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Noah Cowan , former co-director of the Toronto Film Festival and executive director of SFFILM in San Francisco, died Wednesday of cancer in Los Angeles, Deadline has confirmed. He was 55. Cowan died of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer he was diagnosed with in December 2021. Born on July 22, 1967, in Hamilton, Ontario, he joined TIFF in 1984 as a box office staffer after volunteering with the fest in summer 1981. He later ran its print traffic department before becoming one of the programmers of TIFF’s Midnight Madness program in 1989. He was promoted to Program Administrator in 1992, and co-ran Midnight Madness with Colin Geddes in 1997. Cowan served as TIFF’s international programmer from 1997-2001, during which time he was promoted to associate director of programming and then associate director. He left the festival in 2001 but returned three years later as co-director, serving in the role until 2008. From 2008-14, he was artistic … [Read more...] about Noah Cowan Dies: Former Toronto Film Festival Co-Director, Indie Distributor & SFFILM Exec Was 55

Kevin Fortson, the Executive Vice President of Production & Administration for Warner Bros . Unscripted Television, will retire this summer after three decades with the studio. “For the past 30 years, Kevin has been an indelible part of Warner Bros,” said Mike Darnell , President, Warner Bros. Unscripted Television. “His name has literally become synonymous with the company and the lot itself. Personally, I will miss him for his counsel, his friendship and his endless string of dad jokes. He truly is one in a million … although he would probably try to cut that budget down! He is as important to the studio as any movie or television show ever produced here, and if I had the power to do it, there would be a stage with his name on it, right next to Friends and The Big Bang Theory. He is known as the unofficial Mayor of the lot, and his constituents will miss him dearly… and no one will ever be re-elected to that position.” Fortson has been leading all aspects of … [Read more...] about Unscripted TV Exec Kevin Fortson To Retire After 30 Years With Warner Bros.

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said execs at the company and parent Comcast are “more confident” than they were a year or two ago that investments in streaming service Peacock will soon yield profits. How soon remains a bit unclear, however. “We’ve been clear from the start that we’re going to see a return on that investment — I think we feel better about that now based on where we are,” Shell said during Comcast’s fourth-quarter earnings call. The company said Peacock had passed 20 million subscribers by the end of 2022, more than double its size at the start of the year. It added 5 million subscribers in the quarter thanks to Spanish-language World Cup coverage as well as original programming, other live sports and the addition of first-window movie titles and NBC and Bravo series that used to go to Hulu. Over the rest of the year, CEO Brian Roberts said, “subscriber cadence will follow content launches, which will fall more heavily in the second half of 2023” than … [Read more...] about NBCUniversal And Comcast Execs “More Confident” Than They Were A Year Ago In Peacock Profit Outlook, Jeff Shell Says

Benjamin Button's got nothing on this guy ... a software developer well into his 40s claims he's aging backwards, but the catch is it costs him 7 figures annually to do it!!! 45-year-old Bryan Johnson says his bio-hack is costing him $2 million per year -- and with a team of 30 doctors, he maintains a strict regimen which apparently gives him the heart of a 37-year-old, the skin of a 28-year-old and the fitness of an 18-year-old. Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media. He says his daily routine includes waking at 5 AM, and taking 2 dozen supplements, following a vegan diet with a high-intensity exercise routine ... and he goes to bed at the same time every night. Blueprint Bryan says his doctors closely monitor his vital signs and he does a ton of monthly tests ...  including blood tests, ultrasounds, MRIs and colonoscopies. He also tracks things like his body fat and weight each day... while sleeping with a machine that … [Read more...] about Middle-Aged Tech Guy Says He Pays $2 Mil Per Year to Keep 18-Year-Old Body

The Peabody Awards will be held for the first time in Southern California, the Peabody organization said today. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Thursday, June 18, 2020. The awards honor stories from broadcasting, digital media, entertainment, the documentary world and news programming. “As the country struggles to find its footing in challenging times, the power of media narratives becomes paramount. Peabody provides a much-needed role as curator of the best stories that should be watched and heard, especially as the media landscape continues to evolve and becomes even more crowded with content and distribution platforms,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody. “Moving the ceremony to Los Angeles reflects the evolution of Peabody’s commitment to celebrating the meaningful and significant narratives about pressing social issues, right in the world’s capital of content creation.” The Peabody program is based at … [Read more...] about Peabody Awards Moving To Los Angeles For First Time In 80 Years

The Berlinale ’s European Film Market was the last major physical market to take place in 2020 as the world began shutting down because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus would force the event online in 2021 and 2022. The EFM’s traditional home of the Gropius Bau looked strangely empty last February, playing host to an exhibition by South African artist Zanele Muholi, as the event unfolded online alongside a scaled-down physical festival. Its vast atrium and halls are set to be packed with hundreds of stands and thousands of professionals once again this year for EFM’s 2023 edition, running February 16-22. Both the Gropius Bau and the market’s other key exhibition space of the Marriott Hotel are already fully booked. “The good news for us is that we are completely at the same level in terms of accreditations as we were at this time of the year in 2020. This means that we are forecast to reach the same amount of market participants,” EFM director Dennis Ruh . As … [Read more...] about Berlin’s EFM Boss Reveals Size Of U.S. & Asia Contingents, Talks Growing Importance Of TV

Streaming service Peacock closed 2022 with more than 20 million paid subscribers, helping Comcast slip past Wall Street estimates during a challenging fourth quarter in the media business. Total revenue came in at $30.55 billion in the period, less than 1% ahead of the prior-year quarter but just above analysts’ consensus. Earnings per share of 70 cents fell short of estimates, but exceeded them on a non-GAAP basis. Along with Peacock, a strong return for theme parks helped NBCUniversal post solid numbers on the top line, with revenue up 6% to $9.9 billion. Advertising revenue increased 4%, which the company credited to Spanish-language coverage of the World Cup by Telemundo and rising Peacock ad revenue. The profit story was less encouraging, with adjusted EBITDA falling 36% to $817 Theatrical revenue at the film studio soared 47% over the prior year, with Ticket to Paradise , Puss , Violent Night and Halloween Ends closing the year on a high note. … [Read more...] about Peacock Clears 20M Subscribers, Helping Comcast Nip Wall Street Q4 Estimates

Stubborn and iconoclastic as always, Jean-Luc Godard has passed to another realm –and by his own choice–at age 91. Ever impudent and exasperating, forever pushing boundaries but remaining elusive, and an artist in every fiber of his being, Godard always did exactly what he wanted to do; for a few years many followed him ardently, and for lots of us in the 1960s he led the way into a vastly exciting and personal form of cinema. Thereafter he went entirely his own way, losing most of his audience but remaining at the forefront of exploring what cinema is, could be, and, sometimes, what it absolutely shouldn’t be. The official obituaries and tributes will certainly convey Godard’s importance and influence through the 1960s, the way he helped liberate cinema from its literary and orderly appearance to something far more energized, unexpected, jarring and often exhilarating. Although Godard consumed and brilliantly wrote about the existing cinema as a young critic, he … [Read more...] about Godard Is Gone: A Remembrance Of The Stubborn & Iconoclastic Film Director

Everything Everywhere All At Once announced itself this morning as a serious Oscar threat with 11 nominations , topping off with Best Picture. That includes performing noms for Michelle Yeoh , Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan . The film also drew noms for Original Screenplay, Costume, Original Score, Original Song, Film Editing and Directing for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The overachieving journey of the film is almost as absurd as its parallel universe storyline. It goes far beyond being the rare film to premiere at the SXSW festival and find its way to Oscar almost a year later. The film began with AGBO partners Joe and Anthony Russo seeing Kwan & Scheinert’s Swiss Army Man , the film that starred Paul Dano as a man stranded on a desert island who befriends a dead body — played with flatulent gusto by Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe — as they join forces to return to civilization. The AGBO partners gave a blind deal to “The Daniels,” as the … [Read more...] about Eleven Oscar Noms For ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once:’ It All Started With Admiration For A Dead, Flatulating Harry Potter

IMAGN Rui Hachimura made his debut as the Los Angeles Lakers' newest addition on Wednesday ... but a lot of his fans back home missed out on the action -- 'cause the historic moment caused the NBA's streaming service in Japan to crash. The Lakers acquired the 24-year-old from the Washington Wizards earlier this week ... shipping Kendrick Nunn and a handful of second round picks to secure the deal -- making Rui the first Japanese-born player in Lakers franchise history. Fans were quick to complain on social media about not being able to watch Rui check in towards the end of the first quarter of the Lakers' home win over the San Antonio Spurs ... forcing the streaming service to address the issue. Rakuten -- the Association's official streaming partner in Japan since 2017 -- released a statement on the matter ... saying, "Starting around 12:20 PM Japan Time on Thursday, January 26, the NBA Rakuten site became inaccessible when a sudden surge in user traffic caused … [Read more...] about Rui Hachimura’s Lakers Debut Crashes Streaming Service In Japan