☀️'F1' Runs Over 'M3GAN'
HULU, Winslet part ways / Writer employment falls again in '24 / UA sets 2nd movie in a week
Evenin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on SUNDAY, June 29, 2025.
Where it’s nice to have Elon back on the political beat.
This was then followed by a lot of tweets about batteries — the Senate budget draft is evidently no bueno for battery manufacturers (and solar and wind projects . . . which rely on a lot of storage batteries). 🤯
But never let it be said that Elon doesn’t have a moment on the weekends to focus on the things that really matter (he turned 54 on Saturday). 🎂
AND: This was fun, although I’m not sure why Danny Zuko decided to go blonde.
OH: Welcome to mid-2020s, Hollywood. Union writers made -21% 💰 last year vs. the last full year before they went on strike (and -15% vs. Covid 2020) — while the total amount of folks getting paid to write for union projects continues to shrink.
2014 had 4,745 union writers reporting income.
2022 had 6,910
2024 had 5,228
If 2025 matches 2024’s loss trends, we’d be back at the same number of writers reporting earnings that existed in 2014.
AND: California made the tax-incentive program bump-up to $750M a year street legal on Friday, approved through 2035. Increasing the cap to as much as 35% per project for those who shoot primarily in L.A. is still pending.
NY state recently bumped its funding up to $800M, with $100M earmarked for independent productions and it removed the $500k cap for above the line costs. It runs through 2036.
WELL: Majority-Republican Texas, sometimes your 6-3 Supreme Court majority works in your favor . . . and sometimes not so much — the Supreme Court upheld the TX law requiring folks to age-verify on porn sites in the state with your ID or “transactional data” (i.e. your credit card) in order to access. So, hey, maybe there’s still hope for the DVD market yet!
THEN: The INEVITABLE FOUNDATION awarded its next round of Accelerate Fellowships, providing 5 film/TV writers with a disability a $40,000 grant and a 6-month intensive with industry mentorship to develop a film or TV spec. The Accelerate program is backed by NETFLIX’s Fund for Creative Equity.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL
Kudos to my fellow 18% F1 bulls!
M3GAN 2.0 haters — you definitely won this round, 38%’ers.
WAKEUP HOUSEKEEPING
Gonna keep a light week unless America decides to celebrate July 4th by finally giving PARAMOUNT its “independence” or something . . . so I’ll see ya Wednesday.
🎥 THE BOX OFFICE
