Universal buys NFT manager for NFT band

Wilson Chapman editorCAA-GBG Global Brand Management Group, one of the leading brand management agencies in the world, will now be under the full ownership of CAA, the company announced on Wednesday.Prior to this transaction, CAA-GBG was a joint operation between CAA and holding company Global Brands Group, which filed for bankruptcy last July. The two companies founded the venture in 2016, and since then it has grown into a premier business for brand management, handling programs for Budweiser, Coca-Cola, The Cheesecake Factory, Formula One, Jaguar Land Rover, the Bob Marley Estate, Minecraft, Netflix, Playboy, Red Bull Racing, Riot Games, Skechers and many others.According to CAA, the management group will immediately be renamed CAA Brand Management, and will be folded into the daily operations of the agency.

Manori Ravindran International EditorGlobal streaming service MUBI has snapped up Carla Simón’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs” for the U.S., U.K. and a raft of other markets.Spanish director Simón’s “Alcarràs” premiered in Competition at the 2022 Berlinale, where it won the Golden Bear for best film.

EXCLUSIVE: Indonesian helmer Joko Anwar (Impetigore) is preparing to make his English-language debut with Fritzchen, an adaptation of the classic short story by Charles Beaumont, which is in development at Village Roadshow.

Lady Gaga received a standing ovation from the audience at the Grammy Awards for her performance of “Do I Love You” from her joint album with Tony Bennett, Love for Sale. Among those in the Las Vegas crowd showing their support on Sunday (3 April) was fellow nominee Billie Eilish, who was captured screaming and cheering at Gaga’s star turn.

Lady Gaga did Tony Bennett proud, we’re sure.

Sasha Urban editorLady Gaga took the stage at the 64th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, performing “Love for Sale” and “Do I Love You” from her album “Love for Sale,” which she recorded with long-time friend and duet partner Tony Bennett.Bennett offered a videotaped introduction for his duet partner, offering a simple and sincere, “Hi everyone, please welcome Lady Gaga!” Gaga then brought the house down with a high-energy rendition of “Love for Sale,” with a big band arrangement of the Cole Porter standard. Gaga, glam in a mint strapless gown adorned with a large bow, then slowed things to belt out a jazzy piano-filled rendition of “Do I Love You.” The video screen in the background showed footage of Gaga and Bennett in the studio recording the record.

EXCLUSIVE: Arrow and The Hobbit actor Manu Bennett is joining Kiana Madeira (Trinkets), Ross Butler (13 Reasons Why) and Matthew Noszka (Star) in YA movie Perfect Addiction.

Mark Sutherland There’s only one thing rarer than a March heatwave in the U.K. – and that’s a British alternative group topping the U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAfter more than eight years, the weekday and weekend editions of PBS’ signature evening newscast are finally getting together.Washington’s WETA has long produced the venerable “PBS NewsHour,” the show once known as the “McNeil-Lehrer Report” and now anchored by Judy Woodruff, while New York’s WNET has since 2013 produced the Saturday and Sunday editions of the program. Starting April 2, all seven days will be under the auspices of WETA, with Geoff Bennett, a former NBC News and MSNBC correspondent and anchor who was named the program’s chief Washington correspondent in November, taking the reins of a re-titled half-hour “PBS News Weekend.”“I think we are going to build on ‘NewsHour’s’ traditional mix of news and interviews and in-depth features,” says Bennett, in an interview.

completed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, which co-owns the 007 movie franchise, two weeks ago, it instantly began splitting Bond into many pieces with its evil money-grubbing laser, effectively kicking off the death of a 60-year-old brand beloved by generations.You can smell the British flesh start to sizzle. Last week, Variety reported that Amazon Prime Video and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G.

Jason Momoa walked the red carpet at the 2022 Academy Awards without his wife, Lisa Bonet. The Aquaman actor, 42, looked dapper in a black suit at the March 27 ceremony, for which he is a presenter. Jason’s look included a black bowtie and a pair of glasses. He also had his long hair done up in a french braid held together by a pink scrunchie. Jason also sported a blue and yellow pocket square to support Ukraine.

Tom Hardy has been slowly slipping behind in the Bond odds. Daniel Craig's exit from the James Bond franchise has left fans wondering who would be the best actor to take over after No Time To Die - and Hardy has often been the most popular choice with fans. But not with the bookies.

LOS ANGELES -- James Bond didn’t get an Oscar nomination this year, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be part of the ceremony.It’s the 60th anniversary of the first 007 movie, after all, and the 50th anniversary of “The Godfather” and those landmarks will not go uncelebrated Sunday at the 94th Oscars.“We have some surprises around that. Wink, wink,” Will Packer, who is producing the show, said Thursday.It’s all part of the overriding theme of the year: “Movie lovers unite.”“Movies are the one thing that actually do unite so many of us as a global community,” Packer said.

EXCLUSIVE: Call My Agent! and Marianne writer Quoc Dang Tran has struck a first-look deal with Universal International Studios, becoming the first French writer to sign such a deal with a major studio.

Lisa Bonet was spotted out and about wearing her wedding ring for the first time since she and Jason Momoa opened up about their marriage issues. Lisa put her rock on display as she went out for a shopping trip in Santa Monica. She rocked a boho-chic look consisting of a Bob Marley T-shirt, striped parachute pants and a blue floral kimono. Her dreadlocks flowed long past her shoulders as she wore a suede sunhat and held a number of shopping bags.

Daniel Craig stepped down from the James Bond franchise late last year after the release of No Time To Die, and ever since, the race has been on for the next potential 007 actor. While the official announcement will likely be given within the next year, the bookies have their ears to the ground on who the best bets will be in the coming months.

Manori Ravindran International EditorUniversal International Studios has struck a deal with one of the hottest players in Spanish-language programming, Buendía Estudios.Under the deal, the company, whose recent credits include the hit dramas “Cardo” and “Veneno,” will co-develop and co-produce Spanish-language series with Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. Formed in 2020, Buendía Estudios is a joint venture between Atresmedia and Telefónica’s Movistar Plus, and incorporates the in-house player formerly known as Atresmedia Studios.The company, which is led by CEO Ignacio Corrales, told Variety earlier this year that, in addition to producing for Spain and Latin America, it’s looking to develop projects from the region that are global-facing, in the vein of international Spanish-language triumphs like “Money Heist” and “Velvet.” A slate of around 40 projects across various genres and formats is currently in the works.