Why Spotify’s bet on big names like Meghan unravelled

Will Tizard Contributor Although set in a noirish Northern California, “Fremont” – which premiered at Sundance and plays in competition at Karlovy Vary this week – is a refugee story that’s firmly rooted in reality. Director Babak Jalali’s casting of real-life Afghan refugee Anaita Wali Zada, a first-time actor, in the lead role gives some indication of his commitment to authenticity. The hardboiled script, co-written with Carolina Cavalli, turns on a young woman, Donya, working in a Chinese fortune cookie factory while starved for sleep and wracked with PTSD from her past life working with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. The tight dialogue lends another level of stylized sheen to the film, as does the appearance of two veteran actors in wry performances – Gregg Turkington as a Jack London-obsessed therapist, and Jeremy Allen White, best known for his role as master chef in TV series “The Bear,” as a lovelorn mechanic.

Amid Jamie Thompson’s ongoing divorce from Elizabeth Bice, he is seemingly offering insight into his breakup decision.

Bethany Hamilton has given birth!

BreAnna Bell Nancy and Celia may be back in business. Elizabeth Perkins, who starred as Celia Hodes on the Showtime series “Weeds” from 2005-2009, tells Variety she’d gladly step back into the role now that a revival of the show is reportedly in the works. “It’s just that— it’s talking,” Perkins said when asked about talk of a reboot. “I’d be on board. I loved working with Mary-Louise Parker. I love those two characters together, Nancy and Celia!” Deadline reported in May that a “Weeds” reboot was in development at Showtime with lead star Parker attached to star and executive produce. (Variety first exclusively reported the reboot was in the works at Starz in 2019). Lionsgate, the studio behind the production, declined to comment at the time.

Little Big Town is helping usher in the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards.

Meghan Markle's talent was called into question by United Talent Agency (UTA) CEO Jeremy Zimmer during an interview last week. The top Hollywood agent weighed in after Spotify abruptly ended its deal with the 41-year-old Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry following the cancelation of Markle's podcast "Archetypes" after just one season. "Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent," Zimmer told global news website Semafor when asked about the podcast cancelation at the 2023 Cannes Lions advertising festival in Cannes, France.

Ray J and Princess Love showed a united front at the 2023 BET Awards on Sunday. The on-again, off-again couple were on hand at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles to present the award for Best New Artist. «Love wins. I love you, baby,» Ray J said to Princess Love on stage.

this year's Best New Artist at the BET Awards, but her journey to the title was anything but smooth. ET spoke with the  star on the red carpet of Sunday night's festivities where she opened up about her rise to fame after kicking off her career on the Disney Channel. The 25-year-old made her breakthrough as a teen actress in the Disney Channel film and although the film was a hit, the star's career didn't have the rise that she'd hoped for. In a YouTube live stream posted in September 2020 that went viral amongst her fans, Jones openly shared that the initially proposed sequel for the film fell through and claimed she didn't receive the same support as her fellow Disney Channel stars despite her immense talent.But the singer saw a change in opportunities after she made a 2021 appearance on the YouTube web series, , hosted by Terrell Grice.

Taylor Swift turned down an opportunity to appear on Meghan Markle ’s podcast Archetypes, it has been alleged. The US singer, who is set to bring her The Eras Tour to Europe next summer, is reported to have been asked to appear on the Duchess of Sussex’s podcast and received a “personal letter” from Meghan.

Meghan Markle did not personally conduct interviews on her Archetype podcast have been rubbished and called "insane" by an industry bigwig. The collapse of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's £15million Spotify deal appears to have sparked the reports that Meghan was not actually there for the celebrity one-on-ones, reports The Daily Express US. Bravo executive Andy Cohen told US Weekly: "Of course, I (spoke with Meghan), And she definitely (interviewed me).

Beauty Bay has currently got a massive sale on, and you’re not going to want to miss out on some of the deals you can get.The online beauty retailer's sale kicked off last week, and it’s been adding even more items every day, including some major name brands like Olaplex and Foreo.The massive summer sale has more than 1500 items currently up to 50% off. Cult favourite brand Foreo specialises in beauty tools such as facial brushes and toning devices, and shoppers can currently get almost £100 off the brand’s beauty tools.

Ben Croll Leading the news and documentary jury at this year’s Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Peabody and Emmy-winning filmmaker Tom Jennings has seen the non-fiction business trend toward premium offerings with more event series – an evolution shared across much of the larger television landscape and pushed, in no small part, by streamers. “Ten to 15 years ago, we were a ratings driven business,” he tells Variety. “Now, it’s a question of getting people to sign up and stick around because what they like is on a given platform.” For companies likes Jennings’ 1895 Films (named for the year the Lumière brothers screened their first films – all of them non-fiction, he adds) the shifting terrain has resulted in shorter episode order with greater budgets as docs and dramas find themselves showcased alongside one another with little divide.

There were several royal bombshells about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed in two recent royal books: “Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait” by writer Gyles Brandreth and royal expert Katie Nicholl‘s new book, “The New Royals.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should get their “messaging right” after their lucrative podcast deal with Spotify was ended by mutual agreement, according to a PR expert. Meghan and Harry’s production company Archewell Audio only made one podcast series for the streaming giant after signing a contract in late 2020, estimated to be worth around 25 million US dollars (£19.5 million).The ending of the deal will raise questions about the popularity of the podcast hosted by Meghan and whether the agreement was value for money for Spotify which earlier this month announced job cuts.

Meghan Markle‘s podcast, “Archetypes,” will not be back for a second season despite its initial success as she and Prince Harry leave Spotify behind.

Spotify has confirmed that it will not be renewing Meghan Markle’s podcast Archetypes for a second series. The Spotify deal, which was estimated to be worth £18 million, was just one of many commercial partnerships that Meghan and Prince Harry entered into upon their exit of the royal family in 2020. When Archetypes was announced in late 2020, Prince Harry said it would 'bring forward different perspectives and voices that perhaps you haven't heard before.

Meghan Markle has issued a blunt response after Spotify cancelled her podcast. The audio producer announced that the "Archetypes" podcast would not be renewed for a second series. Following the cancellation, a spokeswoman for the Archewell productive media company said: "The team behind Archetypes remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify.

Meghan Markle's podcast Archetypes has been axed from Spotify after just one season. Spotify, along with Meghan and Prince Harry's audio production company Archewell Audio released a joint statement on Thursday night, which said they had "mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together." Meghan, 41, and Harry, 38, signed a reported $20million deal with the streaming giant, but a source has claimed that the couple "did not did not meet the productivity benchmark required to receive the full payout," according to the Wall Street Journal.

Editor’s note: The interviews conducted in this podcast were recorded at Deadline’s Contenders TV event, prior to the WGA strike starting on May 2.

The Lifetime channel has extended its partnership with child safety activist Elizabeth Smart with the green light to produce a new film entitled “Abducted By My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story.”This new film comes after Lifetime’s success with “The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story,” a thriller movie based on the true crime story of Kara Robinson, who was abducted by serial killer Richard Evonitz. “Abducted by My Teacher” will tell the story of Elizabeth Thomas, who was groomed and kidnapped at the age of 15 by her high school teacher. The movie is set to star Michael Fishman (“Roseanne”) and Summer Howell (“Harland Manor”), and it will premiere on Saturday, Aug.