Natalie Morales has proven herself a versatile anchor who logged time at “Today,” “Access Hollywood” and “Dateline” and still managed to find time to do daredevil stunts with colleague Jenna Bush Hager. Now she’s heading out on a new adventure — at a talk show that serves as a rival to her soon=to-be former employer
Morales told staffers Friday at the NBCUniversal-backed news division that she plans to leave “to spread my own wings and to pursue a new adventure.” She has been with NBC News for 22 years. NBC News declined to offer details about where the anchor might head next, but two people familiar with the matter suggested she is expected to land at “The Talk,” the CBS mid-afternoon panel program that has been on the hunt for new hosts. CBS declined to comment.
Morales is seen joining “Talk” panelists Sheryl Underwood, Amanda Kloots, Jerry O’Connell and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila. The program has been in the midst of a recalibration since the controversial departure of co-host Sharon Osbourne, who left after the panel got into a discussion about racial and cultural views and went on hiatus in its aftermath. Morales is expected to contribute to “Dateline” through the rest of the year, and enjoy an on-air farewell on “Today” in weeks to come.
Several news and talk rivals have made runs on NBC News in recent weeks. WarnerMedia’s CNN lured away Kasie Hunt, an up and coming Capitol Hill correspondent and Jenn Suozzo, the former executive producer of “NBC Nightly News,” both for prominent roles at CNN Plus, a new streaming-video outlet set to launch in early 2022.
Morales joined NBCUniversal as an anchor on MSNBC, where she worked between 2002 and 2006 before being named a national correspondent for “Today.” Morales replaced Ann Curry as news reader for the morning program in 2011, was with the show as it jockeyed in an intense morning-news war with ABC rival “Good Morning America,” then moved to California to work at “Access” and handle west coast assignments for “Today” after producers decided to stop using a news reader on the morning show. She joined “Dateline” in 2020.
But she has retained her ties to “Today,” filling in on occasion during the show’s fourth hour and has long been considered part of the program’s extended family. “These are people who you become intimately connected with,” she told Variety in an interview in 2014.
“This first half of my life has been one full of adventure, challenges, travel, way too many early wake up calls, and, yes, opportunities to witness history unfold and to tell inspiring and impactful stories that will always be in my mind’s highlight reel,” she told staffers in her memo. Her anticipated move to CBS was reported previously by The Los Angeles Times and DailyMail.com.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West continue to prove they’re the friendliest of exes.
The estranged pair were spotted leaving Nobu Malibu after having dinner with Tracy and Ray Romulus, the former of whom works as the chief marketing officer of KKW Brands.
At the end of the evening, the former “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star got into the same car as the Yeezy designer, with West in the driver seat and Kim taking the passenger seat and their pals in the back.
Per usual, the SKIMS founder, who filed for divorce from West earlier this year, put her curves on display in a skin-tight purple catsuit while the “All of the Lights” rapper looked casual in a T-shirt, pants and sneakers.
Kardashian, 40, and West, 44, have been putting on a united front throughout their divorce — especially when it comes to their four kids — North, 8, Saint, 5, Chicago, 3, and Psalm, 2 — and their work. As Page Six reported, Kim was seen at all of West’s listening events for his latest album and he helped her with her KKW Beauty rebrand.
“Kim’s decision to rebrand has nothing to do with dropping the W in KKW since she has not changed her legal name and still goes by West,” an insider told us. “It has been in the works for awhile, and Kanye actually helped Kim to come up with the new brand name.”
The former couple ended the night carpooling.GAMR / BACKGRID
They also pulled the PR stunt for the ages when they “remarried” each other during one of his “Donda” shows and fueled reconciliation rumors.
The outing also comes after West and model Irina Shayk ended their brief dalliance that coincided with his 44th birthday.
“[Irina] went to his birthday party as a friend,” a separate source shared. “There were 50 other people there.”
SEOUL, Oct 1 (Reuters) - South Korean Internet service provider SK Broadband has sued Netflix (NFLX.O) to pay for costs from increased network traffic and maintenance work because of a surge of viewers to the U.S. firm's content, an SK spokesperson said on Friday.
The move comes after a Seoul court said Netflix should "reasonably" give something in return to the internet service provider for network usage, and multiple South Korean lawmakers have spoken out against content providers who do not pay for network usage despite generating explosive traffic.
Netflix said it will review SK Broadband's claim, and seek dialogue and explore ways in the meantime to work with SK Broadband to ensure customers are not affected.
The popularity of the hit series "Squid Game" and other offerings have underscored Netflix's status as the country's second-largest data traffic generator after Google's YouTube, but the two are the only ones to not pay network usage fees, which other content providers such as Amazon, Apple and Facebook are paying, SK said.
Netflix's data traffic handled by SK jumped 24 times from May 2018 to 1.2 trillion bits of data processed per second as of September, SK said, riding on the success of several Netflix productions from Korea including "Squid Game" and "D.P."
SK Broadband said it lodged a lawsuit against Netflix for it to pay for using SK's networks since Netflix began using SK's dedicated line starting 2018 to deliver increasingly larger amounts of data-heavy, high-definition video content to viewers in Korea from servers in Japan and Hong Kong.
Last year, Netflix had brought its own lawsuit on whether it had any obligation to pay SK for network usage, arguing Netflix's duty ends with creating content and leaving it accessible. It said SK's expenses were incurred while fulfilling its contractual obligations to Internet users, and delivery in the Internet world is "free of charge as a principle", according to court documents.
The Netflix series "Squid Game" is played on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Illustration
But the Seoul Central District Court ruled against Netflix in June, saying that SK is seen as providing "a service provided at a cost" and it is "reasonable" for Netflix to be "obligated to provide something in return for the service".
SK estimated the network usage fee Netflix needed to pay was about 27.2 billion won ($22.9 million) in 2020 alone, the court document said.
Netflix has appealed against the ruling, court records showed, with fresh proceedings to start in late December.
Netflix said in a statement on Wednesday that it contributed to the creation of about 16,000 jobs in South Korea stemming from about 770 billion won in investments, as well as an economic effect of about 5.6 trillion won.
Ruling party lawmaker Kim Sang-hee said on Wednesday that out of South Korea's top 10 data traffic generators, 78.5% of the traffic came from foreign content providers, up from 73.1% a year earlier, with "Google-YouTube and Netflix that account for the majority turning a blind eye to network usage fees".
In the United States, Netflix has been paying a fee to broadband provider Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) for over seven years for faster streaming speeds. https://reut.rs/2Y8wOzb
($1 = 1,187.3400 won)
Reporting by Joyce Lee, Additional reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Anil D'Silva
More than 100 Democrats in the House and Senate and independent Bernie Sanders have signed a letter urging the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to negotiate a fair contract with IATSE, saying, “We are united in our belief in the importance of livable wages, sustainable benefits, and reasonable rest periods between shifts and during the workday” – three of the union’s core demands.
The letter was signed by 31 senators and 87 representatives and sent to AMPTP president Carol Lombardini.
The union’s members begin voting on strike authorization Friday in advance of what could be the last round of bargaining before a strike that would shut down film and TV productions across the country.
The politicians also reminded Lombardini that industry workers “risked their health and safety” during the pandemic, and that “the entertainment you jointly produce is helping to heal our nation.”
Here is their letter:
Dear Ms. Lombardini:
As the elected representatives of constituents who make a living working behind-the-scenes in motion picture and television production, we urge you to negotiate fair successor contracts with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). We support the principles of adequate sleep, meal breaks and living wages for all workers.
These workers have risked their health and safety for the last year, working through the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure that the motion picture and television production industry emerged intact. Production has now returned to pre-pandemic levels, due in no small part to the essential role these workers play in the creative process. The entertainment you jointly produce is helping to heal our nation.
The current contract under negotiation covers approximately 60,000 motion picture and television production workers across the country. Failure to reach an agreement would threaten not only the livelihoods of these workers, but also their family members who rely upon work in your industry, sending shockwaves throughout the U.S. economy and the industry.
The key issues in this negotiation, as we’ve come to understand them, are about worker dignity and basic human necessities. We are united in our belief in the importance of livable wages, sustainable benefits, and reasonable rest periods between shifts and during the workday.
Reportedly, IATSE members are mobilizing in preparation for a nationwide strike authorization vote on October 1, 2021, because of the announcement that AMPTP does not intend to make a counteroffer. A strike would dramatically disrupt the industry, the economy, and the communities we represent. We are hopeful that both sides can negotiate in good faith and reach a consensus agreement, which necessitates both parties continuing to participate in ongoing negotiations.
We ask that the AMPTP negotiate collaboratively with these workers to reach a fair contract and address the basic human needs that will allow them to do their jobs safely and with dignity.
Sincerely,
Members of Congress
The letter campaign was led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Minn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The letter is also signed by Democratic Reps. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), Cynthia Axne (Iowa), Nanette Diaz Barragan (Calif.), Karen Bass (Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.), Brendan Boyle (Pa.), Julia Brownley (Calif.), Tony Cárdenas (Calif.), André Carson (Ind.), Troy Carter (La.), Judy Chu (Calif.), David Cicilline (R.I.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.), J. Luis Correa (Calif.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Charlie Crist (Fla.), Danny K. Davis (Ill.), Madeleine Dean (Pa.), Val Demings (Fla.), Theodore Deutch (Fla.), Debbie Dingell (Mich.), Anna G. Eshoo (Calif.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Bill Foster (Ill.), Jesús García (Ill.), Jimmy Gomez (Calif.), Jahana Hayes (Conn.), Steven Horsford (Nev.), Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr. (Ga.), Mondaire Jones (N.Y.), Robin L. Kelly (Ill.), Daniel Kildee (Mich.), Andy Kim (N.J.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Ann Kuster (N.H.), Conor Lamb (Pa.), John B. Larson (Conn.), Brenda L. Lawrence (Mich.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Susie Lee (Nev.), Teresa Leger Fernandez (N.M.), Andy Levin (Mich.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Alan Lowenthal (Calif.), Stephen F. Lynch (Mass.), Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Tom Malinowski (N.J.), Betty McCollum (Minn.), James P. McGovern (Mass.), Grace Meng (N.Y.), Kweisi Mfume (Md.), Joseph D. Morelle (N.Y.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Grace Napolitano (Calif.), Joe Neguse (Colo.), Marie Newman (Ill.), Donald Norcross (N.J.), Eleanor Norton (D.C.), Scott H. Peters (Calif.), Charlie Pingree (Maine), Mark Pocan (Wis.), Katie Porter (Calif.), Mike Quigley (Ill.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), Kathleen M. Rice (N.Y.), Deborah K. Ross (N.C.), Bobby L. Rush (Ill.), Linda Sánchez (Calif.), Mary Gay Scanlon (Pa.), Janice Schakowsky (Ill.), Brad Sherman (Calif.), Bradley Scott Schneider (Ill.), Mikie Sherrill (N.J.), Darren Soto (Fla.), Melanie Stansbury (N.M.), Haley M. Stevens (Mich.), Thomas Suozzi (N.Y.), Dina Titus (Nev.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Norma Torres (Calif.), David J. Trone (Md.), Juan Vargas (Calif.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Susan Wild (Pa.), and Frederica S. Wilson (Fla.).
Angelina Jolie had an adorable guest for Variety's Power of Women festivities.
On Thursday, Sept. 30, the 46-year-old Eternals star walked the red carpet with daughter Zahara, 16, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. Angelina was a presenter at the event, where she introduced poet Amanda Gorman.
For the occasion, the Oscar winner wore a brown long-sleeved dress, while her daughter went with a white top and matching pants and belt. In addition to Zahara, Angelina and ex Brad Pitt share Maddox, 20, Pax, 17, Shiloh, 15, and 13-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.
Angelina and Zahara enjoyed a sweet exchange on the carpet, where they embraced and held hands at one point, and they later posed for photos with their arms around each other. Amanda also joined them on the carpet to take some pics.
While presenting Amanda at the event, Angelina gave a speech that praised the 23-year-old writer for the talent that the nation witnessed at President Joe Biden's inauguration earlier this year. In delivering her emotional work, Amanda became the youngest person to ever read a poem at a presidential inauguration.
The rocker, now 70, is known for playing Silvio Dante in "The Sopranos," which was his first time on screen, save for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in 1985's "American Flyers."
The star appeared in 79 of the show's 86 episodes, but fans nearly saw him playing an entirely different role: Tony Soprano, the lead.
Van Zandt recently spoke with Fox News about his memoir, "Unrequited Infatuations," in which he reflects on his life and career as a musician, actor and activist. During his chat, he reminisced on the casting process of "The Sopranos."
"As it turns out, [creating Silvio Dante] was collaborative because ['The Sopranos' creator David Chase] cast me as Tony and HBO said, ‘Are you out of your f---ing mind? This is the most expensive show we’ll ever do, we can't have a guy that never acted before," the musician recalled.
The star added: "So, wiser heads prevailed, thankfully, and one of the greatest actors ever, [James] Gandolfini, got the gig."
Van Zandt would go on to win a pair of Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work on the show as part of its ensemble cast. He's also worked on a handful of other high-profile projects in the years since, including "Lilyhammer," "The Christmas Chronicles" and "The Irishman."
The book covers more than just his time on "The Sopranos."
"It starts off as a music book, a music guy's story," Van Zandt explained. "The second half of the book is an entirely different story."
Steven Van Zandt revealed that he was nearly cast in the lead role of ‘The Sopranos’ before HBO insisted a more experienced actor take the part. (Associated Press)
Included are stories of his time with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band before the act made it big.
"We had the residency in that we'd park at the Stone Pony, which was really the high point of pre-making it," he recalled about a nightclub in Asbury Park, New Jersey, that the band help make famous.
His politically charged solo career is also covered.
Stevie Van Zandt played Silvio Dante in ‘The Sopranos.’ (Photo by Bobby Bank/WireImage)
"I had been reading a lot about politics at that point and became obsessed with politics, really," Van Zandt remembered. "I said, ‘Well I’ll be the political guy.'"
Scarlett Johansson and Disney have settled a breach of contract lawsuit over the star’s Black Widow payday, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” stated Johansson. “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come.”
Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman added: “I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow. We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney’s Tower of Terror.”
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The explosive suit, filed by the actress in July in Los Angeles Superior Court, claimed that the studio sacrificed the film’s box office potential in order to grow its fledgling Disney+ streaming service. Disney countered that Johansson was paid $20 million for the film.
The settlement brings to a close a back-and-forth PR battle that pitted the CAA-repped star against Disney and was poised to have dramatic implications for all of Hollywood’s major studios. Johansson’s cause received support in the industry, with talent and executives — including Jamie Lee Curtis, Marvel’s WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen and mogul Jason Blum — speaking out on her behalf.
At the time of the complaint, a Disney spokesperson said, in part, “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.” CAA co-chairman Bryan Lourd shot back that Disney “shamelessly and falsely accused Ms. Johansson of being insensitive to the global COVID pandemic, in an attempt to make her appear to be someone they and I know she isn’t.”
In her complaint, Johansson said the Marvel tentpole had been guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release when she signed her deal. She alleged that her contract was breached when the film was simultaneously released on Disney+.
As the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on Hollywood over the past 18 months, Black Widow was one of many big-budget movies, also including Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman 1984 and Disney’s Cruella and Jungle Cruise, that bowed simultaneously on streaming and in theaters. But to date, Johansson is the only major movie star to sue.
“Why would Disney forgo hundreds of millions of dollars in box office receipts by releasing the Picture in theatres at a time when it knew the theatrical market was ‘weak,’ rather than waiting a few months for that market to recover?” the complaint asked. “On information and belief, the decision to do so was made at least in part because Disney saw the opportunity to promote its flagship subscription service using the Picture and Ms. Johansson, thereby attracting new paying monthly subscribers, retaining existing ones, and establishing Disney+ as a must-have service in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”
Black Widow, which has earned $379 million at the worldwide box office to date, debuted at the same time in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access for an additional $30. But in what was viewed by rival studio executives as a major miscalculation, Disney boasted on July 11 that Black Widow earned $60 million via Disney+ Premier Access, opening the door for a fierce clash. After all, Johansson had been considering litigation for several months, says a source familiar with the suit. Until the afternoon of July 28, she believed Disney would make an offer and that she wouldn’t have to file a suit. But Disney stayed in the mode of, “Let’s keep talking,” the source adds. Johansson was particularly incensed by the announcement, which pleased Wall Street but not the talent and representation community.
According to the complaint, Disney’s move “not only increased the value of Disney+, but it also intentionally saved Marvel (and thereby itself) what Marvel itself referred to as ‘very large box office bonuses’ that Marvel otherwise would have been obligated to pay Ms. Johansson.”
Johansson vs. Disney marked the latest iteration of a profit-participation dispute that is all too common in Hollywood, with actors fighting studios over their backend compensation or the definition of “net profit.” Very few of these battles percolate to the surface; they often come to a resolution before lawyers get involved, or the actor’s contract contains an arbitration provision and the whole process remains confidential. (A source familiar with Johansson’s suit says her contract does have an arbitration provision, but her lawyers were willing to test it.)
“The exception is when there’s so much money involved or if there’s a level of acrimony that has reached a point of no return, and people are going to stand on principle,” attorney James Sammataro tells THR. “That statement by Disney confirmed the latter, but it still is a shocking statement to make — to paint someone as being insensitive and playing the whole, ‘You’re so out of touch’ card. You could probably make the same argument about Disney; ‘Yeah. You’ve been generating millions, if not billions, during the pandemic.’”
In the wake of Johansson’s suit, more than a handful of other A-listers were said to be considering filing similar suits. (Jungle Cruise star Dwayne Johnson was not one of them, given that he has a different compensation structure than Johansson.) But that has not come to fruition yet. Cruella’s Emma Stone closed a deal two weeks after Johansson’s suit to star in a sequel of Disney’s live-action film, offering a sign that Disney was working to secure and mollify talent amid the charged atmosphere.
While Disney has faced criticism for its handling of talent deals during the pandemic, WarnerMedia took a different approach by proactively doling out as much as $200 million to pay a long list of stars whose Warner Bros. films were simultaneously opening in theaters and on its HBO Max streaming service, including Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot and Will Smith.
Johansson is represented by Kasowitz partner John Berlinski, while Daniel Petrocelli has been repping Disney.
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