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Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos earned a bit less in 2023 than the year before — but he still had pay package worth $49.8 million. That was down from $50.3 million for Sarandos in 2022, according to Netflix’s proxy statement filed Thursday.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Martin Scorsese fans might have experienced a bit of deja vu afterVariety exclusively reported that a Frank Sinatra biopic is one of two films the Oscar-winning director is planning to shoot back to back. The other is a movie about Jesus, the director’s second after 1988’s “The Last Temptation of Christ.” But it’s the Sinatra biopic that has long been a white whale of sorts for Scorsese. Per Variety’s report, Scorsese’s Sinatra movie is eyeing his longtime muse Leonardo DiCaprio to star as the crooner — and the actor’s “Don’t Look Up” co-star Jennifer Lawrence to play his second wife, the famous Hollywood actress Ava Gardner (who factored into Scorsese’s “The Aviator” and was played by Kate Beckinsale).

EXCLUSIVE: London-based Dogwoof has locked a series of international deals on Eternal You, a documentary about AI startups set to screen at this month’s Hot Docs Fest following a debut bow at Sundance.

Alex Ritman “Boy Kills World,” the upcoming martial arts action film starring Bill Skarsgård as a deaf boy trained to enact vengeance on those who murdered his family, is getting a TV spinoff. Of sorts. “Super Dragon Punch Force 3,” the real-life action-packed fighter video game that features in the film (and will launch day-and-date with the U.S.

Martin Sheen has taped a new digital spot for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, calling attention to one of the party’s biggest challenges this cycle: Retaining their Senate majority.

Selome Hailu The 100th episode of “9-1-1,” which guest starred Joey Graziadei and Jesse Palmer as a crossover with “The Bachelor,” reached a rating of 0.91 among adults age 18-49 according after one week of delayed viewing. Up from a 0.59 according to same-day data, that marks show’s best Live + 7 rating in the key demo since the Season 6 finale in May 2023, per Nielsen. And after incorporating Disney’s proprietary data via streams on Hulu and other digital platforms, the 18-49 rating comes out to a 2.2, up from the 2.18 achieved the week before when “9-1-1” hit a season high of 10.7 million viewers according to Multiplatform + 7 data.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jerrod Carmichael appeared on a recent episode of “The Breakfast Club” (via Rolling Stone) and said: “I deeply regret saying anything about Dave Chappelle to the press. I want to say that I’m sorry for that.” Carmichael previously gave interviews to Esquire and GQ in which he criticized Chappelle’s legacy of making jokes about transgender people. Carmichael now noted that his frustration with Chappelle had only to do with the comedian repeatedly making jokes about the same topic and not the morality of the jokes themselves.

9-1-1 celebrated 100 episodes in a big way!

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Bill Maher welcomed Katie Couric onto his “Club Random” podcast and passionately defended Woody Allen while the two discussed canceled artists in Hollywood. Maher said “I don’t think he committed that crime” in reference to Dylan Farrow’s molestation allegation against Allen, adding: “There was two police investigations that exonerated him.” “There’s these actors who won’t work with him anymore and some of them made movies with him are saying, ‘I regret doing that.’ What a bunch of pussies!” Maher said.

Selena Kuznikov Independent film distributor Gravitas Ventures has acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to Peter Cannon’s psychological thriller “Exposure.” The film, written by Cannon, stars Douglas Smith and Margo Harshman and will be released on digital and cable on demand July 9. The thriller follows Tanner (Smith), who was kidnapped, tortured and poisoned by an unknown assailant some years ago.

Carolyn Giardina Visual effects studio Digital Domain is introducing a new version of its Masquerade facial motion capture system, which eliminates the need for actors to wear tracking markers on their faces during production. CTO Hanno Basse tells Variety that the company is sharing the development with customers and “we’re probably going to do several projects this year” using the tech.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Viaplay‘s streaming service — specializing in award-winning Scandinavian series and films — is now available as an add-on subscription on Amazon‘s Prime Video Channels in the United States. Starting Wednesday, Prime members in the U.S.

People who are looking to make a chunk of free cash by taking advantage of banking sign-up bonuses have just days left to get £175 for simply opening a new bank account, with the offer due to expire Monday (April 22).

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The Sopranos” fans got thrown a curveball in 2021 when Edie Falco revealed for the first time on an Atlantic podcast that she once reunited with James Gandolfini to reprise Tony and Carmela Soprano for a bizarre clip set two years after the events of the series finale, which infamously ended with a cut-to-black that left Tony’s fate in the balance. The purpose of the clip was to help the New York Knicks basketball organization lure LeBron James to the team. Gandolfini and Falco shot the “Sopranos” reunion in 2010 as James was becoming a free agent after his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers expired.

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Zack Sharf Digital News Director Micheal Douglas went viral last year when he told THR on the “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” red carpet that he would only be interested in returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hank Pym in a fourth “Ant-Man” movie “as long as I can die.” It turns out that was actually Douglas’ wish for “Quantumania.” Appearing on “The View” (via Entertainment Weekly) to promote his new Apple TV+ historical drama series “Franklin,” Douglas revealed that he actually wanted to be killed off from the MCU in the third “Ant-Man” movie. He even asked for a huge special effects bonanza to help send Hank Pym into the great beyond.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The Disney/ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery sports-streaming joint venture has drawn congressional scrutiny.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Max Cutler sold Parcast Studios, his scripted-audio entertainment start-up, to Spotify in 2019 under a deal in which Spotify ultimately paid nearly $90 million. Cutler went on to become Spotify’s VP, head of talk creator content and partnerships — inking exclusive licensing deals with podcasters including Alex Cooper, Emma Chamberlain and Markiplier, and managing the company’s partnership with “The Joe Rogan Experience” — before exiting last year. Now Cutler is back in the game with the launch of Pave Studios.

Veteran Paramount Global ad exec Ryan Briganti has been tapped as the company’s head of sports ad sales, replacing John Bogusz, who recently retired.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Online comic book platforms Marvel Unlimited and VIZ Manga are to begin cross-promotions that are aimed at expanding fandom in the genre. The move follows the 2022-23 collaboration between Marvel Comics and Viz Media that extended stories from the Marvel comics universe into the Japanese manga format, in a handful of titles. Subscribers to the VIZ Manga digital service can now access titles featuring fan-favorite characters including “Deadpool: Samurai,” “Wolverine: Snikt!,” “Spider-Man: Fake Red” and “Marvel’s Secret Reverse.” Later in the year other Marvel-manga crossover titles will be added including “Spider-Man: Octo-Girl” and “X-Men: The Manga: Remastered.” To launch their cross-platform cooperation, VIZ Manga and Marvel Unlimited will offer each other’s U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor David Porter, an ad industry veteran and former Turner exec, is joining Warner Bros. Discovery as head of ad sales research, data and insights. Porter reports to Jon Steinlauf, Warner Bros.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Olivia Williams has given acclaimed performances in “Rushmore,” “The Sixth Sense” and “An Education.” She recently appeared as Camilla Parker Bowles in the final two seasons of Netflix’s popular drama series “The Crown.” But for many people, the British actor will always be Felicity from the Season 4 finale of “Friends.” Williams once called guest starring on the NBC sitcom “harrowing,” and she recently opened up to The Independent about the reasons why it wasn’t the best experience in a recent interview. “Gosh. Well, just as an example, I was taken to the studio in a shared car with a wonderful actress whose character, I think, was called ‘Old Woman’,” Williams said, noting this actor was “distinguished” and “very good” but “at one point, a producer – who shall remain nameless – just yelled at her: ‘You’re not funny!’ And she didn’t come back the next day.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Wonya Lucas, former president and CEO of Hallmark Media Networks, has joined Comcast‘s board as an independent director. Comcast announced Lucas’s addition to the board, effective as of April 15, in an SEC filing Monday. She has not yet been appointed to serve as a member of any board committee, according to the filing.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Chris Hemsworth recently revealed to Entertainment Tonight that he tried hard to land a role in a Kevin Costner-directed project only to learn that Costner had cast himself as the character instead. The “Thor” star did not reveal what the movie was, although he described it as something “abstract and interesting …a small story about a man and a woman.” “There was a movie, a script that I’d read and loved and was like, ‘I want to get that,’ and then someone said, ‘Kevin Costner has that [role],’” Hemsworth said. “I’d love [to have] him as a director.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor CAA has signed Sarah Lugor, the multihyphenate content creator, model, host, fashion influencer and musician who posts on TikTok under the handle “@shreksdumpster,” for representation. Lugor, 23, is known for her comedic videos and fashion sense. She has built a following of more than 3 million followers across platforms — including 2.5 million on TikTok — helping her gain recognition as an LGBTQ TikTok trailblazer and landing her features in Vogue and the Huffington Post.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor DoubleVerify, which provides brand-safety measurement ratings for digital platforms to major advertisers, incorrectly displayed X‘s Brand Safety Rate — a measure of how frequently ads appeared adjacent to content that met advertiser-approved criteria — on the DoubleVerify dashboard for nearly five months. From Oct. 24, 2023, to March 14, 2024, DoubleVerify’s dashboard provided the wrong data for X to advertisers.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Megan Fox finally weighed in on the “Love Is Blind” controversy that erupted earlier this year when Season 6 cast member Chelsea Blackwell told her eventual fiancé Jimmy Presnell that Fox was her celebrity doppelgänger. Presnell ended up telling Blackwell that wasn’t true, while “Love Is Blind” viewers bombarded social media platforms to roast and mock Blackwell for a comparison many thought wasn’t accurate. “I’ve never had more people text me about something,” Fox told E! News’ “The Rundown.” “I don’t really watch TV very much.

IAC, the Barry Diller-owned company that controls The Daily Beast, has landed a strategic partnership with former Disney executive Ben Sherwood and Hearst veteran Joanna Coles to define the digital publication’s next chapter in a struggling media climate.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the operator of the Truth Social social network positioned as a “safe harbor for free expression amid increasingly harsh censorship by Big Tech corporations,” were down more than 14% in trading Monday morning. That came after TMTG disclosed that it was issuing up to 21.49 million new shares of common stock, which would dilute the value of existing shareholders. The continued sell-off of TMTG stock comes after the company as of April 12 had lost about half of its value since it began trading March 26 following its merger with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Even Stevens” and “Kim Possible” actor Christy Carlson Romano revealed on “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly) that she is not going to watch the Investigation Discovery documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” because “it’s extremely triggering” and “I’ve made a choice for several reasons to opt out of watching that imagery.” She also said that she once turned down the network’s request for her to participate in a similar kind of doc. “Quiet on Set” explores misconduct and abuse allegations behind the scenes at Nickelodeon in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Rebecca Ferguson went viral during her “Dune: Part Two” press tour in late February after she revealed on the “Reign With Josh Smith” podcast that she once had an “idiot” co-star who made her cry on set. The story led to a guessing game across social media platforms where people tried to figure out who exactly Ferguson was talking about, although the actor recently said on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” that she was “not expecting” that to be the takeaway from her comments. “Number one, yes, I kind of enjoyed the grab,” Ferguson admitted.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles inked a deal to lead IAC’s The Daily Beast, under which the media veterans have been granted a minority stake in the news and opinion site. Effective immediately, Sherwood — one-time president of the Disney ABC Television Group — will serve as The Daily Beast’s publisher and CEO. Coles, previously Hearst Magazines’ chief content officer, is the site’s chief creative and content officer.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotter, which provides capital, services and software aimed at helping creators and brands grow their online businesses, hired former Adobe Systems and Microsoft exec Ivo Manolov as chief technology officer. In the CTO role, Manolov will be responsible for leading all technology with a focus on launching Spotter’s suite of AI-powered software tailored to YouTubers.

How well do you know American history, pop culture and more? The American Culture Quiz from Fox News Digital tests your command each week of national trends, history, heritage and cultural icons. This week's quiz tackles everything from "Modern Family" to the modern military.

Are Meghan Markle and Prince Harry preparing for their latest role? Some seem to think so. The U.K.’s Mirror recently reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are teaming up with "Hollywood power players" to prepare voters for a "deepfake onslaught" that will coincide with the 2024 U.S. presidential election on November 5.

Jane Seymour doesn't do plastic surgery, and for good reason. Seymour, 73, shared her favorite beauty secrets as she works to "play all the characters" she portrays in film and TV — most recently in "Irish Wish" and "Harry Wild" — in an interview with Fox News Digital. "Skin care is really important," Seymour revealed on the red carpet at the CMT Music Awards.