Business

EXCLUSIVE: Damon Dash is partnering with Black-owned film distribution company Homestead Entertainment to help independent filmmakers bring their content to the masses. Under the terms of the deal, Dash—under his Dame Dash Studios banner— will curate film, TV, and digital content for the partnership and Homestead will handle the global distribution for the films acquired

Morrisons has warned it expects “industry-wide” price rises ahead and revealed some product shortages while reporting half-year results showing a 43% slump in profits. The UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain by market share said the price hikes were to be “driven by sustained recent commodity price increases and freight inflation, and the current shortage of HGV

Shelley H. Surpin, a longtime entertainment lawyer and partner at Surpin, Mayersohn & Coghill in Los Angeles, has died. She was 72. Her firm said Surpin died September 3 of complications following a stroke. A champion for independent film, helped with the careers of such filmmakers as Greg Araki, Nicole Holofcener, Paul Mazur, Allison Anders,

Britain’s economic recovery is expected to slow over coming months thanks to staff shortages and supply chain disruption, according to a new forecast from a leading business group. Official figures show UK GDP grew by 4.8% in the second quarter but the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) predicts this will slow to 2.8% in the

EXCLUSIVE: James Ellroy, the demon dog of American crime fiction, is doubling down on the world of podcasting. Ellroy, who Deadline revealed in April was working on true crime audio series Hollywood Death Trip, has teamed up with podcasting firm Audio Up to adapt his American Tabloid novel into a scripted podcast series. The idea

The government is to streamline HGV driver testing in an attempt to prevent a supply chain crisis at Christmas. Changes to the testing regime are expected to be announced in the coming days, perhaps as soon as Thursday, amid dire warnings from the industry about the impact of ongoing shortages. Sources with knowledge of talks

Linda Kahn, a children’s TV executive for more than 40 years who also was a former board president of New York Women in Film & Television, has died. She was 72. NYWIFT said she died August 30 but did not provide details. “NYWIFT mourns the loss of longtime member & past Board President Linda Kahn,

Sir Martin Sorrell’s construction of a second global marketing services empire will take another step forward on Wednesday with the acquisition of a Los Angeles-based agency serving clients including Adidas, BMW and Google. Sky News understands that S4 Capital will announce to the London Stock Exchange that it has agreed a merger between Cashmere and

In a not-terribly-shocking development, Disney is raising prices at Hulu, following other increases in recent months at ESPN+ and Disney+. Effective October 8, the basic, ad-supported version of Hulu will go from $5.99 a month to $6.99, while the ad-free tier rises a dollar to $12.99. The changes, conveyed to subscribers this morning, do not

National Insurance contributions will rise by 1.25% to pay for the social care system in England in a bid to end the “unpredictable and catastrophic costs” faced by many. A social care package, which the prime minister has called “the biggest catch-up programme” in the NHS’s history, will be funded through a new, UK-wide 1.25%

EXCLUSIVE: Former Disney President of Marketing Ricky Strauss is one of five joining the advisory board of new entertainment app Binj. Binj is an app which provides recommendations from friends and family members on what to watch on TV or streaming. Industry vet Strauss, who previously served as President of Content & Marketing for Disney+ and

Restaurant spending edged higher for the first time since the start of the pandemic in August according data from Barclaycard pointing to a bumper month for the consumer economy. The figures showed overall consumer spending was ahead by 15.4% compared to the same period in 2019 before the coronavirus crisis – thanks to “socialising, shopping

Rickie Lee Reynolds, founding member and guitarist for Southern rock group Black Oak Arkansas, died on Sunday morning. He was 72 years old. His passing was both confirmed by current Black Oak Arkansas member Sammy Seauphine and Reynolds’ daughter Amber Lee. The Southern rock band achieved commercial success in the ’70s with three gold-certified albums,

A leading business lobby group has warned the government that the crisis resulting from the shortage of workers in key jobs could take up to two years to resolve, damaging the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The CBI said the impact was widespread – beyond the well-publicised 100,000 shortfall in HGV drivers which has

Disneyland released its 2021 holiday schedule last week as the dog days of summer roll into into magic of the holiday season. Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park will kick off their holiday season on November 12th and extend into the new year through January 9th. This will mark the first return of the holiday

Almost 50 stores per day closed down across the UK during the first half of the year, research suggests. Some 8,739 outlets went out of business across high streets, retail parks and shopping centres between January and June, figures from the Local Data Company suggest. But 3,488 opened during the same period, resulting a net

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday that could lead to the declassification of documents related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with victims’ families having long sought to make public such information. “Today, I signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to oversee a declassification review of

Luke Johnson, one of Britain’s best-known leisure entrepreneurs, is adding to his collection of e-commerce businesses by snapping up a leading online retailer of musical instruments. Sky News understands that Risk Capital Partners, Mr Johnson’s investment vehicle, has agreed to buy GAK, which trades from a flagship store in Brighton, West Sussex. The terms of

Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, has congratulated Fran Drescher on her election as president of SAG-AFTRA. “The last year and a half have demonstrated yet again how much we can get done as an industry when we work collaboratively together,” he said in a statement, “and I know that Fran

Street markets and pub marquees could become permanent features for the hospitality industry, under an extension of the pandemic regulations planned by the government. Additional seating for cafes and restaurants would also be part of a new government consultation, with hospitality venues forced to increase outdoor capacity earlier in the year in an effort to