AMC Networks Ups Christina Spade To CEO Post; Patrick O’Connell To Take On CFO Role

A songwriting course based on the work of Taylor Swift is to be offered at the University of Texas at Austin. The 32-year-old pop star is thought to have solely written more than 50 songs since her childhood and now The Taylor Swift Songbook will be "read" alongside classics such as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge at the North American university and will strive to "introduce literary critical reading and research methods-basic skills for work in English literature and other humanities disciplines" to students.

Taylor Swift is set to begin at the University of Texas (UTA) in Austin.The new course, which begins this autumn and is titled The Taylor Swift Songbook, will see her read alongside the likes of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Keats and Sylvia Plath.Preliminary texts for the course include her 2020 lockdown albums ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, 2019’s ‘Lover’ and the new ‘Taylor’s Version’ reissue of ‘Red’.According to a description on the UTA website, the course will use “the songwriting of pop music icon Taylor Swift to introduce literary critical reading and research methods-basic skills for work in English literature and other humanities disciplines.It adds: “Focusing on Swift’s music and the cultural contexts in which it and her career are situated, we’ll consider frameworks for understanding her work, such as poetic form, style, and history among various matters and theoretical issues important to contextualisation as we practice close and in-depth reading, evaluating secondary sources, and building strong arguments.”Earlier this year, New York University’s Clive Davis Institute launched a new course on Swift. The course began at the Davis Institute, which is part of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, on January 26 ran through to March 9.In May, Swift then delivered a commencement address for New York University’s class of 2022.

The University of Texas at Austin is offering a new class this fall and it's all about musical icon Taylor Swift. Elizabeth Scala, an English professor will be teaching the class that is new to the university this fall.

EXCLUSIVE: Montreal-based film sales and marketing consultancy Film Associates International has unveiled a slew of international deals on new 4K restorations of the work of celebrated Canadian director Patricia Rozema.

.«I'm a native New Yorker. Sophie decided to go to school out in Los Angeles for college and then decided to stay... I have one kid and if I want to see her, I have to be out there,» Bobby explained of his West Coast adventures. "… I spend most of my time in New York, but then a really good percentage of my time in Los Angles.

Facebook post that describes the course, taught by Dr. Elizabeth Scala, as one that “provides an introduction to literary studies and research methods that uses the songwriting of @taylorswift as the basis for teaching a wide range of skills.”According to the Austin American-Statesman, the course is titled “Literary Contests and Contexts — The Taylor Swift Songbook,” and Scala got the idea after her daughter introduced her to Swift following the release of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” in November 2021.“Let’s turn that Easter Egg hunting and reading in detail to academic purposes!” the post continues.“Swift is an intelligent and talented songwriter, and her writing skills are what made me focus on her,” Scala said in an email to the American-Statesman.

Allen Weisselberg is pleading guilty.

Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty on Thursday to 15 charges related to tax fraud and evasion.

K.J. Yossman Baby Cow are the production company behind some of the U.K.’s best-loved comedy shows, including “Gavin and Stacey” with James Corden and Ruth Jones, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding’s “The Mighty Boosh” and “This Time With Alan Partridge” starring Steve Coogan as the cringe-worthy fictional television host. It was a prescient Coogan who founded Baby Cow alongside producer Henry Normal in 1998, long before talent-led production companies were a thing.

Anna Marie de la Fuente When Chile’s preeminent documentarian, Patricio Guzman, receives a lifetime achievement award at the Santiago Int’l Film Festival (Sanfic) on Aug. 16, he’ll also be marking his 81st birthday.Born on Aug. 11, 1941, Guzman has made more than 20 documentaries at an average of one every two to five years.

Heidi Klum’s daughter is following in her footsteps. The proud mom recently announced that her 18-year-old daughter is making the move to New York City to further her education and career in fashion.  “I am [so proud].You know, she has her head screwed on right,” Klum, 49, tells ET. “Right now, college is on top of the list.

Heidi Klum’s daughter is following in her footsteps. The proud mom recently announced that her 18-year-old daughter is making the move to New York City to further her education and career in fashion.  “I am [so proud].You know, she has her head screwed on right,” Klum, 49, tells ET. “Right now, college is on top of the list.

EXCLUSIVE: Patrick Herold, who served as Partner and Head of Theater at ICM Partners for nearly two decades, has moved to UTA as an agent in the Theatre division. He will be based in New York and report to Partner & Head of Theatre, Mark Subias. Herold is the latest ICM agent to leave following the agency’s acquisition by CAA.

Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar will be eligible for a trophy at the 2023 Academy Awards, it has been reported.Both artists will qualify for nominations in the Best Live Action Short category, thanks to the fact that extended music videos for both of their songs – the 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well’ from ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ and Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers’ cut ‘We Cry Together’ – were screened theatrically.Swift released the accompanying short film for ‘All Too Well’ – her directorial debut, starring Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) – last November.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeGame shows are heading to the Primetime Emmys. As part of the ongoing Emmy realignment between the Television Academy (the West Coast org formerly known as the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) and the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the two sides will migrate game show categories from the Daytime Emmys to the Primetime Emmys beginning next year.The decision comes as, previously announced, the two orgs have agreed to award many programming categories by genre instead of daypart.

The domestic box office is about to go into a funk for two-and-half months due to the lack of tentpole product, but shares of AMC Entertainment keep on trucking.

AMC Entertainment saw revenue surge and net losses continue to narrow last quarter on a string of blockbusters led by Top Gun: Maverick. Comparisons with 2021 aren’t hard but exhibitors are seeing ticket sales moving closer to 2019 levels.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAMC Theatres is rewarding the retail investors who rallied to support the exhibition giant when it was laboring under debt and COVID closures, lifting its share price at a critical juncture.On Thursday, the company announced that it will give a special dividend to investors of one AMC preferred equity unit for each of AMC Class A common stock. With a nod and wink, the company plans to list these units on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “APE,” the preferred moniker of the shareholders who embraced the AMC cause when it teetered on insolvency.The announcement came as AMC recorded a narrower than expected quarterly loss on Thursday as summer blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World Dominion” lifted earnings.

Based on his success with “Sex and the City,” some people might assume Darren Star’s new Netflix comedy, “Uncoupled,” would be a gay version of that. In actuality, it has its own vibe and sensibility.