Altavod, a New Distribution Platform for Indie Filmmakers, Launches

SPOILER ALERT: This story reveals major plot points from Tuesday’s Season 1 finale of ABC’s Queens.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorIn their last outings as leaders of ViacomCBS, the executive team led by Shari Redstone and Bob Bakish finally started to sound like they have a solid plan to compete in streaming.On the day ViacomCBS unveiled its corporate rebrand to Paramount, starting as of Feb. 16, the company put on a nearly three-hour virtual presentation for investors that demonstrated how much its operations have been turned inside out to focus on streaming growth opportunities.

J. Kim Murphy Original “Futurama” cast member John DiMaggio, who has long voiced the chain-smoking robot Bender on the show, has given an update on his tentative position on returning for the animated series’ upcoming revival on Hulu.DiMaggio shared his thoughts on Twitter on Tuesday evening, clarifying that he believes that the original “Futurama” voice cast should be paid more for returning for the revival.“I’ve been thinking about everything that’s been going on these past months and just to be clear, I don’t think that only I deserve to be paid more.

Charles Barkley sees his television career as a basketball commentator coming to an end.

UPDATE 2/15/2022: Allison Gollust is stepping down from her position as Chief Marketing Officer for CNN, the network announced on Feb. 15. Jason Kilar, the CEO of the network’s parent company WarnerMedia, made the announcement of Allison’s resignation in a memo to the staff.

sisters broke out at Disney World after one slipped on the other's vomit.The brawl broke out at the Orlando Florida theme park last October according to Disney blog WDWNT.The two sisters were tourists from New Jersey and were having dinner at Disney Springs before enjoying drinks at an Irish pub, according to recent details in Florida circuit court papers.The sisters aged 29 and 31 were heading back to their non resort hotel when their phone died.A Disney security guard helped the pair call an Uber, however the driver refused to take the sisters due to them being too drunk.The security called the pair a taxi but as they were waiting they started to argue.According to court papers, the eldest sister called her sibling a "bad mum" and slapped her.The youngest retaliated and threatened to punch her.Police from the Orlando County Sheriff’s Office arrived around 12:40am to find the younger sister stripped down to only her underwear and sandals as she screamed and cried near Cirque du Soleil.The sheriff's report said: “After attempting to calm the situation, [the security manager] said one female slapped the other in the face.“At that point, both females began punching, slapping, and pulling each other’s hair.“Once separated, both sisters ran at each other, slipped in [the younger sister’s] vomit, then fell into the bushes while still fighting."According to the security guard, the younger sister: “Ran a few feet away and took off her dress, exposing her breasts. Shortly after, they began to punch each other again.”After, the pair were separated and arrested for misdemeanour domestic violence, battery, and disorderly intoxication.The state’s attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges.

Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid gear up for their Round of 16 Champions League contest, we take a look at some of those who will be cheering them on.Indeed, today marks the first day of European football in 2022 - and one of the biggest matches on Tuesday night in the first knockout game of the Champions League is between these two elite sides.But who could forget the WAGS? The ladies will surely be in the stands at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night as the pair face off in their first leg of the tie.Here we take a look at some of the most notable WAGS out of Real and PSG.Marco Asensio started dating Sandra Garal at the beginning of 2019 . While the official announcement that they were a couple occurred at the wedding of Sergio Ramos and his wife, Pilar Rubio (more on them later).It’s thought that Garal was working in a nightclub when the pair met.David Alaba’s other half is the daughter of the German chef Frank Heppner, someone who was worked at of the most luxurious hotels around the globe.Shalimar Heppner started dating Alaba in 2017 - and the model welcomed their first child in 2019.It was 2021 when Thibaut Courtois went public with Mishel Gerzig, his stunning girlfriend.The Real Madrid shot-stopper has been with the Israeli model for some time though.But, speaking with publication LaIsha, she said that she has some issues around being so famous."I cannot say that I did not want to be famous before.

Baby blue Blake! Blake Lively arrived at the Michael Kors fashion show on Tuesday with a stunning, bright blue look for the New York Fashion Week event. The actress wore a matching light blue crop top and pencil skirt, throwing a similarly colored jacket draped over her shoulders. Blake topped off the look with light blue strappy Christian Louboutin pumps and clutch, also rocking gorgeous red lips and her signature blonde looks with the outfit.

Scarlett Johansson, 37, is looking amazing in her latest ad pics! The actress posed as one of David Yurman’s first celebrity ambassadors for the jewelry brand’s “Come Closer” campaign and showed off her sexy side while she was at it. In one of the eye-catching photos, she is in bed with nothing but a white sheet wrapped around her as she stares into the camera with a serious look.

Britney Spears found a new dancing buddy! The 40-year-old introduced fans to her adorable new puppy Sawyer with one of her signature Instagram videos. Her video started off with a closeup of her adorable new pup. Sawyer laid down and gave his best puppy dog eyes to the camera. “Geez …. can you have two loves of your lives because he comes in second !!!!  I’m introducing the new edition to my family,” she wrote in the caption. “his name is Sawyer and he’s a white Australian shepherd with blue eyes !!!!! I found him in Maui like a dream and took him home with me immediately.”

Trigger Warning: This story discusses domestic violence, murder and self harm, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.Police said in a statement that Glen, who is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, was charged with one count of “murder, arson and unlawful stalking”.Glen Tipler (38) was known for posting storm chasing videos online.Police will allege that on February 9, 2022, around 11 pm,  “a fire was deliberately lit at a Leichardt Street residence causing the death of a 21-year-old Coomera man.”On February 9, Queensland Fire and Emergency Service were called after neighbours heard a smoke alarm go off and saw smoke coming from the Leichardt Street address where Glen lived. The police found Adam’s body inside the residence.The same night around 11.50 pm, police were called to a Pioneer Road, Sheldon residence, after a man reported that his work colleague Glen had turned up at his house with significant burn injuries.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIf you watched a movie in 2019, chances are that it was a story about a straight white man made by a filmmaker who was also straight, white, and male.A survey of the top 100 highest grossing movies from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, found that only 32 featured leading or co-leading characters from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, a modest increase from 27 films in 2018. Forty three of the 100 biggest box office hits had a girl or woman in a leading or co-leading role, a slight bump from 39 in 2018.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSandbox Films, a new production company that will back documentary films about scientific inquiry, is launching at the Toronto Intl.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRicky Staub thought he was hallucinating. When he looked outside his office window, he saw a horse and buggy making its way down the streets of North Philadelphia like an emissary from another century. But there were details that immediately identified the driver as hailing from this time and place: namely, a subwoofer and speakers blasting rap music and rims with souped-up spinners that wouldn’t have been out of place on a car. “It was an extraordinary sight,” says Staub, a filmmaker whose production company is located in that section of the City of Brotherly Love.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNick Cordero, the Broadway actor who died in July of coronavirus at the age of 41, was remembered Sunday as a mega-talent with a commanding presence and husky baritone, who remained humble about his many successes when not taking center stage.The Tony-nominated star of “Bullets Over Broadway,” “The Toxic Avenger” and “Waitress” was honored at a special memorial tribute that streamed on Broadway on Demand. It aired as the stages where Cordero made a reputation for himself as a performer with seemingly endless potential, sit darkened and empty.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaChristopher Nolan’s “Tenet” will cross the $100 million mark internationally on Saturday. The twisty thriller has made just over $20 million in China so far this weekend.The Chinese historical war epic “The Eight Hundred” is currently jockeying with “Tenet” for first place at the box office in the Middle Kingdom.

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterThe new distribution platform Altavod is about to give filmmakers — especially independent filmmakers — more control of their work.With Utopia founder and filmmaker Robert Schwartzman and Cole Harper founded the new platform launches which launches today. Altavod provides distributors and independent filmmakers with full control to upload, manage and distribute their movies directly to consumers.In addition, the platform provides transparent back-end data and analytics around consumer engagement to allow filmmakers to have real-time access to page impressions, sales and conversions related to their campaign — which is a first for a platform of its kind.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaLeslie K. Barry’s upcoming novel “Newark Minutemen” has been optioned by Fulwell 73, the independent production company behind “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” John Niven and Nick Ball are attached to pen the screenplay.“Newark Minutemen” is based on an incredible true story.

Eli Countryman COVID-19 and its long-term affects on film marketing took center stage at the Keynote Marketing Roundtable event on Wednesday, as part of Variety‘s Entertainment Marketing Summit.Brent Lang, Variety‘s executive editor of film and media, moderated the panel conversation, which featured various professionals from the marketing side of the film industry.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaPoorly recorded, pirated versions of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” leaked online last week. Both are camcorded copies of negligible quality — at least one has Korean subtitles and another has German subtitles.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAnthony Carrigan endured hours of makeup to become Dennis Caleb McCoy, a time-traveling robot in “Bill & Ted Face the Music.”The “Barry” star embraced the acting challenge, but struggled with the physical demands of wearing such a crazy costume in the dead of summer. He had a very unusual method for cooling off on the film’s New Orleans set (more on that below).