CJ ENM Appoints Steve Chung, Former Fox Executive, to U.S-Based Growth Role (EXCLUSIVE)

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Def Jam Recordings has entered into an exclusive worldwide joint venture partnership agreement with the Lagos, Nigeria and UK-based Native Records. The announcement was made by Def Jam chairman/CEO Tunji Balogun and Seni “Chubbz” Saraki and Teni “Teezee” Zaccheaus, co-presidents and co-founders of Native Networks. Native Records is the music division of Native Networks, a black-owned and operated, multi-platform, multi-disciplinary media and content company “dedicated to the discovery and development of young African artists and youth culture” via its Native print and digital magazine, its Nativeland festivals and more, according to the announcement. Founded in 2016 by Saraki and Zaccheaus with Shola Fagbemi, Addy Edgal and Suleiman Shittu, the label has been a driving force in the Afrobeats movement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Comedy drama film “Give Me Five” held on to the top spot at the mainland Chinese box office with a weekend score of just $7.4 million (RMB50.8 million). The film is the story of a young man who is helping his father rediscover his lost memories. As he does so, he is transported back in time and accidentally alters his parent’s pasts. That means he must reunite the pair or risk never being born. It stars Ma Li Chang Yuan and Wei Xiang and is directed by Zhang Luan.

in ‘The Equalizer’ Season 2. Struggling to reconnect with Delilah, and after learning that her vigilante profile is gaining viral traction, McCall considers putting an end to her work as The Equalizer.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer NBCUniversal’s longtime executive vice president of unscripted current production, Shari Levine, is stepping down from her role and shifting to a non-exclusive consulting position, Variety has learned exclusively. Following her exit, Noah Samton will expand his purview as the new head of East Coast for unscripted lifestyle current production across all platforms, while Kathleen French and Ryan Flynn will divide up overseeing the West Coast current production team, with all three reporting directly to NBCU television and streaming’s head of unscripted content, Rod Aissa. With a focus on Bravo programming during her more than two decades at the Comcast-owned company, Levine has overseen franchises like “The Real Housewives,” “Below Deck and “Million Dollar Listing,” as well as the original run of “Project Runway.”

Sophie Turner was a stylish and «proud wifey» on Monday night as she stepped out to support husband Joe Jonas in his big screen debut.The couple attended the Toronto Film Festival premiere of, a historical drama focusing on the real-life story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War, hitting theaters Nov. 23. Jonas and Turner's red carpet appearance marked their first since welcoming their second child earlier this summer.

LeVar Burton was asked about the process of auditioning to be the new host of Jeopardy at a Q&A panel at Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Oregon this past weekend.

With The Cleveland Browns Taking on Baker Mayfield and The Carolina Panthers in week one on Sunday tensions are high on both sides. From Baker Saying he was going to “F***k the Browns up” to Nick Chubb apparently taking his own shots at the former Browns Quarterback.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Family comedy “Table For Six” has set an opening day local record for a comedy film in Hong Kong, to the relief of producers who were forced to digest a releasing delay of six months. The Sunny Chan-directed film opened Wednesday in Hong Kong and Macau at 61 theatres, playing a total of 608 sessions. That gave it an accumulated box office of HK$1,986,701 ($255,000). “Table for Six,” which chronicles a family’s holiday gathering where food, love, friendship, jealousy and relationships are on the menu, had originally been planned as a dish to be served at Chinese New Year, in February. And producers had assembled a cast of major Hong Kong and regional talents, including Dayo Wong, Stephy Tang, Louise Cheung, Ivana Wong, Lin Min-Chen and Chan Charm Man.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Make no mistake: CJ ENM is on the move. The South Korean conglomerate that has done as much as any company to build out the nation’s entertainment ecosystem is actively looking to expand its “production capability and competency.” That’s the word from Kang Ho-sung, CEO of the cluster of film, TV and music companies that now share the CJ ENM banner. Kang gave a rare, extensive interview to Variety on Aug. 21 in downtown Los Angeles on the sidelines of CJ ENM’s KCON LA pop culture convention, which brought in close to 100,000 fans from across the U.S.

The Paramount+ series has added three Taylor Sheridan-verse vets for Season 1: Dave Annable (Yellowstone, Walker), LaMonica Garrett (1883, The Terminal List), and James Jordan (Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown)

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming CIA drama series “Lioness” at Paramount+ has added three new actors to its cast, Variety has learned exclusively. James Jordan, LaMonica Garrett, and Dave Annable have all joined the show. All three have previously worked with Sheridan — Jordan and Annable on the hit Paramount Network series “Yellowstone” and Garrett in the “Yellowstone” prequel series “1883.” Jordan also appeared in “1883” as well as Sheridan’s Paramount+ series “Mayor of Kingstown” and in his features “Wind River” and “Those Who Wish Me Dead.” The three join previously announced cast members Zoe Saldaña and Laysla De Oliveira.

K.J. Yossman Nicely Entertainment has tapped ex-TF1 exec Rachel Siegenthaler for vice president of international sales. Siegenthaler will remain in Paris for the newly-created role, which will be focused on expanding L.A.-based Nicely’s European presence. The role will include responsibility for EMEA and Asia sales and co-productions, which include ten movies set to debut at Mipcom next month. The Mipcom slate includes “Cloudy with a Chance of Christmas” (pictured above), “A Christmas to Treasure,” “A Royal in Paradise” and “Baked with a Kiss” as well as family documentary “Beyond the Reef,” which introduces audiences to the Great Barrier Reef. The feature, which is set to be released in IMAX, is narrated by Shuang Hu.

The Real Housewives is a cultural phenomenon.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Coo-Coo 043,” a family drama set in the world of racing pigeons, has been set as the opening film of the 2022 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. The closing film is comedy “Marry My Dead Body.”  “Coo-Coo 043” is the second film directed by Chan Ching-lin (“The Island That All Flow By”) and stars Golden Bell Awards winners Yu An-shun and Yang Li-yin, along with Golden Harvest Awards best new performer Hu Jhih-ciang and emerging new talent Rimong Ihwar. Chan was previously nominated for Golden Horse Awards best short film for “A Breath From the Bottom,” and as best new director with his feature debut “The Island That All Flow By.” As a work in progress, “Coo-Coo 043” previously participated in the 2021 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion.

is back and now being told in a live-action adaptation starring Tom Hanks, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Cynthia Erivo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key, Lorraine Bracco and Luke Evans. With just 10 days to go until Disney+ Day, ET has an exclusive featurette, with the cast teasing an all-new magical movie experience to come. “The idea of taking on a treasured classic, as Disney’s, it’s an incredibly rich opportunity to revisit and go deeper into this great masterpiece,” says Hanks, who plays Geppetto, the woodcarver and toymaker responsible for creating the titular wooden puppet, who dreams of becoming a real boy.“It’s a really special story that encourages people to wish and to dream,” says Erivo, who appears as the Blue Fairy, who first brings Geppetto’s creation to life. In this film, Pinocchio is voiced by Ainsworth while Gordon-Levitt lends his vocal talents to Jiminy Cricket, the insect who acts as the toy’s conscience.

With the first half of the NFL’s top 100 players list being released a few days ago, there are a few Cleveland Browns who made the cut this time around. One of those players is the Browns’ star running back Nick Chubb as he ranked at number 33 out the 100.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Former WarnerMedia tech exec Alex Maghen has joined Husslup as chief technology officer. He’ll oversee all engineering and technological aspects of the company, including strategy, as the new mobile app for creative talent discovery in media and entertainment continues its launch. The app is currently in an invite-only beta stage. Maghen will report to Husslup CEO/founder H Schuster, who announced the hire on Monday. “Any tech company is only as good as the talented people behind it, and with Alex’s arrival we are now fully positioned to accelerate our product growth and fulfill our mission of democratizing and diversifying access to the industry,” Schuster said in a statement. “Alex is a triple threat—he has deep technical expertise, an impressive CV at the intersection of technology and entertainment, and a personal understanding of the obstacles that diverse members of our creative community face.”

Christopher Vourlias Former Netflix executive Tania Zarak Quintana has joined Iceland’s Truenorth, one of the leading production services companies in the Nordics, as it looks to ramp up development of original content. The production outfit is developing a slate of original shows including “Starlungar,” a 10-part series it’s dubbed “‘The Godfather’ of the 13th century” that follows four wealthy and powerful clans as they fight to gain power over Iceland, and “Eyland,” a dystopian series set in present-day Iceland that questions what would happen if communication with the rest of the world suddenly stopped. Truenorth is also attached to co-produce a feature-film adaptation of bestselling Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson’s thriller “Outside,” which was optioned by Scott Free Productions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lee Jung-jae, the star of hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” is to reprise his role as a manic killer in “Ray,” a TV series spun off from 2020 Korean action-horror film “Deliver Us From Evil.” Korean media sources report that Lee will star in and co-produce the series through his own Artist Studio company and Hive Media, producer of “Deliver Us From Evil.” Variety has reached out for further details. In the original movie, Hwang Jung-min played In-Nam, a former black ops agent who travels to Thailand to investigate an abduction. There he is pursued by Lee’s character Ray, a Korean-Japanese ruffian whose brother had been killed by In-Nam. Both heavily tattooed and charming, Ray embarks on a bloody rampage of revenge.