An indie production company behind Afterburn, an upcoming post-apocalyptic sci-fi film starring Dave Bautista and Samuel L. Jackson, has been has been awarded $7.7 million by an arbitrator over fraud tied to the financing of the project. A backer of the movie, Tristian Peter, was found to have defrauded the company, Fourth Chance Productions, and breached a purchase agreement in...

In the glory days of the TV upfronts, the broadcast networks would build up to a big reveal: The schedule release. The fall schedule would be revealed, and media buyers could get a glimpse of what show would get that prized Friends or CSI lead-in. In 2025, the upfronts still build up to a schedule release, but it isnt a...

As Comcast rolls out Versant, its cable TV spinoff, CFO Jason Armstrong has touted the advantages in investing and building additional scale for SpinCo, to include USA Network, Syfy, MSNBC, and CNBC. For Versant, their opportunity is going to be a well capitalized company, a very strong management team, a lot of free cash flow, and the ability to do...

ITV Studios returned to growth following the impact of the U.S. strikes and is on course to achieve good growth in total revenues over the full year, weighted towards the second half, as previously guided, U.K. TV giant ITV said on Thursday. ITV, led by CEO Carolyn McCall, provided a first-quarter 2025 trading update early in the morning. We continue...

Nickelodeon has agreed to commonsense AI protections for voice actors on animated shows like The Patrick Star Show and Dora the Explorer, according to performers union SAG-AFTRA. The union announced on Wednesday that it had reached a tentative deal with Nickelodeon over voice acting on animated programs for basic cable and Paramount+. With covered projects including Rugrats, The Loud House,...

Initial Group and Untitled Entertainment have hired former UTA corporate communications manager Matt Leonard as vp of corporate communications. While at UTA, Leonard oversaw communications for the talent agencys film and TV divisions. His departure from the Hollywood agency follows a changing of the guard at UTA, as Jeremy Zimmer, co-founder and CEO, announced he was stepping aside to make...

A major Hollywood crew union has weighed in on the White Houses abrupt firing of U.S. Copyright Office head Shira Perlmutter on Saturday following the pre-publication of a report on AI, saying it is deeply concerned over the dismissal and Perlmutter should be reinstated. IATSE, a union that represents an array of behind-the-scenes workers in film and television, from costume...

As newly-installed Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang looks to upcoming negotiations to renew Formula Ones U.S. broadcast rights deal, hes realistic. When you look at where the NFL, NBA and baseball are in the U.S., were not a major player, but globally we are, Chang told the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference on Wednesday during a session...

For two years, we were fed a steady stream of why Warner Bros. Discovery dropped the HBO from HBO Max. The short version: it was too limiting, Max is the streaming home to more than just prestige TV, etc, etc. Well, now HBO Max is back albeit in an improved app and the rebranding (debranding?) of the rebrand is likely...

WME has promoted talent agent RichGambale to partner in the Beverly Hills-based firms non-scripted TV department. Gambale represents a range of talent across non-scripted TV and documentaries, including producers, filmmakers, actors, musicians and models. His client roster includes Selena Gomez, whose unscripted TV credits include Selena + Cheffor HBO Max andSelena + Restaurantfor Food Network/Max. Gambalealso sold Gomezs docLouder: The...

Remember when Harry and Sally met Hellmanns Mayonnaise at the Super Bowl? Or maybe you saw when Jason Bateman (uh, Bateman) squared off with Batman again Gotham Citys biggest villains in a State Farm ad earlier this year? Well Warner Bros. Discovery is turning that product integration into an advertising opportunity. The company announced what it is calling the WBD...

As part of his final act as New Jersey governor, Phil Murphy officially welcomed Netflix to Monmouth County. Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth will Miracle-Gro the Garden States already thriving film and TV production business, a desirable industry attracted by generous tax incentives. Murphy far prefers a carrot technique to the sticks of President Trumps threatened foreign-film tariffs. What were doing...

The Cannes film market, the March du Film, is joining forces with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), producer of tech trade show CES, for a new award to honor groundbreaking developments in the technology of filmmaking and distribution. The initiative is presented in partnership with Cannes Next, the innovation-focused program of the March. Titled Filmmaking Distribution in partnership with Cannes...