Steven brand

Authentic Brands Group has hired former WarnerMedia exec Jessica Holscott as Chief Financial Officer. She succeeds Kevin Clarke, founding partner and longtime company leader, who is becoming the company’s Executive Vice Chairman. Authentic has a portfolio of several dozen entertainment, media and lifestyle brands (among them Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, plus apparel makers like Brooks Brothers and Reebok) generating $23 billion a year in retail sales in 150 countries. At WarnerMedia, Holscott was EVP and CFO of Studios and Networks. She previously held exec roles at HBO and GE Capital. As CFO of Authentic, Holscott will lead the company’s finance teams and work with founder, chairman and CEO Jamie Salter and the executive team to shape financial strategy and fiscal performance. She will be based in the company’s New York City headquarters and report directly to Salter. “We are thrilled to welcome Jessica to Authentic,” Salter said. “Jessica has … [Read more...] about Authentic Brands Hires WarnerMedia Vet Jessica Holscott As CFO

Cue the menacing tuba. And the Imperial March. And the rousing Indiana Jones theme. Five-time Oscar-winning composer John Williams is getting the feature documentary treatment, and his half-century collaborator is among those wielding the baton. Steven Spielberg and his Amblin Television are teaming with Imagine Documentaries and Nedland Media for an untitled doc about the legendary composer behind such franchises as Star Wars, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and Harry Potter, Deadline has confirmed. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau ( Five Came Back ), the project is in the early stages, with Spielberg exec producing alongside Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Justin Wilkes, Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers. Williams, who turns 91 in a few weeks, has been nominated for 52 Academy Awards during his singular 67-year career and won for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Star Wars (1977), Jaws (1975), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and … [Read more...] about Steven Spielberg & Imagine Teaming For John Williams Documentary Feature

Steven Spielberg ’s autobiopic The Fabelmans notched seven Oscar nominations today including Best Picture and the filmmaker’s ninth directing nod. And while Spielberg already counts three Oscar wins –two for directing Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List and Best Picture for the latter– today the blockbuster filmmaker of Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park celebrated his first screenplay nomination ever, in the original category, for The Fabelmans . “I just recently turned 76, where they say, ‘What’s left to accomplish?’ I suddenly get nominated for the first time in my career by the Academy as a co-author of Best screenplay — it made me feel like all those English and creative writing classes paid off!” While Lincoln scribe, Tony Kushner, encouraged Spielberg to start putting his memories down on paper, the project didn’t come to life until after the death of the Jaws director’s parents, plus the onset of the pandemic. That long delay for The … [Read more...] about Steven Spielberg On ‘Fabelmans’ Oscar Noms, His First Screenplay Nod, ‘Indiana Jones’ & Why Theatrical B.O. “Will Come Back”

Apple TV+ on Friday unveiled its latest brand campaign, with Timothée Chalamet the star of a new ad that puts the focus on the streamer’s content. The ad shows Chalamet musing over Apple’s latest fare — from Best Picture Oscar winner CODA to Emmy winner Ted Lasso , the new Jason Momoa series Chief of War , Severance and Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon — and wondering why he hasn’t had a job with the streamer. Jumping from limos to rehearsals to press conferences, Chalamet checks out more content – of Severance , he says, “Severance is weird. I could do weird.” Momoa makes an appearance via a FaceTime video with Chalamet. “Wait, you have a new Apple show?” Chalamet asks Momoa. “At this point who doesn’t?” Momoa responds. “Yeah, who doesn’t at this point,” Chalamet responds, like a hurt puppy. The end shows Chalamet seeing Killers of the Flower Moon’s Apple page on his screen. “Scorsese, DiCaprio, De Niro,” he says. He falls … [Read more...] about Timothée Chalamet Wants A Bite Of The Apple In Streamer’s New Brand Campaign – Watch

EXCLUSIVE: Web3 media and entertainment firm Doodles is set to acquire transatlantic animation studio Golden Wolf . Doodles began as a series of digital collectibles based on characters created by artist Burnt Toast — real name Scott Martin — in October 2021 and has built into a franchise of animation, gaming, merchandize, music and live events. It is now pushing harder into original content with the Golden Wolf acquisition. The deal, financial terms of which were not revealed, is set to close in the next few weeks. Once complete, Golden Wolf’s team will join Doodles. Golden Wolf’s CEO and Founder Ingi Erlingsson will become Doodles’ Chief Content Officer but will continue to oversee and operate Golden Wolf’s offices in London and New York. Furthermore, Doodles will leverage Golden Wolf’s strategic partnership with creative studio Psyop to launch a joint venture, Active Ingredient. This will aim to “reinvent storytelling and the tools used to make them a reality” … [Read more...] about Web3 Brand Doodles Buys ‘Rick & Morty’, Disney Animation Collaborator Golden Wolf

Gallery Launch Gallery Backgrid Kanye West just can't quit Balenciaga -- even though the brand ditched him over his antisemitism, he took his new wife for some retail therapy there ... but their trip also included a subtle callback to Nazi Germany. Ye and Bianca Censori hit up the upscale Bev Hills clothing store Wednesday night on Rodeo Drive, loading up with several bags filled with merch. He's not a billionaire anymore, but the spree is a reminder he's still VERY rich. BACKGRID We're told the couple also spent some time in a nearby Neiman Marcus ... but it's unclear if KW and BC left that store with any sweet threads. Backgrid BTW, Ye appeared to be wearing a t-shirt with a coat of arms of the German Reich ... used before the Nazis adopted the swastika. It's also got the word "Bundeswehr" written above -- the name for the federal defense forces in Germany. This coat of arms is a current logo of the German Army. … [Read more...] about Kanye West Takes Wife Shopping at Balenciaga Despite Brand Dropping Him

A column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit. AFI president and CEO Bob Gazzale spoke a real truth about the money-making Hollywood awards machine as he opened the proceedings for Friday’s annual AFI Awards honoring the year’s best in movies in television as chosen by a distinguished jury. “This is the only event of its kind where you are informed of your honor and then not asked to pay to attend,” he said. The Top 10 films AFI selected this year include Avatar: The Way of Water, Elvis , Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans , Nope , She Said, T á r, Top Gun: Maverick , The Woman King and Women Talking , with an AFI Special Award for The Banshees of Inisherin. On AFI’s top 10 TV list are The Bear , Mo , Pachink o, Severance , Somebody Somewhere, Abbott Elementary, Hacks , Reservation Dogs , Better Call Saul and anthology series The White Lotus. Stars, creatives and executives connected … [Read more...] about AFI Awards Bring Out The Best In The Season; ‘The Whale’ Rising?; Oscar’s Longshots Hoping For A Miracle – Notes On The Season

EXCLUSIVE: Winning Time executive producer Rodney Barnes has boarded HBO ’s limited series project, set to star Mahershala Ali as boxing legend Jack Johnson . Barnes, who is under an overall deal with HBO, will serve as writer and executive producer on the Untitled Jack Johnson limited series (fka Unruly ), bringing a brand new take on adapting the PBS documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson , produced and directed by Ken Burns, and its companion book by Geoffrey C. Ward. He is one of several new creative auspices who have joined the project in development, originally announced in 2020 , along with Melina Matsoukas ( Queen & Slim; Insecure) , who has come on board as executive producer and director, and Khaliah Neal ( The Last Black Man in San Francisco; P-Valley) , who has signed on as executive producer. Barnes succeeds Dominique Morisseau, who had been originally tapped to write the limited series from Tom Hanks … [Read more...] about Rodney Barnes Joins HBO’s Jack Johnson Limited Series Starring Mahershala Ali As Writer & Executive Producer

EXCLUSIVE: The Latinx House is coming back to the Sundance Film Festival. First planting its flag at the last in-person Park City shindig in 2020, the Mónica Ramírez, Alexandra Martinez Kondracke, and Olga Segura founded gathering returns to Main Street for a series of events, panels, and activations over the 2023 fest’s opening weekend. “We are thrilled to come back to Sundance to continue uplifting and celebrating all Latinx filmmakers that have worked so hard to get their movies made and now have an opportunity to share it with the world at the festival,” Waiting for the Barbarians producer Segura told Deadline after a two-year virtual pause. “Creating a space to build community and celebrate our achievements has always been one of our main goals. Our continued collaboration with Sundance is helping us build a bridge to create more opportunities for Latinx creators in the industry for many years to come.” In what is looking like the most representation rich ever … [Read more...] about Latinx House Returns To Sundance; ‘Going Varsity In Mariachi’ Doc & ‘Divinity’ Events Planned

EXCLUSIVE : Fresh off his Sundance thriller Divinity , starring Stephen Dorff, Bella Thorne and Scott Bakula, writer-director Eddie Alcazar is teaming with British gaming mogul Paul Wedgwood to launch LA and London-based production company Entropy Pictures . Wedgwood, who most recently executive-produced thriller The Kill Room starring Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman, was a co-founder of successful video game developer Splash Damage. The duo’s new film, TV and transmedia firm Entropy will look to “seed and develop IP which is character-driven, high-concept and has commercial appeal”. The company will look to make three to five films a year with financial backing from Wedgwood’s investment firm Supernova Capital. Veteran games and studio exec Nick Bridger will serve as Head of Development and Production, while line producer James Allen — who has worked on all of Alcazar’s productions — is also aboard. The first film on the slate is a hybrid live … [Read more...] about ‘Divinity’ Director Eddie Alcazar Teams With Gaming Exec Paul Wedgwood To Launch Entropy Pictures, First Movie Set