Latest news with #AmericanFactory
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jane Rosenthal Warns Political Documentaries Could Be Waning: ‘I'm Worried'
Jane Rosenthal is taking the pulse of the nonfiction feature space — and it doesn't look good. The mega-producer and Tribeca co-founder told Variety during a recent interview that she is 'worried' about how documentaries are faring, especially amid the current political climate and rise in streaming. When asked how the 'business' of documentary films are going — citing how the Tribeca Festival is known for spotlighting pioneering docs — Rosenthal lamented that perhaps the golden age of political documentaries has passed. More from IndieWire Darren Aronofsky Produces 'Mythological' Cave Documentary 'Underland' with Sandra Hüller Narrating - Watch the First Look 'Stealing Pulp Fiction' Trailer: Cazzie David Helps Plan a Heist of Quentin Tarantino's Personal 35mm Print 'I'm worried about that space,' Rosenthal said. 'Fewer places are buying hard-hitting documentaries. If it's about true crime, you'll get a deal someplace. The bigger platforms — Netflix and Amazon — want more celebrity stories and sports stories. But for political stories, it's harder to find a home.' It's a concern that many documentaries and distributors alike have also voiced: 'We are caught in this terrible place with what's been happening on the commercial side with streaming companies focusing on true crime above everything else, and the existential threat on the public media side,' a documentary industry insider recently told IndieWire. Companies are pulling back on buying docs, as A24 all but shuttered their doc division, laying off five employees, which was a majority of the staff. After getting an Oscar win for 'Navalny,' CNN limited their nonfiction production, while 'No Other Land' didn't even land a distributor before winning an Oscar. Nonfiction programming at Showtime Networks, which produced Oscar-nominated 'Attica' in 2022, closed, along with 'An Inconvenient Truth,' 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,' and 'American Factory' producer studio Participant. Political documentarians have now had to turn to self-distribution; 'Union' and 'Zurawski v Texas,' despite the latter being executive produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton and Jennifer Lawrence, all were self-distributed by their respective filmmakers. Netflix VP of original documentary films and limited series Adam Del Deo told IndieWire's Anne Thompson that after winning Oscars for 'Icarus,' 'American Factory,' and 'My Octopus Teacher,' the demand for documentaries has grown on the platform. Yet how much of that demand are for political films versus celebrity-driven features? 'We want to program titles that our members as a whole are going to love,' Del Deo said. 'Some of those are going to be biopics, some of the content is going to be in the true crime space. And some is going to be in sports. There are also members that like films that are about topics that are important to them. That may not be the biggest audience, but we want to also be able to deliver those titles as well. So it's really about variety.' Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former First Lady Michelle Obama to speak at SXSW 2025 in Austin next week
South by Southwest announced Wednesday one of its newest featured speakers: former First Lady Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson. "Michelle Obama has long been an inspiration to us at SXSW and to millions of people around the world,' said Hugh Forrest, SXSW President and Chief Programming Officer, in a release. 'Her belief that we lift each other up by sharing our stories with one another is a core part of the SXSW experience and a key catalyst in helping creative people achieve their goals.' "It is the ultimate honor and an incredible thrill to welcome Michelle and her brother, Craig Robinson, to the 2025 event," he added. Here's what we know. More: Heading to SXSW 2025 in Austin for the first time? Here are 10 things you should know SXSW runs March 7 to 15, mostly in downtown Austin. Most conference sessions are held at Austin Convention Center, JW Marriott, Fairmont Austin and other downtown hotels. Events and showcases take place in the Palmer Events Center and the Long Center, the Rainey Street District, the Red River Cultural District, clubs on Sixth Street and other sites around south central and east central Austin. There are also free community concerts at Auditorium Shores. Locations for movie screenings include Paramount Theatre, Violet Crown Cinema and Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar Boulevard. Satellite screenings of film fest selections happen at Austin Film Society's complex on Middle Fiskville Road. The former First Lady will speak at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 13. Michelle Obama's impact extends across books, film, and advocacy. Her memoir, "Becoming," spent over 130 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list and sold more than 17 million copies. She and Barack Obama's media company, Higher Ground, produced "American Factory," which won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Her "Michelle Obama Podcast" became Spotify's most successful original, drawing in a large audience of women over 40. She also founded the Girls Opportunity Alliance to support girls' education and co-founded PLEZi Nutrition to promote healthier food choices for kids. Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama's brother, is the Executive Director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and host of the Higher Ground podcast "Ways to Win." From 2017 to 2020, he served as vice president of Player Development and Minor League Operations for the New York Knicks. Previously, he was a Division I head men's basketball coach at Oregon State and Brown and spent over a decade as a trader in the investment banking industry. SXSW has also announced the following speakers: Tom Morello – Guitarist, songwriter, and political activist Bryan Johnson – Entrepreneur and founder of Kernel and Blueprint Lars Ulrich – Drummer and co-founder of Metallica Ben Stiller – Actor, comedian, and filmmaker Ayanna Pressley – U.S. Congresswoman (D-MA) Priscilla Chan – Philanthropist and co-founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Robert Rodriguez – Filmmaker and founder of Troublemaker Studios The biggest act that has been announced so far is Band of Horses, Benson Boone, Ivan Cornejo, Megan Moroney, Brittney Spencer, Dope Lemon, Andrew McMahon, Big Freedia and Frankie and the Witches Fingers have caught our eye, too. Drag Race Canada's first winner, PRIYANKA is also making an appearance. The lineup is still coming together, so expect more acts to drop soon. Contributing: Mars Salazar and Ana Gutierrez, Austin American-Statesman This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Michelle Obama to speak at SXSW 2025 in Austin. See date, time
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Biden signs with same Hollywood agency as Ariana Grande and Brad Pitt
Former president Joe Biden has signed up with Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which boasts A-list stars as Ariana Grande and Brad Pitt on its books, just two weeks after leaving the White House. 'President Biden is one of America's most respected and influential voices in national and global affairs,' CAA co-chairman Richard Lovett said in announcing his company's newest client. 'His lifelong commitment to public service is one of unity, optimism, dignity, and possibility. 'We are profoundly honored to partner with him again.' Biden, now 82, previously worked with CAA between 2017 and 2020, the period between the conclusion of his role as Barack Obama's vice president and his victory over Donald Trump in the latter year's presidential race. During that first stint, the agency supported the Democrat in the publication of his memoir Promise Me, Dad (2017), a New York Times bestseller recounting the loss of his son Beau Biden to cancer and his subsequent response to the tragedy, which in turn inspired the 42-date American Promise book tour that is believed to have inspired his eventual run for the presidency against Trump. The Los Angeles agency also helped Biden to pick up a string of lucrative public speaking engagements, an avenue he could well explore once again. The 46th president, who recently became a great-grandfather for the first time, has yet to spell out precisely how he plans to spend his post-presidency but did tell his supporters during his farewell speech last month that he and his wife Jill Biden would be 'leaving office, but we're not leaving the fight'. CAA also has a relationship with the Obamas through their production company Higher Ground, which produced the Oscar-winning documentary American Factory (2019), and with Hillary Clinton, overseeing the release of her book Hard Choices (2014) among others. The company has further ties with Democrats like Joe Manchin, Susan Rice and Beto O'Rourke, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Biden, who declined to contest last year's election in favour of allowing his deputy Kamala Harris to run against Trump, left the Oval Office warning of the fragility of democracy and the growing influence of Big Tech over politics. 'Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,' he commented in his final address from the White House on January 15. He also warned that a 'crumbling' free press and social media companies giving up on fact-checking the content they host threatens to let loose an 'avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power'.
