Endeavor Names Romola Ratnam as Head of Impact and Inclusion (EXCLUSIVE)

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.

Manori Ravindran International EditorIn a bid to expand Prime Video in key African markets, Amazon Studios is recruiting a London-based head of Nigerian originals, Variety has learned.In a recent job posting, the streaming platform has said it’s looking for an experienced senior creative executive to work with its Nigeria originals team, and oversee both scripted and non-scripted content. The role will report directly into Ned Mitchell, the Los Angeles-based head of originals for Africa and the Middle East for Amazon Studios.“You will create a welcoming ‘Home for Talent’ to include creators and artists who represent the best of Nigeria,” reads an ad for the role.

Angelique Jackson Selenis Leyva, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Spence Moore II and Mila Davis-Kent have joined MGM’s “Creed III,” directed by franchise lead Michael B. Jordan.

A match made outside of Paradise! After Chris Bukowski seemingly retired from Bachelor Nation (again), he met Anna Redman, a fellow former Bachelor in Paradise star.

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Holtzman, Sammy Lopez and Fiona Howe Rudin announced today the launch of P3 Productions, describing the new venture as an artist-driven producing team dedicated to building productions from the ground level to uplift new voices and communities.

The X Factor star Rhydian Roberts, 39, and his signature peroxide blonde hair first blasted onto our screens back in 2007, when he auditioned for the ITV show in his final year of university. He won the nation’s hearts with his flamboyant style and classical tones and went on to make the final of the cult talent show, before controversially being beaten to be crowned the winner by Scottish singer, Leon Jackson. Rhydian revealed on Loose Women in 2018 that his famously dazzling peroxide blonde hair was actually made whiter by The X Factor judge Simon Cowell, saying: “I remember when I was on X Factor Simon Cowell kept saying, 'No, no it needs to be whiter,' so really it was him who gave me the damage to this hair.

It was 15 years ago that Rhydian Roberts and his peroxide blonde hair first appeared on The X Factor.

EXCLUSIVE: It’s a homecoming for April King: William Morris Endeavor announced today that King is returning to the agency to join ithe talent department.

NEW YORK -- David Hyde Pierce returns to TV this spring playing a familiar part — an erudite man who adores fine food, wine and art. But this has nothing to do with “Frasier.”Pierce is playing Peter Child, husband and chief cheerleader of Julia Child, whose warbling, encouraging voice and able hands brought the intricacies of French cuisine to American home cooks through her TV series and books.“These are two people of great depth, of great complexity of character, who found each other, and I think we all are luckier for it,” said Pierce.

NEW YORK -- Marjorie Miller, vice president and global enterprise editor at The Associated Press, has been named as the new administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes.Miller spent 27 years at the Los Angeles Times as a correspondent in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. She was the newspaper's foreign editor when it won a Pulitzer Prize for Russia coverage and was a finalist for Iraq War coverage.She joined AP in 2010 as the regional editor for Latin America, where her team produced award-winning coverage of cartel violence.

Eric Kops has been elevated to the new role of Lionsgate’s Head of Global Communications & Earned Media in the conglom’s motion picture division.

Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey may have been Instagram official for over a year now, but now they're red carpet official!The couple made a stunning pair as they hit the red carpet together for the first time on Sunday night when they attended the Oscars After-Party following the 2022 Academy Awards.

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.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Michael B. Jordan are teaming up for a new movie.

Written by “Hand of God” screenwriter Ben Watkins and adapted from the New York Times article of the same name by Janet Reitman, “I Helped Destroy People” will see Abdul-Mateen play Terry Albury, the FBI’s only Black agent in its Minneapolis field office and a firsthand witness to the racist and xenophobic practices of his colleagues and superiors.After the 9/11 attacks, Albury became the only Black agent involved in a surveillance program of Muslim and immigrant communities. Frustrated by the corruption in his office, Albury leaked documents about the surveillance program to The Intercept, leading to the Trump Administration arresting him on charges of violating the Espionage Act of 1917.

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

Angelique Jackson When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, Hollywood (and the world) slowed to a stop, leaving the team behind Endeavor’s pipeline initiatives at a loss.In an industry already rife with barriers to entry for people from underrepresented groups, how could these prospective talents get their foot in the door at agencies, studios and entertainment companies when the door literally no longer exists because everyone’s working from home.Those were the types of questions Romola Ratnam, Endeavor’s Head of Social Impact, and Hilary Kidwell, director of social impact at the company (both pictured above), began to ask themselves.“You have all these young people that may or may not think that they have a shot to be in this industry, and would’ve maybe gotten their first opportunity, whether it be an internship or entry level, and they may not have that anymore,” Ratnam recalled in an interview with Variety. “We already know the struggle to increase diversity within our industry is already tough, and when we take away all of these jobs, what does that do?” So, the team got creative — pivoting their postponed Fellowship Program, which aimed to provide jobs, mentoring and education programs within the company to 42 fellows each year, into a virtual model, renamed Summer Series, providing registrants the opportunity to learn more about working in the sports, entertainment and fashion industries.“We thought, ‘Let’s give them some free education that anybody can access from any device no matter where they are, and some hope that ‘Hey, I can make it,'” Ratnam explained.

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.