When it opened in 1995 in Times Square, the All Star Café was supposed to be the sports world’s answer to Planet Hollywood. Not only was it developed by the same restaurant chain, but it borrowed from its playbook, attracting legends such as Joe Montana, Shaquille O’Neal, Ken Griffey Jr. and Andre Agassi to serve as ambassadors to…

As part of a companywide cost-cutting effort, Disney has axed its cross-divisional Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences group, which encompassed the Mouse House’s metaverse ambitions. The elimination of Disney’s Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences group, led by company veteran Mike White, affects about 50 employees, Variety confirmed. The news was first reported by…

Peter Murrieta served as an executive producer and the head writer of Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” for its first three seasons, and he confirmed on the latest episode of the “Wizards of Waverly Pod” podcast that it was the creative team’s intention to make Selena Gomez’s main character openly bisexual. Gomez’s Alex had…

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce and media group, unveiled a top to bottom corporate restructuring that it says is intended to “unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness.”  The group, which has a current market capitalization of $228 billion, will split itself into six divisions of differing sizes. Each unit will have a CEO and a…

Village Roadshow Pictures has teamed with Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment for the U.K. release of the live-captured version of hit West End production “Heathers: The Musical.” The live-event style distribution strategy marks a first for both companies and will see a series of events premiering at more than 320 screens across the U.K. and Ireland from…

Powerhouse producer SISTER has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Variety International Achievement in Television Award, to be presented at global content market MipTV in April.  The award is presented in recognition of leadership and innovation in the international television marketplace with co-founder and chief content officer Jane Featherstone accepting the award in Cannes for all…

World premieres of Prime Video’s Rachel Weisz-starrer “Dead Ringers,” Paramount+’s “Fatal Attraction, with Lizzy Caplan, and Joshua Jackson, and Netflix’s awaited French bio “Tapie” pack out a 6th Canneseries which boasts its biggest U.S. presence yet, with titles from nearly all the major global streamers. They join Apple TV+’s already-announced “Silo,” another world premiere. Paramount+ will…

One of the leading actors of his generation, Korea’s Choi Min-sik is tackling his first TV role in some 25 years, with Disney+ crime drama series “Big Bet.” Choi says the gamble was a challenge, but ultimately worth the risk. While he has notched up iconic cinema roles in “Oldboy” “Shiri,” “I Saw the Devil,”…

Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel (VdR) has unveiled the lineup of its 54th edition, which features a broad panorama of both established names and newcomers from around the world. The festival kicks off on April 21 with the world premiere of “Nightwatchers” by Juliette de Marcillac and runs through April 30. The event…

SALES BECOME ANIMATED Indie sales agency All Rights Entertainment has achieved a string of pre-sales on “Lendarys,” a family adventure animation film that is currently in advanced stages of production and set for delivery later this year. The film was licensed to KMBO (France); Flins & Piniculas (Spain); Another World Entertainment (Denmark and Norway); Njuta…