Josh Friedman has signed a two-year deal with Universal Television, which will find him co-executive producing the upcoming NBC drama "Pirates."

Under the agreement, "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" creator will also develop and supervise projects for Universal TV.

Also read: John Malkovich to Play Blackbeard on NBC's 'Crossbones'

"Josh Friedman puts a distinct, unique spin on everything he writes," Universal Television executive vice president Bela Bajaria enthused, praising his ability to...

Legendary Entertainment has acquired Five33, a global marketing company that will now work exclusively with Legendary to construct campaigns around Legendary’s movies and intellectual property.

The firm, founded by Emily Castel (below) in 2007, counts a bevy of Hollywood studios as clients, most recently working on Universal's “Oblivion” and Paramount's “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

Five33 was already working with Legendary on both "Pacific Rim" and "Godzilla," and will now function as Legendary's branding and marketing department.

"Emily and her team have an innate...

"Iron Man 3" was soaring past $1 billion at the worldwide box office Thursday, in a display of world domination that would make one of Marvel's super villains proud.

The box-office bounty – roughly $700 million from abroad and $300 million domestically -- is a major triumph for Disney, which bet big on comic book superheroes when it bought Marvel Studios for $4 billion in 2009. And its decision to bring aboard a Chinese partner for "Iron Man 3" and focus the Disney marketing machine on the booming foreign market looks pretty good right now, too.

"To an extent, It's a sign of the times," Disney's head of distribution Dave Hollis told TheWrap Thursday, referring to the huge recent growth of the international market. "But we had a great movie that was embraced all around the world as the summer's first blockbuster....

James Bond and Bilbo Baggins helped Metro Goldwyn Mayer kick off 2013 on a high note.

Home entertainment and theatrical revenue from "Skyfall" and "The Hobbit" drove net income to $57.4 million for the first three months of the year. That represented a 150.7 percent increase from $23.3 million in the same period last year.

Revenues were $481.7 million; up more than 168.4 percent from $179.5 million in the same quarter in 2012.

"MGM is in a strong position strategically and financially," CEO Gary Barber said on a conference call with shareholders. "Our first quarter was very important for positioning us for a strong 2013."

The company, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, is privately held. However, since exiting Chapter 11 protection, it has been publicly releasing its financial results and allowing media to...