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OCTOBER 12, 2015

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OCTOBER 12, 2015

North American total of $116.8 million. Sony’s animated sequel also grossed a strong $22.7 million from 59 offshore markets for a foreign cume of $90.9 mil-

27 percent ahead of 2014’s Interstellar.Domestically, Pan even got beat by

rival family offering Hotel Transylvania 2, which took in another $20.3 million from 3,768 theaters in its third weekend for a

Unless Warner Bros.’ Pan does big business abroad, the studio is facing a steep loss on the special-effects extravaganza.

By Pamela McClintock

Joe Wright’s big-budget Pan is looking like a major loss for Warner Bros. after debuting to just

$15.5 million from 3,515 theaters in North America, a disastrous start for a pic that cost $150 million to make.

Instead, Ridley Scott’s The Martian won the weekend box-office race with a better-than-expected $37 million from 3,854 locations after declining a mere 32 percent in its second outing for a domestic total of $108.7 million. Fox’s space epic, which stars Matt Damon, also continued to dazzle overseas, earn- ing another $58.1 million from 74 markets for an early foreign total of $119 million and global cume of $227.7 million.

Among new markets, Martian took in a massive $12.1 million in South Korea, the biggest Fox opening ever and an industry best for the month of October. In Germany, it opened to $7.1 million, two times larger than 2013’s Gravity and

Box-Office Report: Pan Grounded, Martian Maintains Top Spot

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lion and worldwide tally of $207.7 million.In short, families didn’t show much

interest in Wright’s Peter Pan origins tale, which stars Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, Garrett Hedlund and newcomer Levi Miller. The film received scathing reviews and a B+ CinemaScore from audiences.

Warner Bros. has had a tough ride at the box office this year, and Pan furthers its woes after box-office losers Jupiter Ascending and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The studio declined official comment on Pan, but one distribution source said “the movie failed to bring in an audience of any size.”

Originally, the live-action family title was set to open in July and be a promi-nent summer player, but Warner Bros. knew there were problems and pushed its release back at the eleventh hour, saying reshoots were needed. The movie is a special-effects extravaganza, with virtually no real sets.

Pan hopes to make up ground over-seas, where it bowed in numerous major markets over the weekend and is set to roll out Oct. 22 in China. Unless the pic does big business abroad, Warner Bros. is facing a steep loss. So far, returns are muted. The film collected $4.1 million on Friday for an early foreign total of $11 million, including $4.3 million in Aus- tralia, where it opened two weekends ago.

Pan isn’t the only high-profile movie that stiffed. Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk expanded nationwide Friday into more than 2,515 locations after debuting to a muted $1.6 million last weekend in an exclusive Imax run. The pic, which has awards aspirations, took in $3.7 million for a seventh-place finish and a domestic total of $6.4 million. It’s the lowest wide start on record for the filmmaker, and the seventh-worst bow ever for a film opening in more than 2,500 locations (the early Imax run is a mitigating factor).

Sony and TriStar surely were hoping for more, although Walk cost a modest $35 million to make, so their financial exposure is limited. “We’re disappointed.

It’s a film we are very proud of,” Sony dis- tribution chief Rory Bruer said Sunday. “But what a great hold on Hotel Tran-sylvania 2. That’s really good news.”

Overseas, Walk is also doing modest business, earning $5.2 million from 60 markets over the weekend for an early foreign total of $7.1 million and global cume of $13.5 million

One new offering eagerly embraced by audiences in New York and Los Angeles was Universal’s Steve Jobs, from director Danny Boyle. The biopic took in $521,000 over the weekend from four theaters, put- ting its location average at $130,236 — the best showing of the year to date.

It’s also among the top screen averages of all time, and the fourth-best for a title going out in four theaters behind 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel ($202,792), American Sniper ($158,354) and 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom ($130,749).

Steve Jobs’ performance bodes well as it prepares to expand timed to awards season. The critically acclaimed film was written by Aaron Sorkin and stars Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen and Jeff Daniels. The pic skewed young for an adult drama, with 51 per-cent of the audience under the age of 35, and slightly male (53 percent).

Boyle’s film will be playing in more than 60 theaters this coming weekend

before rolling out nationwide on Oct. 23.Documentary He Named Me Malala,

another awards hopeful, expanded into a total of 446 theaters in its second week-end, earning an estimated $670,000 for a location average of roughly $1,502. That puts the Fox Searchlight movie’s early cume at $752,000.

Elsewhere, Warner Bros.’ The Intern — a bright spot for the studio — continued to hold well, grossing an estimated $8.7 mil- lion from 3,224 theaters in its fourth week- end for a domestic total of $49.6 million. The Anne Hathaway-Robert De Niro comedy placed No. 4, followed by Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario with a pleasing $7.4 million from 2,620 locations. From Lionsgate, the drug-cartel drama has now earned $26.7 million domestically and $16.7 million overseas for an early global haul of $43.4 million.

Mr. Banks Scribe marcel to PeN DiSNey’S CruellaBy Pamela McClintockSaving Mr. BankS screenWriter Kelly Marcel is attached to write Disney’s Cruella, based on the steely and well- appointed villainess Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians.

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Weekend Box Office Top 10This

Week MOvie/DisTriBuTOr3-Day grOss

(in mil)

PercenT change

# Of TheaTers

Per-TheaTer average

cuMe TO DaTe (in Mil)

1 The Martian (fox) $37.0 -32 3,854 $9,600 $108.7

2 hotel Transylvania 2 (sony) 20.3 -39 3,768 5,387 116.8

3 Pan (warner bros.) 15.5 — 3,515 4,418 15.5

4 The intern (warner bros.) 8.7 -26 3,224 2,686 49.6

5 sicario (lionsgate) 7.4 -39 2,620 2,805 26.7

6 Maze runner: The scorch Trials (fox) 5.3 -33 2,838 1,850 70.6

7 The Walk (sony) 3.7 134 2,509 1,455 6.4

8 Black Mass (warner bros.) 3.1 -46 2,057 1,522 57.6

9 everest (universal) 3.o -46 2,120 1,430 38.2

10 The visit (universal) 2.4 -39 1,759 1,375 61.1

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Marcel, who most recently adapted Fifty Shades of Grey, is working with Togetherness co-creator Steve Zissis on the story.

Word that Disney is fast-tracking Cruella comes after the studio dated no fewer than four untitled live-action

films last week, drawing from its animated vault. That’s in addition to several movies that have already been dated: Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book (April 15, 2016), Tim Burton’s sequel

Alice Through the Looking Glass (May 27, 2016) and Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast (March 17, 2017).

Disney is far and away the industry leader in this space, pairing well-known filmmakers, writers and actors with classic properties. Burton’s Alice in Wonder- land defied all expectations in grossing $1 billion at the global box office in 2010. Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, took in a better-than-expected $758 million worldwide in 2014, followed by Cinderella earlier this year with $542 million.

Aline Brosh McKenna worked on an early version of the script for Cruella, produced by Andrew Gunn (Sky High, Bedtime Stories).

De Vil first appeared in Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalma-tians but became a Disney icon with the 1961 animated movie. And it’s not the character’s first incarnation in a live- action feature: Glenn Close played the character in 1996’s 101 Dalmatians and the 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians.

Disney has several other live-action event films in the works. Burton also is attached to direct Dumbo, while Reese Witherspoon is attached to star in and produce Tink, based on the classic Peter Pan character Tinker Bell. Witherspoon will produce Tink with Bruna Papandrea, her partner at production banner Pacific Standard. There’s also a Maleficent sequel with Jolie and writer Linda Woolverton in the works, along with a live-action adaptation of Mulan and a Jungle Cruise

project with Dwayne Johnson attached to topline.

Other live-action tentpoles being plot-ted by Disney proper include A Wrinkle in Time, which Frozen co-director and co-writer Jennifer Lee is adapting, and Pete’s Dragon.

Marcel is repped by UTA; Zissis with UTA and Abrams Entertainment.

Glover Set to toPliNe uNi’S Meyers ChristMasBy Rebecca Ford and Borys Kitdanny glover is getting in the holiday spirit early.

The actor will star in Universal’s A Meyers Christmas — originally titled A Meyers Thanks-giving — which centers on an estranged family brought together over

Christmas for the first time since their mother’s passing. The film is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 11, 2016.

Gabrielle Union recently joined the project and also will executive produce, as The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported.

The family comedy will be helmed by Baggage Claim writer-director David E. Talbert, who also wrote the script. Will Packer will produce through his Universal- based Will Packer Productions. Talbert is executive producing with Lyn Sisson-Talbert and Jeff Morrone. James F. Lopez of Will Packer Productions will also exec- utive produce.

Kristin Lowe and Chloe Yellin will oversee Meyers Christmas for the studio.

Four-time Emmy nominee Glover has more than 150 acting credits to his name. The actor, best known for his role in the Lethal Weapon pics, also has appeared in Dreamgirls, Shooter and TV series Brothers & Sisters and Touch. He has a slew of upcoming projects, including Diablo with Scott Eastwood and Paramount’s Monster Trucks. Glover is repped by ICM Partners and Gotham/Principal.

imaGiNe, aNeW to aDaPtaNime hit tiger & nunny By Tatiana Siegelimagine entertainment is

teaming with All Nippon Entertain- ment Works and Bandai Namco Pic- tures to develop and produce the live- action English-language feature film Tiger & Bunny, based on the hit Japan-ese anime series and feature films.

The news was announced Friday at New York Comic Con.

The new adaptation is being produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, ANEW’s Sandy Climan and Annmarie Bailey and Masayuki Ozaki on behalf of Bandai Namco, a subsidiary of Sunrise. Ozaki produced the Japanese-language Tiger & Bunny projects for Sunrise, one of that country’s leading anime studios. Imagine’s Erica Huggins will oversee the new film on behalf of Imagine.

ANEW’s Bailey worked with Ozaki and Bandai Namco/Sunrise’s inter-national business unit to acquire the live-action English-language rights for the adaptation and co-production.

“I was immediately drawn to Tiger & Bunny when I first encountered the series in Japan — from the compelling storylines to the dynamic characters,” said Bailey. “The concept is a fresh new take on the superhero genre. It was a Herculean team effort, but after actively pursuing the live-action rights, we are honored that the director Keiichi Sato, producer Masayuki Ozaki and the origi-nal creators have put their trust in us to share these much-loved characters with a whole new audience.”

Added Howard: “When ANEW brought us the project, we fell in love with the con- cept immediately. It was fresh, a huge success in Japan, and we had never seen a great buddy story bring together so many uniquely compelling elements. Barnaby and Tiger are immensely dynamic char-acters, with a psychologically complex relationship with one another.”

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The story takes place in a near-futuristic city called Stern Bild, where professional superheroes known as “Next” fight crime and save lives. When old-school veteran Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, aka “Wild Tiger,” is forced to collaborate with the fearless but cocky rookie partner Barnaby Brooks Jr., aka “Bunny,” the two polar opposites must learn to work as a team to fight evil, protect the city and save each other.

With characters and heroes designed by manga legend Masakazu Katsura, Tiger & Bunny first aired in Japan in 2011 as a late-night TV show. The series finale ended with a live-viewing event at movie theaters nationwide, with 23,000 fans hitting theaters. Two animated fea- tures quickly followed: Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning (2012) and Tiger & Bunny: The Rising (2014).

ANEW’s slate of English-language adaptations of leading Japanese intel- lectual property include 6000 with Mike Medavoy; Soul ReViver with Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz; a live-action remake of Toei Animation’s robot anime Gaiking with Gale Ann Hurd; and three projects — Shield of Straw, Birthright and Ghost Train — with Chris and Paul Weitz.

glass Castle tarGetiNGlarSoN for leaD roleBy Borys Kit and Rebecca Fordbrie larson is in early talks to

replace Jennifer Lawrence in The Glass Castle, an adaptation of Jeannette Walls’ 2006 memoir.

The book centers on Walls’ upbring- ing in a dysfunctional family of non- conformist nomads.

If a deal is made, Glass Castle would reunite Larson with her Short Term 12 director Destin Daniel Cretton, who is helming the adaptation. Marti Noxon wrote the first draft of the script, while Cretton and Andrew Lanham came on to write additional drafts.

Lawrence has been attached to the long-gestating Lionsgate pic since late

2013, when she signed on to produce and star in it. But the project has stalled over the years, and she eventually dropped out. Lawrence has several other efforts in the works, including sci-fi love story Passengers, The Rosie Project and a screen- play with her new BFF Amy Schumer.

Larson currently stars in Room, an adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s popular novel. The film, in which the actress plays a a mother with a 5-year- old child who is held in captivity, bowed at Telluride and TIFF to rave reviews and awards buzz. Larson, who recently appeared in Schumer’s comedy Train- wreck, has Kong: Skull Island, Free Fire and Wiener-Dog coming up. She is repped by WME, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Sloane, Offer.

ParamouNt chief Greyre-uPS throuGh 2020By Rebecca FordPar amount chairman and ceo Brad Grey has re-upped at the studio through 2020, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The founder of management and production company Brillstein-Grey Entertainment was named CEO of Paramount in 2005. He quietly renewed his contract a few months ago.

In 2011, Grey inked a deal to stay at the studio through 2017.

Paramount has released 10 films this year, with Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation topping its list with a worldwide take of $679.2 million.

The studio’s upcoming films include Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, The Big Short and Daddy’s Home.

former film acaDemyPreSiDeNt alleN DieSBy Mike Barnesgene allen, a three-term president of the Academy of Motion

Picture Arts & Sciences and an Oscar-winning art director, died Oct. 7 from natural causes, publicist Leonard Mor-purgo announced. He was 97.

Allen, who lived in Newport Beach, Calif., received his Oscar for his work as an art director on My Fair Lady (1964), George Cukor’s adaptation of the Broadway musical

that starred Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison on the big screen, and Allen earned other nominations for A Star Is Born (1954) and Les Girls (1957) — two other Cukor musicals.

In fact, Allen collaborated many times with the famed director during the course of almost two decades. “We worked together as a team. When one stops and the other starts, I don’t know,” Cukor once said.

Allen also served as second-unit direc-tor and production designer for Cukor on Star Is Born, the version that starred Judy Garland and James Mason.

Allen headed the Academy from 1983-85; he succeeded Robert Wise and was replaced by Fay Kanin.

In 1997, he received a Special Achieve-ment Award from the Art Directors Guild, where he served as executive director from 1970 though 1997.

“Gene Allen displayed verve and brio in his 27 years leading the Art Directors Guild,” said ADG executive director Scott Roth, who succeeded Allen at the guild. “Add to this his service as an IATSE vice president, president of the Motion Picture Academy and his multiple Oscar nominations (and wins) for art direction, and you’re looking at a protean career unlikely soon to be matched.”

Added ADG president Mimi Gramatky: “Painting until almost the last day of his life, Gene was a consummate artist, leader and award-winner who made an enormous contribution to the field of production design and art direction, for which we are eternally grateful.”

Allen is survived by his wife Iris and sons Pat and Mike.

Allen

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By Kate Stanhopek evin James is heading back to his former network home.

CBS has given a 13-episode series pro- duction commitment to a new family

comedy starring, written and executive produced by The King of Queens alum, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The untitled multi- camera project will star

James as a newly retired police officer looking forward to spending more quality time with his wife and three kids, only to figure out he faces more challenges at home than he ever did on the streets.

Bruce Helford (The Drew Carey Show) and Rock Reuben (King of Queens) are also on board as writers and executive producers. Jeff Sussman (King of Queens) will also serve as an exec producer. CBS Television Studios will produce the series with Sony Pictures Television, where James inked a two-year deal in April. He also has a first-look deal with Colum-bia Pictures.

Sony produced King of Queens, which ran on CBS for nine seasons and contin-ues to air in syndication.

“We’re beyond thrilled to be back in business with Kevin James!” CBS Enter-tainment president Glenn Geller said Friday in a statement. “He’s an incred-ibly talented star on every screen and every stage, who appeals to a broad audi-ence. We can’t wait to start working with Kevin and the amazing comedy talents of Bruce Helford and Rock Reuben on this exciting new project.”

The commitment is for the 2016-17 season. While it’s not an official series order, the 13-episode production com-mitment makes it highly likely it will be picked up to series.

Since King of Queens went off the air in

2007, James has largely turned his atten-tion to film projects, including such pics as Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Zookeeper, Grown Ups, Hitch and, most recently, Pixels. The actor is repped by WME, Jeff Sussman Management and Schreck Rose.

Nbc hit Drama BlindspotGetS full-SeaSoN PickuPBy Lesley Goldbergnbc’s BlindSPot is getting its

full freshman order.The new series from Greg Berlanti

and Martin Gero has earned an order for nine additional episodes, The Holly-wood Reporter has learned.

The news comes after NBC previously ordered the back-nine scripts for the drama starring Jaimie Alexander.

Airing Mondays at 10 p.m., Blindspot ranks as the season’s No. 1-rated new series in adults 18-49. Through three weeks, Blindspot has averaged a 2.7 rating/9 share in adults 18-49 and 9.6 million viewers overall in live-plus-same-day results.

The first two episodes of the series have grown by 4.6 million viewers when factoring in three days of DVR — the biggest increases for those weeks among all broadcast and cable programs. From Warner Bros. Television, the drama, co-starring Sullivan Stapleton, is Monday’s most-watched drama and top new series after three days of delayed viewing.

Blindspot is the first fall freshman series to earn a full-season order. Fox’s midseason comedy Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life has received a seven-episode pickup to keep the series in production.

Blindspot is one of six shows currently produced by Greg Berlanti Productions and his production company topper Sarah Schechter.

fox’S Minority report GetS ePiSoDe orDer cut By Michael O’Connellthey Probably saW it coming. Fox’s Minority Report has been given the first dose of bad news for the 2015-16 broadcast season, with the network trim- ming the drama’s initial 13-episode order to just 10.

The move comes as little surprise given the series’ inauspicious debut and equally lackluster time-shifting. It boasted the lowest bow of the freshman class when it premiered to a measly 1.1 rating among adults 18-49 and only 3.1 million viewers on Sept. 21. Initial DVR stats saw big percentage growth, but little raw improvement. And, by the third episode, Minority Report barely scraped together a 0.7 rating in the key demo and 2 million viewers.

Based on the 2002 Tom Cruise movie of the same name, itself an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story, Minority Report boasted the original pic’s helmer Steven Spielberg as an executive pro- ducer. The show hails from Amblin Tele- vision, Paramount Television and 20th Century Fox Television and was Fox’s first new series to join the lineup this season.

Minority Report, which did not have many critics on its side, was one of sev-eral new shows this fall to see aggressive retooling between the pilot pickup and series premiere. The drama stars Stark Sands, Meagan Good, Wilmer Valder-rama and Nick Zano — the latter being a post-pilot addition to play the twin of Sands’ character. The final scene of the pilot was also added late and not included in the presentation that was delivered late to critics.

Minority Report was one of the hottest scripts heading into pilot season and was Fox’s first official drama pilot order of the season — though the last to be picked up to series. The project hails from writer Max Borenstein, a filmmaker (Godzilla) who made his TV debut with the series.

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James, CBS to Reteam for New Comedy Series

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Kevin Falls (The West Wing) is showrunner.The series’ failure marks a minor

setback for TV’s current love affair with existing titles. Minority Report was just one in a handful of reboots, remakes and adaptations that joined the schedule this season — see CBS’ Limitless and Supergirl, NBC’s Heroes Reborn, ABC’s Uncle Buck, NBC’s since-canceled Coach and the bulk of The CW’s schedule — but don’t expect the trend to slow.

“I think having familiar IP is an ad- vantage, and yet you’re held to the same standards as with everything else you do,” Fox Television Group chairman and CEO Gary Newman recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “Even if none of those shows ends up working, you won’t see us shy away from rebooting what we think is great IP.”

As of Friday, Fox planned to continue airing Minority Report in its current 9 p.m. time slot on Mondays after Gotham.

cbS axeS extant, PrePS NeW Drama from berryBy Lesley Goldbergit’s the end of the road for

Extant — but not the end of CBS’ rela-tionship with star Halle Berry.

The network has canceled summer drama Extant after two seasons and put a legal drama executive produced by Berry in development, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

“CBS, Halle Berry and the producers have decided to conclude the Extant story after last season’s exciting and fitting conclusion,” CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller said Friday in a statement. “Extant played an important role in expanding CBS’ lineup of original scripted programming in the summer. We are proud of the show’s success on the network, as well as its popularity on Amazon Prime Video. We also want to thank the incomparable Halle Berry for her commitment and support for the series, and look forward to working with

her on our next project together.”That next project will be the drama

Legalease, produced by Berry and center- ing on a biracial lawyer from Chicago who follows a case to New Orleans, where she partners with a good-ol’-boy white attor-ney while working in a justice system that will ultimately expose the biases that society harbors. Steve Lichtman will pen the script and executive produce the CBS Television Studios project alongside Berry and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. The drama is part of Berry’s two-year overall deal with CBSTVS that was part of her signing on to star in Extant. It’s unclear if Berry will have an onscreen role in the project, though that is not the plan at this time.

“I am so proud of what we accom-plished on Extant,” said Berry. “This season seemed such a natural place to end Molly’s journey that I, along with CBS, felt it best served the story to leave it there. I’ve loved this experience working with such a talented cast and creative team. It was my first foray into episodic television, and I’m excited to continue my relationship with CBS, producing more compelling stories through my 606 Films production banner.”

The decision to cancel Extant follows a creative reboot for season two. In a bid to juice ratings, the series changed show- runners, with new bosses Elizabeth Kruger and Craig Shapiro partnering with creator Mickey Fisher to focus more on star Berry. The show parted ways with former regulars Goran Visnjic and Cam- ryn Manheim and added Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the male lead. Produced by

Amblin Television and CBS Television Studios, season two returned to a series low with a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49. It averaged 4.7 million total viewers in live-plus-same-day returns — on par with season one despite being moved to follow summer hit Big Brother.

Despite its ratings woes, Extant was already profitable for CBS thanks to a streaming deal with Amazon that allowed the company to service episodes four days after their network debut. It’s the same formula that CBS used to help offset costs with Under the Dome, creat-ing a new business model for high-end scripted fare in the typically low-rated summer viewing months. The network has a similar deal in place for the already renewed Zoo and upcoming Robert and Michelle King entry BrainDead.

For Amblin Television, the news comes after CBS canceled summer flagship Dome after its recent third season. The company, which also said farewell to Falling Skies this year, still has TNT drama Public Morals, Fox’s struggling freshman Minority Report and FX’s criti-cal darling The Americans. The future of ABC’s summer freshman The Whispers has not yet been determined, though it’s considered highly unlikely to continue.

Berry is repped by CAA, Vincent Cirrincione and Stone Meyer.

Drama aMeriCan gothiCGetS SerieS orDer at cbSBy Lesley Goldberg and Kate Stanhopehours after canceling Extant, CBS is adding a new original series to its summer lineup.

The network has given a straight- to-series order to American Gothic, a murder-mystery drama from former The Good Wife writer Corinne Brinker-hoff, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Set among the world of Boston elites, the series follows a prominent family grappling with the revelation that their recently deceased patriarch might have

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been a serial killer. The discovery sets off struggles within the clan, including the fear that one of their own might have been his accomplice.

Like Extant, American Gothic hails from Amblin Television and CBS Tele-vision Studios, where Brinkerhoff has an overall deal. She will write and executive produce the series, with Amblin’s Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank and Full Fathom Five’s James Frey also attached as execu-

tive producers.“With American Gothic,

Corinne Brinkerhoff has created the perfect CBS summer mystery, filled with suspense, intrigue and an explosive ending that will

leave you breathless,” CBS Entertain-ment president Glenn Geller said Friday in a statement. “It feels like a compelling summer novel that we can deliver to our viewers in 13 one-hour chapters.”

American Gothic will join returning drama Zoo, returning reality stalwart Big Brother and new series BrainDead, which hails from The Good Wife crea-tors Robert and Michelle King, on CBS’ summer slate. The pickup also comes one month after CBS decided to end Under the Dome, the network’s first big foray into airing original scripted series in the summer.

While CBS noted that discussions are ongoing about a second window stream-ing deal, the network previously made a three-show pact with Amazon that includes BrainDead and two yet-to-be named shows.

Brinkerhoff, who got her start writing for Boston Legal, was a writer and super- vising producer on Good Wife for several seasons. She has also written for Elemen- tary and most recently served as co-exec producer on Jane the Virgin.

The American Gothic news also comes at the end of a busy week for Frey, who recently sold three projects to NBC, Syfy and E!

Brinkerhoff is repped by UTA and attorneys Ken Richman and Melissa Fox.

martiN’S skin tradeiN WorkS at ciNemaxBy Lesley Goldberghbo sibling cinemax is getting into business with Game of Thrones cre-ator George R.R. Martin.

The premium cable network has ordered a script of Martin’s werewolf noir novel The Skin Trade, the author revealed Saturday.

Published in the 1980s, Skin Trade was originally written for Night Vision 5, the fifth volume in the annual horror anthol-ogy published by Dark Harvest. Hailed as one of the best pieces of werewolf fiction, it went on to win the World Fantasy Award.

The rights were optioned by Mike the Pike Productions’ Mark B. Newbauer, who will executive produce the Cinemax project.

Here’s the official logline: “A collections agent who happens to be a werewolf and his friend, a private investigator, discover a dark secret behind a series of grisly mur- ders in their decaying industrial city.”

To hear Martin tell it, the author “always thought there was a TV series” in the property — which has been repub-lished over the years, including as a comic book series and a graphic novel.

Kalinda Vazquez (Prison Break, Once Upon a Time) will write the script after Cinemax, Martin and his agents met with about a dozen scribes. Vazquez also will exec produce alongside Martin, Vince Gerardis, Paul Sansone, Rich Angell, Newbauer and Lisandro Cruz.

“Kalinda’s take on the story and the characters blew me away,” Martin said, explaining that his commitment to the next Thrones book prevented him from taking on Skin Trade himself.

The new project’s deal was a long time coming. Martin noted that it was Skin Trade he originally was trying to sell in 1991 when ABC picked up his ill-fated Doorways to pilot. “So we’re a few decades late,” Martin joked.

Martin and HBO are coming off an his- toric Emmy win for Thrones. Skin Trade

extends his deal with HBO/Cinemax after the best-selling author inked an overall deal with the premium cabler.

reubeNS joiNS caSt of fox Drama gothaMBy Marisa RoffmanNEW YORK — Fox’s Gotham has added Paul Reubens as Penguin/Oswald Cobble- pot’s (Robin Lord Taylor) father, it was announced Sunday at New York Comic Con. The Hollywood Reporter has con-firmed Reubens will be a recurring guest star on the drama’s sophomore season.

“Pee-wee Herman is playing my dad,” Taylor gushed in making the announce- ment. “What the hell?! Oh my God!”

Reubens has his own history with the Batman universe: He played Penguin’s father in the 1992 film Batman Returns.

The move comes as the series has turned its focus towards the bad guys in its second season, dubbed “Rise of the Villains.”

“We did a real soul-searching,” said Gotham producer John Stephens. In addi- tion to moving away from the cases of the week in the sophomore season, the show has raised the stakes by killing off a num- ber of key characters.

“At its core, we want the show to feel dangerous,” added Stephens, though he noted it was possible to see Cameron Monaghan’s recently deceased Jerome again. “When you’re dealing with an ori-gin, the dangerous thing is the audience feels like they know where the story is going to go.”

To counteract the villains, Michael Chiklis will join the show in tonight’s episode as Captain Barnes.

“He’s a real wallflower,” teased Chiklis. “Barnes comes in as a countermeasure to the villainy that is running amok to Gotham. He serves as a mentor to [Ben McKenzie’s Jim] and he’s trying to pull him out of the muck, because he’s slid-ing down that slippery slope of the ends justify the means.”

Gotham airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.

F r o m pa g e 8

Brinkerhoff

Page 10 of 12OCTOBER 12, 2015

iNterNatioNal NeWS

By Scott Roxborough and Rhonda RichfordCANNES — The explosion of high-end drama production was evident every-where last week at MIPCOM, from U.S. network productions such as Limitless, The Player and The X-Files to high-end cable (AMC’s Into The Badlands, A+E’s War and Peace) to a seemingly unending supply of international shows including Sky and CanalPlus’ The Last Panthers, which saw Sundance come on board as a co-producer during the market; John Woo’s crime thriller Cognition, created with Brit director Alex Garcia Lopez for Catalyst Global Media; and an upcoming Hitler drama series from France’s TF1 and Germany’s RTL.

“I was walking the floor with [Show-time Networks president] David Nevins, and I was just reminded of just how much content is being produced and at least being attempted to be distributed around the world,” said Armando Nunez, presi- dent and CEO of the CBS global distribu- tion group. “One could make the argu- ment that there are too many at the moment. We go through waves in the business. Right now there is a lot of drama out there. Is it sustainable? We’ll see. At the moment it’s a vibrant market. Things are good.”

Limitless, The Player and The X-Files all sold out worldwide, and Sony Pictures Television’s The Art of More — starring Dennis Quaid, Kate Bosworth and Cary Elwes — sold to more than 25 countries. A+E acquired period crime drama The Frankenstein Chronicles.

But as bullish as buyers were, and there were roughly 4,800 in attendance at this market, some are raising concerns that the “Golden Age” of television will give way to a glut of product.

“I still want to hang on and call it the

‘Golden Age’ for a little bit more, but we know that it’s a bubble, and we know it’s gonna pop,” said Fox International Chan- nels executive vp, scripted and Fox Inter- national Studios head Sharon Tal Yguado.

Yguado, who worked on global behe- moth The Walking Dead, predicts tele- vision will follow the path of the film market, with indies and expensive block- busters bookending the business with a dearth of mid-range product. “It saddens me, but I think we are going that way. We’re going to have big blockbusters with mega-huge names and incredible packages … and you are going to see on the other hand the indies.” The focus will be on winning awards, not winning over live viewers, she predicts.

One Television International president Stuart Baxter concurred: “I suspect there is a limit to how much can be produced. At some stage there is going to be an up- scaling of the documentaries, the reality, the light entertainment, the comedies. But there is such a huge increase in supply at the moment, the issue is standing out from the crowd. You really don’t want to be in that middle. Either you have to have the very top end, best shows, or I think you want the more targeted, focused, niche shows, cable shows hitting particu-lar demos.”

Several developments are driving the trend towards more drama, including an expanding digital and online market. SVOD players — global giants like Netflix and Amazon as well as local networks with online offerings, such as Canal Plus’ CanalPlay and Sky’s Now TV — are all hungry for more and better dramas.

Platform partnerships abounded, with Endemol Shine announcing a multiyear strategic partnership with DreamWorks Animation’s AwesomenessTV, which will see Endemol Shine help launch the online youth network’s channels in the U.K.,

France, Germany, Spain and Brazil.While the focus may currently be on

addictive, serialized drama, the proce-dural, once the mainstay of network TV, is “definitely not over,” said Fox Tele-vision Group co-CEO Gary Newman. “These things go in cycles. The proce-dural was so successful in the U.S., it’s inevitable people will get a little tired.

But if a writer comes along with a great procedural that recreates the genre, we’re very interested.”

Fred Haber, who has been selling shows like the Grammys and the Vic-

toria’s Secret Fashion Show at MIPCOM for decades, said one “top five” inter-national broadcaster was searching out specials and events for the first time in years. With the deluge of drama on the air, networks are looking for unique programming that will prompt viewers to tune in live. “[The broadcaster said], ‘Dramas are a dime a dozen and they’re not working because viewers are getting confused,’ ” said Haber.

The risks are becoming greater, especially for broadcasters who still rely on ad dollars. “There are a ton of great dramas, but great is irrelevant — there’s only so many sets of eyes that can watch a drama at a time,” said Haber. “Broadcasters still need to deliver view-ers and want to charge the Fords and Gillettes of the world a lot of money.”

Still some weren’t as quick to see the sunset of the “Golden Age.” Said Endemol Shine Group CEO Sophie Turner Laing: “It is the Golden Age. TV has never been in better health.We talk about it as an industry past its best when it is in its prime. I’ve heard the death of TV too many times. I don’t share that view. I genuinely believe content creators have never had it as good.”

MIPCOM: Buyers Bullish Among Drama Deluge

Nunez Newman

Page 11 of 12OCTOBER 12, 2015

leGal NeWS

By Eriq GardnerNEW YORK — Donald Trump is get-ting scorned by a musician he seemingly

adores.On Saturday, Aerosmith

frontman Steven Tyler’s reps sent Donald Trump for President Inc. a demand to stop using the power ballad “Dream On” at cam- paign events. The cease-and- desist letter was actually the second time Trump has been warned about using the song. According to the letter obtained by

The Hollywood Reporter, Trump was first told to not use “Dream On” after an Aug. 21 event in Mobile, Ala. Since then, the song has been used, including at Trump’s recent rally in Georgia.

“Trump for President does not have our client’s permission to use ‘Dream On’ or any of our client’s other music in connection with the campaign because it gives the false impression that he is connected with or endorses Mr. Trump’s presidential bid,” states the letter.

Tyler is now among the growing num-

ber of musicians (Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, David Byrne, et al) who have stood up to Republican politicians over song use, though this time, the demand to stop using “Dream On” might cut a bit deeper for the man currently leading the polls.

Last year, Trump went to an Aerosmith concert and tweeted it “doesn’t get any better than that.” At his presidential announcement in June, “Dream On” played amid opera and Broadway show tunes. And in August, Tyler showed up at the Republican debate and was a personal guest of Trump, according to sources. But the fandom and friendship — Tyler was once a judge at Trump’s Miss USA pageant and they reportedly once traveled to Russia together — doesn’t buy a permission slip.

“We are unaware of any public per-formance license granting Trump for President the right to perform ‘Dream On’ in connection with the campaign,” states the cease-and-desist letter. “If Trump for President has any such license, please forward it to our attention immediately.”

Trump’s repeated use of “Dream On” and closer association with Tyler over the years could add a wrinkle to any court

case. Trump has also been quite aggres-sive on the trademark front himself. He filed a registration on “Make America Great Again” and his attacks include those selling StopTrump.us T-shirts.

The legal warning sent by Tyler’s reps at LaPolt Law also suggests use of “Dream On” could constitute tortious interference as well as a privacy viola-tion. Trump is being given 24 hours to acknowledge receipt of the letter. “If Trump for President does not comply with our demands, our client will be forced to pursue any and all legal or equitable remedies which our client may have against you,” the letter concludes.

Tyler’s attorney, Dina LaPolt, said in a statement: “This is not a political nor personal issue with Mr. Trump. Steven works tirelessly with both Repub- licans and Democrats regarding copy-right reform and his position has always been consistent regarding copyright and intellectual property. Simply, one must get permission from the music creators. Steven wrote 100% of ‘Dream On,’ and this is about the unauthorized use of his property. Steven is a registered Republican.”

Trump

Tyler

Trump Receives Legal Threat Over Use of Aerosmith Song

Page 12 of 12OCTOBER 12, 2015

film revieW

trashBy Jordan Mintzerthe Pic may be set in the lively, and sometimes deadly, favelas of Rio de Janeiro, but the story couldn’t be more Hollywood than in Trash, helmer Stephen Daldry’s Brazilian crowdpleaser about three penniless teenage boys who battle corruption in their own crafty ways. Filled with numerous plot twists, street chases and upbeat vibes that will conquer the hearts of Western viewers seeking a safe foray into Third World territory — and one for which they’re accompanied by the do-gooding Martin Sheen and Rooney Mara — this energetic cross-cultural affair resolves local issues in a manner that only temporarily sojourning filmmakers can devise. Still, there’s no doubting a certain passion among crew and cast, most notably the trio of native young-sters whose antics provide a solid level of action-packed dramedy.

Not to be confused with the 1970 Paul Morrissey cult classic of the same name, this $12 million Working Title production should see decent returns. But it’s un- likely Trash will rake in the same kind of cash as Slumdog Millionaire — a film to which it will inevitably draw compari-sons in terms of content, characters and its catering to the masses, but one that relies less on narrative conventions and easy sentiments.

Moviegoers familiar with the tense Brazilian crime film The Elite Squad and its underrated sequel, The Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, will recognize star Wagner Moura in the opening minutes of this similarly themed story, although here he plays a good guy named Jose Angelo who’s quickly chased down by a squad of cops, but not before he tosses a wallet filled with incriminating evidence into a passing garbage truck. Hours later, it’s picked up by 14-year-old favela dweller Raphael (Rickson Teves) who, along with his best bud, Gardo (Eduardo Lewis), spends his days sifting through trash at a nearby dump to earn a few coins.

Raphael pockets the money but soon

realizes that the purse has far greater value, especially when a wickedly crooked police officer (Selton Mello) shows up to reclaim the missing item, which we learn has links to a rich and corrupt congress- man running for mayor. Forced to flee their slum in search of both safety and answers, the two boys team up with fellow street urchin Rato (Gabriel Weinstein), heading into town during one of the movie’s better set-pieces, where they’re chased throughout a crowded train sta-tion and perform all sorts of impressive parkour stunts to escape.

From then on it’s off to the races, although the screenplay — by rom-com veteran Richard Curtis (Love, Actually), adapting from a book by Andy Mulligan — slows things down enough to intro-duce an American priest (Sheen) and volunteer teacher (Mara) offering their services to the favela dwellers, and who soon find themselves mixed up in the action. Yet the foreigners seem to be around mostly for comic relief or chosen feel-good moments, while a subplot in- volving Mara’s character is given extremely lightweight treatment — as if these peo-ple were only added to bring marquee names into a mix of unknowns, further conditioning Trash’s box office potential.

If such decisions take away from the film’s overall impact, making for a hybrid result that’s half-authentic and half- cloying, Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Reader) is smart enough to concentrate on his strengths, which includes reaping strong performances out of his young actors.

The three boys are a joy to watch, urging us to believe in their quest even if the script never quite justifies their obses-sion with finding the truth at all costs, rather than simply making a few bucks.

Indeed, there’s a sentimentality on display here that sometimes borders on pandering, offering up easy solutions to real-world problems that are anything but. Like the alleged 2,000 cubic meters of “clean trash” that was lugged in by the production team to recreate the dump setting, the filmmakers seem to be lugging in ideals that have been absent from like- minded movies made by native directors — such as Hector Babenco’s Pixote and Fernando Meirelles’ City of God — where happy endings aren’t always so guaranteed.

At best, Trash works as a vibrant, occa-sionally suspenseful postcard-portrait of a place that’s always great to see on the big screen. To accompany the nonstop eye-candy, the movie provides a jubilant soundtrack filled with local music choices, including hip-hop tracks by MC Cidinho, swelling choral numbers by percussion ensemble Barbatuques and a cover of the Os Mutantes ’60s psychedelic favor-ite, “A Minha Menina.” You can blame all that on Rio.

Opened: Oct. 9 (Focus World). Production: Working Title Films. Cast: Selton Mello, Wagner Moura, Rooney Mara, Martin Sheen, Rickson Tevis, Eduardo Lewis, Gabriel Weinstein. Director: Stephen Daldry. Rated R, 113 minutes.

Two boys stumble upon cash in Trash.