Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier Leaves To Join Roku - Deadline

Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier is leaving the linear network to join Roku. He joins as President, Roku Media, effective in late October, based in New York.

The surprising move is a major statement of intent from Roku.

Collier will oversee advertising and content at the digital streaming company. He will run Roku Media globally, managing its ad platform business as well as content for Roku’s owned and operated channels, including The Roku Channel.

During his time with the Fox linear network, which came largely after the sale of most of 21st Century Fox to the Walt Disney Company, he was responsible for launching Studio Ramsay Global with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, launching Blockchain Creative Labs, and acquiring Bento Box Entertainment and MarVista Entertainment.

Roku increasingly has been getting into the original content game. It acquired the assets of short-lived shortform service Quibi and hired former ITV America Chief Content Officer David Eilenberg as Head of Originals.

The company has plans to bolster its pipeline of original series and films even further with plans to order around 50 series and films during the next two years.

It launched its first feature film – Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas – in December, a follow-up to the canceled NBC series, and earlier this week unveiled plans to have an exclusive second window, after Spectrum Originals, for Nick Stoller and Carla Kettner’s Florida dramedy Panhandle. Its next movie, Weird: The Al Yankovich Story starring Daniel Radcliffe, just premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

Roku also has been staffing up during the past 18 months; Deadline revealed last year that it had hired two executives from Quibi – Colin Davis was tapped as Head of Scripted Originals and Brian Tannenbaum as Head of Alternative Originals.

Alison Levin, VP Ad Revenue and Marketing Solutions, Louqman Parampath, VP Ad Product, Mirjam Laux, VP International Advertising and Content and Rob Holmes, VP Programming, will report to Collier.

Collier’s hire comes as part of a trio of moves for Roku, which also sees Mustafa Ozgen and Gidon Katz promoted to President, Devices and President, Consumer Experience, respectively.

All three report to Anthony Wood, Roku’s founder and CEO.

“There is a tremendous opportunity to further accelerate and evolve Roku’s business as the streaming platform built for advertising, and Charlie is the ideal person to help us capitalize on the moment,” said Wood. “He is a proven leader who brings vast experience, a history of evolving businesses, strong creative instincts, talent relationships and a track record of driving revenue and growth. He will play an integral role in helping us achieve even greater success as a next-generation media company.”

Variety first broke the Collier news today.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier Leaves To Join Roku - Deadline )
https://ift.tt/S0RAb9x
Entertainment

Harry Styles Celebrates Historic 15-Show Run at Madison Square Garden With Banner Raising - Rolling Stone

Welcome to the final show. Harry Styles topped off his historic 15-night run at New York’s Madison Square Garden with a triumphant closing-night blowout. To celebrate, the Garden raised a banner to the rafters commemorating his record-setting run of 15 sold-out shows, a month after Harry began his “Love on Tour” residency on Aug. 20. It was a night to celebrate — the Garden made sure each seat had its own feather boa, officially marking the arena as Harry’s House.

Gayle King presented Styles with his banner in a surprise ceremony during the encore, right after he sang “Sign of the Times.” King told him, “Harry, we don’t want to say goodnight to you.” Then Styles stood watching as the banner was hoisted, slowly and dramatically, to the delight of the crowd.

He wept openly, taking a tissue from a fan near the catwalk. His voice cracking, he told the crowd, “Any time that you come to Madison Square Garden and you see that, remember it’s because of you. That is ours.”

He added, “I’m gonna come back when everyone is gone, and just sit and look at that for a while.”

Styles is now the third music artist to have a banner hanging in the Garden rafters. Billy Joel has two of them — one for his 129 shows there, and another for the 83 shows of his long-running (and ever-amazing) monthly residency. Joel did two Garden gigs during Styles’ run — at the first, on Aug. 24, his opening words to the crowd were, “I’d like to thank Harry Styles for taking a night off.”

Phish got their banner in 2017, after their record-setting Baker’s Dozen stay, where they didn’t repeat a song for 13 sold-out nights in a row. Let’s hope Phish get to keep their banner, even if their record’s gotten Aaron Judged into second place. Most of the banners commemorate Garden sport legends like Clyde Frazier, Patrick Ewing, Bill Bradley, and Mark Messier.

It’s been a historic run all the way around — for one thing, “And It Was” is STILL the No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100. When he started, “As It Was” already had shown remarkable staying power at the top — but this is ridiculous. The song is currently in its 14th week at No. 1, tying for the fourth-longest run ever. (Lil Nas X holds the record with “Old Town Road,” which reigned 19 weeks.) So it feels like a coronation moment for the whole Harry’s House phenomenon.

Each of the Garden shows (I saw half of them) had its own unique vibe. Night 2 had the deepest “Sign of the Times,” Night 13 had the saddest “Matilda,” Night 8 had the pranciest “As It Was.” The opening weekend was the most festive; the week after the Venice Film Festival was the most hyperactive, as if getting away from the red carpets and back in front of his people was like escaping a cage. Favorite fan signs of the residency: “Lucky Chris Pine,” “Can I Be Your Caddy, Daddy?,” “My Parents Don’t Know I Left The Country,” and “Bitch For Mitch.” Most depressing fan sign, from last night: “I Found Out Today My Cat Has Cancer.” As Harry admitted, “I’m not gonna lie, not quite what I was looking for in a sign, but we’ll go with it.”

The banner ceremony was an emotional climax to an emotional closing night. For “Matilda,” Harry brought out Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, who opened all 15 shows. Styles said, “In my opinion he is one of the most important musicians, artists, of our generation.” Hynes played cello, adding extra punch to the raw ballad. Blood Orange just dropped the excellent Four Songs EP last week, with live highlights like “Wish,” as well as CDs of each night’s live show.

Harry also surprised everyone with “Ever Since New York,” a highlight of his first solo tour that he hasn’t done live in four years—as he said, “a bit of an old one.” He got more jubilant than ever in the glorious disco interlude, with “Music For A Sushi Restaurant,” “Treat People With Kindness,” and “What Makes You Beautiful.”

Other artists have done stellar Garden shows during the residency, like Roxy Music, Karol G, Duran Duran, or Pearl Jam, while Styles has taken off for film events to promote his upcoming movies Don’t Worry Darling and My Policeman. One of the funniest moments at the Garden came at the Sept. 7 show, right after his Venice weekend. “It’s wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to be back in New York,” he said that night. “I just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine.”

But the final night was a knockout, even by his standards. It was a cathartic and dramatic climax to his epic run. Like all his Garden shows, it began with the combination of Bill Evans’ jazz-piano meditation “Peace Piece” and a clip of Buddhist scholar Alan Watts saying, “This sensation of being a separate lonely individual is a hallucination.” Styles and his band lived up to that communal spirit all night — and for the whole Garden residency.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Harry Styles Celebrates Historic 15-Show Run at Madison Square Garden With Banner Raising - Rolling Stone )
https://ift.tt/2Qcj7yp
Entertainment

Johnny Depp is dating his lawyer Joelle Rich following trial - Page Six

Johnny Depp is dating Joelle Rich, an attorney who represented him in his UK libel trial against the Sun, Page Six can confirm.

We’re told the London-based lawyer is married but separated, and her divorce may not have been finalized yet.

Earlier this summer, Depp, 59, sparked romance rumors with another attorney, Camille Vasquez, who represented him in his victorious US defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Johnny Depp is dating attorney Joelle Rich, Page Six can confirm.

AFP via Getty Images

However, Vasquez quickly quieted the rumor mill, calling the allegations “sexist” and “unethical.”

“I care very deeply about my clients, and we have obviously become close,” she told People in June. “But when I say ‘we,’ I mean the entire team, and of course that includes Johnny.”

Vasquez noted that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star had been her friend and client for four and a half years.

“It’s also an unethical charge being made. It’s sexist,” she added. “It’s unfortunate, and it’s disappointing, but at the same time, it kind of comes with the territory. I can’t say I was all that surprised.”

Rich is seen here giving Camille Vasquez a hug during Depp’s US trial.

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Rich was not one of the lawyers who worked on the US case, but she was reportedly present in the courtroom.

According to Us Weekly, the British attorney — who is a mother of two — was in Virginia to show her “support” for the Oscar nominee.

“There was no professional obligation for her being there,” a source also told the magazine, adding that Depp and Rich would “discreetly” meet up in hotels during the early stages of their romance.

The relationship between Rich and Depp is reportedly "serious."

AFP via Getty Images

The relationship between Rich and Depp is reportedly "serious."

Getty Images

Up Next

Earlier this month, the NBA player was all smiles posing...

2

View Slideshow

It is unclear when the relationship began. Reps for Depp could not be reached for comment.

During the defamation trial, a few of the “Edward Scissorhands” star’s exes — aside from Heard — made appearances in the courtroom.

Kate Moss appeared as a rebuttal witness for Depp on May 25.

The supermodel, who was in a relationship with the “Cry Baby” actor from 1994 to 1998, denied that Depp pushed her down a flight of stairs when they were dating via a virtual testimony.

Rich is still married but is separated, a source told Page Six.

Joelle Rich

However, Ellen Barkin showed her support for Heard, 36, by testifying that Depp had a history of violent behavior and once threw a bottle of wine in her direction.

Barkin, who dated Depp briefly in 1994, also issued a statement in the actor’s unsuccessful case against the Sun in 2020.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Johnny Depp is dating his lawyer Joelle Rich following trial - Page Six )
https://ift.tt/ydlXhiY
Entertainment

Khloé Kardashian: Tristan 'always knew' when Maralee Nichols' baby would arrive - Page Six

Khloé Kardashian said Tristan Thompson “always knew” about Maralee Nichols’ baby — but pushed her for another one anyway.

In the premiere episode of “The Kardashians” Season 2, which was released Thursday on Hulu, the Good American co-founder revealed her and Thompson’s surrogate was implanted with an embryo “days before Thanksgiving” 2021.

“I found out about Tristan’s situation [with Nichols] the first week of December,” she said in a confessional. “It’s just so close. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I did this after the fact. Why would I want to have a baby with someone who is having a baby with somebody else? I’m not that much of a sociopath. I’m a lunatic, but not that f–king deranged.”

Kardashian, 38, also confirmed that the NBA player, 31, found out about Nichols’ pregnancy on July 2 — months before he “encouraged” the reality star to go through with the surrogacy.

The Season 2 premiere of “The Kardashians” dove into the reality star’s surrogacy with Thompson.

4CRNS, WCP / BACKGRID

“All I know is I was being encouraged to do it by a certain date,” she explained.

“In hindsight, he always knew when the other baby was being born, especially getting the paperwork that we saw.”

Thompson fathered a child with Maralee Nichols while dating Kardashian.

maraleenichols/Instagram

News of Nichols’ pregnancy broke in December 2021 when court documents from her paternity lawsuit leaked. Nichols claimed she became pregnant with Thompson’s child after they slept together over his 30th birthday weekend that March.

Thompson vehemently denied being the father of her child and even appeared to threaten her over child support, but a DNA test taken after their son, Theo, was born on Dec. 1 proved he was, in fact, the baby boy’s dad. Thompson apologized to his on-again, off-again ex, with whom he also shares 4-year-old daughter True, in January, but she refused to take him back.

The plot thickened earlier this summer when Page Six confirmed the former “Kocktails with Khloé” host was expecting another child with Thompson — despite their split. The former couple’s surrogate would go on to deliver a baby boy on July 28. His name remains unknown, but Kardashian hinted it starts with a “T.”

Thompson also has a 5-year-old son, Prince, with ex Jordan Craig.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Khloé Kardashian: Tristan 'always knew' when Maralee Nichols' baby would arrive - Page Six )
https://ift.tt/NBI7RgY
Entertainment

M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin - Official Trailer (2023) Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint - IGN

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin - Official Trailer (2023) Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint - IGN )
https://ift.tt/ugk4rjA
Entertainment

Maren Morris Might Skip CMA Awards Following Feud With Jason Aldean’s Wife - Deadline

Maren Morris has revealed that she doesn’t feel “comfortable” attending the CMA Awards this year and is possibly skipping the event altogether. The country singer is nominated for album of the year with Humble Quest but may avoid the award show following her feud with Jason Aldean’s wife, social media influencer Brittany Aldean.

“I haven’t decided if I’m gonna go,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m very honored that my record is nominated. But I don’t know if I feel [at] home there right now. So many people I love will be in that room, and maybe I’ll make a game-time decision and go. But as of right now, I don’t feel comfortable going.”

Morris found herself at odds with Brittany after the influencer made a joked deemed transphobic.

“I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life,” she posted on Instagram in August.

The Voice alum Cassadee Pope made reference of Brittany’s social media post on Twitter and Morris replied with the following: “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”

Morris’ response went viral and Brittany was booked by Fox News and appeared on the Tucker Carlson show defending her stance. Carlson called Morris “lunatic” and Morris flipped the script on it, embraced the adjective and started selling t-shirts on her website. Morris ended up raising over $150k with proceeds going to organizations helping trans youth.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Maren Morris Might Skip CMA Awards Following Feud With Jason Aldean’s Wife - Deadline )
https://ift.tt/BmgdWHa
Entertainment

Tiffany Haddish Reportedly Settles Quietly, Child Grooming Lawsuit Dismissed - Yahoo News

After weeks of silence, speculation, and aloof messages on social media, Tiffany Haddish has settled with the siblings who accused her and fellow comedian Aries Spears of grooming and molestation, Radar Online. The settlement also blocks the public from seeing the original complaint.

In case you missed it, Spears and Haddish were sued by two siblings who went by the pseudonyms Jane and John Doe, who allege that they were groomed and involved with several sexually suggestive skits with the comedians while they were minors aged 7 and 14. As a result, the siblings say they have suffered mental anguish.

According to the siblings, Haddish had been friends with their mother for a long time. She told their mother that she was going to take the siblings to auditions for Nickelodeon, but instead, they filmed several inappropriate skits.

One skit called “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes” featured a then-7-year-old John Doe. In the video, which was uploaded to Funny or Die and quickly removed, Spears plays a pedophile who takes sexual interest in Doe’s character. He’s shown “lusting” over the boy throughout the video, in one scene John Doe is shirtless in a bath tub.  Haddish portrays the mother of Doe’s character’s in the skit. In another skit, Jane Doe says she was made to simulate sex with a sandwich.

Spears addressed the lawsuit and allegations while appearing on his podcast, “Spears & Steinberg.” He described the situation as “an extortion case” and “a shakedown.” Spears also expressed fear that it would ruin his career, Madame Noire reports.

“I already felt like my career was over. Before all this. I thought I was blackballed and my shit was over, but I always said, I felt like I was one thing away from the turnaround, but now with this, I’m almost certain that Tombstone is written,” the Chase star said.

Haddish was more hush hush about the matter. She shared an apology on Instagram, telling her millions of followers that the “sketch was intended to be comedic,” but “it wasn’t funny at all.”

The case, which was moved from state court to federal court by Haddish may have officially come to a close.  According to Radar Online, Haddish has “worked out” a deal with the accusers. Though most details of that deal are unknown at this time, Haddish will need to issue a public apology for her participation in the skits. She may also need to “recant” some of the claims she made about the lawsuit being a shakedown.

Because John Doe is still a minor, all parties have agreed to keep the complaint sealed to protect his identity.

“The full public availability of the Complaint could permit public identification of Plaintiff John Doe and, by association, Plaintiff Jane Doe,” the filing read.

In court docs obtained by TMZ, it appears that Jane Doe has now asked a judge to dismiss the suit.

“My family and I have known Tiffany Haddish for many years – and we now know that she would never harm me or my brother or help anyone else do anything that could harm us. We wish Tiffany the best and are glad that we can all put this behind us,” said Jane Doe, according to TMZ.

Because the suit was dismissed without prejudice, that means it cannot be refiled.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Tiffany Haddish Reportedly Settles Quietly, Child Grooming Lawsuit Dismissed - Yahoo News )
https://ift.tt/afmQNck
Entertainment