When we were talking to Katey Rich about joining The Ankler as our awards editor last spring, I vividly recall that she wanted to create an Oscars pool as another way to convene our community — and now she’s done it! Today’s a perfect day to enter our Prestige Junkie Oscar Pool and make your picks. (Don’t forget to visit Prestige Junkie Pundits to see how Katey and the many great co-hosts she’s had on the Prestige Junkie pod are seeing the races in every category.)
We have a pretty cool award for the winner (to be announced soon!), and unlike Academy voters, you can vote almost right up until the show starts on Mar. 2.
Now, with no further ado, ICYMI:
Series Business: Top TV Exec Talks; Leaving L.A.; Irish Tax Allure
A high-ranking TV exec (paid subscribers only) gives Lesley Goldberg’s frank talk about why broadcast’s bounce back benefits streamers too, and how global audiences are driving studios to remake the development cycle. Lesley also scoops that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot will stay local and how it happened:
Many industry pros already were struggling before the wildfires; now, as they tell Elaine Low, they’re deciding whether to even stay in L.A. She reveals the other city where “anyone who’s worth a shit is working” and the communities giving some creatives hope for life and work in L.A.:
After the Super Bowl, Fox premiered season three of The Floor, the Rob Lowe-hosted game show that’s shot in . . . Ireland!? Manori Ravindran reports how one Irish producer created a model for unscripted that’s lured multiple U.S. productions to Burbank-on-the-Bogs; the typical budget for a network game show shot in Ireland; how tax incentives create even more savings; and different models for “hubbing” productions:
Rushfield: H’wood Needs Love; Translating Studio Newspeak
With Valentine’s Day this week, Richard Rushfield got the lowdown from Young Hollywood on why their relationship status has been set to single — and why it matters. Plus, Richard dissects the disturbing instances of studios embracing 1984-style speech to mislead customers about their ad-free subscriptions and employees about company DEI initiatives:
Reel AI: AI Engines Doing the Work of 5 Execs
Plenty has been made about AI coming for creative fields, but advances in models’ reasoning abilities mean execs are next. Erik Barmack explains (paid subscribers only) how these new AI programs may inspire Hollywood’s own DOGE-like efficiency drive and why your next coworker may be an AI copilot:
Todd on the Town
Roving photo Todd Williamson takes you inside the star and star exec-studded Producers Guild Awards, premieres and much more:
Prestige Junkie: Monica Barbaro, Wicked Crafts
Katey Rich chats with Monica Barbaro about her Oscar-nominated turn as Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, as well as Wicked’s Oscar-nominated hair and makeup artist Frances Hannon and costume designer Paul Tazewell on how they brought the wonderful world of Oz to life:
Notable: The Brutalist Composer Daniel Blumberg
For his latest intimate interview with a musician working in Hollywood, Rob LeDonne speaks to The Brutalist composer Daniel Blumberg about his special relationship with director Brady Corbet and why he wanted to create a theme to carry viewers through the film’s three-hour 35-minute runtime:
THE WAKEUP
Why does your boss read Sean McNulty? Because Sean’s the only analyst who’ll flag YouTube TV’s static growth metric, compare Skydance’s actual revenue to its lofty projections and ask why the 23-year-old Roku can’t achieve profitability:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
Hollywood’s DEI Cave-in; Post-Fires Leave L.A. Debate Studios line up to appease a raging Trump:
Like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts
📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE FROM NATALIE JARVEY
For her latest creator economy report (subscribe here), Natalie Jarvey reports from New Orleans on the deepening huddle between the NFL and creators and how Jason and Kylie Kelce are just the beginning of how YouTube wants to turn players and WAGs into platform stars. Plus: The rising-star TikTokkers Hollywood loves who are becoming red carpet fixtures:
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
IP Picks🔎: A Feminist Robin Hood – The Optionist
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
As an Ankler subscriber, you are automatically subscribed to all of our newsletters and podcasts by default. Not interested in all of them? Customize which ones would like to receive notifications for. It’s easy to do so.
Log into your Substack account, select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
Under Subscriptions, click on The Ankler to review the sections you’d like to subscribe to/unsubscribe from.
On the next page, click on the toggles next to each newsletter and podcast you want to receive emails for. A gray toggle indicates notifications are off; orange or green means on.
Alternatively, when you get an email newsletter, select “Unsubscribe” in the footer of the email and click on “Turn off emails” next to each section you’d like to unsubscribe from.
