Poland’s Journalists Rally Behind Independent Media With Defiant Open Letter as Warner Bros. Discovery’s TVN Feels Government Pressure

The studios are putting on a united front when it comes to the striking scribes and actors, but Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global dust-up over who really has the streaming rights to Eric Cartman and the South Park gang shows no signs of settling down.

K.J. Yossman Those six fateful words — “You skiied into my effing back” — are set to be immortalized on the small screen thanks to a new documentary about Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash lawsuit. Production company Optomen (“Johnny vs Amber,” “Kim vs Kanye: The Divorce”) are continuing their “Vs” series for Discovery+ with a doc about the “Sliding Doors” star’s legal woes. The civil trial earlier this year saw Paltrow sued by – and then counter-sue – retired optometrist Terry Sanders, after the duo collided on a Utah ski slope in 2016. Sanders claimed his entanglement with the “Goop” founder caused him to suffer physical injuries and emotional distress while Paltrow, for her part, lost half a day of skiing.

The Native American Media Alliance announced the call for applications for the 3rd Annual Native American Unscripted Workshop.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery have announced a renewal of their multi-year content and platform agreement in New Zealand, securing Sky as the continuing home of HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros. and Discovery. WBD says that the deal keeps open its options on how and when to launch the HBO Max streaming service in the country. The agreement includes a continuation of Warner Bros. Discovery’s eight channel portfolio (Discovery, Discovery Turbo, Living Channel, TLC, ID, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network and CNN International); current and future seasons of HBO series such as “House of The Dragon,” “The Last of Us” and The White Lotus; returning series “True Detective: Night Country,” “Euphoria” “Game of Thrones,” “Sex & The City,” “Chernobyl”; Max Original series including “Peacemaker” and “The Flight Attendant,” future Warner Bros. blockbuster movies and a library titles including the “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings” and “DC Universe” movies.

Vietnam’s decision to ban the movie has been making headlinesNow Warner Bros. is attempting to clarify its intention.The film, directed by Greta Gerwig, was set to hit theaters in the country on July 21, aligning with its big-screen release in most countries around the world.However, Vietnam announced the movie will not be released due to a scene that includes a map using the “nine-dash line” — a set of line segments that represents China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea — which Vietnam claims violates its sovereignty.But the studio rejects the need for controversy.“The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson for the Warner Bros.

BreAnna Bell Karen Horne has exited her post as Senior V.P. of North America Diversity Equity and Inclusion for Warner Bros. Discovery as part of the company’s restructuring. A WBD memo from Chief Global DEI Officer Asif Sadiq to staffers, which Variety has obtained, revealed the news on Friday. Horne oversaw the DEI efforts for creative talent development pipeline programs, workforce, content and production while working closely with Sadiq to craft a global strategy for the company. She joined the company in March of 2020, and was responsible for creating and implementing multiple pipeline programs that aim to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities. Prior to her appointment, Horne was at NBC Entertainment and Universal Television Studios as Senior Vice President, Programming Talent Development and Inclusion where she was responsible for overseeing in-front-of and behind-the-camera primetime diversity efforts for NBC and Universal Television. While there, she started the Late-Night Writers Workshop in 2013.

Karen Horne, who led led Warner Bros. Discovery Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for North America, is leaving the company amid a raft of layoffs and major restructuring since the merger. Executive said Horne’s departure was not part of the broader staff retrenchment but a rethinking of the DEI division.

Jesse Armstrong and Danny McBride will have some individual independence to celebrate this holiday weekend.

CNN is exploring ways to put more of its news offerings on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max, with a report that plans are in the works to offer live programming on the platform outside the U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor After spending months keeping CNN from expanding into streaming, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery appears to have changed its mind. Warner Bros. Discovery is exploring ways to get more CNN programing on to its Max streaming service, according to a person familiar with the matter, looking at the news outlet’s broader portfolio to see what content might work. Executives will have to navigate agreements with CNN’s traditional distributors that often require cable and satellite companies get first access to CNN’s live broadcasts. Yet CNN’s rivals have grappled with similar obstacles and found ways to repurpose the news and opinion shows they run. The Fox Nation streaming outlet runs Fox News Channel’s opinion programs a day later. Fox News in 2020 unveiled a new international service that puts its programs in countries such as Mexico and Spain. MSBNC in March of last year unveiled a plan to offer episodes of “Morning Joe,” “Deadline: White House,” “The Beat with Ari Melber,” “The ReidOut,” “All In with Chris Hayes” and MSNBC’s opinion programs on the Peacock streaming hub on-demand the day after they air on cable.

Oscar winners Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and over 400 other actors have addressed SAG-AFTRA leaders in an open letter — and are threatening to strike if a harder line is not drawn regarding contact deals.   

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Warner Bros. Discovery has announced the greenlight and start of production of its first new Spanish series for Max, crime thriller  “When Nobody Sees Us,” whose eight episodes will be directed by Spain’s Enrique Urbizu (“No Rest for the Wicked”). The produced by “Elite” producer Zeta Studios.   Based on the same title novel by Sergio Sarria, “When Nobody Sees Us” has been written by lead writer Daniel Corpas (“The Ministry of Time,” “Malaka”) heading a writing team with the collaboration of Arturo Ruiz and Isa Sánchez. Set against Spain’s 2023 Holy Week celebrations, “When Nobody Sees Us,” is set in Morón de la Frontera, south east of Seville in Andalusia’s deep Spain, next to a U.S. Army Air Force base. There, Lucía Gutiérrez,  a Spanish Civil Guard sergeant, investigates the bizarre suicide of a neighbour and strange events at the first Holy Week float processions.

News kept on churning this week — from Sunday morning until end of Friday — on the Warner Bros. Discovery front.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Warner Bros. Discovery is negotiating to sell around half of the storied Warner studio’s film and TV music-publishing assets for approximately $500 million, three sources confirm to Variety. The news was first reported by Hits. While it is unclear exactly which assets are on the table, one source says that the rights to “slightly less than half” of the catalog, with a price of around $500 million, are likely to go to a major label, with Sony said to be in the lead. The catalog is believed to include music from such films as “Purple Rain,” “Evita,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Rent” several “Batman” films and many more titles, as well as songs included in iconic films such as “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca” — iconic titles to be sure, but again, it is unclear exactly which rights are in play. Top attorney Allen Grubman is said to be overseeing the deal for Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) insiders in Poland have reacted with alarm after a group of European regulators said they plan to meet to discuss what the insiders believe could lead to the closure of the U.S. media giant’s operation in the nation.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a CEO in the film and TV industry to have such an immediate impact as David Zaslav over at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Jordan Moreau In a turnaround for the streaming wars, Warner Bros. Discovery is in negotiations to license a package of library HBO titles to Netflix. If a deal were to go through, it would cement the sea-change in content distribution strategy afoot at Warner Bros. Discovery under the David Zaslav regime. HBO has licensed library content in the past — a deal with Netflix would not be groundbreaking per se, but it is notable in the era of pitched competition among the largest media companies to build direct-to-consumer streaming platforms. Netflix, the upstart outsider from Los Gatos, has been the pace car for television’s transition over the past decade.

Warner Bros Discovery has announced three Thai HBO Asia Originals, including a third and final season of action fantasy Khun Pan and unscripted shows MarkKim + Chef and Deane’s Dynasty.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Lady Gaga, but she’s speaking out in a new open letter to fans.

Tom Felton is getting back into character as Draco Malfoy.