Company Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

So many stars mingled in fashionable bliss at the launch of Max Mara‘s pop-up boutique in Soho on Tuesday (September 12).

BreAnna Bell Disney has responded to reports claiming the company is in early talks to sell its ABC network and TV stations, saying the company “has made no decision” on it yet. “While we are open to considering a variety of strategic options for our linear businesses, at this time The Walt Disney Company has made no decision with respect to the divestiture of ABC or any other property and any report to that effect is unfounded,” the statement reads.

Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels echoed recent sentiments from Netflix and other major TV and film producers, saying the industry must resolve the ongoing strikes and “get back to work.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The two Hollywood strikes that have ground TV and film productions to a standstill are bad for business — and Warner Bros. Discovery is working diligently to resolve them as quickly as possible, according to CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels. “It’s an unfortunate situation… We have to get back to work,” Wiedenfels said, speaking Thursday at the Bank of America Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference.

Eddie Marks, the president of Western Costume Company whose career in costuming included early collaborations on Elvis Presley films, died Monday while visiting Prague. He was 76.

Tom Carter, a longtime former Nexstar exec who is now a senior advisor to the CEO and board of directors, says the company could acquire Disney’s local ABC TV stations with “little friction” if they become available.

McKinley Franklin editor Edward “Eddie” Marks, the Emmy-winning president of Western Costume Company, died on Monday in Prague. He was 76.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Investors cheered as TKO Group Holdings, the new parent company of UFC and WWE, clambered into the Wall Street ring. Shares of TKO, which began trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, closed up 2.6% on the day, to $103.22 per share after opening at $102. TKO Group has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, per data from CNBC.

EXCLUSIVE: Distributor-producer Lucky Red is one of Italy’s most respected independent film and TV companies. Run by former actor Andrea Occhipinti since 1987, the firm has released more than 500 titles and produced more than 50 films.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts kicked off an appearance Wednesday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference by saying he’s “not completely surprised” by the Disney-Charter carriage battle.

EXCLUSIVE: Avant-garde car designer Chris Bangle is turning his talents to animated TV.

EXCLUSIVE: Thriller Die Alone, starring Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix franchise), Douglas Smith (Big Little Lies), Frank Grillo (Captain America) and Kimberly-Sue Murray (V Wars), has switched international sales companies from Archstone — which launched the project in Cannes — to Myriad Pictures.

It’s official!

Primetime Emmy winning producer Bruna Papandrea is looking to sell her production company Made Up Stories per sources.

After weeks of speculation, Hawaiian Electric Company, which provides power to Lahaina, admitted that its power lines caused the first of two flare-ups in a field next to Lahaina Intermediate School. But, the company maintains it is not responsible for the fires that killed at least 115 people and left an unknown number of others missing, making them the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.

Alice Cooper after he described being transgender as “a fad”.The shock rock star, 75, recently worked with make-up brand Vampyre Cosmetics on a new collaboration, but has since been dropped after controversial comments made in a recent interview.As Billboard reports, the make-up products, which were announced on August 14, have also now been dropped from the website.The rock artist was speaking in a recent interview with Stereogumwhen he said that he believed things had “gone now to the point of absurdity”.The musician also said that he was “understanding that there are cases of transgender”, but that “I’m afraid that it’s also a fad, and I’m afraid there’s a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that”.Now, Vampyre Cosmetics has shared a statement to say it will no longer be working with Cooper.“In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no​​​​​​​​​Longer be doing a makeup collaboration,” the brand wrote in an Instagram post. We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare.

Kim Zolciak is in deep.

Irn-Bru workers are to resume strikes after union bosses accused A.G. Barr of 'illegal activity' during industrial action at the company’s Scots distribution centre.

Scooter Braun wants everyone to know everything is super chill. No worries whatsoever.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Technology giant IBM seems to think the wind is blowing in a different direction. The company said Tuesday that it had agreed to sell its Weather Company — a collection of digital and analytical assets it originally acquired in 2016 that were previously part of the Weather Channel — to Francisco Partners, a private equity fund that is focused on technology.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International U.K. consultancy and theatre company Access All Areas is launching a new production outfit, co-led by learning disabled and autistic talent, and focused on improving learning disabled and neurodivergent representation in TV and film. The launch coincides with a renewed drive for inclusion via the TV Access Project — a coalition of U.K.

Allsopp & Allsopp, one of Dubai's top property companies, is coming to Manchester to unveil a transformative recruitment event at the The Edwardian on Wednesday, September 6 and Thursday, September 7. One of four events next month across the UK, the team will identify and welcome the next wave of aspiring millionaires.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The private-equity firm that owns MindGeek — which operates a massive network of adult entertainment properties, including Pornhub — has shed the company’s old name and, it hopes, some of the baggage that came with it. “The decision to rebrand the company as Aylo comes in response to the need for a fresh start and a renewed commitment to innovation, diverse and inclusive adult content, and trust and safety,” the Montreal-based company said in an Aug.

The Walt Disney Co. filed a counterclaim against the Ron DeSantis-appointed board of a special district that covers its Florida theme parks, seeking damages and the enforcement of a set of development contracts.

Paramount Global shares dipped 2% Thursday morning after word surfaced Wednesday night that the company had abandoned its effort to sell a stake in BET Media Group.

Naman Ramachandran World Productions (“Vigil,” “Line of Duty”) is producing a new season of hit series “Showtrial” for BBC One and iPlayer. Writer and creator Ben Richards (“The Diplomat”) returns for the series. In the show, when high-profile climate activist Marcus Calderwood is left for dead in a violent hit and run, he uses his dying moments to identify his killer – a serving policeman.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) MD-CEO Punit Goenka will not be able to hold any office in the merged Sony-Zee entity for now, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has said. In June, SEBI had barred Goenka and ZEEL chair emeritus Subhash Chandra from holding any managerial or directorial positions in listed companies while it carried out investigations into allegations of insider trading.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, whose $375 million acquisition of Redbox closed about a year ago, delivered second-quarter financial results reflecting the company’s struggle to fully digest the deal.

Angelique Jackson Award-winning producers Mimi Valdés and Nina Yang Bongiovi are teaming up for a new venture, Fly Green Socks, a multicultural media company focused on producing hip-hop narratives in film. “Hip-hop is a culture defining superpower, influencing fashion, technology and even politics.