'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Cast Video Chats to Celebrate Marina Sirtis' Birthday

Even the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation is practicing social distancing. On Monday, a number of cast members from the classic series shared picture of their Zoom video group chat to celebrate Marina Sirtis' birthday. 

"I have the best friends in the world. Considering everything, this was the best birthday present. #TNGRules," the Deanna Troi actress wrote on Twitter.

Heat Vision breakdown

The group included Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton and, of course, Sirtis.

"Different shot, but same amazing group. What a blast it was to chat away....and laugh. felt so good," wrote McFadden on Twitter. 

Burton wrote, "Overcoming the distance... #family." 

Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven seasons 1987-1994 and spawned four films. The season finale for the first season of Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access premiered last week. Spiner, Frakes and Sirtis all reprised their TNG roles on the series, which stars Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard. 

Canada to Pay 75 Percent of Wages for Entertainment Producers Hit by Pandemic

"The fund's goal is similar to ours: to keep as many people employed as possible during this crisis," an indie producer tells THR.

The Canadian government's bailout of a virtually idle film and TV production sector is gathering pace.

Ottawa's latest cash drop for content producers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis will see 75 percent of the wages paid by entertainment companies subsidized so they can stay in business. To qualify, locally-owned companies must show their revenues have fallen by at least 30 percent and must keep paying their employees and not lay them off.

"This will help everyone affected to bridge to better times," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a press conference in Ottawa on Monday.

Mark Bishop, co-CEO of marblemedia, said his Toronto-based indie producer and its distribution arm, Distribution 360, will apply for the 75 percent wage subsidy. "The fund's goal is similar to ours: to keep as many people employed as possible during this crisis," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Details on the plan are expected on March 31, but the wage subsidy, capped at $847 per week for each worker, is expected to be paid for up to three months and backdated to March 15. The Canadian feds' rescue effort follows Hollywood location shooting in Canada shutting down to help contain spread of the novel coronavirus, leaving a reeling production sector seeking an industry bailout.

A delegation of Canadian representatives of IATSE International, whose unionized crews work on major Hollywood shoots in Canada, late last week met with federal heritage minister Steven Guilbeault to discuss emergency support for film and TV workers left jobless by the industry shutdown.

And Valerie Creighton, president and CEO of the Canada Media Fund, the biggest financier of Canadian TV, in a statement said over 1500 local projects her fund supports have been impacted by the pandemic shutdown.

"We will work with our clients to ensure maximum flexibility as we consider relief measures, wind down and start-up costs," Creighton wrote. The CMF head added the fund is seeking "additional relief measures" from the federal government.

Elsewhere across the Canadian sector, physical production on local film and TV projects have shut down. Film studios have emptied and small pockets of visual effects and postproduction artists are working in small clusters for social distancing or at home as production allows.

Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO of Vancouver-based Thunderbird Entertainment, told THR her studio will not be tapping the 75 percent wage subsidy as the company in recent weeks has shifted around 1,000 employees to working remotely from home, which has allowed animation work — especially for mostly Hollywood streaming platforms needing kids content — to continue without disruption.

"My goal is not to tap into the subsidies. I'd rather leave them for companies that aren't able to devise plans for their employees to work from home," McCarron said after emptying studio space in Vancouver, Los Angeles and Ottawa.

Thunderbird's Atomic Cartoons division is at work on Hello Ninja for Netflix, 101 Dalmatian Street for Disney+ and LEGO: Jurassic World for NBCUniversal as Hollywood streaming platforms look to kids and family content to keep families entertained as they self-isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thunderbird also has scripted and factual TV divisions and staff, who are mostly at work on developing series ahead of production eventually resuming or that have moved into postproduction. Thunderbird's scripted team for CBC drama Kim's Convenience has its writers room working remotely.

Elsewhere, the federal government has already proposed directing $30 million in advertising buys to struggling Canadian newspapers, TV stations and online publications to promote a COVID-19 awareness campaign.

'Tiger King': Carole Baskin Speaks Out Against Netflix Documentary

Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist at the heart of Netflix's breakout Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, is speaking out against claims made in the streaming service's documentary series.

The founder and CEO of Florida-based non-profit animal sanctuary Big Cat Rescue, Baskin is heavily featured in Tiger King, which centers on Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka "Joe Exotic." The series chronicles Joe Exotic's eventual arrest and conviction on multiple charges of animal abuse as well as a murder-for-hire plot to kill Baskin.

The third episode of Tiger King focuses on Baskin and allegations that she was involved in the death of her husband Don Lewis, a millionaire who disappeared in 1997, and was later declared legally dead in 2002. In the wake of the documentary's release, Baskin has spoken out to refute the depiction of her husband's disappearance, writing, "The series presents this without any regard for the truth or in most cases even giving me an opportunity before publication to rebut the absurd claims. They did not care about truth. The unsavory lies are better for getting viewers."

"When the directors of the Netflix documentary Tiger King came to us five years ago they said they wanted to make the big cat version of Blackfish (the documentary that exposed abuse at SeaWorld) that would expose the misery caused by the rampant breeding of big cat cubs for cub petting exploitation and the awful life the cats lead in roadside zoos and back yards if they survive," writes Baskin. "There are not words for how disappointing it is to see that the series not only does not do any of that, but has had the sole goal of being as salacious and sensational as possible to draw viewers." 

In her lengthy post on BigCatRescue.org, Baskin addresses various ways in which she's depicted in Tiger King, defending her animal sanctuary's practices versus Joe Exotic's Oklahoma-based G.W. Zoo, as well as taking on the circumstances surrounding her husband's disappearance — including rumors that Baskin used a meat grinder to dispose of her husband's body.

"Our meat grinder was one of those little tabletop, hand crank things, like you’d have in your kitchen at home," writes Baskin, followed by a picture of such a device. "Meat had to first be cut into one-inch cubes like you see here to go through it. The idea that a human body and skeleton could be put through it is idiotic. But the Netflix directors did not care. They just showed a bigger grinder."

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Tiger King co-producers Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin addressed Baskin's comments about the series: "I would just say we were completely forthright with the characters. With any project that goes on for five years, things evolve and change, and we followed it as any good storyteller does. We could have never known when we started this project that it was going to land where it did."

Baskin is not the only person who appears in Tiger King to speak out against their depiction in the series. Also on that list: NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, who is featured in an episode visiting Joe Exotic's G.W. Zoo in Oklahoma.

Speaking on his podcast "The Big Podcast With Shaq," O'Neal said, "I love tigers. I love white tigers. Do I put donations to these zoos to help these tigers out? I do it all the time. Do I own tigers personally at my house? No. But I love tigers. Listen, people are going to make their own opinions, but, again, I was just a visitor. I met this guy — not my friend. Don’t know him. Never had any business dealings with him, and I had no idea any of that stuff was going on."

Follow THR.com/TigerKing for more coverage.

Tiger King

David Schramm, Airline Owner Roy Biggins on 'Wings,' Dies at 73

The stage veteran co-founded The Acting Company, where he worked alongside John Houseman and Patti LuPone in the early days.

David Schramm, the veteran stage actor who portrayed the airline owner Roy Biggins for eight seasons on the 1990s NBC comedy Wings, has died. He was 73.

Schramm was a founding member of the New York-based The Acting Company, which announced his death on Sunday. Publicist Rick Miramontez said he died in New York. No other details were immediately available.

Schramm made his first appearance on Broadway in 1973 in Three Sisters and his last in 2009 in Finian's Rainbow. In between, he appeared opposite Judith Ivey in Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce in 1979.

Schramm also worked in productions for the New York Theatre Workshop, Pasadena Playhouse, George Street Playhouse and the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., during his four-decade career.

From 1990-97, Schramm starred as the unscrupulous Biggins on Wings, created by David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee. His character's Aeromass airline competed for business at the fictional Tom Nevers Field in Nantucket, Massachusetts, with Sandpiper Air, owned by brothers Joe and Brian Hackett (Tim Daly and Steven Weber, respectively).

"I knew when we started it was going to be a success," Schramm said in an April interview, "not just because the writers had been involved with Cheers, Taxi and Mary Tyler Moore. But when we sat around the table reading the first script and I saw this buffoon they created for me, this pompous guy who said garish things to women, and all the other rich characters, I turned to [co-star] Rebecca (Schull, who played Fay Cochran on the show) and said, 'I think we've landed in a tub of butter.' And we did. If only I put the money I made under my mattress instead of in the stock market."

A native of Louisville, Schramm had taken acting classes at Western Kentucky University before attending Juilliard from 1968-72.

Faculty member Dr. Mildred Howard "heard that Juilliard was starting a drama division," Schramm said. "She told me, 'You are going to go to school in New York' — to which I said in my Southern twang, 'Doctor, they ain't gonna take me in no school in New York.' She worked on two audition pieces with me, arranged for the flight, packed a lunch and said, 'Go!' I did and got accepted on the spot."

The Acting Company came out of Juilliard. The historic theatrical repertory group was started by John Houseman and Margot Harley in 1972; in addition to Schramm, original alumni include Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers.

Macy's to Furlough Majority of Its 130,000 Workers

The move is the most dramatic sign that even big name retailers are seeing their business evaporate and that the $2 trillion rescue package passed last week may have come too late for some.

Macy's says it will stop paying tens of thousands of employees who were thrown out of work when the chain closed its stores in response to collapsing sales during the pandemic.

The majority of its 130,000 employees, including stock people and sales clerks, will still collect health benefits, but the company said that it is transitioning to an "absolute minimum workforce" needed to maintain basic operations. Macy's has lost the bulk of its sales due to temporarily closing of all 500 of its stores starting March 18.

The move is perhaps the most dramatic sign that even big-name retailers are seeing their business evaporate and that the $2 trillion rescue package passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last week may have come too late for some.

Nordstrom said last week it was furloughing a portion of its corporate staff. And shoe company Designer Brands Inc., which operates DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, furloughed 80 percent of its workers, effective this past weekend. Analysts expect more furloughs to come as retailers won't be able to pay their employees as cash reserves run lower.

The furlough of workers will have negative consequences for an economy in which the retail industry supports one out of four workers.

“This could push us further into a damaging recession that will last longer than the duration of the crisis," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.

More than 190,000 stores, including J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus, have temporarily closed, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the U.S. retail square footage, according to Saunders. Discounters, grocers and wholesale clubs that sell essential items like groceries, on the other hand, have remained open, though they have their own challenges of keeping up with shoppers who continue to stockpile.

When announcing the temporary closures, most retailers said they would keep paying their workers but they were looking at a two-week timetable. That moment has now passed and the furloughs have become increasingly necessary as the coronavirus rapidly spreads and forces people to stay cooped up in their homes.

The big question is how much of these furloughs will lead to permanent layoffs. Swedish retailer H&M said earlier this month that it may be forced to permanently layoff some its employees after temporarily shuttering 3,441 of its 5,062 stores globally.

Macy's said that there won't be as many furloughs in its online operations, which continue to operate.

Macy's said those who are enrolled in health benefits will continue to receive coverage with the company covering 100 percent of the premium.

“We expect to bring colleagues back on a staggered basis as business resumes," the company said.

To survive in the meantime, Macy's has suspended its dividend, drawn down its line of credit, frozen hiring and spending, and cancelled orders. It said is now evaluating all financing options.

TV Ratings: Fox's 'Living Room Concert' Tops 'American Idol' Head-to-Head

Fox got solid returns from its iHeart Living Room Concert for America special on Sunday.

The hourlong fundraiser topped the second hour of American Idol head-to-head among adults 18-49 and also delivered Fox's largest audience of the season in the 9 p.m. slot. Idol, meanwhile, came down slightly week to week, while CBS' 60 Minutes drew more than 10 million viewers for the third consecutive week.

The Living Room Concert, featuring Elton John, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Dave Grohl and others, drew a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 and 4.57 million viewers, well above the same-day averages for Bob's Burgers and Family Guy this season (0.8 and 2 million). It edged Idol in the 18-49 demo by a few hundredths of a point in their shared hour.

ABC got a 1.3 in adults 18-49 for the full two-hour broadcast of American Idol, along with 7.27 million viewers. Both figures were off slightly week to week. America's Funniest Home Videos is currently at season highs of 1.1 in adults 18-49 and 6.54 million viewers. The Rookie aired a repeat at 10 p.m.

CBS' 60 Minutes averaged 10.22 million viewers, the most of the night by a wide margin, and a 1.0 in adults 18-49. God Friended Me (6.37 million viewers, 0.6 in 18-49) and NCIS: New Orleans (6.54 million, 0.7) grew their total audiences, and though NCIS: Los Angeles (6.84 million, 0.7) slipped from last week's season highs, it's still ahead of its season average.

At NBC, Good Girls scored a same-day season high in total viewers (1.94 million) and matched its 18-49 high of 0.5 (figures that will at least double with delayed viewing). Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (0.4 in 18-49, 1.91 million) was steady, and Little Big Shots (0.4, 2.97 million) and The Wall (0.5, 3.07 million) were off a little. The CW aired reruns.

ABC topped primetime in adults 18-49 with a 1.0 rating. CBS and Fox tied for second at 0.7. NBC and Univision also tied at 0.5. Telemundo averaged 0.4 and The CW, 0.1. 

Bookmark THR.com/Ratings for more ratings news and numbers.

TV Ratings

'Love Is Blind' Star Giannina Gibelli Signs With CAA (Exclusive)

The Venezuelan beauty found love with Damian Powers on the Netflix reality hit.

Love Is Blind’s Giannina Milady Gibelli has signed with CAA, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

The Venezuelan native, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, found a connection with Damian Powers on the new reality hit, which Netflix recently renewed for two seasons. An adept social media user, her Instagram account has grown to more than 1.5 million followers as her media appearances include The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, E! News, Vanity Fair, TIME, People, Cosmopolitan, Business Insider, O: The Oprah Magazine and Refinery29.

CAA will represent the Atlanta resident, described on the show as a business owner, in all areas — her lifestyle content includes fashion, fitness, wellness, cooking, beauty, travel and motivational messaging. In addition, she intends to support her culture, the planet and underprivileged communities.

Gibelli continues to be represented by Scale Management.
 

'V-Wars' and 'October Faction' Canceled at Netflix (Exclusive)

Two of Netflix's three IDW-produced drama series are no longer moving forward.

Fresh off of Locke & Key's renewal, the streamer has opted to cancel its two remaining comic-inspired shows from the publisher as both V-Wars and October Faction will not move forward. V-Wars and October Faction both ran for one season each after launching Dec. 5 and Jan. 23, respectively.

The cancellations arrive as Netflix, which does not release viewership, continues to make renewal and cancellation decisions based on their internal data. The streamer reviews their returns and considers if the financial investment in another season will be valuable to its subscribers or if those funds would be better served with new content that draws more sign-ups to its service.

V-Wars and October Faction become the latest one-and-done dramas at Netflix, joining recently canceled series including Messiah, AJ and the Queen, Spinning Out, Soundtrack and Daybreak, among others.

V-Wars was picked up straight to series in April 2018 with former Vampire Diaries favorite Ian Somerhalder attached to star. The series revolved around Dr. Luther Swann (Somerhalder), who enters a world of horror when a mysterious disease transforms his best friend, Michael Fayne, into a murderous predator who feeds on other humans. As the disease spreads and more people are transformed, society fractures into opposing camps pitting normal people against the growing number of these vampires. Swann races against time to understand what’s happening, while Fayne rises to become the powerful underground leader of the vampires. Sources say Netflix and Somerhalder are in talks about potential other projects to pursue.

The series was based on IDW Publishing's V-Wars franchise, written by New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Maberry. High Park Entertainment produced alongside IDW Entertainment, which distributed the series worldwide (excluding Canada). 1-800-Missing creators William Laurin and Glenn Davis served as showrunners. Brad Turner (Stargate, Stargate Atlantis) directed and exec produced. High Park's Eric Birnberg and Thomas Walden also exec produced alongside former IDW Entertainment president David Ozer, former IDW CEO Ted Adams and Marada Pictures' James Gibb. V-Wars was first announced in 2014 as part of a straight-to-series deal with Entertainment One. That company, as well as the drama's original writer and producers Circle of Confusion were not attached to the Netflix take. The series has a 56 percent and 96 percent rating among critics and viewers, respectively, on aggregate website RottenTomatoes.com.

October Faction, meanwhile, was also based on an IDW title written by Steve Niles. Bones alum Tamara Taylor and J.C. MacKenzie headed the cast of the sci-fi series, which revolved around their married couple who also work together as monster hunters. Damian Kindler (Krypton, Sleepy Hollow) adapted the comic and served as executive producer and showrunner. Niles, James Thorpe, Thomas Walden and Eric Birnberg also executive produced. The series had a lackluster 33 percent and 49 percent rating among critics and viewers, respectively, on aggregate website RottenTomatoes.com.

 

Netflix

Shaquille O'Neal Defends 'Tiger King' Doc Appearance Alongside Joe Exotic

“I don’t harm tigers. I love tigers," the former NBA star says of his cameo in the Netflix docuseries.

Shaquille O'Neal is defending himself after appearing in the new, popular Netflix docuseries, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. 

Tiger King tells the bizarre story of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka "Joe Exotic," a former tiger zoo owner who is currently in prison for a murder-for-hire plot. 

On the latest episode of his podcast “The Big Podcast With Shaq," the former NBA star and current analyst says that yes, he visited Joe Exotic’s Oklahoma zoo years ago and yes, he did make donations, but he did not buy any animals (even though he says he bought two in the doc). 

“So we go in there, and it’s a beautiful place, and the character that was there was Exotic Joe," O'Neal began. "We’re there and I dropped some donations for the tigers’ foods and all that. We take pictures with [the] tigers. We went back a couple times,” O’Neal said. “Then we go back another time and we found out that he’s involved with all the stuff, and then, actually, I stopped going.”

The former Laker says he visited the zoo a few times, but when he learned that animals were being mistreated and that Maldonado-Passage was a shady character, he never returned. 

“I don’t harm tigers," he said on the podcast. "I love tigers. I love white tigers. Do I put donations to these zoos to help these tigers out? I do it all the time. Do I own tigers personally at my house? No. But I love tigers. Listen, people are going to make their own opinions, but, again, I was just a visitor. I met this guy — not my friend. Don’t know him. Never had any business dealings with him, and I had no idea any of that stuff was going on.”

O'Neal added that he watched the entire Netflix doc series and found it interesting. 

Theater Owners, Will Rogers Foundation Create $2.4 Million Fund for Cinema Workers

More than 150,000 employees at movie houses across the country have been laid off amid unprecedented closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The National Association of Theater Owners and the Pioneers Assistance Fund have created a $2.4 million emergency grant program for cinema employees impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 150,000 workers have been furloughed or laid off since the vast majority of theaters across the U.S. closed two weeks ago.

The new grant program will provide a stipend to any theater workers who meet specific criteria. In Phase 2 of the program, assistance will be expanded to a larger group of people who work in the motion picture industry, in the event the current crisis continues for an extended period of time.

Basic eligibility requirements for the Pioneers Assistance Fund COVID-19 Emergency Grant (Phase 1) include having worked in the theatrical exhibition business for a minimum of five years.

"We encourage all members of the motion picture industry who have the ability to make a much-needed contribution today," NATO and the Pioneers Fund said in a statement. "Your donation will support film industry members who are struggling to mitigate the personal and professional impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

Under the $2 trillion relief package signed into law last week, restrictions have been loosened regarding charitable deductions.

The Pioneers Assistance Find is one of three key programs making up the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation.