TV’s New Math; Belushi's Death Examined; NBC-Sky News Network?; 'Empire' Backs Smollett; Tribeca Opens

What's news: Is the recent wave of big showrunner deals more beneficial to creatives or producers? Plus: Jussie Smollett's Empire farewell (for now), Tribeca opens and inside the night John Belushi died. — Will Robinson April 25, 2019 What's news: Is the recent wave of big showrunner deals more beneficial to creatives or producers? Plus: Jussie Smollett's Empire farewell (for now), Tribeca opens and inside the night John Belushi died. — Will Robinson ^Losing John Belushi: In The Castle on Sunset — currently being adapted into an HBO series by John Krasinski and Aaron Sorkin — Hollywood historian Shawn Levy retraces the comedian's final days inside the Chateau Marmont where pal Robert De Niro stopped by to snort cocaine just hours before his death and the hotel's famed discretion was put to the ultimate test: + State in final days: Belushi's attention span was negligible; he took and made mysterious phone calls around the clock; he was frequently hours late or completely AWOL from meetings and appointments; his hotel room was a pigsty; his speech was scattershot and even incoherent; the clothes he wore were dirty and rumpled; he didn't seem to be bathing or shaving regularly; he was barely sleeping. + Finding John unresponsive: "I'm having trouble waking John up," Belushi's personal trainer and bodyguard, Bill Wallace said, clearly agitated. Brillstein thought Belushi might be playing possum to avoid a meeting he was to have that day with Paramount executives, and he told Wallace that he'd send someone over. Wallace called again a few minutes later, in an even more stressed voice: "There's something really wrong with John!" + The day that changed the Chateau: A species of tourism sprang up in the '80s, a variant on the traditional tours of movie stars' homes dedicated, instead, to the locales where various notorious Hollywood incidents occurred. Looky-loos would occasionally enter the grounds trying to get a glimpse of the infamous bungalow, but they would either be turned away or simply leave in disappointment when they saw how staid and demure the setting was. [Full excerpt.]( TV's New Math Is $100M a bargain?: Writers and talent reps sound off on the demise of backend profits and whether a wave of huge streamer pacts with creatives marks a boon for showrunners or leaves money on the table, Bryn Elise Sandberg reports: + Who comes out ahead?: "There's this notion that the push toward buying out ownership and backend may ultimately be not a great thing for the artist community long term," says talent attorney P.J. Shapiro, who notes that the allure of these deals is that both the studios and the creators are often guaranteed to see a good chunk of change from day one without having to worry about whether their project floats or sinks. + New approach to talent deals: Most streamers offer premiums to studios and advances to individuals. "What Apple, Netflix and Amazon are trying to do is say, 'Look, you're never going to have any of those other off-net sales. So we are basically going to fake it and give you money as if you had them,'" says Greenburg, who negotiated Greg Berlanti's recent $400 million Warner Bros. deal and Marti Noxon's Netflix pact. [Full story.]( -> Syndication market heating up: In terms of both quantity of shows — six new daytime strips will launch in fall 2019 — and the talent attached (Kelly Clarkson, Tamron Hall and Jerry Springer, among others), syndication is as [robust]( as it's been since the post-Oprah rush of 2012, Rick Porter reports. Elsewhere in TV... -> Netflix's fight to keep hit shows. Joe Flint and Amol Sharma go deep on the streamers efforts to keep its top-performing licensed shows, as NBCUniversal has held talks to remove The Office. * The key data, based on WSJ analysis: "The three companies launching new streaming services [NBCU, Disney and WarnerMedia] have created TV shows and movies that make up nearly 40% of the viewing minutes on Netflix." [[The Wall Street Journal](] ► Comcast posts higher NBCUniversal earnings, driven by film unit. The higher film profit helped more than offset difficult profit comparisons for the company's TV operations given that they got a boost from airing the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2018. But NBCUniversal revenue for the latest quarter fell 12.5 percent to $8.3 billion. * Sky profit drops. EBITDA dropped 17 percent, or 11.3 percent when excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, to $$663 million, "reflecting new contracts for soccer rights in Italy and Germany." Sky's total customer relationships [increased]( 3.5 percent over the year-ago period to 23.7 million, including 112,000 net additions in the first quarter. * Brian Roberts touts global NBC-Sky News network. The Comcast CEO said there will be "significant areas of collaboration" and more upside and opportunities to come between Sky and other parts of the Comcast family. Roberts offered no other details on the network except that Comcast is "exploring" launching it later this year. -> How writers vs. agents could play out, legally. A judge could decide if packaging fees are kosher, and appeals are likely if there's no settlement, Jonathan Handel details. [Primer.]( ► HGTV names Jane Latman as new president. The Travel Channel executive is [taking over]( as head of the home- and design-focused cable network. -> "As Durst Murder Case Goes Forward, HBO’s Film Will Also Be on Trial." Charles V. Bagli reports: "Mr. Durst’s lawyers are now preparing to cite those edits — they’ll call them manipulations — in an effort to cripple his prosecution as they get ready for a trial set to begin in a few months in California." [[The New York Times](] ► Bill Cosby renews attacks on trial judge while seeking bail. The defense also plans to challenge the judge's decisions to [assign himself]( the case, let five other Cosby accusers testify and let the jury hear Cosby's prior deposition testimony about Quaaludes. ► Fox News plans to hold summit for streaming service subscribers. The inaugural Fox Nation event [will be held]( on May 14 in Scottsdale, Arizona. -> Netflix exec details mobile-only pricing plans in Asia. The plans, which cost about half as much as a standard full Netflix subscription, already [have helped]( the streamer reach more viewing on mobile than on traditional screens in some Asian markets, such as Thailand, said Bill Holmes, Netflix’s global head of business development. ^Jussie Smollett exits Empire — for now — on upbeat note: There's currently no word on whether Smollett [will return]( to the Fox drama if the show is renewed, after his character Jamal tied the knot, Allison Crist writes. + Empire cast pens letter in support of Smollett: "Together, as a united front, we stand with Jussie Smollett and ask that our co-star, brother and friend be brought back for our sixth season of Empire," the letter reads in part, with signatures from Terrence Howard, Taraji P Henson, Bryshere Y. Gray, Trai Byers, Gabourey Sidibe and Nicole Ari Parker. [Read the letter.]( Deals and developments... ► Sony inks Homeland's Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa to big overall deal. The long-time collaborators have [signed]( a four-year deal at Sony Pictures TV, leaving their previous home at the now Disney-owned 20th Century Fox TV. Gordon had been at 20th for more than two decades and Gansa for about 10 years. ► Station 19 showrunner Stacy McKee departing. Production on season two of the Grey's Anatomy spinoff has wrapped, with a new showrunner [expected to be named]( for a potential third season of the ABC drama. ► Jenni Rivera doc with footage from final concert in the works. Biggest Loser producer David Broome and Emilio Estefan are [shepherding]( the project in conjunction with the late singer's family. ► The CW avoids any cancelations. All American, The 100, Roswell and In the Dark all [received]( re-ups for the 2019-20 season. ► Nickelodeon green lights Star Trek animated series. The series [aimed at]( kids is one of several Trek animated properties that have been in the works. ► Cinemax renews Warrior. The Bruce Lee-inspired series receives a quick season two pickup, three weeks after its [debut]( on the premium cabler. ► Disney Channel's Andi Mack to end with season three. The groundbreaking series, which has been on hiatus, [will return]( with its final episodes starting June 21. ► Former MythBusters host Adam Savage returning to Science Channel in new series. He will "take on the biggest and baddest builds of his career" in Savage Builds, which is [set to debut]( in June. Digital digest... ► Facebook expected to be hit with up to $5B FTC fine amid privacy concerns. The company [recorded]( a $3 billion charge during the first quarter of 2019 to account for an expected settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its user data practices. * DAUs up. Facebook ended Q1 with 1.56 billion daily active users, up 8 percent year over year. It has 2.38 billion monthly active users, also up 8 percent. The company also estimates that on average each day, more than 2.1 billion people use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or Messenger. ► Gizmodo can't dodge Jason Miller defamation claim over "abortion pill" story. The court finds Miller has [plausibly alleged]( the story wasn't a fair and true report of the underlying legal filing. ► Viacom launches multiplatform Nick+ in Greece. The country’s leading pay TV platform Cosmote TV [will host]( the kid-friendly on demand service. From the Live Feed... -> "Unparalleled and unprecedented" battle: Longtime Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman reflects on the first two episodes of season eight and confirms his prequel series is no longer in development, Josh Wigler reports. * Taking it slow: "[W]e really wanted it to be an exploration of the characters, and for me, personally, a celebration of the characters. That's what makes the show tick. It's the reason we're here, all these years later. As much as I love all of the incredible spectacle, if you don't care about what's happening within it? Then it's all a bunch of Sturm und Drang." [Full interview.]( -> Luke Perry's final Riverdale appearance shows what the show loses without him. In a drama whose plucky teenage heroes are constantly menaced by monstrous adults, Fred Andrews [provided]( a much-needed moral center, Emma Dibdin writes. Latest reviews... ► YouTube's Cobra Kai. "Season two is content to repeat many, or even most, of the beats from the first season, only without the freshness and genre-upending sense of surprise," Daniel Fienber writes. [Full review.]( In memoriam... ► RIP Ken Kercheval. The stage-bred actor who portrayed Cliff Barnes, the oil tycoon who was repeatedly bested by Larry Hagman's J.R. Ewing, on the long-running CBS primetime soap opera Dallas, has died at 83. [Obit.]( Talking points... ► Joe Biden launches 2020 presidential campaign. The former Vice President is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in his third bid for the White House. Biden declared his candidacy wth a video directly positioning him opposite President Trump. [Announcement video.]( Coming attractions... ► Trailer: George Clooney's Catch-22 finds Christopher Abbott in a WWII dilemma. The Hulu limited series stars Kyle Chandler and Abbot, the latter as the U.S. Air Force bombardier at the center of Clooney's new take on the war story. [Watch.]( Ex-Fox News staffer sues network over alleged sexual mistreatment. The network calls the $120 million lawsuit from Laurie Luhn "utterly frivolous and entirely [without merit or credibility](." The lawsuit against Fox News alleges that the company at large, along with CEO Suzanne Scott, sought to bury evidence that Roger Ailes was sexually harassing some female employees and that both somehow defamed Luhn by doing so. 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](. Disney Cutting Fox Films Spring cleaning, Burbank-style: Since Disney's $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox assets closed March 20, film studio chief Alan Horn has jettisoned a number of Fox projects from his development and preproduction slate, Tatiana Siegel and Borys Kit report: + Films getting picked up elsewhere include the $170 million tentpole Mouse Guard, the Tom Hanks starrer News of the World (to Universal) and an adaptation of Angie Thomas' best-seller On the Come Up (to Paramount). Ted Melfi's mental-hospital-set dramedy Fruit Loops, which has Woody Harrelson starring, is also poised for pickup. + What's made it: Films greenlit by Emma Watts, formerly of Fox and now at Disney, include the Matthew Vaughn-directed Kingsman prequel The Great Game, the low-budget witchcraft pic Fear Street and Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. But even some of those green lights are being met with scrutiny. One source says Horn is questioning the apparent plan to have young characters smoking onscreen in West Side Story. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Liberty Media execs pay rises. CEO Greg Maffei made $20.2 million, while chairman John Malone got $1.1 million. [Details.]( ► Warner Bros. vet Lynn Whitney joins Lionsgate Motion Picture Group . Whitney, who left Warner Bros. last year, will [oversee]( media planning as head of worldwide paid media, partnerships, promotions and consumer products. ► Bond 25 cast unveiled, sans title. Freshly minted Oscar winner Rami Malek is officially revealed as the chief villain, while Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge is confirmed as [having joined]( the writing team. ► Amazon's Brittany Runs a Marathon gets summer release. The Sundance audience award winner from playwright turned film director Paul Downs Colaizzo is [set to hit theaters]( Aug. 23. ► Bill Pohlad to direct Dreamin' Wild music biopic for Focus Features. Green Book producer Jim Burke is also [on board]( the movie about the real-life musical duo Donnie and Joe Emerson. -> NYU's Black List-inspired Purple List reveals 2019 picks. Chloe Zhao and Desiree Akhavan are among those who have had their work featured on the list of the best production-ready screenplays from Tisch School of the Arts graduate film students and recent alumni. [Who made it?]( ^Tribeca 2019 opens: Opening with the forthcoming HBO doc The Apollo, played at the titular venue in Harlem, Tribeca kicked off with an introduction by festival co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. * How was the film?: "This decades-long gathering place for an African-American community that often was, and still very much is, under siege gets a splendid tribute in Roger Ross Williams' [feature]," Keith Uhlich praises. [Full review.]( + Luncheon touts fest's inclusive programming: Fifty percent of this year's competition films at the fest were directed by women, according to Tribeca Enterprises executive vp Paula Weinstein. When it comes to feature films, 29 percent were helmed by people of color, 40 percent were directed by women and 13 were helmed by people who identify as LGBTQ. * De Niro swipes at Trump: The Oscar-winning actor, a long public critic of the president, took time at the lunch to thank the press for their work. "These days, your proud profession is always on the front line of finding the truth our political leaders try to obscure," De Niro told the crowd. "They call you 'fake news,' 'enemies of the people' and encourage violence against you — and [you’re not intimidated](." Musical notes... ► Sting sets 2020 Las Vegas residency. Sixteen performances of "Sting: My Songs" will [take place]( at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, beginning May 22, 2020. Shows are also planned for June, August and September. ► Madonna debuts wild "Medellín" music video with Maluma. The visual stars Madonna as her alter ego, Madame X, and the Colombian singer as her paramour. [Watch.]( -> Backstage as Mick Jagger makes first appearance after procedure. The 75-year-old rocker, recovering from a heart procedure two weeks earlier, remained [behind the scenes]( for the duration of his girlfriend's April 18 ballet, telling an event insider that he wanted to avoid crowds because he "didn't quite look like" himself. ^Pikachu vs. Marvel?: Legendary CEO Joshua Grode discusses the company's summer plans, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's efforts to help Hollywood squeeze more box office out of China and why his studio won't take more money from Saudi Arabia, Tatiana Siegel reports: + Warners' upheaval: "Look, it's unfortunate that they have to go through this moment where there's upheaval and there's internally, 'Who's going to do what now?' I know their team is incredibly focused on our properties, but at the same time, if it's a two-hour meeting they're having to discuss this, that's two hours that they're not doing what they would normally do during the day," Grode says. + Mnuchin's China efforts: "What he is trying to do is raise the percentage [of revenue] that we get on the quota movies from 25 percent to something higher. ... I'm all for it because the money we get out of China on our movies is very high-margin dollars because the marketing expenses are so low," Grode says. "We would like to see the studio percentage of the China box office go up more than the number of quota films go up — it would increase even further the marginal value of the dollars that we're getting from that market." [Full interview.]( Console wars... ► Nintendo full-year earnings jump 39 percent to $1.7 billion. Strong sales of the Switch console and software lifted results at the Japanese game giant, but they still came in [below expectations](. From the stage... ► Tootsie, reviewed. "This is a savvy update that manages to combine awareness of the evolution in gender politics with insouciant wit, a playful spirit and an invigorating streak of good-natured vulgarity," David Rooney writes. [Full review.]( Coming attractions... ► Trailer: Chadwick Boseman faces killers in 21 Bridges. The Black Panther star plays a detective searching for men who killed eight police officers. [Watch.]( ► Trailer: Stan Lee audio drama A Trick of Light introduces new universe. Before his death, the comic book creator completed work on Stan Lee's Alliances, an Audible project that was years in the making. [Watch.]( Endeavor hosts Palm Desert retreat with Gwen Stefani, Usher, Back to the Future. One insider [speculates]( that the Marty McFly motif was a nod to all the changes in the industry. A Fresh Look at Prince Key collaborator: Jeff Katz, who photographed the late rocker over dozens of shoots from 1985 to 1996, is rolling out a set of previously unreleased images of the artist timed to the third anniversary of his death, Michael O'Connell reports: + Working with the musician: "I was 25, three years out of college, and I got a call saying that Prince had asked me to come to the South of France for three months," says Katz, 58, who first worked with the musician on the set of 1986's Under the Cherry Moon — snapping the famous cover image of the album Parade within 15 minutes of meeting his subject. "He always pushed me creatively." + Each image offers a new glimpse of the revered and eccentric artist. "When you photograph someone famous, everyone always wants to make sure you're on the same page, but, with Prince, there was a trust factor," he says. "You can't buy a lens for that." [More images.]( What else we're reading... — "To TV Writers, Pay Fight With Agents Has Another Villain: Wall St." Noam Scheiber reports: "[T]he outside investors didn’t simply hand the agencies sacks of cash for empire-building. In some cases, they also prompted changes in the way the agencies ran their business." [[The New York Times](] — "The Progress of Women in the MCU." Monica Hesse watched the previous 21 pics in a month: "Sometimes when we’re in the dark ages, we don’t realize we’re there. ... We don’t realize when the jokes are bad, or the balance is off, or that we’ve sat through scene after scene of interesting characters engaging with each other, and it’s great, except that all of them are men." [[The Washington Post](] — "Kanye West’s Sunday Service Is Full of Longing, Self-Promotion." Jia Tolentino writes: "West has a blindingly vivid messiah complex; he also has an obsession with iconoclasm that has led him all the way to the idea that slavery was voluntary." [[The New Yorker](] — "James Holzhauer Explains Strategy Behind Jeopardy Winning Streak." Joe Pinsker chats with the contestant: "With a player this dominant, what could lead to Holzhauer’s undoing?" [[The Atlantic](] — "Writing Books, Building a Legacy With Anthony Bourdain." Chris Crowley catches up with Ecco publisher Daniel Halpern: "You sensed that something deep in there was not altogether cheerful, buoyant, joyful. I think that came across in very subtle ways. But that did not alter the way he dealt with every group of people, everywhere in the world, with whom he came in contact." [[Grub Street](] Last night, on late night... + "Brie Larson filmed Endgame without knowing she was Captain Marvel." [[Tonight Show](] + "Zac Efron's hilarious Spanish voiceover." [[Graham Norton](] Today's birthdays: Daniel Sharman, 33, Jillian Bell, 35, Jason Lee, 49, Renée Zellweger, 50, Gina Torres, 50, Hank Azaria, 55, Jeffrey DeMunn, 72, Talia Shire, 73, Al Pacino, 79. 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