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Morgan Freeman Criticizes “Scam” Using AI Version of His Voice
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Business
Writers and Actors Scramble to Keep Their Health Insurance in a Post-Strike Hollywood
After the 2023 work stoppages and amid a larger industry contraction, creatives face difficulties meeting minimums to keep their union plans: "It doesn't feel good to have to say to your agents, ‘Hey, can you get me a guest-starring gig on whatever happens to have somebody my age because I'm going to lose my health insurance?'"
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Business
Are the Wheels Falling Off ‘The Daily Mail’?
Its online editor is MIA (he was last seen frantically deleting emails), his self-appointed replacement is said to be equally erratic and frustrated staffers are abandoning its newsroom in droves.
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Business
Producer Steven Paul Found Liable for Copyright Infringement Over Counterfeit DVDs
The 'Baby Geniuses' franchise mogul, whose name has been in the mix as a suitor of Paramount Global, was sued by faith-based independent production company Harvest Aid over the distribution of DVDs for 'I Believe.'
By Winston Cho
Latest Business
Digital Comic Company Webtoon Launches IPO as It Aims for Inroads into Hollywood
Webtoon already changed the face of 21st century comics by pioneering the mobile webcomic format. Yesterday, the company took a major step toward global and Hollywood domination by launching its initial public offering on the Nasdaq. With a ticker symbol of WBTN, the company, backed by South Korean tech titan Naver, quickly gained a valuation […]
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After Selling CAA Stake, Private Equity Giant TPG Launching New Company in Talent Management and Representation Business
TPG is getting back into the talent business. The private equity giant, which sold its stake in CAA last year to French billionaire François-Henri Pinault, is launching a new company that will “acquire, invest behind and build a diversified global business centered on talent management, representation and adjacent verticals.” Michel Pratte, former President of Boat […]
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YouTube Stars Rhett & Link to Launch Comedy Series ‘Wonderhole’ in August (Exclusive)
YouTube stars Rhett & Link are expanding their content in the comedy space. The duo, who host Good Mythical Morning and own Mythical Entertainment, will launch a new comedy series on their Rhett & Link YouTube channel in August. The new series, Wonderhole, “combines docu-comedy, sketch comedy, original music, visual FX, celebrity cameos, and outright […]
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IATSE and Studios Reach Tentative Agreement on Area Standards Contract
Entertainment’s top crew union struck a tentative deal with Hollywood’s studios and streamers for a contract covering 23 Locals on Thursday, just two days after their West Coast peers did the same. IATSE announced in a message to its members that a three-year successor deal to its Area Standards Agreement has been reached with the […]
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NFL Ordered to Pay $4.7B After Losing ‘Sunday Ticket’ Trial
The National Football League has been hit with a roughly $4.7 billion verdict after a jury found that its broadcast model violates antitrust laws. A Los Angeles jury on Thursday agreed with fans who claimed they overpaid for NFL Sunday Ticket. The decision, which was reached after less than a full day of deliberations, could […]
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Many Hollywood Stocks Are Now “Show Me” Bets for Wall Street Investors
TikTok and artificial intelligence are on the rise. Cord-cutting is slashing linear TV profits. The advertising market has major question marks. Management teams across Hollywood, put on notice by Wall Street for streaming profitability, are hunting for more cost cuts and possible mergers and asset sales to optimize asset portfolios. Hard times for media and […]
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OpenAI Sued by Center for Investigative Reporting as Media Takes Diverging Paths on Tech Giant
OpenAI and Microsoft have been sued by another news organization for using articles to train its artificial intelligence systems, this time by the Center for Investigative Reporting. In a lawsuit filed in New York district court, the nonprofit newsroom, which produces Mother Jones and Reveal, alleges the Sam Altman-led firm “copied, used, abridged, and displayed” […]
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CAA Launches Media & Entertainment Partnerships Division for Dealmaking (Exclusive)
Inking movie and TV show brand deals is a practice that goes back decades in Hollywood. Now CAA is formalizing a new department specifically to forge partnerships between brands and their IP, media companies and star talent. The newly formed Media & Entertainment Partnerships department will look to help the Century City-based agency’s clients develop, […]
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Cirque du Soleil Launches Movie, TV Production Banner in Bet on Hollywood (Exclusive)
Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is opening its big tent to producing longform content with Hollywood heavyweights by launching Cirque du Soleil Studio. The new venture will kick off with a partnership with Ridley Scott and Scott Free Productions to jointly develop and produce a feature film based on O, the long-running water-based stage production […]
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Time Inks Deal With OpenAI as Tech Giant Makes Major Publishing Moves
Time magazine has struck a strategic partnership with Sam Altman’s OpenAI that will see its current and historical content land on ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence products. The multiyear licensing agreement will see OpenAI gain access to Time’s archives over 101 years to bolster its generative AI products and display, and which will include […]
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Fox-Backed Streaming Platform Caffeine Abruptly Shuts Down
Another streaming platform bites the dust. Caffeine, a social streaming sports platform that had raised nearly $300 million from companies like Fox, Disney, Cox, Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock, abruptly shuttered on Wednesday. “We’re at the point where we are still not quite profitable, so we’ve made the decision to end the service as of June […]
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SkyShowtime Strikes Prime Video Channels Deal in Four Markets
SkyShowtime, the European streaming joint venture of Comcast and Paramount Global, will become available through Prime Video Channels for the first time across four markets, namely Spain, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. The partnership kicks off starting in July. “This deal enables us to expand our reach in some of our key markets, giving Amazon customers […]
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