Month: April 2020

Plan B Entertainment, the Oscar-winning production label co-founded by Brad Pitt, has signed a first-look feature deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. The producer of Academy Award best picture winners “The Departed,” “12 Years a Slave,” and “Moonlight” will give Warner Bros. exclusive options on all film projects, returning to the studio home where it launched
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More than a dozen high-profile Hollywood producers have launched the It Takes Our Village fund for below-the-line film and television crew members impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Bruna Papandrea, whose credits include “Big Little Lies” and “Wild,” made the announcement Wednesday after witnessing first-hand how these crews were being affected. “The below-the-line crews are the
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Creative Artists Agency is enacting pay cuts across the entire company as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc across Hollywood and the global economy, Variety has learned. The last domino to fall among the major agencies, the cuts are on a progressive basis affecting the highest paid, a spokesperson said. Agency leaders Richard Lovett,
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YouTube hosts the most massive collection of free videos on the planet. Now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, it’s also opening up more than a dozen YouTube original series free for anyone to stream — without a subscription. YouTube Originals available for free in front of the paywall starting April 8 include Joey Graceffa’s murder-mystery competition
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Sen. Bernie Sanders has ended his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination, clearing the path for former Vice President Joe Biden to face off against President Trump in November. Sanders, the maverick independent from Vermont, announced his decision shortly before noon ET on Wednesday via a live webcast from Burlington, Vt. Sanders told supporters that
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The COVID-19 pandemic is still ripping through the U.S.; the hardest-hit state, New York, is still weeks away from a projected peak of infections; and the prospect of widespread, comprehensive testing still remains agonizingly out of reach. And yet entertainment businesses that depend on large public gatherings to survive — movie theaters, music venues, sports arenas,
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Today (Wednesday, April 8) at 4 p.m. ET /1 p.m. PT, Music Biz President Portia Sabin will interview the heads of five of the music industry’s major trade organizations — the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the Country Music Association (CMA), the National Songwriters Association International (NSAI), the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and
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Snapchat was dealing with technical problems spanning the U.S. and Europe on Wednesday morning, as thousands of users reported trouble using the social messaging app. According to DownDetector, problem reports spiked around 10:30 a.m. ET with nearly 90,000 users reporting issues; 82% said they were having problems sending Snaps, the app’s disappearing messages. That came
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A whole bunch of Netflix’s biggest YA stars are gathering together to discuss the issue of self-care during the coronavirus pandemic. Actors such as Noah Centineo (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”), Joey King (“The Kissing Booth”), and Caleb McLaughlin (“Stranger Things”) will conduct interviews with mental health experts for a weekly, live video
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At the risk of sounding almost trivial given the sheer magnitude of the current global pandemic, these are challenging times for all in the media and entertainment industry. The out-of-home entertainment market is one segment of the media business that has been particularly devastated. So have the livelihoods of content-developing creatives (producers, talent) and content-enabling
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AMC Networks’ streaming service Sundance Now has acquired U.S. rights to the eight-part Australian drama “Bad Mothers” from distributor Red Arrow Studios International. A hit for Australia’s Nine Network, “Bad Mothers” explores modern motherhood through four different women as they juggle love, family, careers, infidelity — and murder. The drama is produced by Jungle Entertainment in association with Filthy
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Fugitive, the production and financing company run by Anthony Kimble and Merrily Ross, has picked up international distribution rights to four new projects from Rogo Productions, including transgender Jewish drama “Abby” and a high-profile doc series about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fugitive has also formed an exclusive partnership with the London-based production company, run by Alex
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Now Netflix title “Caliphate,” produced by the Endemol Shine-owned Swedish production company Filmlance, has smashed all-time viewing records on Sweden’s SVT Play, the catch-up VOD service of public broadcaster SVT, Endemol Shine Group confirmed Wednesday. “Caliphate” was made available globally on Netflix on March 18. The biggest success ever on SVT Play, Endemol Shine said,
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