Amid allegations of financial impropriety and corporate skullduggery, the collapse of the relationship between UTA and MediaLink founder Michael Kassan now sees the parties locked in battle. Their competing legal actions and finger pointing are a lot – even by Hollywood standards.
After departing March 6 from the agency that bought his strategic company for $125 million just over two years ago, Kassan took UTA to court first at the start of business Tuesday with a $25 million action demanding arbitration. The filing in LA Superior Court from NYC-based attorney Sanford Michelman on Kassan’s behalf not only names UTA as a defendant, but also points the finger of responsibility directly at UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer, who is named as a defendant too.
UTA sees it very differently and insists Kassan didn’t resign, but rather was fired for cause by the company on March 7, that cause being having his paws deep in the corporate cookie jar. Calling Kassan “shameless” in one of the more polite handles for the executive, UTA filed a jury-trial-seeking against the MediaLink CEO in the late afternoon of Tuesday, seeking a jury trial. >>>"Special Expenses" Among Issues |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
| "Reeks Of Homophobia" - Just days after a lawsuit was filed seeking an injunction preventing the Paris Barclay-directed documentary Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It from debuting at SXSW, Barclay told Deadline that the complaint is meritless. >>>Battle Over Musician's Legacy
Grin And Bear It - John De Mol's Talpa Studios is taking its latest European survival format No Way Back to buyers after teaming up with Bear Grylls, his Banijay-backed production company The Natural Studios and Bunim/Murray Productions. >>>Grueling Competition
More Better Business - Rob McElhenney has launched More Better Industries, a multi-faceted company which encompasses three dynamic entities: More Better Productions, More Better Advisory and More Better Ventures. >>>New Ventures
Doc Talk: An Emotional Oscars - In the new episode of Deadline's podcast, hosts John Ridley and Matt Carey react to the Oscar show – and not just the doc categories. Carey explains why he watched the live Oscar telecast from a theater in Greece packed with Yorgos Lanthimos fans. And Ridley gives a shout-out to Oscar presenter Regina King, who stars in Ridley’s upcoming narrative film. >>>Listen
Guest Column: 'Y&R' Star Melody Thomas Scott - Melody Thomas Scott first joined the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless in 1979. To mark her 45th anniversary with the show, Scott writes about her time on TV’s most-watched soap and why she thinks the genre remains important to viewers. >>>Read It
Gina Carano Makes A Move - Gina Carano (The Mandalorian) has signed with Straightwire Entertainment Group for management. "I feel relieved to push the refresh button," Carano told Deadline, "and I am as ambitious as ever in this new chapter of my life and career.” >>>Directing Ambitions |
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Melanie Marnich is a huge fan of Big Little Lies scribe Liane Moriarty‘s work, but when showrunning an adaptation of Moriarty’s Apples Never Fall, Marnich says she tried to block the HBO hit from her consciousness almost entirely. Peacock‘s Apples Never Fall, which stars 2024 Oscar-nominee Annette Bening and launches tomorrow with international premiere at next week’s Series Mania, was made to have its own identity, Marnich explained to Deadline.>>>Read The Interview |
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Neve Campbell will return as Sidney Prescott for the next film in the Scream franchise. Campbell said the pic, which for now is known only as Untitled Scream 7 will be directed by original Scream writer Kevin Williamson.
Exclusive
Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to star in holiday family comedy The Man with the Bag, alongside Reacher star Alan Ritchson.
Ari Aster has added Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Austin Butler, Deirdre O’Connell (Outer Range), Micheal Ward (Top Boy) and Clifton Collins Jr. to his next project, Eddington.
Exclusive
Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber and Finn Wolfhard round out the cast of Sony Pictures’ SNL 1975 (working title), which will be directed by Jason Reitman and based on the real-life behind-the-scenes accounts of the opening episode of Saturday Night Live.
Owen Wilson is to star in and exec produce an untitled series for Apple TV+. It comes from Ford v Ferrari writer Jason Keller. Wilson will star as Pryce Cahill, an over-the-hill, ex-pro golfer whose career was derailed prematurely 20 years ago.
In Brief - Gringo Hunters casts 11... HBO’s Task Force Project adds Raphael Sbarge, Mickey Sumner & more... |
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More News 📱 House lawmakers overwhelmingly passed legislation today that would force the parent company of TikTok to divest the popular app or face a ban on U.S. platforms. The legislation passed 352-65, easily clearing the required two-thirds threshold. The bill now goes to the Senate, where the company has been lobbying heavily and the next steps for the legislation are uncertain. Past efforts to restrict TikTok have stalled in the upper chamber.
⚖️ After almost two years of litigation and several amended complaints, a federal judge threw out the defamation case Meghan Markle's half-sister brought against the former Suits star.
🖥️ Millie Bobby Brown's new film Damsel recorded 35.3M views in just three days of availability on Netflix, easily boosting it to the top of the English film charts (and taking the crown as the most-watched title of the week) from March 4 to March 10.
🦇 Matt Reeves' The Batman 2 is no longer opening on October 3, 2025 — a new launchpad for comic book movies. Instead, it is going a year later on October, 2, 2026. We hear the new date is due to the aftermath of the dual strikes.
👋 Beau DeMayo, head writer and executive producer of Disney+’s X-Men ’97, Marvel Animation‘s revival of the classic ’90s animated series, has parted ways with Marvel just ahead of the series premiere, sources close to the project tell Deadline.
🤝 Netflix has struck a deal with the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) over live-action scripted series for the first time. |
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Obituaries
🕯 David Mixner, the activist and political strategist who lobbied — and protested — political figures in the movement for LGBTQ equality, died on Monday. He was 77. 🕯 Leah Smith, who documented her four-year battle with a rare form of cancer on TikTok, died Tuesday, according to posts by her mother and boyfriend on the site. She was 22. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2024 Photo Gallery |
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On the Radar
Wed - Feud Season 2 finale; Michael Keaton on Kimmel
Thu - The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) debuts on Disney+; Grey's Anatomy S20 premiere; GLAAD Awards
Fri - Masters of the Air S1 finale; Bill Murray on Fallon
Sat - NAACP Image Awards |
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Truckin' - Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt arrived at the SXSW premiere of The Fall Guy in a manner that would make Colt Seavers proud. |
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