Points North Institute Launches Diane Weyermann Fellowship, Honoring Late Chief Content Officer Of Participant And Documentary Champion

North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday morning local time, just two days after Pyongyang sent an intermediate-range ballistic missile flying over Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.  About 40 missiles have been launched by North Korea this year, including six in the past two weeks, but Tuesday's test marked the first time in five years that the country has sent a missile over Japan.  The U.S. and South Korea staged joint drills on Wednesday in response, with the USS Ronald Reagan moving into waters east of South Korea.

Phil Oppenheim, who has held senior exec posts at Epix, Lionsgate and Turner, has been named chief content officer at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, the streaming entertainment company named after the best-selling series of self-help books, hired Phil Oppenheim as chief content officer. In the newly created role, Oppenheim will lead physical and streaming platform content strategy for all Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment properties, including Redbox — which CSSE bought this year for $370 million — and Crackle, the streaming service acquired from Sony Pictures Television. He starts at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment on Nov. 1, reporting to president Jonathan Katz. Most recently, Oppenheim was senior VP of program scheduling at MGM’s Epix Networks, where he also was responsible for the streaming content and branding of the company’s ScreenPix suite of ad-free channels. Prior to joining Epix in January 2020, he worked as a consultant and was Lionsgate’s chief curator and pop culture officer (SVP of programming), leading the content launch of the Comic-Con HQ subscription VOD service and Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud (LOL) ad-supported VOD service.

Michaela Zee editor Trioscope has hired Kyle Hoedl as chief marketing officer and Joe Snowden as chief operating officer, Variety has learned exclusively. “Both Kyle and Joe embody the acumen, energy and long-term vision that’s needed to scale our slate and catapult the company to the next level,” L.C. Crowley, co-founder and CEO of Trioscope, said in a statement. “Their hires are cornerstone to Trioscope’s evolution as a high-growth brand and business within a hyper-competitive global industry.” Hoedl will lead marketing and communications for the company’s business sectors, including Trioscope Studios and Trioscope Platform. Previously, Hoedl led marketing and digital content strategy for Trioscope and Quality Films’ “Takeover,” an action thriller film starring Quavo, Billy Zane and Serayah, as well as conceptualized the Web3-enabled virtual world “Takeover World.”

Phil Hartman’s daughter honored the late "Saturday Night Live" star in a heartfelt way. Saturday would have been the actor and comedian’s 74th birthday. For the occasion, Birgen Hartman took to Twitter and shared two photos of the patriarch dressed up as a cat for a comedy sketch.

When September rolls around, it means one thing for many of the top filmmakers in the world – time to hit the road. Venice, Telluride and Toronto come in rapid succession, to the point of overlapping. But for documentary filmmakers eager to showcase their work, there’s another important stop to make in September: the Camden International Film Festival in mid-coast Maine.

Ken Barker, the principal accounting officer at Netflix, has resigned from the company just three months after he arrived.

John Mayer is honoring his late friend Bob Saget.

The Black List has finalized the names of the six writers that will be part of their 2022 Feature Lab and will partake in a hybrid workshop that will include virtual sessions culminating in an in-person weekend intensive in Los Angeles.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ryan Spicer, after more than 14 years with WarnerMedia and Turner Broadcasting, is joining Atmosphere, which operates a national out-of-home streaming news and entertainment network, to lead ad sales in the role of chief revenue officer. Most recently, Spicer served as VP of sales and partnerships for WarnerMedia Digital, which is now part of Warner Bros. Discovery, covering the CNN Digital portfolio as well as the HBO Max with ads streaming platform. Prior to joining Turner Digital in 2008, he worked as a sales exec at MTV Networks. At Atmosphere, Spicer reports to chief operating officer Blake Sabatinelli. Spicer officially started in the role on Sept. 6.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Common Sense Networks has promoted Sharon Kroll Cohen to serve as chief marketing officer of the company, which operates the kids streaming service Sensical. She previously served as VP of marketing for Sensical, a job she has held since December 2021. Kroll will continues to report to Common Sense Networks CEO Eric Berger, who announced the elevation on Monday. “Sharon has been instrumental in the trajectory of Sensical’s success and by extension, the success of Common Sense Networks,” Berger said. “She is an exceptionally talented, strategic, and results-driven executive whose contributions and vision have been essential to our work in redefining digital experiences for kids.”

The Oscar race came into sharper focus at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, with actors like Brendan Fraser and Michelle Yeoh cementing their lead contender status, and big-budget studio efforts like The Fablemans and Glass Onion premiering to raves.

Diane Garrett On Friday, during the 18th edition of the Camden Intl. Film Festival, organizers unveiled a Diane Weyermann Fellowship at Points North Institute.Weyermann, the former chief content officer at Participant and former director of the Sundance Institute’s documentary film program, died last October of cancer.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Michele Golden has been hired as Imax’s global chief people officer. In her new role, she will oversee the entertainment technology company’s human resources, recruiting, talent management, and diversity, equity and inclusion divisions. Golden will report directly to Imax CEO Rich Gelfond and chief legal officer Rob Lister and be based in the company’s New York office. “Michele is a world-class human resources executive with deep experience in guiding some of the most recognizable brands in media and entertainment, building successful teams and navigating sweeping change,” Gelfond said in a statement. “As Imax seeks to build its global technology platform and foster a new era of growth for the Company, we are very excited to have Michele’s leadership in further strengthening our global teams, workplace, and culture.”

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Estrella Media has hired former NBCUniversal exec Enrique Guillen to serve as the company’s new chief content officer. Guillen will report to Estrella Media CEO Peter Markham and be based in Burbank. At Estella Media, Guillen will oversee U.S. domestic and global content strategy for the company’s TV, streaming, digital, audio, events and digital businesses, including developing, producing, and acquiring all television and film content, overseeing network and station programming, news, sports, digital content, and studio productions. He’ll also handle international distribution of Estrella Media content. “Enrique brings impeccable credentials as a leading executive in global content development and distribution, and he is a perfect fit to help our company accelerate our leadership position,” said Markham. “We look forward to Enrique taking a prominent role in helping us plot our next phase of growth as the changes taking place in our industry present unprecedented opportunities for Estrella Media.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Kim Kelleher added oversight of distribution revenue to her portfolio at AMC Networks, a substantial enlargement of her duties at the content company that was recently put under the aegis of a new CEO. Kelleher, who will continue to supervise advertising sales and partnerships, has been named chief commercial officer of the company, best known for its flagship cable network and influential series like “Better Call Saul” and “The Walking Dead.” “A cohesive, forward-looking commercial revenue team that has responsibility for all of our valuable partner relationships across advertisers, affiliates and new digital platforms makes strong strategic sense and Kim is the perfect executive to lead it,” said Christina Spade, who was recently named CEO of AMC Networks, in a statement. “She has brought her own unique talent, ingenuity and dynamic leadership to our commercial revenue group. We are thrilled to apply her abilities to an even more comprehensive role to drive the company’s top-line growth.” Kelleher will report to Spade.

Neon snapped up theatrical rights on Aug. 18 prior to the documentary’s world premiere at Venice Film Festival.

HBO Documentary Films has acquired U.S. television and streaming rights to Oscar winner Laura Poitras’s film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, fresh from its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and sneak preview at Telluride.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque has been promoted to Chief Content Officer for the WWE.