MGM Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Fans of Luca Guadagninio pricked up their ears when the director announced last year that his next film would be a movie about tennis. Guada and tennis? That doesn’t sound like it’d work on paper.

Beck and Phoenix have officially kicked off their 2023 co-headlining Summer Odyssey Tour and you can check out the full set list right here!

Lady Gaga is making her return to the Las Vegas Strip.

EXCLUSIVE: A second major transatlantic drama series on the Lockerbie bombing terror attack is in the works — this time at the BBC and Netflix.

Jonas Brothers are going global. The band has announced 50 new dates to their upcoming tour, titled “The Tour,” spanning 20 countries in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, plus additional North American shows. Jonas Brothers ‘The Tour’ Buy Now The North America leg will take place mostly in arenas but will also touch down in a few key stadiums, including Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Wrigley Field in Chicago and Yankee Stadium in New York.

hit theaters, that a Polly Pocket movie was in the works, with Lena Dunham writing and directing, and Lily Collins as both producer and star. Two years later, the project is still…in the works! But given how long it took Barbie to get to the big screen, that might not be a bad thing.

MGM Studios’ production partnership with Dutch format creator Concept Street has come to an end.

The Venice Film Festival on Tuesday released a star-studded and A-list heavy lineup of films that will debut at the 2023 Biennale, including the films vying for this year’s Golden Lion. This was done despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and WGA writers strike.

Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” starring Zendaya, has been pulled from the Venice Film Festival, where it was to be the opening night film, due to the actors strike.

Another 2023 theatrical release gets moved due to the SAG-AFTRA strike as MGM is pushing the Zendaya starring, Luca Guadagnino directed R-Rated tennis romance to April 26, 2024. The pic was scheduled to open stateside on Sept. 15, working off the heat of its Venice Film Festival opening night premiere. That world premiere is not happening now.

Zendaya tennis drama Challengers has become a high-profile casualty of the SAG-AFTRA strike with confirmation that its Venice Film Festival world premiere has been cancelled.

Bron, the finance and production company that backed films including Joker, Licorice Pizza, Bombshell and Judas and the Black Messiah, has filed for bankruptcy, its co-founder Aaron J. Gilbert said Wednesday.

Amazon Studios’ 2023 Emmy performance is probably best encapsulated by the Outstanding Comedy Series category. There is the veteran, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which years ago landed Prime Video’s first Best Series Emmy win. It is ending its five-season run in style with 14 nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has appointed Katie Martin Kelley as executive VP of communications. Martin Kelley, who joins from MGM, will lead media relations and corporate communications for the film group, including Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and the newly rebranded Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. DC Studios will fall under the purview of Candice McDonough, who previously led communications for Warner Bros. Film Group and has been newly hired to oversee publicity efforts for the company’s comic book division. Martin Kelley will report to Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.

The former Paramount and MGM Head of Corp Comm will rejoin the latter studio’s former execs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy at their film chief gigs over at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.

Steven Gaydos Executive VP of Content When Robert Aldrich’s 1968 Hollywood insider yarn, “The Legend of Lylah Clare” screens at the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville, Maine, it will represent much more than a simple revival of a New Hollywood-era roman à clef. The film’s presentation on July 12 will include a discussion between actor Michael Murphy, who co-stars in the film, and former MGM publicity director Mike Kaplan, who has from the film’s earliest screenings defended both the film’s director, who Kaplan feels was “grossly maligned” by the depiction of him in Ryan Murphy’s limited series “Feud,” and the film, which monumentally tanked both critically and commercially when first released. 

EXCLUSIVE: MGM Alternative is undergoing some leadership changes.

Producers of A Transparent Musical, the stage adaptation of the Amazon Studios series that recently completed its world premiere run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, plan to bring the show to Broadway in 2024.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “A Transparent Musical” is heading to New York and Broadway. The show, the first stage play from Amazon Studios, premiered in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum in May — becoming the last show at the Taper for now, as Center Theater Group has canceled all shows at the stage following the close of “A Transparent Musical” on June 25. But whereas the Mark Taper is on hold, “A Transparent Musical” has big things in store. According to Amazon, the show’s producers “intend to bring the show to Broadway sometime in 2024.” The musical, or course, is based on Amazon Prime Video’s Emmy-winning series “Transparent,” created by Joey Soloway, who also wrote the book to the stage musical with MJ Kaufman. Faith Soloway wrote the music and lyrics to “A Transparent Musical.”

Well, it’s official: Variety reports that Luca Guadagnino‘s latest, his tennis love triangle film “Challengers,” will open the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival. No surprise there, as Guada has premiered five of his seven feature films on the Lido.

Naman Ramachandran Disney has licensed 10 series to Channel 4’s streaming service in the U.K. The deal, which will add some 1,000 hours of American drama to Channel 4’s streaming platform, will kick off with “Alias” seasons 1-5 and “The Americans” seasons 1-6 this summer, followed by “Empire” seasons 1-6, “Scandal” seasons 1-7, “The X Files” seasons 1-11, “Bones” seasons 1-12, “The Killing” seasons 1-4, “Star” seasons 1-3, “Grown-ish” seasons 1-6 and “Abbott Elementary” seasons 1-2. Except “Star,” all the series are available on streamer Disney+ in the U.K., which requires a monthly subscription. The Channel 4 streaming service is free.

The fascination over American Gladiators isn’t over just yet: Three weeks after ESPN aired 30 for 30: The American Gladiators Documentary, Netflix is now shining a spotlight on the inimitable ’80s competition show that gave us Nitro, Gemini and thrilling jousts with what looked like giant, padded Q-tips.

NBC’s musical competition series The Voice revealed Grammy winners Dan + Shay will be the show’s first-coaching duo for Season 25. The show is set to air in Spring 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Burnett is in talks to launch his next production venture following his departure from Amazon-owned MGM.

Zendaya is bringing the heat both on and off the court in her upcoming sports drama, Challengers.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Funko is making its move into the makeup business with the recent acquisition of cosmetics company HipDot, which will release a collection inspired by Netflix’s smash-hit “Wednesday” as its first project under Funko ownership. The cosmetics line is just one of several offerings in an upcoming collaboration between Funko and the Jenna Ortega-led MGM TV series, with products that span Funko’s iconic Pop! figurines, as well as its Loungefly accessories and high-end collectibles from its Mondo brand. Per Funko, “Celebrating Wednesday Addams’ allergy to color and inspired by the Nevermore Academy uniform, Loungefly’s new accessories will feature a grayscale color palette. Featuring a stripe pattern, the mini backpack, crossbody, wallet, and cardholder are made of twill with a vegan leather trim. The collection will also include a mystery box of pins inspired by Wednesday; and makeup items, marking Loungefly’s first forray into the category.”

Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy take in the view of the rolling hills of Antibes. The sun beats down so fiercely on a lily-white tablecloth that the co-CEOs and co-chairpeople of the Warner Bros. Film Group shield themselves with Gucci and Ray-Ban shades. They resemble the all-powerful studio chiefs of yore — or at least their surroundings do. A lot has changed since the Golden Age of Hollywood: Jack Warner didn’t have two smartphones constantly buzzing, misconduct allegations involving “The Flash” star Ezra Miller and cratering share prices to worry about. “It’s so competitive now,” De Luca says, looking out at the shimmering water. “We all have to sing for our supper.”

Amazon Freevee has teamed with MGM and Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal to add 23 FAST Channels.

,” “ABC News Live”), sports (“NHL FAST,” “MLB,” “PGA Tour”), and music (“Vevo,” “XITE”). The company also secured 10 channels from Lionsgate.

Jeff Blackburn, who spearheaded Amazon’s push into video, has joined Roku’s board of directors.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku expanded its board with the election of Jeff Blackburn, formerly Amazon’s top digital media and entertainment executive, at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday. Blackburn served as Amazon’s senior VP of global media and entertainment from May 2021 to February 2023, where he oversaw content businesses including Prime Video, Amazon Studios, MGM, Music, Audible, Games and Twitch. Before that, he was the ecommerce company’s SVP of worldwide business development, advertising and entertainment from 2012-20. He had first joined Amazon in 1998 after advising the company on its IPO. “Jeff’s extensive experience in digital media and technologies makes him a great addition to our board of directors,” Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood said in a statement. “I look forward to his contributions to Roku as we grow our leadership as the TV streaming platform of choice for more than 70 million households.”

Godfather of Harlem and a beloved member of the MGM+ and ABC Signature families,” MGM+ and ABC Signature said in a statement. “Working on the series was a labor of love for Paul who based the show in part on his family’s personal history.

Peter Meyer a prominent talent agent who prior to launching his company was a William Morris agent for over a decade, died Monday following a years-long battle with sarcoma. He was 68.“After a heroic five-year battle against sarcoma, Meyer found peace surrounded by his family.

BreAnna Bell MGM+ has picked up the four-episode true-crime docuseries, “Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein.” Directed and executive produced by James Buddy Day (Blumhouse’s “Compendium of Horror,” “Fall River”), the original documentary follows grave robber and serial killer Ed Gein, otherwise known as “The Plainfield Ghoul” and “The Mad Butcher,” whose crimes inspired such iconic films as “Psycho,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and “The Silence of the Lambs.” “For years, filmmakers, journalists, and scholars have tried to unravel the mind of this notorious killer, and with new reveals and never-before-heard recordings, viewers will be transported to late-1950s Middle America and submerged in Gein’s perverse mind. The series explores Gein’s upbringing and twisted relationship with his mother, his early grave robbing, the murders leading up to his arrest, and the police’s discovery of his terrifying house of horrors—all accompanied by the brand-new revelations revealed in the recordings,” reads the description, per MGM+.

Streaming platform MGM+ has picked up a four-part true crime docuseries on a serial killer so heinous he inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.

EXCLUSIVE: We hear that the George Clooney directed MGM title, The Boys in the Boat, is set to hit theaters on Monday, Dec. 25, as a wide release.