"We take gender issues, in employment and pay, very, very seriously as a company," says executive chairman Peter Bazalgette amid the debate about the gender pay gap at the BBC. U.K. TV giant ITV on Wednesday discussed its commitment to diversity and gender issues amid a recent debate about the gender pay gap at British public broadcaster BBC. Asked about the pay controversy on an earnings call with reporters, ITV executive chairman Peter Bazalgette said that 52 percent of ITV's overall workforce and 43 percent of its senior management team were female. He said the company didn't break out on-air talent splits. "We take gender issues, in employment and pay, very, very seriously as a company," Bazalgette said. "We are supporters of and subscribers to Project Diamond, which is part of the creative diversity network in the television industry where we are working very hard to monitor and improve diversity in all productions – both in front of the camera and behind the camera." When … [Read more...]

The Night Shift is admitting two very familiar faces for potentially major roles. Rachelle Lefevre (Under the Dome) and Missy Peregrym (Rookie Blue) are both set to guest-star in the season four finale, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Lefevre will play Major Natasha Anthony, a new military doctor coming into San Antonio Memorial Hospital. Peregrym will portray Reagan, a female Ranger who comes in as a paramedic and clashes with Drew (Brendan Fehr). Both characters' arcs are left open-ended in the finale, with the potential to return in a larger capacity in season five if the medical drama is renewed. Produced by Sony Pictures Television, The Night Shift has been a modest but reliable summer performer for NBC at a time when many other broadcast networks are increasingly looked to unscripted programming to fill their summer schedules. The finale is set to air on Thursday, Aug. 31 on NBC. In addition to Fehr, the ensemble also includes Eoin Macken, Jill Flint, Robert … [Read more...]

"Donald: With your ban on trans people from the military, you are on notice that you just pissed off the wrong community. You will regret it." President Trump drew swift ire from Hollywood, politicians and civilians alike after a series of Wednesday morning tweets about his plans to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. Trump took to Twitter to deliver the announcement in three separate tweets, saying the U.S. government "will not accept or allow" transgender people to serve "in any capacity" in the military. "Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory," he wrote. "And cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail." Trump did not say what would happen to the transgender people who are already in the military — as many as 250 service members are in the process of transitioning or have been approved to transition to their preferred genders, according to the … [Read more...]

[Warning: This story contains spoilers for the second episode of Game of Thrones' seventh season, "Stormborn."] Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) has dragons on Dragonstone. Does she also have a double agent? Given what Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) knows about the Breaker of Chains' history, and given how easily Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbaek) knew exactly where to find his niece's fleet, some fans have wondered if there's a spy lurking within House Targaryen. If it's true (and we're not saying it's likely), then there's unfortunately only one candidate to seriously consider — someone who has already been warned about the cost of betraying the Dragon Queen. In the latest episode of their Game of Thrones podcast, Post Show Recaps hosts Rob Cesternino (of Rob Has a Podcast and Survivor fame) and THR's resident Game of Thrones reporter Josh Wigler (that's me!) discuss the possibility of someone on Team Targaryen secretly working against Daenerys. Other topics from their … [Read more...]

A struggling actress gets more than she bargained for when she takes a job working as a diamond courier in David Singer's comic thriller. A shaggy charm permeates David Singer’s comedy/thriller about an aspiring actress who gets more than she bargained for upon taking a job as a diamond courier. While Imperfections lives up to its name with its too clever by half plotline and failure to find a coherent tone, the indie film features enough enjoyable moments to overcome its flaws. The story revolves around Cassidy (Virginia Kull, Boardwalk Empire), a Chicago-based actress whose career is stuck and who desperately need money to move to Hollywood. Despite some misgivings, she takes a job working for her mother’s (Marilu Henner) boyfriend (Ed Begley Jr.) who owns a small importing business in the city’s diamond district. Her job is to transport gems worth a fortune to various clients while dressed as unobtrusively as possible so as to avoid attention. Her employer’s … [Read more...]

A federal judge in Georgia has knocked out a lawsuit against Time Warner that alleged rampant racial discrimination at some of its television networks including CNN and TBS. On Tuesday, the case was dismissed with the judge's remark that any amendment would be futile. The lawsuit came from Celeslie Henley, who says she worked at CNN for seven years, and Ernest Colbert Jr., who worked at TBS for two decades. Together, they brought individual civil rights claims as well as putative class action ones that aimed to challenge an alleged pattern and practice of racial discrimination in performance evaluations, compensation, promotions, and terminations. Attorneys for the plaintiffs suggested there were hundreds more who would join the lawsuit, and upon such news, the case gained notoriety in conservative-leaning circles. Although the lawsuit leaned on reports from the Turner human resources department to make the case that minority employees received lower performance ratings, received … [Read more...]

The latest Cage meme is no laughing matter, according to the Human Rights Foundation. Photos of Nicolas Cage dressed in traditional, nomadic garb in Astana, Kazakhstan attending the Eurasia Film Festival have gone viral with several memes on the Internet that drop the actor into famous historical photos, including one that has him standing with Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley at the White House. But it's no laughing matter, says a human rights group taking Cage to task for ginning up positive press coverage for an authoritarian regime. During his 26-year rule over Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbayev shut down independent news outlets and arrested critics, including journalists and a theater director, according to a report from the Human Rights Foundation. In 2011, government forces killed more than a dozen peaceful protesters during the Zhanaozen massacre, notes HRF, the group famous for smuggling copies of The Interview into North Korea to embarrass Kim Jong Un. Despite the … [Read more...]

Unaware who he was talking to, the Energy Secretary discussed non-existent new fuel allegedly made out of pig manure and moonshine. Two Russian comedians, known internationally as "The Jerky Boys of Russia," have pranked U.S. energy secretary Rick Perry, making him believe he was having a phone conversation with Ukraine's prime minister Volodymyr Hroisman. The 22-minute conversation, in which one of the comedians played the prime minister and the other one translated, began with a discussion of sanctions against Russia and U.S. attempts to help Ukraine to develop its oil and gas industry, but then took a bizarre turn.  Judging by the recording of the conversation, published by Russian news magazine Vesti.ru, Perry didn't realize he was being pranked even when the caller suggested that he try "a new kind of fuel," made out of pig manure and moonshine, which the comedian claimed Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko developed himself and drinks on a regular basis. Perry … [Read more...]

Brian Grazer says the deal allows the firm to retain the rights to its IP, and Ron Howard says "we look forward to bringing more viewers around the world the unique, groundbreaking programs and content." Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment has struck a $100 million TV co-financing joint venture with TVB Venture, a unit of Hong Kong-based Television Broadcasts Ltd., the companies announced on Wednesday.  The company will use the financing "for the development and production of television projects." Imagine’s current hits include Empire for Fox and Genius for National Geographic Channel. Imagine is also currently working on the fifth season of Arrested Development, which was picked up by Netflix for 15 episodes. TVB Venture will have broadcast and distribution rights in China, including Hong Kong and Macao, and Taiwan. The deal was orchestrated by CMC Holdings, an investor in Young Lion, which is TVB’s largest shareholder.  The news of the venture … [Read more...]

Brian Grazer says the deal allows the firm to retain the rights to its IP, and Ron Howard says "we look forward to bringing more viewers around the world the unique, groundbreaking programs and content." Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment has struck a $100 million TV co-financing joint venture with TVB Venture, a unit of Hong Kong-based Television Broadcasts Ltd. (TVB), the companies announced on Wednesday.  The company will use the financing "for the development and production of television projects." Imagine’s current hits include Empire for Fox and Genius for National Geographic Channel. Imagine is also currently working on the fifth season of Arrested Development, which was picked up by Netflix for 15 episodes. TVB Venture will have broadcast and distribution rights in China, including Hong Kong and Macao, and Taiwan. The deal was orchestrated by CMC Holdings, an investor in Young Lion, which is TVB’s largest shareholder.  The news of the … [Read more...]

The Japanese game maker posted an operating profit of $145 million for its fiscal first quarter, with revenue up 150 percent. Japanese video game giant Nintendo returned to the black for the quarter ended in June thanks to the success of its new Switch console. Nintendo recorded an operating profit of $144.95 million (￥5.13 billion) for its fiscal first quarter, compared with a year-ago loss of ￥24.5 billion. Revenue jumped 150 percent to $1.37 billion (￥154.07 billion), the company said Wednesday. The Kyoto-based company sold 1.97 million Switch consoles in the quarter, taking its total sales to 4.7 million units. Nintendo has been unable to keep up with demand for the hybrid home-portable console, and stores in Japan have been operating lotteries for customers to get the chance to purchase one. The success of the console, along with that of mobile game Pokemon Go, have helped push Nintendo's stock price up 60 percent over the last year. Its market … [Read more...]

FX's biggest event this fall may not be the debut of American Horror Story: Cult — as Olivia de Havilland is asking the court to expedite her lawsuit against the network over her portrayal in Feud: Bette and Joan. The 101-year-old actress says Ryan Murphy's series makes her look like a gossip who exploited the personal lives of others to further her own career. She's the only living person portrayed in the show, yet she wasn't consulted, and she's suing for infringement of common law right of publicity, invasion of privacy and unjust enrichment. In a Tuesday filing she asks L.A. Superior Court judge Holly Kendig to set a trial for November, relying on a California statute that essentially allows parties who are 70 or older to speed up litigation. “This is the kind of case for which the statute was passed," said de Havilland's attorney Suzelle Smith in a statement. "There is a substantial risk that without a trial preference, Miss de Havilland will be prejudiced in not … [Read more...]

Audience Network's forthcoming series Mr. Mercedes, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, kicks off with a truly horrific act of violence: someone purposefully plows his expensive car through a crowded group of people waiting in the middle of the night for a job's fair the following morning, killing 16 people including a young baby. However, director and exec producer Jack Bender says he never intended to glamorize violence with that graphic opening. "That's exactly what I didn’t want," he told reporters Tuesday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. "To show it in a realistic way but not put any kind of frame about it." In the original book trilogy, the central act of violence happens at a boy band concert – an act reminiscent of the recent act of terrorism in Manchester at an Ariana Grande concert. However, Bender said the decision to change that to the car crash was made early on long before Manchester. "We can't keep up with the mess in the … [Read more...]

Sony Pictures is courting Jared Leto to star in Bloodshot, Sony’s adaptation of the comic from Valiant Entertainment, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Leto has the offer to play the title character but dealmaking has yet to begin, according to sources. Dave Wilson is attached to direct the sci-fi action feature project, which would be produced by Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe through their Original Film banner. Described as being, in part, a crime-oriented Frankenstein thriller, the story centers on a mob killer named Angelo Mortalli, who enters a witness protection program. When he is betrayed by a handler, he becomes part of a secret experiment to create the ultimate killing machine. His memories are erased and he is injected with microscopic computers called nanites. Now an unstoppable force, he tries to rediscover who he was while battling both the mob and the police. Jason Kothari and Dinesh Shamdasaniof Valiant are exec producing. Bloodshot is part of … [Read more...]

There are few tasks more challenging in Hollywood than following up a classic, and few films as well-regarded in the sci-fi genre as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Though director Denis Villeneuve was hot off of the acclaimed film Arrival, he felt more than his share of pressure to deliver with Blade Runner 2049, the followup to Scott's 1982 original. "I have to find a way to make that universe mine. I have to find a way to not feel like a vandal going in a church, making graffiti on the walls," director Denis Villeneuve told Heat Vision during a Blade Runner event at San Diego Comic-Con. Villeneuve felt the need to get the blessing from Scott and screenwriter Hampton Fancher, who both are working on the sequel. "It's by far the biggest artistic challenge I have ever done. To take someone else's universe and to try to digest and make it my own is a strange process. I did that once, I would not do it again," said Villeneuve, whose next project will be a take on anotehr … [Read more...]

Hollywood will be getting a visit from one of the most high-profile names in politics this week, as a battle begins to brew for the film rights to one of the biggest literary properties of the year. Former President Bill Clinton and best-selling author James Patterson will be meeting producers to talk about an adaptation of their novel The President Is Missing, out June 2018. CAA's Richard Lovett is handling the rights to the project, which is being treated as a top secret property. Sources say a 10-page proposal was sent out to buyers and top producers on Monday. It was sent via an expiring link and watermarked. Not everyone who received the proposal will be invited to have a meeting with Clinton and Patterson, however. Sources say that Clinton and Patterson themselves will meet with interested producers this week. J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg and George Clooney are among those who will be taking in-person meetings with the pair. Producer Steve Bing, known to be a close friend of … [Read more...]

Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry, Alfred Molina and Mykelti Williamson have joined the cast of Only You, the latest thriller from Blumhouse Productions. David Oyelowo and Storm Reid are starring in the project, which is now shooting in Los Angeles. Details are scarce but Only You involves a police officer (Oyelowo) whose family was killed, a niece (Reid) who is in danger and a plot with time-travel elements. Character details are also being kept secret.  Jacob Estes wrote the mind-bender and is directing the feature. Jason Blum is producing. Oyelowo is executive producing along with Blumhouse's Couper Samuelson and Jeanette Volturno. Jay Martin is also exec producing. Henry received an Emmy nomination for his work on NBC's acclaimed drama This Is Us. He recently wrapped production on Steven McQueen’s Widows, Hotel Artemis and Studio 8’s White Boy Rick.   Molina is the veteran actor who recently portrayed Robert Aldrich, the producer of What Ever … [Read more...]

Lionsgate has won a bidding war to pick up a female-centric spec action script titled Ballerina that will serve as a platform for a possible John Wick spin-off. Basil Iwanyk, whose Thunder Road banner is behind the hit Wick action franchise that stars Keanu Reeves, will produce Ballerina. While Lionsgate is relishing the idea of a franchise expansion, the screenwriter behind Ballerina is living out a Hollywood dream. The deal marks the first sale for scribe Shay Hatten, the 23-year old who idolizes Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) and who is currently working as a writer's assistant for Robert Downey Jr.’s production company, Team Downey. Hatten has been on an upward Hollywood trajectory since graduating from Loyola Marymount’s School of Film and Television in 2016: he snagged an internship at Team Downey while writing a black comedy script, Maximum King!, in his spare time. The script led to representation at CAA and the script ended up on last year’s Black List. Hatten … [Read more...]

Danielle Claman Gelber is staying put at Universal Television. The former head of development at Dick Wolf's Uni-based Wolf Films banner has re-upped her first-look deal with the studio, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Under the new pact, she will develop and exec produce new programming for a wide variety of platforms. The renewal comes shortly after the launch of her television production company Acoustic Productions. Gelber departed Wolf Films in 2016 for a first-look deal with Universal Television. During the first year of her deal, she teamed with Bates Motel star Freddie Highmore and showrunner Kerry Ehrin on a character drama titled Long Distance. During her five-year tenure working with the Law & Order creator, she served as an exec producer on Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. Before joining Wolf Films in 2011, Gelber served as senior vp original programming at Showtime Networks, where she was behind the successful series The Big C, Episodes … [Read more...]

A year after stunning industry observers with the abrupt cancellation of The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore, Comedy Central is starting to find its late-night footing. The Viacom-owned cable network recently saw late-night staple The Daily Show wrap its most-watched quarter since Trevor Noah took over as host (1.5 million total viewers, up 2 from the first quarter and an impressive 26 percent year-over-year). And rookie weekly series The President Show — featuring Anthony Atamanuik hosting as President Donald J. Trump — has helped improve Comedy Central's footing in Wilmore's former 11:30 p.m. slot by 17 percent among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic since its April 27 premiere. (When factoring in total viewers, The President Show is up 140 percent vs. a year ago.) And, following a year-long process that included searching for talent and developing new projects, Comedy Central come Sept. 25, will have a daily strip series to take over the 11:30 slot … [Read more...]