Company Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Emily Longeretta “Love Is Blind” contestant Tran Dang is suing production companies Kinetic Content and Delirium TV, claiming she was sexually assaulted by her former fiancé Thomas Smith during the filming of Season 5, which is the most recent season of the Netflix series. The pair got engaged during the season, but have not been featured in the episodes. Dang also alleges false imprisonment and negligence.

The UK's information watchdog has said Snapchat may be required to 'stop processing data' related to its AI chatbot after issuing a preliminary enforcement notice against the technology business.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Matt Buchanan and Karl von Randow, the two movie mega-fans who started Letterboxd as a part-time labor of love, have sold a majority stake in the business. So what’s going to be different now? Not much, the two New Zealanders tell Variety.

American television personality Gayle King has warned her followers about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) after she became the victim of a manipulated video. A video of King has circulated on Instagram in which she appeared to promote various weight loss products from a company known as Artipet.The sponsored post appeared on the feed of many of the "CBS Mornings'" host's one million followers. "Ladies, honestly, I did not expect my weight loss to spark so many questions.

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has signed Rob Gibson and Ian Collie and their production company Easy Tiger for representation.

Campbell Brown, Meta Platforms Inc.’s head of media and sports partnerships, is stepping down from the post, according to multiple reports.

Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne are going their separate ways under amicable terms.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor MoffettNathanson, a leading Wall Street research outfit covering the media and communications sectors, is once again an independent entity. In December 2021, SVB Financial Group acquired New York-based MoffettNathanson, which was founded in 2013 by analysts Craig Moffett and Michael Nathanson. In March of this year, Silicon Valley Bank — part of SVB Financial Group — collapsed after a run on its assets, leading the parent company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Chief Correspondent “Did you see Gabby?” asks Colton Underwood. “I knew I wasn’t the only one!” Sitting on a deep couch sipping coffee and kombucha in the Los Angeles home he shares with his husband of four months and their dogs, Underwood is talking about Gabby Windey, a former star of “The Bachelorette.” On the day of this conversation in August, Windey had just come out on social media, revealing that she is dating a woman.

New Look fans are raving about a “snuggly” puffer coat which, they say, is “so cosy” it "feels just like having a blanket wrapped around you." The high-street longline coat is being compared to a luxury £300 down puffer jacket from The White Company, but at a fraction of the price.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Zurich Avenue, headed by producers and former Zurich Film Festival execs Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani, has quickly amassed an impressive slate of projects since launching last year, including Annette Bening starrer “Nyad.” Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s film, which chronicles the attempt by 64-year-old swimmer Diana Nyad to swim from Cuba to Florida, unspools at the Zurich Film Festival. Zurich Avenue co-developed the Netflix film, which was produced by Black Bear Pictures and Mad Chance.

There’s change on the high seas of Banijay.

Naman Ramachandran The full company for the second run of “My Neighbor Totoro,” a stage adaptation of Miyazaki Hayao‘s beloved 1988 Studio Ghibli film, has been unveiled. The production is a collaboration between multi-award-winning composer Joe Hisaishi, who executive produces, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Improbable and Nippon TV. It will reopen at London’s Barbican arts complex this fall.

A shaken Scots company boss received a threatening phone call less than 48 hours after one of his vehicles was firebombed.

EXCLUSIVE: Amy Israel, the respected Showtime Scripted chief, might be headed to Peter Chernin‘s The North Road Company.

“CBS Mornings,” saying he was close to death after his second stroke in 2019. “I couldn’t do anything to be honest… I couldn’t speak,” he said while seated alongside his wife of 16 years, Cynthia Kereluk Rodgers, 61.“That was a very strange thing.

With autumn now in full swing and temperatures slowing beginning to drop, many people are getting their homes ready for cosy evenings, with a "divine" candle by The White Company proving to be perfect autumnal home accessory. The luxurious brand, known for its candles, homeware and gifts, has released a scent specifically designed for autumn and it's gone down a treat with shoppers, who have branded it "perfect" for the current season.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Leading German film and TV group Telepool, which is owned by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook, has restructured the leadership of its world sales and distribution arm Global Screen. Julia Weber, its long-time head of sales and acquisitions, is leaving, with Brianne Bonney becoming head of TV sales. Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann, CEO at Telepool, commented: “With her talent, charisma and excellent taste for international titles, Julia Weber has successfully shaped Global Screen for many years and has represented the Telepool brand perfectly to all our partners around the world.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the ecommerce and technology giant is a monopolist that “uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power.” Among the accusations, the FTC’s lawsuit, which was joined by 17 state attorneys general, allege that Amazon’s actions allow it to stop rivals and sellers from lowering prices; degrade quality for shoppers; overcharge sellers; stifle innovation; and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon. The lawsuit — which has been brewing over the last several months — seeks a permanent injunction in U.S.

Angelique Jackson A Touch More, the production company founded by world-renowned athletes Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe, has announced the hiring of industry veteran Camille Bernier-Green as its head of development. Last December, Variety exclusively revealed that Bird, a five-time Olympic gold medalist and basketball legend, and Rapinoe, a two-time FIFA World Cup-winning soccer superstar, would expand their influence beyond sports and launch the production company in partnership with Togethxr.

Studiocanal has named Patrick Schweitzer as CEO of its UK-based It’s a Sin and Years and Years producer Red Production Company.  An industry veteran, Schweitzer has worked across high-end television drama for 30 years. Prior to joining Red, he spent five years at Tall Story Pictures and executive produced such series as ITV’S Grace, Redemption, Bancroft season 2 and The Bay.  

Fox, which just announced that Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman, unveiled a few more changes to its board of directors today.

Halle Berry takes center stage on stage during the 2023 Fast Company Innovation Festival at Convene on Thursday (September 21) in New York City.

One of the best parts of any autumn wardrobe is the knitwear. From chunky cardigans to cosy jumpers, there’s nothing better for layering up and keeping you warm now we’re heading into autumn.

Carole Rothman, co-founder of the renowned New York theater company Second Stage responsible for such acclaimed productions as Dear Evan Hansen, Next To Normal, This Is Our Youth and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is leaving the company she started in 1979.

EXCLUSIVE: Broadway producer Dale A. Mott (A Strange Loop, The Piano Lesson, Thoughts of a Colored Man) and real estate investor/philanthropist Charles D. Urstadt have formed Edgewood Entertainment, a new multimedia production company focused on supporting works by historically marginalized people, including the BIPOC and LBGTQIA+ communities and female artists.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Disney TV studio executive and CAA agent Elizabeth Newman has joined Literate as its first new partner since the television-focused boutique management and production company was launched in early 2018 by founding partners A.B. Fischer and Dennis Kim.

EXCLUSIVE: The company that cuts a lot of Hollywood’s residual checks cut dozens and dozens of employees this week.

EXCLUSIVE: SF Studios, the Nordic film and TV studio behind A Man Called Otto, is shutting its UK production arm as part of a restructure.

New Look fans are snapping up a budget £20 jumper for autumn that comes in 9 colours, which, they claim feels 'snuggly' and soft, and 'doesn't itch'. New Look's £19.99 Knit Crew Neck Jumper has been compared to The White Company's £110 Cashmere Layering V-Neck Jumper, but costs more than five times less.

So many stars mingled in fashionable bliss at the launch of Max Mara‘s pop-up boutique in Soho on Tuesday (September 12).

BreAnna Bell Disney has responded to reports claiming the company is in early talks to sell its ABC network and TV stations, saying the company “has made no decision” on it yet. “While we are open to considering a variety of strategic options for our linear businesses, at this time The Walt Disney Company has made no decision with respect to the divestiture of ABC or any other property and any report to that effect is unfounded,” the statement reads.

Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels echoed recent sentiments from Netflix and other major TV and film producers, saying the industry must resolve the ongoing strikes and “get back to work.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The two Hollywood strikes that have ground TV and film productions to a standstill are bad for business — and Warner Bros. Discovery is working diligently to resolve them as quickly as possible, according to CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels. “It’s an unfortunate situation… We have to get back to work,” Wiedenfels said, speaking Thursday at the Bank of America Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference.

Eddie Marks, the president of Western Costume Company whose career in costuming included early collaborations on Elvis Presley films, died Monday while visiting Prague. He was 76.

Tom Carter, a longtime former Nexstar exec who is now a senior advisor to the CEO and board of directors, says the company could acquire Disney’s local ABC TV stations with “little friction” if they become available.