Comcast Sues WBD Over 'Harry Potter,' Scripps Cuts 200 News Staffers and ‘The Wild Robot’ Marks Chris Sanders' Return to Animation

Plus: Maggie Smith dies at 89, EchoStar Stock Jumps 11% on Dish-DirecTV merger talks and Casting directors reach tentative studio agreement [Harry Potter]( [Comcast's Sky Sues Warner Bros. Discovery for Denying Partnership on 'Harry Potter' Series]( By Lucas Manfredi Comcast’s Sky is suing Warner Bros. Discovery for “multiple material breaches” of a 2019 deal around the co-funding and co-production of exclusive premium TV shows. The suit, filed Friday in New York federal court, argues that WBD was obligated to present Sky with at least four shows per year in 2021, 2022 and 2023, but that the company “fell far short of that mark, in certain years offering barely a single qualifying series while also withholding critical, contractually required information necessary for Sky to evaluate any potential options that it did receive.” [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Scripps 'Winding Down' TV News Business, Cuts 200 Jobs]( By Sean Burch Scripps is eliminating more than 200 jobs and will be “winding down” its national news programming, CEO Adam Symson told employees via email on Friday morning. The cuts will go into effect after November 15, according to Symson, who blamed the cuts on the company’s ability to generate ad sales for its news programming. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [the-wild-robot-movie]( [How ‘Wild Robot’ Director Chris Sanders Returned to Animation, Challenged the Medium and Made His Best Film Yet]( By Drew Taylor “The Wild Robot” director Chris Sanders was feeling a little lost himself. In 2020, he ventured into live-action filmmaking with “The Call of the Wild,” an ambitious, imperfect adaptation of Jack London’s 1903 novel. Sanders got to work with Janusz Kaminski, Steven Spielberg’s regular cinematographer, and it allowed him to direct Harrison Ford as a grizzled frontiersman. But the film opened a few weeks before the pandemic shut down movie theaters. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Maggie Smith, Legendary British Stage and 'Harry Potter' Star, Dies at 89]( [A close-up of a Dish network satellite dish, black, with red and gray text reading "dish HD"]( [EchoStar Stock Jumps Over 11% as Dish, DirecTV Enter Advanced Merger Talks]( [Casting by Teamsters]( [Casting Directors Reach Tentative Studio Agreement With Unanimous Negotiating Committee Support]( [Producer Sam Pressman Believes Public Investment and AI Have a Place in Indie Filmmaking's Future]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [WrapPRO logo] Discover why entertainment executives and professionals rely on the WrapPRO platform daily for exclusive coverage, analysis, deeper reporting, and access to VIP events & screenings throughout the year. [Subscribe Today]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( TheWrap | 2034 Armacost Ave Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( [LiveIntent Logo]( [AdChoices Logo](