Academy Reiterates Commitment to DEI in Letter to Members Following Exit of Black Execs: ‘Still Much More Work to Do’

When Hugo Stafford started suffering from fatigue and a high temperature, doctors thought he might have had a viral infection.

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Zack Snyder has revealed that he still want to work on a director’s cut of his 2011 psychological fantasy action film Sucker Punch.Speaking to Letterboxd in a recent interview with IFC Center, Snyder shared that 12 years after the theatrical release of the film, he’s still holding on to hop that he’ll be able to work on a director’s cut so his original of the vision can be seen by fans.Snyder also shared that the film’s original ending was changed as Warner Bros. thought it was “too weird”.“I’ve never gotten around to doing the director’s cut.

Sophia Scorziello editor Janet Yang has been re-elected as president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Her second-term re-election was made by the Academy’s board of governors who additionally elected a number of officer positions for 2023-2024. Yang is an Emmy-winning producer with credits on projects including “The Joy Luck Club,” “The People vs.

Most of the time when a cheap house comes on the market it is being sold at an auction, rather than on the traditional property market. Although this can be a great way to snap up a bargain home, you can often find that the final sale price turns out to be much higher than the guide price you anticipated.

It appears the maker behind a Blink-182 T-shirt has been out of the loop on the rock band’s current members.

NeNe Leakes is dishing about her time on The Real Housewives of Atlanta — and the toll her career has taken on her personal life.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International When “World on Fire” premiered on the BBC in September 2019, no one could have known that the World War II drama would be one of the last major scripted debuts on the public broadcaster before the pandemic. The PBS Masterpiece co-production — which follows the interconnected lives of British and European families during the outbreak of war — confirmed it would return at the end of its Season 1 finale, but the onset of the COVID-19 crisis just four months later and its impact on global production made the prospect of setting up a continent-spanning war drama all the more unlikely. Yet with some heroic scheduling, rewritten scripts and clever location and CGI combos, Season 2 returned to British screens on Sunday after a four-year hiatus, premiering to an audience indelibly changed by a global and life-altering event of their own.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently addressed the departure of multiple Black executives from its organization in a letter sent to its members. 

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sent a letter to its members on Friday evening, addressing the recent departure of multiple Black executives from its organization over the past few weeks. Signed by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang, the statement, obtained by Variety, includes an affirmation of the organization’s commitment to its diversity and inclusion programs, as well as efforts to “expanding” their promotion. “We have heard from some of you who have asked about our Academy DEAI programs as these efforts across our film community and other industries have been called into question,” the letter begins. “A number of Black executives in Hollywood have exited their roles, including within the Academy, and we recognize the concern this creates. Given all of this, we want to reiterate, in the strongest possible terms, the Academy’s commitment to not only continuing, but expanding our efforts to promote diversity and inclusion within our organization and the film industry at large.”

according to Variety, who first reported his resignation, he was specifically praised for his work by Rosie Perez.Finnie’s exit comes just over 2 weeks after that of the film academy’s executive vice president of impact and inclusion, Jeanell English, who quit after just one year in the job. Finnie and English are just 2 of the Black Hollywood executives who have stepped down or have been laid off the last month.The others would be Vernā Myers, who exited Netflix, Latondra Newton who departed the Walt Disney Company and Karen Horne, who was laid off by Warner Bros.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Shawn Finnie, executive vice president, member relations, global outreach and awards for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, is leaving the organization after nearly a decade, Variety has learned exclusively. His final day was Thursday, July 13. Finnie was a beloved figure within the Academy, rising through the ranks and receiving multiple promotions. His departure comes after his most recent promotion to his role in June 2021 by former COO Christine Simmons. He led engagement and outreach initiatives for the organization’s global membership of more than 10,000 artists, filmmakers and executives. In addition, he led a team of more than 20 team members.

While the 70-day-old WGA strike has been an “annoyance” for entertainment companies, in the view of one Wall Street analyst, the SAG-AFTRA walkout will be “much more disruptive.”

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Watch video of the press conference here.They were referring to a wave of sudden exits of executives that kicked off June 20 when Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president Latondra Newton, left, according to Disney to pursue “other endeavors.” Then on June 28 Netflix announced that Vernā Myers, head of inclusion strategy, will leave the role in September after five years in the job in order to focus attention on her consulting company, The Vernā Myers Company.The next day, Warner Bros. Discovery laid off SVP of diversity, equity and inclusion Karen Horne, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s EVP of Impact and Inclusion Jeanell English stepped down.

Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney, who plays Cassandra "Cassie" Plummer in the ITV soap, has revealed when her character will be returning to the small screen alongside estranged mother Evelyn Plummer as fans had been wondering if they would come back.

Tickets can be purchased here. Members of IATSE and the Teamsters Union can attend the event free of charge.The Union Solidarity Coalition was founded by writer/directors who were moved to connect with crew affected by the 2023 WGA strike, with that early group comprised of Susanna Fogel, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Lena Dunham, Crystal Moselle, Tara Miele, Alex Winter, Frankie Shaw, Amy Seimetz, Josh Locy, Justine Bateman, Antonio Campos, Malik Vitthal, Paul Scheer, Zoe Lister-Jones, Andrea Savage, Tony Phelan, Julie Plec and Sarah Adina Smith.

YG Entertainment has given an update on the contract renewal progress for popular K-pop girl group BLACKPINK.Earlier today (July 12), South Korean news outlet Munhwa Ilbo reported that BLACKPINK member Lisa had yet to come to an agreement about a contract renewal with YG Entertainment. The outlet also alleged that it was likely that Lisa would not renew her contract with the K-pop agency following the expiration of BLACKPINK’s contracts in August.Munhwa Ilbo also cited an anonymous Chinese agency, who told the publication: “We have been working with Lisa and YG Entertainment to see if she can appear on our show, but they have told us that it is difficult to discuss any schedules past August due to uncertainty with contract renewals,” as translated by Koreaboo.Elsewhere in its report, the news agency also claimed that the contract renewal processes for the remaining three BLACKPINK members – namely Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé – are proceeding smoothly, citing an industry insider.YG Entertainment has since responded to Munhwa Ilbo.

A camera operator for the YES Network was struck in the head by an errant throw Wednesday night in the bottom of the fifth inning. The game was halted for ten minutes as he was wheeled away on a stretcher for medical attention.

2020’s social media blackout that was supposed to be in support of the BLM movement.Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president Latondra Newton, a six-year veteran, was the first of the four to go. On June 20, the company said that Newton was leaving to pursue “other endeavors.” Predictably, her exit was celebrated by a faction of people who blamed her for “The Little Mermaid’s “woke” casting of Black actress and singer Halle Bailey.