Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s much-scrutinized streaming-video project is months away from launch, but the executives already know how much the new content would cost subscribers. NewTV, incubated by Katzenberg and held by his WndrCo, will seek to charge subscribers $5 per month for content with ads and $8 per month for an ad-free experience
September 25, 2018 1:14PM PT Mariah Carey will perform at the 2018 American Music Awards on Oct. 9, the ceremony announced on Tuesday. Producer and songwriter Benny Blanco is also set to perform in a collaboration with Halsey and Khalid. They join previously announced performers Carried Underwood and Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign. The
SiriusXM’s $3.5 acquisition of Pandora, announced Monday and still awaiting stockholder approval, creates an audio monolith with more than 100 million monthly listeners, but even more importantly establishes a beachhead for the combined company against the likes of Apple, Spotify and Amazon for connected car dashboard supremacy. With in-car listening the dominant factor in audio broadcast
September 25, 2018 12:44PM PT A solid, but faithful adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s gothic fairytale about two peculiar, ostracized sisters hiding a dark family secret. If the recent failure of films such as “The Little Stranger” and “Marrowbone” has taught us anything, it’s that audiences don’t seem as thrilled with good, bone-chilling Gothic mysteries as
September 25, 2018 11:58AM PT President Donald Trump claimed that his administration “has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” drawing laughter from an audience at the United Nations on Tuesday. “So true,” Trump continued, which caused more laughter in the General Assembly hall. “Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s
Earlier this month, the legal battle between Ozzy Osbourne and AEG officially ended when the singer’s attorney agreed to drop a lawsuit against the live-entertainment giant stemming from its block-booking policy, which the company recently discontinued. The policy required artists playing the London’s O2 Arena to also perform at Staples Center in Los Angeles, both of which
Facebook will likely appoint Adam Mosseri, currently Instagram’s head of product, as the new chief executive of Instagram with the departure of the photo- and video-sharing service’s co-founders, according to a report. Tech-new site The Information reported that Facebook will likely announce Mosseri as the new head of Instagram “in the coming days,” citing anonymous
September 25, 2018 11:00AM PT Participant Media’s “On the Basis of Sex” is set to open the 32nd AFI Fest, the American Film Institute announced Tuesday. Directed by AFI alumna Mimi Leder, the film follows a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she negotiates one of her earliest cases, Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, before her time on the
This coming Wednesday and Thursday, virtual reality (VR) developers and enthusiasts from around the world will once again gather in San Diego, Calif., for Facebook’s Oculus Connect developer conference. One of the big reveals of the conference is expected to be the latest version of Oculus Santa Cruz, a standalone VR headset that Facebook has
September 25, 2018 10:36AM PT The Television Critics Association (TCA) has voted overwhelmingly to rescind the Career Achievement Award given to Bill Cosby in 2002, the group announced Tuesday. This marks the first time the TCA has ever taken away one of its awards. The revocation of the honor will be noted in the organization’s
September 25, 2018 10:33AM PT WASHINGTON — Donald Trump attacked the second woman who claims that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh engaged in sexual misconduct at a college party. The president told reporters that she was “totally inebriated and all messed up” at the time. The woman, Deborah Ramirez, told the New Yorker that Kavanaugh
September 25, 2018 10:30AM PT David Decker has been promoted to oversee domestic TV sales for Warner Bros. following the retirement of longtime domestic TV distribution chief Ken Werner. A 15-year studio veteran, Decker will take on oversight of local TV station sales with Werner’s departure. Decker already spearheaded sales to cable, streaming and on-demand
In an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on Monday, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh told the anchor that “America’s about fairness, and hearing from both sides.” It was a point he hit on again and again: That the same people who’d given a fair hearing to the women accusing him of assault and harassment
Upbeat Hong Kong stories that bring audience laughter and optimism rather than highly stylized dramas about heavy subjects could be the antidote for an industry struggling with its identity in the post-handover era, according “Men on the Dragon” director Sunny Chan. The local drama has garnered more than HK$9.5 million ($1.2 million) since its Aug.
More Hollywood actors are expected to appear in starring roles in Chinese films as China’s film industry continue to expand, with bigger productions looking to meet international standards and feed the growing appetite for domestic blockbusters. So far, however, the top Hollywood stars joining the ensemble casts of these blockbusters have almost all been men. Opportunities
September 25, 2018 10:00AM PT Rapper Lil Yachty has been cast in the lead role of the MTV film “How High 2,” Variety has learned exclusively. The film began production in Atlanta today. It is a follow up to the 2001 stoner comedy “How High” starring Method Man and Redman. It will premiere on MTV in 2019.
The first season of “Black Lightning” on the CW tackled topical storytelling around gang and gun violence, and drugs in inner cities. With that foundation under its feet, the second season will dive even deeper into tales of police brutality and family separation. “We’re at a critical point where artists, if they so choose —
September 25, 2018 9:54AM PT SANTA BARBARA – The CEO of AT&T said he “will be disappointed” if his company has not attracted more people to watch HBO more regularly, and suggested the company could reallocate capital within its WarnerMedia unit over the next three years to make that happen. “It would be a very
September 25, 2018 9:51AM PT The New Jersey native handles publicity for Harry Styles, PRETTYMUCH, Grace Vanderwaal, among other label acts. Mike Navarra has been promoted to Vice President of Publicity at Columbia Records. The public relations strategist has overseen campaigns for such acts as One Direction, Harry Styles, Grace Vanderwaal, PRETTYMUCH and Russ, among
September 25, 2018 9:37AM PT Danica Smith is joining Kovert Creative, the creative marketing and communications agency led by Joe Assad and Lewis Kay. Smith joins the agency after 14 years at PMK*BNC/PMK-HBH. She will be based in the Santa Monica office. “Not only is Danica an exceptional personal representative, she is also one of
Sports journalists Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer will make history when they become the first two women to call NFL games on Amazon’s Prime Video. The duo have inked a deal to provide commentary and analysis for 11 “Thursday Night Football” games live-streamed to Prime customers worldwide this season. Storm (pictured above right) and Kremer
September 25, 2018 9:30AM PT The SAG-AFTRA Foundation will present its Patron of the Artists Awards to entertainment industry leader Jeffrey Katzenberg and director-producer-writer Spike Lee. The foundation made the announcement Tuesday. It said the awards honor industry leaders who are champions of the arts and whose history of fostering creativity and creating opportunities for
September 25, 2018 9:23AM PT Twitter is revamping its policies to include a ban of dehumanizing language. The company previewed the changes Wednesday morning, and asked its users for input to refine the policy. “Language that makes someone less than human can have repercussions off the service, including normalizing serious violence,” the company said in
U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to Michael Rapino, CEO of Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, about the allegations made in a CBC/Toronto Star report last week, which claims the company’s proprietary program, TradeDesk, to allow ticket scalpers to access a web-based inventory of Ticketmaster’s ticket supply in order to
Ken Werner will retire from his post as president of Warner Domestic Television Distribution at year’s end. The veteran sales and distribution executive has headed Warner Bros.’ domestic TV sales efforts across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms since 2006. Before that, he spent nine years as head of the WB Network’s distribution team. In that
September 25, 2018 9:15AM PT Robert and Michelle King have renewed their overall deal with CBS Television Studios. Under the three-year agreement with the Kings — co creators of “The Good Fight” and “The Good Wife” — CBS will have exclusive rights to produce TV content created by the Kings across all platforms. The Kings,
A month after his exit from Columbia Records, Joel Klaiman has a new job at Hitco Entertainment, the label founded by L.A. Reid and Charles Goldstuck that’s home to Outkast’s Big Boi, Fifth Harmony’s Dinah Jane and newcomer rappers SAINt JHN and Yella Beezy. Klaiman joins the Los Angeles-based company as President. He will be
September 25, 2018 8:50AM PT Cameron Crowe’s iconic film “Almost Famous” is getting the stage treatment. On Tuesday, producers announced a musical is officially in the works. It will feature music by composer Tom Kitt, who previously scored “Next to Normal” and “Bring it On,” with lyrics by Kitt and Crowe. Crowe will pen the book
The nominations are out for the 8th Annual Streamy Awards — recognizing the best creators, content and marketing in online video, and YouTube has inked a deal to be the official presenting sponsor and global distribution partner for the 2018 edition. This year’s list of Streamys contenders include Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, a top “Fortnite” player
Getty ImagesMax Mumby/Indigo The Royal Family is making Meghan Markle’s one-of-a-kind engagement ring—or at least replicas of it—available to the general, not-super-rich public via its The Royal Collection shop. Fans noticed that the shop online is now selling a Buckingham Palace ring, which looks exactly like the yellow-gold triple-diamond ring that Prince Harry designed for