Great American Media Undergoes Layoffs; CFO, Head Of Marketing & Corp Comm Among Those Cut

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Media talent discovery app Husslup has moved from invite-only beta phase to a public launch of its service. The app, which allows allows media industry users a database to find above- and below-the-line freelancers for hire, has also introduced a demographic report of hires for companies to achieve their diversity goals.

Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, the artist known as Lil Nas X lays down his ambitions to achieve something “great, super grand, BIG.”He might be referring to his trailblazing career as a Grammy-winning rapper-singer-songwriter, whose unabashedly queer persona and presentation garner admiration and controversy in equal measure.He could mean his first concert tour as a headliner, the Long Live Montero Tour, the American leg of which is chronicled in this film by directors Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel.There’s little doubt he envisions greatness for himself, Montero Hill, the self-described brat from Lithia Springs, Georgia, who uploaded his modest country-rap banger “Old Town Road” to his socials and became a global sensation.The film, a verité-style tour diary in three acts, doesn’t achieve greatness of its own, but offers glimpses at those aforementioned aspects of Montero’s super grand life.Whether rehearsing for opening night at Detroit’s legendary Fox Theatre, getting a surprise pre-show visit from Madonna, or donning his drag persona to meet his uncannily accurate Madame Tussaud’s wax figure, he rides the dizzying whirlwind of music stardom with aplomb, clearly living out a dream.Among the most compelling footage presented here is the video he shot himself in 2018, as a striving but confident 19-year-old, a month after releasing “Old Town Road” to the internet. Looking into the camera, he tallies his current follower count, promising that in a year the count will look different.

NHS bosses in have pleaded with people to help family members get out of hospital as they deal with hundreds of patients stuck on wards. More than 800 people who are medically fit to go home have been stuck in hospital beds this week in Greater Manchester, as they struggle to get care home placements or for social care packages that would allow them to be discharged.

J. Kim Murphy The George Carlin estate has filed a lawsuit against Dudesy, the media company behind the recent viral AI-generated hour-long comedy special “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead,” which featured an approximation of the late comedian’s voice and comedy style that was allegedly generated by a chatbot trained by Carlin’s own material.

A Greater Manchester Police constable is accused of repeatedly providing confidential information from the force's computer system to help his friends’ motor insurance claims company.

EXCLUSIVE: The Weather Channel and Bell Media‘s Discovery Canada are set to ride the dangerous I-80/I-15 interstate ring highway.

Avril Lavigne has today (January 22) announced details of a greatest hits tour with support from All Time Low and Simple Plan.Pre-sale tickets for Lavigne’s North American ‘Greatest Hits’ shows will go on sale on January 24 at 10am local time while the general sale begins on January 26 at 10am local time.

Avril Lavigne is going on tour!

Fox Corp. ad sales chief Marianne Gambelli is retiring, and the company has named Fox News vet Jeff Collins as her replacement.

Tributes have been paid to a doctor who looked after patients in Stockport for over four decades. Dr Sikander Malik worked at four GP practices and two hospitals during his 43 years spent working in the borough.

A 'materialistic' fraudster who tried to con her former fiancé out of more than £60,000 after he broke off their wedding is amongst those who have been locked up in Greater Manchester this week.

EXCLUSIVE: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has unveiled the seven participants for the ninth edition of its annual Face to Face campaign, which include talents who have worked on projects ranging from television series such as Deutschland ‘89 and Kafka to feature film Turning Tables. 

Cast reunions paying homage to milestone comedy and drama series from the past few decades were one of last night’s Emmy Awards’ main attractions. Taking place on a stage that recreated a signature setting from the show, the reunions brought back together stars from Grey’s Anatomy, The Sopranos, Cheers, Martin and Ally McBeal.

Over £3 million in speeding fines were issued to motorists in Greater Manchester in a year, new figures have revealed. Between November 2022 and November 2023, over 30,000 fines were issued after motorists were caught by speed cameras across the region.

A thug who set his XL Bully on a defenceless woman and encouraged it to attack her was among the criminals to be jailed this week. Liam Rainey took off his pet's muzzle and told it 'good dog, get her'.

EXCLUSIVE: We are hearing that DC Studios is planning to test actresses to play Supergirl and that Milly Alcock, Emilia Jones and Meg Donnelly are in the mix.

EXCLUSIVE: Earlier this morning, Amazon revealed that it was letting go several hundred employees across Prime Video and Amazon Studios as part of a review of its business.

Pedro Pascal has singled out the actor that he considers to be “the greatest American actor in our lifetime”.The star of The Last of Us and The Mandalorian was speaking at a ceremony in Hollywood yesterday (January 8) for the unveiling of a new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.The star being unveiled was for the actor Willem Dafoe, and in his speech to the audience at the event, which also included Guillermo Del Toro, Patricia Arquette and Mark Ruffalo, Pascal lavished his fellow actor with praise.“I saw Platoon in the movie theatre with my father and he made me cry so hard my dad sent me to the bathroom,” Pascal said.“He redefines the concept of rebel and originality by making it about generosity, integrity, kindness and fun. Willem is a good time and an amazing friend.”“He has been my greatest teacher,” Pascal continued about Dafoe, with whom he co-starred in the 2017 film The Great Wall.

EXCLUSIVE: After setting the stage with its robust line-up of holiday programming, Great American Family is ready to get into the scripted series business.

A drug boss who thought he was ‘untouchable’ is now facing 16 years in prison. Daniel Buckley, who made a staggering amount of cash through cocaine dealing is amongst those locked up in Greater Manchester last week.