherland joins Burnt Orange Heresy cast. The Academy Award winner will star as an enigmatic painter who becomes the [target]( of an art-world heist. He joins Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki and Mick Jagger. ► Billion Dollar Whale film rights nabbed by SK Global. The book, written by Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, [recounts]( a massive U.S. fraud case that ensnared Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio after a wannabe infiltrated his inner circle. Michelle Yeoh will under her new deal with Ivanhoe Pictures. ► Utah ordered to pay up after losing boozy Deadpool screening case. Lawmakers and the governor in the conservative, predominantly Mormon state had [backed]( a law that prohibited serving booze during films with simulated sex or full-frontal nudity. ^Homage to its host: Barry Jenkins, Tamara Jenkins and Ron Mann — the filmmakers behind three NYC-set films screening at the annual New York Film Festival — [explain]( how their projects help to "honor the city," Rebecca Ford reports. Honorees... ► Rob Marshall to be honored by Art Directors Guild. The Cinematic Imagery Award will be [given]( Feb. 2 at the 23rd annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. His latest film, Mary Poppins Returns, which he directed and produced and which stars Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, is set to bow Dec. 19. Coming attractions... ► First look: Taron Egerton transforms into Elton John in Rocketman. A new image of Paramount's upcoming musical shows Egerton in a snazzy getup on a private plane. [Photo.]( ► First look: Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers in Sony's biopic. Director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) helmed from a 2013 Black List screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. [Photo.]( Fox sues over alleged The Post location damage scam. The studio says its $100,000 security deposit hasn't been [returned](, and the company that claimed to own the property doesn't, Ashley Cullins reports. What to Do With Hulu? Centralizing power: Many on Wall Street argue that it doesn't make much sense for Comcast to retain its stake in Hulu with Disney calling most of the shots — especially after acquiring Sky — Natalie Jarvey reports: + The sense of it: With the acquisition of Sky, Comcast will take control of its Now TV international streaming platform. The question is why it would want to continue to license programming to a platform majority-owned by Disney when it could work to build up an in-house streaming offering. + Hulu's original ownership structure: NBC and Fox (then News Corp.), and Disney have had equal control of the company and a joint venture agreement bars any one owner from making a fundamental change to the business without the support of the others. Those companies maintained a tenuous balance, one that is said to have been difficult for Hulu leadership to navigate as it sought to compete against Netflix and Amazon. + Analysts' take: While some believe Comcast might retain its Hulu stake to make life difficult for Disney, others thing the gains, about $3 billion, are too big to do so. “We incidentally do not feel that it makes sense for Comcast to hold on to its 30 percent position just to block Disney’s prospective 90 percent ownership of Hulu," Buckingham Research Group’s Matthew Harrigan noted. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Longtime CBS communications exec Gil Schwartz retiring. Schwartz [joined]( CBS in 1996 as senior vp communications after 14 years with Westinghouse Broadcasting. He has been CBS Corp's chief communications officer and executive vp since 2006; in 2014 he was also named chief communications officer and senior executive vp of CBS Interactive. ► CBS licenses fall season shows to U.K.'s Channel 4. The agreement [includes]( the upcoming Charmed reboot alongside Happy Together, starring Damon Wayans Jr. and exec produced by Ben Winston and Harry Styles. Both will premiere on Channel 4's youth-skewed E4 network. The Good Fight, meanwhile, will return to Channel 4's digital channel More4. ► HBO acquires TV rights to World War II doc The Cold Blue. The film — which [explores]( the daily lives of men in the Eighth Air Force as they undertook missions in the global conflict — is set to screen at the New York Film Festival before debuting on the premium cable channel in June of next year. ► HBO jettisons live boxing in favor of sports-themed docs. The premium network has [carried]( the sport for 45 years. The network put out a statement explaining the decision, which largely came down to the proliferation of the sport on myriad platforms, including on ESPN as well as its OTT service. ► Terry Crews will host America's Got Talent: The Champions. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star [will join]( the AGT judges for the competition series bowing in January 2019. The show will bring together winners and memorable contestants from AGT competitions in other countries for a global celebration of their skills. ► Netflix enters romance space with pair of series pickups. Sources say the orders are part of a larger [push]( for Hallmark-style programming from vp content Bela Bajaria. Picked up with 10-episode series orders are Virgin River, based on Robyn Carr’s book series, and Sweet Magnolias, based on the series from Sherryl Woods. ► PBS Masterpiece Channel on Amazon adds dramas from Walter Presents. The deal with the U.K. streaming service will bring more than 300 hours of drama series from around the world to the channel. [Details.]( ► Discovery Channel sets special Expedition Unknown event about the afterlife. Host and executive producer Josh Gates will [travel]( the world to find scientific evidence of the afterlife and try to answer the question: Where do we go when we die? ► Marc Platt teaming with Night Manager producer on We Were Never Here. Drive and 2 Guns producer Adam Siegel is also [working]( on the adaptation of Lara Prescott's debut novel, based on the events surrounding classic novel Doctor Zhivago. ^SAG-AFTRA pickets Bartle Bogle Hegerty: The ad agency has attempted to unilaterally withdraw from the union contract, triggering a strike against the agency, Jonathan Handel reports: + The issue at hand: Whether BBH, which the union says has been a signatory since 1999, can unilaterally withdraw from the SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement and shoot commercials non-union — presumably at lower wages and without pension and health plans, residuals and other guild terms. * From the lines: “BBH is trying to walk out on its contractual obligations and we are taking a stand,” said union president Gabrielle Carteris in a statement. “As union actors, we must hold the line against those attempting to undercut our collective value and our ability to sustain a career.” + Future talks: The industry-wide commercials contract itself is up for renegotiation and revision next spring, and the union has begun the process of caucusing with talent agents and members. The contract and related commercials agreements have over 600 signatories, “which collectively produce the vast majority of commercials that viewers see every day,” according to the union. [Full story.]( Latest reviews... ► The Good Place season three, reviewed. "Rejoicing in the hilarity that The Good Place doles out so generously can sometimes obscure the fact that it has built such a strong collection of characters," Tim Goodman hails, "from [Ted] Danson's delightful depiction of Michael to [Kristen] Bell's virtuoso turns as Eleanor to William Jackson Harper's manically and intellectually complicated Chidi — the glue that holds the series together." [Full review.]( Murphy Brown's return... ► Murphy Brown takes aim at Trump; Hillary Clinton cameos in revival premiere. The 11th-season premiere of the CBS sitcom featured a surprise cameo from the former secretary of state and Candice Bergen's character engaging in a Twitter fight with the president while live on air. [Spoilers.]( * Ratings fall short Roseanne, Will & Grace debuts. The CBS comedy [drew]( a 5.6 rating/9 share in metered-market households Thursday night, on par with the 5.5/9 for its lead-in, Mom. Similar preliminary ratings this week have translated to about 8 million viewers. Murphy Brown improved substantially on Life in Pieces in the same spot a year ago. Musical updates... ► Gladys Knight, Ledisi to honor Aretha Franklin at American Music Awards. Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, CeCe Winans and musical director Rickey Minor also will [pay tribute]( to the late singer's gospel roots and her iconic album, Amazing Grace, at the Oct. 9 event. ► Barbra Streisand takes on Trump in new song "Don't Lie to Me." "I just can't stand what's going on," the Oscar, Grammy and Emmy winner [told]( the AP on Wednesday night. "His assault on our democracy, our institutions, our founders — I think we're in a fight. … We're in a war for the soul of America." ► Childish Gambino postpones tour due to injured foot. Donald Glover [injured]( his foot during a concert in Dallas on Sunday. Live Nation says the performer's This Is America Tour will resume on Dec. 2 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tour promoter says tickets for the rescheduled shows will be honored for the new dates. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: House of Cards moves on from Kevin Spacey's character. Frank Underwood is dead and the new President Underwood, Claire (played by Robin Wright), isn't upset about it. "It's going to be different for you and me," Claire tells the audience. [Watch.]( Game of Thrones author unveils new book excerpt with final season implications. The snippet from Fire and Blood, a new fictional Westeros history book, focuses on Alysanne Targaryen, wife and sister to the fourth Targaryen king, Jaehaerys I, and chronicles her first trip to the North more than half a century after Aegon the Conqueror seized control over Westeros. [Details.]( How 'Arli$$' Happened Comeback season?: Sixteen years after wrapping its seven-season run on HBO, co-creators Robert Wuhl and Mike Tollin details the highs and lows of the comedy about a sports agent and if it could return for new episodes now that it's hit streaming, Tom Hoffarth reports: + Intro's Trump ties: Donald Trump inspired the comedic framework of the HBO show, including the show's intro. "I had read [Trump's book] The Art of the Deal [from 1987] and I thought — remember, this? — I said, 'This is total, 100 percent bullshit. You gotta read this, Mike. He's saying stuff that I don't believe a fuckin' word of it," Wuhl recalls. + Arliss' inspiration: "I thought Dennis [Gilbert] was the biggest mensch out of all of them who contributed stories," Wuhl says. "Although I have to say the ones who were also great were Drew Rosenhaus, Jeff Morad, Adam Katz and Arn Tellum." + Revival talks?: None have happened yet, per Tollin, but Wuhl has ideas: "There are so many topics still to go after. Look, an NFL player just retired in the middle of a game. Players are telling you which teams they will accept going to now. And you've got [scandals] at Ohio State and Penn State. Sports is so much bigger now." [Full interview.]( What else we're reading... — "Is the Viacom-CBS Psychodrama About to GO to 11?" William D. Cohan reports: "There are risks to Shari [Redstone] as she moves swiftly to consolidate her power over CBS as she has already done at Viacom. Specifically, there are two court proceedings—both in California—that could still upset her ambitions." [[Vanity Fair](] — "Bradley Cooper Is Not Really Into This Profile." Taffy Brodesser-Akner writes: "Mr. Cooper is very excited to finally reveal this labor of love, this Everest of accomplishment. The things he’s not so excited about — the things that maybe if he had his way he wouldn’t do — involve the ways a person is expected and obligated to share it." [[New York Times](] — "The Good Place Showrunner Michael Schur Knows the Meaning of Life." Maureen Ryan interviews: "The experience of making this show has been unique, at least for me, because I knew what essentially the whole first season was before we started. ... At a certain point, there will be a moment where we can’t do that anymore. There’s no more what’s next. And at that point, we’ll wrap it up." [[Vulture](] — "Da Story of Da Bears: How an SNL Sketch Defined Sports Fandom." Alan Siegel details: "Every depiction of a comically devoted fan over the past three decades owes a debt to [Robert] Smigel’s portly, mustached diehards." [[The Ringer](] — "The Queen Aretha Franklin, Remembered." Mikal Gilmore's comprehensive remembrance — from the late Billy Preston: "On any given night, when that lady sits down at the piano and gets her body and soul all over some righteous song, she’ll scare the shit out of you. And you’ll know — you’ll swear — that she’s still the best fuckin’ singer this fucked-up country has ever produced." [[Rolling Stone](] What else we're watching... + "Colbert: Dr. Ford's heartbreaking testimony was not a con job." [[Late Show](] + "Kimmel: Dr. Ford was exceptionally believable." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] + "Noah: Kavanaugh loses his cool." [[The Daily Show](] + "Meyers gives the hearing A Closer Look." [[Late Night](] + "Fallon pans Trump's TV habit, U.N. presser." [[Tonight Show](] From the archives... + On Sept. 28, 2001, Zoolander first took to the runway for Paramount. The Ben Stiller-fronted comedy performed well enough at the box office but endeared itself to fans: "During its fleeting moments onscreen, the movie's lighthearted spirit and comic energy make for entertaining, escapist fare." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Hana Mae Lee, 30, Hilary Duff, 31, Sarah Wright, 35, St. Vincent, 36, Piper Kerman, 49, Naomi Watts, 50, Mira Sorvino, 51, Janeane Garofalo, 54. 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. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Preferences]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use]( September 28, 2018