UPDATED with content spend stats from annual report: Giant Amazon said its total expenses for video and music came to $16.6 billion last year, up from $13 billion in 2021. Video and music expense includes licensing and production costs associated with content offered within Amazon Prime memberships, and costs associated with digital subscriptions and sold or rented content, according to the company’s latest annual report that followed fourth quarter financials yesterday. On an earnings call Thursday, CFO Brian Olsavsky noted that Amazon spent $7 billion on originals, live sports and licensed content in 2022, up from $5 billion the year before. It’s unclear if those figures include all worldwide video content, which is increasingly central to Amazon’s strategy in driving membership for Prime, the biggest loyalty program in the world and the beating heart of the company. Amazon (which acquired MGM last year for $8.5 billion in cash) carefully evaluates its return on … [Read more...] about Amazon Praises Video As Key Driver Of Prime; 2022 Content Spend, Including Music, Hit $16.6 Billion
Andrew lloyd webbers first musical
Anderson .Paak Threatens Crowd with R. Kelly Music Unless They Start Dancing
TMZ.com Anderson .Paak wasn't about to let a whole group of people stand still while he DJ'd some of his best music ... jokingly issuing a threat to play some R. Kelly if they didn't start moving. AP played a barrage of new wave and funk records during Spotify's Best New Artist party Thursday in L.A. The playlist didn't appear to get the reaction .Paak had hoped for, and he repeatedly instructed the crowd to get their groove on ... even after his trusty trumpet player Maurice "Mobetta" Brown arrived on the scene to spruce things up. At one point, AP singled out a particular stick in the mud who was killing his vibe on the turntables, but eventually powered through and even rocked out on the drums to close his set. Gallery Launch Gallery Getty Finally, he threatens the crowd he'd turn on some R. Kelly if they didn't get their act right. Of course, R. Kelly's music is a point of controversy over the last few years ... he's got decades … [Read more...] about Anderson .Paak Threatens Crowd with R. Kelly Music Unless They Start Dancing
George Santos Claims He Produced ‘Spider-Man’ Musical, Allegedly Another Lie
TMZ/Getty/Alamy George Santos is caught allegedly spinning the truth once again ... this time claiming he worked on the Spider-Man musical, another apparent lie. That's right ... a new report from Bloomberg claims while Santos was running for Congress in 2021, he told a group of potential donors he worked as one of the producers on the musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark." Getty As has almost become automatic, Bloomberg reports Santos' claim was shut down by the show's lead producer, Michael Cohl . Cohl says Santos was not a producer on the musical, and his name never appeared in the playbills for the show. "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" ran from 2011 to 2014 with a massive $75 million budget. However, the show became notorious for it's delay in opening and injuries to actors performing stunts. Getty Of course, it's just the latest in a series of Santos' alleged lies ... including when he said his mom died … [Read more...] about George Santos Claims He Produced ‘Spider-Man’ Musical, Allegedly Another Lie
Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television
There was a moment last November when Channel 4 ’s senior executives breathed a sigh of relief. Sat at the top table of Channel 4’s 40th birthday party, Chief Executive Alex Mahon was flanked by her friend Elisabeth Murdoch and doyens of UK broadcasting, including BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive. They were raising a glass to a British success story in a rare public display of unity. On the same table was Thérèse Coffey, a senior government minister who had survived three prime ministers in the space of little more than three months. Her presence at the V&A Museum event bemused others, who believed the government only had hostile intentions for Channel 4 after sanctioning a sale of the broadcaster against its wishes. Things soon got weirder. Coffey turned to Mahon and asked if she could raise a glass to Channel 4. She then proceeded to surprise the room full of TV luminaries by serenading her hosts with a rendition of happy … [Read more...] about Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television
London’s Kinoteka Polish Film Festival Unveils 2023 Lineup Including BFI-Backed Jerzy Skolimowski Retrospective
EXCLUSIVE: The Kinoteka Polish Film Festival has set the lineup for its 21st edition, running March 9 — April 27 at venues across London. The festival will open at the Institute of Contemporary Arts with the UK Premiere of Polish filmmaker Damian Kocur’s debut feature, Bread and Salt . Inspired by true events, the pic follows Tymek, a young and talented student of the Warsaw Academy of Music who returns to his provincial hometown for vacation. Upon his return, he discovers that the central meeting point for local youth is a newly created kebab bar. Tymek witnesses a growing conflict between the shop workers, who are Arabs, and his friends from the neighborhood, leading to a conflict that will turn out to be tragic. The film debuted at Venice last year. The festival will close with a gala screening of the 1977 film Top Dog (Wodzirej) at the Cine Lumiere in South Kensington. Causing much debate in Poland on its original release, Top Dog follows the story of … [Read more...] about London’s Kinoteka Polish Film Festival Unveils 2023 Lineup Including BFI-Backed Jerzy Skolimowski Retrospective
Blue Finch Boards Mojave Desert Horror ‘The Outwaters’ Ahead Of U.S. Release — EFM
EXCLUSIVE : Ahead of the EFM , Blue Finch Films has boarded international sales, excluding North America, on horror The Outwaters . The film follows four friends who set out to make a music video whilst camping in the sun-drenched Mojave desert. Their trip starts off like any other, but the group soon realizes something is not right. Mysterious sounds haunt them, and when a menacing force descends, their horrifying journey begins. North American rights have been acquired by Cinedigm who plan to release The Outwaters in theaters on February 9 followed by a launch on its horror streaming service Screambox, which is powered by studio Bloody Disgusting. Written and directed by Robbie Banfitch, The Outwaters has screened at Chattanooga and Panic Fest, and also took home the Jury Prize for Best Feature at Unnamed Footage Festival and Dead of Night Film Festival. Cast includes Angela Basolis, Michelle May, Scott Schamell and Banfitch and features original music by Salem … [Read more...] about Blue Finch Boards Mojave Desert Horror ‘The Outwaters’ Ahead Of U.S. Release — EFM
Daniel Hoff Agency Expands With Addition Of Atlanta Office
EXCLUSIVE : Leading boutique firm, the Daniel Hoff Agency, is celebrating an impressive 30-year track record in entertainment via an expansion into Atlanta with a new office to be led by senior agents Renee Banks and Marta Parrillo . Banks and Parrillo are both longtime veterans of the Daniel Hoff Agency who had previously been based in Los Angeles. The agency, with an established presence in both L.A. and New York, now looks to capitalize on the burgeoning hotbed of production in the South, with local agents to bring the personal touch that has been key to the firm’s growth over the decades. Daniel Hoff Agency founder, Daniel Hoff, told Deadline: “Ten years ago, we seized the opportunity to open a Manhattan office with Dave Secor leading the charge, and in 2020, we expanded that New York presence as we brought on power Broadway and musical theater agents Dustin Flores and Marc Anthony Ferre. Now, with the explosive industry investment and growth in the South, … [Read more...] about Daniel Hoff Agency Expands With Addition Of Atlanta Office
E-40 Donates $100K to Grambling State, Honored With ‘Earl Stevens’ Studio
TMZ.com E-40 was doing it “too big” like his Mount Westmore anthem at his alma mater Grambling State University on Friday … donating a massive $100K check to the HBCU’s music department for invaluable upgrades for generations of students to come. The legendary rapper was flanked by his wife, GSU President Rick Gallot and Dr. Nikole Roebuck … Grambling’s Music Department Chair and Director of Bands and graciously addressed the crowd during his coronation. TMZ.com The GSU Tigers flipped the script and surprised E-40 with the unveiling of The Earl “E-40” Stevens Sound Recording studio … a commemorative installation to inspire students’ music hustle just like the Bay Area OG!!! 40 attended GSU all the way back in 1986 which paved the road he walked to become a hip hop icon — and told onlookers it was an honor to stand at the university for the full-circle moment. He explained growing up in his impoverished Vallejo, CA neighborhood led … [Read more...] about E-40 Donates $100K to Grambling State, Honored With ‘Earl Stevens’ Studio
Lil Keed’s 1st Posthumous Song ‘Long Way to Go’ Drops
Lil Keed 's family has released a new song from the YSL rapper ... nearly one year after his tragic passing from a rare blood cell disorder. Keed's mother, Tonnie "HoodMama" Woods-Reed , lead the charge for the rollout with a heartfelt message of bereavement, but still wanted his fans to have music to attach to their own sorrow. "On May 13, 2022, I lost my son Raqhid Render—who many of you knew as the artist Lil Keed. While this journey through the different phases of grief has been indescribably hard, a way that I have found to cope is through his music." Getty Rapper Lil Keed Dead at 24 She continued, "Right before his passing, Keed was hard at work on what would’ve been his highly anticipated next album, Keed Talk to ’Em 2. As much as he was a great father, son, and friend—he was also an artist who (thanks to many of you) lived and continues to live through his music. With that being said, the time has come to share some of our last pieces of … [Read more...] about Lil Keed’s 1st Posthumous Song ‘Long Way to Go’ Drops
‘The Last Of Us’ Has Made A New Hit Of Linda Ronstadt’s 53-Year-Old Song ’Long Long Time’ – All Because Seth Rudetsky Knows Everything
Two years ago to this very day, Seth Rudetsky , the Broadway composer, musician, podcaster, host of a show on SiriusXM radio, fundraiser , musical cruise host, conveyer of pop culture trivia and, now, “source music consultant,” received a text from Craig Mazin, the screenwriter, director and producer. Mazin was friends with Ted Griffin, who is married to Sutton Foster, who knows, as does seemingly everybody else in musical theater, Rudetsky. “I get this text,” Sudetsky remembers, “in all capital letters, saying IT’S EMMY AND GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNING CRAIG MAZIN. STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING. I NEED YOUR HELP.” Specifically, Mazin needed a song for a TV episode he was working on, a show tune along the lines of “I Miss The Music” from the 2006 Kander & Ebb musical Curtains , only older. If you’ve seen the third episode of HBO’s The Last Of U s, the post-apocalyptic drama created by Mazin and Neil Druckmann (based on a 2013 video game), you’ll know where this is … [Read more...] about ‘The Last Of Us’ Has Made A New Hit Of Linda Ronstadt’s 53-Year-Old Song ’Long Long Time’ – All Because Seth Rudetsky Knows Everything