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)
