Variety’s Business Managers Elite Breakfast (Photos)

The changing world of content finance and production was the focus of “Megaproducers and the New Hollywood,” a panel at Variety’s Business Managers Elite breakfast.

Variety’s Business Managers Elite Breakfast Focuses on Megaproducers as Brands

The changing world of content finance and production was the focus of “Megaproducers and the New Hollywood,” a panel at Variety’s Business Managers Elite breakfast, which took place before an audience of nearly 200 at the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. The session targeted the way shifting technology, an emerging global marketplace, and... Read more »

Hillary Clinton: AT&T-Time Warner Deal ‘Raises Questions and Concerns’

Hillary Clinton made her first comments on the proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger on Wednesday, telling reporters that the transaction “raises questions and concerns, and they should be looked into.” According to Reuters, Clinton said that if she is elected president, “I will expect the government to conduct a very thorough analysis before making a decision.”... Read more »

WME/IMG Taps NBA Veteran to Run China Subsidiary

WME/IMG has turned to NBA veteran Michael Ma to run its newly launched WME/IMG China joint venture. Ma spent 13 years with the NBA, most recently as the league’s VP of global strategy. He was a key player in developing the sport’s presence in China. At WME/IMG China he will be based in Beijing. “Michael... Read more »

CarbonTV Turns to Original Series to Hook Outdoor-Lifestyle Viewers

Carbon Media Group has been fishing for viewers interested in content centered around outdoor lifestyles, baiting the hook with original video programming. The Michigan-based company just released its new tentpole original series, “Mounted: Chuck Testa and Friends,” which stars viral meme sensation and prolific taxidermist Chuck Testa. Carbon started out with more of a network... Read more »

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson: Can a Phone Guy Click with Entertainment?

Randall Stephenson, by most accounts, is not a loudmouth. But the chief executive of AT&T is making serious noise in the entertainment business. The 6-foot-4-inch Stephenson, an accountant by training, is looming large with his $85 billion bid for Time Warner — sealed, seemingly, at lightning speed. It’s a deal that will likely be the... Read more »

D.C. Theater Review: ‘Freaky Friday,’ The Musical

If only we could see the world through each other’s eyes, we could finally achieve true understanding. That eternal quest, exploited so inventively in Mary Rodgers’ 1972 book “Freaky Friday” and in the subsequent Disney film adaptations, is captured again as a delightfully spunky musical from Disney Theatrical Productions, aimed with laser focus on the lucrative... Read more »

Ben Affleck Encourages New Hampshire To Vote In Parody PSA (Watch)

Ben Affleck has a message for New Hampshire residents: go f-cking vote. In a new parody PSA for NextGen Climate and Funny or Die’s “Everyone Votes!” campaign, the Boston-raised actor urges New Hampshire residents to vote in November’s presidential election. “So if you give a sh-t about women’s rights, [if] you care about keeping the environment safe... Read more »

Verizon Acquires Vessel, Will Shut Down Jason Kilar’s Video Service

Verizon Communications has acquired Vessel, the internet video startup co-founded by former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar. The telco is shuttering the Vessel service and plans to deploy its technology in the Go90 platform. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Kilar will not be joining Verizon, while Vessel CTO and co-founder Richard Tom (who was previously... Read more »

Adam McKay and David O. Russell’s Latest Project: Fighting Corruption

When Adam McKay and David O. Russell gather on Thursday along with other politically minded industry figures, it won’t be for yet another candidate seeking cash from the Hollywood ATM. Rather, their purpose will be to root out the undue influence of money in politics. At Thursday’s event, at the home of Adam and Trina... Read more »

Will HBO Now Become AT&T’s Netflix Killer?

Six years ago, Jeff Bewkes derided Netflix’s threat as a competitor — facetiously comparing the streaming company’s ambitions to the likelihood that the Albanian army would take over the world. Now that his company is set to get sucked into AT&T’s maw, the Time Warner CEO is talking a different game: one that sounds a... Read more »

Disney’s Maker Studios New Comedy, Gaming Original Series Will Get First Window on Sling TV, Other Platforms

Maker Studios has unveiled a slate of 15 original series rolling out this fall and winter on its game channel Polaris and newly relaunched comedy channel The Station. And the Disney-owned multiplatform network and digital studio plans to release the content first on Dish Network’s Sling TV over-the-top subscription service and at least two other... Read more »

The Root Seeks to Unionize With the Writers Guild East

The editorial staff of TheRoot.com has requested unanimously that their employer voluntarily recognize the Writers Guild of America East as its collective bargaining representative. The WGA East said Wednesday that TheRoot.com is the seventh digital media outlet to unionize with the guild. On March 1, the WGA East announced that Gawker staffers had ratified the... Read more »

‘Loving’ Director Jeff Nichols on Key Production Team Members

Focus Features’ “Loving” tells the fact-based story of Richard and Mildred Loving, and their decade-long legal battle after being arrested as an interracial couple. Writer-director Jeff Nichols praised his behind-the-camera colleagues for their artistry and hard work on the film, which bows Nov. 4. On Chad Keith, Production designer When I see films set in that... Read more »

Sundance Drama ‘Rectify’ Is Shining Emblem of TV’s Era of Hope

When “Rectify” premiered, television was in a very different place. The acclaimed Sundance drama, which begins its fourth and final season Wednesday, arrived to little notice in the spring of 2013, as the industry was about to plunge into one of its most exciting transitions. BBC America’s “Orphan Black” and Sundance’s “Top of the Lake”... Read more »

Verizon EVP: Give Us 60 Days to Figure Out How the Yahoo Hack Impacts Acquisition

Verizon’s EVP for Product and New Business Innovation Marni Walden tried stay upbeat on Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.D Live conference in Laguna Beach, Calif. Wednesday, saying that the deal still makes sense for her company. “It absolutely does,” she said. However, she also acknowledged that disclosures of Yahoo’s massive email... Read more »

‘Doctor Strange’ Is Invading Marvel Mobile, PC Games (EXCLUSIVE)

Before “Doctor Strange” descends on theaters next weekend, the Master of the Mystic Arts and other characters from the film will infiltrate a half-dozen Marvel Entertainment games in a carefully choreographed promo stunt. Starting Wednesday and running through the end of November, “Doctor Strange” content and characters will be appearing throughout six Marvel game titles... Read more »

Megan Ellison Lands Buyer for Beverly Hills Flip (EXCLUSIVE)

SELLER: Megan Ellison LOCATION: Beverly Hills, CA PRICE: $14,995,000 SIZE: 5,603 square feet 5 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms YOUR MAMA’S NOTES: Software heiress turned powerhouse movie producer Megan Ellison has landed a buyer for a fixer-upper Beverly Hills estate she scooped up in April for $13.5 million from Hollywood royal Lynne Wasserman, daughter of late movie... Read more »

Facebook Moves Celeb, Influencer Profiles Under New Branded-Content Policy (EXCLUSIVE)

Facebook is now officially letting public figures with Verified Profiles — including actors, athletes, musicians and digital influencers — share branded content with their followers, as long as they adhere to the social service’s policy for advertiser-sponsored posts. The move is an extension of Facebook’s branded-content rules adopted in April, which ban aggressive marketing tactics and require publishers... Read more »

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski Get More Than Asking in Hollywood Hills

SELLERS: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA PRICE: $3,505,000 SIZE: 3,483 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms YOUR MAMA’S NOTES: Though they’ve slashed the asking price of their scenic getaway in the affluent California community of Ojai by a full million bucks — it’s now listed at $3.25 million, down from its... Read more »

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski Sell Hollywood Hills House

Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Smashed, LAPD Investigating

Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was vandalized and completely destroyed, with the LAPD investigating after being alerted around 6 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Variety has confirmed. The LAPD told Variety the case is an ongoing investigation and there are currently no suspects in custody. A video of the star being smashed was first obtained by Deadline. In... Read more »

Khloe Kardashian’s ‘Revenge Body’ Inspired Her Denim Line: ‘I Felt So Fat Shamed’

Khloé Kardashian‘s Good American denim line is a total passion project for the star — and it’s been her dream for the past decade.

NBCUniversal Chief Cites ‘Healthy Degree of Skepticism’ About Prospects for New Skinny Bundles

NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke offered a note of caution about the immediate business prospects for the skinny-bundle streaming offerings that are expected to hit the market next year. Burke was pressed by Wall Street analysts during Comcast’s third quarter earnings call on Wednesday about the impact on NBCUniversal on new over-the-top channel bundle offerings in... Read more »