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Actor & Singer Luke Charles Stafford Launches Dream United Studios

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EXCLUSIVE: Actor, filmmaker and singer-songerwriter Luke Charles Stafford is launching an indie production company, Dream United Studios.

Stafford, who performs musically as Luke Charles, is best known for his performance in Brian Lucke Anderson’s East of Middle West and his song “Still Missin’ You,” and has become a lead role actor in vertical dramas for the likes of GoodShort and ReelShort.

He is now branching out into production with Dream United, which will premiere its first short, Against the Wall, which is billed as “an ode to fatherhood.”

Also starring in the pic is Stafford’s father, Robert Sheldon Stafford Jr., along with Damir Pavlovskyi, Emily Robbie and Tyler Stone.

Against the Wall explores generational legacy through the story of Luke (Luke Stafford), whose journey is shaped by his relationship with his grandfather, Grandpa Charlie (Robert Sheldon Stafford Jr.). It will feature original music with Stafford performing on saxophone, piano and showcasing a song with the same name as the film that released earlier in the year.

Stafford is also the writer and director.

The pic premieres at The Culver Theater in Culver City with a red carpet, Q&A with Stafford and an official launch celebration for Dream United.

The event will be held in partnership with VertiCon, as part of ther VertiCon Weekend, which is dedicated to vertical video makers and stars.

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Emmys: Fox, Peacock, Disney+ Among Juried Award Winners

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The Television Academy today announced the winners of the 78th Emmy Awards in juried categories from Animation, Costume and Innovation in Emerging Media Programming.

Among the winners: The Masked Singer and The Traitors for Outstanding Costumes, and Eyes of Wakanda and Star Wars: Visions among the winners for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation.

See the complete list below.

The juried awards will be presented over the first two nights of the 78th Emmy Awards, taking place at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE Saturday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6. An edited presentation of these first two nights of Emmy ceremonies will air Saturday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FXX.

Juried category entrants are screened by a panel of professionals in the appropriate peer groups (Animation, Costume Design, Emerging Media Programming, and Motion and Title Design) with the possibility of one, more than one or no entry awarded an Emmy. As a result, there are no nominees but instead a one-step evaluation and voting procedure. Deliberations include open discussions of each entrant’s work with a thorough review of the merits of awarding the Emmy.

The 78th Emmy Awards will be held over three nights, Sept. 5, 6 and 14. The Sept. 14 ceremony, hosted by Emmy-winner Mariska Hargitay, will be broadcast live on NBC from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will stream live and on demand on Peacock. Nights one and two will be edited into a single broadcast, the 78th Emmy Awards (Creative Arts), airing Saturday, Sept. 12, on FXX at 8 p.m. ET/PT, available to stream on Hulu the next day.

The following juried awards will be presented Saturday, Sept. 5:

Outstanding Costumes For Variety, Nonfiction Or Reality Programming

The Masked Singer • Premiere Part 1 • FOX • Fox Alternative Entertainment

Grainne O’Sullivan, Costume Supervisor

Luke D’Alessandro, Costume Designer

Steven Lee, Costume Designer

Arleen Flores, Assistant Costume Designer

Alice Garland, Assistant Costume Designer

Maro Isakulyan, Head of Workroom

The Traitors • The Black Banquet • Peacock • Peacock Original, Studio Lambert

Sam Spector, Wardrobe Designer

Rikki Finlay, Stylist

Outstanding Innovation In Emerging Media Programming

Crafting Crimes • Meta Quest • TARGO

TARGO

Meta Quest

Victor Agulhon, Producer

Chloé Rochereuil, Director

To be presented Sunday, Sept. 6:

Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation

Eyes of Wakanda • Into the Lion’s Den • Disney+ • Marvel Animation

Uzoma Dunkwu, Character Design

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal • Kingdom of Sorrow • Adult Swim • Cartoon Network Studios

David Krentz, Storyboard by

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal • Vengeance of Death • Adult Swim • Cartoon Network Studios

Scott Wills, Art Direction

The Mighty Nein • Mote of Possibility • Prime Video • Amazon MGM Studios, Titmouse Studios, Critical Role Productions

Howard Chen, Background Design

Star Wars: Visions • The Duel: Payback • Disney+ • Kamikaze Douga + ANIMA and Lucasfilm Ltd.

Takashi Okazaki, Character Designer

Outstanding Motion Design

No Emmy awarded

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Alex Cooper’s Unwell Media Company Valued At $500M After Investment By Patrick Whitesell

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Unwell, the media company co-founded by Alex Cooper and Matt Kaplan, has been valued at $500 million after an investment from Patrick Whitesell‘s firm.

Cooper, a popular podcaster known for hosting popular shows like Call Her Daddy, launched Unwell with Kaplan in 2023.

While terms were not disclosed, the buy-in by WTSL, the firm run by former TKO execs Whitesell and Jason Lublin, represents the first outside investment in Unwell. Along with the financial resources, the move gives Unwell access to the strategic expertise and connections of WTSL, which has an interest in firms like Omaha Productions. Prior to TKO, Whitesell was a top exec at Endeavor and WME, working closely with Ari Emanuel for more than a decade before the two parted ways.

Gen Z women are the sweet spot for Unwell, which says its audience is 89% female, with 72% between the ages of 18 and 35. The company has nearly 100 million followers across platforms and operates a podcast network of more than a dozen shows reaches millions of listeners daily. Unwell last year formed a partnership with SiriusXM partnership and has ramped up its video efforts on YouTube.

Podcasting in general has been migrating from audio to video, with not only YouTube but Netflix, Disney+, Peacock and other streamers adding it to their programming mix.

In a statement, Cooper said Unwell is “scaling on all fronts, combining nimbleness, social-first premium content, and our understanding of culture to serve this highly influential audience. With WTSL’s backing, the company is now also poised to accelerate our media platform’s growth through acquisitions and investments.”

Whitesell said Unwell’s co-founders and the company’s team “have demonstrated an exceptional ability to anticipate where audiences are headed and create entertainment experiences that resonate deeply.”

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Sophia Anne Caruso To Star In ‘Memoirs Of Amorous Gentlemen’ Musical

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EXCLUSIVE: Broadway’s Beetlejuice actor Sophia Anne Caruso will star in Duncan Sheik‘s upcoming stage musical adaptation of the classic Manga graphic novel Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen, producers announced today.

The musical, to be directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford, will premiere at a new Off Broadway venue in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood (at the former home of the long-running immersive production Sleep No More) to be called The Night Egg at the Culture Club (named after a club in Moyoco Anno’s graphic novel). Memoirs will begin performances on Friday, September 25 with and opening night set for Thursday, October 15. The play runs through Sunday, January 3, 2027.

The casting was announced today by producers Kenny Kurokawa, Rayman and Antonio Marion.

Caruso first gained recognition for originating the role of Lydia Deetz in Broadway’s Beetlejuice. She also appeared on Broadway in Grey House and Off Broadway and London in David Bowie’s Lazarus. Other stage credits include The Nether Off Broadway, and on screen she starred in Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil alongside Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington.

Also announced today, the creative team will include three-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask (scenic design), eight-time Tony Award winner Catherine Zuber (costume design), Brian Tovar (lighting design), Tony Award winner Cody Spencer (sound design) and Tom Watson (hair & wig design.

Complete casting will be announced shortly.

Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen tells the story of Colette (Caruso), a witty young dreamer in 20th-century Paris, who finds her power through writing. Per the synopsis, “While working at an elusive maison close called Night Egg, she begins chronicling the fantasies, confessions, and private sorrows of her eccentric clients, slowly transforming herself from object to observer – turning perversions into art. But underneath her sharp intelligence and growing independence, Colette has her own perversion she cannot outrun: a lingering, destructive attachment to Léon, her childhood love, whose toxic hold on her continues to blur the line between devotion and self-destruction.”

Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen is the first Manga to be developed into an American musical in the English language. The new musical will feature a book by Leah Nanako Winkler and music supervision, vocal, and incidental music arrangements by Or Matias. Sheik writes the music and lyrics.

Producers are Kenny Kurokawa, Rayman, and Antonio Marion, with executive producers Nobu Matsukura and Shin Yamada, and associate producers Yu Anne Ando, Mika Furuya, Ryohei Otani, and Yumi.

Caruso is repped by Magnolia Entertainment, Innovative Artists and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman. 

 

 

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