Company: Last News

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterA media consultant claims in a new lawsuit that Endeavor stole his unsolicited ideas on how to pitch itself to Wall Street, and that his concepts are single-handedly responsible for saving the company from ruin.David Carde, who describes himself as a consultant in the media and technology sectors, alleges that in September 2019 his attorney emailed an 11-page analysis to Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and to Ari Greenburg, the president of WME. He apparently never received a response.At the time, Endeavor was making its first effort to launch an IPO.

Milo Ventimiglia has potentially found his next starring vehicle.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC has ordered the drama pilot “The Company You Keep” with Milo Ventimiglia attached to star, Variety has learned.The pilot is based on the Korean format “My Fellow Citizens.” A night of passion leads to love between con-man Charlie (Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma, who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in-hand – forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences.The pilot keeps Ventimiglia in the broadcast TV business.

Milo Ventimiglia is taking on a new role!

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed Colin Trevorrow and his Metronome Film Company, repping both across film and television.

EXCLUSIVE: Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin and Extraordinary Entertainment partner Daljit DJ Parmar will take a dive into the gaming world with their newly established gaming company Distributed Ledger Entertainment.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSony Pictures Television sealed a deal to acquire Industrial Media, a major nonfiction TV production company whose portfolio includes “90 Day Fiancé,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol.”The deal values Industrial Media at $350 million. Upon closing, Sony Pictures will acquire a majority controlling interest in Industrial Media but the studio declined to reveal its ownership percentage.Industrial Media’s production shingles include 19 Entertainment, B17 Entertainment, House of NonFiction, Sharp Entertainment, the Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), This Machine Filmworks, This Radicle Act and Trilogy Films.The company companies produce more than 100 programs distributed worldwide in genres including documentary, music competition and reality categories.

EXCLUSIVE: Woodman Park Productions, the All3Media-backed production company behind series such as Discovery+’s Battle of the Brothers and CNN’s Declassified, has bolstered its leadership ranks.

The tumult around Wendy Williams and her recently-nixed talk show continues.

EXCLUSIVE: Lucifer exec producer Sheri Elwood has struck a first-look deal with Blink49 Studios, the Endeavor Content-backed studio founded by John Morayniss.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFremantle has acquired a 70% stake in Italy’s Lux Vide, the prominent TV production company that has been steadily raising its standing in the international arena, most recently with the high-end TV series “Medici,” “Devils” and “Leonardo.”The long-gestating Lux Vide deal, which closed on Thursday, marks the latest acquisition by the expanding RTL-owned production and distribution giant. Fremantle, which has been on a buying spree, now owns or controls a panoply of independently operated production shingles across Europe, as well as in Israel, Australia and the U.S.Their stated goal is to invest and grow in the global scripted arena where, by their count, Fremantle delivered 81 scripted shows in 2021, including BBC One hit “The Responder,” HBO Max series “Lust,” from Sweden’s Miso Film, and Italian dystopian drama “Anna.” Previous Fremantle investments include acquiring the 12 former Nent Studios production labels in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark (now rebranded This is Nice Group); Australian-American television production company Eureka Productions; U.K.-based Naked Entertainment; French label Kwai; and Israel’s Abot Hameiri, among others.The Lux purchase also marks Fremantle’s third acquisition of a production company in Italy, where the company already owns Wildside and The Apartment, the outfit behind Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated “The Hand of God.” Fremantle also recently inked a pact with Italy’s Cinecittà involving the long-term rental of six sound stages at the iconic Rome studios.Founded in 1992 by Ettore Bernabei, who was a long-time former chief of Italian pubcaster RAI, Lux Vide has since been headed by his progeny, Matilde and Luca Bernabei.

Veteran communications and marketing executive Curt King, who has worked at NBC, Universal Television and Universal Studio Group for over 25 years, will depart NBCUniversal at the end of March.

Peter Olsen, president of ad sales, sees a blended future for the ad-supported TV business, but one in which Nielsen will continue to play a central role.

Australian soap Neighbours is reportedly set to be permanently axed from television after failing to find a new home following its cancellation by original network Channel 5. Fremantle Media, the production company behind Neighbours, are reportedly preparing to confirm that the much-loved soap will be taken off-air indefinitely in an official announcement on Thursday.

EXCLUSIVE: Yash Raj Films, a key production house and distributor in India, has named Akshaye Widhani to the new role of Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.

EXCLUSIVE: Crystal Bourbeau has exited Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios as President of Worldwide Sales and Distribution after joining the company last October.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterChanning Tatum is taking “Step Up” on the road.Tatum’s production company Free Association is launching a new division called FA Live, which will focus on creating, producing and distributing live entertainment. The first project will be a high-concept dance show inspired by “Step Up,” the hit dance franchise that spawned five feature films and a TV series.Similar to the interconnected style of movies, reality TV and live entertainment that Tatum and crew built around “Magic Mike,” FA Live will seek to extend big and small stories and experiences through their in-person events.Tatum and Reid Carolin, who recently co-directed the surprise box office winner “Dog,” will serve as chief creative officers.

A theatre company specialising in historical productions has lost all of its vintage costumes, custom-made props and stage equipment in a huge storage unit fire at the weekend.

Simon Leviev, the subject of Netflix’s new documentary The Tinder Swindler, is being sued.

Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has given staff a paid holiday today (February 25) so they can stay at home and play Elden Ring.FromSoftware’s open-world action role-playing game is out today and according to Pocketpair’s CEO Takruo Mizobe, he believes staff will be “unable to focus on work”.The company announced the “Elden Holiday” in a company wide email, which was later shared on Twitter.ポケットペアは、全社員対象者にエルデン休暇を支給します！エルデの王は金、月は出勤する必要はありません！ pic.twitter.com/HforPa0TkN— ポケットペア公式 – Craftopia/クラフトピア (@PocketpairJapan) February 22, 2022Rumour has it that the Dragon Quest series is so popular in Japan, that developer Square Enix now releases its games on Saturdays to prevent kids from skipping school and adults from calling in sick to work to play the game.And last year, Japanese tech developer Mark-On Ltd announced a ‘Monster Hunter Holiday’ for all non-executive employees to coincide with the launch of Monster Hunter Rise after CEO Masaki Hiyama received an overwhelming number of holiday requests for that day.Elden Ring launched earlier today. Steam reviews for the PC version of the game are currently “mixed” due to performance issues and missing features. Bandai Namco has since released a post about the issues in Elden Ring, stating that it is “constantly working to improve the game so that it can be played comfortably on various PC environments and platforms.” In a five-star review of the game NME wrote: “Trying to summarise all of Elden Ring‘s successes, trying to pinpoint why it feels so special, is a gargantuan task.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorTechnicolor announced plans to spin off Technicolor Creative Studios, housing its visual effects and animation businesses including MPC Film (formerly known as the Moving Picture Co.), through a share distribution to company shareholders.Paris-based Technicolor will remain listed on Euronext Paris. Following the spinoff of Technicolor Creative Studios, the parent company will retain up to 35% ownership.