| 1. WOMEN KICKED OUT OF ACTORS EVENT AFTER CONFRONTING HARVEY WEINSTEIN: A female comedian was booed and two women were kicked out of a New York event for artists after confronting Harvey Weinstein, who was allegedly invited by event organizers. Weinstein, who’s been accused of rape by dozens of women, attended Actor’s Hour, a monthly event for artists, at the Downtime bar on the Lower East Side. Comedian Kelly Bachman called out the producer during her set, while actor Zoe Stuckless and comedian Amber Rollo were thrown out for confronting Weinstein, who sat at a reserved table with his entourage. BuzzFeed: “Alexandra Laliberte, the organizer of Actor's Hour, told BuzzFeed News it was the second time Weinstein had turned up to one of her events. Laliberte added that she doesn't have a security team, and rather than turn Weinstein away, she thought the community could address him. When asked why she allowed Weinstein to attend an event specifically intended to support and encourage young actors when he has been accused of sexually assaulting and harassing dozens of them, Laliberte told BuzzFeed News: ‘I protect them by freedom of speech.’” 2. CANNES TO UNDERGO MAJOR RENOVATIONS: Cannes has announced a $556 million project that will include renovating the Palais des Festivals, which is home to major events including the Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The project will also involve building a new film museum and a technology park. The Hollywood Reporter: “Plans include adding another floor to the existing building that would house a 500-seat theater and renovating the Salon des Ambassadeurs. The cost is estimated at €62 million ($69 million). … The project, unveiled during a meeting held at the C.N.C. (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée) in Paris, also calls for the creation of an international film museum that could open by 2025—at a cost of €200 million, or $223 million—and would be dedicated to the history of moviemaking, the Cannes festival and special effects, as well as the construction of a state-of-the-art 12-screen multiplex cinema that would house the biggest screen in southwestern France, with 2,426 seats.” 3. KUSHNER AND U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY TO ATTEND SAUDI INVESTMENT CONFERENCE: President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin are slated to attend a Saudi Arabia economic conference known as “Davos in the Desert.” Businesses leaders dropped out of the conference this year and last year after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Quartz: “According to a federal procurement filing reviewed by Quartz, the State Department recently booked 45 rooms at Riyadh’s Burj Rafal Hotel in support of the two ‘VVIP visitors’ taking part in the kingdom’s third annual Future Investment Initiative, as the event is officially known. … While several big names in Silicon Valley have again decided not to go, more than 150 other global business executives—many of whom stayed away last year because of the Khashoggi killing—have been confirmed as attendees, including representatives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and BlackRock, according to a guest list seen by the Washington Post.” 4. VIDCON HIRES FIRST V.P. OF PROGRAMMING: Online-video convention VidCon has hired Carter Hansen, a founding executive at AwesomenessTV, to oversee conference programming. Hansen previously founded Different Entertainment, a producer of live and experiential events. Both VidCon and AwesomenessTV are owned by Viacom. Variety: “In 2019, VidCon events in the U.S., London, and Australia have drawn nearly 100,000 total attendees. It’s now expanding into Asia and Mexico: The first-ever VidCon Asia Summit will run December 3-4, 2019, in Singapore, followed by the annual VidCon London (February 20-23, 2020) and the inaugural VidCon Mexico (April 30-May 3, 2020). Next year’s flagship VidCon US is slated for June 17-20, 2020, at the Anaheim Convention Center.” 5. CHICK-FIL-A TO LEAVE U.K. AFTER PROTESTS FROM L.G.B.T.Q. ADVOCATES: Fast food company Chick-fil-A will close its only shop in the United Kingdom after six months, following protests from L.G.B.T.Q.-rights advocates. The brand, which has donated to Christian organizations that oppose same-sex marriage, opened at a shopping mall in Reading earlier this month. Advertising Age: “The local gay-rights group Reading Pride is continued with its ‘Get the Chick Out’ protest outside the mall planned for October 19 even after hearing that the lease will not be renewed, saying it wants to advise potential diners where they should spend their money. … Chick-fil-A was testing the waters in the U.K. after opening its first Canadian location in Toronto in September, where it also faced protests from groups that support gay rights.” | 