To say Netflix has a lot riding on the return of Squid Game is an understatement. The South Korean series immediately emerged as a flagship show when it debuted three years ago. Since then there have been countless Halloween costumes worn, tickets to live Squid Game experiences sold, and ample anticipation for the shows return to the streaming service. And...

Members of The Animation Guild have voted to accept their new contract with studios and streamers. Per the guild, 76.1 percent of voting members chose to accept the deal, which covers 2024-27 and includes wage increases and key protections for members with regard to use of artificial intelligence in animation. After three months of negotiations, The Animation Guild reached a...

Complicated financial engineering does not typically pique the interest of Hollywood heavyweights, but recent moves by Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery, and a fateful decision by Disney last year, are quietly pulling back the curtain on the difficult debates raging in media corporate board rooms across the industry. To be certain, Comcasts decision to spin out (most of) its cable...

News Corp. and Australian telecom film Telstra have struck a deal to sell Aussie media company Foxtel Group to sports streaming platform DAZN in a deal worth about $2.1 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholder loans in the amount of $361 million outstanding and owing to News Corp. will be repaid in full in cash at closing. Foxtels...

The Writers Guild of America has prohibited its members from working with Village Roadshow for the time being after the company refused to pay numerous writers. It has come to the Guilds attention that over the last few months, Village Roadshow hasnt paid writers on numerous projects, the WGAW wrote in a statement on Saturday. Village Roadshow owes writers compensation,...

In a win for filmmakers, the U.S. Senate has given final approval to a bill loosening restrictions around shooting in national parks without a permit. The passage on Thursday, a day after a lawsuit was filed seeking to overturn federal permit and fee requirements on free speech grounds, cleared the bill for consideration by President Biden, whos expected to sign...

The Canadian Federation of Musicians, the local offshoot of the American Federation of Musicians in North America, has ratified a first-ever deal with Canadian indie producers. The Canadian Media Producers Association, representing local film and TV producers, and the Canadian Federation of Musicians, representing around 15,000 professional musicians at work in Canada, have both ratified the Independent Production Agreement, which...

Germanys film industry got an early Christmas present this week when the countrys parliament, the Bundestag, approved a modified version of the countrys new film funding law. The law, which is expected to get approval from the German senate today, Friday, will go into effect on January 1, 2025. It comes just in time. Germanys film industry, like those across...

TheMotion Picture Associationhas namedUrmila Venugopalanas its new president and managing director of the Asia-Pacific region. Venugopalan, formerly the MPAs executive vp of strategy and global operations, will succeed Belinda Lui, who is stepping down after five years. The leadership change becomes effective on Jan. 31. Venugopalan joined the MPA in 2017 and has worked to align the associations U.S. and...

One of the most popular animated characters in the world is set to make her debut at Walt Disney World and Disneyland next year: Bluey, the heeler dog and star of the hit Disney+ series Bluey. The addition of Bluey to the Disney theme parks and Disney Cruise Line comes amid an expanded partnership between Disney and BBC Studios, the...

British Columbia has given Hollywood producers an early Christmas present by boosting the foreign film tax credit for major studios and streamers that shoot locally. The latest provincial budget has raised the production services tax credit for foreign projects shot locally from 28 percent to 36 percent from Jan. 1, 2025. And tentpole projects with local expenditures exceeding $200 million...

Hollywoods year of strikes in 2023 had a devastating impact on Canadas film and TV production industry. The latest annual economic report from the Canadian Media Producers Association, representing local indie producers, points to foreign location and service production in Canada plunging last year to $4.73 billion in overall expenditures for the year to March 31, 2024, down 26 percent...

One of Fox News Channels original hosts is leaving the network after 28 years. Neil Cavuto, who has hosted the afternoon program Your World on Fox News since the channel launched in 1996, is leaving the network. He has also hosted Cavuto: Coast to Coast on Fox Business Network. Neil Cavutos illustrious career has been a master class in journalism...