Ross Crystal

Will Smith, Childish Gambino, and Chance the Rapper are among the nominees for the 23rd annual Webby Awards, the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced Tuesday morning. All nominees are eligible to win two awards: The Webby Award, selected by the Academy, and The Webby People’s Voice Award, which is voted on by […]

Quibi, Jeffery Katzenberg’s billion-dollar streaming upstart, has hired Pandora co-creator Tom Conrad as its first chief product officer, the company announced Monday. Conrad will lead product design, product management, user research, and customer support teams for the company and report directly to Quibi CEO Meg Whitman. In December, he also joined the Quibi advisory board. […]

American Idol finally has its top 20 contestants after judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie narrowed down the search during Sunday’s episode of the ABC reality singing competition. After a grueling week choosing the top 40 in Hollywood, the show traveled to Hawaii for the showcase round performances from Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa, where the said top 40 […]

 Discovery and BBC Studios have inked a nearly $400 million programming deal that will see high-end natural history programming from the latter play on a new Discovery global streaming service set for launch by 2020. Under a decade-long deal, Discovery has acquired a raft of BBC content for its new SVOD service and will work with BBC Studios, the U.K. pubcaster’s production and […]

Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger is set to have a stent placed in his heart following the band’s tour postponement, Page Six has learned. “You can be back at work within weeks” following the procedure, a source tells us. “But it could be because the health checks are all set into the insurance for the tour, […]

Was actor Nicholas Cage’s getting married to makeup artist Erika Koike a case of an MUI? Marrying under the influence? In this case, the influence would not be love. Well, that seems to be what Cage is claiming in his annulment filing four days after obtaining a marriage license on March 23, according to Erin Crabtree writing for Us […]

WGA members have voted overwhelmingly – 95.3% to 4.7% – to approve the unilateral imposition of a new Agency Code of Conduct, just six days before the guild’s existing franchise agreement with the Association of Talent Agents is set to expire. The final vote by the combined members of the WGA East and West was […]

Disney’s “Dumbo” is off to a lukewarm start at the box office with a $45 million opening weekend from 4,259 screens. While some independent trackers projected a lower opening, Tim Burton’s remake is launching below the $50 million-plus start that Disney had hoped for. “Dumbo” opened day-and-date worldwide, adding $71 million from overseas markets for […]

Black-ish and Black Panther won big during the 50th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday. Also during the show, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter was honored with the President’s Award, which is presented in recognition of a special achievement and distinguished public service. The award came two days after the music mogul and wife Beyoncé accepted the Vanguard Award at the GLAAD Media […]

By George Clooney for Deadline – The date April 3rd has held a unique place in our history over the years. Theologians and astronomers will tell you that Christ was crucified on that date. On April 3rd Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan, arguably the greatest postwar intervention in the history of man. The first […]

Sony Pictures Television has found of a new home for its Crackle ad-supported streaming service: The company struck a deal with Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSS Entertainment) to launch a new joint venture — dubbed Crackle Plus— that will also run Popcornflix, other streaming channels, and adjacent online video businesses. CSS Entertainment will own the majority of the new […]

Tom Hanks is in negotiations to play Elvis Presley’s iconic manager Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Warner Bros. biopic about the legendary musician. Luhrmann will direct the movie. He also penned the script with Craig Pearce. Parker discovered Presley when he was just an unknown and quickly moved in as his lone representation. Parker was responsible for various milestones, […]

When you have eight Oscars between you, it becomes less daunting to take on Shakespeare. I’m told that Denzel Washington is in early talks to team with Frances McDormand in a screen adaptation of Macbeth that will be directed by Joel Coen, from an adaptation he is writing. Scott Rudin is producing, and the plan is for A24 to distribute worldwide. The […]

Beyoncé brought Diana Ross to tears at the diva’s 75th birthday. We hear Ross hosted an LA birthday party for guests including the “Lemonade” singer, Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian, Tom Ford and Leo DiCaprio. “Beyoncé sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ ” said a spy. “Diana was in tears.” Ross then headed to the Hollywood Palladium for a starry concert, where fans […]

Elisabeth Hasselbeck says Rosie O’Donnell’s new claims of a mutual crush — and her characterization of female athletes’ sexuality — are “offensive” and “disturbing.” In Variety writer Ramin Setoodeh’s upcoming book “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View,’” O’Donnell says she had “a little bit of a crush … but it was in […]