Endeavor’s $785M Sale Of Content Unit To Korea’s CJ ENM Officially Closes

Endeavor Content; CJ ENM

Korea’s CJ ENM, the Asian media giant, has closed its acquisition of a controlling stake in Endeavor Content. The entertainment company committed last November to pay $775 million for 80% ownership in the scripted production outfit, which will continue to be overseen by Graham Taylor and Chris Rice as Co-CEOs. The division has financed, packaged, or sold more than 100 series and films, including breakouts like La La Land and Killing Eve. The firms say Endeavor is “looking to produce more than 40 movies and series by 2023.”

WarnerMedia’s Christy Haubegger Joins Variety’s Sundance Series

PMC

As part of Variety‘s Sundance Film Festival programming, Variety will host a keynote conversation with Christy Haubegger, executive vice president of communications and chief inclusion officer at WarnerMedia, on Jan. 25 at 10 a.m. PT. In the conversation, moderated by Variety senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay, Haubegger will discuss WarnerMedia’s film slate at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, which is highlighted by their numerous projects helmed by female directors and filmmakers of color. Read more here.

Tanya Saracho & UCP Announce Five Inaugural Ojalá Ignition Lab Fellows

Deadline

Showrunner Tanya Saracho and UCP (a division of Universal Studio Group) have selected 5 inaugural fellows for the Ojalá Ignition Lab: Diana Peralta, Luca Rojas, Melba Silwany, Samantha Renee Cordero, and Stephanie Adams-Santos.

Over the course of 26-weeks—beginning Jan. 11—, each fellow will have the opportunity to tell the story they want to tell and develop an original, polished television pilot script from start to finish, which will be commissioned by UCP.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR COUNTYWIDE CULTURAL POLICY STRATEGIES – JANUARY 3 - 31, 2022

Let your voice be heard! Now through January 31, 2022, the Department of Arts and Culture is seeking public comment on a draft set of Cultural Policy Strategy Proposals. The Countywide Cultural Policy has far-reaching potential to equitably expand resources for arts and culture—which in turn, expand civic engagement, quality of life, and community resilience. We live in a large and complex region with many funding needs, so the Department of Arts and Culture wants to hear what you think are the most important strategies for LA County to implement and fund. Please click the link to choose your top three strategies. #LACulture #LACountyArts #createcultivatecollaborate #artsineverything

Streetlights Production Assistant Training Call For Applicants February 2022

About Streetlights (the Cliff Notes Version)… Streetlights was created 29 years ago after the L.A. riots. The mission of the non-profit is to create more diversity BEHIND-the-camera – and serve those with the least opportunity and greatest need. We teach our participants how to become entry-level Production Assistants – and provide placement on freelance jobs in the Entertainment Industry.

Requirements include:

* Resident of Los Angeles County

* Low- or poverty-level wage earner

* Ethnic minority

* Must have access to a registered car 24/7, valid driver's license (meaning not suspended or expired) and no outstanding traffic tickets

* Liability auto insurance

* If a parent, must have reliable childcare in place at all times

* If there is a history of incarceration, must have been out of jail or prison for at least a year

* If there is a history of substance or alcohol abuse, must have been sober for at least 18 months

* Must be at least 20 years old. (FYI – Statistically, the graduates who have had the most success fall between the ages of 20 and 35).

Learn more about this opportunity here.

SXSW 2022 COVID-19 GUIDELINES

If you plan to attend South By Southwest 2022, you’ll need to either be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or have a recent negative test in order to get/maintain your credentials. The festival and conference, scheduled for March 11-20, will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual events.

“Recognizing that the COVID-19 landscape is changing rapidly, our best path is to continue working with both the City of Austin and Austin Public Health on our steps forward,” SXSW wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Learn more about SXSW's guidelines here.

‘Encanto’ Directors On Colombian Influences And Magical Realism: “Magic That Was Born Out Of Emotion”

Courtesy of "Encanto"

Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard, with co-director and writer Charise Castro Smith, spoke to Deadline about their process in creating "Encanto". In deciding how the magic worked, Castro Smith brought on the concept of ‘magical realism’ which gave the story a sense of Latin American magic, as opposed to European magic.

"But I think the way we started to think about it and sort of defining it within the context of our film, was that it was magic that was born out of emotion. Magic that was born out of character and relationship, instead of something that was like an external force sort of foisted upon the characters in the story." - Charise Castro Smith

The Roy W. Dean Film Grant for Spring 2022 is now open for submissions

The Roy W. Dean Film Grant for Spring 2022 is now open for submissions. Since 1992, the Roy W. Dean Film Grants have supported independent filmmakers by awarding funding to unique films that make a contribution to society. From the Heart Productions, the non-profit sponsoring the grant is proud to have helped talented filmmakers complete films that impacted people’s lives and to have seen many of those filmmakers go on to have great filmmaking careers.

The grant is open to documentaries, narrative features, short films, and web series. Films must be unique, make a contribution to society, and be budgeted at $500,000 or less. Students are welcome to apply.

The winner of the Roy W. Dean Film Grant for Spring will receive $3,500 in cash and thousands more in donated film products and services including 40% deduction on color, editing, and sound & all production services from ProMedia NYC, 30% discount in equipment rental from AbelCine Tech, Inc. NYC, $1,600 value/sound mix session from Silver Sound, and more from many heartfelt donors.

Filmmakers can apply at http://fromtheheartproductions.com/grant-application-form/. The deadline for submission to the Roy W. Dean Film Grant for Spring is March 30th, 2022.

Every Filmmaker Gets Help for Their Project by Just Applying