Among the various Twitter wise-cracks posted in response to the news that Variety, Deadline (and other PMC Web publications) will soon be sharing the same LA westside digs was this one:
More like reality TV show. Especially since one of the floors being leased at the Westwood high rise will feature “a full video production studio and three green-screen rooms.”
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Last week, Variety announced the appointment of three new editors-in-chief – Andrew Wallenstein, Cynthia Littleton and Claudia Eller. Today, the trade has made another big move on the “advertorial” side, promoting executive editor Steven Gaydos to the additional role of VP.
The expanded, double title would seem to reflect that Gaydos has the full confidence of new owner Jay Penske, running a features department where most of the money will be. From this afternoon’s announcement:
Gaydos will oversee all editorial for features, events, creative partnerships, custom publishing and other special projects…
Gaydos has been responsible for nearly 200 reports and related events each year, directing the multi-platform production of territorial surveys, film, TV, digital and music reports, business-oriented personality and corporate profiles. In addition, he created and directed the “10 to Watch” program and oversees various initiatives such as brand’s Impact Lists, Hollywood’s New Leaders, Dealmakers and the Billion Dollar series.
They are Andrew Wallenstein, (digital), Claudia Eller (film) and Cynthia Littleton (TV). Colleague Tim Gray is not going away but rather will remain in a “leadership role.”
What’s most intriguing here is that Jay Penske is continuing a pattern of promoting female staffers (Littleton) to heretofore male-dominated editorial roles. Last fall, he appointed Michelle Sobrino-Stearns associate publisher. From this morning’s announcement:
The installation of Eller and Littleton as two of the three editors-in-chief marks the first time in the brand’s storied history that women have served in the top editorial role.
Hollywood Reporter senior writer Daniel Miller is leaving the entertainment trade for the pastures of the LA Times‘ showbiz blog Company Town. He starts his new gig next Monday. Looks like he’ll be on the studio beat.
Miller will report to entertainment news editor Claudia Eller.
Memo to staff from LA Times assistant managing editor John Corrigan after the jump:
Recent rumblings that a sequel to Top Gun may be brewing brought about a large, collective groan. But after reading today’s LA Times profile of David Ellison, the 28-year-old son of Oracle Corp. billionaire Larry and potential sequel producer, FishbowlLA is cautiously optimistic.
Under a headline that suggests Ellison Jr. is intent, with $350 million in funding, in working with Paramount Studios to make his Skydance Productions a “media company 2.0”, writers Claudia Eller and Ben Fritz put forth a portrait of a young man who has little hesitation about what he is doing:
Ellison pitched Top Gun‘s original team — Cruise, director Tony Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer – on ways to update the story to the 21st century, such as integrating the increasing use of unmanned drones by the military.
For a long time now, the Hollywood industry skein has been a tale of two kitties. While much of the TV production has remained in Los Angeles, feature film have decamped to all corners of the U.S. and beyond.
The latest confirmation of this trend comes courtesy of a newswire pick-up by Claudia Eller and Richard Verrier at the LA Times “Company Town” blog. Warner Bros., a studio that has been heavily involved in a UK production facility near Watford, is buying the compound and making further investments that will result in two new soundstages, a Harry Potter museum and an estimated 300 additional non-LA jobs.
Lions Gate Entertainment, which is enjoying a wild ride with its “Saw” franchise and its Emmys for “Mad Men,” announced Friday that it was laying off 8% of its workstaff across the board,including production, television, home entertainment, business affairs and legal.
Out of a workforce of 550, the Santa Monica-based studio eliminated 41 positions. The layoffs should save the company some $10 million annually, out of its $140 million overhead.
The moves may come as a treat to corporate raider Carl Icahn, who recently bought about 9% of the company, which many on Wall Street felt as an overture to an corporate raid on the company. Icahn has said he thought Lions Gate was undervalued and could perform better.
The Los Angeles Times take from reporter Claudia Eller on Lions Gate’s woes is below:
Hero Complex: Fanboy/reporter Geoff Boucher begins the first of his three-part interview with The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan. We weren’t half as interested in Nolan’s answers as we were in Boucher’s questions, which were filled with commentary: “I winced when I read a lot of the political messaging that people said they detected in your film. I think a lot of that says more about my industry than it does yours.”
Disney Gets A ‘Bolt’ From Pixar: Claudia Eller and Dawn Chmielewski explore how Disney Animation has become ‘Pixar South.’
Primetime Heroics? The LAT Opinions page (Hearts) Barack Obama, but not his infomercial: “There’s something cheesy about a 30-minute commercial. One half expects Obama to be introduced by a pitchman in a loud sweater: “But wait, there’s more! If you act by Nov. 4, you also get the foreign policy expertise of Sen. Joe Biden!”
Subliminal Messages? We know it’s not like a naked chick in an ice cube or anything, but we can’t help it: Every time we click on the LAT elections editorial page, we can’t help but think that whoever named the page was a (not very subtle) Barack Obama supporter.
Making Mountains Out of Moles? Elizabeth Snead pays loving homage to a bit of Sarah Jessica Parker‘s former facial flesh.
Cat’s Meow: Claudia Eller has the goods about Michael Vollman leaving Paramount Pictures to become executive vice president of worldwide marketing at MGM.
Celebrity Splits: Claudia Eller likens the breakup of DreamWorks SKG and Viacom Inc.‘s Paramount Pictures to a divorce, saying “the only issue now is who gets custody of the children. Like custody battles anywhere, this one could get nasty.” At stake, hundreds of movie projects and employees who work for DreamWorks.
Hollywood Going Bollywood? Indian movie mogul Anil Ambani is “in talks to help finance a move by DreamWorks SKG, the studio founded by Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, to become an independent company again.”
Patt Morrison Throwing Signs? Patt Morrison compares her book club to a troubled youth book club and learns that all book clubs are kinda gang-like. At least, that was our read.
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