Partnership Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Adidas has confirmed that it is reviewing its business partnership with Kanye West, who has been busy of late dissing the sportswear brand with which he has had a pretty long alliance.“Adidas has always been about creativity, innovation, and supporting athletes and artists to achieve their vision”, the firm said in a statement yesterday. “The Adidas Yeezy partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry’s history”.“We are proud of our team that has worked tirelessly throughout our collaboration with [West] and the iconic products that were born from it”, it went on. “We also recognise that all successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values”.“After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation”, the statement concluded, “we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review.

Kanye West‘s tumultuous partnership with Adidas is reportedly “under review” according to new reports.West partnered with Adidas under the Yeezy banner in late 2013, with their first collection debuting in 2015. Under the terms of West’s contract with Adidas, the rapper retains full ownership of the Yeezy brand, and has complete creative control over the products released through the brand.Over the past year though, Kanye has accused Adidas of a number of wrongs, including allegedly creating Yeezy Day, the annual day in which the brand releases some of its most anticipated Yeezy sneaker drops, without his personal approval.

A turn of events. Adidas has announced a change in its relationship with Kanye West.

Yeezy might have to find a new company to partner with.

Kanye “Ye” West. In a new statement, the activewear company said that its relationship with the 45-year-old GRAMMY-winning musician is “under review.” “Adidas has always been about creativity, innovation and supporting athletes and artists to achieve their vision.

EXCLUSIVE: Former MGM and Sony Pictures exec Eric Paquette’s film and TV company Meridian Pictures has struck a partnership deal with Saudi Arabian production house and literary management company Hakawati Entertainment.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Academy Award nominees Andrea Berloff and John Gatins have formed a creative partnership with Netflix to write feature films for the streaming service. “From gripping dramas based on true stories to spectacle action adventure and comedies, Andrea Berloff and John Gatins have created stories that deeply connect with audiences across genres,” Kira Goldberg and Ori Marmur, Vice Presidents of Netflix Studio Film, said in a joint statement. “We’re thrilled to start this creative partnership with these two acclaimed and versatile writing talents.” Berloff is best known for co-writing the script to “Straight Outta Compton,” the hit film about NWA’s rise and dissolution. She earned an Academy Award nomination for her work. Her other credits include “World Trade Center,” a drama about 9/11 that was directed by Oliver Stone,” and “Blood Father,” a crime thriller that was directed by Jean-Francois Richet. For Netflix, she co-wrote the soon-to-be-released “The Mother,” which will star Jennifer Lopez.

Christian Eriksen has responded to Bruno Fernandes' comments on their Manchester United partnership after the initial doubts about whether they could play alongside each other.

Chris Hemsworth has an exciting new project on the horizon.

Selome Hailu Warner Bros. Discovery is expansing its “Turn Up! Fight Hunger” campaign, a partnership with No Kid Hungry. The news comes timed to company’s participation in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health on Wednesday. After an initial pledge in 2018 to donate 1 billion meals to children in need in five years’ time and meeting that goal early in 2021, WBD has upped their promise to 2 billion meals. Including the number already donated, the 2 billion total is set to be reached by September 2023. The program began after Gloria Steinem advised CEO David Zaslav to promote some kind of social good upon hearing that Discovery brands (before the merger with Warner Bros.) reached 25% of American women each night. The company has since utilized that reach with easy-to-access action items, like encouraging viewers across platforms like the Food Network and HGTV to donate by texting the word “hungry” to 707070. The money raised allows for schools, food banks and other community groups to buy not only food, but essential resources such as delivery trucks and protective gear for workers.

“Dancing With the Stars” Season 20 ended in pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy’s first mirrorball win – with celebrity partner Rumer Willis – and after hearing judge Carrie Ann Inaba suggest on Monday night she saw a similar chemistry in how he’s working with “Bachelorette” Gabby Windey, the ballroom star couldn’t help but reflect on the comparison.“That’s a huge compliment,” Chmerkovskiy told reporters over Zoom. “I think Rumer is an amazing artist. She had the right attitude when she entered the competition.

Manchester City have announced a new partnership with Sports Interactive, the makers of the hugely popular computer game Football Manager.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent After becoming a CNN affiliate two years ago Romanian 24-hour news channel Antena 3 is now set for a relaunch on Sept. 27 with new programming, state-of-the-art studios and more international news coverage prompted by its CNN partnership. The new-look channel won’t be CNN-branded like some other CNN affiliates around the world, such as CNN Portugal. However Antena 3 will have on air graphics making it clear that it is CNN’s exclusive news channel partner for Romania. The Antena 3 relaunch as CNN’s exclusive news partner in Romania comes after several months of the Antena 3 team working closely in tandem with CNN on all aspects of the channel: from revamping production and broadcasting to the actual news gathering process. As part of its partnership with CNN International Antena 3 will now have more access to CNN reporting and content for usage in its daily output. 

Oprah Winfrey and Apple are winding down their content deal.

MGM and The Black List have named Alex Liu as the third recipient to receive a two-step Guild minimum open script deal as part of their two-year feature film script writing partnership.

On Thursday it was confirmed that Kanye West's working relationship with Gap had come to an end. The partnership was due to last a decade but was terminated just two years in total, with the rapper and business mogul notifying Gap of his decision via a letter from his attorneys. Shortly after the news about the Gap deal broke, Ye appeared on CNBC where he spoke at length about where he felt let down by his former partners and what will come next for him.

J. Kim Murphy Curtis James Jackson III, better known by his stage name 50 Cent, will soon be a free agent in the entertainment industry, according to the rapper’s ecstatic social media posts regarding the matter. The “Power” franchise creator and executive producer has indicated that he will not be re-upping his partnership with Starz upon his deal’s expiration on Friday. “09-17-22 official day of really owning my content and deciding where and how I do it moving forward,” 50 Cent wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday morning. A post shared by 50 Cent (@50cent) 50 Cent also shared a GIF of the Pittsburgh Pirates in a champagne-busting locker room celebration with the caption “This is my vibe right now! STARZ deal done, we had nothing but success so no hard feelings… I’m out. I’ll let you know where we are going shortly.”

Kanye West has said that he is ending his partnership with Gap, claiming that the clothing retailer has failed to meet its obligations under the deal.“Gap left Ye no choice but to terminate their collaboration agreement because of Gap’s substantial noncompliance”, said West’s attorney Nicholas Gravante in a statement. “Ye had diligently tried to work through these issues with Gap both directly and through counsel.

Kanye West has ended his partnership with the fashion company Gap.West’s lawyers sent a letter to the brand notifying them that the rapper would formally sever ties with it, terminating the 10-year agreement they first established in 2020. The letter, sent on West’s behalf, claimed that Gap had failed to meet the terms of its contract.Nicholas Gravante, who serves as one of West’s attorneys, elaborated on this claim in a statement to Pitchfork.

Erik ten Hag believes the partnership of Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Jadon Sancho on the left wing is proving dangerous for Manchester United.

It’s the end of an era. After two years, Kanye West has decided to terminate Yeezy’s partnership with Gap.

Kanye West is calling it quits.

No. 1 fan! Val Chmerkovskiy is returning to the ballroom for Dancing With the Stars season 31 — and wife Jenna Johnson is eager to watch his weekly routines from the sidelines.

New Manchester United signing Antony was welcomed to the club by defender Diogo Dalot and goalkeeper David de Gea after his move to Old Trafford was confirmed.

Having previously entered distribution deals with Netflix for reality, drama and entertainment series, Japan’s Nippon TV is expanding its relationship with the streamer, licensing 13 of its most popular anime titles to the platform in a non-exclusive pact.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media DDA is making a series of key hires and promotions. Ryan Langrehr recently joined the entertainment communications company as U.S. head of awards, based out of Los Angeles. He joins from Block-Korenbrot Public Relations and will work alongside DDA partner Dana Archer and awards strategist MJ Peckos, who formed an exclusive partnership with DDA in 2021 and collaborated on a slate of films in the international and documentary category. These included Spain’s “The Good Boss” and Germany’s “I’m Your Man,” both of which were shortlisted for international feature Oscars.  The DDA L.A. awards offering is a complement to the company’s existing U.K. awards business, which it says will offer studios and filmmakers a “cohesive strategy across both sides of the Atlantic.” The U.K. offering is led by Sam Ross in his newly upped role of director of awards, and his team works closely with DDA partner Neil Bhatt. In recent years, the DDA U.K. awards team has handled AMPAS and BAFTA campaigns and delivered successful campaigns for features, documentaries, animated movies and shorts. Sam has been instrumental in successful campaigns across Academy Award and BAFTA-winning films including NEON’s “Parasite” and BFI’s “After Love.” Additionally, the 2022 BAFTAs also saw nominations for “Happening,” “The Hand of God” and “A Quiet Place: Part II.” Their 2021 haul included BAFTA nominations for “Babyteeth,” “Dear Comrades,” “Mogul Mowgli,” “County Lines” and “The Present.”  

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter WME has elevated three employees to agents in the company’s brand partnerships division. Mili Davé, Angela Jin and Rachel Roth have been promoted on the team, which deals with the celebrity endorsement space. Led by Will Ward, WME’s brand partnership division was especially strong in 2022 with 90 clients in Super Bowl ads alone, the company says. Davé is based in the agency’s London office and is tasked with helping to build WME’s footprint across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She represents talent from traditional music and acting, as well as digital and creative artists, focusing on European music talent and non-traditional talent such as Måneskin, Snoh Aalegra, Peggy Gou and Charlotte Tilbury. For those clients and others, Davé assists in building out businesses and advising on various disciplines. Davé joined WME in 2019 and is a board member of Empower, WME’s diversity and inclusion initiative. She holds an LLM from USC’s Gould School of Law.

EXCLUSIVE: Imperative Entertainment and Vespucci are doubling down on their podcast partnership.

Julian Alvarez wants to learn from Erling Haaland rather than compete with him at Manchester City.

Indian media and entertainment giant Eros Media World is moving into the rapidly growing Saudi Arabia market, entering a strategic partnership with Riyadh-based content production company Arabia Pictures Group.

Meek Mill and WME are forming a strategic partnership that will focus on the next wave of cultural leaders. The collaboration between the artist and the talent agency is part of Mill’s Cultural Currency initiative that looks to expand his business while identifying and supporting his network of artists, athletes, and entertainers to better take advantage of their influence on culture and open up more opportunities for them.

Hacks was first born on a road trip to a Monster Jam rally back in 2015. It was during the drive that couple Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello and their close friend Jen Statsky discussed the relative invisibility of female comedians compared to their male counterparts. Having bonded as co-writers, producers, and in the case of Aniello and Downs, directors and actors on the Comedy Central series Broad City, together the trio cooked up HBO Max’s Hacks. In its first season, which also stars Downs as agent Jimmy LuSaque, the show’s depiction of female comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her protégé Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) won Emmys for writing and directing, and acting for Smart. Now, its second season boasts 17 nominations, among them, Outstanding Comedy Series. It has also been renewed for a third season.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran rapper and activist Meek Mill and talent agency WME have formed a strategic partnership focusing on the next wave of cultural leaders, according to an announcement issued Thursday. The agency will also represent Mill in all areas.The relationship is part of Meek’s new initiative Culture Currency, “designed to expand Meek’s business while identifying and supporting his network of artists, athletes, and entertainers so that they can take better advantage of their influence on culture, and open up more opportunities for them within the entertainment, brand and business space,” the announcement states.WME will represent Mill in all areas while working together to identify talent to potentially represent or partner with, and in turn who can benefit from the resources and global reach of the agency that spans film, television, music, books, digital, endorsements and more.

William Earl Variety Film Chatter Chart debuted on Twitter on Monday, with “Bullet Train,” “Prey” and “Don’t Worry Darling” topping this week’s list of the most tweeted about movies.Variety Film Chatter Chart, powered by Twitter, tracks the week’s top five trending titles in the world of cinema and the most buzzed about movies based on Twitter engagement. The charts also provide expert analysis of the week-to-week movement of the top films as well as a heat-map tracking conversations around the country, and allow fans to stay up-to-date on the most newsworthy and popular movies of the season.Other films that rose to the top of this week’s chart include “Blonde,” “Easter Sunday” and “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” “We’re excited to build on Variety’s hugely successful partnership with Twitter by connecting with movie fans and stirring chatter around today’s biggest blockbusters,” said Dea Lawrence, Chief Operating and Marketing Officer of Variety.

ABC Signature extended its deal with Yara Shahidi and her 7th Sun Production Company to include a partnership with Onyxn Collective.

Thania Garcia Lex Borrero, the co-founder of Interscope’s Neon16 label, has made his own seat at the table — and brought a full plate. As a teen, Borrero understood the importance of networking.