Page 1 of 10Daily

DEVELOP. PACKAGE. PITCH. FINANCE. LICENSE. DISTRIBUTE. American Film Market & Conferences • Nov. 4-11 • Santa Monica

Para

mo

un

t/Ev

ErEt

t

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

the new series for TV and multiple plat-forms around the world.

The drama is set up at CBS Television Studios and Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout banner. Kurtzman and development head

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 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.

By Lesley Goldberg

Just in time to mark its 50th

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 network’s digital subscription VOD and live streaming service. The project marks the first original series developed specifi-cally 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

New Star Trek Series Coming to CBS All Access in 2017

s EE Pa g E 2

Page 2 of 10NOVEMBER 3, 2015

tv NEWS

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 Kurtzman’s relationship with the beloved franchise. He produced and co-wrote the first two pics in Star Trek’s feature-film revival series, 2009’s Star Trek and 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness.

CBS TV Studios distributed the orig- inal series, which was produced by Para- mount Television and Desilu Productions. Created by Gene Roddenberry and star- ring 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 Para-mount 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 stream- ing outlets. Kurtzman and frequent part- ner Roberto Orci (who is not attached to CBSTVS’ Star Trek) are behind CBS’ follow-up to Bradley Cooper’s Limitless and also exec produce the network’s vet- eran Hawaii Five-0 reboot. The Kurtzman/ Orci banner currently has four shows on the air: Five-0, Limitless, CBS sophomore drama Scorpion and Fox’s 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. “We’ve ex- perienced 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 passion-ate fan base, as our first original series.”

World SEriES’ gamE 5 pullS 17.2 mil viEWErSBy Michael O’ConnellWith all the year-to-year

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 baseball’s annual marquee event wrapped up on Sunday night with the Kansas City Royals prevailing as champions.

On many occasions besting compara-ble World Series games over the last six years, final stats for the Sunday finale gave its primetime showing 17.2 million viewers. That’s 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 didn’t approach the series-ending 23.5 million viewers that watched last year’s Game 7.

Sunday marked the first night in the World Series where the game had to face the NFL. NBC’s Sunday Night Football was the biggest show of the night, aver- aging 23 million viewers, but one place where baseball definitely had the advan-tage was Kansas City. The contest did astoundingly well in the winner’s home-town, with an estimated 90 percent of TV-owning households tuning into the game’s 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 Sunday’s wrap-up, this year’s World Series had been averaging 14 mil- lion viewers per game. That’s up 18 per-cent 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.

ABC’s Once Upon a Time, the night’s biggest scripted show with a 1.5 rating in the key demo, and ABC’s Blood and Oil and CBS’ CSI: Cyber (each with a 0.8 adults) held steady against sports.

Syfy ordErS fEmalE-lEd van helsing rEimagiNiNgBy Kate Stanhopesyfy is pulling from the book

of Dracula for its latest project.The NBCUniversal-

owned cable network has picked up Van Helsing to series with writer Neil LaBute set as showrunner, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Originally introduced as Professor Abraham van Helsing in 1897 gothic- horror 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 Hel-sing, 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 humanity’s 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.

LaBute

F r o m Pa g E 1

s EE Pa g E 3

Page 3 of 10NOVEMBER 3, 2015

tv NEWS

“I am extremely excited to be work-ing with Syfy and Nomadic Pictures to create a unique, character-driven action series that will move the traditional vam-pire 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 unforget-table 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 myth- ology 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 Childhood’s End and The Expanse. The cable net- work recently canceled Defiance, Domin-ion and Haven.

“Van Helsing reimagines a classic story in a compelling new way, featuring a bold and complex heroine,” said Chris Regina, Syfy’s senior vp program strat- egy. “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 Beckin- sale, grossed more than $300 million worldwide. David Warner (Titanic) por-trayed 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 Gend- ler & Kelly.

ShaWkat dark ComEdylaNdS tBS SEriES ordErBy Lesley Goldbergtbs’ reinvention continues.

The Turner-owned cable network on Monday picked up to series Search Party, a dark comedy starring Arrested Develop-ment alum Alia Shawkat, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Set to debut in 2016, Search Party revolves around a group of four self- absorbed twentysomethings who come together when a former college acquain-tance 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 Hernandez’s Jax Media, which shot a pilot presentation before shopping the series. With the TBS pickup, Jax’s roster of programming now includes Chris Rock’s critically acclaimed film Top Five and TV series including Comedy Central’s Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer, TV Land’s Younger and Bravo’s 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 great-est 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 multi- hyphenate designer-stylist-curator life-style, and Portia (Hagner), an actress

always struggling to balance the chal-lenging 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, peril-ous 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 includ-ing 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 line- up of rookies, with Search Party joining Rashida Jones-Steve Carell cop comedy Angie Tribeca, desert-island entry Wrecked, Jason Jones-starrer The Detour and alien- abduction comedy The Group.

Turner International’s general enter- tainment networks will partner to present Search Party outside of North America. Bliss and Rogers are repped by ICM Part- ners, Mosaic and Jackoway Tyerman.

Search Party comes as TBS attempts to reinvent itself under new topper Kevin Reilly with a push for edgier fare.

F r o m Pa g E 2

Page 4 of 10NOVEMBER 3, 2015

moviE NEWS

By Kim Mastersadam goodman, Who departed 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 com-pany has a first-look deal at Paramount, has raised funds from an undisclosed source but continues to pursue additional financing.

As studios increasingly focus on comic- book movies and pre-branded franchises, Goodman hopes to make films in other genres using digital technology to stream- line the filmmaking process from develop- ment through post-production.

“When you look at how we produce most movies today, it’s largely based on an inefficient hundred-year-old process using production techniques and film technology that has calcified, and failed to utilize innovations avail-able to the industry,” Goodman told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’ve never hit the pause button and said, ‘If we were starting this business today, how would we make movies?’ ”

Under Goodman’s 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 proj-ect 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 fur- ther 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 possi- ble, knowing we can consistently review, rewrite and enhance the creative process.”

In an email sent to industry associates in September, Goodman said his com-pany would make “the biggest movies in the world and the smallest ... nothing in between.” It is yet to be determined which, if any, of Paramount’s franchise films might be produced by Dichotomy.

In terms of budget, Goodman’s 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 mil- lion 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 doesn’t have the benefit of a theatrical launch. But Goodman believes other plat- forms 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 exec-utive shakeup in February. Ironically, studio sources at the time blamed pro-ductions that were going over budget on Goodman’s watch.

moorE protEStS r ratiNg for doC Where to invade By Pamela McClintockmichael moore has blasted the

MPAA and the Classification and Rating Administration for slapping his new doc- umentary, Where to Invade Next, with an

R rating for “language, some violent images, drug use and brief graphic nudity.”

“It’s 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 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 Radius-TWC chiefs Tom Quinn and Jason Janego and Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League. There’s 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 Associ- ation 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 report-edly earned the rating because of a scene in which a rabbit is killed for dinner.

“With this rating, the MPAA is effec-tively telling high schoolers they just aren’t mature enough to handle or dis-cuss important issues directly affecting their pursuit of the American dream,” added Janego and Quinn. “The notion that a teenager can’t walk into a theater and see Where to Invade Next is ridicu-lous and frankly un-American.”

Goodman

Ex-Paramount Topper Bows New Film Label

Moore

Page 5 of 10NOVEMBER 3, 2015

moviE NEWS

six Billion dollar ManSEt to BoW dEC. 22, 2017By Pamela McClintockThe Six Billion Dollar Man, star-ring Mark Wahlberg, has been slated to hit theaters Dec. 22, 2017, TWC-Dimension announced Monday.

Additionally, Damian Szifron, who wrote the script for the film adaptation of the classic 1970s TV series, is replac-ing 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 acci- dent leaves him near death. With the help of cutting-edge technology, he is brought back to life with extraordinary abilities, making him the world’s first bionic man.

“I’m thrilled to assemble The Six Bil-lion 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 reimagin-ing of this cultural icon.”

Added Szifron: “Writing the screen-play 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 par’S Young WoMan By Rebecca Fordpar amount and producer Jerry

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 pre-viously made the journey. She was also an Olympic champion and set several world records throughout her swimming career.

Pirates of the Caribbean: 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 Disney’s live- action 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 Kaiser’s Last Kiss with Jai Courtney, Edgar Wright’s 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 rolEBy Borys Kitmichael stuhlbarg, Who is

currently on screen as Apple engineer Andy Hertzfeld in the awards contender Steve Jobs, is in negotiations to join the cast of Marvel’s 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, dis-covers magic.

Stulhbarg’s role is being kept hidden in the astral plane.

Doctor Strange will mark Stuhlbarg’s

first foray into comic-book movies. The actor is known for such dramas as the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man and HBO’s 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 Cranston’s Hollywood Blacklist pic Trumbo, is repped by ICM Partners.

afm: mCavoy to topliNEWENdErS’ suBMergenceBy Rebecca FordJames mcavoy is set to star in

Wim Wenders’ next film, the romantic thriller Submergence.

Based on J.M. Ledgard’s 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 they’re 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.

Ledgard’s 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 re- prising his role as Charles Xavier in X-Men: Days of Future Past and starring in The

s EE Pa g E 6

James

Page 6 of 10NOVEMBER 3, 2015

moviE NEWS

Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby with Jessica Chastain, will next be seen in Fox’s Victor Frankenstein, which opens Nov. 25.

The actor recently wrapped X-Men: Apocalypse, and he is currently filming M. Night Shyamalan’s Split. He will next begin production on Coldest City with Charlize Theron. McAvoy is repped by UTA, United Agents and Sloane, Offer.

Mr. roBot’S malEk NaBS firSt lEadiNg film rolEBy Tatiana Siegelin his first leading role in a

movie, Rami Malek, star of USA Network’s hit drama series Mr. Robot, will head up the cast of Sarah Adina Smith’s indie Buster’s Mal Heart.

The film, which is being financed by Gamechanger 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 dis-cover 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.

Smith’s 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 horror- anthology 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 (Jodorowsky’s Dune). Mynette Louie, Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger are exec-utive producing.

Gamechanger — the company behind this year’s Independent Spirit Cassavetes Award-winning comedy Land Ho! — exclu- sively finances narrative features directed by women. Other Gamechanger movies include Karyn Kusama’s upcoming thriller The Invitation and So Yong Kim’s upcom-ing drama Lovesong.

Malek became one of the 2015’s 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 WordBy Mia Galuppobleeck er street has acquired 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 obit-uary 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 Stuart’s funny and touch- ing 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. “I’m excited to see Mark Pellington bring this story of reflection, personal legacy and self-truth to life.”

Last Word will be directed by Pelling-ton, with Anne-Marie MacKay, Kirk D’Amico and Pellington acting as pro- ducers. 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 roadBy Etan VlessingTORONTO — 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 Inter-national 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 Paul’s 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 real-istically 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 nego-tiated by Peter Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Films, Tristen Tuckfield of CAA and by Fichman and Jordan Nahmias for the filmmakers.

Malek

F r o m Pa g E 5

Page 7 of 10NOVEMBER 3, 2015

BuSiNESS NEWS

By Austin Siegemund-Brokabill cosby Will give a neW

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 uncon-sciousness and raped her. Cosby’s former attorney Martin Singer responded in a statement to the media calling Dickinson’s story “an outrageous defamatory lie” 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 she’s 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 Dickinson’s allegations were true before denying them to the press. The testimony will follow Cosby’s recent deposi-tion in Judy Huth’s 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 Cosby’s campaign of denial is the favored legal approach of the comedian’s 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 Dickinson’s complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP law, which protects First Amendment-protected activity like free speech from improper litigation.

In September, Dickinson’s 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, Dickin- son’s lawyers argue the defamation stand- ard for a “public figure” requires that she demonstrate “actual malice” from Cosby. To counter the anti-SLAPP motion, Dick- inson must demonstrate the likelihood of winning on her claims. Thus she has to prove Cosby and Singer’s statements were “knowingly false or made with reckless disregard as to their falsity.”

The anti-SLAPP statute permits dis-covery 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.

Cosby’s lawyers opposed the motion by arguing that this didn’t meet the “good cause” standard. They also argued that statements about Dickinson couldn’t rise to “provably false factual assertions.”

At Monday’s 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 rea-sonable 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 Dickinson’s 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 infor-mation to fight the anti-SLAPP motion.

“The court recognizes that the attorney- client privilege may apply to some infor- mation 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 ENtErtaiNmENtmiSSES Q3 EpS EStimatEBy Paul Bondamc entertainment on monday

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 mil-lion 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 Enter- tainment 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 Enter-tainment during the quarter.

Food and beverage revenue rose to a record $216.8 million from $189.1 mil-lion a year earlier as the amount each patron spent at the snack bar increased 6.8 percent to $4.58.

Cosby to Give New Deposition in Dickinson’s Defamation Suit

Cosby

Dickinson

Page 8 of 10

GET AWARDS SEASON IN YOUR INBOXTHR NEWSLETTERS

Awards Brief • Box Office • Breaking News & Award Alerts • HeadlinesFeinberg Forecast • Awards Screening Guide Reminders • Behind the Screen SIGN UP AT

THR.COM/NEWSLETTERS

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

aWardS NEWS

Staff reportrobert redford Will present

Barbra Streisand with the 2015 Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at The Holly- wood Reporter’s 2015 Women in Enter-tainment breakfast, set to take place Dec. 9 at Milk Studios in Los Angeles.

The star-studded event coincides with the pub-lication of THR’s annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 list. It was previously announced that Melinda Gates will deliver the keynote address at the breakfast.

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 wit- nessed a moment that was larger than life,” Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer of Guggenheim Media’s Entertainment Group, said in a state- ment. “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 embodi- ment 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 President’s 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 Disney’s Pete’s 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 AFI’s Lifetime Achievement Award — joins an esteemed list of former recipients, including last year’s 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 women’s equality and human rights and has made charitable contributions to help fight women’s heart disease.

This year’s event, its 24th outing, also highlights THR’s Women in Entertain- ment Mentorship Program, where industry women, from Universal’s Donna Langley to Fox’s 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 Mary-mount 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 Mary-mount University.

Streisand

Redford

Redford to Present Streisand With Lansing Honor at THR Event

Page 9 of 10NOVEMBER 3, 2015

tokyo rEviEW

nise — the heart of MadnessBy Jonathan Hollandimagine the polar opposite of Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s 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 Sil- veira 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 psy-chiatric 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-over- adversity yarn with a sensitive explora-tion of the redemptive power of artistic creation, the film’s 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 Silveira’s life, the time in the early 1940s when, fresh out of prison for her Marxist beliefs, she spent time in a Rio psychiatric insti-tution 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 strug- gles 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 un- common in the U.S., too, in the’40s and ’50s), Nise is downgraded to the occupa-tional therapy section. (As she’s also a

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 “nutcase’”and “animal” and replac-ing 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 sun- light 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 exag- gerate for the sake of the drama even when there are multiple opportunities to do so. Nise is perhaps a little too saint- like in her unruffled dignity as she deals with the provocations of her male adver-sary, 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 super- humanly so, in a controlled and austere performance by Pires which seems de- signed 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 schizo-phrenic 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 Nise’s work from the art establishment, in the figure of Pedrosa (Charles Fricks). Its recognition, which the character doesn’t need — she’s 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, it’s artistic and politi-cal too,” Pedrosa reminds us, but anyone who has just watched this potent but del-icate 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.

Gloria Pires encourages artistic expression in Nise — The Heart of Madness.

top 40 Box offiCE

MONTH 00, 2015 Page 10 of 10

Total: $74,273,843

This week

last week Movie Distributor Weekend

grossPercent change

# of theaters

Per-theater average

Days in release

Cumulative gross

1 1 The Martian fox $11,715,097 -30.9 3,218 $3,640 31 $183,121,850

2 2 goosebumps Sony 9,867,077 -39.4 3,618 2,727 17 56,761,492

3 3 Bridge of Spies Disney 8,389,284 -32.1 2,873 2,920 17 45,531,900

4 5 Hotel Transylvania 2 Sony 5,860,784 -37.4 2,962 1,979 38 156,035,264

5 4 The Last Witch Hunter Lionsgate 5,162,398 -55.5 3,082 1,675 10 19,025,259

6 NeW Burnt Weinstein 5,002,521 — 3,003 1,666 3 5,002,521

7 6 Paranormal: ghost Dimension Paramount 3,435,120 -60.1 1,530 2,245 10 13,554,743

8 NeW our Brand Is Crisis Warner Bros. 3,238,433 — 2,202 1,471 3 3,238,433

9 8 Crimson Peak Universal 3,072,100 -50.2 2,112 1,455 17 27,708,080

10 7 Steve Jobs Universal 2,691,360 -64.8 2,493 1,080 24 14,652,043

11 9 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 3 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 2 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 3 194,736

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