The_Hollywood_Reporter__February_07_2018

The Report
7 Days of DEALS
Who’s inking on the dotted line this week
HOW PARAMOUNT AND NETFLIX PULLED
OFF THAT CLOVERFIELD SUPER BOWL JUKE
Deal
of the
Week
Stuber
Paradox is
the third film
in Abrams’
sci-fi horror
anthology
franchise
Cloverfield.
HGTV Lays New Foundation With Property Brothers
Big
Deal
Super Bowl viewers were shocked when Netflix
dropped an ad for The Cloverfield Paradox, revealing
that the J.J. Abrams-produced movie heretofore
known as God Particle would forgo a theatrical
release and instead debut on the streaming service
immediately following the big game Feb. 4.
The marketing stunt capped a rescue plan
hatched by Abrams, Paramount chairman-CEO Jim
Gianopulos, Netflix chief Ted Sarandos and head
of original films Scott Stuber, among others. Worried
that Paradox would perish at the box office — it
was set to hit theaters April 20 after several delays
— Paramount and Abrams handed it to Netflix,
which is willing to shell out big bucks for high-profile
content. Sources say the deal, broached over the
holidays and finalized in January, is worth north of
Amid the looming departure
of Fixer Upper stars
Chip and Joanna Gaines,
HGTV is not risking losing
any more top-tier talent.
Cable’s fifth-most-watched network has
inked a multiyear extension with Property
Brothers’ Drew and Jonathan Scott (CAA,
Canada’s Stohn Hay), who first came
to the Scripps Interactive-owned network in
2011. The twins, 39, are responsible for an
atypical share of HGTV output: the original
Property Brothers, the spinoffs Buying
& Selling and At Home and the competition
series Brother vs. Brother — which,
with a reach of 13 million cross-platform
viewers per episode, is Scott Brothers
Entertainment’s top series. “They can
produce and star in an incredible amount
of content in a very short period of time,”
says Scripps U.S. programming GM Allison
Page. “It’s a scale we haven’t achieved
with anyone else.”
The exclusive pact comes as the
Canadian imports become an increasingly
mainstream presence. Drew placed fourth
on the most recent season of ABC’s Dancing
With the Stars, and both frequently appear
on NBC’s Today to promote their series and
licensed products.
HGTV is aggressively fortifying its slate
amid Scripps’ pending $11.9 billion sale to
Rights Available! Hot new books with Hollywood appeal BY ANDY LEWIS AND TATIANA SIEGEL
Everything Happens for a Reason:
And Other Lies I’ve Loved (RANDOM HOUSE, FEB. 6)
BY Kate Bowler AGENCY Gotham Group
The Duke Divinity School professor chronicles her stage 4
colon cancer diagnosis at age 35 and how it upended her beliefs.
Her Jan. 26 New York Times op-ed furthered the conversation.
$50 million, with Paramount retaining rights for
China and home entertainment. It makes the movie
instantly profitable for the studio, which avoids a
(likely) misfire and costly marketing campaign.
And Netflix got what it was looking for, regardless
of withering reviews (18 percent on Rotten Tomatoes
at press time): buzz. “It gets them attention and
captures some viewing right off the bat,” says
eMarketer’s Paul Vern. And even if the streamer
doesn’t ultimately get the viewership it hoped for
Paradox, “they still got a brand jolt,” he adds.
Paradox, which finished principal photography in
September 2016, was part of the successful and popular
Cloverfield series, but sources say Gianopulos,
who joined the studio six months later, was worried.
Despite additions to clarify character beats and
tie the film to the franchise’s universe, it was ultimately
deemed unsalvageable despite a cast led by
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Elizabeth Debicki, David Oyelowo
and Daniel Bruhl. Netflix was an obvious destination,
having already taken over international rights
to the Natalie Portman starrer Annihilation, which
Paramount will release domestically Feb. 23.
Paramount retains rights to future Cloverfield
films. Overlord, a World War II zombie pic from
Abrams that has scored high in test screenings, could
be a contender, although sources say that its fate is
undetermined. — BORYS KIT AND PAMELA MCCLINTOCK
Discovery Communications. New siblingcentric
series Restored by the Fords is
retaining 60 percent of its Fixer Upper leadin,
and the network has another 50-odd
pilots (some with the Scotts) in development.
— MICHAEL O’CONNELL
Jonathan
(left) and
Drew Scott
have been
spending
more time
in L.A. and
onscreen.
Lone Stars (PHILOMEL BOOKS, SEPT. 12, 2017)
Lane
FILM
Suki Waterhouse (CAA,
the U.K.’s Independent,
Untitled, Jackoway
Tyerman) has joined
Legendary’s Detective
Pikachu movie along
with Bill Nighy and You’re
the Worst’s Chris Geere.
Jim Parsons (CAA,
Gang Tyre) has joined Zac
Efron in the Ted Bundy
biopic Extremely Wicked,
Shockingly Evil and Vile.
Riverdale star Cole
Sprouse (WME, Authentic,
Greenberg Traurig) is
in talks to topline the CBS
Films romantic drama Five
Feet Apart.
Big Boi (UTA, Career
Artists) has joined Sony’s
Superfly remake.
Michelle MacLaren (ICM,
Stone Genow) will direct
Chris Pratt in Universal’s
Cowboy Ninja Viking.
BY Mike Lupica AGENCY ICM Partners
Shopped as Friday Night Lights meets Concussion, this YA
novel from the best-selling sports columnist follows a middle
schooler who suspects his beloved football coach, a former pro
player, is suffering from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).
CLOVERFIELD: SCOTT GARFIELD/NETFLIX. STUBER: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES. PROPERTY: GILLES MINGASSON/VERBATIM PHOTO AGENCY/HGTV. BOOK: COURTESY OF PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE. SPROUSE: MONICA SCHIPPER/WIREIMAGE. MACLAREN: FRAZER
HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES FOR ELLE. GRAY: PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY IMAGES. SUTTER: TASIA WELLS/FILMMAGIC. IGER: COURTESY OF STRIBLING. DAVIS: COURTESY OF SUBJECT. WATERHOUSE: JIM SPELLMAN/WIREIMAGE. SMOLLETT: ARAYA DIAZ/GETTY IMAGES.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
20
FEBRUARY 7, 2018