The sun was shining, tacos sizzling and the players in great moods yesterday at our inaugural Ankler Invitational at the Los Angeles Tennis Club in Hancock Park, co-hosted by our own Elaine Low and Propagate Content CEO Howard Owens. Our VIP roster included Netflix film chairman Dan Lin, The Pitt star Shawn Hatosy, Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade, Blumhouse president Abhijay Prakash, Animal Control’s Joel McHale, writer-director Stephen Gaghan, Omaha Productions president Jamie Horowitz, documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy, Embassy Row CEO Michael Davies, Universal Content Productions EVP Jen Gwartz, showrunner Patrick Macmanus (Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy), and many many more. Elaine will have a fun recap and the all the pictures and video in tomorrow’s Series Business (plus she’ll reveal who won!).
Many thanks to LVBL’s Guy Logan and team who kept everything swinging, our sponsor Core Advisors’ CEO Blake Saunders, and our partners who made killer swag and prizes possible: the Four Seasons Tamarindo in Mexico (thanks Julie Friedman!), Prince and Authentic Studios’ president Colin Smeeton, Wilson, Meta (AI Ray-Bans for six players!), Tennis Channel, KILLSPENCER and Racket Doctor.
Now, onto the town’s other major competitive event: As Oscar voting kicks off tomorrow, catch up on our best-in-class awards coverage on YouTube, including our Under the Hood video with F1 director Joseph Kosinski and Art & Crafts podcasts with the artisans behind acclaimed titles from Andor to The Testament of Ann Lee. And you can watch last Wednesday’s virtual Documentary Spotlight event with Pure Nonfiction’s Thom Powers and filmmakers behind four Oscar-shortlisted docs over at AnklerEnjoy.
It’s also an excellent time to subscribe to Prestige Junkie After Party, where Katey Rich and Christopher Rosen go deep inside all the Oscar prognosticating and politicking for just $5 a month. Tonight you can sample their intel for free, when Katey and Chris view the Golden Globes together live on Substack and YouTube starting at 5 p.m. PT. (Even if, as Richard Rushfield so aptly puts it, the show “still gives the ick.” there will be things to say.)
Now, ICYMI, here’s our best of the week:
Series Business: Blumhouse, Trek Czar Q&As
Elaine chats with Blumhouse’s Abhijay Prakash about The Rainmaker, Scarpetta and how his company — obsessed with low budgets and an upside-in-success model — makes thrifty shows that feel premium:
Star Trek franchise captain Alex Kurtzman tells Lesley Goldberg what’s brewing for the Paramount+ sci-fi universe and why OG creator Gene Roddenberry’s “optimism” matters now. Plus: Cindy Holland tightens the reins on Taylor Sheridan:
Rushfield: Globes Scam; Hollywood Battles
Tonight, Nikki Glaser will tell some solid jokes. Winners will make memorable speeches. But Richard still wants you to remember: the Globes are a corrupt, parasitic racket:
Richard also laid out Hollywood’s crucial battles ahead this year:
Crowd Pleaser: MoviePass is Baaack
MoviePass co-founder and CEO Stacy Spikes watched from the outside as his company collapsed in spectacular fashion. Now, after buying it back, he tells Matthew Frank why he’s trying a different tack — his own entertainment predictions market:
Dealmakers: Bulls & Bears in ’26
Hollywood in 2026 will be all about consolidation, sports and AI. Claire Atkinson reveals how investors are valuing Hollywood this year (including their deep skepticism around Netflix-Warners), while Ashley Cullins breaks down how these forces will drive deals on the ground:
Notable: Spike Lee’s Songstress
On the day singer Aiyana-Lee saw a DM come in from Spike Lee, she was nearly homeless. Now, she’s on the Oscar shortlist for her title song in his new film, Highest 2 Lowest. The artists — along with Aiyana-Lee’s mother, who co-wrote the tune — chat with Rob LeDonne about their collab:
Prestige Junkie: Michael B. Jordan
Katey chats with Sinners star Michael B. Jordan about his twin performances in the Ryan Coogler thriller, and Nia DaCosta tells Katey how she’s juggling promotion for awards contender Hedda as her horror tentpole 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple bows. Plus: Actor Awards noms, inside the NYFCC dinner — and Critics Choice analysis:
The Wakeup
Two very different ways of making and distributing film, two in-depth analyses — Sean McNulty breaks down what popped and flopped on Netflix in 2025, and what succeeded (and didn’t) in theaters for indie film:
📹 Ankler Shows
Monday Morning QBs: Disney’s Avatar: Fire and Ash and Zootopia 2 got 2026 off to a hot start, but Sean and Richard highlight Lionsgate’s The Housemaid as proof there’s still life in the well-worn genres of Hollywood’s past:
Rushfield Lunch: Producer Marc Platt joins Richard to reflect on why he chose to work with director Jon M. Chu, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for Wicked, the infamous La La Land/Moonlight best picture mix-up — and what success actually means to him at this stage of his career:
Showrunner Sessions: In the latest installment of Lesley’s interview series, she chats with Nobody Wants This creator Erin Foster and co-showrunner Jenni Konner about the sexy, sprited Netflix romcom:
🎧 PODCASTS
ANKLER AGENDA
Elaine, Sean and Natalie dig into the data behind a very real L.A. exodus — but separate panic, perception and think-piece fuel from reality:
Rob Long on why all showbiz ideas are terrible until someone does them better:
📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE BY NATALIE JARVEY
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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