Entertainment News Roundup: Soccer-Messi, Mbappe and Haaland among FIFA Best award nominees, Bonmati on women's list; US regulator fines Stoner Cats creator for offering NFTs and more

The sale includes a portfolio of 29 music catalogues and a collection of non-core songs to a partnership between its investment adviser and funds advised by U.S. private equity group Blackstone, Hipgnosis said on Thursday. Analysis-Disney, Charter deal reshapes media landscape -executives Thirty-one years ago, cable TV pioneer John Malone predicted customers would have as many as 500 channels in their living rooms.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Soccer-Messi, Mbappe and Haaland among FIFA Best award nominees, Bonmati on women's list

Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are on the short-list for The Best FIFA Men's Player Award, while Spain's Aitana Bonmati is among the nominees for the Best Women's Player on the back of winning the Golden Ball at the World Cup. Half of the dozen nominees in the men's category were part of Manchester City's 2022-23 treble-winning squad, while City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola is nominated for Best Men's Coach.

US regulator fines Stoner Cats creator for offering NFTs

The creator of the popular Stoner Cats animated web series will pay a $1 million civil fine to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges it conducted an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities by selling non-fungible tokens, the regulator said on Wednesday. Stoner Cats 2 LLC did not admit or deny wrongdoing in settling charges it illegally raised $8.2 million in July 2021 by selling 10,320 NFTs for about $800 each, which sold out in 35 minutes.

Hollywood's janitors swept out of jobs by dual strikes

Yolanda Cendejas was let go from her job as a studio janitor on May 5, days after Hollywood writers went on strike, leaving the Los Angeles resident without income and the health insurance she needs to cover treatment for her diabetes. She was forced to return to her native Mexico in July to have a non-malignant tumor removed.

Hackers say they stole 6 terabytes of data from casino giants MGM, Caesars

The Scattered Spider hacking group said on Thursday it took six terabytes of data from the systems of multi-billion-dollar casino operators MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment as both companies probed the breaches.

Speaking to Reuters via the messaging platform Telegram, a representative for the group said it did not plan to make the data public, and declined to comment on whether it had asked the companies for ransom. "If MGM wish to release that information they will. We do not do that," the person said.

Music investor Hipgnosis to sell catalogues to bolster shares

Music investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund will sell some of its catalogues, including songs by pop star Shakira and rapper Nelly, for $465 million to a private Blackstone vehicle to fund a share buy-back, pay down debt and bolster its stock price, the UK company said on Thursday. The sale includes a portfolio of 29 music catalogues and a collection of non-core songs to a partnership between its investment adviser and funds advised by U.S. private equity group Blackstone, Hipgnosis said on Thursday.

Analysis-Disney, Charter deal reshapes media landscape -executives

Thirty-one years ago, cable TV pioneer John Malone predicted customers would have as many as 500 channels in their living rooms. Charter, the cable company in which Malone’s Liberty Broadband is a major investor, began downscaling that vision this week.