Inside the Industry

Mar 5, 2018 | 5:45 AM

E! PRODUCER CLAIMS SHE WAS CANNED OVER EVA LONGORIA INTERVIEW: E!’s P.R. department is in overdrive this week, as the network battles another fire (the biggest one, of course, being the sexual misconduct claims against Ryan Seacrest, which he denies). In a story first reported in The New York Times, E! producer Aileen Gram-Moreno says she was told to take out all references to Catt Sadler in red carpet interviews after one with Debra Messing aired in which she slammed E! over allegations that it paid Sadler less than her male counterpart. But Gram-Moreno says she missed the interview with Eva Longoria, in which the star said, “We stand with you, Catt.” Gram-Moreno claims she immediately texted an apology to her supervisor, who responded saying it was difficult to avoid. But then five days later, she was fired from all red carpet jobs, including the Oscars, because of the slip. She filed a complaint, claiming E! did not pay her for shows she would have normally worked and then replaced her with a man who was given a higher title. E! claims that it let Gram-Moreno go due to a “pattern of poor performance.”

REESE WITHERSPOON AND KERRY WASHINGTON TO STAR IN LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE: Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are set to star in and produce a limited series based on the Celeste Ng novel Little Fires Everywhere. The story follows two families in the 1990s living in Shaker Heights, Ohio, that are brought together after their kids become pals. The show is being shopped to streamers and networks.

JESSICA ALBA SET FOR NBC BAD BOYS OFFSHOOT: After almost two decades of missing her, Jessica Alba is returning to the small screen as the lead opposite Gabrielle Union in NBC‘s untitled Bad Boys spinoff drama pilot. She was last seen on the small screen in her star-making role on Fox‘s Dark Angel.

WARNER BROS PEGS MEMORIAL DAY 2019 FOR SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN: Warner Bros. plans to drop its Mark Wahlberg vehicle The Six Billion Dollar Man on Memorial Day 2019. The project is based on the popular 1970s TV show. In addition, the studio is putting the Nicola Yoon-written romance drama The Sun Is Also a Star for May 17th, 2019. New Line Cinema says it will release two untitled horror films on April 19th, 2019 and July 3rd, 2019; the studio also set It: Chapter 2, starring Jessica Chastain, for September 6th, 2019. Finally, a Melissa McCarthy & Tiffany Haddish top-lining drama The Kitchen, hailing from New Line & DC Entertainment, has been pegged for September 20th, 2019.