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NOVEMBER 3, 2015

i
Da
ly

New Star Trek Series Coming

to CBS All Access in 2017
By Lesley Goldberg

The new Star Trek series will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while
exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.

CBS roster (both past and present),

is available for $5.99 per month. Included
in the fee is the ability to stream the local
network live. All previous Star Trek series
are currently available on CBS All Access.
CBS Studios International will distribute

the new series for TV and multiple platforms around the world.
The drama is set up at CBS Television
Studios and Kurtzmans Secret Hideout
banner. Kurtzman and development head
s ee pa g e 2

DEVELOP. PACKAGE. PITCH. FINANCE. LICENSE. DISTRIBUTE.

American Film Market & Conferences Nov. 4 -11 Santa Monica

Paramount/Everett

ust i n t i m e to m a r k i ts 50t h

anniversary, Star Trek is returning

to the small screen.
Prolific producer Alex Kurtzman is
developing a new take on the classic
sci-fi series, The Hollywood Reporter
has learned. The new Star Trek has been
picked up straight to series at CBS, with
the premiere slated to be broadcast on
the network in January 2017. Subsequent
episodes will air on CBS All Access, the
networks digital subscription VOD and
live streaming service. The project marks
the first original series developed specifically for CBS All Access.
The new Star Trek will introduce
new characters seeking imaginative
new worlds and new civilizations, while
exploring the dramatic contemporary
themes that have been a signature of the
franchise since its inception in 1966.
The cross-platform streaming service,
which hosts thousands of episodes from

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NOVEMBER 3, 2015

tv NEWS
F r o m pa g e 1

Heather Kadin will executive produce.

A search is under way for a writer to take
on the cult hit. The franchise is poised
to celebrate its 50th anniversary, as the
original series debuted Sept. 8, 1966.
The new Star Trek TV series continues
Kurtzmans relationship with the beloved
franchise. He produced and co-wrote the
first two pics in Star Treks feature-film
revival series, 2009s Star Trek and 2013s
Star Trek Into Darkness.
CBS TV Studios distributed the original series, which was produced by Paramount Television and Desilu Productions.
Created by Gene Roddenberry and starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy,
Star Trek ran for three seasons and 79
episodes on NBC from 1966-69 and
became a monster hit via syndication.
It spawned an animated series (1973-74),
a series of feature films starting in 1979
and four TV follow-ups including The
Next Generation (1987-1994), Deep Space
Nine (1993-99), Voyager (1995-2001) and
Enterprise (2001-05).
News of a new Star Trek TV series
comes as the franchise has been mired
in rights issues between CBS and Paramount after Viacom merged with CBS in
2000. CBS Corp. absorbed Paramount
for television, while Paramount Studios
the company that distributed the films
went to Viacom.
The Star Trek revival comes as reboots
and follow-ups continue to be in high
demand on broadcast, cable and streaming outlets. Kurtzman and frequent partner Roberto Orci (who is not attached
to CBSTVS Star Trek) are behind CBS
follow-up to Bradley Coopers Limitless
and also exec produce the networks veteran Hawaii Five-0 reboot. The Kurtzman/
Orci banner currently has four shows on
the air: Five-0, Limitless, CBS sophomore
drama Scorpion and Foxs Sleepy Hollow.
K/O is repped by CAA and Gendler Kelly.
This new series will premiere to the
national CBS audience, then boldly go
where no first-run Star Trek series has
gone before directly to its millions of
fans through CBS All Access, CBS Digital

Media executive vp-GM Marc DeBevoise

said Monday in a statement. Weve experienced terrific growth for CBS All
Access, expanding the service across
affiliates and devices in a very short time.
We now have an incredible opportunity
to accelerate this growth with the iconic
Star Trek, and its devoted and passionate fan base, as our first original series.

World Series game 5

pulls 17.2 Mil Viewers
By Michael OConnell

W i t h a l l t h e y e a r-to -y e a r

increases for each game, Fox and Major

League Baseball were likely hoping to
squeeze more than five games out of
the 2015 World Series but baseballs
annual marquee event wrapped up
on Sunday night with the Kansas City
Royals prevailing as champions.
On many occasions besting comparable World Series games over the last six
years, final stats for the Sunday finale
gave its primetime showing 17.2 million
viewers. Thats up 37 percent from the
comparable Game 5 in 2014 and a Game 5
best in 2003. And while Fox telecast got a
boost from its substantial football lead-in,
it still didnt approach the series-ending
23.5 million viewers that watched last
years Game 7.
Sunday marked the first night in the
World Series where the game had to face
the NFL. NBCs Sunday Night Football
was the biggest show of the night, averaging 23 million viewers, but one place
where baseball definitely had the advantage was Kansas City. The contest did
astoundingly well in the winners hometown, with an estimated 90 percent of
TV-owning households tuning into the
games climax at 11:30 p.m. CT.
All told, the five-game series averaged
14.7 million viewers, up just 6 percent
from the seven-game average last year.
Prior to Sundays wrap-up, this years
World Series had been averaging 14 million viewers per game. Thats up 18 percent from the previous year.

All of the added sports competition

took its toll on scripted series. Quantico,
averaging a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49
on ABC, dropped three-tenths of a point
to its same-day low. And CBS The Good
Wife (0.9 adults) and Madam Secretary
(1.1 adults) both decline by two-tenths of
a point.
ABCs Once Upon a Time, the nights
biggest scripted show with a 1.5 rating
in the key demo, and ABCs Blood and
Oil and CBS CSI: Cyber (each with a
0.8 adults) held steady against sports.

syfy orders female-led

van helsing reimagining
By Kate Stanhope

Sy f y is pu l l i ng f rom t h e book

of Dracula for its latest project.

The NBCUniversalowned cable network has
picked up Van Helsing
to series with writer Neil
LaBute set as showrunner,
The Hollywood Reporter
LaBute
has learned.
Originally introduced as Professor
Abraham van Helsing in 1897 gothichorror novel Dracula, the character is
best known as a vampire hunter, monster
hunter and nemesis of Count Dracula.
In this new interpretation, the central
character is now a woman, Vanessa Helsing, the next in a lineage of warriors
who must lead mankind against a world
controlled by vampires. When Vanessa
is resurrected five years in the future,
she learns vampires have taken over the
world and that she possesses unique power
over them. She is essentially humanitys
last hope to lead an offensive to take back
what has been lost.
LaBute will exec produce with Simon
Barry, Evan Tyler, Dave Brown, Daniel
March and Chad Oakes and Mike Frisley
for Nomadic Pictures (Fargo). Nomadic
will produce the series and distribute it
within the U.S. Dynamic Television will
handle international distribution.
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I am extremely excited to be working with Syfy and Nomadic Pictures to

create a unique, character-driven action
series that will move the traditional vampire tropes into bold and unexpected new
territories, LaBute said Monday in a
statement. This is a wonderful chance
for us to forge great stories and unforgettable characters and throw them into a
world where the stakes both dramatic
and personal are tremendously high.
Production on the 13-episode first
season is scheduled to begin in January
in Vancouver for a fall 2016 launch.
Van Helsing represents a new mythology in sci-fi by challenging traditional
vampire rules, added Nomadic Pictures
co-chairman Oakes. The series is unique
in exploring a world completely dominated
by vampires, while the human characters
have to learn the importance of working
together to ensure their survival. Mike
[Frisley] and I are thrilled to team up
once again with the talented Neil LaBute
to deliver an amazing series.
The pickup comes in the midst of a
rebranding for Syfy, which is hoping to
turns its focus back to genre fare with
such upcoming projects as Childhoods
End and The Expanse. The cable network recently canceled Defiance, Dominion and Haven.
Van Helsing reimagines a classic
story in a compelling new way, featuring
a bold and complex heroine, said Chris
Regina, Syfys senior vp program strategy. This high-octane acquired original
series will be a terrific addition to our
lineup next year.
Van Helsing was most recently adapted
for the big screen in 2004. The pic, which
starred Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, grossed more than $300 million
worldwide. David Warner (Titanic) portrayed Van Helsing on Showtime series
Penny Dreadful for two episodes in 2014.
LaBute, whose credits include films
Death at a Funeral (2010) and Lakeview
Terrace (2008) as well as DirecTV drama
Full Circle, is repped by Gersh and Gendler & Kelly.

Shawkat Dark Comedy

Lands TBS Series Order
By Lesley Goldberg

TBS r ei n v en t ion con t i n u e s.

The Turner-owned cable network on

Monday picked up to series Search Party,
a dark comedy starring Arrested Development alum Alia Shawkat, The Hollywood
Reporter has learned.
Set to debut in 2016, Search Party
revolves around a group of four selfabsorbed twentysomethings who come
together when a former college acquaintance mysteriously disappears. John Early,
John Reynolds and Meredith Hagner
co-star on the series, which is being
written and directed by Sarah-Violet Bliss
and Charles Rogers (Wet Hot American
Summer: First Day of Camp, and overseen
by Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American
Summer). Tony Hernandez (Broad City,
Inside Amy Schumer, Louie) and Lilly Burns
(Broad City, Difficult People, Younger) will
serve as executive producers alongside
Showalter, Rogers and Bliss.
The project hails from Hernandezs
Jax Media, which shot a pilot presentation
before shopping the series. With the TBS
pickup, Jaxs roster of programming now
includes Chris Rocks critically acclaimed
film Top Five and TV series including
Comedy Centrals Broad City and Inside
Amy Schumer, TV Lands Younger and
Bravos Odd Mom Out.
Search Party centers on Dory (Shawkat),
a fragile, frustrated, life-long doormat who
is not particularly proud of her impact
on the world, especially since her greatest accomplishment to date is organizing
clothes to be donated to Goodwill for her
wealthy employer. Dory feels stuck in a
stale and disconnected relationship with
her boyfriend, Drew (Reynolds), a kind
of clueless, complacent, spoon-fed doofus
who just really loves Christmas. She also
feels removed from her closest friends,
Elliott (Early), a self-diagnosed narcissist
who loves adding job titles to his multihyphenate designer-stylist-curator lifestyle, and Portia (Hagner), an actress

Search Party comes as TBS attempts to reinvent itself

under new topper Kevin Reilly with a push for edgier fare.

always struggling to balance the challenging demands of chronic insecurity

and pathological self-absorption.
The series opens with Dory learning
that Chantal, a girl she barely knew in
college, has gone missing. Despite having
almost no personal connection to her,
Dory becomes fixated on the mystery.
Dory, Drew, Elliott and Portia are not
crime solvers; they value brunch, parties
and their own loud opinions. So when
Dory drags them into a bumbling, perilous pursuit to find the missing girl, they
soon learn the meaning of real danger and
become entangled in a sinister plot that
is more than their privileged Brooklyn
lifestyles ever bargained for.
For TBS, Search Party comes as the
network is reinventing itself under new
topper Kevin Reilly with a push for edgier
fare. Since his arrival, the network has
cleaned house and dropped all of its
existing live-action scripted fare including multicamera efforts Clipped, Men at
Work, Sullivan & Son, Ground Floor and
unscripted staple King of the Nerds. The
cabler will have no returning live-action
series next year. (Its lone returning show
is animated import American Dad!). TBS
2016 scripted roster will feature a lineup of rookies, with Search Party joining
Rashida Jones-Steve Carell cop comedy
Angie Tribeca, desert-island entry Wrecked,
Jason Jones-starrer The Detour and alienabduction comedy The Group.
Turner Internationals general entertainment networks will partner to present
Search Party outside of North America.
Bliss and Rogers are repped by ICM Partners, Mosaic and Jackoway Tyerman.

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NOVEMBER 3, 2015

movie NEWS

Ex-Paramount Topper
Bows New Film Label
By Kim Masters
A da m G oodm a n, w ho depa rt ed

as president of the Paramount Pictures

Film Group earlier this year, is launching
Dichotomy, a new company that will aim
to make big movies as well
as far smaller pics through a
new model that will finance
projects in increments.
Goodman, whose company has a first-look deal
Goodman
at Paramount, has raised
funds from an undisclosed source but
continues to pursue additional financing.
As studios increasingly focus on comicbook movies and pre-branded franchises,
Goodman hopes to make films in other
genres using digital technology to streamline the filmmaking process from development through post-production.
When you look at how we produce
most movies today, its largely based
on an inefficient hundred-year-old
process using production techniques
and film technology that has calcified,
and failed to utilize innovations available to the industry, Goodman told
The Hollywood Reporter. Weve never
hit the pause button and said, If we
were starting this business today, how
would we make movies?
Under Goodmans plan, his company
will pay $2 million to finance 20 days of
production, followed by a break during
which the material can be tested with
an audience. Assuming that the project shows enough promise to proceed,
Dichotomy will provide $1 million to
continue shooting for another five days,
followed by another test period. In some
cases, where the material warrants further investment, the company will finance
additional filming, with shoots running
from 25 to 45 days and budgets capped
at $5 million.
Goodman says the plan is to take advan-

tage of digital technology to move from

the page to the stage as quickly as possible, knowing we can consistently review,
rewrite and enhance the creative process.
In an email sent to industry associates
in September, Goodman said his company would make the biggest movies
in the world and the smallest ... nothing
in between. It is yet to be determined
which, if any, of Paramounts franchise
films might be produced by Dichotomy.
In terms of budget, Goodmans plan is
reminiscent of the strategy employed by
Jason Blum and his Blumhouse banner.
That company, which has a long-term
deal at Universal, has followed a model of
making pics with budgets of about $5 million or less, with Universal deciding upon
completion or even before cameras roll
whether to spend the $20 million-plus
to release a film in theaters.
One issue is how much profit can be
wrung from a low-budget movie that
doesnt have the benefit of a theatrical
launch. But Goodman believes other platforms can generate meaningful revenue.
Our goal is always theatrical, but our
process and technique is nimble enough
to take advantage of other emerging
release opportunities when appropriate
for a specific project, he said.
Goodman left Paramount in an executive shakeup in February. Ironically,
studio sources at the time blamed productions that were going over budget on
Goodmans watch.

Moore Protests R Rating

for Doc Where to Invade
By Pamela McClintock

M ich a el Moor e h a s bl a st ed t h e

MPAA and the Classification and Rating

Administration for slapping his new documentary, Where to Invade Next, with an

R rating for language, some violent

images, drug use and brief graphic nudity.
Its amazing how 25 years have
passed we invented the internet,
gay marriage is legal and we elected
an African-American President of the
United States, but the MPAA is still
intent on censoring footage
that is available from any
evening network news
show, Moore said Monday
in a statement.
This film has been
Moore
widely praised by critics for
its warmth and humor and optimism,
the filmmaker continued. What is the
real reason I keep getting all these R
ratings? I wish the MPAA would just be
honest and stick a label on my movies
saying: This movie contains dangerous
ideas that the 99% may find upsetting
and lead them to revolt.
Moore and those backing Where to
Invade will appeal the rating.
The doc is scheduled to hit theaters in
Los Angeles and New York on Dec. 23
before opening nationwide on Jan. 15.
Where to Invade is being distributed by
a new label headed by former RadiusTWC chiefs Tom Quinn and Jason
Janego and Alamo Drafthouse founder
Tim League. Theres still no word on
who is backing the new outfit. (2009)
Moore is no stranger when it comes
to battling CARA, which is administered
by the MPAA and the National Association of Theater Owners. Capitalism:
A Love Story (2009), Fahrenheit 9/11
(2004), Bowling for Columbine (2002)
and Roger & Me (1989), his first film, all
received R ratings. Roger & Me reportedly earned the rating because of a scene
in which a rabbit is killed for dinner.
With this rating, the MPAA is effectively telling high schoolers they just
arent mature enough to handle or discuss important issues directly affecting
their pursuit of the American dream,
added Janego and Quinn. The notion
that a teenager cant walk into a theater
and see Where to Invade Next is ridiculous and frankly un-American.

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NOVEMBER 3, 2015

movie NEWS
Six Billion Dollar Man
set to Bow Dec. 22, 2017
By Pamela McClintock

The Six Billion Doll a r M an, starring Mark Wahlberg, has been slated
to hit theaters Dec. 22, 2017, TWCDimension announced Monday.
Additionally, Damian Szifron, who
wrote the script for the film adaptation
of the classic 1970s TV series, is replacing Peter Berg as director.
Shooting is set to begin next fall.
The story follows military officer Steve
Austin, who becomes part of a top-secret
government program after a horrific accident leaves him near death. With the help
of cutting-edge technology, he is brought
back to life with extraordinary abilities,
making him the worlds first bionic man.
Im thrilled to assemble The Six Billion Dollar Man for the big screen with
the likes of Bob Weinstein and Damian
Szifron, Wahlberg said in a statement.
We look forward to creating a Steve
Austin for the 21st century.
TWC and Dimension co-chairman
Bob Weinstein added: We are excited to
release the film during the holidays to
bring audiences an explosive reimagining of this cultural icon.
Added Szifron: Writing the screenplay was such a fantastic ride ... growing
up, these kinds of films left an indelible
mark on me, and now it feels so good to
be making one.
Executive vp production Matthew
Signer and senior vp production and
development Keith Levine will oversee
production for TWC-Dimension.

James tapped to star

in Pars Young Woman
By Rebecca Ford

Pa r a mou n t a n d producer J er ry

Bruckheimer will adapt Young Woman

and the Sea, a book by Glenn Stout, with
Lily James attached to star.
James will play Gertrude Trudy

Ederle, who was the first woman to swim

across the English Channel in 1926. Only
in her 20s at the time, Ederle beat the
records held by the five men who previously made the journey.
She was also an Olympic
champion and set several
world records throughout
her swimming career.
Pirates of the Caribbean:
James
Dead Men Tell No Tales
screenwriter Jeff Nathanson will write
the script. Bruckheimer will produce;
Nathanson also will exec produce.
James was the star of Disneys liveaction adaptation of Cinderella, which
was a box-office hit earlier this year and
has earned $542.4 million worldwide.
The actress will next be seen in Screen
Gems Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
with Matt Smith. She also is starring in
The Kaisers Last Kiss with Jai Courtney,
Edgar Wrights Baby Driver with Ansel
Elgort and TV miniseries War and Peace.
James is repped by UTA and Tavistock
Wood Management in the U.K.

Stuhlbarg Circling
Doctor Strange Role
By Borys Kit

M ich a el St u h l ba r g, w ho is

currently on screen as Apple engineer

Andy Hertzfeld in the awards contender
Steve Jobs, is in negotiations to join the
cast of Marvels Doctor Strange.
Scott Derrickson is directing the film,
which will star Benedict Cumberbatch as
the supernatural superhero and is due to
begin shooting in December in London.
Already on the roll call are Rachel
McAdams as the female lead and Tilda
Swinton as the Ancient One, as well as
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mads Mikkelsen.
Strange is a formerly cocky surgeon
who loses the use of his hands and, in a
last-ditch attempt to heal himself, discovers magic.
Stulhbargs role is being kept hidden
in the astral plane.
Doctor Strange will mark Stuhlbargs

first foray into comic-book movies. The

actor is known for such dramas as the
Coen brothers A Serious Man and HBOs
Boardwalk Empire, although he also
brought heart to lighter fare in Men in
Black 3 with some scene-stealing work.
Stuhlbarg, who also is portraying
classic film actor Edward G. Robinson
in Bryan Cranstons Hollywood Blacklist
pic Trumbo, is repped by ICM Partners.

afm: McAvoy to topline

Wenders Submergence
By Rebecca Ford

Ja m e s M c Avoy is set to sta r i n

Wim Wenders next film, the romantic

thriller Submergence.
Based on J.M. Ledgards book of the
same name, Submergence focuses on two
lovers who are separated by thousands
of miles and use the memories of their
intense romance to help them get through
the life-or-death situations theyre facing
in their present lives. James Moore, who
is enduring captivity by jihadist fighters
in Somalia, and Danielle Flinders, who is
exploring the depths of the ocean floor,
are desperate to reunite again after their
chance encounter the previous Christmas
on a beach on the Atlantic coast.
Erin Dignam will write the script. The
pic is eyeing a late March production start
in Europe and Africa.
Cameron Lamb will produce through
Lila 9th Productions and Paris-based
Backup Media will finance the project,
which was announced ahead of the
launch of the American Film Market,
which is set to get underway Wednesday
in Santa Monica. UTA Independent Film
Group packaged the film and will be
representing the U.S. sale. There is no
foreign sales agent at this time.
Ledgards novel first hit shelves in
March 2013, and was listed on the New
York Times 100 Notable Books of 2013.
McAvoy, whose recent films include reprising his role as Charles Xavier in X-Men:
Days of Future Past and starring in The
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NOVEMBER 3, 2015

movie NEWS
F r o m pa g e 5

Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby with

Jessica Chastain, will next be seen in Foxs
Victor Frankenstein, which opens Nov. 25.
The actor recently wrapped X-Men:
Apocalypse, and he is currently filming
M. Night Shyamalans Split. He will next
begin production on Coldest City with
Charlize Theron. McAvoy is repped by
UTA, United Agents and Sloane, Offer.

Mr. Robots malek nabs

First Leading Film Role
By Tatiana Siegel

I n h is f i r st l e a di ng rol e i n a

movie, Rami Malek, star of USA Networks

hit drama series Mr. Robot,
will head up the cast of
Sarah Adina Smiths indie
Busters Mal Heart.
The film, which is being
financed
by Gamechanger
Malek
Films, also stars Kate Lyn
Sheil (House of Cards), DJ Qualls (The
Man in High Castle) and Toby Huss (Halt
and Catch Fire).
The head-trippy mystery follows an
eccentric mountain man (Malek), on the
run from authorities, who survives the
winter by breaking into empty vacation
homes. He is haunted by a recurring
dream of being lost at sea only to discover that the dream is real: He is one
man in two bodies. This is the story of
how he split in two.
Lin Shaye (Insidious), Lance Barber
(The Comeback), Mark Kelly (Do-Deca
Pentathalon), Bruce Bundy (The Hunger
Games) and Teresa Yenque (The Affair)
round out the cast.
Smiths first film was the AFI Fest
Audience Award-winner The Midnight
Swim, a genre-bending mystery that
went on to win other top prizes at the
Nashville Film Festival, Sun Valley Film
Festival and Starz! Denver Film Festival.
She also is the only female director to
participate in the upcoming horroranthology film Holidays, headlined by
Kevin Smith.

Gamechanger, Snowfort Pictures and

Everything Is Everything are producing
Mal Heart. Jonako Donley, who teamed
with Smith on Midnight Swim, will serve
as a producer alongside Travis Stevens
(Jodorowskys Dune). Mynette Louie,
Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn
Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger are executive producing.
Gamechanger the company behind
this years Independent Spirit Cassavetes
Award-winning comedy Land Ho! exclusively finances narrative features directed
by women. Other Gamechanger movies
include Karyn Kusamas upcoming thriller
The Invitation and So Yong Kims upcoming drama Lovesong.
Malek became one of the 2015s biggest
TV breakouts on thanks to Mr. Robot.
Though he has appeared in supporting
film roles in the past including Need
for Speed, Short Term 12 and the Night at
the Museum movies Mal Heart marks
his first foray as a big-screen leading man.
Malek is repped by WME, Brillstein
Entertainment and Loeb & Loeb; Smith
is managed by Maggie Haskins and Evan
Cavic of Principato-Young Entertainment.

Bleecker Street gets

Dramedy Last Word
By Mia Galuppo

Bl eeck er St r eet h a s acqu i r ed

U.S. distribution rights to The Last Word,

a dramedy starring Shirley MacLaine and
Amanda Seyfried.
In the film, written by Stuart Fink,
MacLaine plays a retired, controlling
businesswoman who writes her own obituary to ensure her life story is told the
way she wants it, while Seyfried portrays
a young writer at the local newspaper.
When I read Stuarts funny and touching script, I instantly saw Shirley MacLaine
and Amanda Seyfried in the roles of these
two amazing women, Bleecker Street
CEO Andrew Karpen said Monday in
a statement. Im excited to see Mark
Pellington bring this story of reflection,
personal legacy and self-truth to life.

Last Word will be directed by Pellington, with Anne-Marie MacKay, Kirk

DAmico and Pellington acting as producers. Aaron Magnani will serve as
executive producer.
The deal was negotiated by UTA
Independent Film Group on behalf of
the production.

Goldwyn Grabs Rights

to War Pic Hyena Road
By Etan Vlessing

TORONTO Samuel Goldwyn Films

has picked up U.S. rights to Paul Gross
indie war thriller Hyena Road.
Goldwyn plans a 2016 release for the
film about Canadian troops fighting
the war in Afghanistan. Hyena Road
follows three men caught up in modern
warfare an intelligence officer (Gross)
overseeing construction of a supply road
in Taliban territory, a sniper (Rossif
Sutherland) and a local Afghan warrior
(Niamatullah Arghandabi) who has left
combat behind but gets pulled back into
battle to settle a personal score.
The pic debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Gross wrote and directed Hyena Road,
while also producing with Niv Fichman.
The film is executive produced by Victor
Loewy, Frank Siracusa, Mirwais Alizai,
Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth.
I was very impressed by Pauls work
here as a writer-director-star, Peter
Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Films said
Monday in a statement. Not only did he
deliver quite a performance, he also realistically depicted the bravery of troops
serving, and very beautifully illustrated
the many uncertainties of war.
Hyena Road is a Rhombus Media and
Triple 7 Films production, in association
with Buffalo Gal Pictures. WTFilms is
handling international sales.
The U.S. deal for the pic was negotiated by Peter Goldwyn of Samuel
Goldwyn Films, Tristen Tuckfield
of CAA and by Fichman and Jordan
Nahmias for the filmmakers.

Page 7 of 10

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

business NEWS

Cosby to Give New Deposition

in Dickinsons Defamation Suit
By Austin Siegemund-Broka
Bi l l Cosby w i l l gi v e a n ew

deposition in the defamation case from

Janice Dickinson over her
allegations of sexual assault.
The former supermodel
told Entertainment Tonight
last November the comedian
drugged her into unconCosby
sciousness and raped her.
Cosbys former attorney
Martin Singer responded
in a statement to the media
calling Dickinsons story an
outrageous defamatory lie
Dickinson
and completely fabricated.
Dickinson in May sued Cosby for
defamation, claiming Cosby criticized
her account with the intent and effect
of re-victimizing her and destroying
the professional reputation shes spent
decades building.
At a hearing on Monday, Judge Debre
K. Weintraub ordered Cosby and Singer
to be deposed by Nov. 25 on whether they
knew if Dickinsons allegations were true
before denying them to the press. The
testimony will follow Cosbys recent deposition in Judy Huths lawsuit (which will be
sealed until a Dec. 22 hearing in which the
sides will argue if the testimony should be
made public).
Claiming defamation over Cosbys
campaign of denial is the favored legal
approach of the comedians accusers
(though Huth sued for sexual assault
claiming she only recently realized her
psychological injuries from an assault
in 1974). Cosby has moved to strike
Dickinsons complaint under Californias
anti-SLAPP law, which protects First
Amendment-protected activity like free
speech from improper litigation.
In September, Dickinsons lawyers
took aim at a less well-known feature of
anti-SLAPP motions: They automatically

halt most discovery efforts including

depositions and subpoenas not dealing
with the basis of the SLAPP.
In a motion to allow discovery, Dickinsons lawyers argue the defamation standard for a public figure requires that she
demonstrate actual malice from Cosby.
To counter the anti-SLAPP motion, Dickinson must demonstrate the likelihood
of winning on her claims. Thus she has
to prove Cosby and Singers statements
were knowingly false or made with
reckless disregard as to their falsity.
The anti-SLAPP statute permits discovery to move forward for good cause.
The importance of questioning Cosby
and Singer on actual malice meets the
standard, argued Dickinson, because the
only way to establish that Cosby made
knowingly false statements would be
to question him about his knowledge.
Cosbys lawyers opposed the motion by
arguing that this didnt meet the good
cause standard. They also argued that
statements about Dickinson couldnt rise
to provably false factual assertions.
At Mondays hearing, the judge sided
with Dickinson.
The court finds that the plaintiff has
satisfied the prerequisite of provable false
facts sufficient to permit discovery for
actual malice, said Weintraub. A reasonable fact finder could conclude the
press statements declare provable false
assertions of fact, a factual assertion that
Ms. Dickinson is lying. In other words,
either the rape did occur or it did not
occur, and in this regard Ms. Dickinson
is either telling the truth or not telling
the truth.
The judge found Dickinsons argument
of good cause for the depositions holds
up for three reasons: Cosby and Singer
possess the relevant information on the
question of actual malice, the information
could not be found elsewhere and Dickin-

son has a legitimate need for the information to fight the anti-SLAPP motion.
The court recognizes that the attorneyclient privilege may apply to some information the plaintiff may seek to elicit
from Mr. Singer at his deposition, and
the plaintiff has not made a persuasive
argument as to why Mr. Cosby could
be deemed to have generally waived
his attorney-client privilege, added
Weintraub.

AMC Entertainment
Misses Q3 EPS Estimate
By Paul Bond

AMC En t erta i n m en t on Mon day

said it earned 12 cents per share in the

third quarter, less than the 15 cents per
share that Wall Street analysts expected
the operator of 4,937 movie screens at
348 locations to earn.
Earnings of $12.2 million were well
above the $7.4 million earned in the
same quarter last year, and revenue
rose to $689 million from $634 million
a year ago. Revenue, though, was $2 million shy of analysts expectations.
Shares of AMC Entertainment
closed fractionally higher on Monday
to $27.50 and were not traded after the
closing bell.
Despite the earnings miss, AMC Entertainment said its financial results were a
record for the quarter.
Admissions revenue rose 7.4 percent
to $441.3 million as attendance grew by
the same percentage, with 47.3 million
people attending a movie at AMC Entertainment during the quarter.
Food and beverage revenue rose to
a record $216.8 million from $189.1 million a year earlier as the amount each
patron spent at the snack bar increased
6.8 percent to $4.58.

Page 8 of 10

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

awards NEWS

Redford to Present Streisand

With Lansing Honor at THR Event
Staff report
Robert R edfor d w i l l pr e sen t

Barbra Streisand with the 2015 Sherry

Lansing Leadership Award at The Hollywood Reporters 2015 Women in Entertainment breakfast, set to
take place Dec. 9 at Milk
Studios in Los Angeles.
The star-studded event
coincides with the publication of THRs annual
Streisand
Women in Entertainment
Power 100 list.It was
previously announced that
Melinda Gates will deliver
the keynote address at the
breakfast.
Redford
Redford honoring
Streisand will serve as a reunion for the
two stars, who appeared together in the
1973 classic The Way We Were.
When Robert Redford and Barbra
Streisand appeared together on the big
screen four decades ago, the world witnessed a moment that was larger than
life, Janice Min, co-president and chief
creative officer of Guggenheim Medias
Entertainment Group, said in a statement. Now, as we honor a career char-

acterized by boundless talent, brilliant

risk-taking, and unstinting generosity,
there could be no better person to present
Barbra Streisand with the 2015 Sherry
Lansing Leadership Award than Robert
Redford, an actor who is the embodiment of artistic dedication and cinematic
achievement.
Redford is an Oscar winner and the
creative force behind the Sundance Film
Festival. His many movie credits include
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The
Sting, The Great Gatsby, All the Presidents
Men, Ordinary People, The Natural, Out
of Africa, A River Runs Through It and
All Is Lost. Redford currently stars as
Dan Rather in Sony Pictures Classics
Truth, which explores the former CBS
News anchor and producer Mary Mapes
(Cate Blanchett) controversial 60 Minutes
report about George W. Bush, and he
recently wrapped Disneys Petes Dragon,
helmed by David Lowery and co-starring
Bryce Dallas Howard, which is set to hit
theaters next year.
The Sherry Lansing Leadership
Award recognizes women who serve as
pioneers in the world of entertainment.
Streisand a multi-platinum-selling

artist who has won 10 Grammys, two

Oscars and AFIs Lifetime Achievement
Award joins an esteemed list of former
recipients, including last years honoree
Shonda Rhimes, Oprah Winfrey, Meryl
Streep, Diane Keaton and Jodie Foster.
In addition to her prolific music and film
career, Streisand is also a philanthropist
and activist who launched The Streisand
Foundation in 1986 to spotlight womens
equality and human rights and has made
charitable contributions to help fight
womens heart disease.
This years event, its 24th outing, also
highlights THRs Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program, where industry
women, from Universals Donna Langley
to Foxs Dana Walden, have been paired
with girls from Big Brothers Big Sisters
of L.A. for a year. During the breakfast,
two of the girls will be presented with
full-ride scholarships to Loyola Marymount University. THR has helped raise
more than $2 million in scholarships for
graduates of the program.
The annual breakfast is sponsored by
Lifetime, Mercedes, American Airlines,
South Coast Plaza and Loyola Marymount University.

GET AWARDS SEASON

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Page 9 of 10

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

tokyo Review
Nise The Heart
of Madness
By Jonathan Holland

I m agi n e t h e pol a r opposi t e of

Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the

Cuckoos Nest, and you have something
like the brilliant, kindly heroine of Nise
The Heart of Madness. A pioneering
figure well-known in Brazil, Nise da Silveira led a rebellious but full life and the
pic focuses on a short but definitive part
of it her stay in a Rio de Janeiro psychiatric hospital, where she fought and
won a battle against the prejudices of men
and of science by daringly treating her
patients as human beings.
Elegantly combining a triumph-overadversity yarn with a sensitive exploration of the redemptive power of artistic
creation, the films nicely understated
humanity combined with a healthy
dose of the feel-good factor meant
that Rio fest audiences voted Nise their
favorite film this year, and the pic was
awarded the Grand Prix at the recently
concluded Tokyo Film Festival as well.
Wisely, director Roberto Berliner
focuses on a short period of da Silveiras
life, the time in the early 1940s when,
fresh out of prison for her Marxist beliefs,
she spent time in a Rio psychiatric institution revealing that for her patients,
artistic creation could be therapy
as well as producing some damn fine art.
The opening finds Nise (the high-profile
Brazilian actress Gloria Pires) banging
repeatedly onto a loud metal door in
order to gain entrance to the hospital
where she has come to work, the scene
clearly if clumsily prefiguring the struggles to come in a world like most worlds
at the dominated by male prejudice.
Once inside, Nise is appalled to attend
a conference in which her male colleagues
are extolling the virtues of electrotherapy
and ice-pick lobotomies. Refusing to
participate in such barbarism (not uncommon in the U.S., too, in the40s and
50s), Nise is downgraded to the occupational therapy section. (As shes also a

Gloria Pires encourages

artistic expression in Nise
The Heart of Madness.

Marxist, the move is doubly convenient

for the establishment.)
Like a Florence Nightingale of the
mind, Nise sets about cleaning up first
the premises, then the language of the
nurses forbidding the use of terms
like nutcaseand animal and replacing them somewhat disingenuously with
client. Then, using a stocking and a
rag, in one effective scene she sets her
patients to play and, encouraged by her
colleague Almir (Felipe Rocha), to paint
and so bring their unconscious minds
into the open.
Sensibly, the script focuses not so
much on da Silveira as on the results
of her efforts in other words on the
clients, psychotics all, including Emygdio
(Claudio Jaborandy), the mighty Adelina
(Simone Mazzer) and the particularly
threatening Lucio (Roney Villela). All
performances are plausible and affecting.
Berliner spreads out the compassion and
is careful to give each character a story
and an artistic style: just as da Silveira
herself would, he puts these people at
the forefront of her story. He often does
so with a real grace and sensitivity, as,
for example, in a scene where one patient,
childlike, learns what a paintbrush is
for, or in another, on a day trip where
the patients all dress up and the sunlight coming through the trees plays
on their uplifted features in a moving

index of psychological release.

Buoyed by the often documentary-style
camerawork of Andre Horta, the script
is respectful of the truth, refusing to exaggerate for the sake of the drama even
when there are multiple opportunities
to do so. Nise is perhaps a little too saintlike in her unruffled dignity as she deals
with the provocations of her male adversary, Dr. Cesar (Michel Bercovitch): My
instrument is a brush, not an ice pick,
she sternly reminds him in one of the
stagier moments. But she is never superhumanly so, in a controlled and austere
performance by Pires which seems designed to allow those surrounding her to
flourish: Her frustrations are quietly dealt
with in aside scenes with her husband.
Some scenes pulsate with real risk, as time
and again Nise puts her theories to the
test without knowing how her schizophrenic clients will react.
One of her patients, Fernando Diniz
(Fabricio Boliveira), went on to become
a well-known painter: His image and
those of her other patients touchingly
open the end credits, following an
extract from an interview with the real
Nise, now elderly, playfully calling the
cameraman a nutcase.
The final scene is effectively a seal of
approval for Nises work from the art
establishment, in the figure of Pedrosa
(Charles Fricks). Its recognition, which
the character doesnt need shes already
earned it through the movie and the
closing, triumphal scenes featuring the
Brazilian art world applauding Nise feel
like a cheap and false coda, given the
richness of what has come before. This
is not just medical, its artistic and political too, Pedrosa reminds us, but anyone
who has just watched this potent but delicate movie will hardly need reminding.
Venue: Tokyo International Film Festival.
Production: TV Zero.
Cast: Gloria Pires, Fabricio Boliveira,
Felipe Rocha, Simone Mazzer.
Director: Roberto Berliner.
Sales: TV Zero.
No rating, 109 minutes.

Page 10 of 10

MONTH 00, 2015

TOP 40 box office

This Last
week week

Movie

Distributor

Weekend
gross

Percent
change

# of
theaters

Per-theater Days in
average
release

Cumulative
gross

The Martian

Fox

$11,715,097

-30.9

3,218

$3,640

31

$183,121,850

Goosebumps

Sony

9,867,077

-39.4

3,618

2,727

17

56,761,492

Bridge of Spies

Disney

8,389,284

-32.1

2,873

2,920

17

45,531,900

Hotel Transylvania 2

Sony

5,860,784

-37.4

2,962

1,979

38

156,035,264

The Last Witch Hunter

Lionsgate

5,162,398

-55.5

3,082

1,675

10

19,025,259

New

Burnt

Weinstein

5,002,521

3,003

1,666

5,002,521

Paranormal: Ghost Dimension

Paramount

3,435,120

-60.1

1,530

2,245

10

13,554,743

New

Our Brand Is Crisis

Warner Bros.

3,238,433

2,202

1,471

3,238,433

Crimson Peak

Universal

3,072,100

-50.2

2,112

1,455

17

27,708,080

10

Steve Jobs

Universal

2,691,360

-64.8

2,493

1,080

24

14,652,043

11

The Intern

Warner Bros.

2,407,280

-41.3

1,521

1,583

38

68,562,024

12

New

Scouts Guide to Zombie Apocalypse

Paramount

1,841,007

1,509

1,220

1,841,007

13

12

Woodlawn

Pure Flix

1,734,949

-37.9

1,255

1,382

17

10,705,922

14

10

Sicario

Lionsgate

1,719,573

-44.7

1,073

1,603

45

42,076,784

15

11

Pan

Warner Bros.

1,215,209

-56.8

1,158

1,049

24

31,860,941

16

New

Met Opera: Tannhauser (2015)

Fathom

1,150,000

900

1,278

1,150,000

17

32

Truth

Sony Classics

875,935

706.3

1,122

781

17

1,126,512

18

14

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Fox

808,822

-46.6

671

1,205

45

78,890,492

19

15

Jem and the Holograms

Universal

387,925

-73.2

2,417

160

10

2,028,755

20

18

The Visit

Universal

368,740

-34.9

412

895

52

64,367,670

21

13

Rock the Kasbah

Open Road

354,955

-78

2,012

176

10

2,430,726

22

17

Everest

Universal

351,965

-41.7

302

1,165

45

42,350,140

23

19

War Room

Sony

329,941

-40.2

345

956

66

66,847,989

24

16

Black Mass

Warner Bros.

295,444

-53.7

307

962

45

61,853,408

25

23

Room

A24

292,620

17.2

49

5,972

17

789,822

26

New

The Witness (Wo Shi Zheng Ren)

China Lion

194,736

40

4,868

194,736

27

21

Inside Out

Disney

190,511

-31.5

237

804

136

355,597,857

28

24

Ant-Man

Disney

172,359

-27.4

192

898

108

179,267,303

29

38

Suffragette

Focus

171,472

104.7

23

7,455

10

274,590

30

22

The Perfect Guy

Sony

161,653

-41

181

893

52

56,506,153

31

27

Minions

Universal

142,685

-32.2

234

610

115

334,992,380

32

28

Jurassic World

Universal

118,145

-43.3

164

720

143

651,889,590

33

25

Ladrones

Lionsgate

99,626

-58.3

112

890

24

2,975,649

34

31

Meet the Patels

Alchemy

82,150

-29.6

62

1,325

52

1,442,619

35

26

The Walk

Sony

72,799

-65.7

91

800

33

10,044,817

36

36

Labyrinth of Lies

Sony Classics

66,648

-30.1

49

1,360

33

445,211

37

29

He Named Me Malala

Fox Searchlight

61,820

-67.2

83

745

31

2,199,391

38

37

Goodnight Mommy

Radius-TWC

61,438

-34.9

71

865

52

1,080,564

39

30

Goodbye Mr. Loser

China Lion

55,498

-55.9

23

2,413

24

1,239,737

40

34

Pixels

Sony

53,764

-47.5

115

468

101

78,680,918

Total: $74,273,843