Electronic Arts to Lay Off 800 Employees, 6% of Workforce

Michelle Yeoh is continuing to celebrate her big Oscar win by bringing her golden statuette to her home in Malaysia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Michelle Yeoh, who made history by winning the best actress Oscar for her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” last month, made an emotional return trip to her native Malaysia last week. She visited her mother in time for the traditional Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, and stopped by the grave of her father who died in 2014. In an Instagram post on Wednesday she said, “Brought Mr. O home. Without my parents’ love and trust and support, I wouldn’t be here today.”A post shared by Michelle Yeoh 楊紫瓊 (@michelleyeoh_official) Her trip home represented a promise that Yeoh made during her Oscars acceptance speech.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Vox Media announced that NowThis, the social media-focused news division it picked up through the 2021 acquisition of Group Nine Media, will become an independent entity through a deal with the Accelerate Change media network. Vox Media will retain a minority ownership stake in the newly independent NowThis and will continue to sell, produce and execute advertiser campaigns for NowThis. Washington, D.C.-based Accelerate Change will make a “substantial investment” in NowThis to support its continued growth and operations. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. According to Vox Media, NowThis will use the funding from Accelerate Change to expand its coverage and invest in staff and creator development. The 75-employee NowThis team will continued to be led by editor in chief Samara Mackereth and head of production and operations Jessica Borovay and “the staff in its entirety will join them in this transition,” according to Vox Media.

acquired by Vox, is backed by an investment from the Accelerate Change Media Network, which will be used to support NowThis’ continued growth and operations. Accelerate Change is a nonprofit digital media lab, investor, and incubator focused on news, culture, and lifestyle properties that create high-quality journalism.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Warning: This story contains spoilers from “Connor’s Wedding,” the third episode of “Succession” Season 4, now streaming on HBO Max. If you watched Sunday night’s dramatic third episode of this season’s “Succession,” you bore witness to the death of billionaire CEO Logan Roy, portrayed by two-time lead actor nominee and presumed 2023 Emmy contender Brian Cox. As a result, the burning question on awards pundits’ minds has turned toward a new type of uncertainty — where will Cox seek to campaign for his legendary portrayal as the head of media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo? Cox’s acclaimed performance has received multiple accolades for the HBO drama, including those two Emmy nominations for the second and third seasons for lead actor (drama). He was nominated alongside his co-star Jeremy Strong, who plays his eldest son Kendall, and who won for the show’s second season.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief As recently as last month, government officials in the Malaysian state of Serawak, Borneo, told local media that their state needs to build a new film production facility like the Iskandar Malaysia Studios in the south of peninsular Malaysia. Serawak officials said that their state Premier had visited the studios and plans had been discussed with FINAS, Malaysia’s national film regulatory and financing body.

MAFS Australia's loved-up couple Melinda Willis and Layton Mills were seen in public for the first time in Brisbane since filming finished. Melinda, 32, and Layton Mills, 35, are one of two successful couples to come out of this season's Married At First Sight Australia.The couple could not keep their hands off each other as they were seen kissing and cuddling on a date night in Brisbane on Tuesday after the show's final recap episode aired in Oz. Melinda looked chic in a black one-shoulder dress, which featured a thigh-high slit.

Naman Ramachandran NTR Jr, star of Oscar- and Golden Globe-winner “RRR,” will feature alongside Hrithik Roshan in “War 2,” one of the future instalments in leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ spy universe. “War 2” will be directed by Ayan Mukerji, who previously helmed Disney’s Indian mythological superhero film “Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva.” NTR Jr is currently shooting his 30th film, known by the working title “NTR 30,” with Koratala Siva directing. The actor hails from the South India-based Telugu-language film industry, but the pan-India and international success of “RRR” has seen him transcend boundaries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The high-profile film and TV production facilities Iskandar Malaysia Studios have been sold to Singapore’s GHY Culture & Media. GHY has paid RM8.8 million ($1.98 million) for an 80% stake in Studio Management Services, investment company, to RK Media Ventures Sdn Bhd and CL Media Holdings. According to a regulatory filing GHY and SMS must pay a further RM26.5 million ($5.99 million) within five days to state-owned Granatum Ventures to buy 100% of Iskandar Malaysia Studios. That gives a total purchase price of RM35.3 million ($8 million) for a controlling 80% stake. The remaining minority can be bought out in five years. The filing said that Iskandar Malaysia Studios’ net asset value at the end of 2022 was RM32 million ($7.23 million).

Sophia Scorziello editor The Dolby Theater became home to the Star Wars fandom on Friday night, with viewers gathering for a screening of episodes of “The Mandalorian” along with a panel at the 2023 PaleyFest Los Angeles. Pedro Pascal and Katee Sackhoff, stars of the Disney+ live-action series, and executive producers Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and Rick Famuyiwa joined Entertainment Tonight’s Ash Crossan to talk everything Mando. Filoni took the stage wearing his iconic black cowboy hat, while Pascal giggled at heckling fans who shouted “papi chulo!” and other comments pertaining to his good looks. Since its premiere in 2019, “The Mandalorian” has shocked “Star Wars” fans, starting, of course, with the reveal of the oh-so endearing Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) in Season 1, followed by the appearance of Luke Skywalker in Season 2. The show is set after the fall of the Empire and follows Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pascal) as he protects Grogu and tries to reunite Mandalorians alongside Bo-Katan Kryze (Sackhoff).

Roku said today it plans to lay off 200 employees, or 6% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan as the drumbeat of staff cuts across the industry continues. Roku laid off 200 last fall on advertising woes and a challenging economy, both of which are still rocky.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku is handing out pink slips again and exiting some office space as the streaming platform company takes additional steps to rein in costs. The company said Thursday it will lay off about 200 employees, or 6% of the company’s remaining workforce. In addition, Roku said, it will exit and sublease (or discontinue use of) some office facilities that the company does not currently occupy. Roku disclosed the cutbacks in an SEC filing. Roku’s latest job cuts come after the company in November 2022 announced that it was eliminating 200 jobs in the U.S., citing “current economic conditions.”

Married At First Sight has reached its end.Now, power couple Layton Mills, 35, and Melinda Willis, 33, can finally “focus on getting to know one another outside of the experiment”, shares Layton.The pair sat down with WHO to give us the lowdown on where they’re at...Watch Below: Harrison's Married At First Sight audition tapeWhat makes you sure that you’ll work on the outside? MILLS: We’re still trying to work through that. We’ve been up and down. We’re working out navigating those situations where we clash.  You’re both busy CEOs. How will you make time to work things out? WILLIS: We enjoy our own space and our time together, so it will work out really well.

in an SEC filing.“As we drive greater focus across our portfolio, we are moving away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy, reviewing our real estate footprint, and restructuring some of our teams,” Wilson wrote.The company puts out EA Sports FIFA 2023, Apex Legends and perennial favorite The Sims. In January, it announced it was canceling Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile, which had failed to meet expectations, leading to EA also missing expectations for third-quarter earnings.Per Wilson’s email, the restructuring is expected to be completed by Sept.

Hi everyone, As I mentioned at our first All-Hands meeting last month, I’m committed to direct and honest communication with all of you. The music business is filled with new possibilities: more fans are engaging with artists and songs than ever, our reach is enormous, and new business models are constantly emerging.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Warner Music Group will eliminate 270 positions as part of a wider evolution of the company, new CEO Robert Kyncl announced to the company’s staff in an email obtained by K In order “to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us, we need to make some hard choices in order to evolve,” according to the memo. It was not immediately clear which positions or divisions will be affected. Warner is the world’s third-largest music company and includes the labels Atlantic, Warner, 300-Elektra, Parlophone, the reissue division Rhino and others, as well as Warner Chappell Music publishing. Kyncl was announced as the new CEO last September and in February took over for Steve Cooper, who left the company after 11 years. Kyncl, who for years had bridged the tech and entertainment worlds in major roles at Netflix — including overseeing the company’s shift to streaming — and YouTube, in which he was pivotal in repairing the streaming giant’s formerly contentious relationships with music companies. His unexpected move into the top position at Warner ushers in a new kind of tech-forward leadership at major labels.

A programme packed full of storytelling, theatre, music dance, comedy and spoken word will feature in Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival in May.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Funko, less than a year after acquiring high-end collectibles brand Mondo, has wound down Mondo’s movie-poster business and let go several employees — including Mondo co-founders Mitch Putnam and Rob Jones, Variety has confirmed. Mondo, based in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2001 and was previously a subsidiary of indie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse before Funko’s deal to buy it last year for $14 million. Mondo had gained a strong following for its limited-edition screen-printed movie posters. Notable artists who worked with Mondo on its posters have included Olly Moss, Shepard Fairey, Ken Taylor and Kevin Tong. Sources said that Mondo’s vinyl records and collectibles businesses are intact.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter More layoffs are underway at The CW, Variety has confirmed. Sources say that over a dozen people have been let go from the network, mostly in the marketing and finance divisions. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, those released this time were supposed to be part of an initial round of cuts that took place late last year, but ongoing projects or remaining time on their contracts meant they were not let go until today. This marks the latest layoffs at the broadcast network since Nexstar acquired a majority stake in it in October 2022. As Variety exclusively reported in November, between 30-40 staffers were laid off shortly after the deal closed, including longtime network communications head Paul Hewitt. Those came after network head Mark Pedowitz stepped down along with several other senior executives.