Film Production
GoQuest, VIP2000TV, Stellar Yapim partner on Turkish series
Mumbai: This is one Indian company which believes in doing things differently. The Mumbai-based Vivek Lath and Jimmy George-promoted format production and distribution house GoQuest Media has got into bed with the Miami-based VIP 2000 TV to coproduce and distribute the Turkish drama series Kuma (The Other Wife). The duo has roped in Turkish independent Inci Gulen Oarr promoted Stellar Yapim (productions) to helm the series, pre-production for which has already begun.
Slated to have a duration of 100 hours with filming set to begin in the next few months in Turkey, the series follows the fortunes of a young woman from eastern Turkey who is forced to become a kuma or a second wife to the brother of the man she has been accused of murdering.
Stellar Production is known for its prowess in co-productions with international partners on global projects as well as providing consultancy to international producers working in Turkey, including location scouting, line production and post-production services. Gulen Oarr is best known for the hit series Elif which ran for five seasons.
What is exciting most media observers is the fact that Kuma is one of those rare shows where two non-Turkish producers have got together to churn out a premium daily show.
“We are extremely pleased to be working with Inci Gulen Oarr on this project,” says VIP 2000 TV CEO Roxana Rotundo. “We have been waiting to get involved in our own Turkish project, but we needed it to be unique and different from the rest; in a market where there is so much competition, we needed an IP that would have a fascinating story, and we found that in Kuma.”
“We’re lucky to have viewers around the world,” points out Gulen Oarr. “An international collaboration like this only makes sense. These days, Turkish drama is truly global content.”
GoQuest managing director Vivek Lath highlighted the drift in the market towards a B2B licensing and production model and the partnership with VIP 2000 TV is a step in that direction for the Indian company. “Partnering with VIP 2000 TV and Stellar Yapim, leaders in their respective fields, ensures that we have the best allies as we navigate and capitalize on these market shifts,” he said in conclusion.
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
