THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 77 NOVEMBER 6, 2019
TAALL ENNTIsabela Merced / 18
“I’ve always tried to avoid
people putting me in a box,”
says Merced, who recently
changed her last name from
Moner to pay homage to
her late Peruvian grand-
mother. It’s that attitude
that explains how the Ohio
native has been juggling a
spectrum of genres, from
the gritty thriller Sicario:
Day of the Soldado to
Paramount’s live-action
family pic Dora and the Lost
City of Gold. The next chap-
ter of her career will include
new music and a pair of
Netflix films that once again
showcase her range: John
Green’s holiday movie Let It
Snow and thriller Sweet Girl,
alongside Jason Momoa.
LAST SHOW I BINGED
“Fleabag. It blew my mind.”
ONSCREEN CHARACTER I
MOST IDENTIFIED WITH AS
A KID “My little brother and
I would pretend to be Juni
and Carmen from Spy Kids.”“I want to have a
career like J.Lo,”
says Isabela Merced.
“She just does
everything — and
still at 50. Her career
has longevity.”
she boarded Michael Ellenberg’s
production company Media Res
in 2017 to develop Apple TV+’s
The Morning Show, starring Reese
Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.
As the company’s TV head, Gorin,
who is married to film producer Zack
Roth, is building out that brand with
two other big-swing shows for Apple:
a Pachinko adaptation and a CIA
drama with Brie Larson.
FOOD/DRINK I LOVE BUT WOULD NEVER
ORDER AT A BUSINESS MEAL “I’d say
chicken wings because they’re so
messy, but I love them too much to
care about being gross.”AMY HODGE // 34
VP Original Programming, HBO
After she graduated from the
University of Michigan, Hodge’s
TV writer brother Chad Hodge set
his little sister up with an intern-
ship at McG’s production company.
The Illinois native later landed
on a string of high-profile desks,
including HBO’s Michael Lombardo
and Casey Bloys. When former
BBC Worldwide head Jane Tranter
sought out Hodge for a job in 2011,
Bloys told her she’d be nuts not to
take it. Despite leaving the network,
Hodge — who is engaged to Who Is
America? producer Nicholas Hatton
— still had the chance to work on a
handful of HBO shows that Tranter
was producing, including Emmy
nominee Succession and Lena
Dunham’s upcoming Wall Street
series Industry. About eight years in,
Hodge’s career came full circle when
she received a call from HBO’s cur-
rent comedy head, Amy Gravitt, to
come back to the network. Since herat CBS Evening News and Pardon
the Interruption while in school at
Washington University in St. Louis.
She parlayed that interest in politics
to a job writing for a now-defunct
Berman Braun website she describes
as “Perez Hilton meets Politico.”
When Gail Berman left to start the
Jackal Group, Gorin followed. “It
was just a crash course in figuring it
out,” says the Maryland native, who
during her three years there had
the chance to work on broadcast,
cable and streaming shows (she
optioned Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up
book). Gorin’s worlds collided whenGoldberg’s Future Man to critically
acclaimed newcomers like Ramy
and PEN15. He’s also leading the
charge on Hulu’s animation initiative,
featuring a new series from Rick and
Morty creator Justin Roiland.
TALENT I’M DYING TO WORK WITH “Mel
Brooks. There is no person funnier
on the planet.”
DANI GORIN / 31
Senior VP Television, Media Res
With a TV news producer dad, Gorin
always thought she’d follow in her
father’s footsteps and even interned
Thhe Mattriix
Indya Moore
Willy Wonkaa & thhe
ChocoolateFFaactoory
Josh O’Connor
Occean’ss 111
Simu LiuThee Princceess
BBride →
Josh WhitehouseCCoralinnee
Jaboukie Young-White
SSuspirriaa
Hunter SchaferThhe Souunnd
oof Mussicc
Tay l o r R u s s e l lCCharmeedd
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
SSandloott
Anthony RamosI’d love to star in a
reboot of ...