Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick to step down next week

After a 28-year run at Sony Pictures, the studio’s SEVP & General Counsel Leah Weil is departing the studio.

Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival unveiled its 2024 lineup today, featuring 250 feature films set to screen across ten days, with highlights including Handling the Undead, Norwegian filmmaker Thea Hvistendahl’s feature debut, starring Renate Resinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie. Other buzzy titles include the Finish title The Missile from filmmaker Miia Tervo and Morbius director Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaker with Madame Luna.

The Who frontman Roger Daltrey has announced that he will be stepping down as the curator for the Teenager Cancer Trust gigs.The announcement was made today (January 8) via BBC, and comes following the rock veteran acting as the curator for the annual charity gigs for over two decades.The benefit shows have been taking place at the Royal Albert Hall since 2000 – although took a break in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Since its initiation, it has raised more than £32million in ticket sales and has gone on to support those struggling with cancer.Daltrey will be stepping down from the role after this year’s set of concerts.For the 2024 instalment – due to take place between March 18 and March 24 – Daltrey and The Who will open the series with two gigs on March 18 and 20, and an evening of comedy is scheduled in between.Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will appear on the Thursday (March 21), featuring support from Blossoms, and performances from The Chemical Brothers and Young Fathers are lined-up on the following two nights.The series will draw to a close with a celebration of the series, titled ‘Ovation’, starring some huge names from across the rock world.

Jonathan Majors has sat down for his first interview since he was found guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and harassment last month.The interview will air on Good Morning America tomorrow (January 8), in which he will be speaking to Linsey Davis of ABC News Live.Majors was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari in the back of a car, which he was arrested for in New York in March. He was also found guilty of harassment but was acquitted on separated charges of aggravated harassment and another count of assault in the third degree.

Nigel Lythgoe has announced he will not be returning as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance this season, after being accused of sexual assault by Paula Abdul. Nigel, 74, had been a judge and executive producer on the US dance show since it began airing in 2005.

“So You Think You Can Dance” producer Nigel Lythgoe has stepped down from the competition dance show amid Paula Abdul suing him for alleged sexual assault. “I have informed the producers of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ of my decision to step back from participating in this year’s series,” Lythgoe, 74, told The Post in a statement on Friday.

Nigel Lythgoe is exiting So You Think You Can Dance after a number of sexual assault complaints.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Nigel Lythgoe is stepping down as a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance,” after two lawsuits accused him of sexual assault. Lythgoe, an executive producer of the show, is accused of groping and forcibly kissing Paula Abdul in an elevator about 20 years ago. In a second lawsuit, two contestants on “All American Girl” also accused him of forcibly trying to kiss them after a wrap party in 2003.

David Bowie is set to be opened next week – meaning France will have a street to honour the musician, while his home country of the UK does not.News that the French capital would be naming a street after the iconic singer was first shared back in 2020, when Mayor Jérôme Coumet – a professed fan of Bowie – revealed that he was planning the move.Now, the street is set to open next Monday (January 8), and will be a new road near Austerlitz train station, rather than a pre-existing one that has been renamed.According to Coumet, the idea for the “rue David Bowie” emerged as the “Space Oddity” singer had “a strong link with the city of lights” (via The Connexion).An inauguration party is also set to be held at Salle des Fetes that same day to celebrate the launch, and a variety of photographs and paintings related to the singer will be showcased at the Galerie Athéna until January 14.As highlighted by The Connexion, Bowie’s ties to France not only include his countless shows across the country, but also his time recording music at the legendary Miraval studio – which is now owned by Brad Pitt.While his home country of the UK does not yet have a street named after the late music legend, his birthplace of Brixton does have a famous mural of the singer, painted by Australian artist James Cochran.Bowie died in 2016, following a cancer diagnosis.In other news about David Bowie, back in November it was reported that the artist’s handwritten lyric sheet has been estimated to fetch up to £100,000 at auction.The documents contained the late singer’s corrections, drafts and notes to his tracks ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide’ and ‘Suffragette City’.

Martin Scorsese‘s Killers Of The Flower Moon will be available to stream globally on Apple TV+ from Friday, January 12.Led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, the film is based on the non-fiction book of the same name published in 2017. It tells the true story a series of murders of Osage Native Americans over the rights for the oil under their land in Oklahoma.Since premiering at Cannes Film Festival in May, the three-and-a-half-hour drama has been positively received by critics and audiences alike, and currently holds a score of 92 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.Going into awards season, Killers Of The Flower Moon boasts 12 Critics Choice Award nominations and 7 Golden Globe Award nominations.

Lil Nas X has revealed that he will return with a new single and self-directed music video next week.The singer and rapper released his debut album ‘Montero’ in 2021 and announced just before the end of the year that a new song would be coming soon, paired with his first ever self-directed video.Now, it has been confirmed that the new track and video will land next week, though details on a song title and firm release date are currently sparse.To preview the track and announce its release, Lil Nas X shared a picture on X featuring four photos of himself in priest robes and the words: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.”On Instagram, he added: “i know it’s been 2 years but….yall ready for a show?”New song and visual next week! –Official art dropping soon.

is over, should Peter Morgan start chronicling the dramas of the Danish royal family? Det Krone? Because Denmark's long-reigning Queen Margrethe just made a historic announcement, and rumor has it, there's a scandalous reason why.On December 31, 2023, Queen Margrethe II made her annual New Year's Eve address to the nation (if you're just learning that Denmark even has a royal family…welcome to the convo!), and announced her decision to step down in two weeks' time. In her statement, she chalked it up to the length of her reign (over half a century) and her recent back surgery. After all, the woman is 83; it makes sense that she would want to relax a little and let the younger generation do the work instead.

Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) has appointed Stefano Torrisi as its MD in Spain and Portugal.

Bobby Kotick, the longtime CEO of Activision Blizzard, is stepping down Dec. 29 following the company’s drawn-out $69 billion sale to Microsoft that closed in October. The exec — who oversaw some of the industry’s most popular games from Pitfall to Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga and Farm Heroes Saga — had said previously he would stay on through the end of 2023.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks about a potential merger of the two media companies, Variety has confirmed.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Bobby Kotick is officially leaving Activision Blizzard on Dec. 29, after more than three decades as CEO of the gaming giant, following Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of the company.

Can you believe it's been 30-years since Mr Blobby topped the UK charts at Christmas with his song Mr Blobby? Often voted the most hated Christmas number one of all time, one critic in the Telegraph said the song "set the bar so low... it's hard to imagine that it could ever be usurped".

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Activision Blizzard will pay $54.9 million to settle a lawsuit by California’s Civil Rights Department alleging a pattern of pay and promotion practices that discriminated against women. The settlement, announced Friday, comes after Microsoft closed its $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard in October following concessions Microsoft made to clear regulatory objections in the U.K. Activision Blizzard’s franchises include Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero and Diablo.

Video game company Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay nearly $55 million to settle a 2021 complaint by the California Civil Rights Department.

Aldi has told shoppers it is selling the 'cheapest' turkey in the UK this Christmas ahead of them going on sale next week.