Agency Showdown: Who’s Winning the Creator Wars (and Not)
Plus: ‘The Studio’ exec on how to pitch a comedy; USA Network’s big scripted return
“If HBO made Entourage today, Ari Gold would be managing TikTok stars,” Natalie Jarvey writes in this week’s Like & Subscribe — and indeed, Hollywood’s Big Three plus Gersh are in a Gold-esque brawl to scoop up top digital talent as money gushes away from traditional media into the creator economy. With online stars like Alex Cooper, Sean Evans and Marques Brownlee filling reps’ call sheets, Natalie delivers the inside line from 20+ dealmakers, managers and clients on how agencies are pivoting into this new space — including scoop about a fifth player soon joining the fray — and each shop’s strengths (and shortcomings) in driving creator careers, plus what clients say privately about them all behind closed doors. And yes, Natalie names names.
But you’ll have to sign up for Like & Subscribe to get the full rundown, because this kind of valuable intel is available only to paid subscribers there. Don’t miss it!
Meanwhile, as showbiz continues to transform, so do the rules for navigating its treacherous landmines. In his latest How-To Hollywood series, Richard Rushfield guides paid subscribers through career quandaries, from the delicate art of asking for a favor to how to form real relationships (and, yes, even expedient superficial ones) to mastery of the highest-stakes maneuver of them all: how to exit the business gracefully. Heed his hard-won advice, told with help from Hollywood ninjas who’ve done it all.
Finally, in a sequel you didn’t see coming, Lesley Goldberg reports USA Network is back in the scripted game. Now under NBCUniversal spinoff Versant, the stalwart — which topped the entertainment cable ratings for 13 years in its heyday — on Friday premiered The Rainmaker, its first new original series since 2020. Exec Michael Sluchan, the SVP overseeing USA programming, gives Lesley the first look at what the revamped player is buying (hint: not just IP), budgets and if “Blue Skies” still matter:
Now, without further ado, ICYMI, even more of our best of the week:
Series Business: ‘The Studio’ Exec on Selling Comedy
Lionsgate TV exec VP and head of development Scott Herbst struck gold with Seth Rogen’s The Studio, and he tells Elaine Low his key ingredient for a successful comedy in 2025; the single most important word now driving development on his team; and his no-nonsense advice for comedy writers trying to break through:
Reel AI: Runway CEO’s Must-Read Answers
Arguably no AI leader has been more disruptive in Hollywood than Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela, whose company has worked with IMAX to A24 to Netflix. Erik Barmack goes 1-on-1 with the tech evangelist, whose answers will inspire awe, anxiety or both as he eschews regulation, outlines a world where production is rapidly upended and lays out a vision of have and have-not studios:
Prestige Junkie: Michelle Williams, Adam Brody & Spike
Katey Rich joined the ultimate Spike Lee hometown crowd in Brooklyn to get a first look at the helmer’s Highest 2 Lowest, which had the premiere audience “noticeably struggling” through its first hour, but jolts to “electric” life in its second. Plus, Katey chats with Dying for Sex’s Michelle Williams and Nobody Wants This’ Adam Brody about their Emmy hopefuls:
The Wakeup
Sean McNulty takes a needed deep dive into Paramount’s seven-year, $7.7 billion pact with the UFC, breaking down the terms & conditions, the winners & losers — and how the deal stacks up against the rest of the sports market:
Monday Morning QBs
This week, on our live show about box office, Ankler Media deputy editor Chris Rosen fills in for Richard to assess, along with Sean, how Mike & Pam continue to shut down the haters with the sizable opening of Zach Cregger’s Weapons:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
And Just Like That... Streamers Want Rom-Coms, Agents Want Creators Rep call sheets reveal a shift in Hollywood priorities:
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
MARTINI SHOT
Here’s What New Paramount Should Really Do Rob Long’s advice for David Ellison & Co.? Watch Moneyball:
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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