This Presidents Day weekend has me thinking about power — who has it, how they use it, how they abuse it. Our top stories from the week have a lot to say about all that. First, Richard Rushfield offered a keen-eyed, must-read accounting of which studio brass is cozying up to Trump and how — and the dire consequences to the industry.
Then, contributor Allen Salkin dove into the Jeffrey Epstein files, naming Hollywood’s most compromised players, including the well-known PR people who accepted thousands trying to help the predator launder his reputation. Scion Casey Wasserman, whose unseemly contact with Ghislaine Maxwell pre-dated her conviction for sex trafficking and abuse of underage girls, nonetheless announced on Friday that he’s selling his agency — a move Ashley Cullins will dissect for paid subscribers in Dealmakers this coming week.
Meanwhile Claire Atkinson took a look at shrinking power — and reveals paychecks of TV news talent including Tony Dokoupil’s under CBS News chief Bari Weiss, Gayle King’s looming haircut, and the harsh news-biz economics plaguing CNN to MS Now (and how an RFK Jr. decision about pharma ads will make it worse):
Meanwhile, the ineffable currency of star power was in full force at Tuesday’s Oscar Nominees Luncheon. Katey Rich was on the scene with contenders from Rose Byrne to Stellan Skarsgård. Read about her A-list day, catch her interviews on the Prestige Junkie pod, or watch it all on YouTube.
The next day, she moderated a panel at our latest Crowd Pleaser LIVE screening with Zootopia 2 voice stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan, director Byron Howard and producer Yvett Merino. Read more in Matthew Frank’s Crowd Pleaser this week.
Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:
Series Business: Fox Strategy, WGA Moves
Fox TV Network president Michael Thorn tells Lesley Goldberg about his promise to top talent like Denis Leary and Patrick Dempsey, going all in on faith-based series and a platform-agnostic strategy:
The WGA’s priorities for its talks in March with the studios were revealed to members, Lesley reports:
Elaine Low reveals insights from Bell Media’s Sean Cohan, Lionsgate’s Kevin Beggs and AMC Networks’ Kristin Dolan on TV’s changed market:
Reel AI: Hollywood Defeats Sora 2 (for Now)
OpenAI’s Sora 2 has tumbled since its wildly hyped debut, thanks in large part to Hollywood action. Erik Barmack tracks the demise and what the industry should do next:
Coppola & Lucas’ Early Days, Godfather Rift
In an excerpt from The Last Kings of Hollywood, writer Paul Fischer chronicles how two promising film school grads fought, fell into debt and had nowhere to go — until a certain project came calling:
Swooning for Film & TV Romance
Not so long ago, romance was seen as niche in Hollywood. Now it’s a vertically integrated IP machine, supercharged by Heated Rivalry mania — and saturation is looming, writes Daniel Parris:
Prestige Junkie: The DGA Vibes
Katey recaps her night at the DGA Awards, where One Battle After Another’s Paul Thomas Anderson took top honors, and interviews Secret Agent director Kleber Mendonça Filho and Pillion actor Harry Melling:
The Wakeup
There’s no getting around it: January box office was a disaster. Sean McNulty crunched the numbers on why and what it means for 2026:
📹 Ankler Shows
Modern Movie Playbook: Universal Pictures CMO Michael Moses joins Richard to explain how marketing has evolved for an audience trained to skip ads — and breaks down the campaigns for Wicked and Oppenheimer:
Monday Morning QBs: Sean and Christopher Rosen dig into what Angel Studios’ Solo Mio debut at No. 2 debut really says about theatrical comedies and faith-based releases:
Making Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie: Richard sits down with Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, the Canadian filmmakers behind the instant cult classic, to talk about their uproariously funny film:
🎧 PODCASTS
ANKLER AGENDA
Elaine and Natalie are joined by Allen Salkin to unpack what the Epstein files reveal about the clubby worlds of media and entertainment. Plus, Sean breaks down Paramount’s latest sweetened bid for Warner Bros:
📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE BY NATALIE JARVEY
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
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