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Though the strikes ended, the fight around AI is far from over. Following the debut of her Dealmakers newsletter, new contributor Ashley Cullins joins to reveal her conversations with powerhouse entertainment lawyers and CAA, their behind the scenes maneuvering to protect Hollywood talent, and the agonizing Sophie’s Choice actors will face when deciding to allow AI replica rights (a choice the A-list can reject more easily, but not up-and-comers). Also: Elaine Low details five TV agents’ assessments of what streamers want to buy these days, and Richard Rushfield foretells A24’s dangerous trajectory.
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There’s plenty of worry about AI writing scripts . . . but let’s see AI come up with a story about two billionaire families negotiating a complex sale of an iconic, troubled entertainment conglomerate — and wreaking havoc in their wake. Sean McNulty and David Lidsky weigh just what David Ellison’s buying, why every shareholder not named Shari Redstone is mad and what AI has to do with it. Speaking of, Sean welcomes producer Erik Barmack to discuss his new Reel AI newsletter for The Ankler and how the technology can be a “cheat code” in script coverage. Also: Elaine Low on laid-off execs starting their own companies, and Richard Rushfield from CinemaCon.
Also, we’ve been nominated for a Webby Award, vote for us here by April 18th!
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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When Endeavor went public in 2021, the agency pulled out all the stops to present itself as innovators and a disruptor — the kind of terminology Wall Street loves from tech companies. But, as it often goes with the media companies that try the same tack, “investors never fully bought it,” says David Lidsky, who joins to evaluate Endeavor’s recent decision to go private again. Also: Sean McNulty and Elaine Low discuss the culmination of Disney’s proxy war, and Peter Kiefer joins to break down his story on Silicon Valley’s new ideology around AI and why Hollywood should pay attention.
Also, we’ve been nominated for a Webby Award, vote for us here by April 18th!
Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here.
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Hollywood is filled with, er, colorful personalities. The one of the moment: Michael Kassan, the former MediaLink connector-in-chief now in dueling lawsuits with UTA. David Lidsky joins to reveal The Ankler’s investigative reporting into Kassan’s curious legal and financial history, including a $3.3m IRS tax lien taken out on his Beverly Hills home the week before he went to war with UTA. Also: Elaine Low on TV workers’ struggles as unemployment outpaces series cutbacks, and Richard Rushfield on the current studio merger landscape.
Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here.
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Wall Street likes surefire bets — growth companies that deliver predictable returns for infinite quarters. But in Hollywood, “you’re in the failure game,” says Richard Rushfield. Yet when the alchemy works, hits power the industry. Still studio leaders are mired in machinations to appease investors, often with disastrous results: a studio for sale (Paramount); activist investors (Disney); and open jobs at Netflix and NBCU that have almost nothing to do with creativity. Despite it all, when Sean McNulty and crew evaluate the upcoming box-office slate, they find cause for hope. After all, Ankler Rule No. 1: this is a business of hits.
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One of the most plum jobs in entertainment historically has been that of the creative exec. But now, with data informing programming choices more than ever, and advertisers hungry for user information, Elaine Low examines how the job market is revealing those shifted priorities through the lens of the two most storied legacy studios, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery (while sharing a peek at Amazon Studios). Meanwhile, Sean McNulty lays out the current streaming advertising landscape, and Richard Rushfield opines on the lingering puzzles from the Oscars.
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Richard Rushfield assessed the State of the Industry this week, and we have questions: Why is there reason for hope? Why is Netflix suddenly so into sports? What are its live TV ambitions? Is there really no superhero fatigue? Or do we just need better superhero movies, as Disney's Bob Iger says? Will the Oscar telecast be less than four hours? And will anyone watch? As always, Sean McNulty and Elaine Low join Richard to answer these questions and more, including perhaps the biggest one of all: Who will Richard be wearing at the Academy Awards on Sunday?
Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here.
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This week featured two huge film jobs finding their man: Netflix and Disney. Over at Netflix, seasoned producer Dan Lin is set to replace Scott Stuber, and Disney promoted David Greenbaum from Searchlight head to Disney Studios head. Do these moves mean a return to more original fare? “There’s reason for hope,” says Richard Rushfield. “I mean, normally when you get these kinds of announcements, it’s like, ‘Ok, well, another person like that to a different person like that.’ But these are people you’re genuinely excited to see what they might do, so go figure.” Also: the crew discusses the Paramount and Endeavor earnings calls, and what the takeaways were from the whole earnings slate.
Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here.
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As Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav pours money into reconstructing Robert Evans’ legendary estate, a far more daunting reconstruction awaits: his company. On Friday, WBD had its Q4 earnings report, and it wasn’t pretty. Zaslav’s company missed on both earnings and revenue, and the stock went down roughly 12 percent. The crew looks at what WBD’s head honcho's plan to remedy the disaster. Also: Richard Rushfield breaks down his five-part field guide for how to navigate Hollywood types, and Elaine Low gives an update on the upcoming IATSE negotiations.
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The gods of Hollywood never give with both hands. Just ask Paramount who, in one week, delivered a record-shattering Super Bowl and Jon Stewart’s triumphant return. But currently for sale, the debt-laden studio within days was laying off three percent of its workforce — roughly 800 staffers — and Warren Buffett shed a third of his stock in the company. The team weighs in on what appears to be a shortage of interested buyers, why, and what happens next. Also: Elaine Low on how to read the TV tea leaves from her chat with FX chief John Landgraf.
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Disney CEO Bob Iger dropped one bombshell after another this week: a new ‘sports Hulu’ with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, a gaming splurge, and, yes, of course, news about Taylor Swift. As the Q4 earnings call revealed, theme park revenue continues to lead, as linear TV profits sunk, and streaming and the movie studio suffered nine-figure losses. What does it all mean? Elaine Low, sitting in as host of this week’s podcast, also shares her findings on where the jobs are (and aren’t) around the TV industry; Peter Kiefer joins to break down his big stories on the drama behind L.A.’s private school scene and the spiraling doc market. Transcript here.
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A film executive with a TV metabolism. Relationships with top talent. A culture fit in a challenging company. If you can manage all three, you might have a shot at the Netflix film chief role recently vacated by Scott Stuber. There’s lots of names in competition, but more reasons for boss Bela Bajaria to be picky. “If you judge power in film by how much you can green light, there’s no film job that’s even close to this,” says Richard Rushfield. Also: Elaine Low on the new reality in the unscripted space, and Peter Kiefer delves into Westwood’s historic Fox theater’s new ownership group, led by none other than Jason Reitman.
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Netflix’s head of film, Scott Stuber, stepped down from his post after seven years in a perfect ankling (meaning, it was unclear who left whom and why). That shocker was followed by one bombshell after another: a massive 10-year, $5 billion deal for WWE Raw in its first move into live sports, the most Oscar nominations out of any studio, and a record subscriber count reported on its earnings call. All of it portends a different Netflix than the one we’ve known. “Who else is making giant moves like this right now?” asks Richard Rushfield, who earlier examined the Stuber departure. Also: Claire Atkinson joins to break down her buzzy story on Hollywood’s overworked, often abused PR chiefs to the CEOs.
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Inside the gleaming towers of marble and modern art containing Hollywood’s storied agencies lays the beehive of Hollywood: 10 percenters rolling calls and doing deals (that close slowly), and fresh faces filing the mailroom. But agencies aren’t immune to industry upheaval. Consolidation is just one reason more agents are leaving for management(resulting in a new class of manager superstars) as the team dives into our weeklong series about the representation business. Also: Elaine Low returns from TV conference NATPE, and Richard Rushfield and Peter Kiefer check in from Sundance.
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Toast the New Year with RC Cola? It’s the kind of subpar beverage apropos to the first days of 2024, where a dreary Golden Globes (the RC Cola of Awards Shows) was celebrated for not being the lowest-rated in history; one of the most valuable companies in the world (Amazon) laid off hundreds in Hollywood, and one of the most storied studios (Paramount) has perched a semi-permanent “For Sale” sign out front. “It’s not a great way to start off the year,” says Elaine Low, who’s joins Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield to survey the worsening landscape that — surprise! — may yet deliver some silver linings.
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Five years ago, Hollywood rose up in protest over Saudi Arabian dissident Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, which U.S. intelligence found was approved by the country’s leader, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. Now, with Hollywood in lean times and in need of new markets, the Kingdom and its $776 billion sovereign wealth fund appear back in favor, reports Claire Atkinson, with one movie producer likening it to "California in the 1920s." Meanwhile, political waters also are churning around the Golden Globes, where a ribbon-wearing campaign for Israeli hostages being held captive by Hamas may or may not bear out, explains Peter Kiefer, who broke news of the efforts. Also: Andy Lewis delivers George Santos’ thoughts on an upcoming HBO film, and Richard Rushfield expounds on his New Year resolutions for Hollywood.
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From mass layoffs to major strikes to multiplex disasters, the entertainment industry isn’t likely to forget 2023. Richard Rushfield runs through his annual Ankler 100, Hollywood’s most miserable moments of the year, as 2024 looms with even more possible disruption as a Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount merger raises myriad questions: Would a hypothetical deal even pass DoJ and FTC muster? What would HBO/Showtime and CNN/CBS News combos look like? And will any of these efforts even matter against Big Tech? Says Claire Atkinson, who joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low: “It feels to me like they need to do these huge acquisitions or else the tech guys are just going to run away with the show.”
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Note: The Ankler Podcast will not be releasing an episode next week. See you in 2024!
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Hollywood officially entered the upside-down this week: streamers flexed like it was 2019 again with a flurry of new deals; Disney about-faced by licensing shows to one-time nemesis Netflix; and then Netflix, in the never-say-never category, dumped 10,000 pages of viewership data onto reporters. With Richard Rushfield and Sean McNulty breaking down the press call with Ted Sarandos, the team talks takeaways, good and bad, and why Netflix did it. Also: Penske Media’s conflict(s) of interest with the Golden Globe, and Narcos and upcoming Hotel Cocaine creator Chris Brancato joins Claire Atkinson to discuss how to responsibly make shows involving drugs: “If drugs [are] a centerpiece of the criminal activity, it’s very important to show that the outcome for most is jail or death.”
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The passing of Norman Lear coincides with a new TV era where, quite likely, not a single one of the legendary producer’s famous sitcoms would pass muster in a pitch meeting of today. While Elaine Low talks specifics about what’s selling and who’s buying in the contracted post-strike TV market, Martini Shot host Rob Long pays homage to Lear’s immense legacy (“his shows were’t about politics, they were about characters”). Also: Janice Min shares her scorcher of a live interview with Andrew Cuomo’s former top advisor Melissa DeRosa, who declares that President Biden should dump Kamala Harris, zings RFK Jr.’s “ego”, and decries the “total lack of leadership” over antisemitism in New York City.
Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here.
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As Hollywood reels from a string of high-budget box office flops, Kevin Goetz, says, sure, contraction is coming. But, “every movie — if made and marketed for the right price — should make money,” says the CEO of Screen Engine/ASI, long considered a top expert on audience. Goetz joins to talk about recent changes he’s seeing in theater-going, what’s working (and not), and what films can learn from TV. Also: Sean McNulty, Peter Kiefer and Elaine Low talk Elon Musk’s F-U; Bob Iger’s flip-flop on Disney’s linear TV assets; and Israel-Gaza and the worrisome WhatsApp wars of Hollywood.
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