Cost cutting ideas for companies

RTL is centralizing its German publishing arm, as the European networks and media group continues to reshape its assets. More than 500 roles will be cut as the company aims to focus on “core brands” and bringing its publishing, TV and streaming businesses closer together. RTL bosses say the reorg will result in €75M ($80.2M) of annual savings and €80M will be invested in digital transformation of its remaining publishing assets. Publishing brands Stern, Geo, Capital and Stern Crime are being integrated into RTL News in Germany. This is due to “synergies with RTL Deutschland’s TV editorial teams” and comes after RTL Deutschland and publisher Gruner + Jahr merged in November last year. Other publishing brands such as Brigette, Gala and Hauser will remain under RTL’s Gruner + Jahr Deutschland business and will “collaborate selectively” with RTL Deutschland’s TV and streaming businesses. All other titles will be sold or discontinued, and RTL Deutschland is entering into … [Read more...] about RTL To Cut Hundreds Of Roles In German Publishing Biz Shake-Up

EXCLUSIVE : Talent manager Chris Kiely has been promoted to Partner at Authentic Talent and Literary Management after nearly 11 years with the company. Kiely’s new role will see him take on increased responsibilities in hiring, recruitment, and the establishing and maintaining of agency relationships, while continuing his day-to-day business as a manager and his mentorship of junior employees. The promotion follows Authentic founder and CEO Jon Rubinstein’s 2021 decision to steer the company away from a single leadership structure, with growth instead being driven by a larger partnership group. Others playing key roles in the process after being introduced as Partners last year include Anne Woodward, Sean Elliott, Jane Berliner, Jill Kaplan, Vikram Dhawer, Bob Glennon, Don Wongprapan, Meg Mortimer and Rick Dorfman. Kiely’s promotion also recognizes the role he’s played in finding opportunities for creatives from underrepresented communities, as a manager who’s long … [Read more...] about Authentic Talent And Literary Management Ups Chris Kiely To Partner

EXCLUSIVE : Lauren Oliver — the bestselling YA author, screenwriter and producer known for titles like Panic and Before I Fall — has today announced the launch of her new media company, StoryGiants , also naming projects currently on its slate. StoryGiants is a decentralized company with employees and partners in L.A., NY, Palo Alto, Austin, Dubai and France, which will look to create powerful and compelling stories across a variety of mediums, leveraging both technological and structural innovation to improve production efficiency and grow the value of great IP faster. The company is building at launch upon its own library of IP, the goal being to introduce universes of content with myriad expressions of media and revenue opportunities. By anchoring content creation into proprietary real-time animation and VFX technology, StoryGiants will be able to produce not only animated and live-action series, but also feature films, digital media, and published works. The … [Read more...] about ‘Panic’ Creator & Author Lauren Oliver Launches Media Studio StoryGiants, Unveils Upcoming Slate

Laika ’s planned expansion into the realm of live-action was furthered on Tuesday, with the announcement that longtime Netflix executive Matt Levin will be joining the studio in the newly created role of President, Live-Action Film & Series. The venerated Oregon animation studio’s hire comes amidst development on its first live-action project — a feature adaptation of the action-thriller novel Seventeen by screenwriter John Brownlow ( The Miniaturist , Sylvia ). Levin joins the stop-motion specialist following eight years at Netflix, where he most recently served as Director, Original Independent Film. He co-founded that department and is credited with helping it grow into a full-scale mini-major. His direct report at Laika is President & CEO Travis Knight, who also helmed the company’s acclaimed 2016 feature, Kubo and the Two Strings . Knight remarked in a statement that “Matt Levin is an awesome dude. Both a steely-eyed pragmatist and a starry-eyed … [Read more...] about Laika Appoints Netflix Veteran Matt Levin To New Role Of President, Live-Action Film & Series

The six-member editorial staff at Talking Points Memo has voted unanimously to ratify the WGA East ’s new three-year contract with the political news website. “The guild’s new collective bargaining agreement with Talking Points Memo raises the bar for online media workers, setting standards that keep up with cost-of-living expenses and the state of the industry,” said WGA East Executive Director Lowell Peterson. “It is rewarding, especially for guild members working at Talking Points Memo, to see a company live up to the values it espouses online.” The new contract will see the minimum salary go from $52,000 up to $65,000 in January 2025. Employees making below $75,000 will receive a 3.5% salary increase in each year of the contract, those making up to $100,000 will receive 3.25% annual salary increases, and staffers making over $100,000 will receive 3% annual salary increases. The company also agreed to increase severance minimums from six weeks to eight, with two … [Read more...] about Talking Points Memo Editorial Staffers Ratify New WGA East Contract

EXCLUSIVE : Ahead of the EFM , Michael Rothstein and Sam Hall’s Mossbank is launching international sales on action-horror film Azrael , starring Samara Weaving ( Ready Or Not ). CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group will co-rep domestic. Details about the movie have been kept under wraps to date but we can now reveal plot and a first look image. Currently in post-production, the film is set in a world in which no one speaks and follows a devout female-led community which hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, Azrael (Weaving) is due to be sacrificed to pacify an ancient evil deep within the surrounding wilderness – but she has other ideas. Pic was directed by E.L. Katz ( Haunting Of Bly Manor ) from an original script by Simon Barrett ( The Guest, You’re Next ). As we first revealed last year, Jason Cloth and Dave Caplan’s C2 Motion Picture Group ( Babylon ) won the rights to the project … [Read more...] about Mossbank, CAA & UTA Launch Action-Horror ‘Azrael’ With ‘Ready Or Not’ Star Samara Weaving & ‘You’re Next’ Scribe, First Look — EFM

The 11-member editorial staff of Talking Points Memo has unanimously ratified its first union contract with the WGA East , making it the latest digital news site to come under the guild’s umbrella. All members of the news and political site’s editorial staff signed a letter expressing their intent to join the guild in May 2018, and publisher Josh Marshall immediately recognized the union as their bargaining representative. The new three-year agreement includes a minimum starting salary of $52,000, annual cost-of-living wage increases of 3% for employees earning under $75,000, weekend pay and reimbursements, 10 weeks of paid parental leave and a non-discrimination clause and a commitment from management for diverse hiring practices. “TPM has a history of reporting on labor rights and this collective bargaining agreement demonstrates that they are willing to walk-the-walk and address the concerns raised by guild-represented employees at the bargaining table,” said … [Read more...] about Talking Points Memo Editorial Staff Ratifies First Contract With WGA East