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Peter Naylor is Latest Senior Ad-Sales Executive to Exit Netflix
Peter Naylor, a media-industry veteran who has held senior ad-sales roles at NBCUniversal, Snap and Hulu, is leaving Netflix after joining the company in 2022 as it launched its first foray into luring Madison Avenue to support its programs.Netflix Rejects Direct Streaming Bundles With Max, Disney+ Because It 'Already Operates as a Go-To Destination' “Peter’s enthusiasm, industry knowledge and relationships have been invaluable in getting our advertising business off the ground,” said Amy Reinhard, president of advertising at Netflix. “I want to thank him for all he has done to build our team, grow the business and position Netflix for success.” Naylor...
Netflix Rejects Direct Streaming Bundles With Max, Disney+ Because It ‘Already Operates as a Go-To Destination’
Netflix isn’t against creating a streaming bundle — just a certain type of bundle.Netflix Tops 277 Million Subscribers With Strong Q2 Gain, Beats Earnings Forecasts In a Thursday letter to shareholders that accompanied its Q2 financial results, the company noted why you won’t see it partnering directly with competitor streamers including Disney+ or Max, but has teamed up with distributor Comcast to launch a package including Peacock and Apple TV+. “From the early days of streaming, we saw partnerships with device makers and pay TV and mobile operators as key to ensuring Netflix was easy to find and use,” Netflix said. “These...
Netflix Tops 277 Million Subscribers With Strong Q2 Gain, Beats Earnings Forecasts
Netflix rang up solid subscriber gains in the second quarter of 2024 — considerably better than Wall Street expected — and posted financial results that beat forecasts.Netflix's Ted Sarandos: Generative AI Tools Will Be a 'Great Way for Creators to Tell Better Stories' The industry’s No. 1 premium streamer added 8.05 million net paid customers in Q2, bringing its global base to 277.65 million. The company reported revenue of $9.56 billion (up 17%) and net income of $2.15 billion (versus $1.49 billion a year ago), translating to earnings per share of $4.88. Netflix had forecast Q2 revenue of $9.49 billion and...
‘School of Rock’ Musical Choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter to Direct Broadway-Bound ‘Yasuke: The Black Samurai’ (EXCLUSIVE)
JoAnn M. Hunter, the choreographer of Broadway’s “School of Rock” and “Bad Cinderella,” has been hired to direct the upcoming musical “Yasuke: The Black Samurai.” Cole Escola's 'Oh, Mary!' Opens on Broadway With a Gay Leather Bar After-Party, a Closeted Abe Lincoln and Plenty of 'Stupid Gems' This production, which Hunter will choreograph as well, is aiming to open on Broadway during the 2026-27 season. “Yasuke: The Black Samurai” is based on the true story of events that unfolded in the 16th Century of Feudal Japan. It recounts the journey of Yasuke, an African man who was uprooted from his native...
Bob Newhart, Comedy Icon, Dies at 94
Bob Newhart, the genteel but sharply satirical comic whose TV series “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart” were huge hits throughout the 1970s and ’80s, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 94. Grammy Museum to Bring Artist Programs Online, Starting With Billie Eilish, Brandi Carlile, Yola Newhart’s publicist Jerry Digney said he died after a series of short illnesses. Newhart was also known to younger audiences as Papa Elf in the 2003 Christmas classic “Elf,” his guest spots on “The Big Bang Theory” (for which he won his only Emmy, as a guest star in 2013) and most recently appeared in three...
Gravitas Ventures Acquires Music Family Dramedy ‘Trust in Love’
“Trust in Love” has been acquired by Gravitas Ventures for theatrical distribution and video-on-demand release following a successful festival run during which it garnered it 30 awards across 23 festivals.Gravitas Ventures Acquires Psychological Thriller 'Exposure' Starring Douglas Smith (EXCLUSIVE) Directed by Mick Davis (“Modigliani,” “Walden”), the film follows Mickey Ferrara, a record producer with a lackluster career. “His estranged wife wants a divorce, and his son is struggling with his sexuality, but Mickey is a warrior, so he’s about to get in the trenches and ‘Trust In Love’ to keep his family together and maybe make one more good record,” its...
Leighton Meester, Quenlin Blackwell Join Rachel Sennott’s HBO Comedy Pilot (EXCLUSIVE)
Leighton Meester and Quenlin Blackwell have both been cast in guest star roles in Rachel Sennott’s HBO comedy pilot, Variety has learned exclusively. 'Euphoria' Season 3 to Begin Filming in January 2025 With Entire Main Cast Returning The two will appear alongside Sennott in the pilot as well as cast members Odessa A’zion, Jordan Firstman, Miles Robbins, and True Whitaker. The pilot was picked up at HBO back in March. The official logline for the show states, “A codependent friend group reunites, navigating how the time apart, ambition, and new relationships have changed them.” Meester is best known for starring in...
‘My Spy The Eternal City’ Star Chloe Coleman on Becoming Best Friends With Dave Bautista and Wanting to Do a Marvel Movie
At just 15 years old, actor Chloe Coleman’s list of co-stars already includes Hollywood legends and A-listers. 'My Spy The Eternal City' Review: Dave Bautista Anchors a Kiddie Espionage Caper That's Too Generic to Fly Appearing in blockbuster productions such as “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “65” and “Gunpowder Milkshake,” Coleman has shared the big screen with Adam Driver, Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Michelle Yeoh and Paul Giamatti to name a few. Her first role was in the HBO series “Big Little Lies,” acting alongside Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep. In...
IATSE: Costume Designers Achieve Scale Rate in Line With Peers as Part of New Contract Achievements
After decades of fighting for pay equity, costume designers in theatrical and television (other than on one half-hour television) received a wage increase of over 40%, bringing the scale rate in line with similar creative peers. IATSE Ratifies New Three-Year Deal, Despite AI Worries As IATSE reached a deal on a new overarching contract with Hollywood’s major studios and streamers, Variety obtained a copy of the guild’s achievements which also summarized their gains in the General Basic Agreement Negotiations. In a statement to Variety, president of the costume designers guild Terry Gordon said, “Following a six year, highly coordinated effort, our clearly defined CDG...
CNBC Hangs Up On ‘Last Call,’ Network’s Latest Effort to Offer Evening News
CNBC just made its last call on “Last Call,” the outlet’s second attempt in recent months to offer business-news programming to evening audiences.CNBC Ramps Up Sports-Business Coverage The NBCUniversal-backed cable network is canceling the 7 p.m. program, which launched in March of last year as part of a broader effort to keep business-news aficionados watching CNBC later into the evening. Executives have determined viewers aren’t interested enough in news at that time,and intend to replace the show with an hour of “Shark Tank,” a staple for CNBC in nighttime hours. Anchor Brian Sulliivan is expected to stay with CNBC, according...
The Weeknd Teases New Music, Next Chapter of ‘After Hours’ / ‘Dawn FM’ Trilogy in Elaborate New Video
The Weeknd doesn’t do anything by half, and a day after he announced a September concert in Brazil that will feature a “never-before-seen production,” he dropped an elaborate video teaser of what his next project will look and sound like — and it’s the third and final chapter in his “After Hours” / “Dawn FM” / TBD trilogy, which he hinted to Variety last year will have a visual component, possibly a film, as well; the new video concludes with the written words, “There are three chapters in this tale.”The Weeknd to Stage New, 'One-Night-Only' Concert in Brazil in September The minute-plus-long...
Why ‘Longlegs’ Sounds So Terrifying: Human Heartbeats, Electric Guitars and Metal Balls Turned Sound Design Into Fear
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Longlegs,” now playing in theaters.Nicolas Cage Scared Maika Monroe by Going 'Method' as a Serial Killer for a Week on the 'Longlegs' Set When “Longlegs” sound designer and editor Eugenio Battaglia first spoke with director Osgood Perkins about the audio design for the film, he says Perkins told him he wanted it to feel like “rock ‘n’ roll.” “Given the ’70s rock ‘n’ roll vibe he wanted and because of the Satanic aspect of the film, I thought it would be pretty neat to do some sort of subliminal message profile to the sound,” Battaglia tells...
Five Years After Fox Deal, Disney’s Unprecedented Emmy Nominations Haul ‘Validates’ Its High-Wire TV Act
The strategy is working.Oracle CEO Safra Catz Exits Disney's Board On Wednesday morning, Team Disney received 183 votes of confidence from the Television Academy on how the Mouse House is performing as the company expands TV content production to unprecedented scale and with a great diversity of program genres and formats. The fact that the 76th annual Emmy Awards nominations, unveiled July 17, were spread far and wide among Disney’s television units was the most significant achievement on a day that brought a lot of good news for the divisions under the purview of Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden. RELATED CONTENT: Emmy Nominations...
IATSE Ratifies New Three-Year Deal, Despite AI Worries
IATSE members have voted to ratify their contracts with the major studios, calming fears of another industry shutdown so soon after last year’s double strikes, and bringing the hope that this will result in an uptick in work amid a continued slowdown.IATSE Members Press Leaders on AI Deal Terms as Contract Ratification Vote Begins The contracts were approved by a sizable margin, despite fears in some quarters that they did not do enough to protect members from artificial intelligence. The Basic Agreement was approved by 85.9% of members, while 87.2% supported the Area Standards Agreement. “IATSE’s rank-and-file members have spoken, and their...
Rarely Seen Interviews With Henry Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Hollywood Icons to Debut on SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Legacy Collection
Viola Davis, Joy Reid, Charlamagne tha God Invest in ALTR, Self-Help App Featuring Short-Form Audiobooks From Black Luminaries and Authors (EXCLUSIVE) The SAG-AFTRA Foundation is known for aiding performers with emergency assistance and educational programs for union members. But one of the most visible assets is the non-profit’s ongoing “Conversations” series, which provides in-depth discussions and career retrospectives with some of the most heralded actors in the business. Many of these dialogues are available on the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s YouTube channel, including popular convos with Leonardo DiCaprio, Cillian Murphy and Rami Malek.What people might not know is that the “Conversations” program dates...
‘Mafia Spies’ Creators Explain the Real Reason for JFK’s Cold War Threesome in Havana, Castro Assassination Attempts and the CIA’s Mob Ties
Paramount+’s “Mafia Spies” unravels a hidden conspiracy between the CIA, the Chicago mob and Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack to assassinate Cuba’s Communist leader Fidel Castro at a critical time in the Cold War. It’s a timely — and action packed — six-part docseries that examines what it means for geopolitics when high ranking American politicians are driven by personal demons.Prince Documentary Is 'Dead in the Water' After Four Years of Production Due to 'Dramatic' Factual Inaccuracies The series is adapted from Thomas Maier’s “Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK and Castro” book, which drew upon material contained...
Variety Interview Studio at Comic-Con Returns
Variety’s Interview studio at Comic-Con will return to San Diego July 26-27, featuring interviews with top talent and creators attending the festival. This year’s studio, presented by Google TV, will host conversations across two days. Conversations include: Fede Álvarez, Cailee Spaeny, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, Isabela Merced, Aileen Wu (“Alien: Romulus”); Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Russell T Davies (“Doctor Who”); Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Louis Puech Scigliuzzi, David Zabel, Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol”); Jeanie Buss, David McLane, Coah Campanelli, and Genesis (Women Of Wrestling); Mark Johnson, Rolin Jones, Sam Reid, Delainey Hayles, Assad...
CAA and ESPN Alum Courtney Carter Joins Soccer Teams Seattle Sounders FC and Reign FC as Chief Revenue Officer
CAA and ESPN alum Courtney Carter has been tapped as chief revenue officer for Seattle’s professional soccer teams, Sounders FC and Reign FC. Carter’s appointment comes on the heels of a transaction completed last month financed through an investment from private equity giant Carlyle that brought the Seattle Reign FC women’s soccer team under the same umbrella as the Seattle Sounders FC men’s soccer team. The deal reflects two big trends in U.S. sports: Growing demand for professional soccer and for women’s sports in particular. The Sounders FC are affliated with Major League Soccer while Reign FC is aligned with National...
Studiocanal Opens New York Office, Promotes Anne Chérel to Lead U.S. Growth
French studio Studiocanal has expanded its presence in the U.S., opening its first office in New York. Studiocanal Rolls Out Premium Daily Series 'The Vow' in Central, Eastern Europe (EXCLUSIVE) Anne Chérel, previously executive vice president of global sales and distribution, has been promoted to chief commercial officer and will be based in the new office, where she will continue to supervise global distribution and will be responsible for supporting the development of Studiocanal in the U.S. The company, behind the hit “Paddington” and “Shaun the Sheep” franchises, already has a presence in the U.S. thanks to an office in LA led...
Meryl Streep to Narrate Conservation Doc ‘Escape From Extinction Rewilding’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep will lend her voice to narrate the sequel to the 2020 award-winning documentary “Escape from Extinction.”Western Films Acquires Environmental Doc 'Escape from Extinction Rewilding' Directed and produced by Matthew Brady through MRB Productions, the film will explore how “rewilding” — a conservation approach that aims to restore natural processes and increase biodiversity by reducing human influence on ecosystems — will ensure that conservation efforts are effective and sustainable. “This documentary, featuring the powerful narration of Meryl Streep, not only brings the significance of rewilding to light but also highlights that you can’t protect what you don’t love,...
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