Live Nation, Netflix, Paramount Global & Warner Bros. Discovery CEOs Among Most Overpaid Last Year, Says Nonprofit As You Sow

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Zack Snyder knew he was going to be the butt of a “Barbie” joke well before the blockbuster comedy opened in theaters from Warner Bros. In a new interview with Men’s Health, the “Rebel Moon” director revealed Warner Bros.’ film co-chief Michael DeLuca informed his wife and producer partner Deborah Snyder earlier this year about the joke and the studio’s intention to keep it in the film’s final cut. The Snyder Cut joke in “Barbie” arrives during a critical moment in the film.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery cable warrior Kathleen Finch is heading into her Super Bowl: the holiday season at Food Network.

Paramount Global shares closed up nearly 10% Friday, leading entertainment stocks higher after the Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount Global and Apple are discussing bundling their respective streaming platforms at a discount.

David Zaslav has been preaching the gospel of Tinseltown labor peace since the SAG-AFTRA strike ended, and now the Warner Bros Discovery CEO is putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to his own backyard.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros. Discovery China is launching reality TV show “Glow Up China” in mainland China later this month. Delving into the universe and talents of Chinese make-up artists, the series will launch on leading streaming platform Tencent Video in December at a yet-to-be-specified date. The 6×60 minute show is a Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: Republic Pictures has acquired the Charlie Weber-Madison Bailey-Jon Voight action thriller The Painter from SP Media Group for Paramount Global Content Distribution Worldwide.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Screen Actors Guild has named its executive producers to lead the creative team for the group’s upcoming 30th awards ceremony, which will stream live on Netflix for the first time. Baz Halpin, Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn of Silent House Productions, the film, streaming and television production division of Silent House Group, are partnering to serve as executive producers alongside Jon Brockett, SAG-AFTRA executive producer, and liaison to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.

Naman Ramachandran Shah Rukh Khan‘s “Jawan” and “Pathaan,” Rajinikanth‘s “Jailer” and Sunny Deol‘s “Gadar 2” are among the most popular Indian theatrical releases of the year on Amazon’s online entertainment database IMDb. The IMDb year-end rankings mirror the films’ box office performance as the charting films are the biggest Indian hits of the year. Netflix occupies the top two spots in IMDb’s 10 most popular streaming films of the year with “Lust Stories 2” and “Jaane Jaan.” Hitmaking duo Krishna D.K.

Naman Ramachandran Paramount+ has revealed its lineup for Brazilian comic convention CCXP. The streamer will host a panel on the event’s Thunder Stage on Dec.

Phil Quartararo, a record executive for five decades at A&M, RCA, Island, EMI, Warner Bros. and Virgin Records, died today of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles. He was 67.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Phil Quartararo, the veteran record executive who played a major role in the success of the Spice Girls, Linkin Park and many others, has died, Variety has confirmed. Billboard reported that the cause of death was pancreatic cancer; he was 67. A familiar and friendly presence at countless concerts across the decades, “Phil Q.” — pictured above with Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks in 2001 — was renowned for his warm personality and firm handshake.

UPDATED, with Live Nation response: A Senate subcommittee has subpoenaed Live Nation/Ticketmaster, demanding documents as part of an investigation into exorbitant ticket prices for Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and other concerts.

Mixed martial arts outfit Professional Fighters League (PFL) has acquired Bellator from Paramount Global, saying the deal that includes top fighters and creates “a roster now equal in stature to UFC.”

Texas congressman Joaquin Castro has taken to X to slam Warner Bros Discovery for axing the $70M Coyote vs. Acme for a reported $30M tax writeoff. That said, as we first reported, the studio is changing course this week and screening the film for potential buyers, i.e. Amazon Prime (a leading contender), Apple and Netflix. This pivot by studio brass was made after a weekend in which the studio’s phone rang off the hook by the creative community over the cancelling of the finished film, as well as an outcry by the pic’s composer Steven Price among others online.

Can a live-action series live up to its animated predecessor? Netflix is once again taking on a  beloved animated property with “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” The live-action project sees executive producer and original showrunner Albert Kim adapt the early ‘00s Nickelodeon title for a new generation of fans—all the while keeping an eye on what original fans are looking for in a new ‘Avatar’ series.

Jaden Thompson When the world needed the Avatar most, he vanished — or did he? Netflix has released the trailer for the upcoming live-action adaptation of the beloved Nickelodeon series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” set for release in 2024. As fans of the popular animated Nickelodeon show will recall, “The Last Airbender” follows four nations that once lived harmoniously alongside one another, each ruled by a different element: air, fire, water and earth.

In another maneuver by the David Zaslav-run Warner Bros Discovery to kill movies, we hear on very good authority that Warner Bros will not be releasing the live-action/animated hybrid Coyote vs. Acme with the conglom taking an estimated $30M write-down on the $70M production. We understand the writedown for the pic was applied to the recently reported Q3.

Warner Bros Discovery is reteaming with Taiwanese production company DaMou Entertainment to produce HBO Asia original Fired Up! (working title), an adaptation of hit Kakao webtoon Itaewon Class. 

People. “But I missed Thanksgiving, and almost missed Christmas,” Roker added.

Christopher Nolan is freaking me out. “There’s a pretty simple argument mathematically for saying the world will end in nuclear Armageddon simply because that’s a possibility,” he’s calmly explaining. “Over an infinite timeline, it’s going to happen at some point.” It’s hard to dispute Nolan’s logic that civilization will one day vaporize, but as he tops off his mug of Earl Grey tea from a small kettle on the table in front of him, he hits a slightly more hopeful note.