UTA Taps Bob Roback as Chief Operating Officer, Who Takes Over Role From Andrew Thau

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Nicola Maccanico, the former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec, who has been spearheading the radical overhaul of Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, has stepped down after a three-year stint.

K.J. Yossman Happy Accidents has set up a second North American office. The international film and TV studio has also appointed Courtney Colman as its chief financial officer.

Naman Ramachandran Creativeland Studios has tapped industry veteran Shobha Sant as its new CEO, Variety can reveal. Sant brings over 30 years of experience to the role, most recently serving as head of content alliances – films, at billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Studios. In her new position, Sant will lead Creativeland’s filmed entertainment division and oversee the talent business of AIG-India, the joint venture between Creativeland Studios and Artist International Group.

2 min read Melbourne’s LGBTIQA+ community had an extra reason to celebrate Pride Month this year, with a vibrant and inclusive drag storytime event held on a specially decorated tram. The tram, part […]

Police are growing concerned for the well-being of a man who has been missing overnight from Irvine.

Janette Manrara has shared that she felt 'mum guilt' for taking time away from her baby daughter. The Strictly Come Dancing star welcomed her first child Lyra Rose into the world in July 2023 with partner and former pro Strictly dancer Aljaz Skorjanec.

Jerry Seinfeld has brutally shut down yet another group of anti-Israel hecklers at his Melbourne show, the latest in a series of disruptions during the legendary American comedian’s Australian tour.Seinfeld was performing in front of thousands of fans at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night when, towards the end of his set, a group of anti-Israel protesters began chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”The 70-year-old — who is widely considered one of the best stand-up comedians of all time — immediately mocked the group for having paid to attend his show.“I think you need to go back and tell whoever is running your organization, ‘We just gave more money to a Jew,’” he said as the crowd erupted with laughter.“That cannot be a good plan for you.

Joe Alwyn is exploring New York City after traveling to the city for the premiere of his new movie Kinds of Kindness.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Todd Harthan has been tapped as the new showrunner and executive producer of ABC’s “High Potential,” starring Kaitlin Olson. Harthan was previously executive producer/showrunner of Fox’s “The Resident,” which ran for six seasons and recently was a hit off-net for Netflix. Harthan replaces previous showrunner Rob Thomas, who departed the project earlier this month.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Five men were convicted by a federal jury in Las Vegas this week for their part in operating Jetflicks, which officials say was one of the largest illegal streaming services in the U.S. Jetflicks, which charged $9.99 per month for the streaming service, generated millions of dollars in subscription revenue and caused “substantial harm to television program copyright owners,” the Justice Department said Thursday. At one point, Jetflicks claimed to host more than 183,200 TV episodes — a lineup larger than the combined catalogs of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and Amazon Prime Video, according to prosecutors.

Channel 4 has given us a sneak peek at the second series of its crime drama, Suspect.The eight-part series originally centred on veteran detective Danny Frater (James Nesbitt), who was determined to uncover the truth about his daughter's death. While James Nesbitt won't be returning for the new series, the focus will shift to his character's ex-wife and mother of their daughter, Dr Susannah Newman (Anne-Marie Duff).

After the impressive display of The King's Birthday Parade in London at the weekend, another important royal procession will take place in Windsor today, Monday, 17 June.The Order of the Garter is the oldest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom and is the most senior knighthood in the British honours system which is only outranked by the Victoria Cross and the George Cross. It sees those members of the Royal Family who have been honoured, attend a service at St George's Chapel, Windsor, before parading in their eye-catching dark blue mantles and Tudor bonnets with ostrich feather plumes.

Meghan Trainor would really like to take over for Katy Perry now that she’s departed American Idol.

British actor Jude Law once had a “flirtation” about playing Superman.

UTA has named Bob Roback, a veteran music and tech exec and entrepreneur, as its chief operating officer.

Cobra Kai is one of the most beloved shows on Netflix and many stars from The Karate Kid films, including Ralph Macchio, returned to reprise their roles.

Paramount Global, which continues to explore its M&A options, has updated the compensation plans for the three execs in the Office of the CEO and re-upped Chief People Officer Nancy Phillips.

Jamie Lang Framestore Company 3 Group (FC3) has appointed Lincoln Wallen as its new group chief technology officer. FC3 is best known for color grading and has done high-profile work on upcoming animated and live-action titles, including “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Wicked,” “Transformers: One” and “Despicable Me.” The latter two are getting special presentations at this week’s Annecy Animation Festival.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has been accused of trying to take over production company RaemongRaein, best known for K-dramas Maestra and Reborn Rich.Today (June 10), Lee Jung-jae and his company Artist United were accused by Kim Dong-rae, CEO of RaemongRaein, of trying to usurp control of the production company in a press statement, per The Korea Herald and The Korea Times.Kim’s press statement comes amid a legal dispute between Artist United and RaemongRaein, with the former having filed an application with the court seeking approval to hold an extraordinary general meeting to appoint RaemongRaein’s directors.Artist United had become the largest shareholder of the publicly listed RaemongRaein this March, after having acquired 18.44 per cent of the company. Notably, Lee is the largest shareholder of Artist United witha 23.49 per cent stake, while also owning 5.12 per cent of RaemongRaein.In his press statement, Kim alleged that Artist United had “used Raemongraein’s funds to acquire a suspended entertainment company” and that the move was “contrary to our initial discussions before the investment”.“This move by [Lee and Artist United], just three months after becoming the largest shareholder, appears to be an attempt to use Raemongraein’s cash assets as a shell to acquire another company,” Kim added in his statement.Kim also mentioned Lee directly in his statement, claiming that the actor “has never visited the company or presented any vision for its management”.

emotional tribute to Pat Sajak on Instagram after Sajak’s final episode hosting “Wheel of Fortune” aired Friday.Seacrest, 49, is taking over for Sajak, 77, in September. His Instagram post featured a photo and a soundless video clip of the pair and letter-turner Vanna White spending time together on the game show’s set.“Pat, congratulations on an incredible run with ‘Wheel of Fortune!’ ” Seacrest wrote.