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After being on hiatus for the last two years during Covid, the Producers Guild of America ( PGA )’s 12th annual Produced By Conference has announced its first round of speakers. The event is taking place on Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12 at the FOX Studio Lot in Century City. Those panelists include Oscar winner Viola Davis (CEO and Co-Founder, JuVee Productions; The First Lady); veteran producer Julius Tennon (President and Co-Founder of JuVee Productions; The First Lady); animation heavyweight Seth MacFarlane (Founder/CEO, Fuzzy Door, The Orville, Ted & Ted 2, Family Guy ); pioneering producer Charles D. King (Founder & CEO, MACRO; Judas And The Black Messiah, Mudbound ); tentpole-maker Dan Lin (Founder and CEO of Rideback; The LEGO Movie franchise, Disney’s Aladdin , Netflix’s The Two Popes , The CW’s Walker ); legendary producer Stephanie Allain (Homegrown Pictures, Owner; Hustle & Flow, Dear White People ); master of television Betsy Beers … [Read more...] about PGA Produced By Conference Returns In-Person With Viola Davis, Charles D. King, Seth MacFarlane, Dan Lin & More

Selena Gomez tonight made her debut as host of Saturday Night Live , speaking in her opening monologue about the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building , which has her starring alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short, and more. Gomez opened her monologue by noting that growing up, she’d watch the late-night show with her mother every week. “This is a big moment for me,” she said. “I actually started acting when I was seven, and I’ve been lucky enough to work with some Hollywood icons, [like] Steve Martin, Martin Short and, of course, Barney.” We then cut to a shot of the actress with the purple dinosaur from one of her appearances on the children’s show Barney & Friends back in the early 2000s. “That was the first show I was on, and now I’m on a show called Only Murders in the Building ,” noted Gomez. “I was so honored to work with Steve Martin and Martin Short, especially after I googled them to find out who they were.” Gomez recalled that when she … [Read more...] about ‘SNL’: Selena Gomez Talks ‘Only Murders’, Impersonates Miley Cyrus, Sings ‘Barney’ Song In Opening Monologue

Steve Martin crashed his Only Murders co-star Selena Gomez’s first episode as host of SNL , for a pre-taped sketch on whoopie cushion inventor, Archie Gizmo. The segment on Martin’s fictional inventor came as part of the show American Inventors , hosted by Taylor Gosh (Gomez). “The automobile, paper cup, dancing, computer. These were all invented. But who did that, and what is their story?” Gosh wonders up top. “We begin with Archie Gizmo, the brilliant inventor of the whoopie cushion.” We then cut to Gizmo himself, who explains that back in the early ’60s, he was just a “struggling gag inventor,” who had thus far created only an early prototype of the whoopie cushion. “I knew it would be funny to have your boss sit down and [have] a noise come from his butt,” said Gizmo, “but I just couldn’t figure out what noise.” Helping the inventor to crack the case is Ms. Dina Beans (Aidy Bryant), a woman he sees from afar at a party. “Her energy was magnetic; her eyes … [Read more...] about Steve Martin Crashes ‘Only Murders’ Co-Star Selena Gomez’s ‘SNL’ Debut For Sketch On Whoopie Cushion Inventor

As YouTube took its first step onto turf long controlled by television — upfronts week in New York — the Google-owned video operation released new research affirming its connection with viewers. The new study conducted with the firm Talk Shoppe was summed up with the acronym RISE, short for relevance, intellectual, sensorial and emotional. It found that 86% of survey respondents said YouTube delivered relevant and intellectual programming, compared with results in the 73% to 79% range for other platforms. In terms of emotion, the number was 84%, edging social media at 80%. The lone category where YouTube did not come out No. 1 was in sensorial — aka the way programming looks and sounds — where it rated 72% and trailed streaming’s 76%. The stats were delivered as part of a breakfast hosted at the St. Regis Hotel. Tara Wolpert-Levy, VP of the Americas for YouTube, delivered remarks along with Andrew Robertson, CEO of ad agency BBDO, and prominent creator Mark Rober. … [Read more...] about YouTube Kicks Off Upfront Week With Research Asserting Its Bond With Viewers Is Tighter Than TV, Streaming Or Social Media

If you happen to be wondering why it is that some of your favourite small and medium publishers are silent today, it’s because they are all #WaitingOnZuck. Kicking off today, the #WaitingOnZuck campaign is spearheaded by Decade of Action and is in direct response to last year’s News Media Bargaining Code, which was signed into law in February of 2021. The News Media Bargaining Code resulted in Facebook blocking news from local publishers as they continued to oppose the law, which would require designated tech platforms to strike commercial deals with Australian publishers that recognised the value of the content those publishers provided the platforms. Though Facebook ( Meta ) has indeed agreed to some commercial deals, they have refused to negotiate with most of Australia’s independent and small publishers. As the #WaitingOnZuck campaign explains, “this risks the slow demise of meaningful independent media in Australia which gives our industry its diversity.” Now, … [Read more...] about We Are Waiting on Zuck