BFI Film Fund Appoints Louise Ortega As Senior Production & Development Executive

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticProducer T Bone Burnett has long promised the development of a new analog format that he promised would improve on both vinyl and CDs, as well as digital streaming and any other existing recorded music medium. Now, he appears closer to reaching that goal with the news that he has been in the studio with Bob Dylan, re-recording some of the legendary singer-songwriter’s classic songs with the purpose of introducing the new ultra-high-fidelity medium.Details are scarce about when the Dylan recordings might come out — not to mention the new hardware that will be required to play them.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorAfter a topsy-turvy week, the thought occurred to me during AT&T’s investor call on Thursday: What if John Stankey wound up on the winning side of the streaming wars?Netflix took a nosedive on Tuesday with an earnings report that proved that it could not suspend the law of gravity forever. The steady upward climb of Netflix subscriber gains had to stop sometime, and that sometime was Q1 2022.The jolt that the news of six-figure losses in Q1 and a projected seven-figure loss for Q2 packed a wallop on Netflix stock price.

Sir Bob Geldof was delighted by a popular Scottish bar and restaurant after popping in for lunch - so much so that he even brought his bandmates back the next day.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Hong Kong International Film Festival will shift to new dates in August, having been postponed earlier this year due to the COVID pandemic.The 46th edition of the festival will take place Aug. 15-31, 2022, at multiple venues across the territory. Like last year’s HKIFF45, the hybrid festival will feature in-person and online screenings and events.The annual spin-off event, Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival, which usually takes place around the same time in August, will be shelved and likely return in 2023.The main HKIFF was scheduled to have started on March 31.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterWell, that was fast. AMC has formally greenlit the dramedy series “Straight Man” starring Bob Odenkirk a little over two weeks after announcing the show as in development.The show is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Russo. It is described as a mid-life crisis tale set at Railton College in the Pennsylvania Rust Belt.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSome 57 years ago, Bob Dylan famously enraged folk purists by strapping on an electric guitar and performing with a rock band.What might those purists might have said upon learning that he’d sold his precious song catalog — including such timeless, era-defining classics as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Masters of War,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Hurricane” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” — to a multinational conglomerate for nearly $400 million?On a purely emotional level, selling one’s songs can seem uncomfortably close to selling one’s soul: After all, what is a song if not an expression of its writer’s spirit? But in practical terms, these deals make sense for both sides.

New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of “Rust” where a cinematographer was fatally shot in October by actor and producer Alec Baldwin.

EXCLUSIVE: Bidding is heating up on Voltron, a live-action version that went out to the town recently, with Red Notice and Dodgeball’s Rawson Marshall Thurber attached to direct. Deal’s not done yet, but Deadline hears that Amazon Studios is in talks to be home to the giant robot.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticThe question of whether and when Bob Dylan will go further west in his concert dates was resolved Monday morning, as the artist’s website revealed a run of 14 new shows, all of them along the west coast, commencing not much more than a month from now.The first of the newly announced shows is May 28 in Spokane, Washington, and the last is June 18 in San Diego. In-between will come concerts in Seattle, Eugene, Redding, Oakland and Los Angeles.

Morgan Neville’s company Tremolo Productions is officially in production of an untitled Andy Kaufman documentary alongside Josh and Benny Safdie’s Elara Pictures. The Emmy-nominated Alex Braverman will direct the feature-length film.“No matter how many times I watch Andy Kaufman’s work, I feel like I’m seeing a magic trick for the very first time,” Braverman said.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBob Odenkirk could already have a new AMC show lined up.Variety has learned that the “Better Call Saul” star is attached to lead a new dramedy series that is currently being fast-tracked in development at AMC. The series is called “Straight Man,” based on the Richard Russo novel of the same name. It is described a mid-life crisis tale set at Railton College, told in the first person by William Henry Devereaux, Jr.

EXCLUSIVE: TV executive Chris Regina left Netflix last week, I have learned. He spent the last several years at the streamer, most recently as Director, Original Series, Drama Development.

The search for Cassie Carli has come to a heartbreaking end.

Big Thief performed their recent single ‘Spud Infinity’ on US TV last week – check out the video below.The Brooklyn band appeared as the musical guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in support of their fifth studio album, ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You’, which came out in February via 4AD.Big Theif didn’t appear in Fallon’s New York studio as is customary for the show’s live performers, but instead delivered a laid back rendition of ‘Spud Infinity’ from a bright living room.Tune in to the group’s recent Fallon appearance here:Big Thief are set to perform at a string of UK and European festivals this summer, including Glastonbury, Primavera Sound, Best Kept Secret and Tempelhof Sounds. You can find the band’s full live schedule here.Last month saw Big Thief wrap up a UK and Ireland headline tour, which included a four-night billing at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London.

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Max has acquired streaming rights to the family film Brie‘s Bake Off Challenge, from writer-director Emily Aguilar, for release today.

“COVID got people a lot more comfortable watching New Media, app-based media in the home,” Iger told CNN’s Chris Wallace in an interview for the network’s new streaming service. “While I don’t think it duplicates the experience in the theater, it is good enough.“And when you consider what you have to do to go to a theater, which is drive there or commute there in some form and pay for transportation, parking, etc., sit in a large room with a lot of people, to some there’s friction involved and it’s just not worth it,” he added.

One of Chris Wallace’s first guests on his new CNN+ series is former Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, who makes the case for why corporate leaders should wade into major issues like climate change, immigration and, most recently, Florida’s so-called ‘don’t say gay’ bill.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorAriana DeBose made history on Sunday night by becoming the first openly queer woman of color to win an acting Oscar for her work as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” The musical was distributed by 20th Century Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company.On the Academy Awards red carpet before the ceremony, I talked with DeBose about Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. DeBose says she has reached out to Disney CEO Bob Chapek to talk about the studio’s controversial reaction to the legislation.“Bob and I, we’re gonna do the work,” DeBose said. “I have [spoken to Chapek].

Every year, some notable names are left out of the Academy’s tribute to those who passed away in the last year.