Yale Entertainment Hires Former Sony Executive As Head Of Production

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotter, a digital media company that pays YouTube creators cash for the rights to monetize their video libraries and helps them grow their fanbases, hired Paul Bakaus as executive VP, product and creator tools. At Spotter, Bakaus will focus on developing products and tools to serve creators and deliver on Spotter’s mission to provide value and resources to YouTubers in addition to capital. Bakaus will dual-report to Spotter CEO and founder Aaron DeBevoise and chief strategy officer Rob Gabel. Bakaus most recently served as head of creators at Koji, ecommerce platform designed for for social media sellers. Prior to joining Koji in April 2022, he spent more than eight years at Google, most recently as head of creator relations where he launched and led the “Google for Creators” program. Before Google, Bakaus worked at games company Zynga. He also is the creator of jQuery UI, a widget and interaction library that has been used by millions of websites to build interactive web applications.

Respawn Entertainment is opening a third studio to support the development of Apex Legends, weeks after parent company EA laid off over 200 of the game’s testers.Respawn’s third studio will be located in Madison, Wisconsin, and will initially support the company’s battle royale shooter Apex Legends.As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the studio will be led by Ryan Burnett, who previously worked as Epic Games‘ director of engine production and, prior to that, worked at Call Of Duty developer Raven Software for 14 years.“Wisconsin is quickly becoming a central development hub here,” Burnett told GamesIndustry.biz.

EXCLUSIVE: American-European media fund APX Group has appointed film industry veteran Anthony Buckner as Director of Film and Television Distribution and Acquisition, to head up a new department created as it continues its international expansion drive.

Naman Ramachandran Sony Music Entertainment India has appointed Vinit Thakkar as managing director, reporting into Shridhar Subramaniam, president of corporate strategy and market development for Asia and the Middle East. Thakkar will take over from Rajat Kakar, who is scheduled to leave at the end of March. Thakkar was previously COO, India and South Asia, for Universal Music, where he played a key role in major label signings with leading artists and is also widely credited for the creation and launch of non-film artist-centred platforms in a market traditionally dominated by songs from feature film soundtracks.  At Sony, he will collaborate with regional and global teams to strengthen the company’s strategic partnerships and identify new growth opportunities for its artists.

The Prime Minister's family were spoken to by police in London's Hyde Park after letting his dog off its lead. Rishi Sunak had been walking his labrador Nova with his family in the Royal Park on Saturday (March 11).

Zoe Hewitt When it comes to any entertainment industry production, whether it’s a tentpole film or an independent commercial, creative choices must vie against the ever-important bottom line. Working in a state with tax incentive programs means productions can have the best of both worlds. In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker just signed a 10-year extension for the state’s film-friendly tax incentive program, which guarantees productions 30% back on eligible expenses through Jan. 1, 2033. The credit was recently expanded to include eligibility for nine key positions for non-residents: director, writer, DP, production designer, costume designer, production accountant, visual-effects supervisor, editor and composer.

Cole Sprouse made an appearance on Alex Cooper‘s Call Her Daddy podcast where he spoke all about his love life, his relationship with his ex Lili Reinhart, the age he lost his virginity and his whole virginity story, his estrangement from his mother, and so much more.

Larry Jackson left Apple Music in September after seven years as the company’s global creative director, he kept quiet about his next move. But as an industry veteran with a deep rolodex and longstanding relationships with top music stars like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Drake, his next venture was bound to be a very big one.    On Wednesday, Jackson announced the launch of Gamma, a multi-platform, multi-faceted business that will see him acquiring or joining forces with major artists and brands, with endeavors in music, films, merchandise, fashion, web3 and other areas. The company was cofounded with former Interscope CFO Ike Youssef; backers include Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, Apple and indie film studio A24. The company is said to have $1 billion available in equity and debt.

Independent TV and film studio MRC has named Jenna Santoianni its president of television.MRC CEO Scott Tenley made the announcement Tuesday morning. Santoianni will oversee MRC’s current programming, its development slate, joint ventures, production partnerships, operational unites, business, legal affairs and production finance.

She is one of the most recognizable faces in the world, but supermodel Gigi Hadid admits she is a product of privilege. "Technically I’m a nepotism baby," Hadid prefaced in a new interview, before adding, "My parents came from very little." Hadid is the daughter of Palestinian developer Mohamed Hadid and Dutch model and former "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Yolanda Hadid. "I’ve always acknowledged that I come from privilege.

Naman Ramachandran Fremantle has acquired global rights to “The Piano,” the format from Love Productions, makers of “The Great British Bake Off.” “The Piano,” hosted by Claudia Winkleman, recently launched in the U.K. on broadcaster Channel 4 and is a ratings success. Created by Richard McKerrow, the British version of the format sees talented amateur pianists invited each week to play on public pianos in well-known train stations. Unknown to the performers, acclaimed classical pianist Lang Lang and platinum selling pop superstar Mika are secretly watching and one performer from each train station is invited to perform on one of the world’s most prestigious stages. 

Gigi Hadid opened up about being a “nepo baby” in a new interview.

Gigi Hadid is getting real about her rise to fame.

Gigi Hadid is weighing in on that nepotism debate.

Ariana DeBose, Chloe Fineman, Amanda Seyfried, and Megan Stalter are teaming up for a very exciting new movie!

The streamers, led by Netflix, moved into the non-scripted entertainment space in a serious way about five years.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Sony Pictures has won global distribution rights to the hot comedy package “My Ex-Friend’s Wedding,” a script co-written by buzzy author Taylor Jenkins Reid starring a murderers’ row of funny women. Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, “Saturday Night Live” breakout Chloe Fineman, Amanda Seyfried and Megan Stalter are set as the core ensemble. The film follows four childhood best friends who receive a drunken voicemail from a former BFF on the eve of her wedding day — confessing that she thinks she’s making a mistake. The group sets out to stop her wedding and rekindle the friendship they once shared. Comedy vet Kay Cannon, whose 2019 feature directorial debut “Blockers” over-performed at the box office, is directing. The script is from Ashley Rodger and Jenkins Reid. The latter could not be hotter at the moment, as the series adaptation of her novel “Daisy Jones & The Six” is about to hit Amazon Prime Video. Additional Jenkins Reed books are headed to the screen at Hulu (“Malibu Rising”) and Netflix (“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sony Pictures Classics has bought “The Teachers’ Lounge,” Ilker Çatak’s drama which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, for North America, Latin America and Eastern Europe (excluding Hungary). “The Teachers’ Lounge” marks the fourth feature from Çatak, who co-wrote the screenplay with Johannes Duncker. The movie played in the Panorama section and won the Europa Cinemas Label award for Best European film, as well as the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award. Produced by Ingo Fliess and shot by award-winning cinematographer Judith Kaufmann (“Corsage”), “The Teachers’ Lounge” stars Leonine Benesch (“The Crown”), Michael Klammer, Rafael Stachowiak, and Eva Löbau.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox has named John Hesling its new head of Alternative Entertainment, the broadcast network’s in-house unscripted studio. Responsible for overseeing the development and production of all unscripted series owned by Fox Entertainment (FAE), as well as programs FAE produces for third-party buyers in the U.S. and abroad, Hesling will be based in Los Angeles and report to Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at Fox Entertainment. “I am so excited for John to join FAE and lead the incredible team we have assembled,” Wallach said. “His creative vision and vast experience as both a producer and an executive working on a global scale will be key to our strategy of building FAE as a leading provider of innovative series and formats for Fox and third-party platforms throughout the world.”

Gigi Hadid is in therapy as she grapples with fame. The 27-year-old model has daughter Khai Hadid Malik, two, with former One Direction singer Zayn Malik, 30, and said the little girl keeps her grounded, but admitted she struggles with the spotlight how the world sees her. The fact she is in therapy, like her model sister Bella Hadid, 26, was reported in an interview with the March issue of Elle magazine in which Gigi opened up about life with her daughter and time in the spotlight.