Its no secret that Hollywoods unique cocktail of high-pressure sets, big egos and freelance workers can produce some pretty toxic work environments. In recent years, news reports have emerged about talk shows, reality shows and scripted TV productions alike that allegedly made cast and/or crew miserable. Could QR codes and anonymized survey responses help change that? Thats the conceit behind...

Are Lionsgate and Starz worth more apart than together? That was the logic for separating the John Wick studios company, led by Jon Feltheimer, and the Outlander premium TV brand, run by Jeffrey Hirsch. In the lead-up to the spinoff, execs had touted that the separation would unlock value for investors by evaluating each business separately: For instance, Lionsgate would...

Just as major Hollywood studios are in a moment of belt-tightening, so too are soundstage operators, which are making tough choices about locations to keep during a film and TV production slowdown and facilities that could be cut loose. Take Hudson Pacific, the Victor Coleman-run owner of Sunset Bronson Studios (Netflix is an anchor tenant), which saw layoffs recently hit...

It was Nov. 1, 2023, about a week before the Hollywood actors union reached a deal with studios that ended a historic strike. The labor groups president, Fran Drescher, was feeling the heat from A-listers and rank-and-file performers alike to make good on more than 100 days of withheld labor. That day, she posted a morning routine video to her...

Gypsy soared to $1.6 million last week as the revival finished its Broadway run. The musical, starring Audra McDonald, played to 94 percent capacity at the Majestic Theatre and brought in an average ticket price of $134.58. The show, which opened in December, but announced an early closing Aug. 17, has not seen those ticket prices and box office tally...

As the current leader of the Writers Guild of America East prepares to step aside, two writers are throwing their hats in the ring to take her place. Fat Albert: The Movie writer Charles Kipps and Oz creator Tom Fontana are both running for president of the union, the WGA East announced on Monday. After two years in the top...

The new Paramount has officially made its first big deal: Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer are moving to the studio. Paramount and parent company Skydance made the announcement Monday, five days after reports that the brothers were in talks to leave Netflix, where they created the megahit Stranger Things. The Duffers deal at Paramount is an exclusive, four-year...

When ESPN launches its streaming app Aug. 21, bundling is a big part of the strategy. Disney is planning to use the new sports content to help drive subscribers to sign up for its streaming bundle, which includes the new ESPN app, Disney+ and Hulu, in the hopes of bringing more frequent engagement to its streaming services and cutting down...

The bankruptcy of Dr. Phils Merit Street Media has taken another turn, with its distribution partner suing the company for fraud and breach of contract. In a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court on Tuesday, Trinity Broadcasting accuses Dr. Phil, whose surname is McGraw, of swindling the Christian TV network under a $500 million, ten-year deal in which he failed...

Range Media Partners has been sued by Michele Solis, a former executive assistant who alleges she was given an ultimatum to accept a demotion or be fired for requesting to take a medical leave. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in California state court, brings claims for disability discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination, among several others. It seeks unspecified damages. Solis...

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against a Maryland-based ticket resale company on Monday, alleging that the company broke federal law to obtain hundreds of thousands of tickets to Taylor Swifts Eras tour and other major concerts and scalp them for millions of dollars in profit. In the lawsuit, filed in federal court on Monday and reviewed by The...

Fox Entertainment Studios is completing its top executive team. Bento Box Entertainments Dana Tafoya-Cameron and former Netflix exec Michelle Huynh will be executive vps under studio chief Fernando Szew. Tafoya-Cameron, who was previously head of production for animation house Bento Box, will be executive vp and head of Bento Box and animation, and Huynh will be executive vp studio content...

The right-wing cable channel Newsmax will pay $67 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defaming Dominion Voting Systems by falsely claiming that the vote-counting machine maker rigged votes in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The settlement, reached on Aug. 15, was disclosed in a Monday filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Payments will be made in three...