Music Industry Moves: Lasso Signs Management Deal With WK Entertainment; Fat Beats Names Chris Atlas President

Naman Ramachandran “Second Chance,” the directorial debut of Indian filmmaker Subhadra Mahajan, has been picked up for international sales by Thailand-based Diversion ahead of its world premiere at the 2024 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film is set to debut on July 2 in the festival’s Proxima Competition section. The film tells the story of Nia, a young woman from the city who returns to her family home in the western Himalayas after a decade-long absence.

EXCLUSIVE: We’re getting word about a series in the works from Sony Pictures Television‘s AFFIRM television and Revelations Entertainment which is centering around the Biblical Nazarene movement.

EXCLUSIVE: Following the huge success of Michael Showalter‘s Prime Video rom-com The Idea of You, Showalter and Jordana Mollick‘s Semi-Formal Productions has entered into a multi-year first-look film deal with Amazon MGM Studios, Deadline can exclusively reveal.

The Green Lantern series has officially been given a series order!

Ty Myers has signed with Records Nashville/ Columbia Records and will release his new song “Let ‘Em Talk” via the label “very soon,” according to the announcement. Myers is managed by Blake Shelton manager Narvel Blackstock of Starstruck Entertainment. He has enjoyed hits with his songs “Tie That Binds” and “Drinkin’ Alone” (which may be written from experience as he is not yet of drinking age).

EXCLUSIVE: The back and forth over the prospect of a hot-button film on the formative years of Donald Trump is near done, and The Dish hears that backer Kinematics will soon be bought out of Daniel Snyder’s $5 million investment with a premium. Tom Ortenberg, who runs Briarcliff Entertainment and has overseen the distribution of films that included Fahrenheit 9/11, Best Picture winner Spotlight, Nightcrawler and many others, is getting close to acquiring the film for fall release.

K.J. Yossman Fremantle has inked a first-look deal with Nevermind Pictures, the production company set up by Kristen Stewart, Dylan Meyer and Maggie McLean, which will see the super indie become the primary home for all of Nevermind’s projects in film and TV. The new deal, which spans a multi-year period, will see Nevermind working closely with Fremantle’s global drama division and international distribution team, FMI, for TV titles.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Fantastic Pavilion, the genre business hub launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, announced a slew of deals closed at the venue this year, with L..A-based Severin Films, a boutique Blu-ray and DVD label, inking a pact to release eleven Special Edition physical discs of the most popular Originals and licensed features from horror subscription streamer Shudder and IFC Films. Initial titles include Joko Anwar’s “Satan’s Slaves”; Brandon Cronenberg’s “Antiviral”; Can Evrenol’s “Baskin”; Franck Khalfoun’s 2012 remake of “Maniac”; Douglas Buck’s 2006 remake of “Sisters” and André Øvredal’s “The Autopsy of Jane Doe.” The deal was brokered by Severin Film’s co-founder-CEO David Gregory, Shudder’s Vice President of Programming Sam Zimmerman, and AMC Networks Director of Content Sales Lucas Verga.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media has signed a global distribution deal with ADA in anticipation of her upcoming sophomore album “Infinite Icon,” releasing on September 6.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios has closed a multiyear overall writing deal with Oscar nominated American Sniper screenwriter Jason Hall.  

The Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS) has new leadership.

EXCLUSIVE: Alan Cumming, the host and producer of Peacock’s reality phenom The Traitors, has signed a first-look producing deal with NBCUniversal. The pact spans scripted and unscripted content for NBCU’s portfolio of brands.  

EXCLUSIVE: Ali Afshar‘s ESX Entertainment has signed on to develop and produce the musical biopic Wind of Change, about German rock band Scorpions, which will tell the story of three unlikely friends whose passion for rock n’ roll fueled their rise from the ashes of post-World War II Germany to the global stardom in the 1980s as the multi-platinum rock band Scorpions.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Verzuz, the online platform launched during the pandemic by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, has struck a distribution partnership with Elon Musk’s X. The pair made the announcement during Cannes Lions conference in France on Wednesday. Earlier in the year, Swizz and Timbaland reacquired Verzuz from their previous partner Triller and now own 100% of the platform, while retaining their equity (along with the artists who participated in Verzuz) in Triller, according to the announcement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wanda Film, China’s largest cinema operator, has expanded its business relationship with Imax Corp. in a huge deal that straddles technology and content. With 381 Imax installations, Wanda alone operates more Imax venues than most countries.

EXCLUSIVE: Hulu has signed a first-look deal with Jennings Brown, a documentary producer, podcaster, journalist, and founder of the production company Nocturne. 

EXCLUSIVE: Rolin Jones, developer, executive producer and showrunner of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, has signed a new multi-year overall with AMC Studios, which is behind the gothic horror drama. This is an encouraging sign for the future of the series, which is currently airing its second season on AMC and AMC+.

EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of the season two finale of Apple’s critically acclaimed comedy series Loot, starring Maya Rudolph (who also exec produces), Apple TV+ has signed a multi-year, first-look deal with Banana Split Projects, the newly formed production company run by Maya Rudolph and Danielle Renfrew Behrens.  Under the deal, Apple TV+ will have a first-look on series and digital features developed and produced by Banana Split.

Downtown Music has appointed Molly Neuman as president of its “direct-to-creator” division, CD Baby. Neuman will work to expand CD Baby’s services, succeeding CD Baby’s previous president, Scott Williams, who will remain a consultant to Downtown and CD Baby. In a post shared to LinkedIn, Neuman said, “My ambitions for CD Baby are consistent with things I’ve spoken with many of you about before.

EXCLUSIVE: Shawn Ryan, whose thriller drama The Night Agent was the most watched TV series of 2023 on Netflix, has signed a big, four-year overall deal with the streamer, sources tell Deadline. The prolific creator, executive producer and showrunner landed at Netflix in a competitive situation, with his current studio home, Sony Pictures TV, NBCUniversal as well as Warner Bros. TV among those who pursued him, I hear. The pact with Netflix will start after Ryan’s current overall deal with Sony TV expires at the end of October.