A raging policy debate in Washington is forcing Hollywood to curb its enthusiasm for mergers and acquisitions — for now.
Federal regulators and some legal scholars are moving to radically overhaul how the nation enforces antitrust laws. That’s making it much harder for dealmakers and corporate titans to pursue M&a activity. The regulatory mood in Washington, where transactions of any size must be approved by the Justice Department and other agencies, has become downright hostile to large-scale deals.
For Hollywood, the timing is terrible. Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast and NBCUniversal are conceiving potential new combinations with traditional or digital giants, but they’re hemmed in by the chilly atmosphere in D.C. The new breed of regulators are concerned that digital giants à la Google, Facebook and Amazon have been allowed to become too big and too powerful.
The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have issued much...
Federal regulators and some legal scholars are moving to radically overhaul how the nation enforces antitrust laws. That’s making it much harder for dealmakers and corporate titans to pursue M&a activity. The regulatory mood in Washington, where transactions of any size must be approved by the Justice Department and other agencies, has become downright hostile to large-scale deals.
For Hollywood, the timing is terrible. Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast and NBCUniversal are conceiving potential new combinations with traditional or digital giants, but they’re hemmed in by the chilly atmosphere in D.C. The new breed of regulators are concerned that digital giants à la Google, Facebook and Amazon have been allowed to become too big and too powerful.
The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have issued much...
- 4/24/2024
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
A top anti-vaxxer has taken over Robert Kennedy Jr.’s campaign communications shop — underscoring the fringe, anti-science thrust of the independent candidate’s presidential bid.
Del Bigtree leads the conspiratorial, anti-vaccine Informed Consent Action Network, which alleges (against substantial scientific evidence) that childhood vaccines cause autism, and that myriad vaccines — from chicken pox to Covid jabs — “should never have been licensed.” Bigtree is also the producer of a controversial, 2016 vaccine-alarmist “documentary” called Vaxxed.
Bigtree and Kennedy have long swum in the same anti-science waters; Ican is the second-best funded anti-vaccine nonprofit,...
Del Bigtree leads the conspiratorial, anti-vaccine Informed Consent Action Network, which alleges (against substantial scientific evidence) that childhood vaccines cause autism, and that myriad vaccines — from chicken pox to Covid jabs — “should never have been licensed.” Bigtree is also the producer of a controversial, 2016 vaccine-alarmist “documentary” called Vaxxed.
Bigtree and Kennedy have long swum in the same anti-science waters; Ican is the second-best funded anti-vaccine nonprofit,...
- 1/2/2024
- by Tim Dickinson
- Rollingstone.com
When Byron Allen was just 14, he started doing stand-up comedy. Four years later, in 1979, he became the youngest comedian to appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” It was a launching pad for an entertainment career that included a stint on “Real People,” a lead role in “Case Closed,” a TV movie he co-wrote and a syndicated late-night show bearing his name.
But all along, Allen had his eyes on a much bigger prize. “Growing up in Detroit, I was fascinated by Berry Gordy and Henry Ford,” says Allen. “I read about them and about John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. They were my heroes. I studied them and knew I wanted to build something big and iconic. That was always my desire.”
That something proved to be Allen Media Group, which encompasses Entertainment Studios (founded 30 years ago as Cf Entertainment) and its expanding portfolio — the company owns 10 cable networks,...
But all along, Allen had his eyes on a much bigger prize. “Growing up in Detroit, I was fascinated by Berry Gordy and Henry Ford,” says Allen. “I read about them and about John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. They were my heroes. I studied them and knew I wanted to build something big and iconic. That was always my desire.”
That something proved to be Allen Media Group, which encompasses Entertainment Studios (founded 30 years ago as Cf Entertainment) and its expanding portfolio — the company owns 10 cable networks,...
- 12/17/2023
- by Stuart Miller
- Variety Film + TV
After years of development, “BioShock”, the 2007 first-person shooter video game is being prepped as a new live-action movie, to be directed by Francis Lawrence, for streaming on Netflix:
“…incorporating ideas by 20th century dystopian and utopian thinkers Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, as well as historical figures John D. Rockefeller and Walt Disney, the game sees the player guide ‘Jack’, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the ‘bathysphere terminus’ that leads to the underwater city of ‘Rapture’.
“Built by the business magnate ‘Andrew Ryan’, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ‘Adam’, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline.
“Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of Adam-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly ‘Big Daddies’, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
“…incorporating ideas by 20th century dystopian and utopian thinkers Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, as well as historical figures John D. Rockefeller and Walt Disney, the game sees the player guide ‘Jack’, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the ‘bathysphere terminus’ that leads to the underwater city of ‘Rapture’.
“Built by the business magnate ‘Andrew Ryan’, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ‘Adam’, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline.
“Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of Adam-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly ‘Big Daddies’, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
- 12/22/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
After years of development, “BioShock”, the 2007 first-person shooter video game is being developed as a new live-action movie, to be directed by Francis Lawrence, for streaming on Netflix:
“…incorporating ideas by 20th century dystopian and utopian thinkers Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, as well as historical figures John D. Rockefeller and Walt Disney, the game sees the player guide ‘Jack’, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the ‘bathysphere terminus’ that leads to the underwater city of ‘Rapture’.
“Built by the business magnate ‘Andrew Ryan’, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ‘Adam’, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline.
“Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of Adam-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly ‘Big Daddies’, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
“…incorporating ideas by 20th century dystopian and utopian thinkers Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, as well as historical figures John D. Rockefeller and Walt Disney, the game sees the player guide ‘Jack’, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the ‘bathysphere terminus’ that leads to the underwater city of ‘Rapture’.
“Built by the business magnate ‘Andrew Ryan’, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ‘Adam’, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline.
“Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of Adam-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly ‘Big Daddies’, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
- 11/16/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
The teenage comedian who built an empire; the media mogul who became an activist. Byron Allen, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group (Amg) and Entertainment Studios, is a big thinker who takes his cues from the likes of Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller.
But it isn’t blind ambition that has pushed Allen to acquire 27 ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox network affiliate broadcast stations, 12 24-hour HD television networks, The Weather Channel, Black News Channel (which he folded into network and website The Grio), digital network HBCUGo and a number of online destinations. His professional conquests have always aligned with his personal goal of promoting racial equality. To enact change, you have to be at the top of the food chain.
“Don’t just play the game, own the game,” Allen told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View.
Also Read:
Black News Channel Acquired...
But it isn’t blind ambition that has pushed Allen to acquire 27 ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox network affiliate broadcast stations, 12 24-hour HD television networks, The Weather Channel, Black News Channel (which he folded into network and website The Grio), digital network HBCUGo and a number of online destinations. His professional conquests have always aligned with his personal goal of promoting racial equality. To enact change, you have to be at the top of the food chain.
“Don’t just play the game, own the game,” Allen told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View.
Also Read:
Black News Channel Acquired...
- 8/26/2022
- by Brandon Katz
- The Wrap
After years of development, “BioShock”, the 2007 first-person shooter video game is being developed as a new live-action movie, to be directed by Francis Lawrence, for streaming on Netflix:
“…incorporating ideas by 20th century dystopian and utopian thinkers Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, as well as historical figures John D. Rockefeller and Walt Disney, the game sees the player guide ‘Jack’, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the ‘bathysphere terminus’ that leads to the underwater city of ‘Rapture’.
“Built by the business magnate ‘Andrew Ryan’, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ‘Adam’, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline.
“Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of Adam-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly ‘Big Daddies’, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
“…incorporating ideas by 20th century dystopian and utopian thinkers Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, as well as historical figures John D. Rockefeller and Walt Disney, the game sees the player guide ‘Jack’, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the ‘bathysphere terminus’ that leads to the underwater city of ‘Rapture’.
“Built by the business magnate ‘Andrew Ryan’, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ‘Adam’, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline.
“Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of Adam-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly ‘Big Daddies’, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
- 8/26/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
After years of development, “BioShock”, the 2007 first-person shooter video game is being developed as a new live-action movie for streaming on Netflix:
“…incorporating ideas by 20th century dystopian and utopian thinkers Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, as well as historical figures John D. Rockefeller and Walt Disney, the game sees the player guide ‘Jack’, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the ‘bathysphere terminus’ that leads to the underwater city of ‘Rapture’.
“Built by the business magnate ‘Andrew Ryan’, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ‘Adam’, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline.
“Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of Adam-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly ‘Big Daddies’, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
“Jack,...
“…incorporating ideas by 20th century dystopian and utopian thinkers Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley, as well as historical figures John D. Rockefeller and Walt Disney, the game sees the player guide ‘Jack’, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the ‘bathysphere terminus’ that leads to the underwater city of ‘Rapture’.
“Built by the business magnate ‘Andrew Ryan’, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ‘Adam’, a genetic material which can be used to grant superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline.
“Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of Adam-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly ‘Big Daddies’, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past.
“Jack,...
- 2/16/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
“Real Time With Bill Maher” was off last week, and Maher returned on Friday by taking a big swing at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. This rant, which came as part of the New Rules segment at the end of the show, was prompted by the news that Bezos is on pace to become the first-ever member of the trillionaire class.
“New rule: you can’t have so much money that my computer’s spellcheck doesn’t know what to call you. Jeff Bezos is poised to be the world’s first trillionaire, the headline says. Even my phone was like, ‘That can’t be right,'” Maher quipped. (Sidenote: the spellcheck in my web browser also doesn’t think “trillionaire” is a word.)
“We now live in an age not of innovation but of domination,” he continued. “Startups are in a 13-year slump and financing is down 22% from eight years ago because,...
“New rule: you can’t have so much money that my computer’s spellcheck doesn’t know what to call you. Jeff Bezos is poised to be the world’s first trillionaire, the headline says. Even my phone was like, ‘That can’t be right,'” Maher quipped. (Sidenote: the spellcheck in my web browser also doesn’t think “trillionaire” is a word.)
“We now live in an age not of innovation but of domination,” he continued. “Startups are in a 13-year slump and financing is down 22% from eight years ago because,...
- 5/23/2020
- by Phil Owen
- The Wrap
Bankers like numbers. Numbers tell the story. No emotion gets in the way. So let’s look at the numbers: Over the past three years — that is, in the years after the world came together in Paris to try to slow climate change — JPMorgan Chase lent $196 billion to the fossil-fuel industry.
Over the past three years, JPMorgan Chase lent more money to the fossil-fuel industry than any bank on Earth — 29 percent more. And over the past three years, JPMorgan Chase lent more money to the most expansionary parts of the fossil-fuel industry (new pipelines,...
Over the past three years, JPMorgan Chase lent more money to the fossil-fuel industry than any bank on Earth — 29 percent more. And over the past three years, JPMorgan Chase lent more money to the most expansionary parts of the fossil-fuel industry (new pipelines,...
- 2/24/2020
- by Bill McKibben
- Rollingstone.com
Even though it would appear that many guilds aren’t going to recognize Robert De Niro’s performance in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” there are plenty of film fans that understand just how much skill and effort was turned in over the course of the extended run-time. While perhaps overshadowed by Joe Pesci and Al Pacino, De Niro once again proved that he’s still one of the best actors on the planet.
Continue reading Robert De Niro Reportedly Will Star As John D. Rockefeller In A New Film Directed By David O. Russell at The Playlist.
Continue reading Robert De Niro Reportedly Will Star As John D. Rockefeller In A New Film Directed By David O. Russell at The Playlist.
- 1/17/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
If you ask LL Cool J, there is no “worst part” of being successful. “I think the worst part of life would be not going after your dreams and living a life of quiet desperation,” he tells Rolling Stone.
The rapper, actor, and entrepreneur, born James Todd Smith, went after his dreams as a teenager when he convinced Rick Rubin to put out his first single, “I Need a Beat,” in 1984. He went on to become Def Jam’s first superstar solo artist and has scored a slew of gold...
The rapper, actor, and entrepreneur, born James Todd Smith, went after his dreams as a teenager when he convinced Rick Rubin to put out his first single, “I Need a Beat,” in 1984. He went on to become Def Jam’s first superstar solo artist and has scored a slew of gold...
- 8/22/2019
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
After not showing up to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2017 and 2018, Donald Trump is hinting that he might attend next year’s event because the host won’t be a comedian like last year’s Michelle Wolf. Instead, it will be author Ron Chernow.
“So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian,” he wrote on Twitter. “Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?”
With Chernow at the podium for next year’s dinner, it is likely that the event won’t be a celebratory roast of the president and the administration like the previous years — which is probably why Trump is toying with the idea of attending.
Known as the D.C. Nerd Prom, the dinner...
“So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian,” he wrote on Twitter. “Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?”
With Chernow at the podium for next year’s dinner, it is likely that the event won’t be a celebratory roast of the president and the administration like the previous years — which is probably why Trump is toying with the idea of attending.
Known as the D.C. Nerd Prom, the dinner...
- 11/21/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The White House Correspondents’ Association is having to deal with a lot right now. It appears its members have opted to avoid adding “controversies surrounding White House Correspondents’ Dinner speakers” to that list.
The Whca announced on Monday that next April’s dinner will veer away from traditional comedic speakers of past years, such as Stephen Colbert, Hasan Minhaj and Michelle Wolf, and instead turn to noted biographer Ron Chernow.
The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner began as an industry gathering for journalists to honor those within the profession that have made significant sacrifices, exhibited exceptional judgment, or helped the next generation of writers realize their potential. In recent years, it’s devolved into a night of media hype, with a growing list of invitees that have little to nothing to do with ongoing reporting.
It’s also become a yearly vehicle for an up-and-coming comedian to prove her/himself...
The Whca announced on Monday that next April’s dinner will veer away from traditional comedic speakers of past years, such as Stephen Colbert, Hasan Minhaj and Michelle Wolf, and instead turn to noted biographer Ron Chernow.
The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner began as an industry gathering for journalists to honor those within the profession that have made significant sacrifices, exhibited exceptional judgment, or helped the next generation of writers realize their potential. In recent years, it’s devolved into a night of media hype, with a growing list of invitees that have little to nothing to do with ongoing reporting.
It’s also become a yearly vehicle for an up-and-coming comedian to prove her/himself...
- 11/19/2018
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
This year’s White House Correspondents’ Association will be no laughing matter. The organization has decided to forgo a comedian as emcee this year – historian Ron Chernow will be the featured speaker.
In a statement released today, the Whca announces Chernow as the featured speaker for the annual dinner on Saturday, April 27, 2019. The statement does not address the absence of a comedian as emcee.
Last year’s dinner was hosted by comedian Michelle Wolf (above).
“I’m delighted that Ron will share his lively, deeply researched perspectives on American politics and history at the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” said Olivier Knox, Chief Washington Correspondent for SiriusXM and president of the Whca. “As we celebrate the importance of a free and independent news media to the health of the republic, I look forward to hearing Ron place this unusual moment in the context of American history.”
“The White House Correspondents’ Association...
In a statement released today, the Whca announces Chernow as the featured speaker for the annual dinner on Saturday, April 27, 2019. The statement does not address the absence of a comedian as emcee.
Last year’s dinner was hosted by comedian Michelle Wolf (above).
“I’m delighted that Ron will share his lively, deeply researched perspectives on American politics and history at the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” said Olivier Knox, Chief Washington Correspondent for SiriusXM and president of the Whca. “As we celebrate the importance of a free and independent news media to the health of the republic, I look forward to hearing Ron place this unusual moment in the context of American history.”
“The White House Correspondents’ Association...
- 11/19/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
On the heels of playing J. Edgar Hoover on The Man in the High Castle, William Forsythe is co-starring in the indie heist thriller A Perfect Plan, along with Kathleen Munroe (Patriot, The Void).
V71 Entertainment will introduce the Canadian indie to international buyers at the American Film Market.
Forsythe is to play an old-school grifter who, along with a young woman (Munroe), wakes up captive in a fortified warehouse and together they are forced by a cunning master thief, Theo, to plan and commit an extraordinary heist — the secret diamond collection of John D. Rockefeller.
Jesse Ikeman wrote and is making ...
V71 Entertainment will introduce the Canadian indie to international buyers at the American Film Market.
Forsythe is to play an old-school grifter who, along with a young woman (Munroe), wakes up captive in a fortified warehouse and together they are forced by a cunning master thief, Theo, to plan and commit an extraordinary heist — the secret diamond collection of John D. Rockefeller.
Jesse Ikeman wrote and is making ...
- 10/31/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
On the heels of playing J. Edgar Hoover on The Man in the High Castle, William Forsythe is co-starring in the indie heist thriller A Perfect Plan, along with Kathleen Munroe (Patriot, The Void).
V71 Entertainment will introduce the Canadian indie to international buyers at the American Film Market.
Forsythe is to play an old-school grifter who, along with a young woman (Munroe), wakes up captive in a fortified warehouse and together they are forced by a cunning master thief, Theo, to plan and commit an extraordinary heist — the secret diamond collection of John D. Rockefeller.
Jesse Ikeman wrote and is making ...
V71 Entertainment will introduce the Canadian indie to international buyers at the American Film Market.
Forsythe is to play an old-school grifter who, along with a young woman (Munroe), wakes up captive in a fortified warehouse and together they are forced by a cunning master thief, Theo, to plan and commit an extraordinary heist — the secret diamond collection of John D. Rockefeller.
Jesse Ikeman wrote and is making ...
- 10/31/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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