
Tambor with his wife, Kasia Ostlun. “This is a death. This is grief. Maura Pfefferman is no longer,” Tambor says.
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What's news: Former Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor opens up, and defends himself, in his first interview with the press since facing claims of inappropriate behavior on set. Plus: Avengers: Infinity War looks to cross the two-billion-dollar mark, Donald Glover (along with Stormy Daniels) takes over SNL and a look at what to expect — and what not to expect — at Cannes this year. — Ray Rahman
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"Lines Got Blurred"
Image Credit: Eric Ogden In his first interview since being fired from Transparent, Jeffrey Tambor tells Seth Abramovitch, "I was mean, I was difficult," but takes aim at claims of harassment in one of the murkiest episodes of the #MeToo era:
“What I said was that she was a disgruntled assistant,” Tambor says of his former personal assistant Van Barnes. “I think that was generous of me. I dispute her account. I did raise my voice at times, I was moody at times, there were times when I was tactless. But as for the other stuff, absolutely not.”
“I drove myself and my castmates crazy,” Tambor continues, addressing his behavior on set and the allegations by actress Trace Lysette. “Lines got blurred. I was difficult. I was mean. I yelled at Jill — she told me recently she was afraid of me. The assistant directors. I was rude to my assistant. I was moody. Sometimes I didn’t talk at all.”
“And this is where the reader says, ‘So what?’ You know? ‘You’re coming in from the Palisades, you drive in, you get a good paycheck, you get to play one of the best roles in the world. So. What.’”
“But I was scared, because I was a cisgender male playing Maura Pfefferman. And my whole thing was, ‘Am I doing it right? Am I doing it right? Am I doing it right?’ To the point that I worried myself to death.” Full story.
SNL's busy weekend…
Stars and storms: Scarlett Johansson, Ben Stiller, Martin Short, Jimmy Fallon and Alec Baldwin were all on-hand for a seven-minute Trump World sketch — but the headline was a cameo from none other than Stormy Daniels. Watch.
Donald Glover does it all: Glover served as both host and musical guest (under his stage name Childish Gambino), with pals Zoe Kravitz and Daniel Kaluuya introducing him before the musical performance segments. He took on Kanye West; starred in a Migos parody called “Friendos”; debuted a new song (complete with an explosive new music video) called “This Is America.”
Hollywood comes out to honor Steven Bochco…
Old friends: The NYPD Blue and L.A. Law casts as well as many others (including David Milch, Kim Delaney and Gordon Clapp) came out to honor the late TV legend, who had building No. 1 on the Fox lot renamed in his honor. Read more.
It's time for your network scorecards…
Keep track: Here are your complete (and continually updated) guides to what's new, renewed and canceled at each of the broadcast network: ABC | CBS | CW | Fox | NBC
Elsewhere in TV…
? AMC sets Dietland companion with host Aisha Tyler: In a move that takes its postgame strategy a step further, the network has ordered Unapologetic, a post-episode talk show that’ll feature Tyler leading a topical discussion around the broader, female-centric issues and themes explored in Dietland. Details.
? Rep Sheet Roundup: T.I. has left CAA for APA.… YouTube star Grace Helbig has left WME for UTA, which also has added BuzzFeed’s Shanique Bonelli-Moore to its corporate communications team.… Power stylist Micaela Erlanger has signed with publicity firm ID.… Insecure’s Yvonne Orji has signed with Mainstay Entertainment for management. More here.
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Two Billion?
Image Credit: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures It was another big weekend for Avengers: Infinity War, writes Pamela McClintock:
Disney's and Marvel's latest continued to dominate the early summer box office over the weekend, earning $112.5 million domestically to score the second-biggest sophomore outing ever as it topped the $1 billion mark globally, faster than any film in history on Saturday.
Overseas, the mega-superhero mashup grossed another $162.6 million for a foreign total of $713.3 million and $1.164 billion worldwide. The foreign weekend tally includes $17.6 million from Russia, the biggest opening weekend there ever.
More to come: On May 11, Infinity War unfurls in China, its final major market.
Next milestone: $2 billion? Infinity War is now the first summer movie ever to target $2 billion or more at the worldwide box office — a club that currently includes just Avatar, Titanic and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The previous summer record holder: Jurassic World at $1.671 billion. Read more.
The rest of the weekend: MGM's and Lionsgate’s Overboard remake, starring popular Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris, grossed $14.8 million to come in at No. 2 and earn an A- CinemaScore from audiences. Hispanics made up a hefty 42 percent of ticket buyers.
Bad Samaritan, starring David Tennant as a low-level hustler, opened to a forgettable $1.8 million.
The indie darling: Focus Features' new dramedy Tully, reuniting Charlize Theron with Young Adult director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, came in No. 7 with $3.2 million from 1,353 cinemas. Full box-office report.
Elsewhere in film…
? GLAAD Media Awards: Call Me by Your Name wins best film. Jay-Z's "Smile," Ava DuVernay and Samira Wiley were among the special honorees Saturday night in New York. See the winners.
+ Watch Ava DuVernay discuss "our leaderless country" in a passionate GLAAD speech that also touched on activism and LGBTQ inclusion. Video.
? Bruce Willis will play Mike Tyson's boxing trainer: The Die Hard star is set to play legendary boxing trainer Constantine "Cus" D'Amato in Cornerman, written and to be directed by Homeland star Rupert Friend in his feature-length directorial debut.
? Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall tapped for The Forgiven: They, along with Mark Strong, will star in the project from British-Irish helmer John Michael McDonagh, an adaptation of the 2012 Lawrence Osborne novel of the same name. Details.
? Monkey Selfie film in the works at Conde Nast: The studio behind the firefighting drama Only the Brave has acquired the life rights to David Slater, the man at the center of the legal battle that spawned headlines worldwide.
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Cannes: Hot Titles, No Parties
Image Credit: David Lee/Focus Features Everything you need to know about the annual French film festival, which kicks off tomorrow…
The hot list: Todd McCarthy's five most anticipated films. Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman and bad-boy auteur Lars von Trier's The House That Jack Built are among THR's chief film critic's most eagerly anticipated titles. See the full list.
Predicting how Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart and other jury members could vote. The diversity of this year's jury — five women and four men from seven countries and five continents — makes handicapping the Palme d'Or harder than ever. Our odds.
The end of hotel room meetings? From more meetings in public spaces to employing a "third person" rule, the post-Weinstein era has forced insiders to rethink how business is conducted overseas: "People will be more conscious of how they are setting up everything.” Read more.
The decline of the Cannes party scene: The fest's legendary after-hours revelry could be virtually nonexistent this year: "The festival has lost its juice,” sighs one industry veteran. Full story.
In other news…
Softening music festival market? This year's FYF Fest, which was to be headlined by Janet Jackson and Florence + the Machine in L.A., is being canceled by Goldenvoice and AEG Live due to poor ticket sales. The cancelation comes as new concerns emerge about soft ticket sales and oversaturation. Read more.
What else we're reading…
— "I'm not black, I'm Kanye." Ta-Nehisi Coates writes: "Kanye West wants freedom — white freedom." [The Atlantic]
— "Bigger than Disney: Budget doubles for Universal's Beijing park." Wayne Ma writes: "Developers increase investment to $6.5 billion for Beijing theme park after seeing the success of Shanghai Disney Resort." [Wall Street Journal]
— "Trump booked himself for his first TV interview in months." Jacqueline Alemany reports on the unusual circumstances that led to the president's freewheeling Fox and Friends interview. [CBS News]
— "Nell Scovell wrote a movie based on Lean In — but Hollywood tried to turn it into Bridesmaids." The writer sits down for an interview with Kara Swisher. [Recode]
— "Man vs. MoviePass: How I saw Avengers: Infinity War for 87 cents." Victor Luckerson asks: "Is MoviePass the greatest deal in entertainment or the most astonishing scam in years?" [The Ringer]
What's happening this week…
Tuesday: Hari Kondabolu's Warn Your Relatives stand-up special drops on Netflix.
Thursday: Safe season one drops on Netflix.
Friday: Life of the Party and Breaking In hit theaters nationwide.
From the archives…
Today in 1993: Ivan Reitman's Dave debuts in theaters. From THR's review: "Warner Bros. has a sleeper candidate for big box office in Dave, a charming satire of the U.S. presidency. Starring Kevin Kline as a sweet-natured Everyman who is asked to double as the president, and then gets stuck in the job, Dave should draw from every constituency." Full review.
Today's Birthdays: Aidy Bryant, 31, Breckin Meyer, 44, Brian Kilmeade, 54, Amy Heckerling, 64.
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