ICYMI: 5 Days of Rushfield Event! Starts Tomorrow
Catch up on our recent best
Who doesn’t love to kickoff the year with a good party? The Academy’s doc branch voters and L.A. documentary community danced, drank and, yes, got down-right serious about some of the year’s most raved-about short-listed documentaries in L.A. on Thursday at the inaugural Documentary Spotlight event, hosted by The Ankler and Pure Nonfiction’s Thom Powers. In a live taping at The Culver Theater, filmmakers took the stage for candid, in-depth conversations, followed by a doc-star-studded reception at The Culver Hotel. A special thank you to the evening’s panelists representing Bobi Wine: The People’s President (National Geographic Documentary Films); American Symphony (Netflix); Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple Original Films); The Eternal Memory (MTV Documentary Films / Paramount+); Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (HBO Documentary Films); To Kill a Tiger (Notice Pictures in co-production with the National Board of Canada); and A Still Small Voice (Abramorama + Hedgehog Films Production in assoc. with Spark Features).
Full videos of each panel will appear on our Ankler Enjoy website premiering this week, and Thom’s Pure Nonfiction podcast episodes on Jan. 11 and 12 will feature audio from the event.
COMING UP THIS WEEK!
This week, Richard delivers a special weeklong series for paid subscribers, a tip sheet to 2024. Think of it as your curtain raiser for what all sides agree will be a very consequential year. The next 12 months might not be great for sleep or your ulcer, but it’s a year when things will happen…
Among the topics Richard will look at:
CEOs on the line: What’s going through the heads of our leaders right now, and the choices staring them in the face.
The Big Question Marks: There are major crossroads coming this way. What are they and how’s are they likely to play out?
The Slates: What do the studios have coming this year, and how’s it likely to affect their fortunes?
How to put the mojo back in Hollywood
…and a whole lot more. Check it out every day this week!
Now, our best of the week, ICYMI:
Khashoggi Who? Meet the Saudi Money Whisperers
First come the law firms, then come the deals. Pariah state no more, Saudi Arabia and its rich coffers are proving hard to resist for a cash-strapped industry as Claire Atkinson details the growing number of media deals, who’s getting the money, and the 10 names to known in the region:
Israel and Awards Season
Peter Kiefer reveals the complex drama surrounding tonight’s Golden Globes, as the conflict engulfing Israel-Gaza, and differing opinions about the war, tear apart Hollywood. Will it all play out — or not — in yellow ribbons in support of the hostages taken on October 7?:
Santos on HBO: Pot Meets Kettle!
In an email to The Optionist’s Andy Lewis, ousted U.S. rep George Santos slams the new HBO film about him and the book it’s based on. About the author and project, Santos calls it a “a big fabulist figment of [author Mark Chiusano’s] imagination”:
Penske’s Carnival of Disclaimers!
In this week’s Jamboree edition: Richard bangs the drum of Penske conflicts of interest, the industry’s continued lack of directorial diversity, and Coca-Cola’s incredible new multiverse!:
New Year’s Resolutions
Richard offers 10 industry-wide resolutions for the New Year:
☀️THE WAKEUP
🎧 PODCASTS
If you like our shows, please subscribe on the podcast app of your choice. It’s the fastest and easiest way to hear our series. Thanks!
THE ANKLER
‘It’s Like California in the1920s’: Saudis are building their own entertainment empire with Hollywood help:
MARTINI SHOT
Rob Long bemoans our focus on corporate machinations instead of... comedy!
👓 THE OPTIONIST
IP Picks🔎: The Inspiring Post-'Hoosiers' Sports Drama Plus, a wilderness thriller and a '40s-set detective/romance romp
OUR TOP 20 STORIES OF LAST YEAR
And before we bid last year farewell, here were our 20 top-read stories from 2023. See what it tells us about this industry:
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; 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.
