Obamas’ Higher Ground Inks First-Look Deal With Audible After Ending Spotify Pact

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterThe South by Southwest Conference is expanding beyond its longtime Austin, Texas home to Sydney, Australia.SXSW Sydney will host a seven-day celebration of technology, film and music from Oct. 15 to Oct.

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack are getting into business with Lionsgate TV. The prolific duo have signed a first-look producing deal with the studio via their Le Train Train Productions under which they will produce scripted programming for multiple platforms.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorA24, the indie studio behind TV shows and movies like “Euphoria,” “Minari,” “Moonlight” and “Lady Bird,” signed a first-look deal with Pushkin Industries, Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg’s audio production company.Under the new deal, A24 has the right of first refusal to develop film and TV projects based on Pushkin’s intellectual property. The companies are already in development on “a few” projects including a documentary series based on Gladwell’s “The Bomber Mafia,” to be directed by filmmaker Morgan Neville.Pushkin Industries CEO Weisberg and president Gladwell will executive produce projects developed through the A24 pact.Pushkin Industries, founded in 2018, has produced several podcasts that have broken into the top 10 on Apple’s Top Podcasts chart, including Gladwell’s “Revisionist History,” as well as “Against the Rules,” “The Happiness Lab,” “Broken Record,” “Cautionary Tales,” “The Last Archive,” “Deep Cover,” “Lost Hills” and “A Slight Change of Plans.” Pushkin’s audiobooks include Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Netanyahus” by Joshua Cohen and Gladwell’s “Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon.” In “The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War,” Gladwell uses original interviews and archival footage tell the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard.In the years leading up to World War II, most military strategists saw the airplane as an afterthought.

Apple TV+ has inked a multi-year first-look deal with Animal Pictures, the production company from Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne and Danielle Renfrew Behrens.The deal gives Apple TV+ the first-look on series and digital features developed and produced by the company.The news comes not long after the debut of Rudolph’s new workplace comedy series “Loot” on the streamer. “Loot” follows Rudolph’s Molly Novak, “a billionaire who has a dream life, complete with private jets, a sprawling mansion and a gigayacht — anything her heart desires. But when her husband of 20 years betrays her, she spirals publicly, becoming fuel for tabloid fodder,” per a logline from the streamer.

Michelle Obama is sharing her thoughts on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJosh Richards has entered into a first-look deal with Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.Under the terms of the deal, he will act as a brand ambassador for the streamer and will develop custom social media for its content, including the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football.” The pro football league signed an 11-year deal with Amazon in 2021 for the rights to the Thursday night games, with this fall’s season being the first under the deal.“We are extremely excited to welcome Josh and his incredible team into the Amazon Studios and Prime Video fold,” said Lee Stimmel, head of influencer marketing for Amazon’s Prime Video. “Josh has an amazing track record of creating engaging content that resonates with his millions of fans.

Johnny Depp has issued a major career announcement after winning his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor is heading back out on tour with his Hollywood Vampires bandmates.

Michelle Obama can’t resist a Beyoncé song. Following the release of her new song “Break My Soul,” Obama shared on Instagram just how much she loved the song and its message.Beyoncé announces awaited 7th studio album and a drop dateSelena Gomez proud to be in Michelle Obama’s Voting SquadA post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama)Obama shared a photo of Beyoncé performing on stage and wrote, “Queen @beyonce, you’ve done it again! “Break My Soul” is the song we all need right now, and I can’t help but dance and sing along while listening to it.

awarded $2 million in compensatory damages. The actress has since spoken out and claimed the verdict was "unfair" and that social media had a strong influence on the trial.

Bill Nye, the married guy!The star is officially a newlywed after marrying journalist and author Liza Mundy in May at the Castle Building's Haupt Garden at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., People confirmed. In photos captured by their wedding photographer, Barack Obama's former White House photographer, Pete Souza, the couple can be seen exchanging vows outside in front of  star Robert Picardo, who officiated the ceremony. «Yes it’s true, I’m now officially a wedding photographer,» Souza wrote in part of an Instagram caption. «But I buried the lede: congrats to Bill Nye and Liza Mundy.⁣»The bride donned a v-neck satin gown with a fishtail high-low hem and embellished with a beaded belt.

Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company is heading to Amazon’s Audible platform.Following the end of a three-year deal with Spotify, the Obamas have reportedly inked an exclusive multi-year, first-look deal with the Amazon-owned platform.While firm details surrounding the Obamas’ new deal with Audible remain unclear at this time, comments from Michelle Obama hint at the possibility of their content with Audible being released on multiple streaming platforms.The Audible deal will see the Obamas “keep striving to tell compelling, provocative, and soulful stories — while doing everything we can to make sure they reach the folks who need to hear them,” Michelle Obama told The Hollywood Reporter.A Higher Ground spokesperson also told The Hollywood Reporter that the two companies “plan to make the Audible Originals available to the widest possible audience”.The newly signed deal with Audible comes after the Obamas’ three-year deal with streaming giant Spotify ended earlier this year. The Spotify deal saw them “develop, produce and appear” on select podcasts through their Higher Ground production company.The Obamas’ contributions to Spotify notably included the eight-part podcast series Renegades: Born In The USA with Bruce Springsteen.

Selena Gomez is opening up about one of her most successful albums, revealing that she felt ashamed to pose naked for the cover of ‘Revival’ during her recent conversation with Amy Schumer at the Hollywood Reporter’s Comedy Actress Roundtable.“Someone like Selena, who was sexualized at such a young age, but you’ve just rejected that and have really found your own style and your own presence,” the comedian stated, adding that the media and online users “put you through a system and make you feel like this is how you have to do it.”“It’s really unfair,” Selena declared, “I actually did an album cover and I was really ashamed after I did it,” referring to the 2015 studio album ‘Revival.’“I had to work through those feelings because I realized it was attached to something deeper that was going on,” the singer explained, “It was a choice that I wasn’t necessarily happy that I made, but I think that I’ve done my best, at least I try to be myself.”“I’m not an overly sexual person,” she continued, explaining that sometimes she likes “to feel sexy, but that doesn’t mean it’s for somebody else. It can be for me.” Selena Gomez: Why ‘Only Murders in The Building’ did not want to hire herSelena Gomez proud to be in Michelle Obama’s Voting SquadSelena Gomez reveals the drugstore beauty products she usesShe concluded by saying that she now has a different perspective and wants to take control of her career.

Audible has entered into a first-look deal with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s media company, Higher Ground.“At Higher Ground, we have always sought to lift up voices that deserve to be heard — and Audible is invested in realizing that vision alongside us. I’m looking forward to partnering with them to tell stories that not only entertain but also inspire,” the former President said in a statement Tuesday.“We are so proud of the stories we have been able to tell at Higher Ground, and there’s no one we’d rather write our next chapter with than Audible.

President Barack Obama & Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground has found a new podcast home.

Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are marking America’s newest national holiday.