| | | | What will the Academy decide to do? | | Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Laura Dern, Steven Spielberg and Rory Kennedy are among the 54 power players who will decide Harvey Weinstein's fate in Hollywood on Saturday. The academy's oversight body, the Board of Governors, will meet on Saturday morning (we hear 10am PT) and possibly hold a vote to strip Weinstein's membership.
There is a push to expel Weinstein from the academy, three sources told CNN on condition of anonymity. There has also been talk in some circles about taking away Weinstein's Oscar statue, although this is believed to be unlikely. Then again, all of this was unlikely eight days ago. Here's the full story... a co-byline by me and Brian Lowry...
-- More: Board members are feeling the pressure that accompanies such a momentous decision. It is a "watershed moment," one of the sources said. Public faces on the board, in particular, will personally want to be seen as "doing the right thing..."
-- NYT's Brooke Barnes: "The academy stands at a precipice..." | | Is the Weinstein Co. for sale? | | Bob Weinstein says no. But his statement is unbelievable. Here's what happened Friday afternoon: The WSJ reported that "Weinstein Co. is exploring a sale or shutdown and is unlikely to continue as an independent entity." Bob issued a denial: "Our banks, partners and shareholders are fully supportive of our company, and it is untrue that the company or board is exploring a sale or shutdown of the company," he said.
The statement went on to say that "business is continuing as usual as the company moves ahead." But the truth is business there appears to be anything but usual. The studio is paralyzed. Employees are talking about resigning and comparing it to the Titanic. Filmmakers are trying to flee. Barely any work is getting done. Here's my full report... | | A spokesman confirmed Friday night: "We no longer plan on moving forward with the David O. Russell Project" that was in development at Weinstein Co. This was a "huge project for both companies," as the WSJ's Ben Fritz tweeted. Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore were also involved.
"As for 'The Romanoffs,' we intend to move forward without the involvement of" Weinstein, the spokesman said. You'll recall Amazon previously said it was "reviewing our options" about its Weinstein Co. partnerships... So now it's done deciding... | | Friday's other developments | | -- The Weinstein Co. board of directors is scheduled to meet again next Tuesday, two sources confirmed to me. Hat tip to TMZ for the scoop...
-- Where's Harvey? Arizona? Back in California? It's a bit of a mystery...
-- One of the remaining board members, Richard Koenigsberg, resigned on Thursday, according to NBC News...
-- Weinstein Co.'s top spokeswoman, Nicole Quenqua, said Friday that she will no longer be speaking on behalf of the company. So the company is basically without a spokesperson...
-- Bob Weinstein's rah-rah statement about future film releases did not mention "The Current War," a biopic that was supposed to come out November 24... It seems to be in limbo now...
-- Oliver Stone "clarified" his earlier remarks about the Weinstein scandal and distanced himself from the company, saying he will "recuse" himself from the "Guantanamo" project as long as Weinstein Co. remains involved. Showtime also said it's re-evaluating its involvement with the series...
-- Wonder why?! Per Variety, Amazon has cancelled the Saturday night red carpet for Woody Allen's new film "Wonder Wheel" at the New York Film Festival... | | | Weinstein Co. COO David Glasser says the company, as it stands today, "is done." But he's not resigning, at least not yet. This is a remarkable exclusive interview from Mike Fleming Jr., with Glasser responding to a Variety story about his past and discussing the studio's uncertain future... | | -- Lisa Bloom says she was "wrong..." Remarkable THR interview here...
-- Via Lisa Respers France: "Project Runway" host Heidi Klum is praising the "brave women" who spoke out against Weinstein...
-- Here's Lisa's backgrounder on Rose McGowan...
-- Julia Horowitz and Sara Ashley O'Brien's piece: "How do you report sexual harassment when there's no HR?" | | Eight days that shook the L.A. and NYC media scene | | | Is this really a turning point? Or is that just wishful thinking? Brian Lowry has a look at "Hollywood's reckoning" here... | | "Many women have known their own Harvey..." | | | CNN's Alexandra King writes: "Famous or unknown, many women have known their own Harvey Weinstein. Whether the ultimate goal is sex or career advancement or money, the language of his power play is a universal routine, one that every woman will recognize and must try to negotiate. It happens behind closed doors. It happens out in the open. In boardrooms. On dates. Everyday, Weinstein's tactics are employed by men who believe that their power and privilege will always protect them." Read more... | | | The Hollywood Reporter is working on an expanded package about harassment in Hollywood for next week's issue... I hear it will include columns and other contributions from prominent women in the industry, including A&E's Nancy Dubuc... plus a look at the historical sweep of the issue and what can be done... | | Jodi Kantor describes how the NYT broke the story | | The Weinstein story had "this really bizarre quality" of being "half an open secret and half this hidden thing that people were terrified to talk about," Jodi Kantor says. "That's also what made it tantalizing. That's also what made it seem really important to break."
I interviewed Kantor at NYT HQ on Thursday. We'll air the highlights on Sunday's "Reliable Sources..." But you can listen to the entire conversation now through our iTunes podcast... And Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman has the write-up right here... | | There was barely any overlap in the NYT and TNY's exposes | | | Kantor told me she had a "dim awareness" of what Ronan Farrow was working on. She pointed out a fact that might not be obvious at first, but is disturbing when it hits you -- the two investigations had very little overlap. "The number of women who have been in both of our stories, the number of situations that we both reported on is very small," she said. "I'm sorry to say this, in a way, that there appear to be more than enough allegations to go around." | | "Tucker Carlson Delights in NBC's Weinstein Coverage, Neglecting Fox News' Own Sordid Past" | | | That's the headline on this column by Mediaite's Colby Hall. On Thursday night Tucker Carlson said "Noah Oppenheim ought to resign immediately, and if he doesn't, he ought to be fired immediately by NBC's parent company Comcast." He said NBC is "corrupt." One day later, uhh, Oppenheim is still employed... | | How Kim Masters broke the Roy Price news | | | Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman emails: Via CJR, Kim Masters shares the backstory of how difficult it was to have her story about allegations involving Amazon content boss Roy Price picked up for publication. She says attorneys Charles Harder and Lisa Bloom threw their weight against her scoop. Jessica Lessin's The Information eventually ran it, even though Masters usually writes for THR... On Thursday THR published Masters' follow-up story because Price's accuser went on the record with detailed allegations... | | Speaking of Amazon and Roy Price... | | | I repeatedly asked Amazon PR for updates on Friday, and did not hear back about Price... So the "leave of absence" continues... And Price has yet to say anything publicly... | | | When the BBC's Andrew Marr interviewed Hillary Clinton, he asked about Weinstein, and she said "I was really shocked and appalled... And I really commend the women who have been willing to step forward now and tell their stories. But I think that it's important that we not just focus on him and whatever consequences flow from these stories about his behavior but that we recognize this kind of behavior cannot be tolerated anywhere, whether it's in entertainment, politics. After all, we have someone admitting to being a sexual assaulter in the Oval Office. There has to be a recognition that we must stand against this kind of action that is so sexist and misogynistic..." | | FCC chairman silent after Trump threatened TV licenses | | | FCC chair Ajit Pai still hasn't commented on President Trump's Wednesday tweets about TV licenses. Trump raised the specter of challenging stations and possibly even revoking their licenses for reporting stories he dislikes. So where's Pai? Why isn't he defending First Amendment values and the mission of the FCC? His predecessor, former FCC chair Tom Wheeler, wrote Friday that "by their inaction, the Republican FCC commissioners have already violated their oath to uphold the Constitution..." | | This Sunday on "Reliable Sources" | | | Wheeler will join me on Sunday's "Reliable Sources." So will current FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel (an exclusive interview!) and former commissioner Michael Copps. Plus, Janice Min... Bob Schieffer... Jennifer Rubin... and Trevor Timm... It's going to be a great show... Join us Sunday at 11am ET on CNN... | | -- This is Joe Pompeo's latest must-read, about all the tongue-wagging at the WSJ about Gerry Baker's future... (Vanity Fair)
-- This investigation by Hunter Walker and Michael Isikoff has been in the works for a while: "FBI document cache sheds light on inner workings of Russia's U.S. news (and propaganda) network..." (Yahoo)
-- Investors at CtW Investment Group are "pressuring the parent company of Fox News to add more women to its board and conduct a thorough review of the firm's culture..." (CNNMoney)
-- Arianna Huffington talking with Poppy Harlow about tech companies and "fake news" hoaxes: "We need to put the public interest above the bottom line..." (CNN)
-- I missed this yesterday: Robert Feder reports that the Chicago Tribune "announced a round of layoffs..." (Feder) | | | Frank Pallotta writes: Fox and ESPN will not be airing the national anthem live during the upcoming slate of NFL games. Fox said the network won't be showing the anthem live, but that the cameras "are always rolling so if something happens, we will be sure to cover it." ESPN also said it would not air the anthem live Monday night. CBS declined to comment and NBC did not respond. Read more... | | Kludt on "NBC's Megyn Kelly problem" | | Tom Kludt emails: Critics have mostly been cool to Megyn Kelly's start at "Today." Viewers haven't been much kinder, as ratings for her one hour block dipped from the first week to the second week. But Kelly may have hit her stride on the Weinstein storyline; the show featuring her interview with Weinstein accuser Lauren Sivan netted 927,000 in the demo, a high for the show.
My latest video with Jon Sarlin examines Kelly's early struggles at "Today." In short, I think she'll have more success taking on stories like the Weinstein scandal than in softball interviews with the cast of "Will & Grace." But I believe the most powerful tool in Kelly's toolbox is the no-nonsense, prosecutorial interview style she honed for 12 years at Fox News. Kelly might want to leave that approach behind; she did say that her show on "Today" is the role she was born to do. But it's a gamble, one that could result in viewers leaving her behind. Watch... | | By Julia Waldow:
-- Vox Media's "explainer" videos are being transformed into advertising tools... (WSJ)
-- Fandango is acquiring its box-office rival, MovieTickets.com, for an undisclosed amount... A number of new cinemas, including Landmark Theatres and Cineplex, will be added to Fandango as a result... (TechCrunch)
-- ESPN has finalized a deal with Barstool Sports to create a new interview/comedy show, "Barstool Van Talk," hosted by the minds behind the podcast "Pardon My Take..." You might recall that ESPN previously sent Barstool a cease-and-desist letter stating that "Pardon My Take" was too similar in name and logo to those of two ESPN shows... (Variety)
-- NYT COO Meredith Kopit Levien is this week's Digiday podcast guest... She sounds off on subscription models, the company's relationships with Facebook and Google, and the ability to guide people toward quality news... (Digiday) | | NYT to staff: Careful with your Trump tweets! | | | The NYT released revised and expanded social media guidelines on Friday. CNNMoney's Jackie Wattles has a recap here... | | | -- NiemanLab has a review of media Twitter's reactions to the Twitter guidelines... | | OANN apologizes to its viewers and the NYT for airing O'Keefe's latest video | | Hadas Gold emails: It's not often you see a conservative-leaning outlet apologize to the New York Times, but on Friday we saw it.
Here's what happened: On Wednesday, One America News Network aired a lengthy segment called "American Pravda" -- it was billed as an exclusive report -- "TRUTH with James O'Keefe." In it, the undercover provocateur recorded conversations with, among others, a New York Times audience strategy editor who says that he has a hand in Trump coverage, that he is not objective, and that he wants to take Trump down. (Strangely, he also said that he is James Comey's godson -- which he is not.)
The NYT responded to the video saying that the recently-hired editor in a "junior position" violated "our ethical standards and misrepresented his role."
OANN wasn't the only one to feature O'Keefe's work. The video was promoted on The Drudge Report and he appeared on Breitbart's radio program. But Robert Herring, OANN's CEO, apologized on Twitter on Friday just a few days after promoting the video as the "Holy Grail" of media. "We would like to apologize for the quality of the recent American Pravda program as well as the way it was presented," he said. Herring later added "To the @nytimes: We apologize for airing the American Pravda 'reveal' without giving you time to refute."
-- More: When I followed up with him via email, he added, "It was not of the quality to Advertise as the 'Holy Grail.' We try very hard to give our viewers Creditable (sic) News. I think we failed..." | | | Dean Baquet said at an NYT event on Thursday that O'Keefe is "despicable." He acknowledged that the young NYT staffer "said things that, you know, were damaging." But "the greater sin wasn't his, it was theirs. They sent a young woman in as part of an undercover operation who essentially made him think that he was developing a friendship. He said really stupid stuff..." But, Baquet said, "his sin was a sin of foolishness, and it violated our policies. Their sin was greater..." (Via Jeremy Barr) | | | For the record, part three | | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- The WashPost has hired WSJ's Geoffrey Fowler to be its new tech columnist... (WashPost)
-- NYT quizzes you on what Facebook considers to be hate speech... (NYT)
-- First Draft reflects on how the German election was not the misinformation bonanza that many anticipated... (First Draft)
-- Millennials are yesterday's news -- now it's Gen Z's turn to become a media trope... (BuzzFeed)
-- Digiday says magazine publishers are increasingly moving towards centralized ad sales models that are typical of digital companies... (Digiday) | | What #WomenBoycottTwitter was all about | | Julia Waldow emails: A number of artists and activists boycotted Twitter on Friday to stand in solidarity with Rose McGowan -- after the platform temporarily suspended her account earlier this week. The campaign was marked with the hashtag #WomenBoycottTwitter, and notable participants included media outlets IndieWire and Refinery29, and celebrities Chrissy Teigen, Alyssa Milano, John Cusack, and Mark Ruffalo. Read the NYT's full write-up of the protest here...
-- More: Vox details why the protest received backlash for its methods... A number of prominent individuals, including Ava DuVernay, said that women of color haven't received similar support in similar situations, and many questioned whether staying silent on the platform may actually have been going against the point... | | Five years since "The Girl" | | | Brian Lowry emails: Almost exactly five years ago, HBO premiered "The Girl," a movie about director Alfred Hitchcock's sexual harassment and assault of actress Tippi Hedren, who starred in "The Birds" and "Marnie." The film takes on a different light this week in view of the Weinstein allegations, in terms of how long this has gone on -- and the way those around the famous director were complicit in his behavior. In her memoir, Hedren said Hitchcock threatened to "ruin your career..." | | Lowry reviews "White Famous" | | | Brian Lowry emails: Now seems like a good time for an acerbic Hollywood comedy, but Showtime's "White Famous" isn't it. Jamie Foxx is a producer and appears in the series, which is ostensibly drawn from his experiences coming up in the business, but at best feels like it's recycling material from "Entourage..." | | Lowry didn't like this Jackie Chan flick | | | More from Lowry: Seeing Jackie Chan back on screen is always nice, but "The Foreigner" is an especially simple-minded revenge tale, featuring the most generic of terrorists... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... I appreciate every message. The feedback helps us craft the next day's newsletter! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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