2024 was shaping up to be the year for the media sector long-awaited consolidation wave, with Paramount Global leading the way. But even as suitors like Skydance Media, Warner Bros. Discovery and Allen Media Group line up, it may not be so simple. Naveen Sarma, managing director of S&P Global Ratings and a veteran credit
Martin Kirkup, co-founder of Direct Management Group, whose roster includes k.d. lang, Katy Perry, and Au/Ra, died Feb 4. died on February 4 at age 75. Kirkup managed the above artists with his longtime partners Steven Jensen and Bradford Cobb. After founding Direct with Jensen in 1985, the company Kirkup saw early success with Echo
Netflix’s original “Daredevil” trio has reunited on the streets of New York City, where the upcoming Disney+ series “Daredevil: Born Again” is now filming. Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/Daredevil), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page) and Elden Henson (Franklin “Foggy” Nelson) were spotted shooting scenes together for the new show alongside Wilson Bethel, who is also reprising
Demi Moore has joined the cast of Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming Paramount+ series “Landman,” Variety has learned. Moore joins previously announced series lead Billy Bob Thornton in the series, along with cast members Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph, Jacob Lofland, Kayla Wallace, James Jordan, Mark Collie, and Paulina Chávez. The series is based on the podcast “Boomtown.”
Three big media players — Disney/ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery — have huddled up to create what some are already calling “Hulu for Sports.” The joint venture, currently pegged to launch in the fall of 2024, will include ESPN+, plus streaming feeds of 14 linear TV networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews,
Jermaine Dupri has announced a multiyear partnership between his So So Def Recordings and Create Music Group. Under the deal terms, the veteran artist, producer and entrepreneur brings his label’s recordings, publishing and back catalog to Create. Dupri, who will also serve as the newly instated creative director for Create, will work with the company
Tom March has been named chairman-CEO of Capitol Music Group, the company announced today (Feb. 7). The announcement was made by John Janick, chairman-CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, to whom March will report. The move comes just a day after former chairman-CEO Michelle Jubelirer stepped down after two years in the post, and also
Hunter Schafer and Noomi Rapace will star in “Palette,” a psychological horror film directed by Zach Strauss (“SMILF”) in his feature debut. Strauss penned the script for “Palette,” which was featured on the 2023 Black List. He is also a writer on Spike Lee’s upcoming feature “Da Understudy.” “Palette” follows Dolly (Schafer), “a woman suffering
It’s been three months since Hollywood’s dual strikes finally ended, with SAG-AFTRA reaching a deal some six weeks after their WGA counterparts, but the reverberations are continuing across the pond. As producer John McVey told a Parliamentary inquiry into the state of the U.K.’s screen industry last month: “If America sneezes, we often catch a
Sam Taylor-Johnson‘s upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” may have access to the late singer’s globally recognized back catalog, but another legendary musician is lending his talents to the project. Nick Cave, alongside his long-time collaborator Warren Ellis, is scoring the StudioCanal and Focus Features film, which sees “Industry” star Marisa Abela play Winehouse.
When young Saudi Arabian director Moe Alatawi was growing up, cinema was banned in his country. This adds special significance to the fact that on Feb. 15 his first feature, the desert epic “Within Sand,” will be opening wide in Saudi theaters. The sumptuously shot drama — inspired by the true story of a
The Black Keys, Hozier, Nile Rodgers, Tom Morello, Don Felder, Bettye Lavette, Joss Stone, Allison Russell, Emily King, Marcus King and more will perform at the eighth annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert for God’s Love We Deliver. Taking place at New York’s Beacon Theatre on March 7, the concert will also feature performances from
Kelsea Ballerini continues to go places, but she won’t be going anywhere when it comes to her label home, as the country star has reupped her deal with Black River Entertainment after a successful 10-year run with the independent imprint. Most recently seen dancing with pal Taylor Swift at the Grammy Awards (where Ballerini was
New York City is still in the throes of winter, which means the city’s filled with bare branches, winds that will definitely blow your umbrella inside out, and people bundled up in dark layers, dreaming of warmer, brighter days to come. But there’s probably nobody more delighted by the prospect of new blooms than Stephanie
It’s quite the feat to craft a satisfying, clever romantic comedy in this cynical day and age, given almost every meet-cute, situational shenanigan and grand gesture has already been put to celluloid. However, “Upgraded,” which initially appears to be a stereotypical rags-to-riches tale centered on a desperate gal’s life drastically improving after telling a white
The trailer for “A Quiet Place: Day One” has been released, marking the latest installment in the post-apocalyptic horror franchise spawned from 2018’s “A Quiet Place.” As the title suggests, the film will explore the beginning of the invasion in which deadly alien creatures with hyper-sonic hearing arrive on Earth. The original film and its
U.S.-based distributor Synkronized Distribution has acquired the world rights for the crime drama “The Vortex,” represented by Iuvit Media Sales at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin. The film is directed by Richard Zelniker (“As Night Comes”) and written by Steven Barr. It stars Billy Gardell, Jaina Lee Ortiz and Jamie McShane. “The Vortex”
Around a dozen passengers were trapped on a roller-coaster on Wednesday at Hong Kong Disneyland. They were rescued, unharmed, after 45 minutes. The incident happened mid-afternoon at Space Mountain, a dark ride within the park, the Hong Kong Government’s Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, said. “Upon notification of [a] passenger entrapment incident involving the Space
French actor Judith Godrèche has lodge a rape complaint against filmmaker Benoît Jacquot, newspaper Le Monde reports. Godrèche, who met Jacquot when she was 14 years old and the director was 39, accuses him of “predation” and “violent rape of a minor under 15 years old committed by a person in authority.” She has filed
Fox Corp. said profit fell noticeably in its second fiscal quarter due in part to a 20% dip in advertising revenue that reflected the absence of a outsize sporting event like the FIFA Men’s World Cup in the period as well as lower political advertising at its stations and a continued glut of cheaper direct-response
Chinese e-commerce and entertainment giant Alibaba has taken a $1.2 billion goodwill impairment charge against its video-streaming operation Youku. The move was disclosed on Wednesday as Alibaba revealed its financial results for the October to December 2023 period, the third quarter of its current financial year. Group revenues in the quarter were up by 5%
Taskovski Films Sales has picked up Iranian documentary “Maydegol,” which will have its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Generation 14plus section. The film, directed by Iranian filmmaker Sarvnaz Alambeigi, focuses on an Afghan teenage girl, living with her parents in Iran. The film follows her as she strives to pursue her
Lille-based Series Mania, Europe’s biggest TV festival and forum, has revealed its impressive 2024 main competition, which includes three streamer bows – from Peacock, and MGM+ and Disney+/HBO Europe world premieres. The starry lineup features, for example, the much-anticipated new Liane Moriarty adaptation “Apples Never Fall” with Annette Bening as the matriarch who suddenly disappears,
Eight Chinese-language films release simultaneously this weekend in mainland China and will vie for a slice of the Lunar New Year holiday box office business. The week-long nationwide holiday period has in recent years become the most lucrative season for cinemas, and key films stake out their slot in the release calendar months or years
Banijay Asia is expanding into Southeast Asia with the formation of new entity CreAsia Studio. The outfit will focus on collaborations in the region to create local originals and produce localized Banijay IP adaptations. The move is in keeping with the Mumbai-headquartered company’s plans to grow in the Southeast Asian market, which Deepak Dhar, founder
Top Bollywood star Sushmita Sen conquered a heart attack and returned triumphantly to complete Disney+ Hotstar series “Aarya.” It is the second such comeback for Sen, a former Miss Universe, who headlines the series. The show is an adaptation of Dutch show “Penoza,” in which a woman has to join a mafia gang and avenge
Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden are stepping down from their production banner Arcade Pictures. The company’s debut feature, “The Outrun,” is set to have its international premiere at the Berlin Film Festival next week. The film world premiered at Sundance last month. Lowden, who’s currently starring in “Slow Horses,” set up Arcade Pictures in 2019
Paris-based company The Party Film Sales has boarded international rights to “Aicha,” Mehdi M. Barsaoui’s follow-up to the Venice-premiering “A Son,” and “Transamazonia” by Pia Marais (“Layla Fourie”). WME Independent is repping North America and multi-territory deals on “Transamazonia.” Both films are in post-production and will be teased by The Party Film Sales at the
Kumail Nanjiani revealed during an appearance on the “Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum” podcast that the negative reviews for “Eternals” took a toll on his mental health. “The reviews were bad, and I was too aware of it,” said Nanjiani, who played Kingo in the 2021 Marvel film. “I was reading every review and
Kevin Spacey will pay $1 million to MRC, the production company behind “House of Cards,” to settle claims that he sexually harassed young male staffers on the show. Spacey was dropped from the final season of the show in 2017. He was facing a $31 million judgment in the case, after an arbitrator found that