Netflix has found its new head of public policy, turning to a veteran partner at the powerful law firm Akin Gump to oversee the streaming giants policy strategy and manage its policy teams around the world. Clete Willems, the Akin Gump attorney, will become Netflixs chief global affairs officer, based in Washington D.C., he will report to co-CEO Ted Sarandos,...

The White Lotus finished season three on a grisly note on Sunday, but we all hope to check back in for a new season soon no one more so than HBO executives. But first, creator and showrunner Mike White could probably use a vacation of his own. Its unclear if hed choose a (surely) comped Four Seasons stay or stay...

Philip Barantini, the director of Netflix hit drama Adolescence and the 2019 film Boiling Point, and his long-time collaborator and co-executive producer Samantha Beddoe have sold a minority stake in their production company Its All Made Up Productions to U.K. talent management, TV production and live promotion giant Avalon (Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Catastrophe). The partnership, which began...

Imax is expanding its longstanding relationship with Japanese cinema giant Toho. The two companies revealed Tuesday that they have inked a deal to build six new Imax with Laser systems across Japan. Under the agreement, Imax will bring two new locations to Toho Cinemas in Tokyo, while furthering its expansion into key suburban areas across the country, including Utsunomiya, Nisshin,...

Rushing to set today at 2:25 p.m. ET, Fox Business Network anchor Liz Claman (3-4 p.m.s The Claman Countdown) saw a headline on Reuters: Euro Extends Losses as EU Announces Retaliatory Tariffs on the U.S. I immediately said, Thats our lead,' she told The Hollywood Reporter at 4:30 p.m. There was just one problem Thomson Reuters was not quite right....

Mattel, the toymaker behind Barbie whose film arm has major movie ambitions, is backing away from diversity, equity and inclusion disclosures to investors. In a move to avoid winding up in the crosshairs of the governments campaign against DEI, Mattel scrubbed references tied to boosting diversity at the company. Compared to previous years, when it highlighted its commitment to such...

SpinCo made a number of communications hires ahead of Comcasts spinoff of its cable TV channels. Lauren Skowronski will serve as senior vice president of global communications for CNBC, after most recently serving as senior director of communications at Snap Inc and previously working as svp of corporate communications for NBCUniversal. Richard Hudock has been promoted to svp of communications...

Comcast has hired former DirecTV and Apple executive Jon Gieselman to take on the newly created role of chief growth officer for the residential domestic businesses of its Connectivity Platforms unit that reaches more than 64 million homes and businesses in the U.S. Hell be responsible for driving growth across the companys broadband, wireless and video products, as well as...

Sony Pictures Entertainment has named Jay Levine executive VP and chief strategy officer, overseeing the companys MA activities, as well as corporate development and investments. Levine joins Sony from Kevin Harts Hartbeat productions, where he had been CEO. Levine joined Hartbeat only a year ago from Warner Bros. He had previously overseen Warners corporate development team, and will now do...

How do you stand out in a crowded upfront environment that now includes tech giants alongside legacy entertainment companies? Going early helps, and so is being a bit different. So this week AMC Networks plans to gather its brand marketing partners and clients, and in an unusual twist its distribution partners (think pay-TV companies and other platforms that distribute AMC...

As Hollywoods employment crisis deepens with no relief in sight, more than one thousand rallied on Sunday in support of amplified incentives intended to convince more film and TV productions to stay in Southern California. At the Stay in L.A. event at a studio services complex in Sun Valley, politicians shared stories of constituents in dire circumstances, industry professionals detailed...

SAG-AFTRA and advertisers have once again decided to extend the expiration date of their current contracts as they hash out successor agreements. The performers union and the Joint Policy Committee, which bargains on behalf of advertisers and advertising agencies, together pushed the conclusion of their current deals through April 11. The deals had previously been set to expire by the...

The tariff-driven market turmoil is delaying one of the entertainment worlds most closely-watched IPOs. The online ticketing giant StubHub has put its planned IPO on pause, a source says, just a few weeks after first filing to go public. The company is said to be waiting for the markets to quiet down and clarity to resume, at which point it...