GroupM North America CEO Sharb Farjami got an early start in the media business, joining a pay-TV company in his native UK as a sales clerk at just 17 years old. He went on to hold executive posts at Viacom and Rupert Murdoch-owned companies Storyful, Foxtel and News Corp Australia.
In an interview with Deadline, Farjami reflected on his "accidental" path from aspiring pro rugby player to the one of the most powerful jobs in media. GroupM is the media buying arm of giant ad agency holding company WPP, controlling billions in annual ad spending.
Disruptions from Big Tech are reshaping the industry, Farjami acknowledges, but he sees more opportunity than risk from the advertiser's perspective. Asked how the media business will navigate through the existential crossroads where it finds itself, the exec turned sanguine. "Had there been someone sitting in this seat in 1972, that person would have probably said, ‘We’re at a crossroads, it’s never been like this,'" he reasoned. >>>Streaming Explosion |
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Hunter Biden, The Movie - Director Cameron Van Hoy has entered production on The Prince, a feature penned by Pulitzer Prize winner and Oscar-nominee David Mamet. Scott Haze (Old Henry) leads a starry ensemble that includes Nicolas Cage, J.K. Simmons, Giancarlo Esposito and Andy Garcia. The Prince chronicles an addict’s journey toward recovery through the high-stakes world of power, pleasure and pain. Multiple sources close to the project say that the lead character is inspired at least in part by Hunter Biden. >>> 'Sound of Freedom' Team Producing How 'Shōgun' Found Its Way - The show's creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo as well as its stars Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano and producer-star Hiroyuki Sanada detail to Deadline the ups and downs (and ups) of their experiences in bringing James Clavell's book to FX. There’s an emotional hitch in Sanada's voice as he reflects on the success: “I could never have imagined this kind of thing happening.” >>> Behind The Scenes
Italian Mission - The new boss of My Brilliant Friend producer Wildside is on a mission to discover the next generation of Italian talent. Detailing the Fremantle-backed producer’s strategy for the first time since taking over, Sonia Rovai told Deadline she will not depart from the genres that the Italian outfit specializes in but will instead attempt to shift the dial by unearthing young scribes and directors. Rovai said she is slowly building up a development slate featuring these voices, with projects that she will likely produce herself. >>>Championing Non-English-Language Fare |
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Among the many challenges that Jonathan Nolan faced when adapting Bethesda’s popular Fallout video game into a television series was narrowing the massive scope of the story — and finding the perfect people to tell it through.
Enter Ella Purnell as the goodie-two-shoes vault dweller Lucy MacLean, Aaron Moten as the morally ambiguous Maximus, and Walton Goggins as the chaotic evil Ghoul. While all three of these actors faced challenges, Moten faced the especially tedious task of always toeing a line between the angel and the devil on his shoulders.
Nolan and Moten sat down with Deadline to have a conversation about all things Fallout, from casting Moten as Maximus to building out practical sets wherever possible. The pair also swap on-set stories, and Moten shares behind-the-scenes photos with Deadline that he shot while filming the series. >>>Read The Interview |
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QUOTABLE
“Devastating” - Former 'Sam & Cat' show star Ariana Grande commenting on the allegations made by former Nickelodeon child actors in 'Quiet on Set' |
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Exclusive
Joker and Deadpool 2 actress Zazie Beetz has signed on to headline They Will Kill You, the first feature from Nocturna, the horror label formed this year by Skydance and Andy & Barbara Muschietti.
Exclusive
Jason George is officially rejoining Grey’s Anatomy as a series regular. The Station 19 star has closed a deal to join the main cast of the venerable ABC medical drama for the upcoming 21st season.
Disney has cast 17-year-old Catherine Laga‘aia in the title role of its live-action Moana movie, which is set to be released in theaters on July 10, 2026.
Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson are circling roles in Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow‘s next film for Netflix, sources have confirmed to Deadline.
James Gunn announced on Instagram that Mean Girls and Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows is joining the second season of DC’s Max series The Peacemaker opposite John Cena.
In Brief - Jon Gabrus joins DINKS... Toby Jones, Lisa Vicari & Christiane Paul board Hijack season 2... Gail Bean, Taye Diggs, Tristan Mack Wilds & more set for Both Eyes Open |
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More News 🏛️ The Supreme Court rejected an effort to restrict the abortion pill mifepristone from the marketplace, ruling unanimously that the plaintiffs lacked standing. A number of anti-abortion medical associations and several doctors had challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s relaxed restrictions on access to the drug. 👨🏫 Prolific British scribe James Graham will ask “why television has a problem with the working classes” in the Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart lecture this year. Graham, whose credits include Sherwood, Dear England, Brexit: The Uncivil War and Quiz, will deliver the 49th address in two months time, an agenda-setting speech that has been helmed down the years by the likes of Michaela Coel, Kevin Spacey and three Murdochs.
⛰ Paramount Global co-CEOs George Cheeks, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy thanked staff in a memo for soldiering on through trying months of Skydance Media merger speculation. With that deal a no go, they promised they have plan, one mostly laid out at last week’s annual shareholders meeting, to take the company into the future.
🧛🏽 Director Yann Demange has exited Marvel Studios‘ long-anticipated reboot of Blade. Attached to the film since 2019, Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali remains aboard to star.
🏆 The AMPAS Board Of Governors has chosen to give Academy Honorary Awards to music legend Quincy Jones and veteran Casting Director Juliet Taylor, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to British writer/director Richard Curtis , and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
🌧️ USA Network is returning to the legal drama arena with The Rainmaker, based on the bestselling John Grisham novel and its film adaptation. The project, from writer Michael Seitzman, Lionsgate Television and Blumhouse Television, has received a series order.
📽️ Sony Pictures Entertainment bought Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. The move puts Sony, which still has its eye on Paramount Global, in the exhibition business once again after owning the Loews Theater chain back in the 1990s.
⚔️ Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin has revealed that the previously scrapped spinoff Ten Thousand Ships is being revived, and playwright Eboni Booth is on board for the pilot. |
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On the Radar
Thu - The Boys S4 debuts; Tesla annual meeting; Sean Penn on Kimmel
Fri - De Niro Con begins; Inside Out 2 opens
Sun - The Tonys; House of the Dragon S2 premiere
Mon - Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity begins; Eddie Murphy on Fallon
Tue - Kevin Costner on Fallon |
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'Enemy' Among The People - Bill Murray was among the notable participants in a reading of Ibsen play An Enemy of the People in Times Square on Wednesday night. |
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