Variety Entertainment & Technology Summit Returns in September

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety has partnered with brand and culture consultancy BSBP to curate a series of exclusive Q&A screenings in London of some of the industry’s most anticipated films. The screenings, which are targeted at BAFTA and AMPAS voters as well as key players in the showbiz community in the U.K., will take place at London’s The Cinema at Selfridges.

The cost of British comedy is just getting more expensive — news that doesn’t make great reading for the UK’s comic talent base.

K-pop agency SM Entertainment has announced that it will be taking legal action against a fan who allegedly broke into NCT member Jaehyun’s hotel room last year.On August 21, a Twitter user uploaded several clips from inside the hotel room, claiming that had it was being used by NCT member Jaehyun at the time, per Soompi.The clips were taken without permission in a hotel where the NCT 127 members had been staying during their US tour last October, and captured some of the singer’s stage outfits and personal belongings.SM Entertainment has since released a statement announcing its intent to pursue legal action against the fan. “The video is an illegal act that seriously infringes on the privacy of the artist, and the company is collecting data on the first person who uploaded it and all those who redistributed it,” said the agency, per Newsen.It continued: “We will request the cooperation of domestic and foreign sites and legal firms to conduct a thorough investigation through law enforcement agencies.”Earlier this month, Jaehyun released the song ‘Horizon’ through NCT’s ‘NCT LAB’ project, under which the boyband release standalone solo or unit tracks.

Patricia Swinney Kaufman, longtime head of film and television development for New York State, has been named Commissioner of NYC’s Mayor’s Office Of Media and Entertainment.

NATPE, under new management after encountering turbulence during the pandemic, has appointed a new advisory board and is firming up plans for the return of its signature U.S. conference next January in Miami.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Chloe Melas, a journalist whose work covering the entertainment industry has helped her gain traction at CNN, will join NBC News starting August 21. Melas will be charged with coverage of “the intersection of entertainment, business and culture and report for all platforms of NBC News, including Digital, and MSNBC,” according to a memo from Catherine Kim, senior vice president of NBC News Editorial.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief With the global entertainment industry still rocked by the impact of streaming, the pandemic – and Hollywood’s twin strikes – the APOS conference will next month examine disruption and the responses to it from a senior executive Asian perspective. After being held virtually during the COVID era and then last year making a stop in Singapore, the conference itself will return to Bali, Indonesia, and be held 26-28 Sept.

Hasbro has set its leadership team for its “asset-lite” entertainment division.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Hasbro is launching a new division called Hasbro Entertainment, which will unify the company’s film, television, animation, and digital media businesses. Olivier Dumont will serve as president of Hasbro Entertainment, while Zev Foreman and Gabriel Marano will serve as the head of film and head of television, respectively.

Naman Ramachandran Signature Entertainment has acquired U.K. and Ireland rights to revenge thriller “Femme.” The film centers on Jules, whose life and career as a drag queen is destroyed by a homophobic attack. But when he re-encounters his attacker, the deeply-closeted Preston, in a gay sauna, he is presented with a chance to exact revenge.

EXCLUSIVE: After announcing new docs on NFL Hall of Famer Mel Blount and MLB icon Tommy John in Whatever It Takes and The Bionic Man, respectively, Winter State Entertainment has unveiled The Hitman: A Tommy Hearns Story as its latest sports documentary.

Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment, the production company behind ABC’s popular comedy series The Conners, has signed a global licensing deal with Lionsgate’s Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury.

ESPN today pushed its chips into the center of the sports gambling table.

Jaden Thompson Actor Alexandra McVicker has signed with Fusion Entertainment for management. McVicker, who is transgender, hails from Lexington, Kentucky. Prior to her transition, she was known for her breakout role on the HBO show “Vice Principals,” a dark comedy starring Danny McBride and Walton Goggins as conniving high school vice principals vying to run the school.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Capitol Music Group and Motown Records have entered into a partnership with Glass Window Entertainment, the label founded by multiplatinum rapper Dominique “Lil Baby” Jones, with rapper Rylo Rodriguez as the first artist signed to the partnership. Terms were not disclosed, although sources tell Variety it is a multi-million-dollar deal.

Go inside (arguably) the divorce of the century,

Top exhibitor AMC Entertainment rode the box office revival in the second quarter, beating Wall Street forecasts and returning to profitability.

Girls’ Generation member Sunny has announced that she has parted ways with longtime agency SM Entertainment.The singer, real name Lee Soon-kyu, took to her personal Instagram page earlier today (August 8) to personally announce her departure from the company. “I want to express my gratitude to SM Entertainment who gave great help so that 19-year-old Lee Soon-kyu could debut as Girls’ Generation’s Sunny,” she wrote in a letter, per translations by Soompi.“Looking back, there are so many people I have been grateful to for the past 16 years.

William Earl “Live From My Den” returns for a fifth season this August. Created by Artists Den Entertainment, the series highlights extraordinary artists as they perform from the spaces most significant to their creative processes. Each episode features a live performance, an interview with Variety and an exclusive tour of a location that inspires the artist creatively.

William Earl Variety, the iconic entertainment publication, and iHeartPodcasts, the No. 1 podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, announced Wednesday the co-production of an exciting new true crime podcast, “Variety Confidential.” The podcast dives into Variety’s archives exploring stories of sex, money and murder in the entertainment industry.