Artist International Group Expands, Hires Kimberly Hines As Partner & Ian Stack As Manager

Kimberly Akimbo, the acclaimed David Lindsay-Abaire-Jeanine Tesori Broadway musical, will launch a 75-week, 60-city North American tour in September 2024, producers announced today.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Brut, the influential digital media publisher which became one of the main partners for the Cannes Film Festival last year, has just finalized its fourth funding round for approximately $40 million. The company, founded by Guillaume Lacroix, Renaud Le Van Kim and Laurent Lucas six years ago, has enlisted a pair of powerful financial backers: CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping company owned by billionaire businessman Rodolphe Saadé, which also recently nabbed 10% of France’s second biggest commercial network M6, and the daily newspaper La Provence; and MoonPay, a leading Miami-based financial service company for web3 whose investors include former tennis star Maria Sharapova, as well as Snoop Dogg, Drake and Justin Bieber, among others. Aryeh B. Bourkoff’s LionTree advised the deal with MoonPay.

Being normal is vastly overrated! Halloweentown star Kimberly J. Brown is coming to 90s Con alongside her fiancé, Daniel Kountz, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor World sales agency Impronta Films has boarded “La Ricerca” (“The Quest”) ahead of its world premiere on April 24 at Visions du Reel, a documentary film festival in Switzerland. The film was written, directed, edited and produced by Giuseppe Petruzzellis. Nicolás Jaar composed the original score. The film focuses on the Italian artist Luigi Lineri, who has been working continuously on “The Quest” over the last 60 years. It’s a one-of-a-kind installation made of thousands of stones. Pebbles resembling primitive flint tools and symbolic sculptures illustrate the turning points in humanity’s evolution. Petruzzellis said in a statement: “Luigi’s masterpiece is a formidable tool to investigate universal themes. He has materialized a vast field of anthropological, philosophical and even political topics. Many of these contents are extremely actual and urgent, as, for example, our conflicting relationship with the ecosystem.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Liz Tigelaar and Stacey Silverman’s production company, Best Day Ever, has hired ABC Signature’s Abby Chambers, Variety has learned exclusively. Chambers will now serve as vice president of television and production at Best Day Ever. She most recently worked as director of current programming at ABC Signature, where Best Day Ever is set up under an overall deal. “Best Day Ever is beyond thrilled to welcome Abby to the Best Day Ever team,” Tigelaar and Silverman said in a joint statement. “The truth is, after being our studio partner on ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ and ‘Under the Bridge,’ we’d already come to think of her as our own. Her goals align perfectly with ours —to tell stories that feel vital, to center new voices, and to raise up future showrunners—and we feel lucky to have her passion and brilliance with us every day (and who knows, she may even steer us onto projects with non three-word-titles, too).”

Thania Garcia On the heels of the Band Perry’s hiatus announcement, co-founder Kimberly Perry has signed to Records Nashville/Columbia Records in pursuit of a solo career. “From the moment I met the team at Records, their appreciation for my journey and my vision for the future as a solo artist has been overwhelming,” Perry commented about the signing. “Everything came together so organically, and it felt right from the very start.” Based in Nashville, Perry will release a new body of work that “promises to be her most honest and intimate,” per the press release. 

Stacey Dooley, who recently debuted a new micro-fringe hair transformation, has shared a special new snap of her newborn daughter and partner, Strictly dancer Kevin Clifton, cuddling on the sofa in their London pad. Beside the black and white picture of Kevin with two-month old Minnie, Stacey simply posted a crying emoji, highlighting the adorable nature of the special moment in the couple’s home.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Netflix has ordered “A Part of You,” a Swedish coming-of-age drama penned by Michaela Hamilton (“Eagles,” “A Class Apart”). Produced by SF Studios, the film will mark the directorial feature debut of Sigge Eklund, an acclaimed author and podcast host in Sweden. “A Part of You” will start production in Sweden later this summer and release globally on Netflix in 2024. “A Part of You” portrays the experience of a 17 year old girl, Agnes, whose older sister Julia possesses everything that Agnes dreams of: She’s the most popular girl at school and has a boyfriend. When the worst possible thing occurs, Agnes’ world is turned upside down and she’s forced to reinvent herself.

Deadline has confirmed that Netflix film executives Lisa Nishimura and Ian Bricke are exiting the streamer amid a reorganization of the film group. All live action film content will now be overseen by Kira Goldberg, Ori Marmur, and Niija Kuykendall.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Two veteran Netflix creative executives are parting ways with the streamer following a restructuring of the film group. Indie film and documentary features lead Lisa Nishimura and indie film vice president Ian Bricke have both stepped down. The change comes as the result of streamlining under Netflix film head Scott Stuber. All live-action film content will now roll up to Kira Goldberg, Ori Marmur and Niija Kuykendall. “Lisa Nishimura joined Netflix in the DVD days, and as the company moved into streaming, she built our original documentary and stand-up comedy divisions from the ground up, and established Netflix as a powerhouse in both spaces,” Stuber told Variety in a statement of the executive, a fixture in the indie community and on the annual festival circuit.

Charna Flam Veteran stage manager Joseph E. McGuire II died on March 10 due to natural causes in his New York City home. He was 66. Born in Worcester, Mass., he graduated from Catholic University in 1978 with a B.F.A. in drama. McGuire first began his career as an actor, touring as Thomas Edison in “Young Tom Edison” and then performing in the pre-Broadway run of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at the Olney Theatre. After his time on the stage, McGuire then moved behind the curtain, becoming a stage manager for many off-Broadway shows including “Toni and Tina’s Wedding,” “The Kathy and Mo Show,” “Maybe Baby It’s You,” “Closer Than Ever,” “Sight Unseen,” “Hurly Burly,” among many more.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Lauren Probyn Aouad has joined UTA as a marketing executive, marking the company’s first senior hire in its newly opened Atlanta division. As an executive, Aouad will be responsible for growing the division’s presence within the community and developing new partnerships with brands at the intersection of entertainment and advertising. She will report to Julian Jacobs and David Anderson, UTA partners and co-heads of the entertainment and culture Marketing division. She will work closely with Steve Cohen, partner and co-head of UTA’s Atlanta office. “We’re excited to welcome Lauren to our team,” said Anderson, “Our group has expanded substantially over the past few years, both domestically and globally, and we look forward to having her help us grow the business.”

This Morning star Trinny Woodall has sparked rumours that she’s split from her famous partner of 10 years, Charles Saatchi, who has an estimated net worth of $200 million. The 59 year old, who first hit our screens in the early 2000s alongside fellow fashion guru Susannah Constantine, has continued to be a constant in the media world, and her personal life has long been publicly documented, too. The split speculation comes after Trinny posted a cryptic message on her Instagram mentioning that she’s moved out of the London home she shared with Saatchi.

William Earl Powerhouse producer SISTER has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Variety International Achievement in Television Award, to be presented at global content market MipTV in April.  The award is presented in recognition of leadership and innovation in the international television marketplace with co-founder and chief content officer Jane Featherstone accepting the award in Cannes for all three founders, including executive chair Elisabeth Murdoch and CEO Stacey Snider, and the wider company. Featherstone is a pioneering producer responsible for some of the U.K.’s most ground-breaking and beloved TV shows. As the former chief executive of Kudos and co-chairman of Shine U.K., Featherstone helped to grow the company into one of the country’s most recognized independent outfits. Under her leadership, Kudos produced such acclaimed shows as “Broadchurch,” “Life on Mars,” “Spooks,” “The Hour” and “Utopia’, to the breakout BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning drama sensation “Chernobyl” for HBO and Sky Atlantic with Sister Pictures, the scripted production company Featherstone founded in 2015.  

Fashion guru Trinny Woodall has sparked rumours she may have split from her partner of ten years, Charles Saatchi, as she shared an update with fans about a big “life change”. Taking to Instagram on Monday, Trinny said: "It’s a new day, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new life." The 59 year old then continued: ”I have been moving but now I have moved,” before she shared a second instagram post which revealed she was currently on holiday in France, where she owns a luxury chalet. “I have looked out at this view for the last 30 years of my life.

The Band Perry is officially breaking up.

Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe has been praised for giving Stoke City "more security" since arriving on loan from the Reds in the January transfer window.

died suddenly Friday while in the midst of the promotional tour for “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which hits theaters Friday.“We are all deeply saddened by the passing of Lance Reddick following the taping of today’s episode,” “The Kelly Clarkson Show” said in its promotion of Thursday’s program. “Our hearts go out to Lance’s loved ones and the entire John Wick family.

Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley are still best buddies after wrapping their roles on The Vampire Diaries years ago!

Decades of love! James Van Der Beek and wife Kimberly Van Der Beek (née Brook) have been a swoonworthy pair for more than 10 years.