ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY and AWARD NEWS FROM HOLLYWOOD, compiled by REBECCA KEEGAN
Thursday, October 5, 2017
It's Thursday, and I've begun working on my Meryl Streep-as-Katharine Graham Halloween costume.
Hello from Los Angeles, where we're opening our wallets for Shonda Rhimes, following the lawyers to Harvey Weinstein, and rooting for the Harrison Ford/Ryan Gosling press tour bromance to roll on indefinitely.
TAKE MY MONEY, SHONDA
Netflix is quietly raising the prices of its streaming plans to help pay for that nearly $7 billion in original content Ted Sarandos said he has scheduled for 2018. The company's standard plan will move up from $9.99 to $10.99 a month, and the premium plan from $11.99 to $13.99, reports Mashable's Jason Abbruzzese. (The basic $7.99 plan will remain unchanged for now, and there is no mention of changing the supplemental DVD plans Luddites like me still pay for.) Among the beneficiaries of all those extra dollars pouring into Netflix's coffers will be Shonda Rhimes, who recently signed a massive, multi-year production deal to move from her longtime network home of ABC to the streaming service. In a conversation with Recode's Kara Swisher Wednesday on stage at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, the creator of shows like Grey's Anatomy and Scandal shared some insight into that career decision, which she said was driven by a mixture of creative and financial considerations. At Netflix, "there's a clear landscape to do whatever I want," Rhimes said, unfettered by the limitations of broadcast standards and episode length. "There's a totally open road." When Swisher asked about the particulars of her Netflix contract, Rhimes demurred, but revealed that ownership of her work was a motivator. "Disney has made $2 billion on Grey's Anatomy," she said. "I don't have $2 billion . . . I've had to learn not to get screwed in this town." You can watch an excerpt of Rhimes and Swisher's conversation, as well as the event's other big talks, here.
Photograph by Justin Bishop.
ANYONE FOR PIE?
V.F.'s Hillary Busis writes:
Few short-lived TV series inspire fandoms quite as vocal and adoring as that of Pushing Daisies, the mid-aughts dramedy about a humble pie-maker named Ned with a secret ability to raise the dead. Ten years after its debut, V.F. contributor Jennifer Stillcalled up creator Bryan Fuller to learn the secret to the show's cult success. The answer? Daisies had a vibrant, colorful aesthetic that set it apart from its formulaic network brethren—and a killer central romance animated by a surprisingly deep metaphor. Ned brings his childhood sweetheart, Chuck, back to life with his touch, but knows that if he ever touches her again, she'll die once more—this time for real. "There was always an interesting gay metaphor in Pushing Daisies that was at the root of my understanding of these characters," says Fuller. "Ten years ago, there was danger associated with intimate touch. I think a lot of those things were probably at the back of my mind as I was creating a universe where something so simple, something that is common in heterosexual relationships, was something that would kill you."
THE HARRISON WHISPERER
V.F.'s Yohana Desta writes:
I know England is currently celebrating Kazuo Ishiguro's well-earned Nobel Prize win, but the country has another unsung hero worth feting: Alison Hammond of ITV talk show This Morning. On Wednesday, the TV personality achieved a miracle by turning a typical press-circuit interview with Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling into a veritable comedy show. The trio basically guffawed their way through the whole segment, thanks to Hammond's joyous candor and Adele–esque cackle. She had the oft-stoic actors cracking open mini-bottles of booze and making fun of each other. Have you ever in your life seen Ford laugh like this? Did you know he was capable of throwing his head back with freeing, wondrous aplomb? Too bad the movie he's promoting—Blade Runner 2049, in theaters tomorrow—isn't exactly a barrel of laughs itself.
RENEWED AT LAST
V.F.'s Laura Bradley writes:
Our (or at least my) prayers have been answered: Freeform's delightful summer dramedy The Bold Type has finally been renewed for not one, but two 10-episode seasons. I've been kneeling at an altar stacked with candles and Louboutin pumps for almost a month straight now praying for this, and evidently it paid off. But there will be one change to the series: show-runner Sarah Watson has been replaced with former Sweet/Vicious show-runner Amanda Lasher. Also on Lasher's résumé? She was a writer and co-executive producer on Gossip Girl. Let's hope that doesn't mean the show will up its backstabbing quota next season; after all, that's not what fans of The Bold Type are there for.
HARVEY UNDER PRESSURE
V.F.'s Katey Rich writes:
On Wednesday afternoon, The Hollywood Reporter published a most unusual scoop: a report on what two other publications were planning to report. The story, by Kim Masters and Chris Gardner, alleged that Harvey Weinstein is "lawyer[ing] up" over planned stories in The New Yorker and The New York Times about his personal behavior. Twenty minutes later, Variety published a piece by Brent Lang,Gene Maddaus, and Ramin Setoodeh that filled in a few of the blanks: those "bombshell stories" are allegedly about accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace behavior by Weinstein, who has retained multiple high-profile attorneys in preparation. The New Yorker and the Times declined to comment, but a source told Variety that one story could come as early as this week, as the Weinstein Company prepares to make its annual push into awards season with The Current War and The Upside. Asked for comment, Weinstein told Variety he'd had a "crazy day" in the edit room for The Current War, and later issued a glib statement: "The story sounds so good I want to buy the movie rights."
That's the news for this sunny Thursday in L.A. What are you seeing out there? Send tips, comments, and Katharine Graham's glasses to Rebecca_Keegan@condenast.com. Follow me on Twitter @thatrebecca.
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