Sony Music Masterworks Acquires 50% Of Broadway’s ‘Slave Play’ Production Company Seaview

Ed Meza @edmezavarFilm and TV productions in Germany have come back with gusto following the three-month COVID-19 lockdown earlier this year, albeit under stringent health protection requirements.Despite a second lockdown in November due to the rise in coronavirus cases, shooting continues around the country, both in studios and on location.

Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris will donate a collection of 15 plays by Black playwrights to 53 libraries and community centers across the country, a donation made in lieu of sending Slave Play scripts to Tony Award voters.

With two fairly successful films under his belt in the “Kingsman” franchise, filmmaker Matthew Vaughn is still prepping his prequel film, “The King’s Man” for release sometime…in the future? Honestly, with how movie theaters are doing right now, we have no idea where/when we’ll see “The King’s Man.” That said, it appears that Vaughn’s production company, MARV, is far, far, FAR from done with the franchise and has several new sequels and spinoffs in the works.

Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris and New York Theatre Workshop – the Off Broadway company where he developed the acclaimed work – announced today the establishment of two $50,000 commissions for new theatrical works, keeping a pledge the author made when he signed a two-year overall deal with HBO last March.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment has acquired Human Re Sources, J. Erving’s Los Angeles-based artist distribution and services company, from the music and tech company Q&A.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterViacomCBS’ MTV Entertainment Group is committing $250 million over the next three years to nurturing content from women- and BIPOC-owned and operated production companies, by providing them with funding, production infrastructure, services and staff.Unscripted executive producers Lashan Browning and Adam Gonzalez, who last year inked overall deals with MTV Studios, will create their own third-party production ventures with an equity investment from MTV Entertainment.

MTV Entertainment Group has launched a new initiative to fuel the creation of more content from production companies owned and operated by BIPOC and women. They have commited $250M over three years in production to bolster the next generation of creative leaders and business owners.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAllison Baver, a three-time Olympic athlete, is expanding her footprint in the world of entertainment.

French execs Valérie Billaut, Stéphane Cadoch and Hugues Laigneau are launching Paris-based production company Taleseed.

Shawn Mendes, along with his longtime manager Andrew Gertler, have announced their entry into original content with Permanent Content, a new film and television production company that will develop scripted and documentary projects “focused on issues that impact or are important to today’s youth.”Among its first projects is the Netflix Original documentary, “In Wonder,” which chronicles Mendes’ rise to the top strata of pop music.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeBunim-Murray Prods. chairman/CEO Gil Goldschein is leaving after a 20-year run at the pioneering unscripted production company.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSony Music Masterworks, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, has acquired a 50% stake in Seaview, the production company behind such Tony nominated shows as “Slave Play” and “Sea Wall/ A Life.” Seaview is headed by producer and entrepreneur Greg Nobile.

Justin Kroll Senior Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Multi-hyphenate Nick Kroll is launching his first production company, Good At Business and tapped Alicia Van Couvering as is his first exec. Under his new banner, Good At Business is developing and adaptation of Calvin Kasulke’s Several People Are Typing as a TV series.Several People Are Typing is the first novel narrated entirely through Slack chats.

Taylor Swift’s actor boyfriend Joe Alwyn is relaxed about her fame.The singer has been linked to many A-list stars including Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, Calvin Harris, and Tom Hiddleston but, speaking with superstar Paul McCartney for Rolling Stone magazine, she admits he “absolutely” understands her lifestyle.Discussing her song Peace, taken from her 2020 album Folklore, she shared the tune is “rooted in my personal life,” explaining: “I know you have done a really excellent job

 Jennifer Lopez’s  production company won big this week after a lawsuit brought on by Samantha Barbash--who is the inspiration for Lopez’s character in the 2019 film   Hustlers --was thrown out of court.Federal Judge Denise Cote dismissed the $40 million lawsuit on Tuesday, which was filed by Barbash against the Lopez-owned Nuyorican Productions, STX Entertainment, Gloria Sanchez Productions and Pole Sisters LLC.

When it was announced that Jake Gyllenhaal would be teaming up with director Antoine Fuqua for another film, a remake of the Danish drama, “The Guilty,” we were already excited. Then it was revealed that Netflix spent $30 million on the distribution rights.

Dave McNary Film ReporterEthan Hawke, Peter Sarsgaard, Riley Keough, Byron Bowers, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David Castañeda, Christina Vidal and Paul Dano have joined Jake Gyllenhaal in the Netflix thriller “The Guilty.”Antoine Fuqua is directing from a script by Nic Pizzolatto (“True Detective”), based on the Gustav Moller-helmed Danish drama “Den Skyldige,” which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.