Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren didn’t mince any words. “CEO pay is out of control,” she posted on April 22, singling out Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, whose team has had a rocky road integrating two companies since the mega-merger that created the Hollywood conglomerate, dealing with a high debt load and shoring up profits. Zaslav “made $49.7 million last year, +26% from 2022 — despite layoffs, box office bombs, a lagging stock price,” Warren wrote on X. “Meanwhile, WB workers had to strike for higher pay.”
The latest annual executive pay disclosure season, which is now wrapped up, is unlikely to change the views of critics like Warren. Hollywood CEOs struggled with a plethora of challenges in 2023 — from the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes, cord-cutting, and a soft advertising market to a battle for streaming profits and M&a chatter, with the remedy often being layoffs, cost reductions and cutbacks in spending. One thing...
The latest annual executive pay disclosure season, which is now wrapped up, is unlikely to change the views of critics like Warren. Hollywood CEOs struggled with a plethora of challenges in 2023 — from the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes, cord-cutting, and a soft advertising market to a battle for streaming profits and M&a chatter, with the remedy often being layoffs, cost reductions and cutbacks in spending. One thing...
- 5/7/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hit any picket line in Hollywood these days, and there’s a good chance you’ll see signs slamming the lavish paydays for entertainment chiefs like Disney’s Bob Iger and Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav. For the striking actors and writers who are holding out for a better deal from the major studios, these bloated compensation packages have become a very effective cudgel. It’s particularly notable when someone like Iger, who is set to earn up to $27 million this year, gripes on CNBC that the two unions aren’t being “realistic” about the struggles the business is facing.
“It’s sort of like someone’s just tossing you an easy layup,” says Adam Conover, a member of the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee. “Well, you’re gonna take it when they do that.”
Conover and the writers and actors who are on strike argue that they...
“It’s sort of like someone’s just tossing you an easy layup,” says Adam Conover, a member of the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee. “Well, you’re gonna take it when they do that.”
Conover and the writers and actors who are on strike argue that they...
- 8/9/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
“Show me the money,” Cuba Gooding Jr. famously tells Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. Wall Street has been pressuring Hollywood to do the same, as investors push for streaming profits amid economic headwinds. Key parts of the solution for industry players, from Disney to Amazon Studios, have been cost cuts. But while entertainment companies have been showing the door to thousands of staffers, they have also shown their top executives the money — again.
In a case of bad timing, disclosures of higher (or lower, but still very healthy) CEO compensation in regulatory filings in March and April have made for a sharp contrast with layoffs and the start of the writers strike. This executive pay reporting season didn’t repeat last year’s picture of several bosses joining the very exclusive nine-figure club, starring Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel ($308.2 million) and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav ($246.6 million). But several top...
In a case of bad timing, disclosures of higher (or lower, but still very healthy) CEO compensation in regulatory filings in March and April have made for a sharp contrast with layoffs and the start of the writers strike. This executive pay reporting season didn’t repeat last year’s picture of several bosses joining the very exclusive nine-figure club, starring Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel ($308.2 million) and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav ($246.6 million). But several top...
- 5/8/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The streaming revolution was supposed to usher in a big, bright, beautiful future for media conglomerates. Instead, increased competition, rising interest rates, a looming recession and the mountain of debt that these corporations amassed to fuel a wave of consolidation has left everyone from Netflix to Warner Bros. Discovery scrambling to revise their pitch to shareholders.
After spending tens of billions of dollars to ramp up programming for subscription-based streamers, media giants have discovered that the growth potential of the venture may be reaching its end. Consumers purchase only two, maybe three, of these services, and it’s getting harder for certain subscription companies to convince people to sign up for what they’re streaming. At the same time, customers are cutting the cable cord at a faster rate and imperiling a once lucrative revenue source for media conglomerates. Investors have taken note, causing shares of Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros.
After spending tens of billions of dollars to ramp up programming for subscription-based streamers, media giants have discovered that the growth potential of the venture may be reaching its end. Consumers purchase only two, maybe three, of these services, and it’s getting harder for certain subscription companies to convince people to sign up for what they’re streaming. At the same time, customers are cutting the cable cord at a faster rate and imperiling a once lucrative revenue source for media conglomerates. Investors have taken note, causing shares of Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros.
- 10/13/2022
- by Brent Lang and Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
As Wall Street takes a magnifying glass to Hollywood’s streaming businesses — beyond scale and subscriber growth — one metric is gaining favor: average revenue per user (Arpu).
Netflix records more revenue for each subscriber than such rivals as Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, with global monthly Arpu of nearly 12, or close to 16 in North America, where consumers traditionally pay higher streaming subscription fees than in international markets.
A key reason: Its prices have been above where rivals started off pricing their services, and the streaming titan (with 221 million subscribers globally) has repeatedly raised them over the years. Overall, the Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos-run streamer turned a net profit of 5.1 billion in 2021, with management forecasting that its free cash flow loss of 159 million for the latest year will turn into a roughly 1 billion profit this year, demonstrating its ability to fund its operations without external financing.
As Wall Street takes a magnifying glass to Hollywood’s streaming businesses — beyond scale and subscriber growth — one metric is gaining favor: average revenue per user (Arpu).
Netflix records more revenue for each subscriber than such rivals as Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, with global monthly Arpu of nearly 12, or close to 16 in North America, where consumers traditionally pay higher streaming subscription fees than in international markets.
A key reason: Its prices have been above where rivals started off pricing their services, and the streaming titan (with 221 million subscribers globally) has repeatedly raised them over the years. Overall, the Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos-run streamer turned a net profit of 5.1 billion in 2021, with management forecasting that its free cash flow loss of 159 million for the latest year will turn into a roughly 1 billion profit this year, demonstrating its ability to fund its operations without external financing.
- 8/18/2022
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Hollywood has come to accept that content is the primary weapon in the streaming wars. Quietly, as legalized online sports betting spreads across the country, content also has become the weapon of choice for digital casino operators and betting firms looking for that edge in what has been an expensive grab for consumer dollars. And content creators, from production companies to podcasters to established TV talent, are cashing in. “It is the streaming wars version for casino operators,” former Wall Street analyst Hal Vogel says.
Online sports betting has been on a steady expansion across the U.S. since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Murphy vs. NCAA paved the way for states to permit the practice. As each state legalized access to sports betting (it’s legal in 21 states, with another nine pending and others expected to follow), gaming operators jumped into the space,...
Hollywood has come to accept that content is the primary weapon in the streaming wars. Quietly, as legalized online sports betting spreads across the country, content also has become the weapon of choice for digital casino operators and betting firms looking for that edge in what has been an expensive grab for consumer dollars. And content creators, from production companies to podcasters to established TV talent, are cashing in. “It is the streaming wars version for casino operators,” former Wall Street analyst Hal Vogel says.
Online sports betting has been on a steady expansion across the U.S. since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Murphy vs. NCAA paved the way for states to permit the practice. As each state legalized access to sports betting (it’s legal in 21 states, with another nine pending and others expected to follow), gaming operators jumped into the space,...
- 6/22/2022
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Is Comcast poised to make a big move?
The cable and media giant has missed out on some snazzy acquisitions in recent years, failing to outmaneuver Disney to buy the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets and falling just short of nabbing WarnerMedia. Losing out on the latter stunned Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, who were enmeshed in planning how WarnerMedia would be integrated into their operations until Discovery landed their prize.
And the company has been looking at Electronic Arts, though it appears that efforts to acquire the game-maker have stalled. Those talks may have fallen apart earlier this year, but Roberts is bullish on gaming. He named his 32-year-old son Tucker the president of Comcast’s Spectator Gaming division in 2018, overseeing a competitive video gaming league and the arena attractions that house them.
In recent weeks, Shell has told confidants that he’d love to buy Netflix,...
The cable and media giant has missed out on some snazzy acquisitions in recent years, failing to outmaneuver Disney to buy the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets and falling just short of nabbing WarnerMedia. Losing out on the latter stunned Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, who were enmeshed in planning how WarnerMedia would be integrated into their operations until Discovery landed their prize.
And the company has been looking at Electronic Arts, though it appears that efforts to acquire the game-maker have stalled. Those talks may have fallen apart earlier this year, but Roberts is bullish on gaming. He named his 32-year-old son Tucker the president of Comcast’s Spectator Gaming division in 2018, overseeing a competitive video gaming league and the arena attractions that house them.
In recent weeks, Shell has told confidants that he’d love to buy Netflix,...
- 6/14/2022
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
As Hollywood constantly looks to novel forms of funding, the special purpose acquisition company or Spac, has found new popularity over the past couple of years. Besides being a welcome source of funding, these blank-check investment vehicles look to energize the lightly populated middle of the corporate ecosystem in the media, entertainment, sports and digital sectors.
SPACs (blank-check transactions are also called blind pools and reverse mergers) enable entertainment companies to go public while bypassing the traditional IPO route. They work by raising capital through their own IPOs, becoming publicly traded entities for the specific purpose of acquiring an existing operating company.
The SPACs are streamlined publicly traded entities that are stuffed with cash but operate no business at the time they mount their IPOs. Their plans are to later merge with a yet-to-be-selected private operating business.
“This is a tool that is less capital-intensive on the front end than...
SPACs (blank-check transactions are also called blind pools and reverse mergers) enable entertainment companies to go public while bypassing the traditional IPO route. They work by raising capital through their own IPOs, becoming publicly traded entities for the specific purpose of acquiring an existing operating company.
The SPACs are streamlined publicly traded entities that are stuffed with cash but operate no business at the time they mount their IPOs. Their plans are to later merge with a yet-to-be-selected private operating business.
“This is a tool that is less capital-intensive on the front end than...
- 12/8/2021
- by Robert Marich
- Variety Film + TV
Endeavor defied its critics and the odds by successfully pulling off a public offering in April, but the company — a hodgepodge of live-events brands and talent representation — is facing major obstacles navigating the global pandemic and encountering resentment among select players who feel left out in the cold.
While Endeavor’s stock has overperformed for the two quarters of its publicly traded existence, some of the roughly 300 employees with equity in the company are furious over their diluted options and the new barriers to monetizing their stakes that have been put in place, three insiders familiar with the fraught situation tell Variety.
A New York Post report from late August described some stakeholders — particularly the hard-charging dealmakers at Endeavor’s talent agency WME — as “fuming” when they were informed this spring that their stock rewards were reduced and tacked with longer vesting schedules. Daggers are pointed at CEO Ari Emanuel...
While Endeavor’s stock has overperformed for the two quarters of its publicly traded existence, some of the roughly 300 employees with equity in the company are furious over their diluted options and the new barriers to monetizing their stakes that have been put in place, three insiders familiar with the fraught situation tell Variety.
A New York Post report from late August described some stakeholders — particularly the hard-charging dealmakers at Endeavor’s talent agency WME — as “fuming” when they were informed this spring that their stock rewards were reduced and tacked with longer vesting schedules. Daggers are pointed at CEO Ari Emanuel...
- 9/15/2021
- by Matt Donnelly and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
At first glance, Brian Robbins doesn’t seem like the typical Hollywood movie mogul. But he might just have the qualities and experience the modern role of film impresario demands.
ViacomCBS’ decision to elevate Robbins, an entrepreneur who is as well-versed in the language of social media as he is in backlot politics, to the head of its Paramount unit is a new sign of the generational shift taking place across the entertainment landscape. It comes as traditional media companies turn to a new lineup of executives to help them make sense of the streaming revolution that has upended their businesses. Simply put, many of the most venerable Hollywood players are desperate to get younger and more digitally savvy as they struggle to compete in a new world order. Robbins is set to replace Jim Gianopulos, who has held top roles at 20th Century Fox as well as Paramount.
“It...
ViacomCBS’ decision to elevate Robbins, an entrepreneur who is as well-versed in the language of social media as he is in backlot politics, to the head of its Paramount unit is a new sign of the generational shift taking place across the entertainment landscape. It comes as traditional media companies turn to a new lineup of executives to help them make sense of the streaming revolution that has upended their businesses. Simply put, many of the most venerable Hollywood players are desperate to get younger and more digitally savvy as they struggle to compete in a new world order. Robbins is set to replace Jim Gianopulos, who has held top roles at 20th Century Fox as well as Paramount.
“It...
- 9/10/2021
- by Brent Lang and Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Daybreak Pictures founders David Aukin and Hal Vogel have exited the Tinopolis Group scripted producer, with the latter launching a new venture with Ringside Media, the investment vehicle backed by France’s Newen.
Aukin and Vogel leave Daybreak after 15 years, during which time they oversaw BAFTA-winning Riz Ahmed series Britz, Claire Foy drama The Promise, David Tennant series The Politician’s Husband, and features including Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang, which starred Russell Crowe.
Vogel’s new company will be called Slate Entertainment and represents Ringside Media’s second investment. Founded by Newen and The Fall producer Gub Neal last year, Ringside previously took a stake in Fictionhouse, founded by former Royal Court Theatre artistic directors Dominic Cooke and Kate Horton.
Vogel told Deadline that he and Aukin’s partnership at Daybreak had “run its course” and it was time to “start something fresh” with the...
Aukin and Vogel leave Daybreak after 15 years, during which time they oversaw BAFTA-winning Riz Ahmed series Britz, Claire Foy drama The Promise, David Tennant series The Politician’s Husband, and features including Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang, which starred Russell Crowe.
Vogel’s new company will be called Slate Entertainment and represents Ringside Media’s second investment. Founded by Newen and The Fall producer Gub Neal last year, Ringside previously took a stake in Fictionhouse, founded by former Royal Court Theatre artistic directors Dominic Cooke and Kate Horton.
Vogel told Deadline that he and Aukin’s partnership at Daybreak had “run its course” and it was time to “start something fresh” with the...
- 6/7/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Bankers are already starting to salivate over what other megadeals could be in the offing following this week’s surprise pair-up of WarnerMedia and Discovery.
AT&T’s desperation to drop a company that it spent $85.4 billion and a year and half in legal fights to acquire raises the immediate question of what else might be possible in an era when Wall Street is pressuring big media conglomerates to keep generating content for audiences hungry to stream their favorite dramas and comedies.
Sure, smaller entertainment companies like Lionsgate and AMC Networks have long been seen as potential acquisition targets — and Amazon just offered a reported $9 billion to buy MGM for its vast library — but financial minds are starting to indulge their greatest scenarios. What if Apple swooped in and picked up a big media name? Do NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS need to add more heft even though they are both products of sizable mergers?...
AT&T’s desperation to drop a company that it spent $85.4 billion and a year and half in legal fights to acquire raises the immediate question of what else might be possible in an era when Wall Street is pressuring big media conglomerates to keep generating content for audiences hungry to stream their favorite dramas and comedies.
Sure, smaller entertainment companies like Lionsgate and AMC Networks have long been seen as potential acquisition targets — and Amazon just offered a reported $9 billion to buy MGM for its vast library — but financial minds are starting to indulge their greatest scenarios. What if Apple swooped in and picked up a big media name? Do NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS need to add more heft even though they are both products of sizable mergers?...
- 5/19/2021
- by Brian Steinberg and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
After mid-2000s success building the Star TV empire into one of India’s top broadcasters and the dominant local streaming service, James Murdoch and Uday Shankar are back with a new project. Murdoch and Shankar, Disney’s former president in Asia Pacific, unveiled an ambitious new partnership Jan. 14 targeting digital business opportunities in India and Southeast Asia. But details of the venture, including its name and exact strategy, are scarce.
Hal Vogel, CEO of Vogel Capital Management, tells The Hollywood Reporter that the venture will be able to tap into the relationship between Murdoch and Shankar and their expansive networks. “They ...
Hal Vogel, CEO of Vogel Capital Management, tells The Hollywood Reporter that the venture will be able to tap into the relationship between Murdoch and Shankar and their expansive networks. “They ...
- 1/21/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After mid-2000s success building the Star TV empire into one of India’s top broadcasters and the dominant local streaming service, James Murdoch and Uday Shankar are back with a new project. Murdoch and Shankar, Disney’s former president in Asia Pacific, unveiled an ambitious new partnership Jan. 14 targeting digital business opportunities in India and Southeast Asia. But details of the venture, including its name and exact strategy, are scarce.
Hal Vogel, CEO of Vogel Capital Management, tells The Hollywood Reporter that the venture will be able to tap into the relationship between Murdoch and Shankar and their expansive networks. “They ...
Hal Vogel, CEO of Vogel Capital Management, tells The Hollywood Reporter that the venture will be able to tap into the relationship between Murdoch and Shankar and their expansive networks. “They ...
- 1/21/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The Walt Disney Company’s Monday announcement that it was undertaking a major reorganization of its film and television teams with a goal of bolstering its streaming services was a hit with investors. Shares of the entertainment giant rose on the news that the company would refocus its operations to produce movies and shows and decide at a later date if they would debut on the big screen, cable or streaming arms Hulu and Disney Plus.
If Disney was hoping that the news would focus Wall Street’s attention on growth in streaming rather than the considerable distress facing its theme parks, the plan worked like a charm. Instead of dwelling on the fact that Covid-19 has depressed attendance at the parks it has been able to open in Asia, Europe and Florida, and left other venues such as Disneyland shuttered indefinitely, the narrative heading into Disney’s next earnings...
If Disney was hoping that the news would focus Wall Street’s attention on growth in streaming rather than the considerable distress facing its theme parks, the plan worked like a charm. Instead of dwelling on the fact that Covid-19 has depressed attendance at the parks it has been able to open in Asia, Europe and Florida, and left other venues such as Disneyland shuttered indefinitely, the narrative heading into Disney’s next earnings...
- 10/14/2020
- by Matt Donnelly and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Samantha Strauss on the set of ‘The End.’
Two days ago Samantha Strauss spent much of the day under the doona, literally crying about the state of the world.
Yesterday Strauss, one of the country’s most successful screenwriters, was back at her computer, working on multiple projects in development for Made Up Stories and Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films, Joanna Werner and See-Saw Films, including a second season of The End.
“I’m incredibly lucky but it is such a time of unparalleled shitness. I still have some scripts to deliver so that will tide me over for a while.” she tells If.
“It does feel like there’s a responsibility for us content makers to work our arses off right now and have a whole lot of local content ready to be made, just as soon as this hell is over.”
Meanwhile writer Shaun Grant is at home in Los Angeles,...
Two days ago Samantha Strauss spent much of the day under the doona, literally crying about the state of the world.
Yesterday Strauss, one of the country’s most successful screenwriters, was back at her computer, working on multiple projects in development for Made Up Stories and Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films, Joanna Werner and See-Saw Films, including a second season of The End.
“I’m incredibly lucky but it is such a time of unparalleled shitness. I still have some scripts to deliver so that will tide me over for a while.” she tells If.
“It does feel like there’s a responsibility for us content makers to work our arses off right now and have a whole lot of local content ready to be made, just as soon as this hell is over.”
Meanwhile writer Shaun Grant is at home in Los Angeles,...
- 3/25/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
“The studios have been waiting for this,” notes insider.
Industry insiders say the exclusive theatrical window could come under further attack after Universal said this week it would make its current films available on demand day-and-date with their global theatrical release dates.
The studio’s move came in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced closure of theatres in the Us and around the world and put a halt on distribution pipelines.
Universal said on Monday it will make Trolls World Tour available for digital purchase on April 10, the date it had been scheduled to open in the Us before cinemas closed down.
Industry insiders say the exclusive theatrical window could come under further attack after Universal said this week it would make its current films available on demand day-and-date with their global theatrical release dates.
The studio’s move came in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced closure of theatres in the Us and around the world and put a halt on distribution pipelines.
Universal said on Monday it will make Trolls World Tour available for digital purchase on April 10, the date it had been scheduled to open in the Us before cinemas closed down.
- 3/18/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
The cancellation of SXSW on March 6 due to the coronavirus epidemic sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. But in truth it was the culmination of weeks of mounting anxiety — in executive suites and corporate boardrooms, on studio lots, across television and film sets, at red-carpet premieres and in multiplexes and concert venues — that has left Hollywood fearfully staring into an abyss of uncertainty.
No conversation, it seems, is complete without at least some reference to a public health crisis so widespread and world-altering that it could have been the plot of a blockbuster thriller. And actually, it was — 2011’s “Contagion,” directed by Steven Soderbergh, became one of the most rented movies on iTunes last week. But now, it’s all too terribly real, with 4,262 reported deaths worldwide, and 118,583 confirmed cases — at least, as of press time. Those numbers will have increased by the time this story is published.
Much as...
No conversation, it seems, is complete without at least some reference to a public health crisis so widespread and world-altering that it could have been the plot of a blockbuster thriller. And actually, it was — 2011’s “Contagion,” directed by Steven Soderbergh, became one of the most rented movies on iTunes last week. But now, it’s all too terribly real, with 4,262 reported deaths worldwide, and 118,583 confirmed cases — at least, as of press time. Those numbers will have increased by the time this story is published.
Much as...
- 3/11/2020
- by Brent Lang, Adam B. Vary and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Days after Bob Iger’s Feb. 25 resignation as CEO of Disney, the surprise move is still stuck in Hollywood’s craw like a piece of gristle. “I still can’t get my brain around the abruptness,” says a top executive. Having talked through the several theories floating around, he says, “None of it adds up to me.”
Veteran Wall Street analyst Hal Vogel agrees. “It was very unusual to come out with an announcement at 4 o’clock [Eastern] the day that Disney was being pounded in the market,” he says. “There ...
Veteran Wall Street analyst Hal Vogel agrees. “It was very unusual to come out with an announcement at 4 o’clock [Eastern] the day that Disney was being pounded in the market,” he says. “There ...
- 3/10/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Days after Bob Iger’s Feb. 25 resignation as CEO of Disney, the surprise move is still stuck in Hollywood’s craw like a piece of gristle. “I still can’t get my brain around the abruptness,” says a top executive. Having talked through the several theories floating around, he says, “None of it adds up to me.”
Veteran Wall Street analyst Hal Vogel agrees. “It was very unusual to come out with an announcement at 4 o’clock [Eastern] the day that Disney was being pounded in the market,” he says. “There ...
Veteran Wall Street analyst Hal Vogel agrees. “It was very unusual to come out with an announcement at 4 o’clock [Eastern] the day that Disney was being pounded in the market,” he says. “There ...
- 3/10/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
(L-r) Earl Cave, Essie Davis, Justin Kurzel and George MacKay at the UK premiere.
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang opened in the UK last Friday, drawing mostly enthusiastic reviews but lukewarm interest from moviegoers.
Picturehouse launched the subversive bushranger movie adapted by Shaun Grant from the Peter Carey novel on 93 screens, generating £155,000 and £170,000 including previews in three days.
Kurzel and stars Essie Davis, George MacKay and Earl Cave attended the charity premiere at Picturehouse Central last Tuesday, which raised £4,000 for the Country Fire Authority of Victoria to help fight the bushfires in the region.
Porchlight Film’s Liz Watts, Daybreak Pictures’ Hal Vogel, Kurzel and Paul Ranford produced the film which had an abbreviated theatrical release here before the Stan Original premiere, grossing $116,000,
Evidently few moviegoers took much notice of the critics such as The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey, who observed: “Director Justin Kurzel, after an...
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang opened in the UK last Friday, drawing mostly enthusiastic reviews but lukewarm interest from moviegoers.
Picturehouse launched the subversive bushranger movie adapted by Shaun Grant from the Peter Carey novel on 93 screens, generating £155,000 and £170,000 including previews in three days.
Kurzel and stars Essie Davis, George MacKay and Earl Cave attended the charity premiere at Picturehouse Central last Tuesday, which raised £4,000 for the Country Fire Authority of Victoria to help fight the bushfires in the region.
Porchlight Film’s Liz Watts, Daybreak Pictures’ Hal Vogel, Kurzel and Paul Ranford produced the film which had an abbreviated theatrical release here before the Stan Original premiere, grossing $116,000,
Evidently few moviegoers took much notice of the critics such as The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey, who observed: “Director Justin Kurzel, after an...
- 3/1/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Justin Kurzel and Essie Davis at the Sydney premiere. (Photo credit: Stan)
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang launched on 16 screens last Thursday, playing on limited sessions before the Australia Day premiere on Stan.
While the takings were a modest $32,000 and $93,000 including screenings at the Open Air Cinema Sydney (but not Mona in Hobart), Stan will reap the benefit of the publicity and mostly positive reviews.
Kurzel, screenwriter Shaun Grant (who adapted Peter Carey’s Man Booker Prize winning novel), producer Liz Watts and stars Essie Davis, Orlando Schwerdt and Sean Keenan attended the Sydney premiere.
George MacKay plays the title role with Schwerdt as the young Kelly, Russell Crowe as his accomplice Harry Power, Nicholas Hoult as Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick, Charlie Hunnam as Sergeant O’Neil and Essie Davis as Ned’s mother Ellen.
Transmission Films originally planned a full-blown theatrical release but scaled that back...
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang launched on 16 screens last Thursday, playing on limited sessions before the Australia Day premiere on Stan.
While the takings were a modest $32,000 and $93,000 including screenings at the Open Air Cinema Sydney (but not Mona in Hobart), Stan will reap the benefit of the publicity and mostly positive reviews.
Kurzel, screenwriter Shaun Grant (who adapted Peter Carey’s Man Booker Prize winning novel), producer Liz Watts and stars Essie Davis, Orlando Schwerdt and Sean Keenan attended the Sydney premiere.
George MacKay plays the title role with Schwerdt as the young Kelly, Russell Crowe as his accomplice Harry Power, Nicholas Hoult as Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick, Charlie Hunnam as Sergeant O’Neil and Essie Davis as Ned’s mother Ellen.
Transmission Films originally planned a full-blown theatrical release but scaled that back...
- 1/13/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘True History of the Kelly Gang.’
People who are keen to see Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang in cinemas won’t have many options – and they’ll have to be quick.
Transmission Films is launching the subversive bushranger saga on January 9, just 17 days before it premieres on Stan as a Stan Original.
Thus far the Shaun Grant-scripted drama starring George MacKay, Russell Crowe, Essie Davis, Nicholas Hoult and Charlie Hunnam has been booked by the Eddie Tamir family-owned Randwick Ritz Cinemas and Melbourne’s Lido, Classic and Cameo cinemas, plus the Backlot in Perth and Dendy locations except Opera Quays.
It appear most of the other cinemas which screened the Netflix productions The King, The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Two Popes, despite the three-week window before the streaming premieres, have declined to show Kurzel’s film.
The major chains are fiercely protecting the traditional...
People who are keen to see Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang in cinemas won’t have many options – and they’ll have to be quick.
Transmission Films is launching the subversive bushranger saga on January 9, just 17 days before it premieres on Stan as a Stan Original.
Thus far the Shaun Grant-scripted drama starring George MacKay, Russell Crowe, Essie Davis, Nicholas Hoult and Charlie Hunnam has been booked by the Eddie Tamir family-owned Randwick Ritz Cinemas and Melbourne’s Lido, Classic and Cameo cinemas, plus the Backlot in Perth and Dendy locations except Opera Quays.
It appear most of the other cinemas which screened the Netflix productions The King, The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Two Popes, despite the three-week window before the streaming premieres, have declined to show Kurzel’s film.
The major chains are fiercely protecting the traditional...
- 12/5/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
George Mackay stars as 19th-century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly.
Picturehouse Entertainment has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Justin Kurzel’s True History Of The Kelly Gang from France’s Memento FIlms International.
It will release the film into UK and Irish cinemas on February 28, 2020.
George MacKay, a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2012, stars in the film about the younger years of the 19th-century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. Nicholas Hoult, Essie Davis, Charlie Hunnam, and Russell Crowe co-star.
It premiered as a gala presentation at Toronto in September this year and has since screened at the Sao Paulo Mostra Internacional...
Picturehouse Entertainment has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Justin Kurzel’s True History Of The Kelly Gang from France’s Memento FIlms International.
It will release the film into UK and Irish cinemas on February 28, 2020.
George MacKay, a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2012, stars in the film about the younger years of the 19th-century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. Nicholas Hoult, Essie Davis, Charlie Hunnam, and Russell Crowe co-star.
It premiered as a gala presentation at Toronto in September this year and has since screened at the Sao Paulo Mostra Internacional...
- 11/21/2019
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
The Paramount Decrees have been the rules of the road for Hollywood since the golden age of movies, but the Justice Department’s decision to do away with directives that were hammered out decades before the rise of cable or streaming has barely registered within the entertainment industry.
That’s because they are widely seen as anachronisms — an attempt by the federal government to break up the stranglehold that studios once maintained on the business by preventing them from owning both the means of production and distribution. Under the regulations, a group of movie companies, which includes the aforementioned Paramount, as well as Universal, Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox, Sony and United Artists were barred from owning major theater circuits. But some of these companies, such as Sony, Paramount, and Warner Bros. still managed to make tentative steps into the exhibition space over the years, owning stakes in theater chains,...
That’s because they are widely seen as anachronisms — an attempt by the federal government to break up the stranglehold that studios once maintained on the business by preventing them from owning both the means of production and distribution. Under the regulations, a group of movie companies, which includes the aforementioned Paramount, as well as Universal, Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox, Sony and United Artists were barred from owning major theater circuits. But some of these companies, such as Sony, Paramount, and Warner Bros. still managed to make tentative steps into the exhibition space over the years, owning stakes in theater chains,...
- 11/19/2019
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
George MacKay in ‘True History of the Kelly Gang.’
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang will open in Australian cinemas on January 9, just 18 days before its Australia Day premiere on Stan.
The short window and limited theatrical release were virtually inevitable after Stan announced the bushranger epic starring George MacKay, Russell Crowe, Nicholas Hoult and Essie Davis would premiere in summer as a Stan Original.
The major chains are determined to protect the traditional 90 day window and will not screen the film so distributor Transmission Films this week will start booking the title at the independent cinemas that are screening the Netflix productions The King, The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Two Popes and Amazon Studios’ The Report and Brittany Runs a Marathon.
The Netflix titles are screening at the Eddie Tamir family-owned Randwick Ritz Cinemas and Melbourne’s Lido, Classic and Cameo cinemas plus Mel Gibson...
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang will open in Australian cinemas on January 9, just 18 days before its Australia Day premiere on Stan.
The short window and limited theatrical release were virtually inevitable after Stan announced the bushranger epic starring George MacKay, Russell Crowe, Nicholas Hoult and Essie Davis would premiere in summer as a Stan Original.
The major chains are determined to protect the traditional 90 day window and will not screen the film so distributor Transmission Films this week will start booking the title at the independent cinemas that are screening the Netflix productions The King, The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Two Popes and Amazon Studios’ The Report and Brittany Runs a Marathon.
The Netflix titles are screening at the Eddie Tamir family-owned Randwick Ritz Cinemas and Melbourne’s Lido, Classic and Cameo cinemas plus Mel Gibson...
- 11/17/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Russell Crowe in ‘True History of the Kelly Gang.’ (Photo: Ben King)
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang is now officially a Stan original Australian production and will be released in cinemas and on the streamer this summer.
The launch date and the release window are yet to be revealed by Stan or the distributor Transmission Films – but it’s fair to assume Stan won’t have to abide by the usual 90-day hold back after the theatrical debut.
In a statement issued by Stan, Kurzel said: “I am thrilled in the boldness and daring by Stan to embrace our ambitious film. For Australians to see our take on Peter Carey’s extraordinary book in cinemas and on Stan over the summer is very exciting. I hope as many eyes as possible get the opportunity to see a film the makers are deeply proud of.”
Adapted by...
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang is now officially a Stan original Australian production and will be released in cinemas and on the streamer this summer.
The launch date and the release window are yet to be revealed by Stan or the distributor Transmission Films – but it’s fair to assume Stan won’t have to abide by the usual 90-day hold back after the theatrical debut.
In a statement issued by Stan, Kurzel said: “I am thrilled in the boldness and daring by Stan to embrace our ambitious film. For Australians to see our take on Peter Carey’s extraordinary book in cinemas and on Stan over the summer is very exciting. I hope as many eyes as possible get the opportunity to see a film the makers are deeply proud of.”
Adapted by...
- 10/4/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘True History of the Kelly Gang’ (Photo credit: Memento Films International/Ben King).
IFC Films’ acquisition of North American rights to Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang before the world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival now seems savvy in light of the rave reviews.
Meanwhile Unjoo Moon’s debut narrative feature I Am Woman was lauded by some critics for Tilda Cobham-Hervey’s breakout performance as Helen Reddy after it opened the festival’s special presentations section.
IFC Films distributed Kurzel’s debut Snowtown, also penned by Shaun Grant, and currently is handling Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale, which is playing on 79 screens in its sixth weekend in the Us and has grossed $US383,000.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the assured IFC Films in North America and very excited to see the film go out in the world now,” says Porclight’s Liz Watts,...
IFC Films’ acquisition of North American rights to Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang before the world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival now seems savvy in light of the rave reviews.
Meanwhile Unjoo Moon’s debut narrative feature I Am Woman was lauded by some critics for Tilda Cobham-Hervey’s breakout performance as Helen Reddy after it opened the festival’s special presentations section.
IFC Films distributed Kurzel’s debut Snowtown, also penned by Shaun Grant, and currently is handling Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale, which is playing on 79 screens in its sixth weekend in the Us and has grossed $US383,000.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the assured IFC Films in North America and very excited to see the film go out in the world now,” says Porclight’s Liz Watts,...
- 9/8/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Justin Kurzel had set the indie film world alight with his debut feature Snowtown, and its follow-up, Macbeth, seemed to confirm the arrival of a director whose vision was unique and stunning. That director returns to his brand of cinema this year with True History of the Kelly Gang, which adapts Peter Carey’s novel about Ned Kelly into a rip-roaring, contemporary-feeling fever dream about outlaws, identity and sexuality.
But, in between, Kurzel was distracted by a difficult time on Assassin’s Creed, his first foray into Hollywood filmmaking, and his feelings of frustration in trying to pull it off. “Assassin’s Creed was an incredibly challenging film to make,” he says now. “I just got completely caught up in the maelstrom of that, and for a whole lot of reasons it was a difficult film to write, to make, and to land. Suddenly, I was missing home and just...
But, in between, Kurzel was distracted by a difficult time on Assassin’s Creed, his first foray into Hollywood filmmaking, and his feelings of frustration in trying to pull it off. “Assassin’s Creed was an incredibly challenging film to make,” he says now. “I just got completely caught up in the maelstrom of that, and for a whole lot of reasons it was a difficult film to write, to make, and to land. Suddenly, I was missing home and just...
- 9/8/2019
- by Joe Utichi
- Deadline Film + TV
IFC Films has acquired North American rights to Russell Crowe drama “True History of the Kelly Gang” ahead of its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, the company announced on Thursday.
Nicholas Hoult, Charlie Hunnam and George MacKay also star in the period film directed by Justin Kurzel. The film was written by Shaun Grant.
The film will have its world premiere in the Gala Section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. IFC Films previously collaborated with Kurzel on his directorial debut “The Snowtown Murders” which won the Grand Jury Prize at Critics Week in Cannes. IFC Films will be releasing “True History of the Kelly Gang” theatrically in 2020.
Also Read: 'Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band' Documentary Acquired By Magnolia
Inspired by Peter Carey’s Man Booker prize-winning novel, “True History of the Kelly Gang” shatters the mythology of the notorious icon to reveal the...
Nicholas Hoult, Charlie Hunnam and George MacKay also star in the period film directed by Justin Kurzel. The film was written by Shaun Grant.
The film will have its world premiere in the Gala Section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. IFC Films previously collaborated with Kurzel on his directorial debut “The Snowtown Murders” which won the Grand Jury Prize at Critics Week in Cannes. IFC Films will be releasing “True History of the Kelly Gang” theatrically in 2020.
Also Read: 'Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band' Documentary Acquired By Magnolia
Inspired by Peter Carey’s Man Booker prize-winning novel, “True History of the Kelly Gang” shatters the mythology of the notorious icon to reveal the...
- 9/5/2019
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
‘True History of the Kelly Gang.’ (Photo: Ben King)
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang and Unjoo Moon’s I Am Woman will have their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from September 5-15.
Scripted by Shaun Grant and starring George Mackay, Russell Crowe, Charlie Hunnam, Nicholas Hoult, Essie Davis and Harry Greenwood, the saga of the Australian bush-ranger and his gang as they flee from authorities during the 1870s will be among the gala premieres.
Moon’s biopic of the fiercely ambitious Australian singer Helen Reddy whose 1971 hit became the rallying cry of the women’s liberation movement, starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Evan Peters, Matty Cardarople and Danielle Macdonald, will open the special presentations section.
In addition, The Other Lamb, the first English-language feature by Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska, scripted by Australian Catherine Smyth-McMullen, will screen in special presentations.
The Belgian-Irish co-production is...
Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang and Unjoo Moon’s I Am Woman will have their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from September 5-15.
Scripted by Shaun Grant and starring George Mackay, Russell Crowe, Charlie Hunnam, Nicholas Hoult, Essie Davis and Harry Greenwood, the saga of the Australian bush-ranger and his gang as they flee from authorities during the 1870s will be among the gala premieres.
Moon’s biopic of the fiercely ambitious Australian singer Helen Reddy whose 1971 hit became the rallying cry of the women’s liberation movement, starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Evan Peters, Matty Cardarople and Danielle Macdonald, will open the special presentations section.
In addition, The Other Lamb, the first English-language feature by Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska, scripted by Australian Catherine Smyth-McMullen, will screen in special presentations.
The Belgian-Irish co-production is...
- 7/23/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
After a series of film flops and an aborted initial public offering, Stx Entertainment is battling mounting skepticism that it can survive in an increasingly unforgiving movie business.
As it hustles to find $500 million in fresh capital, the company, which operates in the red according to financial disclosures, is simultaneously hoping to attract a “superstar” executive to help stabilize its struggling film division. The company has started to interview candidates for the job, and is open to hiring someone to serve as co-chairman of Stx Films alongside Adam Fogelson, who retains the support of the company’s leadership. The studio is looking to signal to the industry that it is righting the ship after the anemic financial performance of “UglyDolls,” “Poms,” and “Best of Enemies” and a lackluster track record of fielding hits. For this reason, Stx may have difficulty in attracting top executive talent.
Even as it looks to...
As it hustles to find $500 million in fresh capital, the company, which operates in the red according to financial disclosures, is simultaneously hoping to attract a “superstar” executive to help stabilize its struggling film division. The company has started to interview candidates for the job, and is open to hiring someone to serve as co-chairman of Stx Films alongside Adam Fogelson, who retains the support of the company’s leadership. The studio is looking to signal to the industry that it is righting the ship after the anemic financial performance of “UglyDolls,” “Poms,” and “Best of Enemies” and a lackluster track record of fielding hits. For this reason, Stx may have difficulty in attracting top executive talent.
Even as it looks to...
- 7/17/2019
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been a tough few months at Warner Bros.
But on Monday, months of uncertainty ended for the thousands of employees at the company’s Burbank headquarters as well as New York City offices and other global outposts with the appointment of Ann Sarnoff as Warner Bros. CEO. Her hire represents a new day at a company that is still reeling from its acquisition by AT&T, the impending launch of a streaming service and the shocking dismissal of Sarnoff’s predecessor as the studio’s chairman-ceo Kevin Tsujihara after reports emerged that he used his position to secure auditions for a woman with whom he was romantically involved. Sarnoff’s selection was alternately stunning and comforting, employees said, and one that Warner Bros. watchers suggest signals a great deal about how the company intends to navigate a shifting entertainment landscape.
“Ever since Tsujihara had to resign, the company has been strategically adrift,...
But on Monday, months of uncertainty ended for the thousands of employees at the company’s Burbank headquarters as well as New York City offices and other global outposts with the appointment of Ann Sarnoff as Warner Bros. CEO. Her hire represents a new day at a company that is still reeling from its acquisition by AT&T, the impending launch of a streaming service and the shocking dismissal of Sarnoff’s predecessor as the studio’s chairman-ceo Kevin Tsujihara after reports emerged that he used his position to secure auditions for a woman with whom he was romantically involved. Sarnoff’s selection was alternately stunning and comforting, employees said, and one that Warner Bros. watchers suggest signals a great deal about how the company intends to navigate a shifting entertainment landscape.
“Ever since Tsujihara had to resign, the company has been strategically adrift,...
- 6/24/2019
- by Brent Lang and Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a lot of fear in the offices that comprise Rupert Murdoch’s and Bob Iger’s media empires.
By the middle of March, the majority of the staff at 21st Century Fox will be working under new owners. Many are already staring at an uncertain future, one that will likely include brutal rounds of layoffs. The Walt Disney Co., which will also suffer some job losses because of redundancies, has cleared regulatory hurdles in Mexico and Brazil and expects to close the deal for 20th Century Fox, FX, NatGeo and the bulk of Murdoch’s film and television assets within weeks.
Before that happens, the Murdochs will unveil Fox Corp., their slimmed-down media company that boasts Fox Broadcasting and Fox News, to the investment community, likely with details of how it will be capitalized as well as some executive hires. Disney is expected to assume ownership of the...
By the middle of March, the majority of the staff at 21st Century Fox will be working under new owners. Many are already staring at an uncertain future, one that will likely include brutal rounds of layoffs. The Walt Disney Co., which will also suffer some job losses because of redundancies, has cleared regulatory hurdles in Mexico and Brazil and expects to close the deal for 20th Century Fox, FX, NatGeo and the bulk of Murdoch’s film and television assets within weeks.
Before that happens, the Murdochs will unveil Fox Corp., their slimmed-down media company that boasts Fox Broadcasting and Fox News, to the investment community, likely with details of how it will be capitalized as well as some executive hires. Disney is expected to assume ownership of the...
- 3/5/2019
- by Brent Lang, Cynthia Littleton and Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
We’ve been hearing a lot about planned series for Disney’s new streaming platform, Disney+, and with every new piece of news I keep having the same thought: That sounds really expensive.
Their Star Wars and Marvel properties in particular — The Mandelorian, Loki, Scarlet Witch and Vision, and maybe Falcon/Winter Soldier and Lady Sif series — none of those seem particularly cheap. And I just might be right. Variety did a deep dive into the launch of the platform, and an agent suggests that Disney is “spending real money” on the Marvel and Star Wars content. A media analyst for Rbc Capital Markets gets more specific and estimates that Disney could spend up to $500 million on content in 2019 alone. Disney Chairman Bob Iger has said that he is directing the creative teams at Disney, LucasFilm, Marvel, and Pixar to develop content for Disney+, including original movies with budgets in the $20-60 million range.
Their Star Wars and Marvel properties in particular — The Mandelorian, Loki, Scarlet Witch and Vision, and maybe Falcon/Winter Soldier and Lady Sif series — none of those seem particularly cheap. And I just might be right. Variety did a deep dive into the launch of the platform, and an agent suggests that Disney is “spending real money” on the Marvel and Star Wars content. A media analyst for Rbc Capital Markets gets more specific and estimates that Disney could spend up to $500 million on content in 2019 alone. Disney Chairman Bob Iger has said that he is directing the creative teams at Disney, LucasFilm, Marvel, and Pixar to develop content for Disney+, including original movies with budgets in the $20-60 million range.
- 1/31/2019
- by Mily Dunbar
- GeekTyrant
Bob Iger has repeatedly called it the “highest priority” of the Walt Disney Co.
The launch of Disney Plus has become the talk of the entertainment industry — for creatives, for tech mavens and for Wall Street — as production and development of original series and movies accelerate for the streaming service, slated to debut in the U.S. by year’s end.
Disney, under the leadership of chairman-ceo Iger, has re-engineered its operating segments and reshuffled its management ranks to prepare for its streaming future. The Burbank media giant has made big investments in technical infrastructure. And Iger rocked the Hollywood establishment in 2017 with his dogged pursuit of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox entertainment empire. He was hunting for the kind of IP that can help drive Disney Plus and future platform offerings, and lend itself to exploitation through Disney’s well-oiled franchise machine.
Now that the Fox acquisition is near the finish line,...
The launch of Disney Plus has become the talk of the entertainment industry — for creatives, for tech mavens and for Wall Street — as production and development of original series and movies accelerate for the streaming service, slated to debut in the U.S. by year’s end.
Disney, under the leadership of chairman-ceo Iger, has re-engineered its operating segments and reshuffled its management ranks to prepare for its streaming future. The Burbank media giant has made big investments in technical infrastructure. And Iger rocked the Hollywood establishment in 2017 with his dogged pursuit of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox entertainment empire. He was hunting for the kind of IP that can help drive Disney Plus and future platform offerings, and lend itself to exploitation through Disney’s well-oiled franchise machine.
Now that the Fox acquisition is near the finish line,...
- 1/29/2019
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
After buying MGM in 1986, legendary media mogul Ted Turner marveled that go-go media moguls are celebrated for being so rich, while their bankers constantly remind them that they owe a fortune.
“That’s exactly right,” chuckles Byron Allen of the parallels to his company Entertainment Studios, founded 25 years ago as Cf Entertainment. “And Ted’s one of my heroes.”
The standup comic-turned-Hollywood entrepreneur has built his privately owned company into a sizable entertainment enterprise with 650 employees. His burgeoning empire spans basic cable TV networks, over-the-top video streaming channels, motion pictures, TV production/syndication and digital media.
Two events in the past year provided transformative leaps: Allen acquired basic cable network the Weather Channel in March for a reported $300 million, and then lined up a $500 million credit line in September that can fuel more expansion. It is estimated that adding the Weather Channel lifted Entertainment Studios — solely owned by Allen — to about $600 million in annualized revenue.
“That’s exactly right,” chuckles Byron Allen of the parallels to his company Entertainment Studios, founded 25 years ago as Cf Entertainment. “And Ted’s one of my heroes.”
The standup comic-turned-Hollywood entrepreneur has built his privately owned company into a sizable entertainment enterprise with 650 employees. His burgeoning empire spans basic cable TV networks, over-the-top video streaming channels, motion pictures, TV production/syndication and digital media.
Two events in the past year provided transformative leaps: Allen acquired basic cable network the Weather Channel in March for a reported $300 million, and then lined up a $500 million credit line in September that can fuel more expansion. It is estimated that adding the Weather Channel lifted Entertainment Studios — solely owned by Allen — to about $600 million in annualized revenue.
- 1/25/2019
- by Robert Marich
- Variety Film + TV
Randall Stephenson, At&T’s chairman-ceo, summoned all of his folksy Oklahoma earnestness as he made an enthusiastic pitch to Wall Street analysts about the telephone company’s bold efforts to transform itself into a multimedia powerhouse. It was late November, less than six months after At&T had wrapped up its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. But before Stephenson could wax poetic about his plans to revitalize HBO, Warner Bros. or other newly acquired At&T subsidiaries, he felt compelled to address the elephant in the room.
“If you hear nothing else this afternoon, I want you to hear me on this,” Stephenson said at the company’s investor presentation in New York. “Our discretionary cash flow is going to go to one place. It’s going to be paying down debt.”
Stephenson had no choice but to try to appease those who are plenty anxious about the mountain of...
“If you hear nothing else this afternoon, I want you to hear me on this,” Stephenson said at the company’s investor presentation in New York. “Our discretionary cash flow is going to go to one place. It’s going to be paying down debt.”
Stephenson had no choice but to try to appease those who are plenty anxious about the mountain of...
- 1/15/2019
- by Cynthia Littleton and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The True History of the Kelly Gang
Justin Kurzel returns to Australia for his fourth feature, The True History of the Kelly Gang, following on the heels of two Michael Fassbender misfires, 2015’s Macbeth and the 2016 Hollywood studio film Assassin’s Creed, a video game adaptation which grossed over $240 million worldwide but was a critical failure. His latest is another version of notorious Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, whose escapades were previously made into films starring Mick Jagger from director Tony Richardson in 1970 and a 2003 version starring Heath Ledger. Kurzel is producing alongside Liz Watts at Porchlight Films and Hal Vogel at Daybreak Pictures as well as Paul Ranford.…...
Justin Kurzel returns to Australia for his fourth feature, The True History of the Kelly Gang, following on the heels of two Michael Fassbender misfires, 2015’s Macbeth and the 2016 Hollywood studio film Assassin’s Creed, a video game adaptation which grossed over $240 million worldwide but was a critical failure. His latest is another version of notorious Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, whose escapades were previously made into films starring Mick Jagger from director Tony Richardson in 1970 and a 2003 version starring Heath Ledger. Kurzel is producing alongside Liz Watts at Porchlight Films and Hal Vogel at Daybreak Pictures as well as Paul Ranford.…...
- 1/5/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Charlie Hunnam (“Sons of Anarchy”) has joined the cast of Justin Kurzel’s “True History of The Kelly Gang” with George MacKay (“Captain Fantastic”), Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”), Nicholas Hoult (“Mad Max: Fury Road”) and Essie Davis (“The Babadook”).
Kurzel directs the film from a screenplay by Shaun Grant (“Berlin Syndrome”), based on Peter Carey’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same title, about notorious bushranger Ned Kelly (MacKay), one of the world’s greatest outlaws, and the colonial badlands from which he rose. The film will be wrapping principal photography on Sept.8
The cast of “True History of The Kelly Gang” includes Thomasin McKenzie (“Leave No Trace”), Sean Keenan (“Strangerland”), Harry Greenwood (“The Nightingale”) and Earl Cave (“Born to Kill”).
The film is being produced by Liz Watts from Porchlight Films, Hal Vogel from Daybreak Pictures, Justin Kurzel and Paul Ranford. Financiers include La Cinéfacture and Memento, with principal production...
Kurzel directs the film from a screenplay by Shaun Grant (“Berlin Syndrome”), based on Peter Carey’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same title, about notorious bushranger Ned Kelly (MacKay), one of the world’s greatest outlaws, and the colonial badlands from which he rose. The film will be wrapping principal photography on Sept.8
The cast of “True History of The Kelly Gang” includes Thomasin McKenzie (“Leave No Trace”), Sean Keenan (“Strangerland”), Harry Greenwood (“The Nightingale”) and Earl Cave (“Born to Kill”).
The film is being produced by Liz Watts from Porchlight Films, Hal Vogel from Daybreak Pictures, Justin Kurzel and Paul Ranford. Financiers include La Cinéfacture and Memento, with principal production...
- 9/6/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
If ever the atmosphere was ripe for dealmaking at Allen & Co.’s annual gathering of moguls in Sun Valley, Idaho, this is the year.
Key players in the megabucks M&A activity that has made headlines in recent months will be rubbing elbows in the confines of the Sun Valley Lodge and its posh surroundings during the conference, which begins July 10 and runs through the weekend, when Warren Buffett will hold court with his annual Q&A.
Participants will surely keep a close eye on the movements of Comcast’s Brian Roberts, Disney’s Bob Iger and Fox’s Rupert Murdoch for hints of a resolution to the Disney-versus-Comcast brawl over large portions of Murdoch’s media empire. CBS Corp. chief Leslie Moonves will be on hand, as will the subject of the lawsuit CBS unleashed in May on its controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone of National Amusements. CBS and National...
Key players in the megabucks M&A activity that has made headlines in recent months will be rubbing elbows in the confines of the Sun Valley Lodge and its posh surroundings during the conference, which begins July 10 and runs through the weekend, when Warren Buffett will hold court with his annual Q&A.
Participants will surely keep a close eye on the movements of Comcast’s Brian Roberts, Disney’s Bob Iger and Fox’s Rupert Murdoch for hints of a resolution to the Disney-versus-Comcast brawl over large portions of Murdoch’s media empire. CBS Corp. chief Leslie Moonves will be on hand, as will the subject of the lawsuit CBS unleashed in May on its controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone of National Amusements. CBS and National...
- 7/10/2018
- by Brent Lang and Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
At&T’s plans for its newly acquired Time Warner unit came into sharper focus Friday as the telecommunications company re-christened the division WarnerMedia and unveiled a new executive structure. It also announced the departure of a key executive, John Martin, who has led Turner, the company’s sprawling cable-tv operation for more than four years.
In a memo to employees, John Stankey, the At&T executive charged with running the Time Warner properties, said the company intended for the daily operations of HBO, Turner and Warner Brothers to “see little change.” And yet, he continued, “because we are now a subsidiary of At&T Inc., many of the redundant corporate support functions between our companies at the HQ/holding company level will be eliminated in the coming months. That said, we will continue to maintain a small operating staff in support of the media company.”
The moves are among the first...
In a memo to employees, John Stankey, the At&T executive charged with running the Time Warner properties, said the company intended for the daily operations of HBO, Turner and Warner Brothers to “see little change.” And yet, he continued, “because we are now a subsidiary of At&T Inc., many of the redundant corporate support functions between our companies at the HQ/holding company level will be eliminated in the coming months. That said, we will continue to maintain a small operating staff in support of the media company.”
The moves are among the first...
- 6/15/2018
- by Brian Steinberg and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Memento Films Boards Justin Kurzel’s ‘True History of the Kelly Gang’ With Russell Crowe (Exclusive)
Memento Films International has boarded “True History of the Kelly Gang,” a hotly anticipated project to be directed by Justin Kurzel (“Macbeth”), with Russell Crowe, George MacKay, Nicholas Hoult and Essie Davis to star.
Rolling off their success with Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me by Your Name,” Memento and La Cinéfacture – the production banner launched by Memento founder Emilie Georges – are set to co-finance the picture together with Screen Australia and Film4, and in association with Film Victoria. Memento will handle international sales, beginning at Cannes.
Liz Watts at Porchlight Films and Hal Vogel at Daybreak Pictures are producing the film with Kurzel, whose previous film, “Assassin’s Creed” with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, grossed more than $240 million worldwide. Paul Ranford is on board to co-produce. Kurzel will helm the film from a script by Shaun Grant, which has been reworked. The project is based on Peter Carey’s...
Rolling off their success with Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me by Your Name,” Memento and La Cinéfacture – the production banner launched by Memento founder Emilie Georges – are set to co-finance the picture together with Screen Australia and Film4, and in association with Film Victoria. Memento will handle international sales, beginning at Cannes.
Liz Watts at Porchlight Films and Hal Vogel at Daybreak Pictures are producing the film with Kurzel, whose previous film, “Assassin’s Creed” with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, grossed more than $240 million worldwide. Paul Ranford is on board to co-produce. Kurzel will helm the film from a script by Shaun Grant, which has been reworked. The project is based on Peter Carey’s...
- 4/30/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Streaming giant takes significant stride with long-anticipated hire of former Universal production chief.
When Scott Stuber assumes his new role as head of Netflix’s original film initiative in a month or so, the film industry will be watching closely.
The streaming giant has spooked the industry for several years now with headline-grabbing plays like the $12.5m Sundance acquisition of Us and multiple territories on Oscar bait Mudbound, and earlier out-of-festival buys on the likes of War Machine and Bright.
Yet despite a world-class TV pipeline and Oscar-nominated documentaries, the original film business has not earned the same level of acclaim.
Chief content officer Ted Sarandos knew it was time to act.
“Netflix wants to [compete with the] studios in production and attract more stars, producers and directors who can deliver high-quality content,” says entertainment business analyst Hal Vogel.
To do this, the streaming service brought in Stuber, whose tenure as former Universal vice-chairman of worldwide production encompassed the Fast...
When Scott Stuber assumes his new role as head of Netflix’s original film initiative in a month or so, the film industry will be watching closely.
The streaming giant has spooked the industry for several years now with headline-grabbing plays like the $12.5m Sundance acquisition of Us and multiple territories on Oscar bait Mudbound, and earlier out-of-festival buys on the likes of War Machine and Bright.
Yet despite a world-class TV pipeline and Oscar-nominated documentaries, the original film business has not earned the same level of acclaim.
Chief content officer Ted Sarandos knew it was time to act.
“Netflix wants to [compete with the] studios in production and attract more stars, producers and directors who can deliver high-quality content,” says entertainment business analyst Hal Vogel.
To do this, the streaming service brought in Stuber, whose tenure as former Universal vice-chairman of worldwide production encompassed the Fast...
- 3/15/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Looks like Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer may have been overly-optimistic -- or that's at least what some investors believe. Last week, during an earnings call, he expressed his excitement over the new Power Rangers reboot, stating:
"We are really, really excited about the Power Rangers movie. We could see doing five or six or seven."
According to THR, however, Lionsgate wants to make it clear that they aren't really planning for seven films, but that Feltheimer was merely expressing his excitement over the franchise's potential. This is especially important considering that the studio recently wrapped up its Hunger Games cash cow (and the Divergent Series isn't doing so hot), and has no other big property to lean on for support. Needless to say, the company is probably nervous about its stock valuation.
Hal Vogel, CEO of Vogel Capital Management, a Wall Street observer is quite negative on Lionsgate's statement,...
"We are really, really excited about the Power Rangers movie. We could see doing five or six or seven."
According to THR, however, Lionsgate wants to make it clear that they aren't really planning for seven films, but that Feltheimer was merely expressing his excitement over the franchise's potential. This is especially important considering that the studio recently wrapped up its Hunger Games cash cow (and the Divergent Series isn't doing so hot), and has no other big property to lean on for support. Needless to say, the company is probably nervous about its stock valuation.
Hal Vogel, CEO of Vogel Capital Management, a Wall Street observer is quite negative on Lionsgate's statement,...
- 6/1/2016
- by Joseph Medina
- LRMonline.com
Spectre has been welcomed with favourable reviews by critics, but it might not be all good news for its studio Sony.
The Hollywood Reporter notes how the latest instalment could be the last James Bond film the studio makes with MGM, which owns the rights to the franchise.
Spectre review: Daniel Craig embraces Bond's classic formula, but it doesn't pack Skyfall's emotional punch
Sony's latest two-deal picture with MGM expires with Spectre, and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson are expected to listen to offers from other studios for the next 007 outing.
Emails leaked in last year's high-profile Sony hack suggested that the budget for Spectre had spiralled beyond Skyfall's $210m and into the "mid-£300 millions" - although it's since been claimed that the final net budget is around $250m.
A message from Broccoli herself to then-Sony co-chair Amy Pascal was also leaked, in which the producer...
The Hollywood Reporter notes how the latest instalment could be the last James Bond film the studio makes with MGM, which owns the rights to the franchise.
Spectre review: Daniel Craig embraces Bond's classic formula, but it doesn't pack Skyfall's emotional punch
Sony's latest two-deal picture with MGM expires with Spectre, and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson are expected to listen to offers from other studios for the next 007 outing.
Emails leaked in last year's high-profile Sony hack suggested that the budget for Spectre had spiralled beyond Skyfall's $210m and into the "mid-£300 millions" - although it's since been claimed that the final net budget is around $250m.
A message from Broccoli herself to then-Sony co-chair Amy Pascal was also leaked, in which the producer...
- 10/22/2015
- Digital Spy
Sunray Films MD and former Focus Features International co-president to give address.
Alison Thompson, managing director of Sunray Films, is to deliver this year’s keynote address at the Film London Production Finance Market (Pfm) (Oct 15-16).
Opening the eighth Pfm in London on 15 October, Thompson will provide the 200 plus delegates and industry guests an insight into successfully financing, packaging, selling and positioning a diverse range of independent feature films across low and high budget ranges.
Thompson will also share her experience of spotting and nurturing talent and her move from indie sales companies to working for a studio-owned company.
As a sales agent, Thompson has represented films such as The Crying Game, The Motorcycle Diaries and Blue Jasmine. Recently formed sales-production company Sunray Films launched its first feature film production, Alone In Berlin starring Emma Thompson and Daniel Brühl, at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and is also representing Mike Leigh’s Mr Turner.
Pfm...
Alison Thompson, managing director of Sunray Films, is to deliver this year’s keynote address at the Film London Production Finance Market (Pfm) (Oct 15-16).
Opening the eighth Pfm in London on 15 October, Thompson will provide the 200 plus delegates and industry guests an insight into successfully financing, packaging, selling and positioning a diverse range of independent feature films across low and high budget ranges.
Thompson will also share her experience of spotting and nurturing talent and her move from indie sales companies to working for a studio-owned company.
As a sales agent, Thompson has represented films such as The Crying Game, The Motorcycle Diaries and Blue Jasmine. Recently formed sales-production company Sunray Films launched its first feature film production, Alone In Berlin starring Emma Thompson and Daniel Brühl, at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and is also representing Mike Leigh’s Mr Turner.
Pfm...
- 10/2/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The inaugural International Partnership Market at this year.s Spaa conference Screen Forever will give producers the chance to meet producers and executives from the Us, UK, Canada and Israel.
Applications are now open and close on October 18. The market will enable Australian feature film and TV producers the chance to create, build upon and develop relationships with international film and television producers who are looking for co-venture or co-production opportunities.
Australian producers can also connect with local and foreign sales agents, distributors and financiers attending the market.
The international contingent includes: Kate Harwood (Head of Drama, BBC); Hal Vogel (Executive Producer, Daybreak Pictures); Greg Coote (Executive Producer, Larrikin Entertainment & Chairman, China Lion Film Distribution); John Zois (Director, Acquisitions & Production, FilmNation Entertainment); Clay Epstein (Svp Sales & Acquisitions, Arclight Films); Avi Armoza (CEO Armoza Formats); Steven T. Seagle, Joe Kelly & Duncan Rouleau, (creators from the Man of Action Studios) and a delegation of 16 Canadian producers.
Applications are now open and close on October 18. The market will enable Australian feature film and TV producers the chance to create, build upon and develop relationships with international film and television producers who are looking for co-venture or co-production opportunities.
Australian producers can also connect with local and foreign sales agents, distributors and financiers attending the market.
The international contingent includes: Kate Harwood (Head of Drama, BBC); Hal Vogel (Executive Producer, Daybreak Pictures); Greg Coote (Executive Producer, Larrikin Entertainment & Chairman, China Lion Film Distribution); John Zois (Director, Acquisitions & Production, FilmNation Entertainment); Clay Epstein (Svp Sales & Acquisitions, Arclight Films); Avi Armoza (CEO Armoza Formats); Steven T. Seagle, Joe Kelly & Duncan Rouleau, (creators from the Man of Action Studios) and a delegation of 16 Canadian producers.
- 10/8/2013
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
The USA Network's half-hour comedy pilot "Sirens" has offically announced a cast that includes Michael Mosley ("30 Rock," "Pan Am"), Kevin Daniels ("Modern Family"), Jessica McNamee ( The Vow ) and Kevin Bigley ( Game Change ). Denis Leary will co-write with Bob Fisher ( Wedding Crashers , Traffic Light ), and both will executive produce the series along with Jim Serpico ("Rescue Me"), and Hal Vogel and David Aukin ( Hyde Park on the Hudson , End Game ) of Daybreak Pictures. Apostle and Fox Television Studios will produce in conjunction with Daybreak Pictures. The pilot, set to shoot in Chicago later this month, will be directed by Victor Nelli ( "Happy Endings," "Wilfred"), who will also executive produce....
- 10/11/2012
- Comingsoon.net
David Tennant and Emily Watson will play a husband and wife in upcoming three-part BBC Two series, The Politician’s Husband. The story follows the shifting balance of power in a political marriage and the consequences when a wife becomes more successful than her husband. The Paula Milne-created drama is a follow-up to 1995’s International Emmy and BAFTA award winning The Politician’s Wife that starred Minnie Driver, Juliet Stevenson and Trevor Eve. Daybreak Pictures is producing for BBC Two. Simon Cellan Jones, whose credits include HBO’s Treme and Showtime’s The Borgias, is directing. Shooting this month, the drama is exec produced by David Aukin and Lucy Richer and produced by Hal Vogel.
- 6/22/2012
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.