Universal Studio Group Taps Former eOne Exec Blossom Lefcourt As Global Head of Business Affairs

EXCLUSIVE: Rotterdam competition title Small Hours of the Night from Daniel Hui (Demons, Snakeskin) and SXSW premiere Adrianne & The Castle by Shannon Walsh (The Gig is Up, Illusions of Control) have landed international reputation via non-fiction agency Indox. 

Fifteen people have been taken to hospital with injuries following a tram crash at Universal Studios Hollywood Saturday evening.

Michaela Zee A tram accident at Universal Studios Hollywood injured 15 riders on Saturday night, authorities said. The Los Angeles County Fire Department units were dispatched shortly after 9 p.m. PT to the theme park, the department said in a social media post.

Jeremy Allen White is enjoying a day out.

Lexi Carson Jane Nefeldt, former senior executive of the Writers Guild of America West, has died. She was 71. The WGAW said she died on April 16 in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Selena Kuznikov Universal Studios Hollywood will host a new live show, “The Fall Guy Stuntacular Pre-Show,” inspired by 87North’s new film “The Fall Guy,” starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. The live show, a part of the theme park’s Waterworld attraction, will open April 27 and end May 19.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Max Cutler sold Parcast Studios, his scripted-audio entertainment start-up, to Spotify in 2019 under a deal in which Spotify ultimately paid nearly $90 million. Cutler went on to become Spotify’s VP, head of talk creator content and partnerships — inking exclusive licensing deals with podcasters including Alex Cooper, Emma Chamberlain and Markiplier, and managing the company’s partnership with “The Joe Rogan Experience” — before exiting last year. Now Cutler is back in the game with the launch of Pave Studios.

Max Cutler, the former Spotify executive who oversaw the audio streamer’s deals with the likes of Alex Cooper and Joe Rogan, is launching his own company.

We could not do a trip to Los Angeles for Mia’s birthday without hitting up @UniStudios! The new Super Nintendo World is EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!

IAC, the Barry Diller-owned company that controls The Daily Beast, has landed a strategic partnership with former Disney executive Ben Sherwood and Hearst veteran Joanna Coles to define the digital publication’s next chapter in a struggling media climate.

Days after he left Amazon, Chris Brearton has found a new gig.

Los Angeles County health officials released an exposure warning Saturday regarding an unidentified traveler with measles who visited locations in the county between March 30 and April 1.

Jack Dunn The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has been informed of a possible measles exposure at Universal Studios, county officials reported Saturday. The possible exposure stems from one case of measles from an out of state tourist who traveled through the Los Angeles area from March 30 to April 1. The infected person visited Universal Studios on March 30 and the Santa Monica Pier on March 31.

Longtime NBC ad sales executive Krishan Bhatia has landed at Amazon as VP, Global Video Advertising Sales, a new position for a new team within ad sales focused on streaming TV offerings across live sports, Amazon Freevee, Twitch, Prime Video ads, and third-party publishers.

Taylor Swift’s music has returned to TikTok, after her label Universal withdrew all of their artists from the platform earlier this year.In January, Universal Music Group (UMG) announced that it would withdraw its artists’ songs from the platform, citing unfair compensation for the artists and the harmful effects of AI.But now, as reported by Variety, Swift’s catalogue has returned to the site, which may be a consequence of the fact that the singer now owns the masters to her recordings.Other artists signed to the label continue to be absent from TikTok, including Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, Drake, Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, Adele, Coldplay, J Balvin, Post Malone and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.The timing is opportune, as Swift’s latest album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ is released next Friday (April 19).At the time, UMG explained that its licensing agreement with TikTok expired on January 31, and that negotiations to renew the contract had fallen short.“In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing [TikTok] on three critical issues—appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.”“TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay”, which it says accounts for one per cent of its revenue.

Former Netflix Head of Comedy Jane Wiseman is joining Jane Featherstone and Liz Murdoch‘s Sister entertainment group in a newly created position as Head of U.S. Television. Based in Los Angeles, Wiseman will report to Cindy Holland, Sister’s Global CEO, and will lead the company’s U.S. television business, specifically focused on development and production of premium scripted series.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney‘s games group has bulked up executive ranks with new hires and promotions after the announcement of its $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games and partnership to create a virtual world featuring the Mouse House’s brands and characters. Ray Gresko, formerly chief development officer at Blizzard Entertainment (who left prior to its the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard), joins the Disney Games team as senior VP, product and development.

Chris McCausland & Lee Mack Set For Sky Festive Special

Could Scottish soccer be the next to benefit from Hollywood investment?

Twofour Hires ‘007: Road To A Million’ Producer & ‘Circle’ Exec