Management Firm YMU Launches U.S. Entertainment Division With Former UTA & ICM Execs

Marion Barber III, a former NFL running back who made the Pro Bowl in 2007 with the Dallas Cowboys, was found dead Wednesday by police in Frisco, Texas. He was 38.

Britain's Got Talent viewers have defended David Walliams after he pressed his buzzer during the second semi-final show. The comedian, 50, was left unimpressed by Ranger Chris' performance on Tuesday night's show and pressed his buzzer, with the studio audience then beginning to boo him. Chris performed a mixture of songs alongside a group of dancing dinosaurs, and while fellow judge Amanda Holden happily danced along and cheered them on, David wasn't so enthusiastic about the performance.

EXCLUSIVE: Welcome to Earth producer Nutopia has struck a deal with former Travel Channel and BBC Productions boss Pat Younge to develop a slate of global TV franchises with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

The Britain's Got Talent judges and audience were moved to tears as the son of a former winner followed in his father's talented footsteps. The final audition show of the series on Saturday night (May 28) instalment of the ITV show saw Attraction Juniors take to the stage to win the hearts of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams.

GOT7 have opened up about why they chose to part ways with JYP Entertainment, despite getting a fairly good offer from the agency.Yesterday (May 23), the septet reunited and released a new self-titled EP, their first since leaving JYP Entertainment in January 2021. In a new interview with GQ Australia, the members of GOT7, now signed to seven different agencies, spoke about the reasons they left the company.“JYP wasn’t a place that was very confined,” shared leader JAY B of their time under the agency, which recently granted GOT7 the rights to the group’s name, despite having left the company. “We had breaks and when we took a rest, we could rest properly.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefMike Minogue, Naomi Ferry and Tim Foley have launched Frank Management, a new creative talent agency in New Zealand.Frank Management is open to representing clients across all disciplines, including acting, writing and filmmaking. The company aims to fill gaps they see across the industry, by offering an alternative for all creatives seeking representation.Minogue is best known to the public in the on-screen role of Officer Minogue in Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s TV series “Wellington Paranormal.” He is also successful writer and producer, having recently produced the 2021 Sundance hit “Coming Home In The Dark.” He is designated as head of development at the new agency.

EXCLUSIVE: Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Crazy Rich Asians producer SK Global, Jeff Sagansky and Florence Sloan have teamed to launch Jaya Entertainment, a content company focused on developing, producing and financing premium international series. Top TV producer Kaplan, prominent media investor Sagansky, Sloan and SK Global (via Ivanhoe Pictures) previously partnered in a Mumbai-based venture that produces hit Hindi-language Netflix series Delhi Crime, which won the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series and returns for a second season on the streamer later this year.

K.J. Yossman Mister Smith Entertainment has tapped Emma Mason as head of marketing and publicity, the company revealed on Friday.Mason has been overseeing marketing and publicity for Mister Smith Entertainment’s Cannes slate, including features “The Convert” from Lee Tamahori starring Guy Pearce, an action movie about a preacher in 1830s New Zealand, and “Inappropriate Behavior” from Tony Goldwyn starring Bobby Cannavale, about a man’s relationship with his neurodiverse child (and which features Robert De Niro in a major supporting role).She has also been working on Cannes offerings such as Martha Stephens’ “Big Rig,” which will see “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens play a trucker, and Lucy Hale rom-com “Which Brings Me To You,” about a woman who sets out to have a one night stand at a wedding which doesn’t go according to plan.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeFormer NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy has launched a new shingle with his cousin, Berlin-based advertising exec Stefan Telegdy, and they are pitching their first TV project, a 10-episode series about the Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982.The Telegdys’ The Whole Spiel production company has partnered with Lone Wolf Pictures and Infinity Hill to produce “The Islands,” which tells the story of that 1982 war, from the perspective of the soldiers and civilians on both sides of the 74-day conflict.Argentine writer Sebastian Rotstein (“El Presidente” Season 2, “Morir de Amor”) is writing the screenplay for the show, which will employ writers and directors from both the U.K. and Argentina to tell the full story.

K.J. Yossman Bobby Cannavale is set to star in comedy drama “Inappropriate Behavior” from “Conviction” director Tony Goldwyn.

Fremantle’s Fiction Valley Ties With ‘Dirty Lines’ Creator Pieter Bart Korthuis

Sky Recommissions ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ On Four-Strong Entertainment Slate

EXCLUSIVE: LeBron James may have lost an attorney, but gained a law firm in the end.

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Hans Canosa’s film, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, from international sales agent Mister Smith Entertainment. Currently in post-production, the film is slated for release in theaters this fall.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeFox execs finally addressed the controversy surrounding Rudy Giuliani being cast on “The Masked Singer,” and according to Rob Wade, the president of aalternative entertainment & specials at Fox Entertainment, the company has “no regrets.”The network brass was asked about Giuliani’s casting on Monday morning during a conference call announcing the network’s new fall lineup. “Yeah, absolutely no regrets,” Wade said.

Wilson Chapman editorVeteran producer Riva Marker has joined production and brand management company Linden Entertainment as CEO of Productions, Variety has learned.An experienced producer of feature films and stage productions, Marker is best known as the co-founder of Nine Stories, an independent production company she established with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2015. Under the Nine Stories banner, she has produced films such as “The Guilty,” “Breaking News in Yuba County,” “The Devil All the Time,” “Joe Bell,” “Relic,” “Wildlife” and “Stronger.”Prior to Nine Stories, notable projects she produced include the Peabody award-winning “Beasts of No Nation” in 2015, and the Oscar-nominated “The Kids Are All Right” in 2010.

Singer Jeanick Fournier is proving she’s a star.

EXCLUSIVE: Jeffrey Schlesinger, who was previously President, Warner Bros Worldwide Television Distribution, has set up his own consultancy shingle.