Activision Blizzard Vet Chris Paulson Joins Skybound Games as Head of Games Publishing; Plans ‘Secret Project’ Launch

Christine Quinn has been granted a restraining order against her estranged husband Christian Dumontet!

Lake McHenry County Scanner.Perteet, a Waukegan resident who is married and has four children, has been charged with three counts of armed robbery and kidnapping with a firearm, plus one count of carjacking, for his alleged involvement in three separate attacks against men on Chicago’s West Side last summer.According to a news release from the Chicago Police Department, Perteet was arrested by members of the Vehicular Hijacking Task Force on March 26 in the 3000 block of South Sacramento Ave., in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. He was identified by victims as the man who allegedly held them against their will and robbed them at gunpoint.The three victims included:All three crimes took place in the city’s North Lawndale neighborhood.Prosecutors claim that Perteet used Grindr to track down the victims and obtain their addresses under the guise of arranging a hookup.

EXCLUSIVE: True Detective star and World Boxing Council middleweight champ and Independent Spirit nominee Kali Reis has boarded Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming thriller Mercy opposite Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson and Annabelle Wallis. The pic is looking to roll cameras this spring for an August 15, 2025 theatrical release.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Neal Freyman and Toby Howell’s “Morning Brew Daily” is coming to indie streamer Nebula in a deal that will see media company Morning Brew launch four news-focused channels on the platform. Beginning Monday, Nebula subscribers will have access to Morning Brew, “Morning Brew Daily,” “Good Work” and “Maxinomics.” Here are the descriptions for the respective channels, per Nebula: As part of the recent reveal of its upcoming slate, creator-owned platform Nebula announced plans for “Nebula News.” According to Nebula, the addition of Morning Brew’s content “signals the first of many channel expansions.” “Devin was integral behind the scenes to the development of Nebula’s early successes, so he has a better understanding than most of what we’re building and why,” Nebula CEO Dave Wiskus said.

Sam Smith and their boyfriend Christian Cowan are getting cozy enjoying the sunny weather!

“Welcome home.”

It’s official. There will be no JJ Parker in Season 6 of CW’s All American. Hunter Clowdus, who has been with the series since its launch, has exited ahead of the upcoming season.

Out with the old and in with the new!

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox Entertainment is restructuring its operations into three divisions: network, studios and sales. As part of this re-org, Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade has promoted Michael Thorn to president of Fox Television Network and upped Fernando Szew to head of Fox Entertainment Studios.

Jake Gyllenhaal has opened up about his experience of losing out on the role of Batman in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.Speaking on The Howard Stern Show (via Variety), he recalled the rejection, having made it to the final round of casting, before the iconic DC superhero role was eventually given to Christian Bale.He also mentioned losing out on the role of Christian in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!, a role which went to Ewan McGregor.Speaking on both experiences, Gyllenhaal said: “To [Nolan’s] credit and to Baz [Luhrmann’s] credit, both of those directors called me personally to tell me [I didn’t get the role].”“And they will tell you why. When you get that far, there’s a real legitimacy to you potentially getting something.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jake Gyllenhaal recently opened up on “The Howard Stern Show” about what it was like losing two major roles during the final rounds of casting: Batman in Christopher Nolan‘s “Batman Begins” and Christian in Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge!” On the latter film, the audition process came down to Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger and Ewan McGregor. It’s here where Gyllenhaal first heard of Ledger, who would later become his co-star in “Brokeback Mountain.” “What I felt was disappointment when I didn’t get it. Both Heath and I were disappointed,” Gyllenhaal said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Advertisers plan to increase spend on in-video-game advertising by 40% this year, according to a new study, with total ad spend set to reach $8.5 billion in 2024 and increase to $11.5 billion by 2027. In IAB‘s “Changing the Game: How Games Advertising Powers Performance” report, which was revealed Tuesday, 86% of advertisers surveyed said gaming ad spend is “brand safe” and 85% are confident in their ability to measure the reach of games advertising.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer A video game based on HBO’s dark teen drama “Euphoria” is a key suggestion from this year’s edition of Fandom‘s Inside Entertainment study, which highlights the “entertainment and gaming tug of war.” Per the user-contented-centric entertainment platform’s 2024 survey, which was released Monday, drama is potentially the top “untapped” genre for gaming companies, as drama fans who play video games prefer these genres: role-playing (RPG): 73%, adventure: 72%, simulation: 62%, sandbox/open world: 62%, puzzle: 60%. “What do we know about ‘Euphoria’ and why was it such a big hit? Obviously, you have an amazing cast, storyline — but what is the story? And it was a really interesting take on the genre at the time, because if you think about the other shows that were coming out, they are a lot more positive than ‘Euphoria,'” Fandom’s director of sales research and insights Ally Saraniti told Variety.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Rounding out the lead cast for David Robert Mitchell’s mysterious new feature film with Bad Robot is Christian Convery, the star of Netflix’s top-rated “Sweet Tooth.” Convery joins Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor and Sundance breakout Maisy Stella in the family adventure from the “It Follows” director. Plot details are still under wraps for the project from J.J. Abrams and Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Epic Games‘ “Fortnite” will now allow creators to build their own Lego Islands in the game using Lego templates, props, consumables and items. There are four different templates currently available to get players started using Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) and Fortnite Creative. “Fortnite” creators who choose to publish their own Lego Islands and are signed up for the Fortnite Island Creator Program will be eligible for payouts.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer A Marvel video game, “1943: Rise of Hydra,” is set for 2025 release. The title, which hails from Skydance New Media and Marvel Games, will focus on characters Captain America and Black Panther (who at that time was King T’Chanda, also known as Azzuri) in World War II.

EXCLUSIVE: Mustafa Speaks (Joe Pickett) has been set for a recurring role on Paramount+‘s Billy Bob Thornton-led drama Landman from creators Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer When this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) kicks off Monday at the Moscone Center in San Fransisco, one topic is sure to be hanging over those in attendance at the five-day event: who has a job and who doesn’t — and who might still lose theirs soon. Rather than sweep the uncomfortable subject of the thousands of layoffs that have hit the video game industry recently under the rug, GDC leadership has specifically tailored GDC 2024’s programming lineup to address the issue head on and offer assistance to the out-of-work attendees looking to make the most out of participating in the 38th annual conference while unemployed.

BBC News is entering the growing free ad-supported TV (FAST) game in the U.S.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer A new independent gaming studio led by vets of “Doom” developer id Software has launched with initial seed funding from Sisu Game Ventures. Named emptyvessel, the gaming studio will focus on developing AAA video games.