Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan Form Media Company Targeting Gen Z Audiences

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor On Friday, Twitter — without notice — suddenly blocked access to the website for anyone who isn’t signed in as a registered user. Many people were confused about the change, wondering whether it was a glitch or a purposeful move on the part of Twitter, which is under the control of mega-billionaire Elon Musk. Previously, you could search Twitter and view tweets without needing a registered account. But now, visiting any Twitter page displays a log-in prompt instead. Musk, in a post Friday afternoon, claimed that Twitter took the step to improve performance on the platform after third-party companies were “scraping” data and overloading its systems. “Temporary emergency measure,” he tweeted. “We were getting data pillaged so much that it was degrading service for normal users!”

Selome Hailu Though production on Season 2 of “The Bear” was well underway before Ramy Youssef traveled to Copenhagen to direct the fourth episode, series creator Chris Storer was slow to bring him fully behind the curtain. “He didn’t let me watch anything they had shot [in the first three episodes]. He was like, ‘No, no. You can see it when you come back, but just make this what you think it should be,'” Youssef remembers. Youssef is the first and only person to serve as a director on “The Bear” besides Storer and his co-showrunner Joanna Calo. When a tight production timeline made it impossible for Storer or Calo to direct in Copenhagen on top of nine Chicago-set episodes, Youssef was Storer’s first choice. Storer has been a director and executive producer on Youssef’s Hulu series “Ramy” since its 2019 debut, and had bounced ideas for “The Bear” off of him since “way back when it was a movie idea.”

Former Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers midfielder Aaron Mooy has announced his retirement from professional football aged just 32.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend welcomed their fourth child via surrogate. In an Instagram post, Teigen shared the significance of the moment and how much love she had for her surrogate, Alexandra. Chrissy Teigen and John Legend proudly announce the arrival of their fourth baby via surrogateTravis Barker reveals he and Kourtney Kardashian Barker have chosen the name of their baby boyNaomi Campbell became a proud mom of two as she welcomed a baby boyTeigen included a photo of herself and Alexandra in a lenghty statement where she discussed the birth of her new baby, Wren.

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology series has found its Erik and Lyle Menendez.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The nation’s biggest media chiefs have for months asked investors to be patient. Wait until the back half of 2023, they’ve said, when ad money will start to flow once again. Now companies like Paramount Global, Comcast, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery need to play a waiting game of their own. Ad budgets are expected to be down in the industry’s “upfront” market, when U.S. media companies try to sew up deals for the bulk of their advertising inventory ahead of the fall launch of their next programming cycle. Big marketers are not only uncertain about what new content will be available come autumn – a writers’ strike has squelched production of everything from late-night programs to scripted comedies and dramas – but what they should expect from the economy over the next few months.

"Be quick, I've only got a few minutes," Sir Alex Ferguson harked to a tight and tense press room at Carrington back in May 2002.

Barrett Wissman is gearing up for his inaugural edition of the Taormina Film Festival as the newly appointed Executive and co-Artistic Director of the Sicily-set event, running from June 23 to July 1.

Kitty Song Covey’s adventures in Seoul aren’t over yet. Netflix has renewed XO, Kitty for a second season.

website, which went live Thursday. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica.“Absurd Ventures is building narrative worlds, creating characters and writing stories for a diverse variety of genres, without regard to medium, to be produced for live-action and animation; video games and other interactive content; books, graphic novels, and scripted podcasts,” per a press release from the company.

Alex Cooper, host of popular podcast Call Her Daddy, and Matt Kaplan, producer of young-skewing hit properties like XO Kitty, have launched a new media venture aimed at Generation Z.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon would like to exit stage left from former President Trump's presidential campaign. In a statement given to Fox News Digital, a representative for Artists Equity, the production company founded by the two Massachusetts natives, condemned Trump's recent use of audio from their film "Air," which tells the story of the partnership between basketball great Michael Jordan and Nike.

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” stormed into theatres worldwide this weekend, amassing a staggering $110 million at the international box office. 

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” kicked off at the international box office with $110 million from 68 markets, including a decent $40 million start in China. The seventh installment in Paramount’s action franchise also pulled in $60 million in its North American debut, bringing its worldwide tally to a solid $170 million. Overseas audiences will be key to the theatrical success of “Transformers,” which cost $200 million. Prior entries in the 16-year-old series have earned as much as 70% of overall box office returns outside of the U.S. and Canada. At the international box office, ticket sales for “Rise of the Beasts” are pacing 32% below “Bumblebee,” which is the most recent entry in the series. The newest chapter has managed to set franchise records in eight smaller markets, including Indonesia, Argentina and Peru. The Autobots will take the box office milestones where they can get them.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku expanded its board with the election of Jeff Blackburn, formerly Amazon’s top digital media and entertainment executive, at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday. Blackburn served as Amazon’s senior VP of global media and entertainment from May 2021 to February 2023, where he oversaw content businesses including Prime Video, Amazon Studios, MGM, Music, Audible, Games and Twitch. Before that, he was the ecommerce company’s SVP of worldwide business development, advertising and entertainment from 2012-20. He had first joined Amazon in 1998 after advising the company on its IPO. “Jeff’s extensive experience in digital media and technologies makes him a great addition to our board of directors,” Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood said in a statement. “I look forward to his contributions to Roku as we grow our leadership as the TV streaming platform of choice for more than 70 million households.”

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Israeli crime drama “Your Honor,” which was adapted by Showtime as the Bryan Cranston-led thriller, has been revealed as the most successful new scripted format in the last three years by U.K. media intelligence consultancy K7 Media. The Yes Studios-produced scripted format has had seven adaptations since 2020, including the Showtime series, alongside versions in India, France, Russia, Germany, Italy and Turkey. Other top-performing scripted formats with five or six new adaptations since 2020 include ITV’s he said-she said thriller “Liar” out of Britain; Stan’s Australian police comedy “No Activity”; Argentinian parenting telenovela “Dear Daddies” from Telefe; and the French showbiz dramedy “Call My Agent!” from M6.

Taylor Swift. Just one week after it was announced that new Eras Tour dates would include different cities in Argentina and Brazil, fans have gone crazy trying to secure their tickets and making sure they will have a spot to see the popular singer during one of her shows.Fans outside Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina, are camping at the entrance of the venue.

Pat Cooper, an acerbic stand-up comedian who later had a career acting in films and TV series including Analyze This, its sequel, Seinfeld and the original Charlie’s Angels, died Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 93.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Spotify has announced its plans for Cannes Lions, the world’s largest celebration of the advertising and creative communications industry. Running June 19-22, Spotify Beach will include masterclasses with appearances by Emma Chamberlain, “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper and soccer star Cesc Fàbregas. Daily programming will also include sound bath meditation sessions, an immersive Songs of Summer soundscape, a Football Club Barcelona play zone, a coffee and juice bar and a custom sunglasses gifting station. The full calendar of events is below.

This story about “The Mole” first appeared in the Limited Series/Movies issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.There’s a moment in Episode 2 of Netflix’s “The Mole,” titled “Take No Prisoners,” where cable news host Alex Wagner comes into her own as a reality series emcee. Locking her cast of competitors in two separate sectors of a warehouse, she sets the stage for a game that pits the two groups against each other.