Blue wave, blunami — whatever you call it, Democrats routed Republicans on Tuesday. But ahead of Election Day, James Carville warned of a coming “Civil War” between the party’s progressives and centrists, a rift dividing top Hollywood donors too. Speaking to Matthew Frank, Carville and political consultant Mike Murphy laid out the battle lines forming ahead of 2028 in our second most-read story of the week:
The most-read story award goes to — who else? — Taylor Swift, who really wants your vote too as she tries to score her first Academy Award nomination for Toy Story 5 song “I Knew It, I Knew You.” The megastar got up close and personal with 200 fans and insiders at an NYC screening, where Christopher Rosen was in the room to witness Swift’s deft touch:
Meanwhile, Bela Bajaria, Dan Lin and Pam Abdy (whose fiery speech at the WIF Honors brought down the house) are among those also suddenly out of office. Elaine Low surveys the landscape for the C-suite on the street — and why their next moves might not be what you think:
Finally, you can find Team Ankler, well, pretty much everywhere next week. Here’s what we’ve got on the go:
- Janice will be at Web Summit Lisbon, where she’ll lead a fireside chat with McLaren CMO Louise McEwen and co-host a private invite-only dinner about the future of culture with Yahoo’s Josh Line and Ryan Spoon and Web Summit’s Ciara Haley.
- Like & Subscribe’s Natalie Jarvey hits Miami Monday in the first of our new Creator Thesis series presented by Adobe, where she’ll interview Kinigra Deon and Reggie Roo about their creator studio playbook and chat social media strategy with Adobe’s own Jared Garneson.
- And Saturday at Infinity Festival Hollywood, Richard Rushfield talks with producers Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, director Leah Nelson and composer Dan Romer about their animated feature Tangles.
Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:
Series Business
↑ TV in 3: HBO’s Spending Spree Secret The smoke and mirrors behind those splashy headlines. Plus: Lesley Goldberg digs into Disney TV’s org chart about to be blown up as layoffs loom.
Richard Rushfield
↑ Hey Bezos, Was Melania Worth It? Hollywood chiefs woke up humiliated, holding the Trump bag and facing possible hearings where you can see everything. Richard gives his two cents.
Crowd Pleaser
↑ Amazon Loves Theaters — for 47 Days Are wide releases just very expensive marketing for Prime Video? Ask Masters of the Universe and Ali G. Matthew Frank wonders if Netflix is next.
Reel AI
↑ Documentary’s Unlikely Lifeline: AI and YouTube Cult hit Cocaine Cowboys was remade by its directors with AI for $200,000 — it could be a move to save the genre, Erik Barmack writes.
Prestige Junkie
↑ Robert Pattinson Is My Oscar Frontrunner Just 21 percent of Ankler pundits think he’ll be nominated in supporting actor for The Odyssey. Katey Rich says the rest of them have it wrong.
Plus, John Turturro tells Katey how lunch with a young director led to the role of his life in The Only Living Pickpocket:
The Wakeup
Sean McNulty looks at what Q3’s boffo blockbusters did for theater chains — and how badly Netflix’s movies keep tanking:
Friday → ☀️ ‘Less Worse’: TV Bundle Melt Continues at Charter, Comcast
Thursday → ☀️ Big Movie Biz Q3, New Wall St. Questions
Wednesday → ☀️ NETFLIX’s Film Engagement Issues Get Worse
Tuesday → ☀️ DISNEY TV Among MORE Big Layoffs, Cuts Coming
Sunday → Holmes Tops Clayface Over Ghostly Halloween Weekend
Podcasts
Ankler Agenda
Elaine, Sean and Natalie discuss the Mouse House’s shrinking workforce and what AI and a reinvention have to do with it:
Shows
Rushfield Lunch
Sam Wasson, the quintessential chronicler of Hollywood, joins Richard to chat about his new book — and the Ben Affleck movie that almost was:
Like & Subscribe
New from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter:
↑ Election Day 2026: Winners, Losers in the Political Creator Economy
The Optionist
Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks:
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