Shares of Paramount Global tumbled more than 18% in early trading Thursday after the media conglomerate reported disappointing first-quarter 2023 results and slashed its dividend. Paramount posted a Q1 loss of $1.12 billion, as revenue of $7.27 billion was down 1% to on shortfalls in its TV media and filmed entertainment units. The company’s streaming
Grogu, better known to his legion of fans as Baby Yoda from Disney+’s “The Mandalorian,” has infiltrated the Googleplex. Type “Grogu” or “Baby Yoda” into the Google Search bar — and the diminutive creature appears in the lower right-hand section of the screen. When you click or tap on Grogu, he commences to use The
Anonymous Content has come on board California surf-themed animated feature adapted from illustrator AJ Dungo’s celebrated graphic memoir, “In Waves.” Produced by Paris-based Silex Films, “In Waves” marks the feature debut of Phuong Mai Nguyen (“Brazen”), and is being penned by Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux, whose screenwriting credits include “After Love” and “The Origin of
The Songwriters Hall of Fame announced today that Post Malone will be the 2023 recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award, which is intended to honor “gifted young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs.” The award was created in 2004 to honor Hal David, Burt Bacharach’s
With Hot Docs’ marquee market event the Forum and its sidebar operations back to live action, and the festival’s 30th anniversary adding a layer of buzzy excitement, docmakers and industry pros from Western Canada are hauling out a bumper crop of adventurous docs for audiences and buyers, and chatting in the real world about new
Paramount Global said it would it cut its dividend as continued investment in streaming weighed on the company while it saw declines in its traditional revenue from advertising and cable distribution. The owner of CBS, Nickelodeon and the Paramount movie studio said its first-quarter loss came to nearly $1.23 billion, or $1.81 a share, compared
The next decade will belong to Indian stories, according to Sushant Sreeram, country director of Prime Video India. Sreeram was delivering a keynote at the ongoing FICCI-Frames 2023 convention in Mumbai. “The coming decade belongs to Indian stories, with streaming enabling expansion of linguistic palette and content diversity,” Sreeram said. The executive also highlighted the
Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been banned from leaving Iran to serve as a member of the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard jury, according to a report. News of the travel ban for the director who was recently released from Tehran’s Evin prison after being arrested last July for criticizing the government on
The breakdown of the Writers Guild of America’s contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers could benefit the documentary industry. Especially those documentary filmmakers with projects seeking distribution. At least that’s the hope. Like film and television scribes worried about the survival of screenwriting as a viable profession, hundreds of nonfiction
FUND Content company Catalyst has partnered with intimate apparel company Knix to launch a documentary fund. The Knix Fund Catalyst Docs for Change Project is set to launch at Banff World Media Festival, which kicks off on June 11. Catalyst founder Julie Bristow and Knix founder Joanna Griffiths will appear at the festival in a
Studiocanal is releasing a newly re-mastered version of David Lynch’s 2006 surreal mystery drama “Inland Empire,” which is set to hit theaters in the U.K. and France later this month. Supervised by Lynch, the new 4K master was undertaken by The Criterion Collection with the support of Studiocanal. It features 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio
BAFTA has published its latest membership data. As of May 2023, the current make-up of BAFTA’s membership is 42:58 female:male; 16% from underrepresented ethnic groups; 7% with a disability; and 12% LGBTQIA+. It’s a requirement of voting members before casting votes or accessing content on BAFTA’s streaming platform BAFTA View to participate in this survey.
Mo Abudu, the CEO of EbonyLife Media, has launched Mo Abudu Films and directed two short films that address mental health issues from a Nigerian perspective, a subject that is considered taboo in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. “Iyawo Mi” tells the story of Kunle, a young married man who lives in impoverished downtown
Glossy drama film, “Inside the Yellow Cocoon,” has unveiled its first trailer ahead of its world premiere this month in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes. Its world sales representative, Cercamon will give the picture a market launch with a buyers-only screening on May 16. The anticipated Vietnamese-Singapore co-production is the debut feature by Pham
The Indian media and entertainment industry grew 20% to reach INR2.1 trillion ($26 billion) in 2022, 10% above pre-pandemic 2019, according to the annual EY report released during the ongoing Frames conference in Mumbai, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The report collates data from television, digital media, film, animation
Revenues at Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group, a media giant which owns Fremantle, slid 9% to €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) for the first quarter of 2023, financial results released on Thursday have revealed. The group attributes this to “significantly lower TV advertising revenue,” particularly in Germany, and the disposals of RTL Belgium and RTL Croatia. Fremantle’s revenues were
As the saying goes, you can take the man out of Texas … but apparently he’ll drag an arsenal of Lone Star State clichés wherever he goes, at least in “One Ranger.” Stuntman turned writer-director Jesse V. Johnson’s latest action programmer has Thomas Jane as a Texas Ranger so ornery-tough he makes even Chuck Norris
Veteran Indian actor Anupam Kher (“New Amsterdam,” “Silver Linings Playbook”) will headline made-for-streaming film “Vijay 69” from leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ streaming production arm YRF Entertainment. “Vijay 69” will tell the story of a man, played by Kher, who decides to compete in a triathlon contest at the age of 69. It will be
The Writers Guild of America West held a rally Wednesday night to demonstrate solidarity with the other Hollywood unions in their collective contract battles against Hollywood’s major employers. About 1,800 guild members attended the meeting at the Shrine Auditorium, and heard from WGA leaders about the reasons behind the two-day old strike. One of the
The Cannes jury class of 2023 has finally been unveiled. The festival has rounded out its jury — led this year by “Triangle of Sadness” director and 2022 Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund — with a star-studded roster of actors and directors. Jury members include: actors Paul Dano and Brie Larson, Moroccan director Maryam Touzani,
The sensation of a nation crumbling from within — not in slo-mo deterioration, but amid the chaos of widespread violence and political upheaval — is unimaginable to most people. Yet it’s something many will live to experience. Offering a primer of sorts in that grim prospect is “5 Seasons of Revolution.” Made by the pseudonymous
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 9, episode 12 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired May 3 on Fox. Former Miss USA and Miss Universe Olivia Culpo was the next celebrity to be revealed on Fox’s “The Masked Singer.” Culpo was unmasked as UFO on Thursday’s show, which
Snoop Dogg had some choice words about the “fucked up” streaming models that have led the Writers Guild of America to go on strike over compensation. “[Artists] need to figure it out the same way the writers are figuring it out,” Snoop said during a panel on Wednesday with Shirley Halperin, Variety‘s executive music editor,
Testimony wrapped up in the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement trial at the end of the court day Wednesday, as the judge sent the Manhattan jury into deliberations with a pointed admonition: “Independent creation is a complete defense, no matter how similar that song is.” U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton’s instructions may have left a
Indian media and entertainment company IN10 Media Network has launched its film division, MovieVerse Studios. The film studio aims to “produce fresh and engaging content in Hindi and regional languages that connect with theatre-going audiences and those on streaming platforms,” the studio said in a statement. The studio has revealed a diverse slate across genres.
As the subtitle suggests, “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” is a prequel and spinoff to the hit Netflix series, which adapts Julia Quinn’s Regency Era romance novels with the soapy, progressive sensibility of producer Shonda Rhimes. In practice, though, the six-episode series is more like “Bridgerton” Season 2.5. Though the story flashes back some 50
Stanley Tucci may not be searching much longer. The actor-foodie says he’s “pretty confident” that he’ll find a new home for his cooking and travel show, “Searching for Italy.” CNN canceled the two-season series in December when the network ended its development of original documentary programming. “We’re talking to different companies,” Tucci told me at
Marvel scripts are always top secret, but “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Pom Klementieff almost took things to a new level by burying her “Vol. 3” script in co-star Karen Gillan’s garden. Klementieff joined the Marvel franchise as Mantis in “Vol 2.” After James Gunn was initially fired as the director of “Guardians Vol. 3”
In ELLE.com’s monthly series Office Hours, we ask people in powerful positions to take us through their first jobs, worst jobs, and everything in between. This month, we spoke with Maria Dueñas Jacobs, the founder of the children’s accessories brand Super Smalls. As someone who got her start in fashion at this very magazine, Dueñas
There are a lot of things that come to mind when contemplating the future of fashion. Maybe it’s the rise of digital fashion—as in NFTs, virtual fashion shows, and augmented reality—which seemingly all belong in a galaxy far, far away. Or, perhaps a little closer to earth, it’s the longevity of our clothes and the