Hollywood Buzz: February 2024

By Natalie Lifson, Agent Trainee at Buchwald and your co-Editor-in-Chief at THA

Major News

• Lionsgate television cuts overall & first-look deals post eOne acquisition (Deadline, 2/28)

• Netflix makes Broadway producing debut (Deadline, 2/27)

• Warner Bros. Discovery becomes first Hollywood conglomerate to turn full-year streaming profit (The Hollywood Reporting, 2/23)

• SAG-AFTRA & studios reach tentative new 3-year deal on animated films (Deadline, 2/21)

• Paramount Global held discussions with Comcast on a streaming partnership (WSJ, 2/16)

• OpenAI unveiled a generative AI tool capable of creating hyper-realistic videos, the startup’s first major encroachment onto Hollywood (The Hollywood Reporter, 2/15)

• A3 Artists Agency “ceasing ongoing operations” following sale of digital & alternative divisions to Gersh (Deadline, 2/9)

• IATSE puts strike authorization vote on the table as negotiations near (The Hollywood Reporter, 2/8)

• Disney, Warners and Fox Plan Sports Streaming Platform Combining Coverage. The service will offer streams of channels including ESPN, FS1, ABC, Fox, TNT, and TBS (The Hollywood Reporter, 2/6)

• FuboTV files lawsuit to block Disney, Warners and Fox Sports streaming platform (The Hollywood Reporter, 2/20)

• YouTube TV has passed 8 million subscribers, cementing its place as one of the top U.S. pay-TV services (Deadline, 2/6)

• Warner Bros. Discovery beats investor suit over inflated subscriber figures (The Hollywood Reporter, 2/5)

• Layoffs: Paramount, Warner Music Group, SiriusXM, BuzzFeed, Vice, Sony

• Awards: Grammys, DGA, Art Directors Guild, Annie Awards, BAFTAs, People's Choice, SAG
  

Partnerships

• The Last Of Us co-creator Craig Mazin extends overall deal with HBO & Max (Deadline, 2/21)

• Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap inks first-look deal with Warner Bros. (The Hollywood Reporter, 2/12)

• Tyler Perry strikes first-look TV deal with Netflix (Deadline, 2/12)

• Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort renews first-look deal with Paramount (The Hollywood Reporter, 2/8)

• Fremantle buys controlling stake in Asian production company Beach House Pictures (The Hollywood Reporter, 2/8)

• Asylum Entertainment invests in Soho Studios Entertainment (Deadline, 2/8)

• Issa Rae’s Hoorae strikes unscripted partnership with Velvet Hammer Media (Deadline, 2/7)
  

New Production Companies

• Universal Music Group Nashville announces Sing Me Back Home Productions, a new production arm focused on TV and film projects (Billboard, 2/27)

• Jessica Alba launches production company, Lady Spitfire (Deadline, 2/5)