What Did We Learn? Hollywood Is Back in Biz, but Ripple Effects of Strike and Streaming Shakeout Are Just Starting

teased several “exciting” projects she’s got in the works.But it seems as though her return to Tinseltown might be short-lived after all, as royal expert Angela Levin claims that WME is “horrified” about what repercussions Scobie’s book could have for the Sussexes’ rebrand.“They said they were ‘horrified’, that can’t just be about the two names that were mentioned, it must be about their client, Meghan,” Levin told GB News.“It seems to me that they will think very carefully what they do next. I have never heard such a well-known agency be clear about how they feel.”Levin claimed that reigniting the royal race row could have damaging effects on Markle’s Hollywood plans.“Meghan needs to be very careful.

local media outlet.“The Princely House regrets to announce that H.S.H. Prince Constantin von und zu Liechtenstein passed away unexpectedly on 5 December 2023,” a statement from the royal household read.“Prince Constantin was chairman of the supervisory board of Liechtenstein Group AG and a member of Board of Directors of Liechtenstein Group Holding AG.”Prince Constantin wed Princess Marie of Liechtenstein in 1999 and went on to welcome three children together, Prince Moritz, 20, Princess Georgina, 18, and Prince Benedikt, 15.Liechtenstein’s state parliament held a minute’s silence Wednesday to pay tribute to the late royal.Apostolic Administrator Benno Elbs, afterward, paid his respects to the royal family following their sudden loss.“It was with great sadness that I learned today of the death of SD Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein,” he said, according to local newspaper Vaterland.“On behalf of the Archdiocese of Vaduz, I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to SD Prince Hans-Adam II, the wife of the deceased, Princess Marie, and their children Prince Moritz, Princess Georgina, and Prince Benedikt.”“I am united with them and the entire royal family in mourning and praying for the deceased,” he said, adding that the country’s churches rang their bells in the late royal’s honor that day.“I wish Prince Hans-Adam II, Princess Marie, the children, and everyone who mourns the deceased a lot of strength and comfort,” he went on.“You may feel supported by the many people who are praying for the deceased throughout the principality.

A seven-week investigation by Reuters news agency into the death of staff member Issam Abdallah on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel on October 13 has concluded he was killed by Israeli tank fire.

The BBC‘s licence fee will not rise by as much as previously promised, the UK government has confirmed, condemning the corporation to a difficult year that could see more cuts and less shows commissioned. The government has, meanwhile, launched a review into the BBC’s funding model.

Celebrated British poet Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65.

Audiences are appear to be paying tribute to Matthew Perry‘s life by revisiting one of his most famous roles.

“We’re at a very hard time that requires hard decisions, and many of them are unpopular,” said Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reviewing the trajectory of a company that has slashed staff and shelved content in an landscape that’s completely transformed from when the Discovery-Warner Media merger was announced in 2021.

Paramount Advertising President John Halley says the current marketplace, with free and subscription streaming, digital inventory and linear TV as well as uncertainty about measurement is “a big mess” for both buyers and sellers.

L.A. French cinema lovers were deprived of their annual fall fix of Gallic film culture this year with the cancellation of the American French Film Festival due to the Hollywood strikes.

Caroline Brew editor Production management veterans Kim Barrett and Michael J. Tamburro have teamed to launch Take 2 Risk & Safety, a company focused on offering specialized risk management and safety consulting services for film, TV and live productions. The firm’s goal is to “revolutionize” safety practices for the entertainment industry, the partners stated.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After Elon Musk last month decided to banish article headlines from posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, he’s bringing them back — but in a different format. In early October, Musk said the removal of headlines under posts of links on X would “greatly improve the esthetics.” On Wednesday, the tech mogul said, “In an upcoming release, X will overlay title in the upper potion of the image of a URL card.” He noted in a follow-up that the headlines would appear overlaid on the image of an article, not below it: “Every pixel matters,” Musk wrote.

EXCLUSIVE: The Motion Picture Association posted a deficit of more than $1.8 million in 2022, while its revenue rose by more than 10%.

The UK government has used its Autumn Statement to quell industry concerns around the new tax credit but declines to raise relief for indie film, while Equity has slammed the Conservatives for “undermining public service broadcasters and pursuing a culture war against marginalised groups.”

IndieWire, a recent Reelgood audit looked into the libraries of eight leading streaming services in the US, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, Hulu, Max, Disney+, Paramount+ and Apple TV+, to assess their growth over the past two years.According to the data, Paramount+ had 2,302 movie titles available on October 17, 2022, which has been reduced to 830 movies by October 15, 2023. This means the film library suffered a 64 per cent drop, losing 1,472 titles in the span of 363 days.The TV catalogue on the streaming service, however, increased by three per cent.Max, formely known as HBO Max, was the other streaming service to see cuts.

New Regency‘s Jeff Nichols directed crime drama The Bikeriders is getting shopped to rival studios and streamers after the movie stepped off its Dec. 1 theatrical release date, Deadline has confirmed.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Middle East streamer OSN+ is joining forces with Anghami, the Arab world’s rival to Spotify, in what is being touted as a landmark deal. The combination of OSN+ and Anghami will become the first platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to provide customers premium movies, TV series and music.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Penguin” is heading back into production. The Max-DC series, which stars Colin Farrell in a spinoff of the film “The Batman,” is set to return to shooting now that the SAG-AFTRA strike has been settled. Production on the series will resume the week after Thanksgiving, Variety has learned.

Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles on Saturday drew 28 of this season’s biggest and buzziest films for our annual panel showcase of cast and creatives, with a list of films that included everything from Barbie and Oppenheimer to John Wick: Chapter 4 and Trolls Band Together and every kind of movie in between.

Looking to goose subscriber numbers heading into the holidays, Max is slashing the monthly price of its ad-supported tier to $2.99.

Warner Bros. Pictures has just released a new trailer for the upcoming DC Films movie Birds Of Prey.

Netflix has started running promos prominently on the platform in the U.S. that Young Sheldon will be “coming soon.”

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The resiliency of women against long odds and low expectations was the theme of the night on Thursday as Variety and Lifetime toasted four of the entertainment industry’s brightest stars at the annual Power of Women event. Fantasia Barrino, star of Warner Bros. upcoming remake of “The Color Purple,” dedicated her Power of Women kudo to Celie, the woefully mistreated character she plays in the film, as well as her own daughter.

Dune: Part 2 is now set to arrive earlier in 2024 than first thought.The film was first pushed back to next year in August with Warner Bros. announcing that the film would no longer be released in November as originally expected.The official Dune X/Twitter page changed its profile and header pictures, reflecting its release date which was first set to March 15.

Never say never. Former Dukes of Hazzard stars John Schneider, Catherine Bach and Tom Wopat reunited with fellow castmates Byron Cherry, Jeff Altman and Rick Hurst at Gallatin Comic Con 2023 in Tennessee recently where talk of a possible reboot of the hit ’80s TV comedy series surfaced.

The release of Dune: Part Two has been changed yet again.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor It could have been easy for Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s role in “The Holdovers” to be yet another stereotypical trope for Black women that Hollywood has lazily thrown out throughout history. If that had been the case, the actress tells Variety that would have passed. “When I meet with these studio execs and they ask ‘What is it you would like to do next?’ she says.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav‘s name graced many a picket sign during the Writers Guild of America’s 148-day strike, with everything from his exec comp to content-cutting choices called out in writers’ anti-Hollywood studios jokes. Now that the work stoppage is over, the writers might consider reexamining their opinion of Zaslav, who concedes the WGA was “right about almost everything.” In a profile published by Wednesday by The New York Times Magazine, Zaslav said he does not regret the concessions that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) made to finally close that tentative deal with the writers union Sept.

Variety celebrates the accomplishments of women in Hollywood — and there were plenty of those again this year, even during a rare double strike that upended the entertainment industry for months. Several of the women on this list were actively involved in negotiations or advised clients about how to navigate guild rules related to the labor stoppages; others had to shut down productions when SAG-AFTRA members joined writers on the picket lines in July.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has entered into a new co-financing pact with Domain Capital, a multi-year arrangement that will focus on bolstering the studio’s theatrical slate.

Caroline Brew editor Ana Nogueira is set to write “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” which is being developed by DC Studios. The film, centering on Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El and her superdog Krypto, has yet to be attached to a director.

Matt LeBlanc has paid a touching tribute to his late Friends co-star Matthew Perry. “It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye,” LeBlanc wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday (see below). “The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life. It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never. Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love,” adding with a bit of humor, “And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.”

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer In “Masters of the Universe,” He-Man’s nemesis is the evil wizard Skeletor. In Hollywood, his greatest threat has been a list of studio partners that have sidelined him from the big screen for nearly two decades. The blond barbarian, based on a popular set of Mattel toys, may finally win the day.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been released by Warner Bros. Pictures.

EXCLUSIVE: Screenings are being set up this week for streamers Amazon Prime, Apple and Netflix to check out and potentially acquire Warner Bros‘ axed Looney Tunes movie Coyote Vs. Acme after the studio’s phone ran off the hook the entire weekend from angry filmmakers and talent reps over their third feature film kill after Batgirl and Scoob Holiday Haunt! The more egregious Hollywood sin here with Coyote vs. Acme is that it’s a finished film, that was intended for a theatrical release, while the other two movies were still in the works.

The 2023 edition of Deadline’s live-music event Sound & Screen: Film hit the stage November 9 showcasing the songs and scores from 12 of the ramping-up awards season’s buzziest movies. Panelists and performances came from the likes of Diane Warren and Mark Ronson and from movies as varied as Barbie and Creed III to Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon. The packed crowd of industry voters saw a 60-piece orchestra perform the music live.

John Cena Coyote Vs. Acme film has reportedly been uncancelled following an online backlash.The film, which completed production last year, was confirmed last week to have been shelved by studio Warner Bros.“With the re-launch of Warner Bros.