Plepler's HBO Exit; Turner's Levy Next; Oprah's 'Neverland' Sit-Down; Cohen Ratings

What's news: Richard Plepler, HBO's CEO who logged 27 years at the premium cable giant, is stepping down. Plus: Oprah interview the Leaving Neverland subjects and director, a DreamWorks Animation reorg and USC's film school turns 90. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( March 01, 2019 What's news: Richard Plepler, HBO's CEO who logged 27 years at the premium cable giant, is stepping down. Plus: Oprah interview the Leaving Neverland subjects and director, a DreamWorks Animation reorg and USC's film school turns 90. — Will Robinson End of an Era WarnerMedia shake-up: After an appeals court cleared AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner, the conglomerate sees big changes in the form of two big execs on the way out, amid reports of Bob Greenblatt taking on a big role: + Plepler out: HBO CEO Richard Plepler sent a letter to staff that he would be leaving the premium cable giant after 27 years. "My dad always gave the best advice," reads the letter Plepler sent company-wide. "Whenever there was a difficult decision to make, he counseled that since no one could ever have perfect visibility into the future, the best thing you could do was trust your instincts." + Making the decision: The 59-year-old Plepler is said to have reached his decision to leave several weeks ago. Sources cite HBO's shrinking autonomy within the expanded WarnerMedia portfolio as a major motivator and say that Plepler had a "gracious" conversation WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey about departing before the chatter about a new top programming hire at the parent company had started. * The resume: Plepler became co-president (a role he held from 2007 to 2012) and then chairman and CEO in 2013. Some of his biggest contributions to the pay cabler include giving the green light to such legacy hits as Game of Thrones, Girls and Veep and overseeing a successful segue into streaming with HBO Go and OTT option HBO Now. [Full story.]( -> Remember: Stankey met with HBO staff last June which [came across]( as a "go broad" mandate. + Turner president likely to leave: David Levy has overseen Turner's TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, TruTV and Turner Classic Movies since 2013. Like Plepler, Levy has been a longtime executive with Turner and most recently and helped expand Turner's rights deal with the NBA. Before his promotion to president, Levy oversaw ad sales, distribution and sports for Turner. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Luke Perry hospitalized after reportedly suffering stroke. The Beverly Hills, 90210 and Riverdale star was "[under observation]( at the hospital" on Thursday. ► Tribune Media earnings driven by political ad, carriage fee growth. During the fourth quarter, earnings from continuing operations of $132.8 million, compared to a profit from continuing operations of $332.8 million in the same period of 2017, which included a $256 million one-time tax benefit. [Details.]( ► Panavision, Sim and Saban Capital Acquisition abandon merger plans. A "volatile" stock market and the recent U.S. government shutdown were [cited]( as grounds to terminate the transaction. ► Netflix lands Baby-Sitters Club reboot. The live-action dramedy is [based on]( the beloved Ann M. Martin best-selling book series, with the author on board to produce alongside The Social Network's Michael De Luca. ► Amazon courting Julia Roberts for limited series. The Oscar winner [would star]( in and executive produce an adaptation of the novel Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win. ► Amazon signs first-look TV deal with Frozen River producer. Heather Rae [will develop]( series projects for Amazon Studios that will stream on the tech behemoth's Prime Video service. ► Syfy picks up Resident Alien drama to series. Alan Tudyk [stars in]( the cabler's adaptation of the Dark Horse comics. ► Gold Rush spinoff greenlit at Discovery Channel. The show [will follow]( fan-favorite Dave Turin as he returns to the mining world. ► Twilight Zone int'l premiere set for France's Series Mania. Netflix's Chambers and Osmosis will [also debut]( at the French TV festival, with Adam Scott and Marti Noxon conducting master classes. ^Charlie's Angels stars reunite on It Happened in Hollywood podcast: Seth Abramovitch and Chip Pope talk to Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd to delve into the iconic '70s series — which inspired an upcoming big-screen reboot helmed by Elizabeth Banks and starring Kristen Stewart: + The heart of the Angels: "What I hope is they [the new movie] keep some of the simplicity of our show," Smith says. "I think I just want to see the girls work together, believe their friendship. Because I think that is what made our show special." [Listen]( | [Subscribe]( Digital digest... ► Spotify taps Liz Gateley in podcasting push. The former Lifetime programming executive has joined Spotify, as head of creative development, where she is expected to [help shape]( the company's original podcasting strategy under a new mandate to offer listeners broader audio programming. ► YouTube banning comments on some videos in wake of predatory comments. "Pulling comments from YouTube is a big step. Video creators use the comments section to communicate with viewers, find new ones and get feedback." [[Bloomberg](] -> Facebook must revise its pitch to break into TV upfront market. "Facebook is in the midst of trying to make that transition, but there is a 'decent learning curve happening for them right now,' said an agency exec that specializes in TV and premium digital video and is having upfront conversations with Facebook." [[Digiday](] ► LinkedIn to launch workplace podcast Hello Monday. The show [will be hosted]( by LinkedIn senior editor-at-large Jessi Hempel, and each episode will feature an interview with someone who has found success in their field. Representation shift... ► Henry Winkler signs with CAA. The TV icon won an Emmy for HBO's Barry, the second season of which premieres on March 31. He was [not previously]( theatrically represented by an agency. Ratings notes... ► Michael Cohen hearing draws (at least) 13.5 million viewers. Final numbers are likely to be [significantly higher](, as coverage on NBC and Spanish-language broadcasters Telemundo and Univision aren't included. Figures for those networks should become available Friday. ► Masked Singer finale hits series high. The Fox singing competition [averaged]( a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49 for its two-hour finale, peaking with a 3.8 in its final half hour as the winner was revealed. It drew just above 10 million total viewers, also a high. From the Live Feed... ► A Million Little Things creator explains grim finale revelation. "We wanted to make sure that we were being authentic and sensitive,” creator and showrunner DJ Nash tells Emma Didbin of evoking 9/11 to conclude one of the ABC drama's biggest mysteries. [Spoilers.]( Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz on her #MeToo-themed directorial debut. "I want to do everything and anything to be a better actor, to gain more knowledge about this art form," she tells Marisa Roffman. "I think directing... gives you a different perspective about what you’re doing and [how you can do it better](." Enjoy reading this? Six days a week, look for Today in Entertainment in your inbox to stay up-to-date on the industry. Sign up for this newsletter (and others) at [THR.com/Newsletters](. USC's Birthday Top of the class: To mark nine decades of film education, THR holds a reunion for graduates of the university's iconic School of Cinematic Arts, from Kevin Feige to Stacey Shers about their time at the country's top film school, Mia Galuppo reports: + Training new generation: "By the end of my time, the Avid Media Composer came out. Avid was really interested in getting people in the industry to switch over," Coco and Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich recalls. "They made a deal with USC to set up a lab that they could fill with Avids where they could bring editors in to train, and they allowed students to have access to it. [Avid is] what brought me to Pixar in the first place." + Creating connections: "Most people in film production come to USC wanting to be directors. I was one of the rare ones who really wanted to be a producer," Suzanne Todd recalls, "so when it came time to do the 480 [an advanced-level production course where students make their senior thesis film], I got to meet with all the directors, and I basically got to pick who I thought was the most talented person. I wanted to pick [Austin Powers collaborator Jay Roach]." [Full story.]( -> How the film school got millions from Steven Spielberg (who didn't even go there): Nobody has had better results getting alumni to open their wallets than Elizabeth Daley, dean of the university's School of Cinematic Arts for nearly three decades: "The place had a wonderful history, but nobody had told its story." [Interview.]( Elsewhere in film... ► DreamWorks Animation reorganization lands Kristin Lowe, Peter Gal in top film, TV posts. Margie Cohn, who [took over]( running DWA in January, announced the appointments on Thursday. ► New Line exec Michael Disco launches The Disco Factory production company. The longtime exec is [exiting]( the studio and will become a producer on The Flash and an ep on the Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark. ► AMC Theatres touts box office "momentum" with Q4 profit swing. U.S. market attendance [jumped]( 5.3 percent to 65.1 million customers, while international markets attendance fell 5 percent to 28.8 million, in part due to competition for the multiplex from the FIFA World Cup. Fourth quarter revenues rose to $1 billion in the U.S. market, compared to a year-earlier $978.3 million, while they fell in international markets. ► Margot Robbie's LuckyChap, Paramount team for musical Big Gay Jamboree. Alethea Jones is [attached to direct]( the feature that just got set up at Paramount. ► Rambo: Last Blood sets September 2019 release. Sylvester Stallone [gives]( his final performance as John Rambo in the fifth installment of the franchise later this year. ► Misty Copeland biopic Life in Motion finds its director. Nzingha Stewart, who has directed episodes of Scandal and Grey's Anatomy, [will direct]( the New Line feature. ► Mindy Kaling comedy Late Night gets summer release. The Amazon Studios film [will open]( in June opposite superhero pic Dark Phoenix and the sequel to animated juggernaut Secret Life of Pets. ► Paramount, BBC partner for Blue Story from YouTube artist Rapman. Based on the U.K. musician's short video series of the same name, the project [will shoot]( on location in South London. -> How a female-focused version of the Black List gave RBG biopic, Sundance winner Clemency a boost. The Athena List, featuring three to five unproduced screenplays about women leaders, has [provided]( early attention to films and led to more opportunities for its selected writers, Hilary Lewis reports. Casting call... ► Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage team for Brothers comedy. Legendary lands the hot package that will be [written]( by Tropic Thunder scribe Etan Cohen. ► Colin Farrell to star in After Yang from Kogonada, A24. The movie is [based on]( Alexander Weinstein's short story Saying Goodbye to Yang. ^Inside Oprah Winfrey's interviews with Leaving Neverland accusers: Days ahead of the explosive Michael Jackson doc airing on HBO, Winfrey sat down with the film's accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck and director Dan Reed on Wednesday evening in New York for an emotional discussion about child sex abuse, which Winfrey called "a scourge on humanity," Tatiana Siegel reports: + Presenting all sides?: Addressing the Jackson family's criticism that he didn't include their perspective, Reed said, "What is the journalistic value of interviewing someone saying, 'Michael was a really nice guy. He never did anything to a child.' And that person has a gigantic vested interest, a financial interest, in smearing these two young men." [Full story.]( Musical notes... ► Ryan Adams' tour canceled. The British and Irish legs were set to kick off March 30. Two weeks ago, The New York Times detailed Adams' alleged pattern of manipulating and harassing women with promises of advancing their music careers. [[The New York Times](] ► Warner Music eyeing stake in Saudi label. "Warner’s push for a slice of Dubai-based Arabic music behemoth Rotana Music is worth at least tens of millions of dollars. ... The move illustrates the increasingly bullish outlook for the Arab music market as Saudi Arabia begins to open up to the music industry in new ways." [[The Wall Street Journal](] ► Jonas Brothers return with mansion party in lavish "Sucker" video. "Sucker" marks a much-anticipated return from the Jonas Brothers' hiatus in 2013. The trio, now signed to Republic Records, has yet to announce what else is on the way. [Watch.]( From the stage... ► Susan Sarandon, Marin Ireland to star in new Jesse Eisenberg play. Scott Elliott [will direct]( the world premiere of Happy Talk for off-Broadway's The New Group, beginning performances on April 30. ► Antonio Banderas casting A Chorus Line in Spain. The actor will [co-direct and co-star]( in the Spanish-language version of the classic musical at his newly constructed Malaga theater. ► Daniel Craig to star in reading of Caryl Churchill's A Number. The one-night-only benefit is part of a slate of 40th-anniversary events at New York Theatre Workshop, where Craig [appeared]( with David Oyelowo in a sold-out 2016 run of Othello. In memoriam... ► RIP Andre Previn. The four-time Oscar winner who mastered classical, jazz, pop and movie music as a composer, conductor and pianist during a career that spanned eight decades died Thursday at 89. [Obit.]( Glenn Close's Sunset Boulevard movie musical finds director. Tony-winning choreographer Rob Ashford will make his [feature helming debut]( with Paramount's adaptation of the Broadway musical that in turn was taken from the 1950 silver screen classic. Drama Too Real for TV Not ready for primetime: Michael Cohen's testimony before Congress made for great television, but don't hold your breath on fictional dramas or searingly good comedies about this Trump time of our lives, Tim Goodman writes: + Not cut from same cloth as Soprano, Draper: In the real world, where the drama is partisan, Cohen could only really sway one side of the available audience. Though, as so many have pointed out, Republicans didn't actually rush to defend Trump from the allegations or the overall moral point that Cohen rather decisively made about what a garbage fire our sitting president is. + Selective acceptance: Americans only love the anti-hero when it suits them. So only half the audience could support this show, this spectacle that was happening on Wednesday, in the morning and mid-day, of all terrible time slots. It's why the vast majority of Republicans didn't like this miniseries. It was too real, too personal, too revealing to look in the eye. They wanted Big Pussy dead and off the boat, not in court telling the cold truth. [Full column.]( What else we're reading... — "Bob Costas Insists That He Was Not Fired by NBC." Isaac Chotiner has a lengthy chat with the former Peacock personality: "If I had not had that role in football, then I would not have had the platform to say the things I did, being the only person connected to network presentation of the NFL who ever did this." [[The New Yorker](] — "Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Fight to Prove Herself." Molly Ball profiles the Veep actress: "Louis-Dreyfus speaks with the wonder of someone who knows from experience that hardly anyone ever roots for that kind of woman in real life. You can’t be evil–or rude or annoying or bitchy or ambitious–and still be beloved." [[Time](] — "The Second-Act Stardom of Isabelle Huppert." Manuela Lazic considers the actress' career in light of her new film, Greta: "Only a pianist with so much experience at the keys can play the same notes in new arrangements with such confidence, humility, and wit." [[The Ringer](] — "Emma Thompson's Letter Could Change the Face of #MeToo." Steven Zeitchik reports: "This is someone who says the things everyone is afraid to say. It dropped like a bomb. And that bomb exploded across the world." [[The Washington Post](] — "How a Hollywood Director Built a Wall That Brings People Together." Jeremy Markovich details Tom Shadyac's story: "Memphis Rox has quickly become more than a gym. It is a foothold in a private sector effort to help Memphis climb free of its reputation as one of the poorest large cities in America. In the 11 months since it opened, the facility has more than doubled its goals in terms of paying members." [[Politico Magazine](] What else we're watching... + "J.K. Simmons hesitated joining Oz." [[Late Show](] + "Jimmy quizzes Ellen Pompeo on Grey's Anatomy." [[Jimmy Kimmel](] + "Trevor Noah examines Trump & Kim's unproductive summit." [[The Daily Show](] + "Cedric the Entertainer brought Conan a hat." [[Conan](] From the archives... + Today in 1941: Marvel's Jack Kirby and Joe Simon introduced readers (and the world) to the character Captain America with the character's first-ever issue. Presently, the character, played by Chris Evans, stands as one of the pillars of the MCU: "What better way to introduce a hero clad in the American flag during World War II than by showing him decking Hitler?" [[Marvel](] Today's birthdays: Lupita Nyong'o, 36, Jensen Ackles, 41, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, 45, Cara Buono, 48, Javier Bardem, 50, George Eads, 52, Zack Snyder, 53, Ron Howard, 65, Harry Belafonte, 92. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2019 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Preferences]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use]( March 1, 2019