Amazon will be offering Prime Instant Video to customers in Japan this fall with Prime members to enjoy streaming content at no additional cost when the service debuts. Customers will be able to access the service with Android and iOS devices, as well as gaming consoles and smart TVs.
Charles D. King’s multiplatform media company, Macro has closed its first round of funding from lead investor Emerson Collective and others including MNM Creative, Medialink, tech entrepreneur Justin Yoshimura, Raymond McGuire, Global Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at Citigroup and Michael Kane, Managing Director of the private equity firm Caltius Capital. Formerly a WME partner and agent, his upcoming projects include films from Fruitvale Station’s Ryan Coogler and Hustle & Flow’s Craig Brewer.
Former COO of QED International and Annapurna Pictures Paul Hanson has partnered with Media Content Capital to launch Covert Media, a new feature production, financing and distribution company. Media Content Capital will fund the new company looking to produced three to four films per year in the $10-50-million-dollar range. Covert Media will also support past and upcoming projects for the MCC-owned QED including the Bill Murray comedy Rock The Kasbah, the Jason Bateman-directed The Family Fang, the Theo James starrer Franny, the Richard Gere starrer Time Out Of Mind, and the thriller Strange But True, starring Imogen Poots.
Hulu has signed a new non-exclusive deal with Epix. Epix previously had a deal with Netflix along with several streaming-inclusive deals with Amazon Prime Instant Video, AT&T’s U-Verse and Dish’s Sling TV. Craig Erwich, the SVP and Head of Content at Hulu remarked that it’s “a landmark deal for Hulu and it marks a huge expansion for our offering of premium programming.”
Comedy writer-producer Lee Hupfield has singed an exclusive first-look deal with Andrew O’Connor and ITV Studio’s Cats on the Roof Media. Under the deal Hupfield will write, direct and produce in the UK exclusively through the group’s comedy label, Second Act Productions. Hupfield was the showrunner of Betty White’s Off Their Rockers and previously created Balls of Steel, Star Stories and The Friday Night Project for UK’s Channel 4.
SAG-AFTRA and a group of companies including Sony, Warner affiliates, Universal, Capitol and Hollywood Records, are in talks on a deal that, if passed, will include a payment formula for online streaming and non-permanent digital downloads that accounts for revenue generated internationally. Among new provisions is an agreement to make payments based on earnings worldwide from streaming services and non-permanent download services like Spotify.
Members of the Animation Guild, which covers 3,100 members of IATSE Local 839, have ratified a new three-year contract with management. The new deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will include a 3% annual increases in contract minimums, no rollbacks and a 10% pension increase for those retiring after August 1, 2015. All the major animation companies have signed the contract, including Disney, DreamWorks Animation, Fox Animation, Marvel, Universal, Cartoon Network and ABC Studios.
Jeremy Renner and Don Handfield’s production shingle, The Combine, has signed a deal with PalmStar Media to jointly produce two to three films per year. Under the deal PalmStar will cover producing services, overhead, development and production financing. PalmStar’s films include the upcoming Will Smith starrer Collateral Beauty, American Ultra and Pawn Sacrifice. PalmStar also has deals with Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road, Dylan Sellers’ Rivers Edge, Anthony Bregman’s Likely Story, and Buddy Patrick’s Windy Hill Pictures. Since launching in 2011, The Combine has produced the thriller Kill the Messenger, starring Renner, The Throwaways, an action comedy starring Sam Worthington, and recently wrapped on the Michael Keaton starrer The Founder, directed by John Lee Hancock.
TV director-producer Danny Cannon has inked a three-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. Under the deal he will continue as executive producer/director on the studio’s Fox drama series Gotham and develop new projects for network, cable, and streaming services. In addition to Gotham, Cannon also executive produces CSI and was an executive producer on CSI: Miami and CSI: New York.
Actress Victoria Justice has signed a talent deal with Fox and 20th Century Fox TV. Under the deal the studio and network will develop joint projects with roles specifically designed for her in addition to guest spots on existing series. Justice previously starred in the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious and MTV thriller Eye Candy. She can next be seen in the indie romantic comedy Naomi + Ely’s No Kiss List, which will be released September 18 on iTunes and in the comedy The Outskirts, opening wide November 6.
As reported in SSN’s Exec Shuffle, China-based YooZoo Pictures has joined Bliss Media to form a $100 million equity YooZoo Bliss Film Fund for use on Chinese co-productions and films designed for worldwide distribution. The fund’s managing directors are the LA-based co-founder and President of Bliss Meida Wei Han and CEO of YooZoo Pictures U.S. Lin Qi. CAA advised on the fund and will continue to represent it. YooZoo Pictures recently aquired the Chinese distribution rights to the IM Global feature, Hacksaw Ridge.