[ Four New York film production veterans, spanning the perspectives of unions, vendors and city government, agreed that the looming IATSE strike threat will restrict shoots this year before a rebound in 2025. Tommy O’Donnell, President of Theatrical Teamsters Local 817, which represents workers in transportation, casting, and locations for film, TV and Broadway, sees … Read more
[ Cinema owners, studios and indie distributors gathering in Las Vegas this week for exhibition’s biggest confab seek visibility into a theatrical landscape gut-punched by Hollywood strikes last year just as a post-Covid recovery was revving up. Production halted for months led to fewer releases on the schedule. But there’s reason for optimism, from Dune … Read more
[ EXCLUSIVE: Bad Wolf is adopting a U.S.-style pilot strategy on BBC drama Dope Girls by finishing episode one months before the rest so that it can be shopped at the London and LA TV Screenings. Jane Tranter, who co-runs the Doctor Who and His Dark Materials producer, said this is the first time the … Read more
[ The boss of the Bectu union has urged British broadcasters to have an “open and honest conversation about what the future looks like” with the ailing freelance workforce, while revealing concerns over future U.S. strike action. Positing that the UK TV industry’s freelance community is currently at its lowest ebb since she took over … Read more
[ Hasbro fell short of Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate for fourth-quarter earnings, blaming a 31% drop in 2023 entertainment revenue on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The toymaker also disappointed the Street with its 2024 outlook, particularly an expected 7% to 12% drop in consumer products sales, a category that typically accounts for more … Read more
[ Lionsgate Television Chairman Kevin Beggs says a transformed marketplace has taken shape in the wake of last year’s dual strikes and waves of cost-cutting affecting many TV players. “They’re ordering fewer shows, and there’s a lot of focus on the budget levels of those shows and a little more financial discipline compared to the … Read more
[ Lionsgate posted better-than-expected earnings in its fiscal third quarter, even as the dual strikes of 2023 took a bite out of its television business. The company, which is poised to split into two separate publicly traded entities in the coming months, reported adjusted earnings per share of 27 cents. That was well ahead of … Read more
[ EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. studios are aware of the dangers behind “making a wholesale shift to AI,” according to the CEO of a leading artificial intelligence dubbing outfit that says its content has been viewed by more than 1 billion people in the past year. Jesse Shemen, who runs Papercup, was speaking with Deadline after … Read more
[ Nearly half of UK film and TV’s ailing freelance community are struggling financially, according to alarming research from the Film & TV Charity (FTVC). The charity surveyed more than 2,000 freelancers for its Money Matters report and found that 40% feel they wouldn’t be able to make ends meet for any more than a … Read more
[ Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley who has stayed bullish on the movie theater business despite its recent trials, is now warning investors that the arrival of a “down box office year” has made him “increasingly cautious.” In a note to clients about his 2024 outlook, Wold wrote that he expects the stock … Read more
