Backstage at CNN's Debate; ‘Succession’ Season 2; Evans Era Ends; Quibi's 'High Wire'; ‘Irishman’ Trailer; New THR Cover

What's news: An inside look at the new season of HBO's Succession, Jeremy Barr reports from the spin room at the Democratic primary debate in Detroit, outside money is having an impact on management companies, Jeffrey Katzenberg talks Quibi, Robert Evans and Paramount part ways. Plus: The first trailer for Scorsese's The Irishman. --Alex Weprin July 31, 2019 What's news: An inside look at the new season of HBO's Succession, Jeremy Barr reports from the spin room at the Democratic primary debate in Detroit, outside money is having an impact on management companies, Jeffrey Katzenberg talks Quibi, Robert Evans and Paramount part ways. Plus: The first trailer for Scorsese's The Irishman. --Alex Weprin How 'Succession' Is Approaching Season Two [On the cover](: How "Succession" became the perfect show for the Trump era. Seth Abramovitch visits the set of the HBO drama ahead of its season two premiere, and finds a cast and crew attuned to the thoughts and desires of the real-life subjects that serve as inspiration for the series. What began life nearly a decade ago as a film script called "Murdoch" has morphed into a show that has become an obsession of the industry. +At least some Murdochs have watched the show. "I've found out from someone who shall remain nameless that [Rupert Murdoch's wife] Jerry Hall loves it," ep Frank Rich says. "And [Adam] McKay is pretty certain Rupert's eldest son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan, couldn't resist checking out the show. McKay describes a recent meeting in which a 'prominent Hollywood executive' all but hushed the room into awkward silence by gushing at length about the show while Lachlan was in listening range." +What's in store for season two? The plotlines were developed last summer and in early fall. "After taking a backseat for about 50 or 60 years, inherited wealth and nepotism seem to have come back with a vengeance," McKay says of the show's topical resonances. "And media conglomerates are increasingly becoming the microphones of oligarchs." [The cover story](. ►$1 billion for The Lion King. On Tuesday, Disney made it official: the studio's remake of the animated classic The Lion King has passed $1 billion at the global box office, after only 19 days in theaters. The film is the fourth Disney feature to break $1 billion this year, following Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel, and Aladdin. [The story](. ►Robert Evans and Paramount part ways. After more than half a century, Robert Evans is no longer associated with Paramount, as the studio declined to renew its production deal with Robert Evans Productions earlier this month. Evans was named Paramount's production chief in 1967, transitioning to an independent producing role in 1974, with credits on Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown, among other films. --His 1994 autobiography, The Kid Stays In The Picture, became a best-seller and was turned into the 2002 documentary film of the same name. --Evans tells THR's Scott Feinberg that Paramount wanted to remake his 1997 film The Saint, but that he wasn't interested. The last feature his company produced was 2003's How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. [The story](. ^For Hollywood talent managers, outside investors bring issues of control. Tatiana Siegel and Kim Masters look at the management landscape, which, like the talent agencies, is now being shaped by outside money. The pressure to deliver returns for investors should be a familiar feeling to others in the media and entertainment business. --Rick Yorn's LBI Entertainment took funding from billionaire Ron Burkle more than a decade ago, a deal that is now causing friction as "sources say Burkle wants to combine LBI with two other representation companies he backs: the U.K.-based Independent Talent Group, with clients including Daniel Craig and Felicity Jones, and Independent Sports & Entertainment, with a roster that includes baseball stars Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander." [The story](. Casting roundup, part one: Ken Jeong, Rob Delaney, Jordan Bolger, and Pallavi Sharda [have joined]( the live-action hybrid Tom and Jerry from Warner Bros. Animation Group... Will Packer's upcoming comedy for BET's streaming service is now called Bigger, and [has set]( its cast... ►A first look at The Irishman. The anticipated Netflix film from director Martin Scorcese dropped its first trailer this morning. The trailer also gives a first look at the advanced de-aging visual effects, which helped stars Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino play their characters at different ages spanning decades. [Take a look](. Elsewhere in film... --Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit [will premiere]( at Fantastic Fest. --Here's [a trailer]( for the film The Lighthouse, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. --UTA [has signed]( Air Bud Entertainment, a studio that started with 1997's Air Bud movie, but has since spawned 22 more films. --The suspect in the Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) fire on July 18 [had sent in]( a novel to the company, but it was rejected in its initial screening. Debate Night From Detroit "I Think we pulled that off." CNN's first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 election cycle accomplished what the channel was hoping for, Jeremy Barr finds, reporting from Detroit. Even the candidates, well, some of them, were complimentary of the network's handling of the event. Quote: "We thought the debate worked very well," CNN D.C.bureau chief Sam Feist told THR in the spin room after the debate. "We spent over a half hour just on health care. Everyone weighed in multiple times. Democrats say that's the No. 1 issue for them, so that's an example of how we just let it go because we thought that it was more important to do a deep dive on a subject like health care rather than hit 40 different issues.... I think that was one of the things that we tried to do, to go longer on fewer subjects. That was our goal, and I think we pulled that off." [Barr's report.]( +More: In his critics notebook, Frank Scheck [writes that](it was "Sanders and Warren against the world," as the progressive stalwarts fended off attacks from their more moderate competitors. In particular, the issue of Medicare For All [was a hot topic](, while Pete Buttigieg [sought to rebuke](concerns over his age. +On social media: Marianne Williamson was [the most searched candidate]( on Google after the debate, while Elizabeth Warren dominated the conversation on Twitter. +In late night: Stephen Colbert [dubbed]( Marianne Williamson the "long-shot guru," while Trevor Noah [praised]( Williamson and Elizabeth Warren. Jeremy Barr emails from Detroit with the scene from the spin room... "John Delaney's polling numbers are anemic, but you wouldn't know that from the media mob that greeted him after the debate in CNN's designated spin room. 'That's what happens when you have a good night,' his press secretary told me. All around the room, television news producers hunted for candidates to interview. 'We have Delaney in view,' one producer said to a colleague. Another producer put a target on Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, saying, 'Bullock is coming this way now. Bullock is moving towards us!' Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the star of the room, though she made time for MSNBC's Chris Matthews, who interviewed candidates at the network's designated booth while chatting affably with the political reporters milling around the room. The room cleared out around midnight, though CNN's live panel of political analysts kept going strong." +A look at CNN's 2020 strategy: live events and news, with a touch of theatricality. [More](. Casting roundup, part two: Joss Whedon's HBO drama The Nevers has [filled out its cast]( with a dozen regulars, including former Dollhouse star Olivia Williams, James Norton, Tom Riley and Ann Skelly, among others... Kaya Scodelario and Rufus Sewell [have been cast]( in the Amazon-BBC Agatha Christie adaptation Pale Horse... ►Netflix pays up for On My Block stars. The stars of the Netflix breakout comedy On My Block have secured sizable salary increases for season three, Lesley Goldberg reports. "The four leads will see their $20,000 per-episode fee that they earned for the first two seasons jump to $65,000 per episode for season three." [The story.]( ►Sony Music Masterworks has acquired Milan Records, a label for film and TV scores and soundtracks. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but J.C. Chamboredon, senior vp of Milan Records and son of company founder Emmanuel Chamboredon will continue to run the label as he reports to Mark Cavell, Sony Music Masterworks U.S. label head and COO International. [More](. ^HBO's Deadwood will be honored at the Television Critics Association's annual awards Aug. 3. The HBO show will receive the Heritage Award, while creator David Milch will take home the TCA's 2019 Career Achievement honor. The awards will be presented Saturday as part of the TCA Awards, which will be hosted by Desus and Mero. [More](. Revolving door, part one: Black-ish showrunners Jonathan Groff and Kenny Smith have stepped down and will focus on development for producers ABC Studios. Courtney Lilly [has been promoted]( to take over as showrunner on the series... Renée Tirado has[been named]( global head of diversity, equity and inclusion at Gucci... Marc Jacobs [will receive]( the first-ever Fashion Trailblazer Award at MTV's Video Music Awards on Aug. 26... Mira Sorvino [has signed]( with Circle of Confusion for management... ►In development: A series adaptation of the feature film Fast Color is [in the works](at Amazon Studios, with Viola Davis among its executive producers... HBO Max [has handed out]( an eight-episode, straight-to-series order for Circe, a modern take on the world of Greek mythology based on Madeline Miller's best-seller of the same name... FX [is moving forward]( with its limited series remake of Hannah Fidell's 2013 feature film A Teacher... Elsewhere in TV... --Daniel Fienberg [reviews]( IFC's Sherman's Showcase. --The season finale of The Bachelorette last night [broke with the show's typical format]( to accommodate drama that happened off-camera. --U.K. TV giant ITV’s ITV Studios unit [has agreed]( to acquire Israeli format creator and distributor Armoza Formats. Katzenberg’s Kool-Aid Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman are not fooling around with Quibi. The short-form, mobile-first streaming service will launch next year with A-list talent, TV-sized budgets, and surprising new technology, in an effort to disrupt a streaming space that, for now, seems focused on the living room. Natalie Jarvey speaks to Katzenberg and producers working on projects for the service. +The numbers: $100 million in advertising commitments, from the likes of Google, Walmart, and Pepsi. $470 million to be spent on marketing the service in its first year. 7,000 pieces of content to be released in its first year. $15 million spent on key "lighthouse" programming... +Quote: "We're going up on a high wire and there's no safety net underneath it," Katzenberg says. "We understand what we're doing fits somewhere between improbable and impossible." [The story](. Earnings roundup: AMC Networks [earnings rise]( despite 11% ad revenue decline... Avengers: Endgame [helped lift](Imax's second quarter earnings... Apple's services business [was a bright spot](for the technology company, reaching a record high in its fiscal third-quarter earnings... Video game giant Electronic Arts reported a year-over-year [increase in revenue](, despite not having any new titles in the quarter... Spotify [hit 108 million]( paid subscribers... "A documentary looking into the 1MDB corruption scandal, which saw in excess of $4.5 billion allegedly stolen from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund and used to finance vast global shopping sprees, including a major foray into Hollywood, has been threatened by one of its main subjects." [The story](. +Walmart and Ellen DeGeneres are being sued over their collaborative EV1 line by a New York artist named Julian Rivera, who claims that his "love" design was copied without permission on the clothing. [The story](. Revolving door, part two: Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley [are in talks]( to direct the long-gestating Dungeons & Dragons movie for Paramount... Rebecca Mall [has joined](WME in the newly created role of senior marketing executive, while Todd Kline is now senior vp sports talent and property sales for Endeavor... What else we're reading... --"Lil Nas X broke Mariah Carey’s chart record. Expect more songs to do the same" [[Rolling Stone](] --"He ordered The Office. Can Kevin Reilly make HBO Max a hit?" [[LA Times](] --"Now that AT&T TV Now is the name for DirecTV Now, you are free to be confused" [[The Verge](] --"The tools for covering tech are the same as in 2009" [[NY Times](] From the archives... On July 31, 1999, Warner Bros. held the premiere of Brad Bird's animated The Iron Giant in Los Angeles. [The Hollywood Reporter's original review](. Today's birthdays: Dean Cain, 52, J.K. Rowling, 54, Wesley Snipes, 57, Jessica Williams, 30, Mark Cuban, 61, Paul Provenza, 62, Rico Rodriguez, 21, Sherry Lansing, 75. Thanks for reading! Please send me feedback, tips, and suggestions so that I can help make Today In Entertainment more useful to you. You can email me at Alex.Weprin@THR.com. 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. 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