  |  | | | | | | What's news: Megyn Kelly's Today show hour has been officially canceled, effective immediately. Plus: Analysts are skeptical of WarnerMedia's streaming plans, Halloween is set to rule the box office again and a two-decade vet of the Disney Channel is departing. — Will Robinson |  | | ^Bomb threat suspect charged: The Department of Justice and the FBI revealed on Friday the suspect in the rash of mail bombs to CNN and prominent Democrats has been charged and there may be other explosive devices not yet intercepted by authorities, Ryan Parker reports: | | + The charges: 56-year-old Cesar Altieri Sayoc of New York was taken into custody in Plantation, Florida and was charged with five federal crimes, including interstate transportation of explosives and threats to former presidents. He faces up to 58 years in prison. Thirteen devices have been recovered around the country so far, officials said. | | + Pro-Trump ties: A white van covered in pro-Trump stickers, and some with crosshairs over Trump's critics — including Hillary Clinton and filmmaker Michael Moore — was seized by authorities. Other stickers targeted CNN. Court records show Sayoc ran social media accounts that denigrated Democrats and praised Trump. Full story. | | + Michael Moore's response: "The threat of right-wing violence against figures on the American left is not new. It is not an aberration," the filmmaker said in a statement. "We must vote out of office all enablers of [President Trump] and the violent culture he instigates and nurtures." Full statement. | | + Fox News guests helped spread "false flag" bomb scare theory: Starting Wednesday afternoon, the guests and hosts who have advanced the false flag theory have a prominent supporter in President Trump, who suggested in a tweet on Friday that the threats were a campaign ploy, Jeremy Barr reports. | | | | | | 'Megyn Kelly Today' Canceled |  | | | | Hammer drops: NBC News has confirmed what had become increasingly obvious: Megyn Kelly's 9 a.m. Today hour is no more, Marisa Guthrie reports: | | + The negotiations: “Megyn remains an employee of NBC News and discussions about next steps are continuing," said Kelly's lawyer Bryan Freedman. At issue is the payout of the remainder of her reported $69 million contract. Kelly's side also is attempting to keep her non-compete clause as short as possible. Six months is standard in the television news industry. | | + Who fills in?: NBC News did not reveal who will host the hour next week, except that it will be anchors already in the Today family. Al Roker previously hosted the hour with Tamron Hall, who left the network after she was informed that NBC News management was giving the hour to Kelly. Full story. | | + Unsolicited advice for Megyn Kelly: Jack Shafer contends Kelly should return to her trademark qualities that were unserved at Today: "Her iciness, which often worked to her advantage in night-time performances in front of a conservative audience, chilled morning audiences as viewers saw through her attempts to warm or soften her image." [Politico] | | Elsewhere in TV... | | ► Adam Bonnett exits as Disney Channel's head of original programming. The executive vp of original programming, who has been with the cable network for more than two decades, is leaving his post next month and plans to segue into producing. | | ► Disney could sell Fox regional sports networks back to Murdoch. The scenario for the 22 channels has always made sense, since Fox — the company that will consist of the assets not being sold to Disney for $71 billion — is supposed to be a company focused on sports and news. CNBC first reported the news. | | ► ABC orders more of The Conners, A Million Little Things. The Roseanne spinoff will now consist of 11 episodes, while the new drama has scored four more. | | ► Girls Trip director Malcolm D. Lee lands put pilot at NBC. Lee is writing and executive producing At That Age, a family drama set in Harlem, the first TV project from Lee's Blackmaled Productions. The Universal TV project features former Nickelodeon and Disney exec Nikki Reed is also an executive producer. | | ► American Vandal canceled at Netflix, will be shopped elsewhere. Sources say producers CBS TV Studios have received multiple calls to revive the series for a third season elsewhere, as producers had already been plotting what season three of the anthology would be. | | ► Amy Poehler animated comedy Duncanville nabs Fox series order. From The Simpsons married duo Mike and Julie Scully, the network has picked up 13 episodes of the comedy featuring the voices of Poehler, Rashida Jones and Wiz Khalifa. | | ► The Americans producer Joel Fields joins FX's Fosse-Verdon series. The Emmy-winning writer and executive producer has boarded the eight-part limited series, premiering in 2019. | | ► Investigation Discovery gives firsthand look at policework in new series Body Cam. Through the use of real body camera footage, Body Cam provides insight into the various dangerous situations that policemen must wade their way through, and how quickly a seemingly innocuous situation can escalate into a crisis. | | Digital digest... | | ► FilmStruck streaming service shut down by WarnerMedia. The subscription streaming service operated by Time Warner’s Turner unit offered art house, indie and foreign films by partnering with Warner Bros. Digital Networks to also present classic Hollywood titles from the Warner Bros. film library. The indie film streamer will end operations in the U.S. and internationally on Nov. 29. | | * Bad omen for fans? The cancelation "it is telling, and it undermines what has been a key assumption about streaming since its inception — and even foretells waves of bigger, more corporate-minded changes to come," Steven Zeitchik writes. [Washington Post] | | ► Epic Games, Fortnite creator, valued at $15 billion. The valuation comes after the company announced investors purchasing $1.25 billion in stock, Sarah E. Needleman and Katie Roof report. [The Wall Street Journal] | | Quoted: "We need to be clear: Shamelessness is not, and will never be a superpower. It is the mark of a villain, kidnapping children is not what great nations do." — Jim Carrey, speaking about Trump during Britannia Awards. |  | | ^Will WarnerMedia deliver on its video strategy? As the company kills niche services like FilmStruck, observers are skeptical about the attempt to roll out a larger digital platform to rival Netflix, Etan Vlessing reports: | | + Dubious analysts: Observers question whether AT&T can succeed with its video strategy to combine WarnerMedia content with it scale and distribution in fat bundles to catch Netflix after its head start in streaming. Shares of AT&T on Friday fell just over 2 percent on the NASDAQ Exchange, which extended losses in its stock price from Wednesday and the release of its latest financial results. | | + Infrastructure could fuel success: John Donovan, CEO of AT&T Communications, told analysts that the telecom giant can use its fiber footprint and broadband offerings as a launch pad to deliver a high-end OTT service. "If you look at linear TV, it will be about broadband and how we use broadband to deliver results for premium TV, and then get an OTT package that's well suited to the heavily engaged user," Donovan argued. Full story. | | Casting call... | | ► The Twilight Zone enlists Adam Scott. The actor will appear in the episode called "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet." Additional details about the episode and his role in it are being kept under wraps. The title of the episode, at least, appears to be a riff on one of the original show's more famous episodes, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." | | ► Hulu's Four Weddings and a Funeral sets its cast. 2 Dope Queens actress Jessica Williams will lead the Mindy Kaling romantic comedy anthology alongside Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse and John Reynolds. | | ► Netflix's Lost Girls adds Thomasin McKenzie, Lola Kirke and Dean Winters. The true-crime movie from Liz Garbus has also cast Gabriel Byrne, Oona Laurence, Reed Birney, Miriam Shor, Kevin Corrigan and Rosal Colon. | | ► Apple morning-show drama adds Nestor Carbonell, Mark Duplass. The two actors are the latest to join a star-laden cast toplined by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. | | ► Charmed adds Constantine Rousouli in villainous role. The actor will recur on The CW's reboot, first appearing on episode five as an "extremely powerful enforcer." | | Ratings notes... | | ► Manifest viewers are actually watching commercials. The show's first two episodes averaged a 2.0 same-day rating in adults 18-49. It rose to 2.6 in C3 and 2.8 in C7, the biggest gains for any show from Sept. 24-Oct. 7. (The show's commercial ratings, however, are well below the 3.6 average in live-plus-three and 3.9 in live-plus-seven for the first two episodes.) Ratings analysis. | | Legal briefs... | | ► Taye Diggs sued by ex-manager over alleged non-payment. Authentic Talent and Literary Management was terminated by the actor in July and claims he owes commissions on several film and TV projects, including this fall's All-American, and endorsement deals. |  California will hold off enforcing state's net neutrality law. Under a deal between federal and state authorities, a Justice Dept. lawsuit over SB-822 will be paused until there's appellate resolution to the FCC's repeal of federal net neutrality rules. | | | | | | | | 'Halloween' Hold |  | | | | Scaring competition: Universal and Blumouse's Halloween will easily stay No. 1 in its second weekend with a projected $32 million-$35 million, Pamela McClintock reports: | | + Holdovers' reign: A Star Is Born and Venom will also stay high on the chart in their fourth weekends with a projected $12 million-$13 million and $9 million-$10 million, respectively. If so, all three films will beat newcomer Hunter Killer, a submarine action pic from Lionsgate and Millennium tracking for $7 million that stars Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman and Common. | | + Faith-based flop: Opening in far fewer theaters is the drama Indivisible, which looks to open in the $1.5 million-$2 million range from 830 locations, behind expectations. The pic is based on the true story of an Army chaplain and his wife who fight to save their marriage with the help of God. Box office analysis. | | Elsewhere in film... | | ► Aaron Sorkin to direct The Trial of the Chicago 7. Sacha Baron Cohen is in talks to star as Yippie Abbie Hoffman in the Amblin feature. | | ► Chris Rock to direct Kevin Hart in Universal comedy Coparenting. The Top Five writer and director will helm the Will Packer-produced comedy, on a script from Yamara Taylor. | | ► Seth Rogen, Michael Keaton board John McAfee comedy King of the Jungle. The film is based on the WIRED magazine article about the tech entrepreneur's self-imposed exile in the jungles of Belize. | | ► Avengers 4 casts 13 Reasons Why star Katherine Langford. Langford earned a Golden Globe nomination for her breakout role as Hannah Baker in Netflix's controversial drama, in which she played a high school student who left behind a series of tapes after her suicide. | | ► Allison Janney, Laura Dern to star in dark comedy directed by Tate Taylor. Breaking News in Yuba County, with a Black List script by Amanda Idoko, is being financed by Stuart Ford's AGC Studios. | | Quoted: "Luca [Guadagnino’s] approach to the character of Patricia was really exciting. It’s an opportunity to be, you know, Janet [Leigh] in the beginning of Psycho or Drew [Barrymore] in the beginning of Scream, to be the propelling force that shotguns you into the movie and sets the tonality and the severity of the project at hand." — Chloe Grace Moretz, on her Suspiria role. |  | | ^Hugh Jackman talks The Front Runner. The star of Jason Reitman's latest film acknowledges echoes of the #MeToo movement and Trump in the story of Gary Hart's disastrous campaign for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, but says the film's "not telling you anything or making your mind up," Katie Kilkenny reports: | | + No slant: "Jason was very, very adamant from the beginning that there were no heroes and no villains — there are a lot of humans in there, and like real life, most of us are flawed. But [also], I think now we are in a time — and I don't just mean here but across the world — where it's very easy for the film, or the message of the film, to be dismissed if people felt it was skewing one way or the other." Full interview. | | Musical notes... | | ► Shawn Mendes recreates Lost in Translation with new music video. The pop star took on Bill Murray's role in the video for his new single, "Lost in Japan." Watch. | | Book report... | | ► Moira Donegan, creator of Media Men List, lands book deal. Donegan inked an agreement with Scribner for a new book, which will be a primer on misogyny and sexual harassment, according to the publisher. |  Will Ferrell stumps for gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in Georgia. The actor-comedian and wife Viveca Paulin-Ferrell are hitting the ground and going door-to-door to support Abrams' bid for governor in a race against Republican Brian Kemp. | | | | Slimane and 'Suspiria' |  | | | | Rebel, rebel: Dakota Johnson became the first Hollywood star to wear Hedi Slimane’s new Celine collection on the red carpet, Booth Moore reports: | | + Ideal model: Say what you will about Slimane's tactics, and whether his choice to erase a female design legacy was arrogant and unwise in the current political climate, but Johnson was the perfect choice to debut his vision on Wednesday's red carpet. Like him, she's a rebel force, one who took on the lead role in the steamy Fifty Shades film trilogy, even after high-profile actresses such as Emma Watson turned it down. Full story. | | What to watch this weekend... | | THR critic Daniel Fienberg sends his recommendation: | | It's a good weekend to watch some programming about unusual private schools! If you've got a full weekend to binge, check out Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, but know that this well-cast comic adaptation doesn't really get to its Academy of Unseen Arts until the fourth episode and doesn't really get good and fun until the fifth or six episode. | | If you only have an hour and you were a fan of The Vampire Diaries, The CW's new drama Legacies goes all "Hogwarts With Vampires and Werewolves" in a spinoff of The Originals. | | And me, I'm finally going to use this weekend to make a dent in Netflix's Spanish-language prep school soap Elite. (If you're more of a serious public school person, the finale of Starz's remarkable America to Me airs on Sunday and you can catch up on the entire series on demand! It's also better than all of those private school dramas.) | | What else we're reading... | | — "Kiernan Shipka Takes on the Patriarchy in Sabrina." Kevin Sullivan interviews the star: "I hesitate to really call Sabrina a role model because she's 16 and makes a lot of mistakes. She figures things out, but she's really inspiring. I did not take that lightly. This is the opportunity of a lifetime`" [THR] | | — "The Best Undiscovered Comedian in Every State." Thrillist scours the country: "We tried to present a snapshot of American comedy today, not just in traditional comedy meccas but everywhere jokes are being told on stage in the United States." [Thrillist] | | — "Ina Garten Knows Exactly What She Wants." Emily Sundberg profiles: "The more I talk to her, the more I realize how deliberate everything is. This is a woman who personally designed every element of her own fake house. She knows what she needs to do, and she does not waver." [The Cut] | | — "Frankenstein at 200." Jennifer Schuessler considers Mary Shelley's timeless story: "The story touches on the most basic part of what it means to be an embodied human creature." [New York Times] | | — "Inside Will.i.am’s High-Tech Dream Factory." Christopher R. Weingarten goes inside the musician's creative space: "The Future is Will’s Wonka-esque idea factory. If Jack White’s Third Man is making whimsical vinyl gobstoppers, the Future is where you develop the tech to make them change colors." [Rolling Stone] | | What else we're watching... | | + "Superfan Tiffany Haddish crashes Whoopi Goldberg's interview." [Tonight Show] | | + "Dr. Phil says 'kiss my ass' to trans rights rollbacks." [Late Show] | | + "Late-Night Lately: Hosts take on Megyn Kelly, CNN's bomb scare and Trump this week." [THR] | | From the archives... | | + On Oct. 27, 1955, Warner Bros. released teenage drama Rebel Without a Cause, just a month after star James Dean's untimely death in an automobile accident. The film would go on to earn three Oscar nominations at the 28th Academy Awards, but didn't fully win over some critics: "This is a superficial treatment of a vital problem that has been staged brilliantly." Flashback review. |  Today's birthdays: Troy Gentile, 25, Patrick Fugit, 36, Marla Maples, 55, Roberto Benigni, 66, James Cosmo, 71, Ivan Reitman, 72, John Cleese, 79. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
