Jack Gao has stepped down as the senior vice president of the Dalian Wanda Group and as the interim CEO of Legendary Entertainment, Deadline has confirmed. Gao took over as CEO of Legendary when founder Thomas Tull exited in January. Zeng Maojun, president of Wanda Film Holding Co., is set to step in as interim head…

UPDATED with Legendary statement: U.S.-based media companies owned by China’s Dalian Wanda Group defended their financial power today following reports suggesting they can no longer count on backing from the real estate colossus. AMC Entertainment this morning challenged what it called “speculative media reports that…

Exhibition company stocks are off to a rocky start today. U.S. chains continue to swoon after two analysts lowered their outlooks for key players — mostly due to this quarter’s weaker than expected box office. In addition to the U.S. drops Chinese trading in Wanda Film was halted after the share price fell 9.9%…

Dalian Wanda Group’s $1 billion deal to buy Dick Clark Productions is near death’s door. Barring an eleventh-hour change in the company’s thinking, we’re told it’s “highly probable” that the Wanda-DCP deal would be dead as soon as Friday. Once acceptable, the $1 billion price tag may have become high as Wanda faces…

Wanda Group’s $1 billion deal to buy Dick Clark Productions has been delayed — but not derailed — as a result of China’s recent effort to limit capital flight from the country. The early November pact is now expected to close in a matter of weeks as the companies grapple with controls that China’s Commerce Ministry…

Thomas Tull, who co-founded Legendary Entertainment 11 years ago before selling the company to Chinese conglom Dalian Wanda Group a year ago in a cash deal valued at $3.5B, is leaving his post as Chairman and CEO of Legendary. His exit follows news out of China that Dalian Wanda posted its first sales decline in 11…

Voters in Beverly Hills soundly rejected a ballot initiative yesterday that would have allowed the Beverly Hilton to build a 37-story condo-tower next to the hotel. Measure HH was defeated by nearly 56% of those casting ballots — 5,510 to 4,373 — although some absentee and provisional ballots remain to be counted. The…

China's Wanda Group has finalized a deal to buy Dick Clark Productions, marking its entry into TV production. Wanda has acquired a 100% stake in the company that produces the Golden Globes, the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music Awards, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest and other special…

Hollywood’s elite will be all smiles next week when the town’s most prolific dealmaker, Wanda Group CEO Wang Jianlin, visits to talk up the importance of strong U.S. and Chinese relations. But some execs privately raise an uncomfortable question about the company that owns Legendary Pictures and AMC Entertainment, and…

California's Fair Political Practices Commission has found "no evidence" to support the allegation that the Wanda Group used foreign money to influence the outcome of a local ballot initiative in Beverly Hills in a dispute over who should have the right to develop a piece of property there. The Wanda Group, the…

China’s Wanda Group is contemplating a deal that could give it control of Dick Clark Productions, which broadcasts the Golden Globes, the American Music Awards, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest and other splashy events. Although there’s no formal offer, we’re told the owner of AMC Entertainment…

A union representing hotel workers at the Beverly Hilton has accused the Wanda Group, the Chinese multinational conglomerate that owns AMC, the world's largest cinema chain, of using foreign money to influence the outcome of a local ballot initiative in Beverly Hills. Read the press release here. The allegation is the…