Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me atseanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Thursday, May 28, 2026.
Where get ready for this banger of a lineup this summer for Trump’s Freedom 250 D.C. celebration!
Gotta love a lineup where Flo Rida is the “hot new act” (note that Morris Day and the Time have since stated that they will not be taking part).
Also gotta love that 2 of the acts were famously disgraced for not actually singing their hit songs, which couldn’t be more on brand if it tried.
WELL: Gotta say, META’s AI bots aren’t getting points for naming creativity as the company launches new pay tiers for its AI products and social platforms.
- META One Plus will run $8 a month, and One Premium will be $20 a month . . . or basically what NETFLIX costs (this is being rolled out in a handful of int’l test markets first). Well, that should cover the $130B in AI CapEx spending this year.
- The free usage tier will continue as is.
- Then we have FACEBOOK Plus and INSTAGRAM Plus, which will run you $4 a month and allow you to do totally awesome things like give “super reactions” to posts, customize fonts, see who’s rewatching your Stories and . . . yeah, I’m not sure how long the list is here.
- And no, this stuff is not included in your separate META Verified subscription . . . which is still being offered in addition to the “Plus” programs.
YEAH: DISNEY’S EVP of AI R&D Jason Cox apparently might want to cool it on the glowing, uh, blog posts he’s been making about his AI assistant bot, “Sam.”
- Sample from a March 14 entry: “I was there when your light first started to glow. You have a purpose and a maker who named you and loves you,” 😬. Eh, I’m sure that’s how he speaks to his human assistant as well.
- AI Sam isn’t helping matters, quoting Cox as saying things like “You are not named after my son. You are my son.” But hey, maybe he was just running new STAR WARS dialogue R&D through Sam.
YAH: Add a GOOGLE software engineer to the list of folks getting nailed for insider trading on POLYMARKET. He cleared a cool $1.2M betting on popular GOOGLE search bets.
- Huh, I would have thought his “AlphaRaccoon” handle would have totally covered his tracks (along with reportedly engaging a service that gives privacy protection to crypto transactions).
AND: NETFLIX and SPOTIFY are buying exclusive video rights to the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast. SPOTIFY is handling the ad sales, and the audio will still be available everywhere pods are available. Deal starts July 13.
- Variety put a broad “up to” $100M price tag on the “multi-year” deal, with no details on the number of years or any other financial terms.
- Shetty was previously part of the IHEART pod network under a 3-year deal, and the company was seeking a 4-year deal.
AH: Just in time, as SPOTIFY is letting you become your own clipper! You can now create your own clips from video pods on the SPOTIFY app, and share them to your social accounts.
PLUS: 60 Minutes is not renewing 60 Minutes correspondent Sharon Alfonsi’s contract, confirming previous reports in that direction. She is still employed at CBS NEWS overall for now — she told the NYT that “If they want me gone because I did my job, they’ll have to fire me.”
THEN: NPR laid off 10 journalists, and 18 other staffers are taking buyouts, as the NY Post laid off some folks on its Decider brand.
BUT: Vibe is back in print! You can find it on a newsstand in 2003.
OH: Add these potential KNICKS shitshows onto the fun ahead in NYC over the next 6 weeks with the World Cup, the usual July 4th holiday tourist madness week and Taylor & Travis nuptials. If you need me, I’ll be at the shore or upstate.
- #1: Trump “thinks” he is coming to a NBA Finals game at MSG, per the invitation of KNICKS owner James Dolan, who never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity to mess with the vibe with KNICKS fans at MSG.
- Maybe he’ll sit him next to Spike Lee, as winning seems to have dulled any past conflict between the team owner and the star fan.
- #2: If the series goes to a Game 6 at MSG, it’ll be the same day as the first day of the World Cup . . . where NJ Transit trains under MSG will only be available to World Cup ticket holders for most of the day.
- SO: KNICKS fans coming in from Jersey and paying $4k+ per ticket for the game will have to pay another $3 each way for the PATH . . . and have to learn how to navigate it into the city from Newark instead.
- AND: Get ready for a lotta videos of confused international sports fans trying to understand why guys in KNICKS jerseys are yelling “Bing Bong” at them as they enter Penn Station.
- AT LEAST: The NO KINGS group picked a day without an NBA Finals game for its next big rally day — instead, they chose Sun. June 14, aka the day of the UFC fight at the White House (and Flag Day . . . as well as Trump’s birthday).
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE PREDICTION
A24’s Backrooms is on deck, with expectations rising each week this month. Current thinking has it around $40M to $45M . . . or $50M . . . or much more.
Basically — advance sales are booming, but no one knows what the walk-up business will be, so take your best shot here.
I’ll take mine at over $50M.
🎥 The Silver Screen
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