Roberta Whiteman, a longtime editor for Variety who specialized in international coverage, died June 17 at a hospice facility near Vero Beach, Fla., where she lived. She was 62.
Known as Bobbie, the British native was a skilled copy editor and news editor who was an unfailingly sunny presence in Variety‘s newsroom for nearly 13 years. Whiteman demonstrated her courage, strength and resilience after being diagnosed in 2007 with a rare form of cancer that affected her spinal cord and brain.
Despite undergoing difficult treatments, Whiteman was rarely absent from the newsroom for long. She was renowned for her skill at sorting through the high volume of news filed round the clock by Variety‘s unmatched roster of international correspondents.
Whiteman knew every correspondent and stringer in every territory, and she also shouldered the unenviable task of helping to ensure that their freelance payments were sent out on time. She was an encyclopedia...
Known as Bobbie, the British native was a skilled copy editor and news editor who was an unfailingly sunny presence in Variety‘s newsroom for nearly 13 years. Whiteman demonstrated her courage, strength and resilience after being diagnosed in 2007 with a rare form of cancer that affected her spinal cord and brain.
Despite undergoing difficult treatments, Whiteman was rarely absent from the newsroom for long. She was renowned for her skill at sorting through the high volume of news filed round the clock by Variety‘s unmatched roster of international correspondents.
Whiteman knew every correspondent and stringer in every territory, and she also shouldered the unenviable task of helping to ensure that their freelance payments were sent out on time. She was an encyclopedia...
- 6/17/2022
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Two decades ago, Edgar Bronfman Jr., having just acquired control of Universal, took me on a tour of his studio. Pointing to the black tower, he told me: “I hate black buildings. That one will soon be white.”
It’s still black. I remember his faux promise as a sort of metaphor for why Hollywood always greets corporate takeovers with a yawn. Dealmakers may boast of their deals, but history tells us that nothing ever changes.
Except history may be about to change its mind. The massive maneuvers newly engineered by Discovery and Amazon will substantially transform the cultures of their respective companies. They will also trigger further mega-deals that will reshape the industry, sharply changing content offered audiences and the technology of its delivery.
Given their resources and ambitious visions, David Zaslav and Jeff Bezos will not conveniently disappear like the wannabe moguls of the past. Zaslov will reign...
It’s still black. I remember his faux promise as a sort of metaphor for why Hollywood always greets corporate takeovers with a yawn. Dealmakers may boast of their deals, but history tells us that nothing ever changes.
Except history may be about to change its mind. The massive maneuvers newly engineered by Discovery and Amazon will substantially transform the cultures of their respective companies. They will also trigger further mega-deals that will reshape the industry, sharply changing content offered audiences and the technology of its delivery.
Given their resources and ambitious visions, David Zaslav and Jeff Bezos will not conveniently disappear like the wannabe moguls of the past. Zaslov will reign...
- 6/10/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
The French trial for Vivendi’s shareholder securities fraud lawsuit is expected to kick off early next year. The commercial court of Paris had initially set a Dec. 8 trial date, but will soon announce a new date that could potentially fall in January, Variety has learned.
Vivendi, the Paris-based parent company of Universal Music Group and Canal Plus Group, will be facing 71 international shareholders who assert claims of approximately $1.2 billion.
The alleged fraud occurred in 2000 and 2001 when Vivendi was being led by CEO Jean-Marie Messier, the flamboyant businessman who nearly bankrupted the company after a series of debt-fuelled acquisitions, notably Canal Plus and the $46 billion takeover of Seagram, then the owner of Universal Music and Universal Studios.
Vivendi previously faced a securities class action litigation in the U.S. in 2002, which resulted in a trial victory for the shareholders in 2010. Vivendi was found guilty of hiding the true state of...
Vivendi, the Paris-based parent company of Universal Music Group and Canal Plus Group, will be facing 71 international shareholders who assert claims of approximately $1.2 billion.
The alleged fraud occurred in 2000 and 2001 when Vivendi was being led by CEO Jean-Marie Messier, the flamboyant businessman who nearly bankrupted the company after a series of debt-fuelled acquisitions, notably Canal Plus and the $46 billion takeover of Seagram, then the owner of Universal Music and Universal Studios.
Vivendi previously faced a securities class action litigation in the U.S. in 2002, which resulted in a trial victory for the shareholders in 2010. Vivendi was found guilty of hiding the true state of...
- 12/7/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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