It was a year of pain for the entertainment industry and shareholders of (most) media companies with brutal, months-long Hollywood strikes and rounds of layoffs as linear television continued its decline and a nascent theatrical recovery went sideways. But CEOs did not feel the squeeze financially, collecting pay packages that were largely up in 2023 – some by big multiples.
“The pay is egregious. I get sick every time I look at these things. But it is something we have learned to accept,” says one longtime Wall Street analyst, noting that the average stock price of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount is down 58% over the past five years, while the S&P 500 rose 71% over the same period.
Topping the list is Charter Communications CEO Chris Winfrey, whose pay jumped 470% over the prior year, a reflection in part on chief executives in the John Malone orbit (David Zaslav among them), who tend to do very well. >>>Full List |
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Network Development Update - Needless to say, the broadcast pilot season is no longer the industry obsession it once was this time of year, with back-to-back disruptions from the pandemic and the dual Hollywood strikes conspiring to seal the fate of the decades-old pilot cycle. But for tradition’s sake, here are some insights into the networks’ current development plans. >>>Most Stacked Lineup Next Book-ing - Chris Van Dusen, creator of Netflix’s Bridgerton, has found his next project. He is developing a TV adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s book Girl Abroad with A24 and Pacesetter Productions. >>>Bidding War
True Crime's Duty Of Care - As the high-profile fallout from Netflix smash Baby Reindeer poses fresh questions about ethics in TV, Deadline has spoken with execs and those at the coalface of true crime production to slowly build a picture of the considerations around making a true crime show in the social media age, and the level of care that is being taken. >>>Watershed Moment Gail Force - Wednesday and Elvis producer Gail Berman, founder and CEO of The Jackal Group, has signed a three-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. Under the pact, which started Wednesday, the industry veteran will develop and produce scripted series for cable and streaming platforms.
>>>Her Natural Next Step
Canadian Writers Face Producers - After nearly three months, the Writers Guild of Canada has returned to the negotiating table with Canadian producers this week — this time with an unprecedented bit of power in their hands. >>>Strike Authorization
'A Man In Full' TV Review - Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane rarely put in anything less than stellar performances, but the Emmy winner and Oscar nominee are rarely as good as they are in Netflix's new adaptation of Tom Wolfe's novel A Man in Full. >>>Dominic Patten's Take
In Brief - Bob Odenkirk action film Normal has pre-sold to distributors globally since launching at the EFM earlier this year... Amazon Freevee developing medical procedural from Adam Sussman & Mark Perez ... Hundreds more layoffs incoming at DNEG... Glenn Douglas Packard to direct slasher Mickey Vs. Winnie |
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Kristen Wiig joins us for Deadline's video series, The Actor’s Side, and she covers the expanse of a comedic career that keeps seeing new landmarks, including her recent hilarious induction into the SNL five-timers host club on the show where she was a regular cast member between 2005 and 2012. She also talks about her new and much buzzed-about Apple TV+ series, Palm Royale. >>>Watch |
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Exclusive
Paul Walter Hauser's hot streak continues. After seeing New Line lock up rights to the authorized Chris Farley biopic in which he’ll star for director Josh Gad, the actor has signed on to the untitled Naked Gun reboot from Paramount Pictures.
Exclusive
Linda Hamilton and Abbie Cornish have come aboard to star opposite Kal Penn in Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, a new film from writer-director Thane Economou (The Wedding Party) that will launch sales at the Cannes Market.
Exclusive
A24 has come aboard as domestic distributor of John Patton Ford’s Huntington, with the revenge thriller adding Ed Harris and Margaret Qualley to a cast that already features Glen Powell.
Two-time Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins is attached to star as baroque composer George Frideric Handel in a new feature titled The King of Covent Garden.
Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks will exec produce and star in The Better Sister, a thriller based on the novel by Alafair Burke. In a competitive situation, the project has landed at Prime Video with a series order.
In Brief - And Just Like That… adds Rosie O’Donnell... Ivanna Sakhno to co-star in M3GAN 2.0... Motorheads adds Matt Lanter & Sophia Esperanza... Yao, Miles Caton & Peter Dreimanis round out cast of Coogler-Jordan thriller |
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More News 🌴 Meryl Streep will receive the Cannes Film Festival‘s honorary Palme d’Or at the opening night ceremony of the 77th edition, the festival has confirmed. It will be the first trip to the fest for the Academy Award-winning actress since she accompanied Fred Schepisi’s A Cry in the Dark in 1989, for which she won best actress.
🍄 Universal Orlando revealed new details about one of the most highly-anticipated lands in its upcoming Epic Universe expansion park. The east coast Super Nintendo World will contain many of the same highlights as its West Coast counterpart, plus new rides and a large Donkey Kong component.
⚖️ Dan Schneider has filed a defamation suit against the producers of Quiet on Set, Investigation Discovery’s explosive limited series that promised to delve into the toxic and dangerous culture behind some of the most iconic kids’ television shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
🤖 As SAG-AFTRA sounds the alarm over AI deepfakes, studios are warning that a proposed solution would violate the First Amendment. The conflicting views of a draft bill, called the No Fakes Act, were apparent in a Senate hearing on Tuesday, underscoring the thorny task at hand as lawmakers try to establish guardrails around AI technology.
🎵 Universal Music Group and TikTok have reached a new “multi-dimensional” licensing agreement that will return music from UMG’s family of artists, songwriters and labels to the short video platform.
🤡 On the first day of Netflix Is a Joke Fest 2024, the streamer announced seven new comedy specials from Ali Wong, Bert Kreischer, Deon Cole, Fortune Feimster, Gabriel Iglesias, Jo Koy and Michelle Buteau. |
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Obituaries
🕯️ Duane Eddy, the twangy, Grammy-winning rock guitarist who had Top 10 instrumental hits including “Rebel Rouser” and “Forty Miles of Bad Road” and scored with a version of Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn,” died Wednesday of cancer at a hospital in Franklin, TN, his wife told The Associated Press. He had turned 86 last week. 🕯️ Richard Tandy , who played keyboards for Electric Light Orchestra on all of its records since 1972 including the Top 10 hits “Evil Woman,” “Telephone Line” and “Don’t Bring Me Down,” died Wednesday. He was 76. 🕯️ Media & Hollywood Deaths Gallery |
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On the Radar
Thu - TikTok NewFront
Fri - The Fall Guy opens
Mon - The Met Gala
Tues - Disney earnings |
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'Seinfeld' Reunion - Michael Richards came out to support Jerry Seinfeld at the premiere of his film Unfrosted. It's the first time the two have appeared together in public since 2016. |
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