You are reading a preview of The Ankler, a newsletter about the business of Hollywood by Richard Rushfield. To get read the rest of this issue and get in on all the action each and every week, click below to subscribe now.
Revenge may be best on ice, but in Hollywood, we’re finding this week, schadenfreude is a dish best served on flaming hot skewers fueled by a million texts flying over our heads every moment.
As the one newsletter to openly express skepticism of The Service years before it was cool, I welcome everyone to the party.
I knew the day would come around eventually, but “amoral algorithm cult?” I never expected to read such words in print in my lifetime.
• First big unmistakable takeaway: these people are not up to this.
Netflix PR has floated for a decade now on a gas cloud of utopian hoopla fueled by an entire media populated by the best sycophants money can buy. It’s entirely possible that Video City Ted has never faced an aggressive question, let alone a follow-up question, from an interviewer.
Hand us hyped half statistics – here’s your headline guys! Thank you so much for letting us share them! Did their teen suicide show cause a little outbreak of copycats? Our bad. You can’t make an omelet…
The klutzy, slow-rolling reaction here shows every hallmark of a company and a leadership high on its own legend, that believes itself untouchable and its virtue, unquestionable.
• As much as it kills us – KILLS. US. – to pile on, Ted’s memo will have to go down as one of the most ham-fisted attempts to quell corporate discontent since the bosses stopped calling in the Pinkertons.
To start, he opens the defense of Chappelle not by defending his words or his right to speak but with the extremely persuasive declaration that:
Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him. His last special, Sticks & Stones, also controversial, is our most watched, stickiest, and most award winning stand-up special to date.”
Well then!
If he’s one of the stickiest, who are the little minions to argue! I mean, we thought we were just taking on some guy who sent in a tape from an open mike in the back of a dry cleaner. But you say he’s popular! We take it all back!
And then there was the line that will go on his tombstone. Swelling Maurice Jarre score please…
We have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.
I mean, what an extraordinary statement from the head of the biggest entertainment producer on earth – to say essentially that art is meaningless, that is has no real-world impact. So much for their applauded “Black Stories” campaign in the wake of George Floyd. Meaningless, says Ted! Also, bravo, to the two brave white middle-aged male billionaires (Ted & Reed) who get to decide which sort of bigoted content actually causes harm and which does not. Maybe Netflix will bring back Birth of a Nation soon! A spin-off of Mickey Rooney’s character from Breakfast at Tiffany!
This has been a sneak peek preview of today’s edition of The Ankler, the industry’s secret newsletter. To read the rest of this issue, subscribe today for just $10 a month and don’t miss out on who’s in the hot seat next!
The Ankler’s Got People Talking!!
If you are interested in advertising on the Ankler: write us at anklerads@gmail.com for rates and info.
Can’t afford The Ankler right now? If you’re an assistant, student, or getting your foot in the door of this industry, and want help navigating the craziness of this business but don’t have the money to spare right now, drop me a line at richard@theankler.com and we’ll work it out. No mogul or mogul-to-be left behind here at The Ankler.
Enjoy this issue? Why not click on the little heart below so it can surfaced to others in the Substack universe. Or better still – share it with the world!
