Business of Media
NSW police uninvited from attending Sydney Mardi Gras parade
NSW police have been uninvited from marching in the Sydney Mardi Gras parade this weekend, after a serving police officer was accused of murdering a gay couple, reports News Corp’s Madeleine Achenza.
Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon was charged with killing Jesse Baird and his current partner Luke Davies using a police issued pistol inside the couple’s Paddington home on February 19.
In the days that followed his arrest and charges, the LGBTQIA+ community expressed their outrage over the couple’s alleged murder and urged the police force to voluntarily pull out of Saturday’s parade.
Network CEOs were united on Prominence, until they weren’t
Last week Free to Air network bosses all fronted a Senate committee hearing on Prominence as they urged for changes on the draft Bill before Parliament. They included ABC’s David Anderson and SBS’ James Taylor ahead of a joint appearance by Free TV bosses Nine’s Mike Sneesby, Seven’s James Warburton and 10’s Beverley McGarvey, reports TV Tonight.
All were agreed on the need for Prominence on Smart TVs and devices including a swifter introduction of pre-loading by manufacturers, amongst other issues.
But when Nine’s Mike Sneesby then asked to address the committee on Stan, Seven’s James Warburton interjected.
Disney activist investor: Studio should embrace AI to create characters, improve parks
Should Disney release AI-generated Hollywood movies to realize its true shareholder value? A technology “vision” statement from Blackwells Capital — an activist firm run by Jason Aintabi campaigning for board seats at Disney’s annual meeting set for April 3 — asks the studio to take advances in artificial intelligence seriously, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Etan Vlessing.
“Disney should be dominating in the fields of spatial computing and AI (artificial intelligence). Few companies have the potential of Disney to synthesize these revolutionizing technologies, and relate them to consumers with the impact, and ROI, that Disney can. Spatial computing has far more relevance to Disney than it does to either Apple or Meta, for example,” Aintabi said in a “Vision for the Future of Technology at Disney” strategic plan released Monday.
Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ shooting trial set for July
Alec Baldwin‘s manslaughter trial for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie set of Western Rust is set for July 10, a New Mexico judge ruled on Monday, reports Reuters’ Andrew Hay.
Hollywood has little recorded history of an actor being held criminally responsible for a shooting death during filming.
Hutchins died when the revolver Baldwin was holding fired a live round that also wounded director Joel Souza.
News Brands
Antoinette Lattouf takes ABC to Federal Court over alleged unfair dismissal
Journalist Antoinette Lattouf has taken her dispute with the ABC to the Federal Court, reports News Corp.
Lattouf, who was laid off in December over controversial social media posts relating to the Israel-Gaza conflict, is suing the national broadcaster for what she claims is a breach of its own employee Enterprise Agreement by dismissing her without a valid reason.
She was let go after sharing a post about the conflict in Gaza, with ABC management telling her she was not allowed to post about controversial issues while in the presenter position.
Fox News’s streaming playbook: Hollywood stars and conservative documentaries
On The Five, Fox News’s roundtable show, Jeanine Pirro rips on President Biden and urges Taylor Swift not to endorse him. On Fox Nation, the network’s streaming service, she raves about the views and amenities of five-star hotels on Life of Luxury With Judge Jeanine, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti.
That contrast is all part of the plan.
Fox is positioning the streaming service to complement its flagship TV channel rather than be a replica of it. Fox Nation, which costs $5.99 a month, is veering away from hard news and luring subscribers with documentaries, series and comedy specials that appeal to conservatives and feature Hollywood stars like Matthew McConaughey.
Entertainment
Miley Cyrus hit ‘Flowers’ named best-selling single of 2023 in IFPI chart
Miley Cyrus‘ hit Flowers was named the world’s best-selling single in 2023 on Monday, the first time the U.S. singer-songwriter has topped the chart run by industry body the IFPI, reports Reuters.
The emotional disco-tinged breakup anthem – in which the singer reminds herself she can buy her own flowers after the end of a relationship – got the coveted IFPI Global Single Award for 2023 just weeks after picking up two Grammys.