Newly Launched Literary Rights Group Acquires Estates of 12 Authors

Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmEXCLUSIVE: In a big shot in the arm for the independent distribution game as Virtual Cannes gets underway, Open Road Films is back up and running. Funding is in place from New York-based private equity firm Raven Capital Management’s principal James Mascielli with key support from Matt Sidari.

To celebrate Juneteenth, the companies behind upcoming documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble — Participant, Color Farm Media and Magnolia — have launched a voting rights campaign designed to educate and encourage civic participation among audiences. The Good Trouble campaign will provide opportunities to support voting rights, learn about voter suppression, participate in civic engagement and register voters.

Alicia Keys revealed that the original lineup of girl group 3LW could have looked a little different than it did when they first came onto the scene.The New York native, 39, answered the internet’s most searched questions about her during a new episode of Wired‘s “Autocomplete Interviews” on Thursday, June 18, and opened up about how she got her start in the music business.“My first band that I was in was just four of my homegirls from my neighborhood.

Last year, Columbia Records launched its kid-focused brand Jam Jr., made up of social media influencer-artists between the ages of 11-19 all of whom are signed to the label as exclusive recording artists. The artists primarily record covers of top 40 hits -- though plans for original

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorAmazon Studios has taken all global rights to Story Syndicate’s Untitled Voting Rights documentary about voter suppression featuring politician, lawyer and author Stacey Abrams. The doc comes from Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lisa Cortés, and the plan is for Amazon to release the doc in theaters prior to this year’s U.S.

Pop Smoke, the beloved Brooklyn rapper and face of the New York drill movement who was fatally shot in February at age 20.The deal covers all work written by the late artist, including breakthrough hit "Welcome to the Party" and his upcoming debut album, which was largely completed prior to his passing and will be released posthumously this summer by Steven Victor's joint venture with Universal Music Group, Victor Victor Worldwide.“Pop meant so much to so many people across the world," Warner

Naman Ramachandran Canada’s Lark Productions has acquired the exclusive television rights to Image Comics’ sci-fi graphic novel series “Descender,” and its sequel “Ascender,” created by New York Times bestselling author Jeff Lemire (“Black Hammer”) and artist Dustin Nguyen (“Batman: Streets of Gotham”).“Fortunate Son” producer Lark, which is part of NBCUniversal International Studios, will develop and produce the series.“Descender” was launched in 2015 and 32 graphic novels were published

Famous for his blocking on the court, LeBron James is now turning his protective tactics to the voting booth.  Following the death of George Floyd and amid the Black Lives Matter movement, the NBA superstar and fellow Black athletes, including Jalen Rose and Skylar Diggins-Smith, as well as other entertainment figures like Kevin Hart, are joining together behind More Than a Vote, a new organization they've founded focused on "protecting African Americans' voting rights," according to a New York

It’s going to be a busy fall for LeBron James. Should the forward lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA finals, he’ll be on the court until October.

Patrick Hipes Executive Managing EditorWomen in Film Los Angeles on Wednesday launched Hire Her Back, an initiative to call on entertainment companies to continue to seek gender and racial equality in their hiring as the the industry looks to return to film and TV production after the COVID-19 shutdown.Key to the initiative is the Hire Her Back Fund, a partnership among WIF, New York Women in Film & Television and Women In Film and Television Atlanta to provide grants to women in the industry

Bruce Haring pmc-editorial-managerLos Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, who once was infamously told to “shut up and dribble” when he talked about politics, is now stepping into the topic in a major way.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorThe Independent Filmmaker Project has launched a virtual internship program as part of a new educational initiative designed to help college students explore careers in the New York film and media industries.Dubbed IFP EDU, it is a year-round offering, with a hub aiming to enable recent graduates, alumni and faculty to expand their professional skills through career development and technical workshops.

J Balvin and Khalid, among others.Top Drawer, meanwhile, will remain a standalone company in its own right, in addition to serving as the merch and ecommerce wing for EMPIRE, which has artists such as Young Dolph and Robin Thicke on its roster and has been expanding from its Bay Area roots into Nashville and London in recent months, among other areas.

Tim Dams “Guilt” and “Eric, Ernie and Me” writer Neil Forsyth is launching production label Tannadice Pictures in partnership with Objective Fiction, the production company behind Netflix and Channel 4 co-pro “Feel Good.”Forsyth will exclusively develop and write content for Objective Fiction via Tannadice Pictures, as well as develop projects with other writers through the new label.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorEXCLUSIVE: Neil Forsyth, the writer of BBC drama Guilt, has launched a production label that will sit alongside Objective Fiction, the producer behind Netflix and Channel 4 co-production Feel Good.Forsyth has founded Tannadice Pictures, which will house all of his new projects and will establish relationships with other writers to develop new scripted shows.His existing projects will be unaffected, including a second season of Guilt, starring Catastrophe actor

By Mark David

While people are fighting one battle in America, they are also at risk of another.  As the Black Lives Matter movement wages on in the wake of George Floyd's death, protests have sparked nationwide against police brutality and racial injustice, simultaneously bringing people physically together after months of social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.  Given the physical proximity of protesting in large crowds, participants are at an increased risk of contracting the deadly virus, an

By Nancy Tartaglione