The year has gotten off to a clamorous start for corporate America — not to mention the rest of us.
Taking the stage against that backdrop in New York this week, major media companies will respond by doing what they do best: tuning out the noise and putting on a show.
Monday marks the kickoff to upfronts week. NBCUniversal, Fox, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and TelevisaUnivision (with Paramount still eschewing the spotlight) will face stiff competition in the form of Amazon, Netflix and YouTube. The three tech giants will all take part in the main upfronts week in person for the second straight year.
Movies, a big theme across the industry last year, are expected to once again play a central role in the week, highlighting the shift in movie consumption as the box office tries to battle back to pre-Covid levels. Disney Sales chief Rita Ferro notes the important role features play on flagship streaming service Disney+.
Disney's upfront, including the annual mini-roast of the industry by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, will be preceded by an ESPN press event. The sports division's chairman, Jimmy Pitaro, is also expected to reveal the name and price of ESPN's forthcoming stand-alone streaming outlet. >>>Sports Rights Are Key |
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Show Me The Money - California is on the verge of revamping its Film & TV Tax Credit Program to the tune of $750M in hope of reinvigorating the state’s production pipeline. But it could be more than a year before production workers begin to feel the affects of the proposed changes if they are passed by the Legislature. >>>Approval Timeline
Feds' Diddy Case In Danger - Hours before opening statements in Sean “Diddy” Combs' sex-trafficking trial are set to begin, the defense is poised to take advantage of a self-wound of sorts by the prosecution. As of Sunday night, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has yet to re-establish contact with a key witness. >>>Could Bring Case To Standstill
Dan Spilo Speaks - After being cut loose by client Kal Penn and Industry Entertainment, where he was a partner, Dan Spilo offered his first public statement about his behavior on the Australian set of Runner. >>>"Nervous Breakdown"
Swift Subpoenaed In Lively-Baldoni Battle - Deadline has confirmed that Taylor Swift was subpoenaed earlier this week by Justin Baldoni's lawyer, along with executives for his Wayfarer Studios plus publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel. Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool & Wolverine co-star Hugh Jackman is likely next. >>>Singer's Response |
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When screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis came aboard to co-write Another Simple Favor alongside franchise veteran Jessica Sharzer, she was met with a difficult task.
The question, she says, was: “How do you match, let alone exceed, the level of absolute insanity in that first movie? How do you get to that point where people are really genuinely surprised, but don’t feel like they’re pulled out of the film?”
That question and more were answered by the film’s team — Kalogridis, Sharzer, director Paul Feig, producer Laura Fischer and editor Brent White — during a panel discussion at Deadline Studio at Prime Experience. >>>Watch The Conversation |
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Hot off respective Oscar nominations, Demi Moore and Colman Domingo are set to star in Strange Arrivals, an alien abduction-themed romance based on the podcast from Toby Ball, which Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams will direct for See-Saw Films.
Lisa Yamada (The Bold and the Beautiful), Chloe Wepper (The Rookie), David Burtka (How I Met Your Mother), Brad Harder (Supernatural) and Kayla Maisonet (The Rookie) are will take key recurring roles in Elle, Prime Video‘s upcoming Legally Blonde prequel series. |
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More News
🏆 Mr Bates vs The Post Office and Mr Loverman were the big victors at the BAFTA TV Awards, meaning Baby Reindeer did not continue its dominant winning streak.
📱 In a landscape defined by cord-cutting and decline, YouTube TV has become one of the largest pay-TV providers in the U.S. Viewers have seemingly embraced its new-model interface, which substitutes curation and algorithms for old-school channel-flipping, as well as features like multi-view and an unlimited DVR.
✉️ A group of more than 100 film and TV bodies from around the world have united to sign an open letter appealing to governments to "safeguard film creation" in the wake of Donald Trump's tariffs proposal.
🎬 Fresh off her Oscar win for Anora, Mikey Madison is looking to build out her upcoming slate in Reptilia, the latest feature from filmmaker Alejandro Landes Echavarría. The film will co-star Kirsten Dunst.
🏏 The globally-recognized Indian Premier League cricket tournament has been suspended for a week amid hostilities between India and neighboring Pakistan. The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed the shutdown in a statement following discussions with the various franchises and their players, broadcasters, sponsors and fans. |
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Obituaries
🕯️ Mark Gaines, who spent nearly 40 years at Universal, rising from local booker to EVP and general sales manager, died Wednesday at his home in Braselton, GA, Deadline has learned. He was 77. 🕯️ Country music star Johnny Rodriguez has died aged 73, his family have announced. In the mid-1970s, Rodriguez had six number one songs and many other hits including a run of fifteen top 10 songs on the country music charts. 🕯️ Greg Cannom, the four-time Oscar-winning makeup and prosthetics artist behind such films as Dracula, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Vice, has died at the age of 73. 🕯️ Soap opera veteran Denise Alexander, best known for her starring roles on long-running sudsers General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, has died at the age of 85. 🕯️ 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Mon - Fox Corp. earnings; Upfronts begin; Tom Cruise receives BFI Fellowship; Diddy trial opening statements; Ryan Reynolds on Colbert
Tue - Cannes kicks off; Andor finale
Thu - Mission: Impossible London premiere
Sat - Netflix's FYSEE: LA kicks off; Scarlett Johansson hosts SNL |
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'Industry' pride - Marisa Abela, winner of the Leading Actress Award for her performance in the BBC and HBO's Industry, poses backstage after her win at the 2025 BAFTA Television Awards. |
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