Recent articles
February 20, 2026
Motion Picture Association Pushes ByteDance to Curb Seedance 2.0 AI Infringement
The Motion Picture Association urged ByteDance on Friday to stop copyright infringement on its Seedance 2.0 AI platform, saying that the Chinese company’s assurances are not enough. Speaking on beh...
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February 19, 2026
Sony Joins Studio Protest Against ‘Egregious’ Seedance 2.0 Infringement, Citing ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Spider-Verse’ AI Clips
Sony Pictures has joined the outcry against Seedance 2.0, the Chinese video platform that has united Hollywood studios in their condemnation of AI-generated copyright infringement. In a cease and d...
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February 18, 2026
Netflix Threatens ByteDance With ‘Immediate Litigation’ Over Seedance 2.0 AI Clips
Netflix threatened ByteDance with “immediate litigation” on Tuesday, joining three other studios that have condemned the company for enabling copyright infringement via its Seedance 2.0 AI service....
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February 18, 2026
Warner Bros. Blasts ByteDance for AI Videos of Superman, Batman and ‘Game of Thrones’
Warner Bros. has joined a parade of studios in blasting ByteDance for “blatant infringement” on its new AI video service, accusing the Chinese company of facilitating user-generated knockoffs of it...
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February 17, 2026
WGA Staff Go on Strike Weeks Ahead of AMPTP Negotiations
The staff of the Writers Guild of America West went on strike on Tuesday, accusing leadership of the union of breaking labor laws. The strike will affect about 100 of the 150 staffers at the union....
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February 13, 2026
SAG-AFTRA Slams ‘Blatant Infringement’ in Seedance AI Videos
SAG-AFTRA is joining the industry condemnation of ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, for releasing a new video model that has enabled widespread copyright infringement online. SAG-AFTRA Presid...
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February 13, 2026
After AI Video of ‘Tom Cruise’ Fighting ‘Brad Pitt’ Goes Viral, Motion Picture Association Denounces ‘Massive’ Infringement on Seedance 2.0
The Motion Picture Association on Thursday denounced the newest AI video generator, Seedance 2.0, saying it had unleashed a flood of copyright infringement in the day since it became available. Byt...
variety.com
February 12, 2026
WGA Staff Picket Outside Writers Meeting Amid Strike Threat
Members of the Writers Guild of America met at the Sheraton Universal Hotel on Wednesday night to hear from union leadership about priorities for upcoming studio talks. On their way in, they passed...
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February 12, 2026
20 Years After a ‘Friends’ Harassment Suit Was Dismissed, Baldoni-Lively Case Revisits Limits of Creative Freedom
The scene is a crowded bar. Director Justin Baldoni says that his co-star, Blake Lively, looks “pretty hot.” Lively says that wasn’t her aim. “Sexy,” Baldoni says, in mock self-correction. “Sorry, ...
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February 11, 2026
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Fail to Reach a Deal in Court-Mandated Mediation
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively failed to settle her sexual harassment lawsuit on Wednesday, after a daylong mediation in federal court. The co-stars of “It Ends With Us” entered the New York court...
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February 7, 2026
Netflix Settles ‘Inventing Anna’ Defamation Suit Brought by Ex-Vanity Fair Staffer
Netflix has settled a defamation lawsuit brought a Vanity Fair staffer who claimed that she was falsely portrayed in the Shonda Rhimes series “Inventing Anna.” Rachel DeLoache Williams, a former fr...
variety.com
February 6, 2026
Timothy Busfield Indicted on Child Sex Abuse Charges
Timothy Busfield was indicted Friday in New Mexico on four counts of child sexual abuse, two weeks after being released from jail on those charges. Busfield, 68, is accused of groping a 7-year-old ...
variety.com
February 6, 2026
Lawmakers Push Netflix and Paramount to Preserve Hollywood Jobs in Warner Bros. Sale
Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Laura Friedman are seeking assurances from Netflix and Paramount Skydance that they will protect Hollywood jobs if allowed to acquire Warner Bros. In a letter to the heads...
variety.com
February 4, 2026
Jeffrey Epstein’s Ties to ‘Bones’ Producer Barry Josephson Revealed: Set Visits, Auditions and ‘Overwhelming’ Friendship
In February 2011, Jeffrey Epstein was in need of an assistant. He asked his friend Barry Josephson, a producer of the Fox show “Bones,” if he knew of any “amazing women” in their early 20s who woul...
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February 3, 2026
Ted Sarandos Hedges on Netflix Residual Payments at Senate Hearing: ‘Not a Yes or No’
At a Senate antitrust hearing on Tuesday, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos declined to give a “yes or no” answer when asked if he would commit to “full residuals” for union workers. Sarandos was at the ...
variety.com
January 29, 2026
Unable to Stop AI, SAG-AFTRA Mulls a Studio Tax on Digital Performers
Call it the Tilly tax. In the future, studios that use synthetic actors in place of humans might have to pay a royalty into a union fund. That’s one of the ideas kicking around as SAG-AFTRA prepare...
variety.com
January 29, 2026
Los Angeles Explores $5 Million Subsidy for Microdrama Production
The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to explore creating a $5 million subsidy for microdramas, the short-form vertical videos enjoying a surge in popularity. The council voted 14-0 to direc...
variety.com
January 27, 2026
Trump Offers ‘Low-Interest Bonds’ to Help Hollywood Production While Again Threatening Tariffs
President Trump renewed his threat to tariff films made overseas on Monday, but also suggested that he would offer “low-interest bonds” to help stimulate domestic production. In an interview with t...
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January 21, 2026
FCC Takes Aim at Political Interviews on Late-Night and Daytime Shows
With election season around the corner, the Federal Communications Commission issued a broadside on Wednesday aimed at late-night and daytime shows that air political interviews. The agency stated ...
variety.com
January 20, 2026
Blake Lively Says Justin Baldoni Made ‘It Ends With Us’ Birth Scene ‘Humiliating,’ Jenny Slate Slams Him as the ‘Most Intense Narcissist’ in Unsealed Court Docs
Blake Lively and her “It Ends With Us” castmates documented numerous concerns with director and co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging that boundaries were repeatedly crossed during production, according...
variety.com
January 15, 2026
Timothy Busfield to Get Hearing Next Week as He Seeks Release From Jail
Timothy Busfield will get a court hearing next Tuesday on whether he should be held in jail pending a trial on child sex abuse charges. Busfield remains at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albu...
variety.com
January 15, 2026
L.A. Production Shows No Sign of a Rebound Yet
Los Angeles production showed no sign of a rebound in the fourth quarter of 2025, as the industry is still waiting for a hike in state incentives to have an effect. Production days for film, TV and...
variety.com
January 15, 2026
Radford Lot to Be Turned Over to Lenders After Hackman Defaults (Report)
Hackman Capital Partners is expected to cede ownership of Radford Studio Center, the historic L.A. production facility, to lenders after defaulting on a $1.1 billion mortgage, Bloomberg reported We...
variety.com
January 14, 2026
Timothy Busfield Appears in Court in Sex Abuse Case
Timothy Busfield made his first appearance in court on Wednesday on charges of sexual abuse against a 7-year-old boy on the set of “The Cleaning Lady.” Busfield appeared before Judge Felicia Blea-R...
variety.com
January 14, 2026
Timothy Busfield Accused of Groping 16-Year-Old Actress as Prosecutors Seek to Keep Him in Jail
Prosecutors have disclosed an additional allegation of sexual misconduct against actor Timothy Busfield as they seek to keep him in jail pending a trial on child sex abuse charges. Busfield is accu...
variety.com
January 14, 2026
Jackie Brenneman, Former NATO Exec, Tapped to Lead Independent Film and Television Alliance
The Independent Film and Television Alliance, the non-profit behind the annual American Film Market, has tapped Jackie Brenneman as its new CEO and president. Brenneman is a former executive vice p...
variety.com
January 13, 2026
Timothy Busfield Turns Himself in to Police in Child Sex Abuse Case
Timothy Busfield has turned himself into police after a warrant was issued Friday accusing him of sexual abuse of a minor. Busfield, who starred in “Thirtysomething,” “The West Wing,” and “Field of...
variety.com
January 12, 2026
L.A. Reid Settles Sex Assault Suit on Brink of Trial
Music producer L.A. Reid has reached a settlement with Drew Dixon, a former Arista executive who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2001. Dixon filed the suit in 2023 under a New York law th...
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January 9, 2026
Paul Haggis Settles With Rape Accuser for $2 Million
Paul Haggis has reached a settlement with the former film publicist who won a $10 million rape verdict against him in 2022. The ex-publicist, Haleigh Breest, accused the “Crash” director of raping ...
variety.com
January 9, 2026
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Writer’s Cousin Loses Lawsuit Against Paramount Claiming He Wrote Key Scenes
The cousin of one of the writers of “Top Gun: Maverick” has lost his lawsuit against Paramount, in which he claimed to have written key scenes in the film. The plaintiff, Shaun Gray, is now facing ...
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