J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Games Taps Valve, Oculus Alum Anna Sweet as CEO

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterWatching Elton John perform at Madison Square Garden always feels historic; although though he’s performed there more than 70 times, he frequently says it’s his favorite stage on Earth.Even more historic is the feeling of watching him play what he says will be his last show ever at the iconic venue. (Then again, this is a man whose 300-stop worldwide farewell tour began in 2018 and, due to COVID-19, may be going on considerably longer than the 74-year-old originally planned.)“This is definitely the most magical venue to play in the world,” an emotional John told the New York City crowd on an unseasonably warm Wednesday evening.

Ethan Shanfeld Invisible Narratives has hired Apple Music veteran Julie Pilat as president of music.Founded by CEO Adam Goodman, Invisible Narratives is a shopping and entertainment company “at the intersection of the creator economy, the crypto economy and the entertainment business.”In her new role, Pilat will develop new partnerships across the music industry, empower musicians and fans and use storytelling and technology to monetize video content across fandoms. She will report directly to Goodman.Prior to joining Invisible Narratives, Pilat spent eight years at Apple Music as a key executive.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla “Ozark” audiences have proved that time stolen can also be time well-spent: the Netflix crime thriller starring Jason Bateman, Laura Linney and Julia Garner, snatched over 4 billion viewing minutes for the week of Jan. 24 through 30.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterDarren Mann, a heat-seeking actor from the indie world, has been cast opposite Morgan Freeman in the upcoming film “The Minute You Wake Up Dead.”From director Michael Mailer, Mann joins Freeman, Cole Hauser (“Yellowstone”) and Jamie Alexander (“Thor: Love and Thunder,” “Loki”) in the project, billed as a neo-noir thriller. It follows a stockbroker in a small southern town who gets involved in an insurance scam with a next-door neighbor, which leads to multiple murders.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to receive a prestigious award in the US for their charitable work across the world.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are continuing their integration into US life as they receive the President’s Award during the 53rd National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People Image Awards this weekend for "heeding the call to social justice and joining the struggle for equity around the world." The pair have since released a joint statement describing the "true honour" adding that the efforts of the NAACP for racial justice were as "vital" today as they were more than a hundred years ago when it was founded.The couple's statement said: "It's a true honour to be recognised by President Derrick Johnson and the NAACP, whose efforts to propel racial justice and civil rights are as vital today as they were nearly 115 years ago."We're proud to support the NAACP's work and to also partner with the organisation on the newly created annual NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, which will be bestowed to Dr Safiya Noble as part of the 53rd NAACP Image Awards."President of the organisation, Derrick Johnson said: "We're thrilled to present this award to Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who together have heeded the call to social justice and have joined the struggle for equity both in the US and around the world."Not only do they continue to lead by example, the duke and duchess have also decided to inspire the next generation of activists through the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, ensuring the support and recognition of generations of civil rights leaders to come."For the latest breaking news and stories from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by

Instagram followers after being discharged from the hospital but said doctors are continuing with tests to investigate the cause of her condition.She said: "Hey guys, I wanted to pop on and let you know what was going on."I am just resting obviously I still have more testing to do. But it seems there's something off with my femoral nerve and it's affecting my strength and my legs."So I am still in a wheelchair, unfortunately.

Europa League encounter with Real Betis following a social media post he made.The Ukrainian Yaroslav Rakitskyi posted a picture of his country's flag on his Instagram along with the caption "I'm Ukrainian." The veteran defender, who’s played 15 games this season, was dropped to the substitute's bench ahead of the European encounter. The defender has been under contract with Zenit since January 2019 following a controversial move from Shakhtar Donetsk.In his home country, Rakitskyi was branded a "traitor" as a result of his decision and has never been called up to play for his national side again.

Amy Schneider is engaged to Genevieve Davis!

Grey’s Anatomy is finally back tonight with an all-new episode, and we’re recapping some info from this season that you may have forgotten during the long winter hiatus.

LGBTQ media watchdog GLAAD released its eighth annual Studio Responsibility Index yesterday (July 16), which covers the representation of LGBTQ characters in films released by major movie studios last year. While the organization found an uptick in white gay male characters, representation of lesbian and bisexual characters, as well as LGBTQ characters of color, has decreased.

about the high school years of Colin Kaepernick.“Ava is an extraordinarily gifted and thoughtful storyteller,” said Mike Darnell, president of Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorEXCLUSIVE: CAA has inked Oscar nominee and eight-time Emmy nominee Kristen Wiig.The Groundlings alum who went on to a seven year career on Saturday Night Live, has continued on to work with such acclaimed filmmakers as Darren Aronofsky (mother!), Alexander Payne (Downsizing), Richard Linklater (Where’d You Go, Bernadette?), Sebastian Silva (Nasty Baby), Ridley Scott (The Martian), and Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl).Wiig will star next in the Warner Bros./DC Patty Jenkins-directed sequel Wonder Woman 1984 as Barbara Minerva aka ‘Cheetah, opening on Oct.

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterGLAAD released its 2020 Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) which examines and reports the quantity, quality, and diversity of LGBTQ characters in the highest theatrical grossing films released in 2019. This year’s report has some highs to celebrate as well as some lows that studios should address.The study took a look at eight studios and four of their subsidiaries as reported by Box Office Mojo: Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, STX Films, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros.

Yara Shahidi is speaking out against scheduled executions of anti-government protestors in Iran with a frank post to her Instagram.The Grown-ish star, 20, posted a candid and thoughtful statement to her feed on Wednesday, in which she expressed her feelings and also stated the inherent dangers in doing so.Shahidi, who is the Minneapolis, Minnesota-borndaughter of an African-Americanmother and Iranian father, posted her comments next to a white-on-black text post which read '#StopExecutions' underneath an identical hashtag in Arabic.

Bad Robot Games, the video game development division of J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath's Bad Robot production company, has tapped game industry veteran Anna Sweet as CEO.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorBad Robot Games, the entity founded by J.J. Abrams, Katie McGrath and Bad Robot, has appointed industry veteran Anna Sweet as CEO.Sweet will join Bad Robot Games’ President Dave Baronoff in leading the outfit, which was formed in 2018 with initial financing from Tencent and Warner Brothers Interactive.In a 15-year career in the video game industry, Sweet has had stints at Facebook’s Oculus VR unit and the game developer Valve.“I first met Bad Robot 10 years ago during our collaborations while at Valve and have been huge fans of JJ, Katie and the team since then – as they represent one of the most forward looking creative talents across all mediums,” Sweet said in a press release.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorEXCLUSIVE:  Doug Belgrad’s Sony-based 2.0 Entertainment has hired writers Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves to write a psychological thriller about Ted Kaczynski, who went from Harvard math prodigy, to the subject of an intense psychological experiment, ultimately becoming the Unabomber.Chalsen and Greaves began their writing career together after their pilot Potus Maximus sold to Fox with Howard Gordon executive producing. Their blind deal at Warner Bros led to the pair writing the videogame adaptation Spy Hunter as well as a reboot of Inspector Gadget for Disney and producer Dan Lin.

James Gunn has said he initially wrote Scooby Doo character Velma to be ‘explicitly gay’ when working on the 2002 live-action Scooby Doo movie.The 53-year-old filmmaker, who is better known nowadays for directing the Guardians of the Galaxy films, claimed that film studio Warner Bros ‘watered down’ Velma’s sexuality in Gun’s script – with the character then getting a boyfriend in the 2004 sequel.In an online question and answer session with the director, one Twitter used asked: “Please make our live-action lesbian Velma dreams come true.”Gunn responded: “I tried! In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script.

Gregory Poirier EDITOR’S NOTE: Much was written about maverick Boyz N The Hood director John Singleton when he died early last year. In the wake of the George Floyd murder, there are several treatments of the Black Wall Street atrocity in the offing, but Singleton and Gregory Poirier had the field all to themselves when they collaborated on Rosewood, a drama woven from historic events of the 1923 Rosewood massacre in Florida, when a white mob killed black people and destroyed their town.

Roswell, New Mexico returns for its third season, it will be with a new showrunner at the helm, TV Guide has confirmed. Carina Adly MacKenzie, who co-ran the first two seasons of The CW sci-fi drama with Christopher Hollier, is no longer with the show. "Carina Adly MacKenzie has departed as executive producer/co-showrunner of Roswell, New Mexico," Warner Bros.