Apple TV Executive Michelle Lee Elevated To Director Domestic Programming

Since getting her start through a chance meeting with Gucci Mane, Atlanta-based audio engineer Kesha Lee has worked on chart-toppers like Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” and Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” and is now the go-to audio engineer for rappers including Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert. She spent the past two-and-a-half years working on.

Essner will work alongside Jukin CEO and founder Jon Skogmo to run the company’s brands business and manage Jukin’s digital video offshoots, which include FailArmy, People Are Awesome, WeatherSpy and The Pet Collective — each of which has its own streaming television channel.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterGeffen Records has named Nicole Bilzerian to the newly created position of executive vice president at the label.

In a surprising move, former Glee star Lea Michele has deleted her Twitter account. Lea has ditched her Twitter handle, @leamichele, but has decided to keep her Instagram page active.

Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmStephen King’s latest bestselling four novella collection If It Bleeds has quickly garnered three option deals, with a fourth in the offing because it involves a preexisting character who just starred in an HBO series adaptation.

Fiona Apple, Fleet Foxes, Kim Gordon, Deerhoof, Cat Power and Grizzly Bear have lent their backing to the campaign, organised by the NOISE FOR NOW initiative and Seeding Sovereignty in response to the coronavirus epidemic.For every purchase of a protective face mask or bandana via NOISE FOR NOW, one will be donated to the Indigenous Impact Community Care Initiative to be distributed to pueblos and reservations most impacted by the coronavirus.In addition, a cash donation will be made to Seeding

Glee premiered after American Idol on May 19, 2009, and was an instant favorite. Stars like Matthew Morrison, 41, Lea Michele, 33, Amber Riley, 34, Dianna Agron, 34, Chris Colfer, 29, became bonafide celebrities after the first episode aired. The show ran from 2009 until 2015, with the cast moving on after the show to pursue other creative endeavors. We decided to reflect on where the cast has gone since the show ended five years ago.

Lea Michele holds her hand on her baby bump while stepping out for a walk with husband Zandy Reich on Monday afternoon (July 6) in Santa Monica, Calif.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterApple TV Plus announced Monday that it has inked a multi-year overall deal with the Maurice Sendak Foundation, through which it will develop new projects based on Sendak’s books and illustrations.The streaming deal marks a first for the non-profit charitable foundation, which supports the artistic legacy of the late Sendak, who authored and illustrated the 1963 children’s classic, “Where the Wild Things Are,” as well as “In The Night Kitchen,”  “Outside Over There,”

Jake Kanter International TV EditorEXCLUSIVE: Narcos producer Gaumont has appointed Michelle Sullivan, a former Amazon Studios kids development executive, as its vice president of animation and family content.Sullivan will join Gaumont’s Los Angeles office in August after leaving Amazon Studios in July last year.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentSebastien Raybaud’s production and financing company Anton, whose credits include “McMafia” and “His Dark Materials,” and Tobi de Graaff, former BBC Studios director of commissioning and co-production, are partnering to launch Beiboot Representation, which will develop, package and finance high-end television, with a focus on European-produced premium content.The London-based joint-venture, fully backed by Anton, will be platform agnostic and

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterParamount Pictures has scooped up the first feature film from director Lee Daniels in nearly a decade, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”Sold by Endeavor Content in an eight-figure deal out of Cannes’ big-spending virtual market, the project follows the dramatic true story of the Federal Department of Narcotics targeting the jazz legend with a sting operation.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe New York Times ended its relationship with Apple News, saying the distribution deal doesn’t fit with the newspaper’s direct-to-consumer business model.As of Monday (June 29), articles from the Times no longer appeared in the Apple News app.“Core to a healthy model between The Times and the platforms is a direct path for sending those readers back into our environments, where we control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers and the

J. Kim Murphy editorWhen it premiered on Apple TV Plus in January, “Little America” brought a variety of stories to the streamer, with each episode dramatizing a different experience of immigrants in the United States.In a conversation moderated by Variety senior TV reporter Elaine Low at Variety’s virtual TV summit, executive producers Kumail Nanjiani, Alan Yang, Lee Eisenberg, Emily V.

Ellen Kuras will direct Oscar winner Kate Winslet as Vogue cover model turned World War II correspondent, Lee Miller in “Lee,” a biopic written by Liz Hannah. READ MORE: TIFF 2020: New Films From Idris Elba, Mark Wahlberg, Kate Winslet & More Among First Wave Selections Winslet has been involved with the project for quite some time, but it appears “Lee” is finally moving forward with both a writer and a director now attached, with production set to start in spring 2021.