The “Real Housewives” franchise isn’t growing more just yet.
24.03.2023 - 21:39 / variety.com
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Funko, less than a year after acquiring high-end collectibles brand Mondo, has wound down Mondo’s movie-poster business and let go several employees — including Mondo co-founders Mitch Putnam and Rob Jones, Variety has confirmed. Mondo, based in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2001 and was previously a subsidiary of indie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse before Funko’s deal to buy it last year for $14 million. Mondo had gained a strong following for its limited-edition screen-printed movie posters. Notable artists who worked with Mondo on its posters have included Olly Moss, Shepard Fairey, Ken Taylor and Kevin Tong. Sources said that Mondo’s vinyl records and collectibles businesses are intact.
In addition to Putnam and Jones, Mondo senior creative director Eric Garza also has been laid off. In response to the news, actor Elijah Wood tweeted, “This truly horrendous news. I’m in shock. What have you done @OriginalFunko?” Artist Daniel Danger said in a tweet, “Funko effectively decimating MONDO by firing the creative old guard of Rob Jones, Mitch Putnam, and Eric Garza among others is a fucking travesty and sheer idiocracy. End of an era, but im with them for whatever they want to do next, and I imagine every Mondo artist will follow.” Reps for Funko did not respond to requests for comment. The news was first reported by TheWrap. Earlier this month, in announced fourth-quarter 2022 earnings, Funko CEO Brian Mariotti said the company planned to cut its overall headcount by about 10%. As of the end of last year, Funko had 1,466 full-time employees. Mondo had about 30 full-time employees when Funko acquired the company. Per Funko regulatory filings, it paid $14 million in cash for Mondo. Funko
The “Real Housewives” franchise isn’t growing more just yet.
TV host Maya Jama shut down speculation she's romantically linked to Leonardo DiCaprio Monday. The "Love Island" host took to Twitter to clarify that she is not seeing DiCaprio after the two were spotted at the same BRITS Awards after-party. "I’ve been minding my business on holiday & said I wouldn’t respond/pay attention to any of the silly stories anymore but you need to stop now, that is literally my star sign," Maya Jama wrote.
Christina Hall has a message for online trolls.
Halle Berry had a clever way of shutting down negativity after sharing a stunning nude photo of herself. On Saturday, the Oscar winner tweeted a photo of herself naked on a balcony, enjoying a glass of wine. "I do what I wanna do," she wrote in the caption.
Spotify has shut down its live audio app Spotify Live, with the company saying it “no longer makes sense as a standalone app”.Spotify Live, which was previously called Spotify Greenroom and purchased (under the name Locker Room) by Spotify in 2021, allowed fans to stream and interact with live audio and podcasts.Speaking to Music Ally this week, Spotify confirmed that they were shuttering the app, saying: “After a period of experimentation and learnings around how Spotify users interact with live audio, we’ve made the decision to sunset the Spotify Live app.“We believe there is a future for live fan-creator interactions in the Spotify ecosystem; however, based on our learnings, it no longer makes sense as a standalone app,” they continued.“We have seen promising results in the artist-focused use case of ‘listening parties’, which we will continue to explore moving forward to facilitate live interactions between artists and fans.”Elsewhere at Spotify, it was recently revealed that company executives have only spent 10 per cent of their $100million (£81.75million) budget on a new fund to promote music and audio content by members of “historically marginalised groups”.The Creator Equity Fund was launched last year in the wake of controversy surrounding Joe Rogan’s Spotify-exclusive podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, due to uses of the N-word and COVID vaccine misinformation.A host of popular Bollywood songs have also been removed from Spotify after a licensing dispute with a top label.
Priscilla Presley is shutting down feud rumors!
Birthday blessings! Robert Downey Jr. rang in his 58th year by looking back at 57 — complete with a rare glimpse at his family life.
Reese Witherspoon is adamantly setting the record straight, and she is not dating, anyone. After rumors reportedly circulated that the "Legally Blonde" star was seeing NFL legend Tom Brady, Witherspoon's representative shot down those claims to Fox News Digital. "A representative for Witherspoon denied any rumor of dating as the rumors are completely false," the statement read.
Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington, has taken to TikTok to shut down conspiracy theories about his dad’s death.Chester Bennington took his own life in 2017 after struggling with depression.The singer’s widow Talinda Bennington launched the 320 Changes Direction initiative shortly afterwards to support those with mental health issues and to break down the stigma attached to depression and addiction. A festival focused on bringing awareness to mental health issues followed in 2020.Chester Bennington’s 17-year-old son Tyler Lee has also used his TikTok page to raise awareness about depression and to advocate for mental health.Last month he said he’d be using his page more and shared a tribute to Chester on what would have been his 47th birthday.
invest money back into grassroots music spaces. Currently, eight new arenas are scheduled to be launched across the country, in cities including Cardiff and Bristol.Elsewhere, back in January, a report showed that one-third of UK nightclubs closed by the end of 2022.
Marks and Spencer is set to close the doors to multiple branches across the UK this year - with one location in Scotland shuttering soon.
Khloe Kardashian had the best response to a troll who asked if she missed her “old face” on social media.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Brian Mariotti, CEO of Funko, posted a message to fans of Mondo, the high-end collectibles company it acquired last year, after Mondo was hit with layoffs. As part of Funko’s 10% job cuts across the company, Mondo co-founders Mitch Putnam and Rob Jones as well as senior creative director Eric Garza were laid off last week. In a Twitter post Thursday, Mariotti confirmed that there were layoffs at Mondo but said “the majority of the companywide layoffs weren’t in Mondo.” He also wrote that contrary to early reports last week that Mondo was shutting down the posters division, “the Mondo posters business will continue, period.” That said, according to Mariotti, “We feel that making extremely limited runs of posters, most of which are 150 pieces or under, limits access to fans unfairly. Many of these posters are bought with the sole purpose of flipping them at a much higher cost to fans that really want them.”
#BanAssaultWeaponsNow. https://t.co/R6u4zsaBmGThe Republican representative for Knoxville and surrounding communities in Tennessee didn’t have much to say when asked about the latest mass shooting, which occurred in Nashville on Monday morning. “Three precious little kids lost their lives and I believe three adults and the shooter, of course, too lost their life.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor As part of a companywide cost-cutting effort, Disney has axed its cross-divisional Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences group, which encompassed the Mouse House’s metaverse ambitions. The elimination of Disney’s Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences group, led by company veteran Mike White, affects about 50 employees, Variety confirmed. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. A Disney rep declined to comment. The shutdown of Disney’s metaverse group came Monday with the first wave of the company’s move to slash 7,000 jobs under interim CEO Bob Iger, which is part of its attempt to reduce $5.5 billion in costs. Following this week’s layoffs, there will be a larger second round of cuts next month, Iger told employees in a memo Monday. A final round of layoffs will hit “before the beginning of summer,” according to Iger.
Amy Jo Johnson is clearing up rumours.
EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures has preemptively acquired a remake of the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock-directed psychological thriller Vertigo, with Robert Downey Jr eyeing the James Stewart lead role of the former police detective forced to retire after a line of duty trauma that leaves him with fear of heights and vertigo. The script will be written by Steven Knight, the See and Peaky Blinders creator who just signed on to write a Star Wars film.
Jordan Moreau After 25 years, “Mission: Impossible” fans may finally find out whatever happened to William Donloe, the CIA analyst from the original movie who was supposed to be watching highly classified documents before Ethan Hunt drops from the ceiling and steals them in the now famous scene. On his Instagram account Wednesday, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” writer Christopher McQuarrie revealed that actor Rolf Saxon, who played William Donloe in the first “Mission: Impossible,” is returning in next year’s franchise finale, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.” McQuarrie shared a photo of Saxon’s character, who is now sporting a beard after the events of the original “Mission: Impossible.” After Tom Cruise’s super spy Ethan Hunt suspended himself from a cable and dropped down from ceiling of the high-security CIA vault to steal the NOC list, Donloe was promptly fired and reassigned to a polar substation in Alaska.
appears to have a “Lou Dobbs problem.” Network attorneys also continued to underscore that real, still-viable concerns about Dominion machines exist.But on Wednesday, Murphy noted that a defamation claim needs to be brought “home to someone who’s directly involved” in decisions about what to publish or air. Davis – who has cautioned everyone not to make too much of his early inquiries – challenged that idea forthrightly:“Is Fox’s position that executives didn’t have the power to stop Lou Dobbs from doing something like that?” Davis asked.Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson seized upon the exchange Tuesday, highlighting an email from Rupert Murdoch expressing concern about the network’s positioning on the election.
Gisele Bündchen is sharing some wisdom with her 20 million Instagram followers.