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☆ ‘The People’s Joker’ and the Perils of Playing With a Studio’s Copyright
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Eric Grode | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vera Drew never received a cease-and-desist letter. She would like to be very clear on that point. Unless, that is, a filmmaker receives a letter from Warner Bros. “This letter was actually kind of complimentary, but it expressed their concern that the film infringed on their brand,” Drew said. I was like, ‘No, I got a passport for this!

Persons: Vera Drew, Drew, Megan Amram, Tim, Eric, Sacha Baron Cohen, “, Al Yankovic, ” Drew, ’ Organizations: Toronto, Warner Bros Locations: Los Angeles

☆ IMAX 'ran out of seats' for 'Dune: Part Two' and Legendary Entertainment is interested in 'Part Three'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

After a two-month drought, "Dune: Part Two" has delivered a much-welcomed deluge of ticket sales to the domestic box office — and its success could bring a third franchise film to cinemas. The Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment film opened with an estimated $81.5 million at the box office, the highest of any film released so far in 2024. Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic, the second in the Dune franchise, was buoyed by IMAX ticket sales, which represented around 23% of domestic ticket sales, or $18.5 million. "The only reason it wasn't higher is we ran out of seats," said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. IMAX represented 18% of all international ticket sales, the company said.

Persons: Shawn Robbins, Denis Villeneuve's, Rich Gelfond, Gelfond, Oppenheimer, Josh Grode, Denis, Villeneuve, we've Organizations: Warner Bros, Entertainment, BoxOffice.com, Legendary Entertainment, CNBC Locations: Hollywood, China

LOS ANGELES (AP) — This week the United States’ biggest newspaper chain posted to its site two unusual job listings: a Taylor Swift reporter and a Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter. Political Cartoons View All 1157 ImagesSome journalists criticized the listings for presenting superfan behavior as a full-time journalism job, especially as job opportunities shrink and music journalists are paid low wages. “If there wasn’t that component to it, there wouldn’t be a Beyoncé reporter,” Tinsley said. “It is a bit odd, but Taylor Swift Inc., I guess you would call it, is a big economic driver right now,” said Eric Grode, director of the Goldring Arts Journalism and Communications program at Syracuse University. Representatives for Swift and Beyoncé did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Knowles, Carter, it'll, Beyoncé Knowles, Omise’eke Tinsley, “, ”, ” Tinsley, Amy Chozick, Hilary Clinton, Suzy Exposito, ” Exposito, Eric Grode, “ Taylor Swift, Grode, ” Rick Edmonds, Taylor, Exposito, Soraya Roberts, Tinsley, Swift, Beyoncé, David Bauder Organizations: ANGELES, States ’, Gannett, USA, Swift, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Taylor Swift Inc, Goldring Arts Journalism, Communications, Syracuse University, Poynter Institute, AP Locations: Nashville, Beyoncé, New York

☆ After 122 Years, a Lost Edith Wharton Play Gets Its Debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Eric Grode | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Edith Wharton’s 1934 autobiography, “A Backward Glance,” glances a bit more carefully at some things than others. She gives her close friend and fellow literary lion Henry James a chapter, but names her husband of 28 years exactly once. “The Shadow of a Doubt,” a full-length 1901 play that got close to a Broadway opening before foundering under murky circumstances. It was all but forgotten — which is perhaps what Wharton had intended — until two scholars unearthed a script in 2016. “Their work is so spread out that there’s a lot we still don’t know about.”

Persons: Edith Wharton’s, Henry James a, James, Wharton, Mary Chinery, Laura Rattray, Harry Ransom, ” Chinery, “, ” Organizations: Georgian Court University, University of Glasgow, Harry, University of Texas, Austin Locations: New Jersey

☆ Ahmad Jamal, Jazz Pianist With a Measured Approach, Dies at 92
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Eric Grode | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ahmad Jamal, whose measured, spare piano style was an inspiration to generations of jazz musicians, died on Sunday at his home in Ashley Falls, Mass. The cause was prostate cancer, his daughter, Sumayah Jamal, said. That approach stood in marked contrast to the challengingly complex music known as bebop, which was sweeping the jazz world when Mr. Jamal began his career as a teenager in the mid-1940s. Bebop pianists, following the lead of Bud Powell, became known for their virtuosic flurries of notes. Mr. Jamal chose a different path, which proved equally influential.

The much-respected Sight and Sound poll of the best films ever shows that what is valued onscreen has changed over time, sometimes radically. What are the greatest films of all time? But for many cineastes, a poll conducted once a decade by the British film magazine Sight and Sound has served as the gold standard since 1952. Roger Ebert once described the survey as “by far the most respected of the countless polls of great movies — the only one most serious movie people take seriously.”And for a very long time, the same “serious movies” got taken seriously decade after decade. The new list, however, marks several radical shifts from the accepted wisdom — and maybe, just maybe, from the idea of a “canon” altogether.

☆ Wall Street titan Apollo has a new class of dealmakers. Here's how 3 rose to partner while in their 30s.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Casey Sullivan | Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

He persevered through the brutal all-nighters, the perplexing spreadsheets, and the temperamental bosses who walked the halls of the midtown Manhattan investment firm. At Apollo, executives tend to grow up quickly. Some of their former colleagues have tried to make more money elsewhere, such as the hedge funds run by billionaire personalities that Apollo's executives quietly root against. Associates sometimes dealt with burnout from heavy workloads and demanding bosses by escaping for a walk through Central Park to let off steam, according to the former firm associates. We're Rayman Apollo!'"

☆ Meet 9 top media bankers transforming the M&A landscape and driving deals for Warner Bros. Discovery, Legendary, Amazon, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

2022 kicked off with some huge transactions, from AT&T's WarnerMedia spin-off to private equity scooping up content players. Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, and Diamond Sports Group both recently tapped big banks to explore their options. Not surprisingly, WarnerMedia was at the heart of the richest transaction fee waterfall for big banks in 2022. Moelis and LionTree were just tapped to help figure out what's next for Sinclair's Regional Sports Networks, Diamond Sports Group, while Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, also hired Moelis to shop the production company, according to Variety. There's lots of dry powder still in private equity, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president at investment bank Moelis, told Insider.

☆ Meet 9 top media bankers transforming the M&A landscape as streaming video reshapes entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

2022 kicked off with some huge transactions, from AT&T's WarnerMedia spin-off to private equity scooping up content players. Company valuations are set to fall back to earth in 2023, and private equity and strategics are lying in wait. Not surprisingly, WarnerMedia was at the heart of the richest transaction fee waterfall for big banks in 2022. Joshua Grode's Legendary Entertainment, backed by Dalian Wanda and now Apollo Group, which took a stake in the studio in January. There's lots of dry powder still in private equity, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president at investment bank Moelis, told Insider.

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