Harold Morgenstern Joins Allen Media Group As President Of Direct Advertising Sales & Partnerships

Fair City band The Crom are bowled over at winning Best Indie Rock Act at last week’s WigWam Online Radio Awards.

A day after a federal judge ordered Donald Trump and his attorney to pay nearly $1 million in sanctions for filing a quickly dismissed lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and 30 others, the former president dropped a case against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

EXCLUSIVE: Marc Munden (Utopia) and Fernando Meireilles (The Two Popes) have been tapped to direct episodes of The Sympathizer, a drama series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, produced by and co-starring Robert Downey Jr. The HBO/A24 series also has added three new cast members, Duy Nguyen, Kayli Tran and VyVy Nguyen.

Rami Malek‘s Hollywood breakout came partly thanks to his role on “Mr. Robot,” which landed him an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2016.

Fast: Home Rescue, starring Cody and Felicia Walker (brother and sister-in-law of the late actor Paul Walker) has been set at Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group.

Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon) and Isla Johnston (The Queen’s Gambit) are set to lead the new Nicolas Pesce-directed horror film Visitation. Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), and Stephen Rea (Interview with the Vampire) will also star.

Anthony Hopkins is stepping into the gladiatorial arena with his latest role.

Veteran digital media exec Emily Powers is joining Hallmark Media as EVP of streaming & digital platforms. Based in New York, Powers will report to Hallmark Media’s President & CEO Wonya Lucas. 

EXCLUSIVE: Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group Motion Pictures has tapped screenwriter Evan Daugherty (Divergent) to pen the sci-fi action feature, The Ultimate Weapon. The film based on a story by Allen will be financed by AMGMP, with exec producers to include Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas and Matthew Signer.

EXCLUSIVE: Productivity Media (PMI) and Wind Sun Sky Entertainment (WSS) have hired producer Navid McIlhargey as Head of Content for both companies. 

EXCLUSIVE: Elvis filmmaker Baz Luhrmann has been tapped to receive the Advanced Imaging Society’s Harold Lloyd Award at the 2023 Lumiere Awards, which are taking place at The Beverly Hills Hotel on February 10.

Investment bank Moelis & Company has appointed Marcus Lollie as a managing director in its media group. He will be based in Los Angeles.

Barry Grove will step down as the Executive Producer of Manhattan Theatre Club, a major Broadway and Off Broadway institution, at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season.

Camille Vasquez, who gained notoriety as one of Johnny Depp’s lawyers in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, has joined NBC News as a legal analyst.

EXCLUSIVE: HBCU GO — the free-streaming digital platform of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, which serves as the leading media provider for the nation’s 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities — has set a new promotional partnership with the award-winning indie Freedom’s Path, starring RJ Cyler (The Harder They Fall) and Gerran Howell (1917).

EXCLUSIVE: The management and production firm Navigation Media Group, repping creators in film and television, is expanding with the addition of Kegan Schell as Literary Manager.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar and Tony-nominated Ruth Negga has been tapped to star opposite Jake Gyllenhaal (who is in final negotiations), in Presumed Innocent, Apple TV+’s upcoming limited series from David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV, where the company is based.

EXCLUSIVE: Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment has hired longtime Turner casting executive Alexis Booth as head of casting. Her first day is today.