Cynthia Littleton Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor This year, Variety’s Power of Law breakfast at The Maybourne Beverly Hills on April 19 is treating attendees to not one but two keynote conversations with industry players: showrunner Damon Lindelof, interviewed by Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Littleton, and executive Erica Huggins, interviewed by Variety Chief Production Officer Claudia Eller. At the Power of Law event – where City National Bank is the presenting partner and Signature Resolution is an official partner – the pair will offer their insights into the rapidly evolving entertainment landscape to an audience of invited attorneys who form this year’s Legal Impact Report honorees.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Charter Spectrum has filed a lawsuit accusing Lionsgate of reneging on an agreement to deliver a third season of the “Manhunt” anthology series that was connected to the cable operators carriage of the Pop TV channel. The suit, filed late Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, underscores the Byzantine nature of dealmaking between media giants these days, and it demonstrates the desperate measures that studios have taken to keep low-profile cable channels on the air. At the time of the events in quesiton, Lionsgate jointly owned Pop TV with CBS. But Lionsgate’s motivation changed after it sold its stake in Pop TV to CBS in 2019, according to the suit.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Alison Herman is Variety’s new TV critic, joining chief TV critic Daniel D’Addario. In the role, Herman will be a key voice in television criticism, writing reviews, commentary, appreciations and cover stories across all of Variety’s platforms. She will work with editor-at-large Kate Aurthur, who oversees the publication’s TV criticism and features. Herman was a staff writer at The Ringer from 2016 to 2023, where she covered television and popular culture. During her tenure, she wrote columns on new shows, profiled performers such as John Mulaney and reported the definitive piece on the aesthetics of “Succession.” “TV criticism is one of the bedrocks of Variety, as the No. 1 brand covering the business of entertainment,” co-Editors-in-Chief Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh say. “Alison’s deep knowledge of television and pop culture make her the perfect addition to our team.”

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor As seasoned espionage pros, they didn’t give up much, and they didn’t indulge in too much nostalgia. But for an hour or so on Wednesday evening, five core players of “The Americans” reunited in Midtown Manhattan to share stories and spread a few compliments for work they did together on the highly lauded FX series. To mark the 10th anniversary of the spy drama’s debut, stars Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys and Noah Emmerich were joined by showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields for a lively reunion conversation hosted by the Paley Center for Media. Fields reminded his colleagues that Superstorm Sandy made a surprise guest appearance in “The Americans” pilot, turning the production schedule upside down just before they were scheduled to begin shooting the pilot for DreamWorks Television and Fox Television Studios.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Warner Bros. Discovery shares were down 6% at the close of trading Wednesday, on the heels of the company’s expansive presentation of its plans to overhaul the HBO Max streamer. WB Discovery shares have been battered over the past year as the company dealt with post-merger cost-cutting and management realignment. On Wednesday, the stock fell 5.8% to $14.05 on what was a down day overall for the market and a down day for most of WB Discovery’s media rivals, including Disney (down 2.5%), Paramount Global (3.3%) and Netflix (down 2%). The Dow Jones index fell a modest 38.2 points while the Nasdaq dropped 102 points, or 1%. The hourlong WB Discovery presentation was held during trading hours, at 10 a.m. PT on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. Wall Street’s verdict on WB Discovery’s plans is still not in, but the immediate reaction of investors indicates that the company still has a long road ahead in sorting out its profit centers in the age of streaming.

William Earl Ryan Murphy, Damon Lindelof and Erica Huggins will headline the Variety Power of Law Breakfast, presented by City National Bank, on April 20 in Los Angeles. Murphy will present the Variety Power of Law award to his entertainment attorney Craig Emanuel, a partner at Paul Hastings, to honor his extensive philanthropic efforts. Emanuel serves on the boards of non-profit organizations such as March on Washington Film Festival, Black Jewish Alliance and the Faith and Politics Institute. Emanuel is also involved with Chrysalis, which Murphy also supports. Lindelof will be interviewed by Cynthia Littleton, Variety’s Co-Editor-in-Chief about how he assesses storytelling opportunities as a writer and producer across film and TV platforms. His most recent television credits include the series “Watchmen” and “The Leftovers,” both of which he was co-creator and showrunner. He’s next executive producing Peacock’s “Mrs. Davis” with showrunner Tara Hernandez.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor David Zaslav went office-furniture shopping when he moved into the executive building on the Warner Bros. lot last year. The new CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery had Jack L. Warner’s large dark-wood desk pulled out of storage for his use. He also found a leather legal pad holder once clutched by another of his predecessors at the storied studio: Steven J. Ross. Zaslav wanted these totems in his sunken workspace overlooking Olive Avenue in Burbank to show the formidable legacy, in business and in popular culture, he has inherited. “I wanted them to remind me that we need to show as much courage now in leading this business as the Warner brothers did in launching it one hundred years ago,” Zaslav says. As the studio marks the centen- nial of its incorporation as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. (the official date is April 4, 1923), the company has never been more focused on using the wealth of intellectual property assets, the production expertise and the global distribution muscle built up over the past 100 years to power its second century. The vast Warner Bros. movie and TV library is the foundation of WB Discovery’s empire-building ambition to transition from traditional cable to direct-to-consumer streaming.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The WGA and Hollywood’s major employers are set to resume contract talks on Wednesday as the sides aim to make progress in sorting through complicated compensation issues and averting a strike. Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are expected to sit down again in person Wednesday morning at AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks. The WGA had planned to take a two-week break after March 31 to begin the process of a strike authorization vote, with talks tabbed to resume the week of April 17. The guild’s current three-year contract expires on May 1. A rep for the AMPTP declined comment. The WGA did not immedately respond to a request for comment.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Haley Kluge has been named creative director of Variety, where she’ll oversee the design and visual language of our weekly print magazine, website and digital channels. Kluge is the first woman to serve in this role since Variety came under the ownership of Penske Media Corp. in 2013. She worked at Variety from 2018 to 2021 in several positions, including art director. Most recently she spent a year on the design team of Netflix’s Tudum. “We are so excited that Haley is returning to Variety to help steer our talented art department,” co-Editors-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh and Cynthia Littleton say. “Our magazine has been on a roll, and we know that Haley will help elevate our game.”

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Tanya Giles is stepping down as chief programming officer for streaming at Paramount Global. Giles was promoted in June 2021 to help oversee all streaming content programming efforts for the media conglomerate that has invested heavily in its Paramount+ streaming platform. News of Giles’ departure was first reported by Deadline. The move comes as Paramount Global has been taking steps to further streamline its content, production and network operations under an increasingly smaller number of leaders. In late January, the company unveiled the plan to consolidate its stalwart pay TV cabler Showtime with the Paramount+ platform.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Disney will begin layoff notices this week for more than 7,000 staffers whose positions will be eliminated as part of a deep cost-cutting effort that will be felt across all of the company’s key divisions. Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed Monday morning in a memo to employees that the layoffs will come in three waves, starting today. Iger disclosed the plan to significantly cut Disney’s overhead with massive staff reductions on Feb. 8. The cuts are expected to hit across the board and hit senior management levels as well as lower-level executives. “The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly. This company is home to the most talented and dedicated employees in the world, and so many of you bring a lifelong passion for Disney to your work here,” Iger wrote. “That’s part of what makes working at Disney so special. It also makes it all the more difficult to say goodbye to wonderful people we care about. I want to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to every departing employee for your numerous contributions and your devotion to this beloved company.”

Gavin Bridge Senior Media Analyst Entertainment-industry pros believe the writers have more leverage than the studios as they begin negotiations over a new contract, according to an exclusive new survey. One-third of respondents gave TV scribes a vote of confidence, as opposed to one-fifth who touted the studios’ clout in an online poll of 640 U.S. adults working in showbiz conducted on March 15-16 by insights firm YouGov. The survey was commissioned by Variety Intelligence Platform, which recently released the special report “Time to Strike?”  What may explain the perception of the writers’ leverage is a sense that there’s newfound solidarity among members of the WGA, in the past a notoriously fractious group believed this time to be united around key issues, from its top showrunners to its newbie scribes.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Ne-Yo and rapper Lil Yachty are among the eight notable names who have been hit with Securities and Exchange Commission charges for violating securities laws in touting crypto currencies. The SEC on Wednesday disclosed that charges were filed against eight celebrities in connection with the broader investigation of crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three of his companies: Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc., which marketed crypto asset securities under the brand names Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT). The eight boldface names were charged with “illegally touting TRX and/or BTT without disclosing that they were compensated for doing so and the amount of their compensation,” according to the SEC.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The guests on this week’s episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business” are about two dozen people I conversed with last week while attending the SXSW conference and festival in Austin, Texas. They are in fact leaders in media and entertainment. As sophisticated and highly engaged consumers, their choices can make or break a streaming platform, a movie, a TV franchise, a tour or an album. I love the spirit of SXSW because it is a gathering that involves so many disciplines — even more than I knew. The weather in Austin was sunny for most of March 10-19 gathering, and so was the mood. Festival-goers making the rounds of downtown were only too eager to stop and talk to Variety about why they wanted to come to SXSW and what impressed them this year.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Chris Harbert is calling it a wrap on his talent agency career. The veteran TV packaging agent, who was part of the team that launched UTA in 1991 and has spent the past 20 years at CAA, will retire from the agency business at the end of this month. Harbert indicated that he’s looking for a new chapter of his career, but he declined to elaborate beyond a statement given to Variety. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to spend 35 years as an advocate and an agent, the last 20-plus at the best agency in the world, Creative Artists Agency,” said Harbert. “I am very thankful that CAA allowed me to pursue many passions in many lanes, especially television, film and production. I have been blessed to be able to work with some of the most talented artists, colleagues, and executives and I could not have imagined a more professionally fulfilling journey over the last three-and-a-half decades. As the global content business continues to evolve, I am excited for what lies ahead.”

Julia MacCary editor “There’s nowhere you can walk in this country that is not Native land,” said IllumiNative founder and executive director Crystal Echo Hawk at Rising Native Voices, the Variety and IllumiNative event in partnership with SXSW on Saturday. IllumiNative, which is a Native woman-run social justice organization, DIGA Studios and Madica Productions recently announced their documentary-style podcast “American Genocide: The Crimes of Native American Boarding Schools.” The six-episode podcast examines the human rights violations against Indigenous children at Native American boarding schools, looking for answers specifically at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, S.D.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor AUSTIN, Texas — Patton Oswalt, Phoebe Robinson, Eric Andre, Chelsea Handler and others were in fine form on Friday night as Variety helped kick off the 2023 SXSW festival and conference with its Power of Comedy event. The kudos pay tribute to innovators in the business of being funny. Presenters and honorees who gathered at the Creek and the Cave nightclub in downtown Austin made mention of comedians facing a fraught moment as social norms and cultural attitudes are changing. Mike Lawrence, who hosted the second half of the night, noted that he had to show more identification when registering to get his SXSW conference badge than he would have to buy a gun.

wcinkala pmc-editorial-manager Variety and IllumiNative are partnering with SXSW to host a panel on the importance of Native American representation in Hollywood. The event, held at Moonshine Grill from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, will include a one-on-one conversation with Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative, followed by a conversation with Lashay Wesley, director of communications and storytelling at IllumiNative, and Patrick Smith, executive producer at DIGA, about IllumiNative’s new podcast, “American Genocide: The Crimes of Native American Boarding Schools.” The podcast examines the atrocities and human rights violations committed against Native children at Native American Boarding Schools and follows Crystal and Lashay as they investigate and search for answers and justice at Red Cloud Indian School, a former boarding school in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Both conversations will be moderated by Cynthia Littleton, co-editor-in-chief, Variety.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Scott Koondel grew up as an executive at CBS and Paramount Pictures, filling a content sales role that was indispensable to any studio operation in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s. Today, four years after leaving CBS, he’s in a new role that is also indispensable for the current era of media. As founder of Sox Entertainment, Koondel has embraced his inner entrepreneur, working as a packager of TV shows and movies. He’s putting together sales and distribution deals for longtime colleagues such as Judith Sheindlin (aka “Judge Judy” and now of Freevee’s “Judy Justice”), he’s consulting on M&A deals and helping companies size up their assets in a fast-changing marketplace.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paramount Global is unveiling today a corporate image campaign that builds on the sentiment of a popular self-help affirmation: You are loved, and you are enough. Just in time for media upfront season, the company’s “Popular is Paramount” marketing push is designed to burnish its image within Hollywood and on Wall Street. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish wants the town and the Street to know that the company is fielding a new generation of hits – from “Top Gun: Maverick” to “Yellowstone” to “Paw Patrol” — and is not intimidated by having to compete against larger rivals such as Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast. The campaign will include with outdoor advertising in highly trafficked corridors of New York and Los Angeles, as well as on digital and TV platforms, both on and off Paramount’s own air.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Charles King’s Macro has raised a $90 million minority investment from BlackRock Alternatives, HarbourView Partners and funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Macro will use the influx of capital to expand its multiplatform operations across production, branding and talent representation units, said King, who is founder and CEO of Macro. The company will also work to diversify its revenue streams with businesses that build a direct connection with consumers. A former WME partner, King launched Macro in 2015 to focus on content that amplifies underrepresented voices to capitalize on the untapped business opportunity. Macro previously raised about $150 million in a 2017 round of financing that included such investors as Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation and W.W. Kellogg Foundation.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Being John Malkovich” screenwriter Charlie Kaufman took dead aim at Hollywood’s power structure in his remarks at Sunday’s Writers Guild Awards, where he was feted with the top honorary film award. “We trained to believe that what we do is secondary to what they do,” Kaufman said, with quiet intensity, referencing executives who make decisions out of fear in order to preseve their jobs. “Our work is to reflect the world, say what is true in the face of so much lying. The rest is window dressing at best, ‘Triumph of the Will’ at worst,” he said.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Meredith Stiehm, president of the WGA West, got right to the point in her remarks Sunday at the guild’s 2023 award ceremony. With contract negotiations less than two weeks aways, Stiehm rallied the troops about the need for solidarity, and she emphasized the guild’s role as serving as the “good sheriff” helping to tame the Wild West for writers. The guild, Stiehm told the crowd at the Fairmont Century Plaza, is “walking around like Gary Cooper — low key but watchful, vigilent and a little swagger.” The guild is “looking to keep the peace” but is devoted to enforcing the rules established by its contracts. “The guild says there are rules, there are laws,” she said referring to a fight that the WGA recently settled over $42 million in residual payments owed to guild members.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor When Ray Nutt took the reins of Fathom Events as CEO in 2017, the first thing he decided to change was the nomenclature used to describe the titles that the company distributes to hundreds of theaters around the U.S. “Alternative content” was the short-hand description used for the projects handled by the Denver-based distributor that is owned by the nation’s three largest exhibition chains: AMC Entertainment, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark. Nutt, a veteran exhibition and cable TV executive, explains in the latest episode of Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast that the wording was too vague, in his view. “We started to transition into what we’re calling now ‘event cinema,’ ” Nutt says.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Nicole Lapin has built her career as an author and journalist by being a keen-eyed observer of business and financial trends for CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg News. This year, she’s following her instinct that there is a major opportunity to build a podcast network devoted to financial literacy and investment guidance for mainstream listeners. Lapin, host of the podcast “Money Rehab” and author of how-to books including “Rich Bitch,” “Becoming Super Woman” and “Boss Bitch,” is among the co-founders of Money News Network, a collection of business-focused podcasts that are coming together under the MNN banner. Lapin and co-founder and fellow podcaster Morgan Lavoie, aim to emphasize expertise and plain-English discussion of complicated financial markets rather than trying to draw listeners with high-wattage celebrity names.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The SAG-AFTRA Foundation is set to break ground next month on a 15,000-square-foot facility at the union’s mid-Wilshire headquarters that will be a central hub for the foundation’s educational, career development and event activities in the Los Angeles area. The Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists will be built on the 10th floor of SAG-AFTRA’s longtime home in the famed Museum Square building. It’s expected to open its doors early next year, thanks to support from its namesake, the three-time Oscar winner who is one of the most renowned actors of all time. The facility will also feature the Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson Screening Room, equipped with high-end technology to host screenings, panels and educational programs.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor As the fourth-quarter earnings cycle for Big Media closes today with Warner Bros. Discovery results after the market close, Wall Street will be eagerly looking for green shoots to confirm that the worst is truly over for the newly minted conglomerate. Warner Bros. Discovery shares have been gaining slowly but steadily since the beginning of this year as Team Zaslav hammers the point to investors that the worst of its integration and restructuring pain is behind them. WBD CEO David Zaslav has been ahead of the curve in preaching a return to the business fundamentals that have powered Hollywood for more than a half-century. Disney and Paramount Global delivered results earlier this month that came with sober warnings about streaming losses hitting a peak this year. Zaslav and WBD chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels have promised analysts that the heaviest gusher of investment in HBO Max came in 2022 and that they are now on the path to taking the streamer to the promised land — profitablity — next year.

Katie Reul editor Sam Elliott, the mustachioed actor best known for roles in “1883,” “A Star Is Born” and “The Big Lebowski,” sat on Variety‘s Talks, presented by Paramount+, for a meditation on endings and beginnings throughout his long career. Born and raised in Sacramento, Elliott explained his love for filmmaking developed as a result of frequent visits to The Sequoia, his local theater. At the age of 9, he saw “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), which he credits as a major source of inspiration in committing to acting: “I wanted to make an audience feel what that magic was doing up there,” Elliott said. A deep dive through the Variety archives yielded insight on the first time Elliott’s name ever appeared in print. Elliott shared a laugh with Cynthia Littleton, Variety Co-Editor in Chief, when she surprised him with a copy of his first-ever reference in Variety, a two-line item from the April 16, 1968, edition noting that he signed to be a contract player for 20th Century Fox, in the waning days of Old Hollywood.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has signed on for four more years as national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. The contract extension was approved by the performers union’s national board via a virtual meeting. The vote tally was 87.68% yes and 12.32% no for keeping Crabtree-Ireland at the helm through June 20, 2028. Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA noted the importance of keeping Crabtree-Ireland in place as the union faces difficult contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in the coming months. The union’s master film and TV contract with Hollywood’s largest employers is set to expire June 30.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paramount Global is preparing to hike the monthly price of Paramount+ later this year, and the company disclosed its intent to take as much as a $1.5 billion write-down from the integration of Showtime with the streaming platform. Paramount Global chief financial officer Naveen Chopra unveiled the pricing plan details and plans for a $1.3 billion-$1.5 billion impairment charge as Showtime is blended into Paramount+ in the U.S. Paramount is aiming for $700 million in savings as Showtime and Paramount+ become one. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish acknowledged in a conference call with Wall Street analysts on Thursday morning that the company hit big “headwinds” in 2022 and that 2023 will not be a robust year for profits. “We are at peak investment in 2023” in Paramount+, Bakish said.