The Hollywood Reporter - 05 08 2020

60 Pages·2020·70.41 MB·English

August 5, 2020

NBC RE-ORG LOOMS
AMID TOXIC CULTURE
ALLEGATIONS

UNDER SCRUTINY
Studios that
self-censor for China

MELLOW MOGULS
Seth Rogen and his
Point Grey partners
expand their empire

COVID EXODUS
Who is putting L.A.
in the rearview?

The star of HBO’s buzzy Lovecraft Country,
JURNEE SMOLLETT opens up about fighting industry inequities
(‘Oh, the rage in my body’), the trauma of her brother Jussie’s scandal
and learning to ‘own her own power’
A HERO’S JURNEE

FYC.NETFLIX.COM

“ THE BEST
SEASON YET.”

CNN

“ AS THE DANGER RISES,
SO DOES
THE BRILLIANCE.”

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

I N C L U D I N G
O U T S TA N D I N G D R A M A S E R I E S
E M M Y

® N O M I N A T I O N S

LEAD ACTOR JASON BATEMAN
LEAD ACTRESS LAURA LINNEY
SUPPORTING ACTRESS JULIA GARNER

“STUNNING PE

UZO ADUBA

“POIGNANT”
“BRILLIANCE”

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS

MARGO MARTINDALE

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
TRACEY ULLMAN

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS

CATE BLANCHETT

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES

“GROUNDBREAKING
”

“FEROCIOUS”

10 EMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS
INCLUDING OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

RFORMANCES
”

EXCLUSIVELY

“MAGNIFICENT”

2

Issue No. 20, August 5, 2020

FEATURES
38 The Jurnee Is the Destination
With HBO’s Lovecraft Country about
to boost her profile and platform,
the actor and unapologetic activist
opens up about Hollywood harass-
ment, the trauma of brother Jussie’s
public scandal and how she’s finally
“learning to own her own power.”

46 The Mellow Moguls
Sure, they dig a “fun vibe,” but Seth
Rogen and his Point Grey partners
continue an ambitious output of mid-
budget comedies (HBO Max’s An
American Pickle) even as their low-
key empire expands into big-budget
TV and animated franchises.

50 Emmy’s Crowded Co-star
Competition
If TV’s biggest night were in person
this year, there might have been
some awkward moments, with more
talent from the same shows facing
each other than ever before.

“There are just so
many ways in which
this industry will
try, subliminally or
overtly, to erase your
Blackness,” says
Jurnee Smollett. She
was photographed
July 21 at the
Paramour Estate in
Silver Lake.

Fendi dress and blazer,
Diesel belt, Eva Fehren
earrings, Walters Faith
and Christian Dior rings.

Photographed here
and for the cover by
Martha Galvan

38

C O N G RAT U L AT I O N S
T O A L L O F O U R N O M I N E E S

18 EMMY
®NOMINATIONS

BILLY
CRUDUP

OUTSTANDING
SUPPORTING ACTOR

NOMINATED FOR 8 EMMYS®

STEVE
CARELL

OUTSTANDING
LEAD ACTOR

JENNIFER
ANISTON

OUTSTANDING
LEAD ACTRESS

MIMI LEDER

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING

OUTSTANDING MAIN TITLE DESIGN

MARK
DUPLASS

OUTSTANDING
SUPPORTING ACTOR

MARTIN
SHORT

OUTSTANDING
GUEST ACTOR

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN

NOMINATED FOR 5 EMMYS®

OUTSTANDING

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY OR NON FICTION SPECIAL

OUTSTANDING
WRITING
OUTSTANDING
SOUND EDITING
OUTSTANDING
SOUND MIXING
OUTSTANDING
PICTURE EDITING

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

OUTSTANDING NARRATOR

LESLIE ODOM JR.

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION

A U G U S T 5 , 2 0 2 0
T H E H O L L Y W O O D R E P O R T E R
4

Photographed by Sami Drasin

APOLLO: DREW METZGER/COURTESY OF ACME HOUSE COMPANY. BAVEL: COURTESY OF SUBJECT.

Issue No. 20, August 5, 2020

STYLE
34 The Zoom Boom: How Close-Up
Video Calls Are Fueling
a Rise in Plastic Surgery
“The worst possible way to see your own
face,” says a top surgeon of why virtual
meetings are causing a rush of patients
looking for Botox, fillers, face-lifts and
more during the pandemic.

36 The New Ways to Do Takeout
From delivery-by-chef, to ordering
by Instagram DMs, to videos accom-
panying 16-course omakase requests,
Hollywood eateries are going far beyond
the usual apps.

REVIEWS

53 An American Pickle
Seth Rogen stars as both a present-day
Brooklynite and his Old World great-
grandfather in an HBO Max culture-clash
comedy that’s more sweet than sour.

54 The Tax Collector
Shia LaBeouf and Bobby Soto play
protection racketeers facing a
takeover bid on South L.A. gangland
turf in David Ayer’s cliched misfire.

THE REPORT
9
Toxic Culture Alleged at NBC
as Re-org Looms
Current and former employees allege
that entertainment chairman Paul
Telegdy has engaged in racist, sexist
and homophobic behavior.

12
Studios Self-Censoring for
China Under Scrutiny
For years, the film industry has dodged
censorship claims, but now the U.S. gov-
ernment and a new report are criticizing
the state of affairs.

16
7 Days of Deals

ABOUT TOWN

21
Leaving L.A.: ‘You Don’t Need to
Be Here Anymore’
With remote work likely continuing, many
Hollywood players are forsaking the city:
“I can do what I want from anywhere.”

22 My Coronavirus After-Effects
Danny Burstein reflects on his life follow-
ing six days in a COVID-19 unit, including
caring for his wife, fellow stage performer
Rebecca Luker, in her struggle with ALS.

22 The Palm Springs Rental Market:
‘It’s Bonkers’
Usually slow in the summer — due to
the blistering heat — the short-term
housing market in the Coachella Valley
has been busy this year as Angelenos
seek a change of scenery.

26 Rambling Reporter

TRIBUTE
27 Tom Pollock: 1943-2020
Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese and others
recall an “unsung hero” who ran Universal
Pictures and served as AFI chairman.

THE BUSINESS

28 Creative Space: Mark Kassen
From politics to health care, the Like
Minded Ventures CEO and film pro-
ducer is rolling out ambitious protocols
and technologies to get Hollywood
safely back to work.

30 Strong, Black and Leading
the Way
The burgeoning Strong Black Lead brand
is taking a new approach to content mar-
keting that has fans saying “Okay, Netflix.”

22

22
This Apollo 1000 vacation
rental listing in the heart of
the upscale Movie Colony
of Palm Springs showcases
artwork depicting the
technology of the Apollo
missions that landed men
on the moon.

36
For takeout, Bavel in the Arts
District of Los Angeles is
changing up the menu nearly
every week, and “the value
of the food is unreal,”
Everybody Loves Raymond
creator Phil Rosenthal says.

46
“We’ve just grown
comfortable dealing with
large sums of money that
made us more uncomfortable
when we were younger,”
Seth Rogen says of he and his
partners at Point Grey. He
was photographed July 20 at
his offices in Los Angeles.
46

36

EDITOR-AT-LARGE Kim Masters

FILM

SENIOR FILM WRITERS Borys Kit, Pamela McClintock • TECH EDITOR Carolyn Giardina • STAFF WRITER, FILM Mia Galuppo

TELEVISION

TELEVISION EDITOR, WEST COAST Lesley Goldberg • SENIOR WRITER, TELEVISION Michael O’Connell

SENIOR WRITER Bryn Elise Sandberg • TELEVISION WRITER Rick Porter

REVIEWS

REVIEWS EDITOR Jon Frosch • CHIEF FILM CRITIC David Rooney• CHIEF TELEVISION CRITIC Daniel Fienberg • TELEVISION CRITIC Inkoo Kang

SENIOR EDITOR, COPY Mike Barnes • SENIOR AWARDS EDITOR Rebecca Ford • SENIOR EDITOR, FILM Rebecca Keegan

SENIOR WRITERS Seth Abramovitch, Gary Baum • SENIOR AWARDS ANALYST Scott Feinberg • INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EDITOR Georg Szalai

SENIOR EDITOR, LAW & POLICY Eriq Gardner • SENIOR STAFF WRITER Chris Gardner • SENIOR DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR Natalie Jarvey

STAFF REPORTER Ashley Cullins • EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Kirsten Chuba • ASSISTANT TO THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Emily Hilton

COPY

MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer H. Levin • ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Darah Head • SENIOR COPY EDITOR Lisa de los Reyes • SENIOR COPY EDITOR/FILM CRITIC Sheri Linden

ART

DEPUTY DESIGN DIRECTOR Kelsey Stefanson • ART DIRECTORS Nicholas Brawley, Christopher Hawkins, Fah Sakharet

ART PRODUCTION MANAGER Amanda Tannen

PHOTO & VIDEO

SENIOR PHOTO PRODUCER Kate Pappa • PHOTO EDITORS Chelsea Archer, Tristan Cassel

ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITORS Megan Downie, Jared Rosenthal • ASSISTANT PHOTO PRODUCER Kayla Landrum • PHOTO & ART ASSISTANT Kayla Miracle • PHOTO EDITOR-AT-LARGE Jenny Sargent

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, NEWS Lee Schneller • SENIOR PRODUCER, NEWS Brian Zambuto • VIDEO EDITOR, NEWS Jason Bass • CONTENT MANAGER, NEWS Lauren Alvarez

THR.COM

MANAGING EDITOR, DIGITAL Kimberly Nordyke • MANAGING EDITOR, EAST COAST Jackie Strause

DEPUTY EDITOR, EAST COAST Hilary Lewis • ASSIGNMENT EDITOR Jennifer Konerman • SENIOR EDITOR, HEAT VISION Aaron Couch

INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Abid Rahman • NEWSLETTER EDITOR Alex Weprin • ASSOCIATE EDITORS Trilby Beresford, Sharareh Drury,
Lexy Perez, Evan Real • SENIOR REPORTER Ryan Parker • STAFF REPORTER Katie Kilkenny • COPY CHIEF Pete Keeley • SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR, DIGITAL Christina Pompa-Kwok

PHOTO EDITOR Jessica Wendroff • DIRECTOR, SOCIAL MEDIA Erica Myers

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Erika Villalvazo • SENIOR PRODUCER, PODCASTS Matthew Whitehurst

INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR Kevin Cassidy • EUROPE BUREAU CHIEF Scott Roxborough • ASIA BUREAU CHIEF Patrick Brzeski • CANADA BUREAU CHIEF Etan Vlessing

U.K. CORRESPONDENT Alex Ritman

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar • Damon Casarez • Jonathan Handel • Austin Hargrave • Wesley Mann • Carol McColgin • Miller Mobley • Gavin Polone • Ramona Rosales • Andrew Weitz

Nekesa Mumbi Moody
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Elisabeth D. Rabishaw
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, TELEVISION & MEDIA
Victoria Gold
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ENTERTAINMENT

Alison Smith-Pleiser
MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL
Alexandra von Bargen
VICE PRESIDENT, LUXURY
Mike Van
VICE PRESIDENT, BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
Dana Droppo
VICE PRESIDENT, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, BRAND PARTNERSHIPS

ADVERTISING

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDEPENDENT FILM & TALENT Debra Fink • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FILM & TELEVISION Carolyn Bernstein • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TELEVISION Scott Perry
VICE PRESIDENT, BRAND PARTNERSHIPS Mike Tresvant
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, BRAND PARTNERSHIPS Alex Kim, Jon Rutner • SENIOR DIRECTORS, BRAND PARTNERSHIPS Justine Matthews, Michael Sandler
DIRECTOR, SPONSORSHIP & WEST COAST CONSUMER SALES Karbis Dokuzyan • VICE PRESIDENT, BILLBOARD Joe Maimone
SALES COORDINATOR Mitchell Brown

INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Tommaso Campione • ACCOUNT DIRECTOR, NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA Lisa Cruse

DIGITAL MEDIA

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ENGINEERING Michael Bendell • VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL REVENUE OPERATIONS Gina Perino • DIRECTOR OF GROWTH Danielle Dauenhauer
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS Shira Brown • CONTENT PARTNER MANAGER Alex Felser • DIRECTOR, PROGRAMMATIC SALES & STRATEGY Lee Garfield • DIRECTOR, PROGRAMMATIC Jeremy Zimmerman
• MANAGER, PROGRAMMATIC Francis Kremer • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT & AD OPS Shameka Frank
AD OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Cheryl Kampanis • SENIOR MANAGER, ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT Greg Johnson • SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Galina Druzhinina
ASSOCIATE ACCOUNT MANAGER Allie Hedlund • DIGITAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS Ashley Johnson, Deborah Joong, Shannon McMahon
SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER Andrew Elder

MARKETING

VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS & TENTPOLES Lyndsay Meabon • VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY Anjali Raja • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY Cathy Field • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MARKETING STRATEGY Andrew Masters
DIRECTOR, MARKETING STRATEGY Cam Curran • MARKETING DIRECTOR, FILM & TV Matthew Bravmann • MANAGERS, MARKETING STRATEGY Vanessa Rodriguez, Hannah Schiff
DIRECTOR, POSTSALE Renee Giardina • SENIOR MANAGER, POSTSALE Steven Huizar • MANAGER, POSTSALE Sarah Lombard
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, BRANDED CONTENT Elizabeth Lancaster • SENIOR MANAGER, BRANDED CONTENT Kwasi Boadi • DESIGN DIRECTOR Stacy Saunders

VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS & CONFERENCES Curtis Thompson • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EVENTS Jasmin L. Reate • ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, EVENT MARKETING Anush Yemenidjian

LICENSING

DIRECTOR OF LICENSING Kelly Del Sordi
REPRINTS & PERMISSIONS Wright’s Media [phone], email