Inside the Industry

Feb 23, 2018 | 5:15 AM

MICHELLE WOLF TO HOST W.H. CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER: The Daily Show comic Michelle Wolf is slated to host the White House Correspondents Dinner on April 28th. “I’m delighted to announce ‘Nice Lady’ Michelle Wolf as our featured entertainer this year,” said Margaret Talev, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Talev added: “Our dinner honors the First Amendment and strong, independent journalism. Her embrace of these values and her truth-to-power style make her a great friend to the WHCA. Her Pennsylvania roots, stints on Wall Street and in science and self-made, feminist edge make her the right voice now.” Wolf has also been nabbed to host her own weekly Netflix show. TBD if President Donald Trump will attend the dinner; he snubbed it last year, a first for a sitting president.

IDRIS ELBA EYES MORE BEHIND-THE-CAMERA ROLES: Idris Elba is interested in taking on more directorial roles, he told reporters at the Berlin Film Festival. The Festival saw the European premiere of Yardie, which follows the story of a young Jamaican who sees his brother shot dead. He is already in talks on his next project, which looks like it may be a musical, Deadline reports.

COPYRIGHT CONTROVERSY FOR THE SHAPE OF WATER AHEAD OF OSCARS: With less than a week left to vote for this year’s Academy Awards, Guillermo del Toro and Fox Searchlight are being sued for copyright infringement for The Shape of Water. The family of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning Paul Zindel claim the fantasy story is a rip-off of the 1969 play Let Me Hear You Whisper. “Despite the glaring similarities between the Play and the obviously derivative Picture, Defendants never bothered to seek or obtain a customary license from Plaintiff of motion picture and ancillary rights to the Play, nor did Defendants credit Zindel on the Picture,” writes attorney Marc Toberoff in the complaint. Fox Searchlight has dubbed the complaints “without merit.”

DRUNK HISTORY RENEWED: Comedy Central is giving Drunk History the go-ahead for a sixth season with less than a month left in its fifth season. The season will be comprised of 16 episodes. The show features liquored-up comedians discussing notable incidents from the country’s past. It is among the top-rated cable originals in its 10 p.m time slot among men 18-34.