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Nick Viall: How I Spun 'Bachelor' Into a $30M Podcast Empire
The reality TV alum and rising media mogul reveals the key decisions that drove an 8-figure outcome
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Natalie Jarvey
Mara Brock Akil on 'Forever', Netflix, Judy Blume & DEI Rollback: 'You'll Lose'
The prolific creator and showrunner tells me about her adaptation of the 1975 classic that centers on Black teens: 'Who is the most vulnerable now?'
 • 
Lesley Goldberg
🎧 The Trickery of Tariffs & Incentives
Rob Long on why some popular ideas don’t always make financial sense
 • 
Rob Long
☀️ DIS 🤐 on Trump, Streaming 💰 Gets Real in '25
‘Moana 2’ saves Q1 movie 💰 / VENU dents sports 💰 / China 👎, U.S. 👍 for Theme Parks
 • 
Sean McNulty
☀️ AMAZON's Movie Slate Just. Keeps. Growing.
FANDUEL's troubling RSN 💰 math / NETFLIX's massive new int'l 🎥 hit / '26 movie slate shifts
 • 
Sean McNulty
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The Ankler's secret numbers guru slices up the winners and the losers
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Reel AI
A clear-eyed look at AI in Hollywood from a producer exploring its practical applications, good and bad.
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Recent posts

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The AI App That Could Supercharge A24
Cursor shares the same big investor as the indie studio, and is on the cusp of reprogramming everything from development to production to VFX
 • 
Erik Barmack
🎧 'Matlock' Star Kathy Bates: 'It's a Huge Gift at the End of My Career'
The star and her showrunner, Jennie Snyder Urman, unpack their close collab on the hit CBS procedural — and the secret weapon of a Southern accent
 • 
Katey Rich
THAT'S TARIFFIC!
What sitting in Trump's crosshairs will mean for us. And oh Newsom, this is what finally got you to step up?!
 • 
Richard Rushfield
☀️HBO New Comedy Expansion; Tariff Qs
NBC trims ‘Chicago’ costs / David O. Russell sets another pic / LGF gets Pine action pic
 • 
Sean McNulty
Talking 'Thunderbolts*' & Tariffs
Richard and Sean make sense of Marvel's big weekend & Trump nonsense
1
29:26
SCOOP: Uni TV ‘Beta-Testing’ New Deal Structure With Writers
Erin Underhill, pres of the studio behind 'Hacks' & 'The Gilded Age', reveals the innovative talent pact agents are loving. Plus: How to pitch a show…
 • 
Elaine Low
'Thunderbolts*': Making Marvel Cool Again (With a Prestige TV Assist)
Florence Pugh, an A24-approved director and a box office win: the MCU experiment is back in action
 • 
Katey Rich
The latest from
Natalie Jarvey
Nick Viall: How I Spun 'Bachelor' Into a $30M Podcast Empire
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Sean McNulty
☀️ DIS 🤐 on Trump, Streaming 💰 Gets Real in '25
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Katey Rich
🎧 'Matlock' Star Kathy Bates: 'It's a Huge Gift at the End of My Career'
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Erik Barmack
The AI App That Could Supercharge A24
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Richard Rushfield
THAT'S TARIFFIC!
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Elaine Low
SCOOP: Uni TV ‘Beta-Testing’ New Deal Structure With Writers
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David Lidsky
First-Looks & Overalls Q1; Indie TV Studio Winning Playbook; Film Finance 2.0
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Nicole LaPorte
Eli Roth's Fix for Indie Films' Bloodbath? Crowdfunding 2.0
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Entertainment Strategy Guy
TV Franchises: Winners & Losers in Streaming's New War
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Matthew Frank
'Minecraft': Live Chickens, Popcorn & the Gen Z 'Blur' that Should Scare Studios
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Ankler Features

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Eli Roth's Fix for Indie Films' Bloodbath? Crowdfunding 2.0
'This is the most free I've ever felt,' says the horror director, who, like Robert Rodriguez, is fan-financing movies outside of the studios
 • 
Nicole LaPorte
1
'Minecraft': Live Chickens, Popcorn & the Gen Z 'Blur' that Should Scare Studios
78% of audience is 13-24, mocking the film, and themselves, in a meme-y phenom that defies marketing as 'head-in-the-sand' execs remain 'oblivious'
 • 
Matthew Frank
2
Stalked: A ‘Baywatch’ Star’s 13-Year Nightmare
For the first time, an actress reveals the private, shattering hell caused by an obsessed fan
 • 
Alexandra Paul
IP 2024: What Sold, What Didn't & Why (+ 6 Picks for Now)
A special edition of The Optionist, The Ankler's sibling newsletter about the world of available rights
 • 
Andy Lewis
H’wood Dem Donors Rage: ‘Ask Me for Another Dollar, I Dare You’
'We're not just an ATM' as top party funders seek Silicon Valley-style leverage and wait (and wait) for a plan on how the party will meet the moment
 • 
Matthew Frank

Dealmakers

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'Sinners' Impact, Originals & Indie Hope: 2025 Q1 Deals Report
Even big reps are seeing a profitable path outside of the studio system
 • 
Ashley Cullins
Originals, Indies & 'Sinners' Impact: 2025 Q1 Deals Report
Even big reps are seeing a profitable path outside of the studio system
 • 
Ashley Cullins
1
First-Looks, Overalls & Skydance-PAR Fallout: 2025 Q1 Deals Report
Studio-by-studio, who Docusigned on the bottom line, what it means, and the 'purgatory' of waiting for Ellison to close (and fears he won't)
 • 
Ashley Cullins
First-Looks, Overalls & Skydance-PAR Fallout: 2025 Q1 Deals Report
Studio-by-studio, who Docusigned on the bottom line, what it means, and the 'purgatory' of waiting for Ellison to close (and fears he won't)
 • 
Ashley Cullins
Far From Home: The Fight For Location Perks, Family Visits, 5-Star Travel
As shoots leave L.A., reps spill who's 'stuck in the Dark Ages', who's not, the most coveted reward and the creature comforts no one can score
 • 
Ashley Cullins

Reel AI

View all
The AI App That Could Supercharge A24
Cursor shares the same big investor as the indie studio, and is on the cusp of reprogramming everything from development to production to VFX
 • 
Erik Barmack
The AI App That Could Supercharge A24
Cursor shares the same big investor as the indie studio, and is on the cusp of reprogramming everything from development to production to VFX
 • 
Erik Barmack
6
China's AI Made Slick Memes of Fat U.S. Workers. H'wood Should be Scared
A new category leader is poised to do to entertainment what TikTok did to Silicon Valley — at $79 a year
 • 
Erik Barmack
China's AI Made Slick Memes of Fat U.S. Workers. H'wood Should be Scared
A new category leader is poised to do to entertainment what TikTok did to Silicon Valley — at $79 a year
 • 
Erik Barmack
Eternal Celebrities: The Multi-Billion Opportunity Coming
A shift in law means agents and managers must now act as estate planners as an endless career is within reach (if society can get over the ick factor)
 • 
Erik Barmack
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