The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
This fall, Hollywood studio executives may be in for a shock when it comes to their budgets. A bill winding through California’s legislature that takes aim at gig-fueled companies like Uber and Postmates may upend long-standing showbiz practices by reclassifying scores of independent contractors as employees, and could render tax-lucrative loan-out companies useless. The bill, AB 5, which the state assembly passed May 29, is designed to protect workers from being misclassified as independent contractors and therefore denied such employee protections as minimum wage, overtime pay and workers’ compensation. It seeks to codify and expand the California Supreme Court’s 2018 Dynamex decision, and would presume every worker is an employee — with a few exceptions for people like barbers and real estate agents — unless a company can show that…
Susan Ruskin The American Film Institute Conservatory taps the producer and educator as its new dean, replacing Richard Gladstein, who held the post for only 18 months. Neal Harmon The VidAngel CEO loses in court as his “clean movie” startup is ordered to pay $62 million in damages to studios after a jury found copyright infringement of 800-plus films was willful. Michelle Rejwan Lucasfilm taps the Rise of Skywalker producer to oversee a new slate of Star Wars films as well as series for the forthcoming Disney+ streamer. James and Dennis Wang China regulators abruptly pull the Huayi Brothers co-founders’ $80 million war epic The Eight Hundred from the Shanghai Film Festival, sparking worries of a broader censorship crackdown. Showbiz Stocks $38.99 (+4%) DISH NETWORK (DISH) The satellite TV firm…
In 2016, Sony Pictures’ top executives, including chief Tom Rothman, faced a dilemma: reboot Men in Black or pursue a crossover with 21 Jump Street? Initially, Sony tried to make deals for the crossover, but that plan required names such as Steven Spielberg and Walter Parkes on the Black side, and Chris Miller and Phil Lord on the Street side, to forgo rich producing deals. And when Street producer Neal Moritz refused to compromise on his first-dollar pact, several sources tell THR, the studio pivoted to a relaunch. With franchise stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones absent, the June 14 release Men in Black: International fizzled stateside with a $30 million opening — a franchise low. The studio had hoped for much more with the pairing of Marvel Studios’…
For the second time in six years, Dan Loeb and his activist hedge fund, Third Point, are calling on Sony Corp. to spin off assets in an effort to boost rewards for investors saddled with shares of a complicated media giant that is underappreciated on Wall Street. It’s not entirely deja vu, though. Last time, Third Point encouraged the Japanese conglomerate to jettison its “bloated” entertainment assets, but now it is bullish on that business and wants it to be the focus of a “New Sony.” Sony “is one of the most undervalued large cap businesses in the world today,” trading at about eight times earnings while competitors are north of 12, Third Point argues in an open letter dated June 13. Third Point previously invested in Sony in 2013,…
Guest Column For decades, Hollywood’s major talent agencies controlled the machinery that funneled valuable human resources into hungry studios. But they craved more money, more power. With an infusion of private equity funding in the past 10 years, these agencies aggressively expanded beyond talent representation and packaging by buying entertainment enterprises and venturing into content development to reap the benefits of ownership. There is not a better reflection of this than Endeavor, a company run by CEO Ari Emanuel that includes WME, IMG, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Professional Bull Riders and The Miss Universe Organization — much of which was financed via the craving-for-profit private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. But in their quest for ever-increasing money and power, talent companies like Endeavor may have sowed the seeds of diminished influence.…
BILLBOARD HOT 100: The week’s most popular current songs, across all genres, ranked by audience impressions, sales data and streaming activity by online music sources tracked by Nielsen Music. BILLBOARD 200: The week’s most popular albums across all genres, as compiled by Nielsen Music, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums).…
