Pandora Recruits Twice For First-Ever Artist Takeover in English and Korean (EXCLUSIVE)

th Century Studios’ “Free Guy” and “Prey,” along with Disney+ hit series including “The Mandalorian,” “WandaVision,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and “Loki,” among many others. In all, Ayaz has led the campaigns for the most watched films on Disney+ and Hulu, and 13 of the top 15 box office debuts of all time, including six opening weekends over $200 million, as well as the biggest worldwide debut of all time for “Avengers: Endgame,” which earned over $1.2 billion in five days. An award-winning marketing leader, Ayaz has been the recipient of multiple industry honors, including Variety’s Marketing Visionaries Award and The Clio Marketing Mastermind Award.

Effective immediately, Walt Disney Studios President of Marketing and 18-year studio vet, Asad Ayaz, has been named the first-ever Chief Brand Officer of The Walt Disney Company.

Ferne McCann is left super proud of fiancé Lorri Haines on Wednesday's final episode of First Time Mum as he nails his first-ever photoshoot. Ferne, 32, exclusively revealed her baby news with Lorri Haines, 31, during a stunning shoot with OK! last month.

Frontières Platform, organized with the Fantasia Film Festival.  Focusing on genre, the Frontières showcase is emerging as one of the Marché du Film’s biggest market plays, supercharged by this year’s milestone Oscar triumph of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,”  smart genre’s popularity among an emerging generation of filmmakers and its rising tide as one of the most resilient of independent movie market propositions.  

Mark Sutherland Things are looking up for Download Festival. The hard rock and metal event will celebrate its 20th anniversary edition this year with its first-ever sell-out. The fest’s promoter, Andy Copping of Live Nation, confirms that all the weekend tickets and Saturday day tickets for this year’s 90,000-capacity festival have been snapped up, with the final remaining day tickets expected to sell out in the next few days. “We’ve done some big numbers in the past,” says Copping, speaking exclusively to Variety. “But this one has been a complete other level. The festival running for 20 years and hitting that landmark sell-out figure is incredible.”

Zawe Ashton made her first public appearance since secretly giving birth to her first child as she attended the press night after party for Gone Too Far on Tuesday evening. The Fresh Meat star, 38, who welcomed a baby with fiancé Tom Hiddleston, 42, last October, looked chic in a leather-look midi dress.  Zawe, who has yet to disclose the name or sex of her child, added a pair of chunky black heels to her look.

Good Morning Britain paid tribute to Paul O’Grady on Wednesday's show after the star died at the age of 67, his partner Andre Portasio announced in a statement.The TV star, also known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage, died "unexpectedly but peacefully" on Tuesday evening, a statement shared with the PA news agency via a representative said. Mr Portasio said in his statement: “It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening. “We ask, at this difficult time, that whilst you celebrate his life you also respect our privacy as we come to terms with this loss.

The delights of the steampunk movement are coming to Kirkcudbright.

Well, it looks like Adam McKay‘s “Average Height, Average Build” is a go, at least in terms of its cast. Deadline reports that McKay has the two leading men he wants for the project lined up, with Robert Pattinson and Robert Downey Jr. now on board.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The post-production crew at NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” unanimously ratified their first-ever union contract, a deal that will offer immediate pay boosts for all members of the unit and will avert a strike deadline the members had set for April 1st. The vote took place during a Wednesday night meeting of the crew and Editors Guild representatives. The contract now goes into effect immediately and runs until the summer of 2026. “The solidarity and bravery of this crew are just so impressive,” said Cathy Repola, National Executive Director of the Editors Guild. “They fought not just to improve their own working lives; they have also set a standard that will benefit all those who follow in their footsteps at this TV comedy institution. It was an honor to work with them on reaching this significant agreement.”

EXCLUSIVE: Guinness World Records, the iconic British institution that has been running for nearly 70 years, has launched its first ever TV channel.

LE SSERAFIM is having a moment with their faithful fans!

Lise Pedersen Documentary filmmaker Jialing Zhang, who was nominated for an Emmy for “One Child Nation,” spoke to Variety about her latest film, “Total Trust,” which is running in the main competition at CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Festival. It tells the chilling story of three women and their families fighting for their human rights in China, where state control is ubiquitous thanks to high technology surveillance, such as facial recognition, big data analysis and points systems that mean citizens gain or lose points depending on their behavior. Zhang’s intimate footage offers unprecedented access to the impact of this all-controlling system on the protagonists’ everyday lives.

Naman Ramachandran A poster has been unveiled for “Barzakh,” starring top Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed. The only South Asian selection at Series Mania this year, the series will debut in the showcase’s International Panorama, a 12-title competitive section where it will be eligible for the best series, director, actress, actor, student jury and audience awards. “Barzakh” (6 x 58′) is produced by Waqas Hassan and Shailja Kejriwal for Zindagi, the Indian subcontinent focused programming block on streamer ZEE5 Global. It is helmed by critically acclaimed director Asim Abbasi who also directed Zindagi’s first Pakistani original “Churails” and the feature film “Cake.”

Check here for more information about the inaugural Visionary Alliance and NHMC.

Paramount+ has launched its first mobile-only subscription plan.

MAMAMOO is coming!

MAMAMOO are set to embark on their first-ever tour of the US as part of their wider ‘MY CON’ world tour.Today (March 15), the quartet officially announced that they would be going on their first North American tour, which will comprise shows in nine cities on both coasts, as well as southern and midwestern markets, over two months.MAMAMOO’s US tour will first kick off on May 16 in New York, before heading down the coast to Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. The girl group will then head down south, with shows in Tennessee, Texas and Arizona.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Satellite radio and podcast company SiriusXM extended its relationship with Kevin Hart and his entertainment company, Hartbeat, in a new multiyear deal. Under the agreement, Hartbeat will continue to curate content on Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Radio (SiriusXM channel 96), where all of Hartbeat’s audio programs will premiere exclusively — and the channel will have the exclusive first window on a previously unreleased stand-up album from late comedy legend Bernie Mac. Hart, who first struck a deal with SiriusXM in 2017, will continue to host his show and podcast, the newly renamed “Gold Minds With Kevin Hart” (formerly called “Comedy Gold Minds”), which debuts its new season Wednesday (March 15) at 7 p.m. ET exclusively on SiriusXM. In the season premiere, the comedian-actor-producer-entrepreneur will host filmmaker Ryan Coogler, and the duo will discuss his career journey, working with Michael B. Jordan across multiple projects including “Creed III,” and receiving guidance from the likes of Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Sylvester Stallone and Christopher Nolan along the way.

Love Island's Jessie Wynter recently enjoyed her "first ever" trip to Tesco after jetting to the UK with boyfriend Will Young. Jessie, 26, who found fame on Love Island Australia before appearing on the UK version, lives in Sydney, Australia but opted to jet to London with Will, 22, when Love Island finished.