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EXCLUSIVE : Productivity Media (PMI) and Wind Sun Sky Entertainment (WSS) have hired producer Navid McIlhargey as Head of Content for both companies. McIlhargey, who previously worked at companies including New Regency and Silver Pictures, will be responsible for building a slate of live-action and animated film and TV projects and overseeing the respective content teams. The hire comes on the heels of PMI’s investment and first look distribution deal with WSS for film and TV. Mcllhargey was an executive at Joe Roth’s Revolution Studios and later moved to Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures where he was an executive producer on Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla . He later became EVP at New Regency, overseeing The Darkest Hour starring Emile Hirsch and Joel Kinneman, as well as Broken City , starring Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe. In 2015, he started his own consulting and production shingle, Vandal Entertainment, working on The Hunter’s Prayer . He was a supervising … [Read more...] about Former New Regency & Silver Pictures Exec Navid McIlhargey Joins Wind Sun Sky Entertainment & Productivity Media

EXCLUSIVE : Christina Hall , star of numerous HGTV series, launched her own production company, Unbroken, last year, and she’s starting to bolster her slate. Hall, whose latest series Christina in the Country launched last week, and her husband Josh Hall teamed with Nancy Glass’s Glass Entertainment Group, the company behind Frozen In Time , to launch Unbroken Productions . Unbroken will work alongside Glass Entertainment banner Balthazar Entertainment, which produces Christina in the Country as well as Christina on the Coast , which launched its third season in December, on future series. The first new series to emerge out of this partnership is Coastal Crazy Rich Agents , which features Keven Stirdiv, who along with his family, owns KASE Real Estate in Southern California, which sold over $365 million in real estate last year. Coastal Crazy Rich Agents follows Keven, a former pro-skateboarder, and his family as they run their lavish and fast-paced … [Read more...] about HGTV Star Christina Hall Preps OC Real Estate Series As She Bolsters Her Own Unbroken Production Slate

There’s change afoot at Love Island seller ITV Studios. Current ITV Studios Managing Director of Global Distribution Ruth Berry has been upped to lead a unified global commercial division. This will comprise her Global Distribution arm and ITV Studios Global Entertainment. Arjan Pomper, currently Managing Director of formats division ITV Studios Global Entertainment, is stepping down. ITV Studios says uniting the units under single leadership “will enable ITV Studios to align more closely with buyers and reflects the evolution of the global market with the growth of the streaming platforms, on-going market consolidation and the adoption by many buyers of a single buying approach across all genres.” In effect, this means formats such as Love Island , My Mum Your Dad and The Voice will sit alongside finished series such as Line of Duty and LItvinenko . The catalog will comprise 90,000 hours and 285 unique formats. Dedicated format and finished programming … [Read more...] about ‘Love Island’ Seller ITV Studios Unites Distribution Under Ruth Berry, With Arjan Pomper To Exit

In what’s likely the most fashionable fusion of food and footwear we’ve seen comes Menulog’s latest venture – custom Katy Perry-inspired handmade sneakers that you can win for your very own collection. For the project, the food delivery legends have partnered with Damian Sim of BespokeIND, who has worked with some of the world’s biggest names while creating his one-of-a-kind handmade sneakers for almost a decade. Damian created the exclusive custom ‘Sushi Sneakers’ inspired by Katy Perry’s indulgent world of food while paying homage to her iconic sushi dress worn in her music video for ‘Did Somebody Say’. The Katy Perry-inspired ‘Sushi Sneakers’ are a sneakerhead’s dream, featuring a salmon maki roll-inspired colour palette complemented with striking rice prints, fishtail loops and even a pair of chopsticks. “We build everything from scratch. So the only thing we use originally from Nike is the actual midsole – everything is still from scratch,” Damian said. The … [Read more...] about Menulog Are Giving Away Katy Perry-Inspired Custom Sneakers

EXCLUSIVE: Elena Saurel ( Industry) has been confirmed as a lead opposite Katelyn Tarver in Open Book , Amazon Freevee ’s half-hour scripted pilot, inspired by Jessica Simpson ’s bestselling memoir, from Tom Kapinos ( Californication ), Patrick Moran’s PKM Productions and Amazon Studios. Described as a propulsive, music-soaked coming-of-age story, Open Boo k, written by Kapinos, follows pop star Sadie Sparrow’s (Tarver) rise from ingenue to mogul, introducing us to the family, friends, and lovers she collects along the way. Touching on themes of love, friendship, family and sisterhood, relationships, soul connections, Hollywood and the music business, Sadie ultimately comes to embrace herself and the fact that her heart inevitably wants what it wants at every stage of life. Saurel plays Kat. Dark and cynical with a dry wit and unique wisdom, Kat is Sadie’s older sister and the “black sheep” of the family. John Stamos also stars in the pilot and will recur if it … [Read more...] about Elena Saurel Confirmed For Amazon Freevee’s ‘Open Book’ Pilot Inspired By Jessica Simpson Memoir

NBC has ordered the pilot for Wolf , a one-hour medical drama from writer-producer Michael Grassi , producer-director Lee Toland Krieger and executive producer Greg Berlanti . The project comes from Warner Bros Television, where all three are under overall deals. This is the project’s third incarnation, after previously receiving a put pilot commitment at Fox in 2019 with Alex Berger to write. Krieger remains with the project from its previous iteration, and he will direct the pilot. Wolf is inspired by the books The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks . It follows a revolutionary, larger-than-life neurologist and his team of interns as they explore the last great frontier, the human mind, while also grappling with their own relationships and mental health. Berlanti will executive produce alongside Sarah Schechter and Leigh London Redman for Berlanti Productions. Henrik Bastin and Melissa Aouate will … [Read more...] about ‘Wolf’ Medical Drama Inspired By Oliver Sacks From Michael Grassi, Lee Toland Krieger & Greg Berlanti Lands NBC Pilot Order

EXCLUSIVE: Annapurna has hired Picturestart’s former EVP, Shayne Fiske Goldner as EVP of Physical Production. She replaces David Wolkis who is leaving the studio as their Head of Physical Production for TV and film. Meanwhile, Skye Optican has also been promoted to Creative Director of International Development and Production. Goldner will oversee all aspects of production management for Annapurna’s vast slate of film and television programming. Director of production Skye Caruso will continue to work for the production department, directly reporting to Goldner. Prior to joining Annapurna, Goldner worked at Picturestart, where she oversaw production on projects, including the 2022 Sundance Audience Award Winner Cha Cha Real Smooth and the Netflix Original, Luckiest Girl Alive , starring Mila Kunis. Goldner has served in executive roles for companies such as Participant – where she worked on Academy Award Best Picture winners, Green Book and Spotlight , … [Read more...] about Annapurna Names Shayne Fiske Goldner EVP Physical Production As David Wolkis Exits; Skye Optican Promoted

UPDATED with deal official : Vox Media has inked a deal to acquire Group Nine, a leading collection of multi-platform media brands including The Dodo, NowThis, PopSugar, Thrillist, and Seeker. The portfolio will join Vox Media brands including SB Nation, New York Magazine, The Verge, Vox, Eater, The Cut, Vulture, Polygon, and The Strategist, along with its rapidly growing podcast and studios business, and diversified revenue model across advertising, content distribution, commerce, and subscriptions. The merger creates a significant digital media company and further strengthens Vox Media’s business, reaching audiences at scale on all platforms from podcasts to premium streaming services like Netflix and Hulu to YouTube to TikTok and Roku as well as owned and operated websites and print. The deal, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, is expected to close in early 2022. Financial details of the transaction weren’t released.. The … [Read more...] about Vox Media Buying Group Nine To Create Digital Media Powerhouse Amid Consolidation Wave – Update

UPDATED with final winners: The Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul , Bo Burnham’s Emmy-winning musical comedy special Inside , Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad and Raoul Peck’s Exterminate All the Brutes are among the final list of winners of 2022 Peabody Awards . The Peabodys, in their 82nd year, honor the year’s most powerful content across the fields of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming. The organization based at the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia wrapped up a a weeklong rollout of all 30 winners Thursday. This year’s awards were presented by the likes of Melissa McCarthy, Morgan Freeman, John Legend, Kevin Bacon, H.E.R., Ethan Hawke, Jon Stewart, Hasan Minhaj, Riz Ahmed, LeVar Burton, Jenny Slate, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Scott. Newsman Dan Rather and Fresh Air ‘s Terry Gross have already won this year’s Career Achievement Award and … [Read more...] about Peabody Awards: The Complete List Of 2022 Winners

Joe Cornish ’s teen ghosthunter drama Lockwood and Co. launches on Netflix globally today. The show, the streamer’s latest young-adult scripted series from the UK, stars Ruby Stokes ( Bridgerton ) and newcomers Cameron Chapman and Ali Hadji-Heshmati as a teen trio who run an independent ghost fighting agency in London while competing with adult-run corporate rivals. The eight-part series, from Cornish’s Complete Fiction banner, is based on Jonathan Stroud’s books about an alternate modern world in which murderous ghosts have been attacking people since the 1960s, and only teenagers have the ability to see and repeal them. Netflix ordered it as one of seven British originals announced in December 2020. Several of these have been canned but anticipation around Lockwood has grown and reviews this week have been sparkling. “We have these brilliant books to draw on,” said Cornish in an interview with Deadline this week. “The challenge is to get it on screen with the … [Read more...] about Joe Cornish Talks Netflix Ghost Hunter Series ‘Lockwood & Co’ & Updates On ‘Attack The Block 2’