Category: media

The company — which operates its U.S. headquarters out of Los Angeles and hired Disney veteran Kevin Mayer as its CEO this spring — said it has been working with the government for nearly a year to find solutions to the concerns, including expressing a willingness to sell its U.S. operations to an American company.  “What we encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses,” TikTok said. – The Hollywood Reporter

“Shedding the Fox name entirely from 20th Century Fox Television in the wake of the Disney-Fox merger, that studio will now be known as 20th Television. … Nixing ‘Fox’ from 20th TV was part of the negotiated merger terms between Disney and 21st Century Fox in order to prevent confusion among consumers. On the film side, 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight removed ‘Fox’ from their names in January.” – Variety

Impacted staffers begun being informed about the cuts at roughly 10:30 a.m. PT. Approximately 650 people at Warner Bros. are expected to be let go, according to people familiar with the matter, while HBO will cut 150 and 175 staffers. – Variety

Roughly one third of DC’s editorial ranks are being laid off, according to sources. Insiders also say the majority of the staff of the streaming service DC Universe has been laid off, a move that had been widely expected as WarnerMedia shifts its focus to new streaming service HBO Max. – Hollywood Reporter

“J.J. Yore … presided over big increases in revenue and membership since the Marketplace co-creator arrived at the public radio station in 2014, but the end of his tenure began with a public debate over the station’s ability to retain Black journalists and blossomed into a full-on staff revolt that followed an investigation into one editor and revelations about how WAMU treated allegations of harassment by former reporter Martin Di Caro.” – Washingtonian

TikTok, the video making and sharing app probably most known for its quirky video memes and gags made by people under 20, seems to be in many governments’ crosshairs. The attacks either come directly on the platform itself or to people using it in ways that violate the local social order. – Hyperallergic

Showrunners have been changing scenes to have little or no background performers, Paula Spurr says. She’s even heard of some smaller-budget productions using mannequins “in the deep background” these days. “It’s like, ‘Oh great, we’re being replaced with dummies,”‘ Spurr says with a laugh. – CBC

The perfect holiday film? “First broadcast on ITV, at 9pm Christmas Eve 1989, it haunted all who watched it, thanks in part to Wise’s tense, economical direction, and one of the greatest jump-scares in the history of horror. ‘[It created] a genuine physical reaction,’ wrote Nancy Banks-Smith in the Guardian, ‘as if one layer of your skin had shifted over another.'” – The Guardian (UK)

The Marvel and Star Trek actress, who was heavily criticized for playing the much darker-skinned singer in the 2016 biopic Nina (which has a 2% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, whew). Saldana said, “Nina had a life and she had a journey that should have been – and should be – honoured to the most specific detail because she was a specifically detailed individual.” – BBC