Tag: Entertainment – Variety

  • Paramount CEO David Ellison Backing Bipartisan Federal Film Tax Incentive

    Paramount CEO David Ellison Backing Bipartisan Federal Film Tax Incentive

    Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has been quietly backing a bill to launch a federal film tax incentive, with lawmaker support on both sides of the aisle, multiple sources told Variety.

    Ellison has spent at least six months in exploratory meetings for the proposed legislation, two sources added, and on Monday evening was present in Washington, D.C. to break bread with top Republican leadership, where the matter will be discussed.

    Names of politicians from both parties involved in the bill were not immediately available. More than one source noted the irony of Ellison’s Monday night meeting occurring the same day that a group of state attorneys general filed suit to block the mogul’s acquisition of Warner Bros. (his general counsel, Makan Delrahim, is at his side in D.C.)

    A federal film tax incentive would provide significant financial relief to content producers fleeing the U.S. for rebates around the world. A federal program would also sweeten the deal in Hollywood’s home state of California, whose AG Rob Bonta is leading the charge on the searing antitrust lawsuit waged today against Ellison over Warner Bros.

    Hollywood’s labor unions — including the DGA, IATSE and SAG-AFTRA — have also taken up the mantle on a federal incentive. In its just-negotiated contract, the DGA stipulated that top studio execs must participate in lobbying for more favorable domestic filming incentives.

    California has a TV and film tax credit worth $750 million, but no such program exists on the national level.

    Bonta, along with a coalition of 12 other states, alleged in their antitrust suit that the $111 billion merger between the two legacy studios violates the Clayton Act by weakening competition in three markets: wide-release theatrical distribution, “top-grossing” theatrical distribution, and basic cable licensing. If Paramount and Warner Bros. merged, the suit argues, the combined company would control 27% of the wide-release theatrical distribution market, 30% of the submarket comprising “anticipated blockbuster films” and 27% of the basic cable bundle.

    “The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.,” Bonta said in a statement on Monday.

    Paramount, of course, fired back with a scathing statement after the suit was filed. The company said in the statement, “The lawsuit filed by the state attorneys general, in the most generous light, reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law. Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs.”

    The Department of Justice already approved the deal in March, essentially clearing the way for Ellison to complete his plans for a combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Hollywood unions and stars have not been keen on the transaction, and fear an already struggling Hollywood could be further pushed underwater by a historically ineffective tactic of mega-merging two media behemoths.

    Politico’s Daniel Miller was the first to report Ellison’s interest in the federal film incentive.

  • ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ Ending Broadway Run in August

    ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ Ending Broadway Run in August

    Rave reviews, decent ticket sales and some Tony Awards love aren’t enough to keep “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” from ending its Broadway run early.

    The musical revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” will play its final show at the Broadhurst Theatre on Saturday evening, Aug. 8. It began preview performances roughly five months ago on March 18, 2026, and opened Tuesday, April 7.

    Critics praised the radical move to transpose T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” to the world of ballroom dance circa the 1980s, a time when drag culture was still underground and AIDS was a public health crisis. “Jellicle Ball” went on to receive nine Tony Award nominations and won three, including best direction of a musical for Zhailon Levington and Bill Rauch, as well as statues for Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons’ choreography and Qween Jean’s costumes. Jean’s win marked the first time in history that an openly trans woman won Broadway’s highest honor.

    “Jellicle Ball” put up respectable grosses. The show was earning between $900,000 to $1 million a week in the lead-up to the Tony Awards last June, though its sales fell after “Jellicle Ball” lost best revival of a musical to “Ragtime.” Musicals are costly to produce and “Jellicle Ball” has a large cast, which makes the economics particularly tricky.

    “Three years ago, Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch began the remarkable process of reimagining ‘Cats’ for a new generation,” producers Michael Harrison and Mike Bosner said. “They assembled a visionary creative team that fused their passions for Ballroom and theater to create something thrillingly new.”

    Later this month, the production will be filmed by the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and added to its collection.

  • Daytime Emmys Announce 2026 Nominations (UPDATING)

    Daytime Emmys Announce 2026 Nominations (UPDATING)

    The 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations announcement is underway. Among early nominees: Recently ended talkers “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (recognized for talk series and talk host) and “Sherri” (with a nod for talk host).

    The Daytime Emmys, administered by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, recognize daytime dramas, talk series, entertainment news, culinary, adventure, instructional and legal/courtroom programming. This year’s Lifetime Achievement honoree, Gold & Silver Circle inductees, and ceremony host will be announced at a later date.

    Formerly held in June, the Daytime Emmys moved to mid-fall last year; the 2026 event is scheduled to take place as a single ceremony on Friday, October 30, in Los Angeles.

    “We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” said NATAS president/CEO Adam Sharp. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.” 

    This year’s Daytime Emmys nominations come after serveral rule changes were announced this spring. Among the modifications: Submissions will now be episode-based, which it calls a “primetime format,” allowing programs to enter multiple submissions for different episodes and potentially receive several nominations.

    Additionally, NATAS has opted to determine how many nominations a category will get based on a scale of how may submissions there were, much like what happens at the Primetime Emmys. The default number of nominations in a category are:

    10 – 29 submissions: 5 nominations
    30 – 59 submissions: 6 nominations
    60 – 89 submissions: 7 nominations
    90 – 119 submissions: 8 nominations
    120 -149 submissions: 9 nominations
    150 or more submissions: 10 nomination

    If there are fewer than ten submissions in a category, the default number of nominations is 50% of the category’s submissions, rounded up to the nearest whole number. Categories with three or fewer submissions have no nominations, “though the National Awards Committee may proceed with an award based on a standard of excellence if the category is not otherwise merged or eliminated.”

    Meanwhile, there’s a new threshold for when you’re eligible for guest actor in a daytime drama (“To be eligible for the guest category, you must be seen in a maximum of 19% of episodes aired/streamed for the first time during calendar year 2025. Otherwise, you must enter in categories eligible only in the Leading, Supporting, or Emerging Talent categories.”).

    And the science and nature programming category has been eliminated in Daytime, as programs will now have to submit in Primetime, News & Doc or Children’s & Family, depending on eligibility.

    Finally, daytime dramas and non-fiction programs will now enter alongside each other in categories except writing and directing. The categories will be split again if both the daytime drama and daytime non-fiction tracks have at least 10 submissions each.

    NATAS Productions is behind the Daytime Emmys. Adam Sharp and Lara Gates are executive producers, and Leon Knoles is back as ceremony director for a fifth straight year. “Each year, the Daytime Emmy Awards celebrate the creativity, passion, and dedication that drive this vibrant community of storytellers,” said Daytime Emmy awards head Rachel Schwartz. “Congratulations to this year’s nominees, whose work continues to entertain, inspire and connect with audiences every day. We look forward to celebrating their remarkable achievements in Hollywood this October.” 

    Here are this year’s nominations, starting with four categories that were revealed Monday night during the broadcasts of entertainment news magazines “Extra” and “Entertainment Tonight”:


    Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress

    • Stacy Haiduk as Kristen DiMera, “Days of Our Lives” (Peacock [Corday Productions, Inc. | Sony Pictures Television])
    • Karla Mosley as Dani Dupree, “Beyond the Gates” (CBS)
    • Michelle Stafford as Phyllis Summers, “The Young and the Restless” (CBS [Sony Pictures Television])
    • Heather Tom as Katie Logan, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (CBS [Bell-Phillip TV Productions, Inc.])
    • Tamara Tunie as Anita Williams Dupree, “Beyond the Gates” (CBS)

    Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor

    • Eric Braeden as Victor Newman, “The Young and the Restless” (CBS [Sony Pictures Television])
    • Steve Burton as Jason Morgan, “General Hospital” (ABC)
    • Scott Clifton as Liam Spencer, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (CBS [Bell-Phillip TV Productions, Inc.])
    • Thorsten Kaye as Ridge Forrester, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (CBS [Bell-Phillip TV Productions, Inc.])
    • Christian Jules LeBlanc as Michael Baldwin, “The Young and the Restless” (CBS [Sony Pictures Television])

    Outstanding Daytime Talk Series

    • “3rd Hour of Today” (NBC)
    • “The Drew Barrymore Show” (CBS Media Ventures)
    • “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
    • “Live with Kelly and Mark” (Disney Entertainment Distribution)
    • “Today with Jenna & Friends” (NBC)
    • “The View” (ABC)

    Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host

    • Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin & Ana Navarro, “The View” (ABC)
    • Kelly Clarkson, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
    • Tamron Hall, “Tamron Hall” (Disney Entertainment Distribution)
    • Jennifer Hudson, “The Jennifer Hudson Show” (Warner Bros. Television [Telepictures])
    • Sherri Shepherd, “Sherri” (Debmar-Mercury)

    More to come as the remaining nominees are announced on Tuesday morning.

  • ‘Kong x Godzilla’ Ride Set to Open at Korea’s Lotte World This Month: It’s ‘Extremely Immersive’ (EXCLUSIVE)

    ‘Kong x Godzilla’ Ride Set to Open at Korea’s Lotte World This Month: It’s ‘Extremely Immersive’ (EXCLUSIVE)

    Legendary Entertainment‘s first theme park attraction, “Kong x Godzilla” at Lotte World in Seoul, opens July 24, marking the studio’s entry into location-based entertainment after several years of development on the project.

    “It was a big priority for me when I joined Legendary nine years ago,” James Ngo, Legendary’s executive VP of franchise management, tells Variety. “These types of deals take a long time to do, and construction also takes a long time as a process, so I immediately started trying to get Legendary into the space.”

    “This is the right time in the franchise for us to bring these major experiential projects to the fans so that they can experience it in real life,” Ngo adds. “We’re going into our sixth movie next year; we have a TV show. So the franchise is kind of at its apex right now in terms of all the different media projects.”

    The MonsterVerse has generated more than $2.5 billion at the global box office across five feature films, including “Godzilla,” “Kong: Skull Island,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Godzilla vs. Kong” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” with a sixth installment already in the works. The franchise’s Apple TV series, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” is now in its second season.

    “Godzilla has been around for 70-plus years, Kong as a character has been around for 100 years,” Ngo says. “As far as the fan base goes, we get everybody who knew Godzilla and Kong when they were kids but are now in their 50s, 60s and older. Our new films are starting to appeal to younger kids and teens, so the audience base has grown the most, and it’s the furthest along of all of our franchises.”

    Lotte World is undergoing a renovation, and the company committed to making the Legendary IP the centerpiece of that work, according to Ngo.

    “Lotte is such an incredible partner in the region, in the territory,” Ngo says. “Lotte World specifically has been around for a very long time. It’s very well known, and it’s beloved in South Korea, but also around Asia regionally. This is going to be Lotte’s biggest investment as a ride in the park. It’s not just a ride, it’s going to be the marquee ride of the park and really the main attraction for everything.”

    “From the moment guests come to line up, they are being recruited to join Monarch,” Ngo adds, referring to the fictional organization that tracks the franchise’s giant creatures. “That’s kind of our opening human touchpoint for the guests to be able to step foot into this world.”

    Guests then board a HEAV, the Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicle featured in the films, before encountering Kong.

    “Kong really guides them through Hollow Earth and all the experiences, while also protecting them against all the dangers that they would find in Hollow Earth,” Ngo says. “There are massive screens, a lot of amazing media that we’ve created with our partner. There are physical sets as well for our Titans and animatronics at massive, massive scale. The combination of real-world things with the media that works together in order to enhance the guest experience makes it extremely immersive.”

    Ngo describes the ride as one piece of a larger strategy spanning gaming, consumer products and publishing.

    “Our gaming reaches our consumers on a digital level on the screen. Consumer products really allow them to bring it home and experience it at home. Our comics and publishing program allow them to expand on their stories and use their imagination to go to places that may not be on screen yet,” Ngo says. “For location-based entertainment, it brings them into the whole world on a physical level and really gets to put them in the middle of that world. The strategy of being able to be where our consumers are really completes that cycle for us.”

    The ride’s development also involved Legendary’s film division directly, according to Ngo.

    “Legendary is very nimble and tightly connected. The filmmakers really sit one floor down from where my team and I sit, so we run up and down talking to them every step of the way,” Ngo says. “They suggest certain storyline tweaks in order to better tie it into the next film. It’s not just that they see a final product and approve it or not. They work with us every step of the way, and they try to tie so many touchpoints back into the film, back into the comics. This is becoming a very much interconnected world and experience.”

    Legendary maintains a dedicated Beijing-based team covering the Asia territory, Ngo says.

    “The Asia territory is extremely important to a lot, if not all, of the projects that we work on. A lot of our IP and the type of movies that we make resonate so well within that market,” he says. “MonsterVerse, for example, is massive, massive in Asia.”

    Ngo frames the Lotte World ride as a test case for adapting Legendary’s characters to physical spaces.

    “It’s being the first to go to market. It will show people how amazing this IP is to be adapted into this format, and that it’s doable,” Ngo says. “The biggest challenge in the past, especially for ‘Pacific Rim’ and MonsterVerse, has been the scale of our characters and the scale of our world. It’s an amazing thing to experience in location-based entertainment, but it’s also very hard to execute. Now that we’ve been able to execute it in this way and it looks incredible, I think people will start to embrace it more in the LBE [location-based entertainment] space.”

    South Korea’s broader entertainment profile factored into the decision as well, Ngo says.

    “South Korea is just really on the world stage on multiple levels, from manufacturing to entertainment to exporting amazing IP… I don’t think it was new for us,” Ngo says, noting Legendary had already worked with Korean entertainment IP and fashion partners in the past. “I think the opportunity would just allow us to create a stronger foothold in the market.”

    Ngo says Legendary has explored location-based concepts for other franchises in its library, including “Dune,” “Pacific Rim,” “Detective Pikachu” and “Enola Holmes.”

    “Some may be a large theme park ride or attraction, or even a whole land, and others may be more pop-up and dining experiences, or escape rooms and murder-mystery experiences where it makes sense,” Ngo says. “I think all of them have the IP DNA in order to expand into the space. It’s just depending on timing, where the actual opportunities are in terms of locations and what people are looking for in terms of markets.” Legendary is also set to launch a new franchise, “Street Fighter,” this October.

    Asked whether the definition of franchise management has fundamentally shifted as audiences increasingly expect brands across multiple platforms, Ngo says: “I don’t know if the definition of it has changed. Studios like Disney and other larger studios have had these strategies for many decades, so I don’t necessarily think it’s a new concept… We’ve been able to sustain this for over a decade now with the MonsterVerse, and we’re building ‘Dune’ to that level as well.”

    Ngo says he views Legendary’s position five years from now as an extension of where the studio already stands today.

    On whether he sees Legendary primarily as a film studio or as a broader entertainment company, Ngo says: “I would argue that we’re already there. I think the volume of scaling up and putting out more franchises is probably the goal. We have the infrastructure, we’re already working in all of these different areas and franchises to create amazing experiences for our fans. We’ve always been a very fan-first type of studio. We know what our fans want, we give it to them, and we delight them.”

  • Humanitas Prizes Reveal Nominations; ‘My So-Called Life’ Creator Winnie Holzman to Be Honored and Ashley Nicole Black Will Host (EXCLUSIVE)

    Humanitas Prizes Reveal Nominations; ‘My So-Called Life’ Creator Winnie Holzman to Be Honored and Ashley Nicole Black Will Host (EXCLUSIVE)

    “My So-Called Life” creator and “Wicked” writer Winnie Holzman has been tapped to receive Humanitas‘s Kieser Award, while writer/comedian Ashley Nicole Black has been named host of this year’s Humanitas Prizes Award Show & Toast, the org announced Monday.

    Also on Monday, Humanitas announced the nominees for this year’s ten Humanitas Prizes, and revealed that Starz is back as the awards show’s key sponsor.

    The ceremony, which will also announce the 2026 New Voices Fellows, College Screenwriting Awards and Starz #TakeTheLead Award, will take place at Avalon Hollywood on Sept. 9.

    The Humanitas Prize honors “film and television writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way. Prizes are presented at an annual event where winners receive a trophy and a cash prize.” Here are this year’s nominees:

    Drama Teleplay

    “Chicago Med” (“The Book of Charles”): Allen MacDonald

    “Grey’s Anatomy” (“Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”): Jess Righthand

    “Paradise” (“Graceland”): Dan Fogelman, Eric Wen

    “The Testaments” (“Stadium”): Gianna Sobol

    Comedy Teleplay
    “Abbott Elementary” (“Goofgirl”): Justin Tan

    “Long Story Short” (“Yoshi’s Bar Mitzvah”): Raphael Bob-Waksberg

    “Resident Alien” (“The End is Here”): Chris Sheridan

    “Shrinking” (“My Bad”): Brian Gallivan

    Limited Series Teleplay
    “Beef” (“Oh, The Comfort, The Inexpressible Comfort”): Lee Sung Jin, Madeleine Pron

    “DTF St. Louis” (“No One’s Normal. It Just Looks That Way from Across the Street”): Steven Conrad

    “Hal & Harper” (“Are You Watching?”): Cooper Raiff

    “Washington Black” (“The Flying Man & the Musician”): Selwyn Hinds

    Children’s Teleplay
    “E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web” (“Part 3”): Levi Abrino

    “My Brother the Minotaur” (“Lunacy and Lorcan”): Mark B. Hodkinson

    “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” (“The Shade of It All”): Tiffany Thomas

    “Tab Time” (“When We Lose Someone”): Sean Presant

    Drama Feature
    “All That’s Left of You”: Cherien Dabis

    “Preparation for the Next Life”: Martyna Majok

    “Song Sung Blue”: Craig Brewer

    “Train Dreams”: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar

    Comedy Feature
    “A Nice Indian Boy”: Eric Randall

    “Rental Family”: Hikari, Stephen Blahut

    “The Invite”: Will McCormack, Rashida Jones

    “The Baltimorons”: Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner

    Family Feature
    “Elio”: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones, Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi

    “Grow”: Nick Güthe, Christos N. Gage, Ruth Fletcher Gage

    “Hoppers”: Jesse Andrews, Daniel Chong

    “KPop Demon Hunters”: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan

    Short Film
    “Beyond Unstoppable”: Valerie Alexander

    “Double Happiness”: Shari Albert, Laura LeeLun

    “The Birthday Gif”t: Stephanie Alison Walker, Paula Pizzi

    “Vital”: Amir Zargara, Gabe Berry

    Documentary (Feature)
    “Come See Me in the Good Light”: Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen

    “The Tale of Silyan”: Tamara Kotevska

    “Life After”: Reid Davenport, Colleen Cassingham

    “Shuffle”: Benjamin Flaherty

    Documentary (Docuseries, Single Episode)
    “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” (“Part Two”): Susan Lacy, Jessica Levin

    “Katrina: Come Hell and High Water” (“Shelter of Last Resort”): Samantha Knowles

    “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” (“Part Two”): Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio, Joe Beshenkovsky

    “Rise of the 49ers” (“We Built This City”): Ryan Kelly, Nick Mascolo

    In the case of Holzman, the Kieser Award “honors those who have dedicated their substantial talent, work, and resources to creating transformative stories that celebrate our common humanity.” Past winners include Greg Berlanti, Marta Kauffman, John Sacret Young, John Ridley, Jason Katims, Fay Kanin and Bill Moyers.

    Besides “My So-Called Life” and “Wicked,” Holzman’s other credits include “Thirtysomething,” “Once and Again” and “Huge.” As an actor, she’s been seen in “Jerry Maguire,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Comeback” and “A Man on the Inside.” Most recently, she co-wrote both screenplays for the movie adaptations of “Wicked.”

    “Winnie has consistently explored the complexities of the human condition with compassion, intelligence, and emotional honesty. Winnie’s work has made generations grappling with coming of age and identity feel seen,” said Humanitas executive director Michelle Franke. “We admire her steadfast commitment to mentoring and nurturing writers, as we saw up close when she twice served as a mentor in our New Voices Fellowship program. We are honored to be recognizing her with our top honor, the Kieser Award, this September.”

    As for the Starz #TakeTheLead Award, the honor is meant to “amplify narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.”

    “Starz’s generosity has had a profound impact on Humanitas’ work over the last four years, most notably by providing support to our New Voices Fellowship,” Franke said. “In 2026, we’re thrilled to offer the #TakeTheLead Award once again. We’ll share more application details via our website in the coming weeks and more programming details at The Humanitas Prizes event this fall.”

    Also, winners of the 2026 New Voices Fellowship, David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Award and Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award will be revealed at The Humanitas Prizes Awards Show & Toast.

    “The New Voices Fellowship is a six-month mentorship program while the College Screenwriting Awards carry with them professional engagements and significant cash prizes. Lists of semifinalists for the New Voices Fellowship and for the College Screenwriting Awards are available on the organization’s website.”

    In addition to being the culminating event of the annual awards program, The Humanitas Prizes Awards Show & Toast raises financial support for the New Voices Fellowship, College Screenwriting Awards and a programs including the Industry 101 event series and The Writers Room program for high school students.

    As for Black, the writer/comedian has worked on “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking,” where she also recurs. Her other credits include “Bad Monkey” and “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.”

  • ‘Growing Pains’ Star Ashley Johnson Was Nearly Abducted on Set When a Kidnapper Grabbed Her After Episode Taping: ‘I Was Clueless’ and ‘Very Upset’

    ‘Growing Pains’ Star Ashley Johnson Was Nearly Abducted on Set When a Kidnapper Grabbed Her After Episode Taping: ‘I Was Clueless’ and ‘Very Upset’

    “The Last of Us” voice actor Ashley Johnson got her start in Hollywood as a child actor, playing the role of Chrissy Seaver on the final two seasons of ABC‘s sitcom “Growing Pains” from 1990 to 1992. On a recent episode of her “Weird Kids” podcast, Johnson revealed she was once nearly abducted by a fan after a live taping of the show (via People).

    “It was in the first year I was on, and we had only done a couple of film nights,” Johnson said. “So, I hadn’t done that many yet and at that time, all of the cast sort of had trailers and they were like old camper trailers. They’re not like the fancy trailers that they are now. They were great. We would exit our trailers before the shoot and the audience that would be walking in, you would walk by the audience before you would walk into the studio.”

    Johnson said the studio was not equipped with metal detectors and other security measures that are now common practice in Hollywood. The studio audience would only be “within five feet” of the actors when they were entering the set, for example.

    “Somebody had written in and said that, ‘I am coming to set and I am going to bring a gun and I am going to murder some of the cast,’” Johnson continued. “So, I’m walking with my mom and then I just remember some guy hops out of the line and he grabs me and grabs me up and starts booking it. And all I remember is like, there was security that somehow got on him after some time.”

    Security apprehended the fan and Johnson remembered “flying around in the air” during the struggle to set her free. The would-be kidnapper had a gun on him, the actor recalled.

    “I was clueless as to what was happening, but I was very upset and they were talking to me about it after. And they were like, ‘Are you okay?’ And I just said, ‘I just think I’m gonna be in trouble,’” Johnson said. “Because I think I was such a polite kid at the time. I think he was running with me and running away. I was like, ‘Who are you, sir? What is your name? I was very pleased to meet you.’ But he was packing. They got him. This was the thing. He was high on something. It wasn’t meth, but it was something — like, he was so strong.”

    Johnson made her television debut on “Growing Pains” and continued on the small screen with roles on short-lived series such as “Phenom” and “Maybe This Time.” She pivoted to voice acting at a young age with a role on the “Jumanji” animated series, which included 40 episodes, and she’d continue with this work throughout her career. She is the voice of Ellise in “The Last of Us” video game franchise, which won her two BAFTA Games Awards.

    Following “Growing Pains,” Johnson reprised her role of Chrissy Seaver in the 2000 movie “The Growing Pains Movie” and the 2004 follow-up “Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers.”

  • David Zaslav Files to Sell $59 Million More in Warner Bros. Discovery Stock

    David Zaslav Files to Sell $59 Million More in Warner Bros. Discovery Stock

    As Paramount Skydance’s deal to take over Warner Bros. Discovery is still pending, WBD CEO David Zaslav is continuing to cash out his stock in the company he is set to depart in the coming months.

    Zaslav filed to sell about 2.18 million shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock, valued at $59.47 million, according to an SEC filing Monday. That comes after Zaslav filed to sell $114 million worth of WBD stock in March.

    Once Paramount Skydance’s megadeal to buy WBD closes, Zaslav is poised to walk away with a golden parachute package that Warner Bros. Discovery this spring had pegged as being worth more than half a billion dollars. With the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount, Zaslav will have a net worth that has been estimated to be more than $1 billion.

    Zaslav has been among the highest-compensation CEOs in the media biz. In 2025, his pay package totaled $165 million, including $3 million base salary, $22.6 million in stock, a $25.7 million cash bonus and stock options valued at $109.6 million, according to a company SEC filing. In purely symbolic moves, WBD shareholders voted against Zaslav’s exit pay package and his 2025 compensation.

    In late 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery had clinched a deal with Netflix to buy Warner Bros.’s streaming and studios businesses. But Netflix backed out of the bidding in February after Paramount upped its takeout offer for all of WBD in a deal worth $111 billion. Paramount has said it expects to close the WBD deal in the third quarter of 2026.

    Separately Monday, a coalition of 12 Democratic state attorneys general sued to block the David Ellison-led Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on antitrust grounds. Paramount says it will “vigorously defend the transaction” and claimed that the states’ lawsuit will “shield those dominant streaming platforms like Netflix and technology companies from much-needed competition.”

    The Paramount-WBD deal is still pending regulatory approval in the U.K., where officials have said they are likely to intervene. According to Paramount, the Warner Bros. mergers has been cleared by regulators in 24 jurisdictions, including by the U.S. Justice Department, which did not impose any requirements for divestitures or other concessions on the part of Paramount Skydance.

  • Paramount Blasts States’ Lawsuit Aimed at Blocking Warner Bros. Deal, Claims Litigation Will ‘Shield’ Netflix and Tech Companies From ‘Much-Needed Competition’

    Paramount Blasts States’ Lawsuit Aimed at Blocking Warner Bros. Deal, Claims Litigation Will ‘Shield’ Netflix and Tech Companies From ‘Much-Needed Competition’

    Paramount Skydance sharply criticized a coalition of 12 Democratic state attorneys general that sued to block the David Ellison-led company’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

    The lawsuit filed by the state AGs “distorts settled antitrust law and is based on a misrepresentation of competition in the entertainment industry today,” Paramount said Monday, after the suit was filed. The company, formed by Skydance Media’s takeover of Paramount Global in August 2025, said it will “vigorously defend the transaction.”

    The company repeated its claims that the $111 billion deal to merge Paramount and Warner Bros. “creates a stronger competitor against dominant streaming and technology platforms who have harmed the market for theatrical exhibition and jobs in the entertainment industry.”

    “The lawsuit filed by the state attorneys general, in the most generous light, reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law,” Paramount’s statement said. “Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs.”

    The company’s statement continued: “The practical effect of this lawsuit is to shield those dominant streaming platforms like Netflix and technology companies from much-needed competition while preventing the significant benefits this transaction will deliver for consumers, creators, workers and the broader Hollywood economy. We will continue to fight against any attempt to derail a deal that strengthens competition, expands opportunity, and positions the combined company to compete in an increasingly competitive global media landscape.”

    Paramount says its takeover of WBD has been cleared by regulators in 24 jurisdictions. That includes a green light from the U.S. Justice Department in mid-June, which did not impose any requirements for divestitures or other concessions on the part of Paramount Skydance. The deal is still pending regulatory approval in the U.K., where officials have said they are likely to intervene.

    Paramount has said it anticipates closing the WBD deal in the third quarter of 2026. The company has committed to paying a “ticking fee” of 25 cents per share to shareholders for every quarter the deal isn’t completed after Sept. 30 — equivalent to approximately $650 million cash value each quarter.

  • NowThis Hires Georgie Guinane as Head of L.A. Studio

    NowThis Hires Georgie Guinane as Head of L.A. Studio

    NowThis, the digital-first and social news outlet that targets Gen Z audiences, has hired producer Georgie Guinane as head of studio, L.A.

    In the new role, Guinane will lead NowThis’ Los Angeles studio, in charge of the company’s slate of original digital series. She reports directly to editor in chief Michael Vito Valentino.

    Guinane joins the company from Flighthouse Media, a media publisher, creative agency and content studio that says it bridges “the gap between brands and Gen Z.” She worked at Flighthouse for five years as director of content, overseeing creative vision and strategy for the company’s owned-and-operated channels, as well as branded integration content across all platforms. Earlier in her career, Guinane was a senior producer at viral-video company Jukin Media and was a producer and writer for Clevver Media.

    “What makes Georgie the right fit for L.A. is the combination of editorial instinct, relationship-building and operational know-how she’s spent her career developing,” Valentino said in a statement. “She has an impressive track record of format-first programming, and now she’ll be applying that same thinking to building out our studio infrastructure and connecting it to the relationships across studios, talent and creators that make L.A. work.”

    Guinane commented, “NowThis has built a standout slate of content that consistently resonates with Gen Z women, and I couldn’t be more excited to join the team at such a pivotal moment. From Los Angeles, I look forward to building original formats and franchises that bring together entertainment, talent and internet culture in ways that create new opportunities for growth and keep audiences coming back.”

    NowThis, based in New York City, first launched in 2012. It was spun off from Vox Media in 2023 through a deal with the Accelerate Change not-for-profit advocacy network. NowThis says it has 92 million followers across internet platforms and generates hundreds of millions of monthly views.

  • Why I’m Suing to Block the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger (Guest Column)

    Why I’m Suing to Block the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger (Guest Column)

    Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison may think the promise of the Paramount Warner Bros. Discovery mega-merger is an offer we can’t refuse, but I’m here to say: He’s wrong.

    I am leading a coalition of 12 state Attorneys General in taking Paramount and Warner Bros. to court to stop this unlawful merger.

    The entertainment industry doesn’t exist simply to hawk movies and TV shows like they’re any other commodity. It exists to tell stories, spark ideas and curiosity, inspire and inform, and open our eyes to new perspectives that we may never have encountered otherwise.

    It’s why movies and shows so often play a starring role in our lives — in first dates and last dates, cherished family memories, debates over dinner, moments of quiet self-care, and moments that bring communities together, as we’ve seen throughout the World Cup.

    Whether it’s the living room TV, the big screen, or the small devices we carry everywhere we go, there is no doubt that the entertainment industry touches the lives of Americans daily.

    That is why we should all be concerned about the $110 billion proposed merger between media giants Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros.

    By combining two of the five largest film distributors and two of the five largest basic cable channel owners, the resulting media behemoth would control nearly one-third of theatrical movie distribution and nearly one-third of basic cable channels. It would control more than 30% of the blockbuster release distribution that buoys the movie theater business and 50 of the most popular cable TV channels, spanning an unrivaled slate of news, sports, entertainment, kids, family, factual, and lifestyle content.

    Giving that much power to one media company would wipe out competition, jack up prices, hurt the quality of content we’re offered, and bring fewer movies and shows to our screens. Combining cable news channels would mean fewer journalists informing our electorate and fewer opportunities for Americans to hear the full breadth of information and opinions on a subject. Consolidation would mean fewer voices speaking truth to power and fewer documentarians, filmmakers, showrunners, producers, writers, and artists shedding light on important stories that too often go untold.

    That’s a death knell for the film and TV industry — and for our democracy.

    For more than a century, Paramount and Warner Bros.’ fierce competition has fueled powerful projects that have stood the test of time. We’re talking about “Titanic,” “The Godfather,” “The Matrix,” “Barbie,” “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Casablanca” — just to name a few.

    If we allow them to extinguish the flame of competition, they will no longer have the same incentive to distribute their best, most creative work, to innovate, to greenlight interesting and risky projects, and to offer viewers fair prices.

    Competition is the heartbeat of a vibrant entertainment industry, just as it is the lifeblood of a healthy economy.

    Competition ensures that companies rise to the top based on what they put in the market, not based on backdoor deals. And, it ensures that consumers have an array of choices in both product and price. History has shown us that consolidation in markets at the center of American economic life does not serve our economy, consumers, or competition well. Instead, it leads to increased unaffordability, a loss of good-paying job opportunities, and fewer choices for consumers. Just think of the robber barons of the Gilded Age who dominated the oil, railroad, and steel industries, pocketing obscene profits while exploiting workers, corrupting the political system, and squashing potential rivals.

    Monopolies give too few too much power. That’s why we have antitrust laws to prevent them and control mergers. Laws like the Clayton Act, which this proposed merger violates. Antitrust enforcement is democracy’s check on oligarchy. It’s a check on wealthy businesses seeking to game the system and cheat to knock out competition. It’s a check on billionaires currying favor with the president so he’ll do their bidding and hand-pick winners and losers, bypassing the law and the meritocracy that makes our economy thrive. And it’s a check on the elite few who think they’re above the law, when they’re not.

    No one is. No company is.

    If you need proof that antitrust enforcement fuels a healthy economy, just look at California. We’ve got some of the strongest antitrust and consumer protections on the books — protections we are not afraid to uphold. And, at the same time, we’re the fourth largest economy in the world, home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state, and home to nearly two-thirds of all U.S. venture capital investment. That’s no accident.

    Americans deserve fair prices and a fair market. They deserve options. They deserve to know that they’re not being cheated by corporations that break the law, and take advantage of workers and consumers to fill their coffers.

    We are taking Paramount and Warner Bros. to court to preserve an industry that has the power to make us laugh, cry, question, and take action. To protect an industry that helps shape who we are, how we see the world, and what we care about.

    As Attorney General of the Golden State, I am proud to stand up for an industry deeply ingrained in California’s history, identity, and economy.

    With this lawsuit, we are standing up for a free and fair market, not a rigged market. Because America has no kings in government or our economy.

    Rob Bonta is the attorney general of California.