Over the past few years, the future of studios ability to assert First Amendment protections in casting decisions appeared to be compromised thanks to a couple of high-profile decisions from courts overseeing discrimination lawsuits filed by actors. The most recent came last year when a court rebuffed Disneys bid to dismiss a case over Gina Caranos firing from The Mandalorian...

Hundreds of unionized workers at the Elder Scrolls and Fallout video game firm ZeniMax Media have voted to authorize a strike, marking an escalation in tensions with the company after nearly two years of contract negotiations. More than 94 percent of quality assurance (QA) testers represented by Communications Workers of America Locals supported a work stoppage in a vote that...

Good Night and Good Luck, starring George Clooney, was the highest grossing show on Broadway again last week, even as its grosses took a slight dip. After breaking the record for highest weekly gross for a play, Good Night and Good Luck fell $22,558 last week, amid a few comped press performances. The play still brought in an enormous $3.28...

One of MSNBCs election night stalwarts is jumping ship to NBC News, as Comcasts SpinCo effort continues to shake up the talent rosters of the news channels in its portfolio. An NBC News spokesperson confirms that Steve Kornacki, MSNBCs data guru and an election night regular at the cable news channels big board, has inked a new deal that will...

At the start of Hayao Miyazakis modern classic Spirited Away, the young heroineChihiro and her parents are exploring a seemingly abandoned theme park when a boy named Haku greets her with a warning: Chihiro must cross back over a dry riverbed and head home before sunset while she still can. She fails to do so, and soon finds the river...

Candle Media co-CEO and former top Disney exec Kevin Mayer sat down for a wide-ranging Paley Dialogue conversation on Monday that focused heavily on how he sees social media impacting Hollywood. The Future of Storytelling with Kevin Mayer, moderated by Varietys Janelle Riley at the Beverly Wilshire, began with Mayers involvement in Disney acquiring Marvel and his decision to leave...

Javier Pons has been promoted to chief content officer and head of Telemundo Studios. Pons takes on the role after joining the company as executive vice president of Telemundo Studios last year. The role will expand his responsibilities, which include overseeing the studios scripted content, to include overseeing the networks entertainment division, including developing and producing Telemundos unscripted content, daily...

Its been a mixed opening to 2025 for Hollywood stocks, but many outperformed a sharper decline in the broader stock market. Signs of improving streaming profits at sector giants and hope for more consolidation or deals refocusing companies have been a boon for investor sentiment, while continuing challenges for the traditional cable networks and uncertainty over the regulatory outlook during...

ITV Studios unveiled on Tuesday that it has acquireda majority stake in Moonage Pictures, one of the U.K.s fastest-growing independent producers of high-end drama, including global hitsThe GentlemenandA Good Girls Guide to Murder. Moonage Pictures was established in 2018 by Will Gould, Matthew Read and Frith Tiplady and produces original, inventive content for UK and international markets. The Gentlemen,directed by...

Warner Bros. Discovery is beefing up its board of directors with a private equity and technology veteran, Anton Levy. Levy, currently an advisory director at the private equity giant General Atlantic, previously served as co-president and chairman of global technology for the firm. Levy was instrumental in some of General Atlantics most notable tech investments, including companies like Airbnb, Facebook,...

Performers union SAG-AFTRA and advertisers have extended their current labor deals as negotiations continue for successor agreements. The union and the Joint Policy Committee which bargains on behalf of advertisers and advertising agencies announced that they were prolonging their current three-year contracts until the end of the day on Friday. The contracts were initially set to end at the end...

By now everyone in Hollywood knows YouTube is a dominant player in the video ecosystem, but a prominent Wall Street analyst argues that YouTube still has a long period of growth ahead of it. MoffettNathansons Michael Nathanson writes in a March 31 note that YouTube should be officially crowned the new king of all media, with engagement topping all other...

Belgium-based exhibitor Kinepolis has expanded its partnership with Imax via a new 9-theater deal for Europe and North America. The latest agreement will see Kinepolis take Imax screens with next-generation laser systems for France, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, in addition to adding new theaters in the U.S. and Canada. The multi-territory deal will see Kinepolis nearly double the size of...