SM Entertainment launches ‘KWANGYA 119’ website to “protect” its artists

BABYMONSTER, the upcoming K-pop girl group from YG Entertainment, are set to debut in September.Today (July 11), the K-pop agency confirmed to South Korean news outlet Ten Asia that BABYMONSTER’s debut is currently aimed for this September. The publication, citing YG Entertainment, also noted that a “strong hip-hop song” has been chosen for the girl group’s debut title track, with the choreography and music video already in the works.The news comes two months after YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk confirmed the line-up of BABYMONSTER.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Hulu is launching a new sub-brand focused on adult animation and anime called Animayhem, Variety has learned exclusively. The new hub is meant to capitalize on Hulu’s already popular lineup of adult animation and anime shows. Series like “American Dad,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy,” “Futurama” and “King of the Hill” consistently rank among the service’s top 10 shows based on hours streamed, per Hulu. So far this year, over one billion hours of adult animation content has been streamed on Hulu, along with over 288 million hours of anime content, the streamer claims. “When you have the number one offering in adult animation and anime of any major streaming service, creating this destination is obvious. We know exactly where we can meet these fans, because they’re already here,” said Barrie Gruner, Hulu’s executive vice president of marketing and publicity, in an interview with Variety.

Daily Wire, the page was removed at the direction of a cabinet-level agency, according to reporting from The Washington Post.Subsequently, the removal of the page of LGBTQ resources prompted questions from Health Department leaders and state employees over why subject-matter experts hadn’t been consulted or forewarned.Some of those same employees also noted that the Youngkin administration had removed information from the website without consulting those experts at least three other times, targeting primarily resources on abortions, sexual health, or pregnancy.All the decisions that have been called into question appear to pertain to the Youngkin administration’s efforts to reverse course or end policies that were in place for eight years under former Democratic Governors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam.In response to an inquiry about the removal, Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson for the governor, framed the issue as one of parental rights — the rallying cry that helped him first get elected due to voters’ anger over school closures stemming from COVID-19 lockdowns, and objections from conservative parents about curriculum content, books on library shelves that aren’t part of official curricula, or district policies — especially those pertaining to race or LGBTQ identity — that they viewed as overly “woke.”Porter also appeared to raise concerns about some of the helplines and chat spaces provided by the LGBTQ organizations and the possibility that youth may be vulnerable to grooming or exposed to sexually-explicit content if they access such spaces.“In Virginia, the governor will always reaffirm a parent’s role in their child’s life.

William Earl Stage 32, the social network designed to support TV and film professionals in more than 185 countries, has reached the milestone of 1 million members as the company expands its offerings. The service was founded in 2011 by Richard “RB” Botto, an actor, producer and screenwriter. The platform features global job boards and 3,000 hours of webinars, classes and labs to support a wide range of entertainment industry careers, including above- and below-the-line disciplines. Among the top markets for Stage 32 are the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. The price of the service ranges depending on the level and duration of access. A one-year subscription to its Writers Room plan, offering a database of open film and TV writing jobs, costs about $350.

The sisters are still getting their claws out.

Elon Musk Reacts Amid Outrage Over Temporary Daily Twitter Limitations Linda Yaccarino to Replace Elon Musk as Twitter CEO Chrissy Teigen and More Celebs React to Losing Twitter Verification Here Are the Celebrities Who Have Quit Twitter

Marta Balaga Spanish actress Itsaso Arana proves that “Girls Are Alright” with her directorial debut, vying for the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Known to the festival’s audience thanks to Jonás Trueba’s “August Virgin,” which she also co-wrote, she is currently readying their next project, set to shoot in the autumn. “That experience, as well as his other films I starred in, have been profoundly significant in my life. Jonás is a great inspiration,” says Arana. But after years of collaborations, however satisfying, she is ready to venture out on her own.

Charna Flam The Protecting Our Planet (POP) Challenge announced Friday its new partnership with the Brazilian government to invest $200 million in support of the expansion and management of Brazil’s protected areas and Indigenous territories. Over the next four years, the $200 million donation will be utilized to help Brazil achieve zero deforestation in the Amazon and accelerate the South American country’s transition to a sustainable and green economy. The new coalition is working closely with Brazil’s Minister of the Environment, Minister of Indigenous Peoples, nine Amazon states and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Re:wild conservation nonprofit and Jeff Bezos’ Nature Solutions of the Bezos Earth Fund.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Snapchat is pinking out loud for Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” Warner Bros. Pictures is launching a “Barbie” AR Lens ad campaign exclusively on the social and messaging app — meaning Snapchat is the only place where you can dress up to look like Margot Robbie’s Barbie or Ryan Gosling’s Ken in fashions based on the film. The studio’s paid campaign on Snapchat launches Friday (June 30), three weeks ahead of the movie’s wide opening on July 21. Snapchat users can access the virtual Barbie wardrobe from the app’s Lens Carousel or by scanning the QR code (left). With the debut of the new Barbie Wardrobe AR Lens, Snapchatters can see themselves wearing different outfits and accessories inspired by costumes in the upcoming film. You can share the resulting pics or videos in a Snap message or a Snapchat Story (or save it to your camera roll to share via text or on other social platforms).

A3 Artists Agency has signed Ain’t That Something Entertainment founder Matt Solomon for representation.

EXCLUSIVE: After taking on a major recurring arc across multiple seasons of Taylor Sheridan‘s hit neo-Western drama series Yellowstone, actress Q’orianka Kilcher has signed with Silver Lining Entertainment for management.

Manchester’s Revolution bars are saying to hell with inflation and the cost of living crisis by unveiling a new menu with meals starting at just £2.99. The bar chain, which has three sites in the city, introduced the menu last week.

K.J. Yossman Like the disaster that inspired both Titan’s name and journey, last week’s submersible disaster captured the world. Millions waited with bated breath to learn the fate of the sub’s five occupants. On Friday, after a six-day search, the Coast Guard confirmed that debris from the sub consistent with a “catastrophic implosion” had been found just 1,600 feet from the wreck of the Titanic itself. In the interim, the missing sub dominated the news cycle, prompting thousands of tweets, headlines and hot takes. Before Titan had even been located, one enterprising U.K. network commissioned and aired a documentary about the sub’s deep-sea exploration to the Titanic while Netflix has faced backlash for bringing James Cameron’s 1997 feature about the original disaster back to the streaming service (sources say the timing is a coincidence).

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Canadian filmmaker Jamie Kastner has launched a fundraiser to support his legal costs in fighting the Ontario Provincial Police against a production order that could force him to surrender the source material for his documentary. Kastner is the director of “There Are No Fakes,” a 2019 doc that uncovered an art fraud ring that passed off fake paintings as originals by the celebrated Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau, known for his vibrant paintings of the natural world and First Nations mythology. The eye-opening film revealed there were up to 10 times more Morrisseau forgeries on the market as there were real works, and that the artist’s own nephew may have been complicit in helping to produce the fakes.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International If you ask most people in the U.K. industry how business is going right now, they’ll likely tell you it’s been agonizingly “slow.” It’s meant to be boom time for production, but this summer, the U.S. writers strike combined with a cost of living crisis is brutally squeezing unscripted and scripted projects. This week, as the clock ticks away on negotiations between American actors union SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s collective bargaining agent, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the prevailing thought will be: is all of this about to get much worse? A number of British actors Variety has spoken to say they’ve yet to hear from local actors’ union Equity with any guidance about their situation. That’s likely because it’s being worked out in real time. Paul W. Fleming, general secretary for Equity, has been in Los Angeles for discussions with SAG-AFTRA, which is optimistic about its negotiations with the AMPTP. (He’s also visiting New York to meet with theater union Actors’ Equity.)

Naman Ramachandran The U.K. will maintain its position as the leading entertainment and media market in Europe over the next four years, ahead of Germany and France, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media (E&M) Outlook 2023-2027 report. U.K. E&M revenue is expected to reach £85 billion ($108 billion) this year with growth forecast at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4% over the next four years to generate revenue of £100 billion overall by 2027. The report predicts that the next biggest European E&M markets – Germany, which is expected to reach £83.1 billion in 2023 and France, set to touch £54.6 billion in 2023 – will grow to £90.8 billion and £61.1 billion by 2027 respectively.

Whitney Cinkala L.A. Rams Coach Sean McVay, RedBird Capital Partners founder Gerry Cardinale and NCAA Champion and MVP of the 2023 NCAA Championship Angel Reese have been added to the program for Variety and Sportico’s co-branded Sports and Entertainment Summit, presented by City National Bank, on July 13 in Los Angeles. The collaboration marks an expanded day of programming for the event. Already announced speakers include NBA all-star, entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Westbrook; NBA all-star and producer Blake Griffin; Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles; and ESPN’s Rosalyn Durant. A keynote conversation with McVay will cover the 2022 Super Bowl Champion team, how the incredible fan energy provides inspiration for them and what the team is excited about heading into the new season.

William Earl In a sign of the times, long-established entertainment marketing firm M3 Creative has launched a consulting arm after numerous requests from clients for guidance on how to maintain authenticity in an AI-influenced world. Andy Meyers, director-producer and M3 Creative founder and president, said the creation of the consulting arm dubbed M3 / Target was fueled by incoming calls from longstanding industry associates. Meyers launched M3 Creative in 2003 after getting his start on the staff of “Entertainment Tonight.” The company has since produced marketing campaigns, branded content and digital content extensions of top-tier TV shows and movies from such studios and networks as Disney, ESPN, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, Paramount and more.

Maury Povich may not be the father, but he certainly is the daddy when it comes to paternity tests.

The randy, rocky comedy No Hard Feelings (★★☆☆☆) hints at a few different meanings in its title, including the obvious sexual pun, which hardly warrants a giggle, and isn’t exactly accurate. The lead pair in this wannabe-bawdy, R-rated romp are plenty horny, actually, if not necessarily for each other.Jennifer Lawrence plays Montauk bartender and Uber driver Maddie Barker, who’s sleeping off a hot night with a hunk listed in the credits as Gorgeous Italian Guy (Christian Galvis) when she wakes to find her car being seized by the county.