Hello there! We hope the sturm und drang of Hollywood 2022 is giving way to holiday cheer as you decamp to beaches and snow among friends and family.
A quick note. A year ago we announced plans for a new, super-charged Ankler, with Janice joining Richard’s cult-y, beloved one-man dispatch in January. The support from all of you has been overwhelming. We would like to say thank you: our new era of thoughtful, richer analysis, news, features and podcasts has taken off in the community and our fast-growing readership is beyond anything we could have anticipated. We also have a first-class group of contributors who make this possible. And, yes, sponsors. Thank you to you all!
As our gift to you, for the next seven days only (now until Christmas), we’re offering 30 percent off Ankler subscriptions with this link. If you’ve been waiting to take the plunge, have procrastinated yourself into a gift-giving corner, or want to surprise your host/assistant/family member/office with a present they’ll never stop thanking you for, please join us. We’d love to have you!
In Case You Missed It:
The Squeeze Hits Writers: ‘I Don’t Know How to Make a Living.’ Our series on the grim financial circumstances various Hollywood professions are facing has covered producers and layoff survival; this week Nicole LaPorte visited the plight of industry scribes in Writers on ‘S*** Money’ and the New Gig Economy
Entertainment Strategy Guy followed with The Squeeze: Jobs, Inflation and the Below-the-Line Worker.
Our salute to the year’s lowest moments in the industry crescendoed with Richard’s annual The Ankler 100: The Grand Finale! (Here’s Part 1)
On the podcast, hosts Sean McNulty, Tatiana Siegel and Richard discussed The DC Universe Soap Opera, Avatar being allowed in China (thanks, Iger?) and more on the fate of the indie sector. Also: LaPorte dropped by to talk writers.
Richard’s Memo to a Panicking Hollywood, his thoughts on the indie film drought, was cited in Ross Douthat’s New York Times column yesterday as one of “the best pieces written on the autumn of apocalypse.” From Douthat:
This Week in The Wakeup:
• An old-fashioned day of Cancellation, Renewal and TV series deal news
• WBD content write-off plans grow up to 40% since October
• BULLET TRAIN is NETFLIX’s top US movie… 4 months post-release
•WBD austerity cuts hit HBOMAX scripted series
• Box Office has 2nd worst weekend of 2022, as THE WHALE sets specialty highmark
Also, The Wakeup’s Sean McNulty hit CNBC to talk Disney trails and Avatar dreams with Julia Boorstin. 👏
At The Optionist
Two great columns this week from our sister newsletter about intellectual property:
And…
That’s it for this week! We’ll be publishing next week in case you need a good excuse to “work” and hide from certain corners of your family. And don’t miss our 30 percent off special holiday offer with this link, good until Christmas. We are truly grateful for your support as we reach our 1st anniversary milestone. We couldn’t have done it without you.
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