Latest Business News
CBS Entertainment’s Amy Reisenbach Joins Banff World Media Festival Lineup
The Banff World Media Festival has added CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach to its ‘In Conversation With’ session lineup ahead of its 45th edition in June. On Thursday, the Canadian Rockies festival also announced as additional speakers Lisa Kramer, president, international TV licensing at Paramount Global Content Distribution; Asif Sadiq, chief global diversity, equity and […]
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Viola Davis, Julius Tennon Launch Book Publisher JVL Media
Viola Davis and husband Julius Tennon are getting into book publishing by launching JVL Media. The new venture, which includes author and publisher Lavaille Lavette at the helm, will look to champion under-represented voices in the book world. The debut titles from JVL Media, from among a planned slate of non-fiction and fiction books, include […]
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Final Disney Proxy Vote Tally Shows Blowout Win for Bob Iger
The votes have been tallied, and Disney’s victory over the activist investor Nelson Peltz and his Trian Partners is final. But thanks to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, we now have a sense of just how big a margin it was. Disney on Wednesday filed the “final, certified voting results” from […]
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‘Ridiculousness’ Writers Reach First Union Contract
About nine months months after the writers on MTV’s viral comedy clips show Ridiculousness launched their attempt to unionize, the group has reached a first labor contract with its employer. The deal covering a group of 11 creative consultants who are unionized with the Writers Guild of America West was signed on Tuesday, The Hollywood […]
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Universal Settles Lawsuit Claiming Studio Duped Ana de Armas Fans Into Watching ‘Yesterday’
A lawsuit between Universal and two men who rented Yesterday and accused the studio of tricking fans into watching the film by featuring Ana de Armas in trailers when she didn’t actually appear in the movie has settled. Attorneys for both sides on Friday informed the court of a settlement to resolve the case. Terms […]
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Hollywood’s Hottest Free Agents Are the Kelce Brothers
Last April, Jason Kelce entered the NFL’s West Coast media hub in Inglewood, California (it’s right next door to SoFi Stadium), with trepidation. In an otherwise nondescript conference room, Kelce talked with those sitting with him about the difficulties that NFL stars can have after they retire from the game, an attendee recalls. Kelce was […]
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As AI-Created Photorealistic Images Proliferate, Documentary Producers Draw Up Guidelines
As filmmakers start to incorporate more generative artificial intelligence into documentary production, leading to mounting concern over the use of “fake archival” materials, a group of producers is pushing ahead in their efforts to establish guardrails around the use of the technology in fact-based storytelling. On Tuesday, leaders of the Archival Producers Alliance — a […]
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‘American Gladiators’ Creator Johnny Ferraro Signs With Range Sports (Exclusive)
Get ready for more Gladiators. Range Sports has signed American Gladiators creator Johnny Ferraro for representation, with plans to revitalize the reality competition franchise. Range plans to work with Ferraro and his partners “on the development of the American Gladiators IP across TV, film, attractions, merchandise and live events.” Ferraro and Range “are in active development […]
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Disneyland Character Workers File for a Union Election With the NLRB
The workers who play characters like Goofy and Mickey Mouse and cheer and dance at parades at Disneyland have taken a step forward in their push to unionize with Actors’ Equity. The group of organizers, which is seeking to represent 1,700 employees, filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board, […]
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Take-Two Interactive to Lay Off 5 Percent of Workforce As Video Game Giant Restructures
Take-Two Interactive will be cutting the company’s workforce by 5 percent as part of a broader cost-reduction plan. The plan, which was approved by the board of directors of the video game publisher Tuesday, also includes eliminating “several projects in development” and “streamlining its organizational structure,” leading to the layoffs. The company expects to bring in […]
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Hugh Grant Settles Illegal Snooping Lawsuit Against Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun
Actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., the publisher of The Sun newspaper, out of court. The trial was to have determined whether the News Corp. tabloid carried out unlawful information gathering, including tapping Grant’s landline phone, bugging his car and breaking into his home. But Grant in a post on […]
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Lionsgate Takes Next Step Toward Spinning Studio Off As Separate Public Company
Lionsgate has moved one step closer to spinning off its film and TV studios business in a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) to create a separately traded public company. Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., a SPAC — often referred to as a blank check company — led by SPAC sponsor Eagle Equity Partners and CEO Eli Baker […]
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Disney-Fox-Warner Sports Streaming Venture Questioned in Letter From Congressmembers
The still-in-development sports streaming joint venture is facing scrutiny from Congress. In a letter sent Tuesday, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.) asked probing questions of the proposed venture. The letter, addressed to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, asks for responses by April […]
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Sesame Workshop Writers Authorize Potential Strike
Unionized writers at Sesame Workshop have unanimously voted to authorize a potential strike as their negotiations over a new labor contract continue. Thirty-five workers at the nonprofit organization that produces Sesame Street have greenlit a potential work stoppage to begin on April 24 if a new contract deal isn’t reached by its current expiration date, […]
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Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor Signs With CAA (Exclusive)
Andrew Bachelor has signed with CAA as the social media star-turned-actor and producer partners with the talent agency for representation. The Canadian-born comic and actor, also known as “King Bach,” has in all around 75 million fans online, especially on Vine, the shortform video-sharing platform. Vine’s limit of six seconds per-movie makes for creative challenges, but […]
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Producer Sues Al Roker Over DEI Policy Failures
Al Roker and his production banner have been sued by Bill Schultz, a former executive producer on an animated kids TV series in development. Schultz (The Simpsons, King of The Hill, Garfield) claims he was fired for objecting to the company’s failure to follow a diversity initiative intended to bring minority writers onto PBS television […]
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