Stanford In Entertainment Names Winners For 2022 TV Script Competition

Michael P. O’Leary will be appointed the president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners beginning May 1.

EXCLUSIVE: Ohio-based indie studio Good Deed Entertainment is teaming up with genre filmmaking team Dana Kippel and Ryan Jack Connell on their upcoming psychological thriller The Pink House.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox has named John Hesling its new head of Alternative Entertainment, the broadcast network’s in-house unscripted studio. Responsible for overseeing the development and production of all unscripted series owned by Fox Entertainment (FAE), as well as programs FAE produces for third-party buyers in the U.S. and abroad, Hesling will be based in Los Angeles and report to Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at Fox Entertainment. “I am so excited for John to join FAE and lead the incredible team we have assembled,” Wallach said. “His creative vision and vast experience as both a producer and an executive working on a global scale will be key to our strategy of building FAE as a leading provider of innovative series and formats for Fox and third-party platforms throughout the world.”

Angela Bassett wins big at the NAACP Image Awards. The actress took home three trophies for Outstanding Actress in a drama series for 9-1-1, Supporting Actress for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the biggest award of the night, Entertainer of the Year.

much-publicized dust-up with Chris Rock occurred at the 94th Academy Awards.Angela Bassett was a triple winner, taking home Entertainer of the Year, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (a performance for which she’s also Oscar-nominated) and Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for “9-1-1.”ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” meanwhile, dominated the TV awards, taking home four trophies in all including Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actress (Quinta Brunson), Supporting Actress (Janelle James) and Supporting Actor (Tyler James Williams). James bested Emmy-winning costar Sheryl Lee Ralph in the supporting category, giving her a boost as Emmy season approaches.Starz’s acclaimed “P-Valley” surprised by picking up a number of major awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Nicco Annan for leading actor, and Loretta Devine for supporting actress.

EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Jennifer Peedom’s visually stunning documentary River, “a profound cinematic and musical reflection on how rivers have shaped both the planet’s elaborate landscapes and all human existence.”

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, Music Veteran music publicists Luke Burland and Bobbie Gale are teaming up to form a new firm, 2b Entertainment. The two share more than 30 years experience working with artists, music companies and brands. Both previously served in senior media relations positions at Warner Bros. Records (now known as Warner Records) and as in-demand indies — Burland, most recently at BB Gun Press (founded by Brian Bumbery, currently a top communications executive at Apple Music); Gale at her own MixedMediaWorks. Based in Los Angeles, 2b Entertainment’s client roster includes Jojo Siwa, Danny Elfman, Mike Dean, Holly Humberstone, Josh Groban, Julian Casablancas, Justin Tranter, Maggie Lindemann, Meghan Trainor, My Chemical Romance, OK Go, Shania Twain and Steve Earle, among other artists. Corporate accounts run across entertainment, lifestyle and fashion, representing such brands as CITI, +1 Records, Laylo, Dad Grass, Muserk and Cosm. (See the full roster here.)

Angelique Jackson Essence is celebrating its 16th annual Black Women in Hollywood awards luncheon with another all-star lineup of honorees. The five awardees are Freeform and Onyx Collective president Tara Duncan, director Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King”) and a trio of critically-acclaimed actors Danielle Deadwyler (SAG, BAFTA, Critics Choice and NAACP-nominee for “Till”), Dominique Thorne (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (Emmy-winner for “Abbott Elementary”). Presented annually as a celebration of “Black women who are making their undeniable mark in film and television and forging forward their own definition of what it means to be a Black woman in Hollywood,” the Essence Black Women in Hollywood awards is not only an intimate gathering of about 400 guests, but also a key date on the awards season calendar.

K-pop agency SM Entertainment has previewed its upcoming music release plans for the first half of 2023.On February 20, SM uploaded a report of its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2022 to its official website for investors. In the new report, SM also shared the line-up of comebacks it has scheduled for the first half of 2023.According to the report, April will see the release of Girls’ Generation leader and soloist Taeyeon’s fifth mini-album, the debut of a new NCT sub-unit with their first mini-album as well as girl group aespa’s first-ever full-length album.Meanwhile, veteran boyband SHINee are scheduled to make a comeback with their eighth studio album in May, marking their first group release since their seventh repackaged  album ‘Atlantis’ in April 2021.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore-based film marketing and distribution firm Continental Entertainment Pte. Ltd. (CEPL), which holds global distribution rights for Bangladeshi auteur Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s “Saturday Afternoon,” will release the film in the U.S. and Canada through Reliance Entertainment. The Bengali-and-English-language film takes its cue from the brutal terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in 2016, which took place on a quiet Saturday afternoon and left more than 20 people dead. It had considerable festival play, winning awards at Fukuoka, Moscow and Vesoul. The film was initially banned and had finally been cleared for release in January after a four year struggle with the Bangladesh Film Censor Board. However Bangladesh’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting appears to have taken a U turn and the situation remains fluid. Consequently, the film will open in the U.S. and Canada on March 10 before its Bangladesh release. It will also be released in other countries in subsequent months.

SM Entertainment has released a video of its CFO Jang Cheol-hyuk explaining company leadership’s opposition to HYBE’s recent acquisition of a controlling stake in the K-pop agency.On February 20, a video titled “The reason why SM is against HYBE’s hostile takeover” was published on the agency’s official SMTOWN YouTube account, which usually only releases content for its artists. In the clip, Jang directly addressed fans of SM’s artists and its shareholders, outlining the agency’s view on HYBE’s recent acquisition and what it sees as potential consequences of the merger.In the video, Jang claimed that HYBE did not request due diligence material from SM Entertainment during the merger and acquisition disclosure process despite the large scale of the deal – a 1trillion won investment on HYBE’s part, which would require the agency to take a short-term loan in order to finance it, according to HYBE’s regulatory filing on February 10.Jang then raised this as an indication that HYBE’s corporate governance is “far from sound or rational”, claiming that SM Entertainment would “inevitably” be subject to this “weak governance” should HYBE take over the company, to the detriment of SM’s shareholders and artists.Jang also claimed that the values and interests of SM’s shareholders would likely not be prioritised in the event that HYBE successfully dominates its board of directors, and alleged that a takeover by HYBE would lead to the de-prioritisation of SM artists and their music releases due to HYBE’s roster already being “saturated” with artists from its existing subsidiaries.

The mother of Lil Peep has settled her wrongful death lawsuit against the late rapper’s management company First Access Entertainment, according to Pitchfork.Lil Peep, real name Gustav Åhr, died in November 2017 of an accidental drugs overdose, aged 21. His mother, Liza Womack, sued First Access in 2019 accusing the company and its associates of negligence and other breaches of contract that contributed to her son’s death.The management firm, she claimed, “allowed, normalised, and even encouraged and promoted” drug taking on her son’s tours, despite being aware of his addiction issues.First Access strongly denied the allegations of misconduct.

Lil Peep’s mother, Liza Womack, has reached a settlement in the multi-million dollar wrongful death lawsuit that stemmed from her son’s fatal drug overdose in 2017.Womack filed the lawsuit (regarding legal responsibility for Lil Peep’s death) against the rapper’s management and label services company, First Access Entertainment. Per Pitchfork, a notice filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday (February 17) outlined that Womack had settled the wrongful death lawsuit with the company, though terms of the settlement remain undisclosed.“Liza has been indefatigable in her pursuit of justice for her son,” Womack’s lawyer Paul Matiasic said in a statement to Pitchfork.

EXCLUSIVE: CNBC has ordered a new true-crime docuseries from Law & Order creator Dick Wolf.

BreAnna Bell Sony Pictures Television’s nonfiction group is expanding. Eli Holzman, Sony’s President of Nonfiction Entertainment and co-president Aaron Saidman have revealed Gena McCarthy’s Unconventional Entertainment has signed an overall deal with SPT. As part of the agreement, Unconventional will develop, sell, and produce original formats in core genres including relationships, home, food, survival, Americana, competition, and crime, with SPT providing all associated production services. Known for her extensive resume which includes several long-running franchises like “Married at First Sight” and “Project Runway,” McCarthy has held senior positions at Discovery, TLC, We TV, Lifetime, and FYI.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has closed a non-exclusive broadcast direct deal with Fox Entertainment, the network announced Tuesday.Under the deal, the Emmy and Grammy Award-winning producer, director, actor and rapper will develop scripted dramas, live-action comedies and animated series through his production company G-Unit Film & Television, Fox Entertainment president of Scripted Programming Michael Thorn said. After rising to hip-hop royalty status, Jackson delved into filmed entertainment by launching G-Unit Film & Television in 2005, which produced Starz’s “Power,” in which Jackson served as a co-star, executive producer and director.

Sony Pictures Television is adding to its roster of non-scripted production companies.

HYBE, which is moving to become the largest shareholder in SM Entertainment, has reportedly said the latter label will be able to retain its independence.Last week, HYBE announced that it had struck a deal to buy 3.5million shares in SM Entertainment from its founder Lee Soo-man and therefore acquire a 14.8 per cent stake in the agency, which is one of K-pop’s longtime “Big Three” labels alongside JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment. The deal, once finalised on March 6, will make HYBE the largest shareholder in rival label SM.HYBE has also offered to purchase another 25 per cent of SM from minority shareholders.

Taylor Swift is in a league of her own — literally. Swift made' annual list of highest-earning entertainers, where she was the only female performer to make the rankings at all.Due to her ongoing popularity, streaming royalties, licensing fees and other income streams, the «Anti-Hero» songstress raked in an estimated $92 million in 2022.According to Swift could end up making even more this year.

Taylor Swift made a lot of money in 2022.