Turkish Powerhouse Medyapim Forges Partnership With Digital Distributor Merzigo to Expand Global Reach

Despite all of the upheaval at Twitter under new owner Elon Musk in recent months, the social media firm and NBCUniversal say they have gotten their earliest start yet in ramping up their Olympic Games partnership.

A trove of documents that were in the possession of disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein reportedly show he interacted with people who included a former Israeli prime minister, a former treasury secretary, other high-powered financiers and Woody Allen. The documents revealed Epstein's scheduled meetings with former Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Emeritus Lawrence Summers, billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black and others, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Fast-rising R&B star Brent Faiyaz has struck a wide-ranging partnership with Steve Stoute’s company UnitedMasters that spans a recording partnership and a creative agency. UnitedMasters CEO and founder Steve Stoute says, “Brent Faiyaz is one of the most prolific independent artists today and we are extremely excited to embark on this new partnership with him. It’s been inspiring to watch his journey as an artist over the years and with this partnership we look to further amplify his creative vision and support his entrepreneurial ambitions.”

Indian streamer SonyLIV has ordered two new series, social drama Kafas and suspense thriller 36 Days, from production powerhouse Applause Entertainment, along with four returning shows. 

Bustle Digital Group and the Writers Guild of America, East have reached a tentative agreement with management on a first union contract, the publisher announced Wednesday. BDG says it won guaranteed minimum salary increases, strong benefits, and fair severance and protection from layoffs in its two-year contract fight.

Alana «Honey Boo Boo» Thompson was pretty in pink for prom! On Sunday, the former star attended her prom in Georgia, and the pre-prom moment was a family affair. The 17-year-old proudly posed with her mother, Mama June Shannon and her husband, Justin Stroud, giving the camera a full look at her pink dress adorned with sparkling crystals. In another picture, Alana posed with her 21-year-old boyfriend, Dralin Carswell. For the moment, the couple was positioned in front of a white horse-drawn carriage with pink accents to match the theme of the prom princess' look. Following the photo op, the reality TV star and her boyfriend made a grand entrance at the event in the carriage.For her prom, Alana wore a custom pink gown by Miesha.

EXCLUSIVE: Multiple sources tell Deadline that the woman who filed the complaint against NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell for inappropriate conduct was CNBC anchor and Senior International Correspondent Hadley Gamble.

Proud mama! Khloé Kardashian welcomed her second child in July 2022, and she’s since slowly revealed more about her life as a mother of two.

EXCLUSIVE: Zoë Chao has signed with Entertainment 360 for representation. She most recently appeared in Netflix’s Your Place Or Mine opposite Reese Witherspoon. She will next be seen in Hulu’s Nightbitch opposite Amy Adams and can currently be seen in the Party Down reboot for Starz. In March, SXSW premiered the independent film If You Were The Last, starring Chao and Anthony Mackie.

Looking back. John Mulaney is reflecting on his sobriety journey — including a difficult intervention before his 2020 rehab stay.

Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine has named Alex Flores executive vice president of music.Following the launch of “Daisy Jones & the Six” on Prime Video and the reality music competition “My Kind of Country” on Apple TV+, the production company has hired Flores to expand its music branch. Flores will expand the music division of Hello Sunshine under COO Liz Jenkins. She comes from senior roles at Broadcast Music Inc.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic From the importance of diversity in storytelling to the impact of Netflix and other streamers on the distribution marketplace, a panel of top content industry creatives and executives weighed pressing issues for the future of filmmaking. The panel, held March 31 as part of the World Film Industry Conference and hosted by the nonprofit org NewFilmmakers LA, featured a master filmmakers’ dialogue moderated by Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge. The panelists were drawn from different disciplines: Oscar-winning documentary director Morgan Neville, filmmaker/showrunner Aline Brosh McKenna, producer Paul Perez (Perez Pictures), Walt Disney Animation Studios vfx supervisor Marlon West and previsualization expert Chris Edwards (The Third Floor).

EXCLUSIVE: Head Gear Films has announced a formal partnership with asset management firm Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI), which solidifies the company’s international stronghold in media funding. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Producer Timur Savci co-heads prolific Turkish shingle Tims & B that a decade ago made “Magnificent Century” the Ottoman costume drama that spearheaded the country’s TV boom. Savci and his team are currently at the MipTV market in Cannes with their new show “Modern Woman” (pictured above) in which a young working woman in Turkey who is single and stuck in between Eastern and Western lifestyles. It’s the first time they’ve fully financed the first season of a series and taken it to market as a readymade. Global Agency is selling. The Tims co-chief, his partner Burak Sağyaşar, and the company’s director of international operations Selin Arat spoke exclusively to Variety about working with Netflix and Disney+, putting “Century” on the Metaverse, and why they’ve made “Modern Woman” themselves so they can hold on to their IP.

Reese Witherspoon and ex-husband Ryan Phillippe have reunited while supporting their son’s music career. 

It’s a family affair!  Reese Witherspoon stepped out to show her support for her 19-year-old son Deacon Phillippe at his new album release party.  The "Legally Blonde" star was all smiles and a proud parent to her child that she shares with her first ex-husband Ryan Phillippe. Ryan and Deacon both took to their Instagram Saturday to share sweet photos of the special occasion. "Awesome night w family & friends celebrating the release of, "A New Earth" by @deaconphillippe !!" the "One Life to Live" alum posted on his social media with a carousel of photos from the event.  The first family snap was of Deacon and Ryan posing for the camera, as his father wore a red cardigan with a white t-shirt underneath.

Reese Witherspoon reunited with her ex-husband Ryan Phillipe on Friday April 14 to celebrate their son Deacon's album launch. The former co-stars turned lovers split in 2006 and have two children together - son Deacon, 19, and daughter Ava, 23 - but the family came together to honor their youngest as he released his first EP, A New Earth. Ryan shared pictures of the "awesome" evening and thanked friends and family for supporting his son.

Amazon is reportedly contemplating reboots for around a dozen hit movies and series that were owned by MGM after acquiring the studio.

Gaumont UK Options TM Logan’s ‘The Mother’

Paramount+ and Formula 1 racing are revving up a first-of-its-kind promotional partnership heading into the 2023-2024 season. The deal, announced Wednesday, will include Paramount-centered Fan Zones featuring the studio’s hit series, blockbuster movies and beloved characters at official F1 events, trackside signage, digital sponsorships and more.