Hey folks! Happy Oscars Sunday from New York. I was going to ask everyone what their go-to snacks were to enjoy while watching Christopher Nolan’s coronation the Academy Awards tonight. (You still have time if you’re reading this before 9 a.m. PT to enter our 1st Annual Oscar Pool!.) But after editing our amazing Allen Salkin feature, “How Ozempic Ate Awards Season,” I know better. So treat yourself to a cup of ginger tea, I guess, and read the story (or enjoy it again and send it to friends). As for me, I’ll be enjoying a shrimp cocktail and staying up past my bedtime (but do say hello to Richard Rushfield in the Dolby). Email me at david@theankler.com with any treats you may be sneaking tonight, lack of appetite be damned. I won’t tell.
With no further ado, our best of the week, ICYMI:
Biden’s Got Nothing on Rushfield
Richard’s eighth annual address to the entertainment world strikes a surprising note of optimism, and certainly is apt to read in advance of Hollywood’s biggest night:
Now . . . On to Oscar Sunday
Put your prognostication skills up against some of the smartest and most accomplished people in the business. Act fast! Only the coveted Ankler hat, a newsletter mention and a possible podcast appearance are on the line:
As mentioned, read this, er, delicious story of Ozempic’s industry havoc. No one is safe from the effects of the weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1s — caterers, personal trainers, makeup artists, stylists, plastic surgeons:
Tonight’s show is unlikely to transcend the slog of 23 awards in three-and-a-half hours (if we’re lucky) as Richard writes. (That said, I’m hoping for some spine-tingling moments from likely winners Robert Downey Jr. and Da’Vine Joy Randolph):
Netflix’s Sports Offensive
Elaine Low left Las Vegas’ Netflix Slam with details on the streaming giant’s plan to swarm live sports. Netflix’s head of nonfiction sports, Gabe Spitzer tells Elaine, “There’s just so many fandoms.” Days later, Netflix announced a boxing spectacle with Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, so check fight fans off your list:
The Ankler podcast crew then talked about Netflix’s sporting ambitions and what they mean for the future of Hollywood (transcript here):
The Next Labor Nail-Biter
As Hollywood’s IATSE begins collective bargaining talks, Elaine interviewed the union’s Mike Miller about its POV, while a senior studio exec reveals at least part of the likely AMPTP counterarguments:
☀️THE WAKEUP
Come for Sean McNulty’s curation of all the media and entertainment news you need to know — from the big Morgan Stanley conference last week to all the project greenlights and casting news — and stay for his sly humor:
🎧 PODCASTS
MARTINI SHOT
Shut Up and Pitch Rob Long dives into the ‘fun stuff’ inside the development dumpster:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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