Justin Baldoni’s former publicist sued him, his company and his current publicity team on Tuesday, amid a spiraling scandal over an alleged smear campaign against Baldoni’s “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively. Steph Jones, who owns Jonesworks, accused Baldoni of breaching their contract, which required him to pay her $25,000 per month. Baldoni dropped […]

Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case is finally over. On Monday, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey announced she has withdrawn her appeal of a judge’s order dismissing the case. The decision came after the state attorney general’s office said that it “did not intend to exhaustively pursue the appeal on behalf of the prosecution,” the prosecutor said. Baldwin […]

On Aug. 21, Jonesworks founder Stephanie Jones called publicist Jen Abel into the office. The two women had been in the thick of a grueling crisis PR campaign on behalf of client Justin Baldoni, the “It Ends With Us” director and the subject of incessant media coverage thanks to a mysterious rift with the film’s […]

The Motion Picture Association is gearing up to push for significant changes in the California film incentive, which would make it more generous to individual productions. Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged in October to more than double the state’s annual support for Hollywood to $750 million. At the time, the governor did not propose other changes […]

“Bad Monkey” is a Florida show to the core. Set in the Florida Keys and based on a Carl Hiaasen book, the show’s first season was even filmed in Florida, though the state does not have a tax credit for film production. But that’s changing for Season 2. The show, which streams on Apple TV+, […]

President-elect Donald Trump has made good on his threat to sue the Des Moines Register over a poll that showed him trailing Kamala Harris. In a complaint filed Monday night in Iowa, Trump accused pollster Ann Selzer of deliberately releasing a fake poll for the purpose of manufacturing support for Harris. The Selzer poll showed […]

Ted Sarandos will join the stream of business leaders making the pilgrimage to Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, a source confirmed to Variety. Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, will visit with the president-elect on Tuesday. No further details of the meeting were immediately available. The meeting was first reported by CNN’s Alayna Treene. Mark Zuckerberg, […]

A year after suing him for sexual assault, Paula Abdul has reached a settlement with “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe. Abdul’s attorneys notified the court on Thursday that the case had been resolved. Terms were not disclosed. “I am grateful that this chapter has successfully come to a close and is now something I can […]

The premier of British Columbia announced a significant hike on Thursday in tax incentives for film and TV, as the province struggles with a sharp decline in production. Premier David Eby said the Production Services Tax Credit — which goes to international productions — will increase from 28% to 36%. The domestic credit will also […]

The new Los Angeles County District Attorney has removed the two deputies who sought to reduce the sentences of Lyle and Erik Menendez from his office’s post-conviction unit. Nathan Hochman was sworn into office last week after trouncing incumbent George Gascón in the November election. The Menendez case is the among the highest-profile matters left […]

Andrew Ferguson, a Republican lawyer, was tapped on Tuesday to succeed Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission. President-elect Donald Trump praised Ferguson in a statement announcing the appointment, saying he “has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country.” Ferguson has […]

Two members of the Animation Guild negotiating committee said Tuesday that they will vote against ratifying a new contract because it lacks enough protections against artificial intelligence. Mike Rianda, the director of “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” said on Instagram that the AI terms in the deal are “far from what we were going for,” […]

CBS moved on Friday to throw out Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit over the editing of Kamala Harris’ interview on “60 Minutes.” Trump sued in the waning days of the presidential campaign, claiming that Harris’ interview had been deceptively edited to make her appear “coherent and decisive.” In its motion to dismiss, CBS argued that […]

TMZ is taking a former executive to small claims court, alleging that he embezzled at least $99,509 from the company. According to the suit, Alex “Woody” Wood worked for the media outlet from January 2023 to February 2024. The complaint accuses him of “exploiting his position of trust” by siphoning money out of petty cash. […]

One more, and it’s a trend. A second self-published author sued Netflix on Thursday for copyright infringement over “Don’t Look Up,” the 2021 Adam McKay film about a planet-destroying comet. Darren Hunter, of Harleysville, Pa., claims that the film stole plot, character and thematic elements from his novel “The Million Day Forecast,” which he self-published […]