Anonymous Content Hit With Small Round of Layoffs; 8% of Employees Affected (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Gillian Hormel, the American heiress to the Hormel Foods brand, has launched Partners in Kind, with author Shelly Tygielski, the founder of Pandemic of Love. Mary Aloe has been named Head of Feature Films. The intention is to use a $50 million equity fund to develop and invest in film and television projects over the next three years aimed at inspiring tangible acts of kindness and compassion.

EXCLUSIVE: Plan B Entertainment has set a joint venture with Oscar-winning documentarian and filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, known for movies including Touching The Void, One Day In September, Whitney, The Last King Of Scotland and State Of Play. 

Anna Marie de la Fuente In perhaps one of her meatiest roles since Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” Oscar-nominated thesp Yalitza Aparicio stars in Prime Video’s upcoming series “Cometierra,” created by its showrunner Daniel Burman, The Mediapro Studio’s head of content for the U.S., Mexico and Central America. Principal photography is underway, predominantly in Mexico, with some scenes shot in Uruguay.

EXCLUSIVE: Award-winning filmmakers Limbert Fabian (MLK: Now Is The Time) and Brandon Oldenburg (Lost Ollie) are partnering as directors, under the name InBetween, and have signed with Anonymous Content for representation.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer A powerful agent to A-list celebrity clients like Tom Cruise and Madonna is under fire at her company, Creative Artists Agency, and in the larger Hollywood community over controversial Instagram posts regarding Israel. On Wednesday evening, CAA‘s star-whisperer Maha Dakhil reposted a statement from an account labeled Free Palestine, which weighed in on Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 terror attack executed by Islamic extremist group Hamas.

EXCLUSIVE: Blue Bayou filmmaker Justin Chon has signed with WME and Blue Marble Management for representation. 

EXCLUSIVE: British actress Sophia Brown has signed with Anonymous Content.

One of the most intriguing films of the fall is a new genre-bending film from Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou. Nikou started as an assistant director and second unit director on films like Richard Linklater’s “Before Midnight,” and Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Dogtooth.” He then made shorts and then graduated to feature-length filmmaking with his acclaimed 2020 film, “Apples,” which Cate Blanchett loved so much she came on as an executive producer.

On Christmas Eve, a young Royal Air Force pilot flying home across the North Sea finds himself in peril when his radio and electric power cut out, leaving him stranded and running on limited fuel. Just when it appears his luck is about to run out, a mysterious good Samaritan guides him to safety.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Disney+ has released the first trailer for the upcoming short film “The Shepherd,” premiering on Dec. 1. The story follows Ben Radcliffe as Pandora, a young Royal Air Force pilot flying home across the North Sea on Christmas Eve.

Ben Croll Anonymous Content, whose recent productions include Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan’s film “Foe” for Amazon Studios, is looking to expand its international footprint, with new ventures planned in Poland, Germany and Australia, top execs announced on Wednesday. Speaking at a panel held at the MIA Market in Rome, Anonymous Content international president David Davoli and chief creative officer David Levine made clear their group’s vigor for global joint ventures, promising upcoming additions to a portfolio that boasts partnerships with companies in the U.K., France, Scandinavia, Spain and Brazil.

“We’re trying to introduce entirely new filmmakers into the repertoire of our company,” Anonymous Content‘s David Levine said today.

Ben Croll Home to the Taylor Sheridan stable and to the “Star Trek” franchise, Paramount+ is looking for “populist” dramas that hold a wider sway and can span several seasons, said Paramount TV president Nicole Clemens at her keynote at MIA Market in Rome on Tuesday. “We’re not looking for shows that just play to New York and Los Angeles,” Clemens explained. “That doesn’t mean they’re not edgy, that doesn’t mean [they can’t be] dark.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Sony Pictures Animation is shoring up its executive ranks with the addition of Damien de Froberville, who has been named executive vice president of production and operating strategy. De Froberville comes from the Spain-based shop Sergio Pablos Animation and will largely assume a portfolio held by long-serving SPA executive Pam Marsden.

Add Anonymous Content to the list of entertainment companies hit by layoffs, as Deadline has confirmed that around 8% of staffers were let go on Friday.

Valerie Wu editor Elsie Choi, a film and TV development veteran who has worked for such producers as Dan Lin and Bruce Willis, has joined Los Angeles-based CJ ENM America as executive VP and head of scripted TV. CJ ENM is a South Korean entertainment company that has produced content such as Oscar-winning film “Parasite” and popular Korean fantasy drama series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.” Among the company’s recent productions are the romantic drama “Past Lives” with A24. It’s also the company behind the annual KCON Korean pop culture conference and concerts held in downtown Los Angeles in August.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer At some point, every pregnancy is a horror story. That’s the truth laid bare in author Danielle Valentine’s book “Delicate Condition,” the first-ever novel to be adapted into a season of the long-running anthology series “American Horror Story.” Currently airing on FX, “AHS: Delicate” stars Emma Roberts as Victoria, a former child actor who’s navigating sudden stardom and awards attention as she’s also trying to conceive a baby with her husband (Matt Czuchry).

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Netflix has made two significant appointments to its C-suite, elevating Eunice Kim to chief product officer and Elizabeth Stone to chief technology officer. Kim will oversee all worldwide product efforts for the streamer, and Stone will manage its data and engineering teams. “Elizabeth and Eunice have strong track records at Netflix and more broadly within the technology industry,” said Greg Peters, co-CEO of Netflix.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer A film based on Beyonce‘s smash hit Renaissance World Tour is in advanced talks to distribute directly to AMC Theatres, sources with knowledge of the project told Variety. Mega-agency CAA held preliminary talks with major studios and streamers two weeks ago, another source added, urging the players to be ready to bid on a project the icon has been developing for years — one that would include elements of her top-grossing 2023 live shows, parts of the long-gestating visual album “Renaissance” and a documentary-style account of making the record and building out the tour (Blue Ivy Carter cameos surely to come). The project is eyeing a Dec.

Max’s pirate comedy “Our Flag Means Death” felt like a pretty standard spoof of pirate pop culture when it started its first season, but it developed over that 10-episode run into something much richer, smarter, and even moving by its end. As it navigates the tricky waters of streaming comedy in the 2020s, David Jenkins’ show has found a very loyal fan base; one attracted to both its smart sense of humor and its notable representation of LGBTQ+ characters.