Could O.J. Go from Inmate to Reality TV Star?; What Mattered at CinemaCon; 'Donnie Darko' Inside Story

What's news: As the dust settles from CinemaCon, where does the windowing issue stand now? Plus: Warner Bros. faces a $900M lawsuit over The Conjuring franchise, Homeland is kicking off FYC Emmy season and could O.J. Simpson go from an inmate to a reality TV star? — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman. [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( March 31, 2017 What's news: As the dust settles from CinemaCon, where does the windowing issue stand now? Plus: Warner Bros. faces a $900M lawsuit over The Conjuring franchise, Homeland is kicking off FYC Emmy season and could O.J. Simpson go from an inmate to a reality TV star? — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman. What Mattered at CinemaCon Over four days at the Las Vegas convention, windowing debates continued as the theatrical experience shape-shifts, Rebecca Ford, Aaron Couch and Carolyn Giardina write: Behind the scenes at the convention, studio execs and theater owners discussed the possibility of shortening the exclusive theatrical window, an issue that has been a hot topic at the industry for the past year. However, only one studio executive spoke directly about being open to these changes while giving a presentation onstage. Sue Kroll, Warner Bros. president, worldwide marketing and distribution, told the audience at the Colosseum: "Where there is demand, somebody is going to step in and fill that void. We have to be innovative. Together, I believe, is the way to move towards a future that will be beneficial and profitable to all of us." [What else mattered.]( Fox's appearance at CinemaCon Thursday brought big stars to the screen, the highlights: [Murder on the Orient Express](: Kenneth Branagh, sending in a video from Malta where he’s filming the project, boasted of his star-studded cast before showing footage, which was the first look at many of the stars in character, including Branagh's Hercule Poirot, sporting blonde hair and a massive grey mustache. [War for the Planet of the Apes](: The film, which opens July 14, showed off a new trailer and extended scene introducing a new character, Woody Harrelson's "The Colonel," a military leader out to destroy the apes. [Red Sparrow](: Jennifer Lawrence's espionage thriller unveiled its first footage, showing the actress as a ballerina who is injured on stage before she is recruited to be a spy in Russia. The adaptation of the Jason Matthews novel follows Lawrence who is ordered against her will to become a "Sparrow," a trained seductress. [Kingsman: A Golden Circle](: The trailer for the sequel revealed new details of the Matthew Vaughn film, such as the mystery surrounding characters played by newcomers such as Channing Tatum, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and Elton John. The often subdued CinemaCon crowd reacted strongly to the footage, giving it one of the bigger cheers of the convention. Also at CinemaCon: [Amazon]( reiterates its support for theatrical window ... [Lionsgate]( hosted a full screening of the The Hitman's Bodyguard and the first trailers of action-thriller American Assassin and Julia Roberts-starrer Wonder. Elsewhere in film... [^New: Warner Bros. facing $900M lawsuit over The Conjuring franchise.]( Ashley Cullins reports: Gerald Brittle, author of a 1980 book on the paranormal investigators, claims not only to have had an exclusive deal with Lorraine Warren, but that producers substantially lifted his work. ► Alibaba Pictures reports $139M Loss for 2016. The filmmaking arm of Jack Ma's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group attributed the losses to [heavy marketing costs]( for Tao Piao Piao, its mobile ticketing business. ► Writer's Guild health plan a headache for negotiators. Jonathan Handel has obtained figures showing [just how costly]( fixing the troubled health plan will be, what the studios are willing to pay and what the writers are requesting. ↱ In theaters this weekend: Alec {NAME}'s [Boss Baby,]( "delightful blend of clever and tender," takes on [Ghost in the Shell](, "more body than brains," and the "conventional" [Zookeeper's Wife]( at the box office. ↲ ► Joss Whedon tackling Batgirl movie. The Avengers director is in talks[to write, direct and produce]( a stand-alone movie for Warner Bros., adding another heroine to the studio's DC cinematic universe. Toby Emmerich will oversee the project. ► Sony wins bidding war for My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. The acclaimed graphic novel by Emil Ferris fielded multiple studios' offers before [landing at Sony](. Amnesia Entertainment's Bradley Gallo and Michael Helfant will produce the film. ► Stephen King Novella getting movie treatment. Throttle, by King and his son, novelist Joe Hill, has been [optioned]( by producer Emile Gladstone and his A Bigger Boat Productions. John Scott III, the writer zombie movie Maggie, will pen the screenplay. ► Olivia Cooke to star in WWII drama Courting Danger. The [true story]( of tennis-star-turned-spy Alice Marble will be adapted from Dale Leatherman's book. Derek Weissbein will pen the screenplay. ↱ [Gifted, reviewed](. Chris Evans stars in Marc Webb's comedy-drama about a man fighting to maintain custody of his 7-year-old niece. The takeaway: "You'll feel the emotional strings being pulled." ↲ PR firm 42West sold in $28M deal. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dolphin Digital Media, the PR firm will continue to operate under its existing management team, with Leslee Dart, Amanda Lundberg and Allan Mayer all serving as co-chief operating officers.[Details.]( Military Shows Taking Over TV A renewed political focus on the armed services has spilled into scripted TV. From Fox's Behind Enemy Lines to The CW's Valor, all five broadcast networks have a military pilot in the works, Lesley Goldberg reports: While the five broadcast networks each ready their own military pilots, History has the Will Smith-produced Harlem Hellfighters, National Geographic just cast The Long Road Home and Hulu has One Million Steps. (And that's on top of USA Network's previously renewed Shooter.) That's [more than double the number of military shows usually being made]( at this point in the season. While it's on-brand for History to explore the genre, it's telling that the younger-skewing CW also is signing up for duty. Few disagree that these programs reflect current events, but more intriguing is how they may influence the real world. Says television critic Myles McNutt, "It seems likely, in the years to come, that we will begin to categorize shows as either complicit or resistant to Trump's presidency." Headed to Cannes for MIPTV? Keep an eye out for these shows: [The Hot List.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Showtime's Homeland set to kick off FYC season. The stars and exec producers of the 2012 best drama series Emmy winner will be on hand for a NeueHouse screening, panel and party [on Monday night.]( ► Ratings: Fox's Empire eyes series low. The drama returned from its hiatus without any fatigue but [stumbles 15 percent]( in week two. That's shy of the previous low logged in December ↱ [Trailer watch, Game of Thrones](. Ahead of its July return, the clip centers on the trio vying for the crown: Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister. ↲ ► ABC orders new singing competition to series. The network has given a [10-episode order]( to Boy Band, where hopeful singers compete with one another to join a musical group. Matador Content (Lip Sync Battle) will produce. ► Paramount Network outlines launch plans. The soon-to-be-former Spike TV renewed Lip Sync Battle for a fourth season and president Kevin Kay shared his long-term plans ([six scripted shows in 2018]() and the future for non-core networks. ► Dear Evan Hansen playwright inks overall seal with 20th TV. Hot off the success of his Broadway sensation, Steven Levenson is looking to television, [developing]( projects for cable, streaming and broadcast TV. ► Mark Strong boards espionage thriller Deep State. The eight-part drama – and first regional scripted commission from Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa – has [also snared]( The Slap director Robert Connolly. ↱ [Daily Show contributor talks Trump fatigue](. Michelle Wolf on covering POTUS: "Ideally if I could do a whole chat and never mention his name or even reference him that would be really wonderful." ↲ O.J. Simpson, reality star? Simpson could be out of the Nevada penitentiary where he's serving 33 years for armed robbery and kidnapping as early as October, leaving many in the industry to think a reality show [might soon follow](. 'Donnie Darko,' The Inside Story As the cult hit returns to theaters today, director Richard Kelly remembers, in his own words, the journey to classic status and the unsung heroes (Christopher Nolan and Jason Schwartzman) who played a role in [the making of the film.]( What else we're reading... — "When directors went to war." John Anderson on Netflix's Five Came Back: "How Frank Capra, George Stevens, John Ford, William Wyler and John Huston helped America defeat the Nazis." [[The Wall Street Journal](] — "Valerian's biggest problem: It did everything first." Adam Rogers looks at the marketing challenge: "an epic, mega-budget sci-fi movie that’s based on a not-widely-recognizable intellectual property. John Carter much?" [[Wired](] — "The trouble at Fox News keeps getting worse." From Gabriel Sherman: "people familiar with the [federal] investigation say the government is looking into a number of potential crimes, including Fox News’s alleged surveillance of journalists." [[New York](] — "The ways TV critics have tried to get me to watch The Americans." In a Shouts & Murmurs piece, Tom Batten gets the message already, the show is good. [[The New Yorker](] — "Boom times for the new dystopians." Alexandra Alter asks: "Is a fresh crop of doomsday novels channeling the country’s collective anxieties?" [[The New York Times](] Today's Birthdays: Jack Antonoff, 33, Ewan McGregor, 46, Tony Cox, 59, Al Gore, 69, Rhea Perlman, 69, Christopher Walken, 74. Follow The News Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? 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