Variety 9/14/2021

The changing of the legacy guard in Hollywood continues in a business focused on prioritizing content for streaming customers. Last week, we learned that seasoned studio chief Jim Gianopulos, who for decades has been shepherding big, successful theatrical movies, was being pushed out after four years as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures in favor of a digital-leaning leader known for purveying lower-cost content aimed at younger consumers. While the abrupt move shocked many inside and outside Paramount — rumor had it that at some point production chief Emma Watts might succeed Gianopulos — it was unsurprising to learn whom his ViacomCBS bosses Bob Bakish and Shari Redstone selected to replace him. Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins has been steadily rising through the ranks at Viacom and was recently given added…

1 TikTok Star Addison Rae Signs Film Deal With Netflix TikTok star Addison Rae has signed a multipicture deal with Netflix. The pact comes after Rae recently made her feature acting debut with a starring role in Netflix’s “He’s All That,” a gender-swapped remake of the 1999 high school rom-com “She’s All That.” Rae has more than 83.3 million TikTok followers, making her the third-most-popular person on the platform. She has 39.2 million followers on Instagram and close to 5 million on Twitter. The 20-year-old Louisiana native also released her first single, “Obsessed,” in March. She was nominated for breakthrough social star at the 2021 MTV Movie and TV Awards. — Marc Malkin 2 HBO Max Gets October Launch in Six Nations HBO Max is coming to Europe on Oct.…

Endeavor defied its critics and the odds by successfully pulling off a public offering in April, but the company — a hodgepodge of live-events brands and talent representation — is facing major obstacles navigating the global pandemic and encountering serious resentment among select players who feel left out in the cold. While Endeavor’s stock has overperformed for the two quarters of its publicly traded existence, some of the roughly 300 employees with equity in the company are furious over their diluted options and the new barriers to monetizing their stakes that have been put in place, three insiders familiar with the fraught situation tell Variety. A New York Post report from late August described some stakeholders — particularly the hard-charging dealmakers at Endeavor’s talent agency WME — as “fuming” when…

When his tenure as president of the Writers Guild of America West began four momentous years ago, David Goodman knew a groundswell was building for a campaign to end the decades-old practice of talent agencies earning packaging fees from TV shows and movies. As such, the longtime comedy scribe and “Family Guy” showrunner realized that setting a strategy for slaying the dragon of packaging fees once and for all — the issue had percolated in the guild since the early 1970s — would be a top priority. While WGA leaders developed a pitch to bring to members, Goodman fervently hoped that the WGA’s grassroots wouldn’t be too engaged. “People don’t believe me when I say this: I’m hoping they’re going to say, ‘We’re not on board for this,’ because then…

There’s a fundamental disconnect between the amount U.S. consumers claim they’re hypothetically comfortable paying for premium streaming services — and the amount they’re in fact forking over each month. It’s a $20-plus gap, according to recent research commissioned by TV maker Vizio and research firm Magid. That could mean higher cancellation rates for players in the crowded subscription VOD market, if more households start realizing they’re paying more than they assumed. $44 Average monthly amount consumers say they are willing to spend on paid streaming services $64 Average monthly amount consumers say they actually spend on specific listed services $73 Average calculated cost of streaming services consumers say they subscribe to, based on standard service rates…

With all due respect to the streamers who kept us distracted during the pandemic, movies were meant to be seen on the big screen, in the company of others and, ideally, debated and dissected with fellow cinephiles as we exit the theater. Cautiously reopening megaplexes have restored that experience to some degree, although film festivals have been a bit more cautious to return, given that they bring together audiences from all over the world — the perfect petri dish within which a virus might spread. Now, after a year of COVID-induced cancellations and online-only backup plans, the world’s leading showcases are back in business. Sort of. Cannes was the first major festival to offer more than just outdoor screenings (though the Berlinale and Tribeca made valiant efforts to present plein-air…