Disney Studios Content Names Paige Olson as Chief Counsel (EXCLUSIVE)

K.J. Yossman Award-winning South African drama “Good Life” is set for a U.S.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicAbou “Bu” Thiam has been appointed executive vice president at Columbia Records. Reporting into chairman and CEO Ron Perry, Bu’s position will straddle A&R and strategic initiatives across all genres for the label that’s home to Lil Nas X, Harry Styles, Adele, the Kid Laroi and many others.Thiam has been working closely with Perry and Columbia via a joint venture, Buvision, where he signed the artists KayCyy and Rican.

The power went out on some visitors at Universal Studios Hollywood today, no doubt the result — at least in part — of record temperatures across Los Angeles.

Olivier Sarkozy dined VIP at Soho’s see-and-be-seen Balthazar brasserie on Monday, the 52-year-old re-listed his combined Turtle Bay townhouse for $10.5 million — $1 million below its August 2021 asking price — following a broker switch, according to a Wednesday StreetEasy listing update.Otherwise known as the Hunnewell Mansion, Sarkozy — through a limited liability company — purchased the 38-foot-wide property at 226-228 E. 49th St. in April 2014 from the artist David Deutsch for $13.5 million.

EXCLUSIVE, UPDATED WITH MORE DETAILS: Less than 24 hours after CEO Jason Kilar, HBO Max boss Andy Forssell and Studio chief Ann Sarnoff were pink slipped from the about to disappear WarnerMedia, more executives were shown the door today.

Taraji P. Henson was among those appointed to the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Mary-Kate Olsen is stepping out for the day.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSF Studios has boarded “Evil,” an original series adapted from Jan Guillou’s classic bestseller by the same name, which will be directed by “The Last Kingdom” helmer Erik Leijonborg and Daniel Di Grado (“Alena”).Penned by Fredrik T Olsson, the six-episode series is being produced by Tobias Åström at SF Studios and will launch on the Scandinavian streamer C More and Swedish broadcaster TV4, which are also co-producing. The series starts shooting this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.The novel was previously adapted into a 2003 film directed by Mikael Håfström.

Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios, the commercial arm of U.K. broadcaster BBC, has revealed a first look and development deal with London-based talent and entertainment company Diving Bell Group.Founded by Kim Butler and Justin Girdler in 2017, Diving Bell represents creators and innovators in the purpose-led space including model, trans activist and cultural figure Munroe Bergdorf; feminist author, illustrator and influencer Florence Given (“Women Don’t Owe You Pretty,” “Octopus”); Gina Martin, who successfully led the national campaign to make upskirting illegal; and Emma Gannon whose careers podcast “Ctrl Alt Delete” has amassed over 10 million downloads.The deal gives BBC Studios a first look at content ideas from Diving Bell clients for the purpose of collaborating to develop these ideas and pitch for commissions.

British broadcasting heavyweight Michael Grade, who has overseen every major UK broadcaster, has been appointed Chair of media and broadcasting regulator Ofcom, bringing to an end an at-times controversial hiring process that has been running for more than a year.

Amazon Studios Europe Boss Georgia Brown has revealed how the streamer “completely turned storymaking on its head” for upcoming hybrid grime/drill musical Jungle. 

Bury Council is to buy the Mill Gate shopping centre, paving the way for its redevelopment.

Kylie Jenner recently shocked fans by announcing that she and Travis Scott have decided to change the name of their new baby son, formerly known as Wolf, after welcoming him in February 2022. The makeup mogul, 24, revealed that the name just "really didn't feel like it was him", but is yet to announce what his new permanent moniker will be. While Kylie's U-turn surprised many, it turns out she's not the first famous face to go back on their decision after naming their baby.

CD Projekt Red has announced that the studio’s next mainline The Witcher game will not be exclusive to any particular storefronts, including the Epic Games Store.Yesterday (March 21), the official Twitter account for The Witcher games replied to a user who claimed that the next Witcher game would be an Epic Games Store exclusive at launch.In response, CD Projekt Red shared that it is “not planning on making the game exclusive to one storefront”.The confirmation came on the same day that the studio announced “the next instalment in The Witcher series of video games is currently in development“.This announcement appears to have caused some confusion for fans, as CD Projekt Red’s initial statement mentioned the company going into a “multi-year strategic partnership with Epic Games“.However, this collaboration seems strictly limited to helping Epic Games develop Unreal Engine to “help tailor the engine for open-world experiences”.This means that – at least for PC – the next Witcher game may appear on Steam, Epic Games Store and CD Projekt Red’s own storefront, GOG, simultaneously.Though details are incredibly light on what the upcoming game will involve, CD Projekt Red has confirmed that it will use Unreal Engine 5 rather than the studio’s own in-house engine, REDengine.The next Witcher game will also kick off “a new saga for the franchise,” however at the moment “no further details regarding the game – such as development time frame or release date – are available”. In other gaming news, PlayStation has acquired Haven Studios.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterBBC Studios Americas has named former Univision public relations head Rosemary Mercedes as senior vice president of communications of the content company.In this role, Mercedes will be responsible for refining and elevating the company’s positioning in the marketplace while promoting its partnerships and activities across the industry. Her position is effective immediately and she reports to BBC Studios senior vice president of global communications, Gavin Dawson, from New York.BBC Studios Americas has recently expanded its relationships with partners and launched OTT and subscription services, as well as licensing over 1,500 hours of content in the last year alone, including “I May Destroy You,” “Small Axe,” “The Green Planet” and hit kids show “Bluey.” “Rosemary has extensive experience leading communications strategy development and media relations, content publicity, internal communications, diversity & inclusion strategies and reputation management,” Dawson said.

CBS News has tapped Joelle Martinez, most recently at Vice News, as its new West Coast bureau chief.

Angelique Jackson UTA has named Carmen Bona its chief strategy and corporate development officer.Bona will be based at UTA’s Beverly Hills headquarters, joining the global talent, entertainment and sports company as a partner. She will report to CEO Jeremy Zimmer.“Carmen’s wide-ranging experience helping media and entertainment companies navigate big change will be an enormous asset to UTA as we enter the next chapter of our diversification and growth,” stated Zimmer, announcing the hire.

Naman Ramachandran Future Studios and women’s destination Marie Claire are teaming for digital true crime series “On the Record with Marie Claire.”The seven-part anthology series will feature female-focused stories of women seeking justice, told from the viewpoint of a central character directly linked to the case in question. Each episode, which is 7–12 minutes long, features archive film and stills and evidence from an individual case, alongside Marie Claire’s storytelling and investigative reporting.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorRooster Teeth recruited Adam Bersin to lead marketing for WarnerMedia’s fandom-focused entertainment division.Bersin most recently served as Amazon Studios’ global creative marketing lead for sci-fi, fantasy, superhero and adult animated content. While at Amazon, he headed up marketing for “The Boys,” one of Prime Video’s biggest franchises.Before joining Amazon Studios in September 2017, Bersin was marketing director for FX, where he launched campaigns for “American Horror Story,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Fargo” and other shows.

A slight executive shift here at Amazon Studios as Movies Co-Head Matt Newman goes to Prime Video’s global Sports group to develop sports docuseries, movies and scripted fare. Julie Rapaport will remain Amazon’s Head of Movies.