Superstar Producer Tainy Sells Catalog to Influence Media in $25 Million Deal (EXCLUSIVE)

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicAudio content production studio Audio Up has signed a publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) that will identify and sign songwriters to create original music for the company’s stable of podcasts. In addition, Audio Up CEO Jared Gutstadt will be represented by UMPG as a songwriter and producer.Original music for podcasting, particularly in scripted programs, has been in greater demand as listening hours for the format continue to rise.

Sam Asghari is looking forward to his future with fiancée Britney Spears! During the 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscars Viewing Party, the  actor dished on what's to come for the couple.  “Everything’s amazing,” Asghari tells ET’s Matt Cohen. “We’re so excited to start a new chapter, and everything’s so positive from here on out.”  Asghari, 28, and Spears, 40, announced their engagement in September.

Britney Spears revealed Donatella Versace paid a visit to her home. While the star shared a few snaps on Instagram of her and the fashion maven together, ET's Matt Cohen caught up with Versace at the 30th Annual Elton John Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party on Sunday, where the designer dished on seeing the pop princess after they were last together in Milan more than a decade ago. «I went to see Britney because I always care about her,» she said. «The last time she was in Milan was like 15 years ago, so I brought a few pictures to show to her.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentHot off the success of “No Man’s Land,” Israel’s Spiro Films and France’s Haut et Court TV are re-teaming on “Armageddon,” a sprawling thriller miniseries looking at Christian extremists operating in the Holy Land.The show is being created by David Ackerman, who previously worked in national security in Israel and went on to pen the film “Blank Bullet” inspired by the story of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, and “Jerusalem,” a gritty geopolitical thriller drama which competed at last year’s Series Mania.Ackerman is currently writing the script for “Armageddon,” which weaves several characters, including a Christian American priest who travels with a few disciples to the Kibbutz Megiddo. Appearing friendly and charitable, the group starts forging bonds within the small community, including a mother and a son, while pursuing their secret agenda: find the Antichrist who will provoke a war that will fulfil their biblical prophecy – the second coming of the Christ.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorReality TV pioneer Bunim-Murray Productions is throwing its hat into the NFT ring.The production company teamed with tech startup Virtual Arts to form Wonderfuel, an entertainment company that intends to develop a slate of unscripted TV shows funded by sales of nonfungible tokens (NFTs).Wonderfuel (wonderfuel.co) plans to shop its shows to traditional TV networks and streaming platforms, and the shows are also expected to be available on Web3 platforms to NFT owners. The companies said that new NFTs — which verify the ownership of unique pieces of digital content using distributed blockchain technology — will be minted and released alongside the shows, giving fans the opportunity to access “unique rewards, from involvement in creative decisions to sharing in prizes and unique fan experiences.” Wonderfuel’s sale of NFTs will enable both partial and full funding of future shows, the companies said.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMushroom, Australia’s largest independent label group, and Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, a division of Universal Music Group, have announced a multi-layered global partnership to support and distribute Mushroom artists’ releases worldwide, outside of Australia and New Zealand.Under the terms of the agreement, VLMAS will provide promotion, marketing and audience label services to Mushroom’s existing US and UK infrastructure. In addition, selected Mushroom artists’ releases will be issued through UMG’s major label network, when agreed by both parties.Mushroom’s Chief Executive, Matt Gudinski said “Mushroom has been a market leader for decades in Australia and today we take another huge step in building Mushroom into a truly global brand.

Kate Aurthur editorHillsong is best known as the international church that has attracted a flock of A-list attendees, including Justin and Hailey Bieber, Chris Pratt, Katherine Schwarzenegger, Kevin Durant, and Kylie and Kendall Jenner. When Dan Johnstone first approached making a documentary about the church — the three-part Discovery Plus docuseries “Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed” — however, his interest was far more wide-ranging.“I was a child of the ‘80s and ‘90s,” Johnstone said in his first interview about the project, which he executive produced.

Naman Ramachandran New York-based film and television studio and streaming network FilmRise has struck a production and distribution deal with Los Angeles-based Nicely Entertainment.Under the terms of the deal, FilmRise will co-produce and exclusively distribute in the U.S. holiday-themed films “Sappy Holiday,” starring Vanessa Sears (“The Last Man”) and John McLaren (“Heartland”) and “Snowball Effect” along with two newly completed productions from Nicely – “Adeline,” starring John Schneider (“Dukes of Hazard”) and “Snapshot to Love,” starring Lexi Giovagnoli (“Christmas Lovers Anonymous”) and Benedict Mazurek (“Danger! Danger!”).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe family of legendary singer-songwriter Nat King Cole, one of the most important and influential musicians of the 20 th century, has entered into an agreement with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group to manage and expand his legacy to new generations, the company announced today.Details of the transaction were not disclosed, beyond the fact that it “encompasses a broad range of rights from Cole’s legendary career including his recorded music, publishing, television shows, and name and likeness.”In the decades before his 1965 death from lung cancer at the age of just 45, Cole scored more than 150 singles across Billboard’s pop, R&B, and country charts and has sold an estimated 50 million-plus records worldwide. While best known as a crooner, he was a formidable jazz musician as well, and is best known for classics like “The Very Thought of You,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “Unforgettable,” “Nature Boy,” “Stardust,” “When I Fall In Love,” “Mona Lisa,” “L-O-V-E,” and the holiday staple, “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).” As the announcement notes, Cole, who was born in Alabama in 1919, was subjected to all the barriers of the Jim Crow era, yet his success played no small role in advancing Black Americans’ presence in entertainment and public perception.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAmazon has ordered two seasons of an animated comedy from Ramy Youssef, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is part of new first-look deal Youssef and his Cairo Cowboy production banner have signed with the streamer.Youssef leads Cairo Cowboy with Andy Campagna, the former senior vice president of television for Sam Esmail’s Esmail Corp.“Ramy has only scratched the surface of his incredible creative gifts,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television for Amazon.

Justin Morgan Independent film sales and distribution firm Outsider Pictures has acquired the international sales rights to Peruvian director V. Checa’s neo-noir film “Tiempos Futuros” (“The Shape of Things to Come”) and will lead sales to potential buyers at this March’s Málaga Film Festival.Playing Zonazine, which focuses on bolder plays by up-and-coming cineastes, “Tiempos Futuros” serves as Checa’s debut feature film.

Jared Leto has never been shy about the great lengths he goes to to embody a character onscreen. Ever since his breakout film role in, when he lost substantial weight and slept on the streets, the actor has gone method for all of his iconic roles, including,, and now, . On the Apple TV+ limited series about the rise and fall of a $47 billion startup called WeWork, Leto plays its eccentric co-founder, Adam Neumann, and he tells ET’s Lauren Zima that he spent six months “immersed in the character.” In fact, it wasn’t until after filming was complete that Anne Hathaway and Kyle Marvin, who portray wife Rebekah Neumann and co-founder Miguel McKelvey, even met their co-star. “I had another chance to dive in deep and have a lot of fun with this incredibly rich character,” Leto says of playing Adam, who, by now, is a notorious figure in the business world known for his incredible charisma and unwavering determination to rise to the top.

Naman Ramachandran Comcast’s NBC News Now is live on Sky U.K. this week and will launch on Virgin Media later this month, making the U.K. the first European territory to have the service on linear programming.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSony Pictures Television sealed a deal to acquire Industrial Media, a major nonfiction TV production company whose portfolio includes “90 Day Fiancé,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol.”The deal values Industrial Media at $350 million. Upon closing, Sony Pictures will acquire a majority controlling interest in Industrial Media but the studio declined to reveal its ownership percentage.Industrial Media’s production shingles include 19 Entertainment, B17 Entertainment, House of NonFiction, Sharp Entertainment, the Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), This Machine Filmworks, This Radicle Act and Trilogy Films.The company companies produce more than 100 programs distributed worldwide in genres including documentary, music competition and reality categories.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFremantle has acquired a 70% stake in Italy’s Lux Vide, the prominent TV production company that has been steadily raising its standing in the international arena, most recently with the high-end TV series “Medici,” “Devils” and “Leonardo.”The long-gestating Lux Vide deal, which closed on Thursday, marks the latest acquisition by the expanding RTL-owned production and distribution giant. Fremantle, which has been on a buying spree, now owns or controls a panoply of independently operated production shingles across Europe, as well as in Israel, Australia and the U.S.Their stated goal is to invest and grow in the global scripted arena where, by their count, Fremantle delivered 81 scripted shows in 2021, including BBC One hit “The Responder,” HBO Max series “Lust,” from Sweden’s Miso Film, and Italian dystopian drama “Anna.” Previous Fremantle investments include acquiring the 12 former Nent Studios production labels in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark (now rebranded This is Nice Group); Australian-American television production company Eureka Productions; U.K.-based Naked Entertainment; French label Kwai; and Israel’s Abot Hameiri, among others.The Lux purchase also marks Fremantle’s third acquisition of a production company in Italy, where the company already owns Wildside and The Apartment, the outfit behind Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated “The Hand of God.” Fremantle also recently inked a pact with Italy’s Cinecittà involving the long-term rental of six sound stages at the iconic Rome studios.Founded in 1992 by Ettore Bernabei, who was a long-time former chief of Italian pubcaster RAI, Lux Vide has since been headed by his progeny, Matilde and Luca Bernabei.

Matt Reeves was terrified. In September 2020, the director had just returned to filming on “The Batman,” Warner Bros.’ latest reboot of the studio’s multibillion-dollar superhero franchise, after a six-month break due to the pandemic.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCallum Greene and Sara Greene’s Bright Greene production banner has entered into a first-look deal with Amazon, Variety has learned.Callum is an executive producer on Amazon’s highly-anticipated TV series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” Under the deal, Bright Greene will develop and produce new projects for Amazon’s streaming platform. UTA brokered the deal on behalf of Bright Greene.\“After the epic journey of Season One we couldn’t be more excited to continue our work with Amazon,” said Callum Greene.

Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith make one picture perfect couple!

Gigi Hadid and her younger sister Bella are continuing to walk in the same fashion shows!