The Skydance era is not even a week old, and Hollywood is already getting a taste of the contradictions ahead. Casey Bloys is opening HBO’s checkbook — Lesley Goldberg broke news of his new deal — even as David Ellison’s $80 billion debt spooks Wall Street. New film chiefs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein have inherited an impossible movie math problem, and while we’re at it, bets are being laid on whether all three TV studios survive. And wait, what? Did Netflix conversations with Bloys have something to do with Cindy Holland’s ouster?
Oh, on top of that, did you catch Ellison saying he wants to use AI to test 20 versions of movies? Erik Barmack did.
Take a tour through Week 1 of Skydance — and it’s just beginning:
Meanwhile, contradictions don’t abound just at Skydance. Just ask Ari Emanuel, whose memoir landed on the New York Times bestseller list — but hang on! The Optionist’s Andy Lewis revealed how Publishers Weekly refused to chart the book due to a large volume of bulk sales. Ari possibly gaming the system after writing a whole book about gaming the system? Say it ain’t so!
Now, drumroll… the next few days are a doozy. On Sunday, Janice Min presents The Ankler’s first-ever Future of Entertainment Award to OG creator Dhar Mann onstage in partnership with MIPCOM CANNES. The morning after, we debut the Future of Entertainment 25, and you’ll see who made our inaugural list of top execs, creators and big names upending our changing industry. Follow us @theankler on Instagram to see our honorees’ glorious photo shoots and interviews. And last but not least, we’ll toast the moment on Tuesday with a soiree at Fox Entertainment’s beachfront spot in Cannes.
Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week, with more Skydance intel, including Richard Rushfield’s powerful take on the exit of Warners film chiefs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca.
Richard Rushfield
↑ Skydance’s Original(s) Sin: Firing Its Hitmakers The rap on Mike & Pam? They spent too freely on movies that weren’t Transformers. Richard argues the slate tells a very different story.
The Zaslav Rules As David Ellison takes control, Richard bids a final goodbye to the former Warners boss — and lists the lessons to learn from his time on top.
Prestige Junkie
↑ Best Actress Showdown: Julianne Moore vs. the Newcomers Katey Rich breaks down the race — and why Inde Navarrette leads a pack chasing the frontrunner.
Plus, Katey chats with Misty Green breakout star Rosalind Eleazar about the “grueling” auditions to land the role in the Chris Rock film:
Andrew Garfield’s Sam Altman: So Evil, It’s Oscar-Worthy Meet your new Hannibal Lecter: Christopher Rosen reports on the Artificial NYFF premiere; plus: The Emmys go Amazon.
The Wakeup
Skydance is street legal, and Sean McNulty chronicles the company’s high-speed first week, featuring debt, raises and wild stock swings:
Friday → ☀️ HBO’s First Series Order in SKYDANCE Era
Thursday → ☀️ SKYDANCE’s Stock Price Swoon; Q4 Streaming, Movies Outlook
Wednesday → ☀️ SKYDANCE Day 2: Time For C-Suite Raises!
Podcasts
Ankler Agenda
Elaine and Sean break down what Ellison and Kreiz’s opening day remarks really mean — $6 billion in efficiencies and all:
Shows
Monday Morning QBs
When all else fails, you hit ’em with the TRUTH: A $180M auteur gamble earned just $20 million worldwide as Warner Bros.’ standalone era comes to a tough end. Sean and Chris dig into why:
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New from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter:
The Optionist
Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks:
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