The Ankler

☀️DIRECTV Next To Give VENU-ish Bundle A Go

‘Succession’ creator sets new HBO project / New Jobs Tuesday! / MSNBC Prez out

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on TUESDAY, January 14, 2025.

Where understandably script deals and casting news don’t exactly seem to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind to start the week, so a very quiet morning here.

So, for the “short and sweet” contingent — this one’s for you.

DELAYED ACTIVITIES:

AND: MSNBC is joining the RTO chorus spirit, with Rachel Maddow back in the anchor chair 5 days a week starting on Inauguration night until May 1. Alex Wagner, who has been hosting the Tues.-Fri. editions of the show will go on a special assignment on the road filing reports across the country.

ALSO: WALMART’s VIZIO is offering a STARZ / AMC+ combo for $14 a month.

PLUS: Barry Diller is taking the CEO role at his IAC company once ANGI is spun out into its own company (current IAC CEO Joey Levin is going to be Exec Chairman of ANGI).

PSA: I found this a fascinating NYT read from this weekend, and potentially helpful for anyone with a chronic or unexplained ongoing physical pain condition, or who knows someone dealing with one.

FINALLY: Just a bit of scope here to keep in mind from this NYT piece this morning looking at how production is continuing in L.A. this week. Well, TV production that is.

UNI, SONY, LEGENDARY, NETFLIX, AMAZON MGM, PARAMOUNT and WARNER BROS. all currently had . . . zero films shooting in L.A. over the past week.

DISNEYFOX is at least shooting The Hand That Rocks the Cradle in L.A. (filming was paused) and some Avatar 3 stuff.

Welcome to the movie business in 2025 — studio 💰 donations are great and important, but constructively finding ways to get more folks in this industry back to work in L.A. is a conversation that shouldn’t be too far behind. Plus, good news — unlike a donation, you’ll actually get a movie back in return!


🎥 THE SILVER TV 📺

LITERALLY JUST THIS

  • HBO is setting a 2008 financial crisis pic from Jesse Armstrong (Succession), with Frank Rich on board as an EP. Not many details, other than it revolves around 4 friends who meet up during the turmoil. /Deadline


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