Three BuzzFeed News Top Editors Resign, as Digital Media Company Plans More Job Cuts

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBrut, the rising digital media startup whose backers include James Murdoch and François-Henri Pinault, is set to bring the Cannes Film Festival into Epic Games’ Fortnite, as well as grow its global presence and creator economy platform.The Fortnite operation is one of the many young adult-skewing initiatives spearheaded by Brut as part of its new media partnership with the Cannes Film Festival.Brut is also planning to host a House of Creators at Cannes and will bring about 100 creators from across the world to the Croisette where they’ll meet high-profile filmmakers, actors and agents in small groups.Guillaume Lacroix, who co-founded Brut with veteran producer Renaud le Van Kim in 2016, said the idea behind the House of Creators was to “bridge the gap between the film and digital-native industries and allow these talented young creators to grow and upscale in the long term.” “Creators [on social media] have often been opposed to traditional content creators, but the truth is that if filmmakers who are now in their 40s and 50s had had smart phone like the ones we have today back when they started out, they would have all jumped on the opportunity to create content instead of using old VHS tapes,” said Lacroix.Brut is also developing blockchain tools to put creators in direct touch with their fans and allow them to maximize their revenue.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBrut, the rising digital media startup whose backers include James Murdoch and François-Henri Pinault, is set to bring the Cannes Film Festival into Epic Games’ Fortnight, as well as grow its global presence and creator economy platform.The Fortnight operation is one of the many young adult-skewing initiatives spearheaded by Brut as part of its new media partnership with the Cannes Film Festival.Brut is also planning to host a House of Creators at Cannes and will bring about 100 creators from across the world to the Croisette where they’ll meet high-profile filmmakers, actors and agents in small groups.Guillaume Lacroix, who co-founded Brut with veteran producer Renaud le Van Kim in 2016, said the idea behind the House of Creators was to “bridge the gap between the film and digital-native industries and allow these talented young creators to grow and upscale in the long term.” “Creators (on social media) have often been opposed to traditional content creators, but the truth is that if filmmakers who are now in their forties and fifties had had smart phone like the ones we have today back when they started out, they would have all jumped on the opportunity to create content instead of using old VHS tapes,” said Lacroix.Brut is also developing blockchain tools to put creators in direct touch with their fans and allow them to maximize their revenue.

Gemma Atkinson has revealed why she has been absent from social media since the weekend. The mother-of-one's last post was shared on Mother's Day, when she paid tribute to her mum Sandra with an old video of them together when she was a baby.MORE: Strictly's Gemma Atkinson wows with rare glimpse inside baby Mia's roomTaking to her Stories on Wednesday morning, the former Strictly Come Dancing star shared a picture of a blue sky and some palm trees and revealed: "Sorry for the radio silence! I'm all good (thank you for asking).

The In Memoriam portion of the Oscars ceremony has been a time-honored tradition to remember those folks we have recently lost that have contributed to the world of cinema. It can be a more somber and sad part of the show, but this year producers attempted to inject a little more energy.

The 94th Oscars celebration has officially kicked off with the official red carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

After directing multiple episodes of his Netflix series “Master Of None,” including all of season three, comedian Aziz Ansari (“Parks & Rec“) is making his feature film directorial debut for Searchlight Pictures. The film is yet to be titled, but is being referred to for now as “Being Mortal.” Ansari will also take a role in the film alongside Bill Murray, who was previously announced, and now another strong comedic actor has joined the project.

EXCLUSIVE: In what is turning into a cast of comedic hall-of-famers, sources tell Deadline Seth Rogen is set to join Bill Murray in Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut Being Mortal. Ansari is also on board to co-star from a script he wrote. He is also producing with Youree Henley.  Taylor Friedman and Cameron Chidsey are overseeing for Searchlight Pictures.

Wilson Chapman editorCandle Media co-CEOs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs have been making waves in Hollywood for the past year as they hunt for content assets to acquire with the help of a bankroll from private executive giant Blackstone.The pair has mostly kept quiet about the venture, but Mayer sat down this month at the SXSW conference and festival in Austin, Texas, for a keynote session that featured his most expansive remarks to date on the new-model studio that he and Staggs are trying to build.In the conversation with MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan that was moderated by Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton, Mayer answered a number of key questions about how Candle Media intends to function — for one, it’s not a holding company nor an operating entity — and he detailed the vision for “social commerce” activity tied to such 360-media stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. “We do have a vision for a modern creator economy business,” Mayer said.

EXCLUSIVE: Longtime ICM Partners agent Matt Sorger has left to join A3 Artists Agency as senior agent in the Alternative Programming, Digital Media, Licensing and Branding division. He is the latest ICM agent to depart for another agency or management company ahead of company’s pending acquisition by CAA.

H.E.R., Elliot Page, Bill Murray and DJ Khaled are among a number of new hosts announced for the 2022 Oscars.This year marks the first time in three years the Oscars will have a host, after Jimmy Kimmel last hosted the ceremony in 2018 and 2017. For 2022, the ceremony will have a different host per hourAmy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes were previously announced as hosts for the awards, which will take place on Sunday (March 27) at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre.Now, H.E.R., Elliot Page, Bill Murray, DJ Khaled, Jennifer Garner, Shaun White, Tiffany Haddish, Tony Hawk and Kelly Slater have all been added to the running order.Other previously announced presenters include Sean “Diddy” Combs, Samuel L.

basketball games featuring St. Peter's University landed among the 20 most-watched television programs in prime time last week for the first time ever.The NCAA tournament's underdog darlings hit the big time with their victories over Kentucky and Murray State, the Nielsen company said.Fans are obviously intrigued by their story, since the Jersey City school's second game against Murray State had more viewers than the game with Kentucky, one of the NCAA's blue bloods.The CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” has a winning streak that has now reached four straight weeks as the most popular program.The opening round of the men's NCAA tourney led CBS to a dominant win in the ratings, as the network averaged 5.5 million viewers in prime time. ABC had 3.2 million, NBC had 3.1 million, Fox had 2 million, Univision had 1.5 million, Ion Television had 1 million and Telemundo had 930,000.Fox News Channel was the most popular cable network, averaging 2.54 million viewers in prime time.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorUTA has hired Amy Grgich, Ella Mastrippolito and Pegi Murray in its Production Arts division as agents. The three new hires further highlight UTA’s continued focus on establishing an equitable and dynamic workforce.“Bringing in three top-line agents like Amy, Ella and Pegi ensure we will continue prioritizing our commitment to our Production Arts clients, said UTA Partner & Head of Production Arts Pete Franciosa.

Discovery and AT&T have determined the 13 members of the board of directors for Warner Bros Discovery, the new company that will be created via a pending $43 billion merger.

William Earl Variety is pleased to welcome thought-leaders at the forefront of the global TV industry to share their strategies for success. Angela Colla, Head of International Sales, Globo; Carol Hanley, President, Whip Media; Lisa Holme, Group SVP of Content and Commercial Strategy for Discovery, Inc.; Miquel Penella, President, Streaming Services, AMC Networks; Rodrigo Mazón, EVP & GM of SVOD, Univision; and Jeff Shultz, Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer, Paramount Streaming, sit down with Variety International Editor, Manori Ravindran, for the panel discussion “Have Content, Will Travel: Strategies for Building a Global TV Audience,” airing March 29 in the Variety Streaming Room.  “Today’s streaming age is creating new possibilities for content to gain traction worldwide. In this highly competitive market, being armed with data capable of determining what titles have the strongest appeal — and why — is a major competitive advantage,” said Carol Hanley, President of Whip Media. Streaming has upended the business in a way no one ever imagined, but these companies are learning and creating strategies that will allow their businesses to expand in the years to come.

Kelis‘ husband Mike Mora has died after a battle with stomach cancer.The 37-year-old photographer’s death was confirmed by Steve Satterhwaite of Red Light Management, in a statement to Entertainment Tonight.“Sadly, it’s true that Mike Mora has passed away,” he said. “We would ask all to respect Kelis and her family’s privacy as of right now.

Paramount Global is temporarily halting its operations in Russia and giving $1 million to support humanitarian relief for Ukraine.

Is love blind or blurry? As Netflix’s Love Is Blind season 2 comes to a close, eager fans won’t have to wait too much longer for more pod-based dating and plenty of drama.

Just in time for SXSW, Byron Allen’s Digital Freestyle Releasing has promoted Bill Vergos to Head of Digital Film Distribution. He had been VP Operations & Sales since 2015.