ICYMI: Carville Sees Trump Dying; Netflix TV Wishlist; AI Storyboards in Pitch Decks
Plus: Richard's latest Penske-Golden Globes bombshell
What a week. Once the 2024 election kicked into gear, we found ways to capture the confluence of the entertainment industry and the presidential election, particularly given Kamala Harris’ close ties to the business (and proximity, literally, to our Brentwood offices). Now, faced with the result that most of Hollywood dreaded (though the viral Trump celebration at Beverly Hills High is a reminder no community is monolithic), we’ve been aggressively seeking to contextualize this moment for you.
If you haven’t, listen to Janice Min on Semafor’s Mixed Signals podcast with hosts Ben Smith and Nayeema Raza discussing the future of the business on screen and off in the Trump Restoration; also, her bracing words from Friday’s page one story in the New York Times about why Hollywood endorsements didn’t work for Harris also were highlighted as the paper’s Quote of the Day:
Meanwhile, Richard Rushfield appeared on Neal Pollack’s Book and Film Globe podcast offering observations about Hollywood’s authenticity challenge, and, of course, The Ankler podcast offered our own take on the winners (Ari) and losers (studios) to come, plus the kind of frank POV you rely on us for about the coming M&A environment that’s different from what you’re hearing everywhere else.
Some quick housekeeping: Our next Art & Crafts event is Tue., Nov. 12 at 11:30 a.m. in Hollywood, featuring cinematographers, production designers, VFX supervisors, sound editors, composers and editors from Blitz, Emilia Pérez, Wicked and The Wild Robot. Request your invitation here or click the image below:
Then, on Nov. 22 in London, we have our latest Ankler x Pure Nonfiction Documentary Spotlight and first international event with Thom Powers. We just announced the amazing lineup, including Eno with both director Gary Hustwit and the legend Brian Eno himself; Skywalkers: A Love Story and as you can see below, much much more. Request your invitation here or click the image below:
Now, with no further ado, ICYMI:
Carville: ‘Get it Through Your Head . . . We Have No Power’
Legendary Democratic strategist James Carville rang the alarm bell early about Biden’s age and the Democrats’ messaging problem. This week proved his prescience, and less than 24 hours after Trump was declared President Elect, Matthew Frank captured Carville’s brutally honest words that he told a group at WME what Hollywood needs to do next; why Harris lost; how Dems lost young men; what’s broken about party leadership; and the “sticky” progressive phrases that turned off voters:
Series Business: What Netflix ‘Desperately Wants’ To Buy
Netflix has been tagged the so-called Walmart of TV, which for sellers is a good thing. In Elaine Low’s latest Fall Market Guide (for paid subscribers only), she reveals what Netflix wants in a showrunner if it’s going to buy their series; the major drama categories on its wish list; and just want it wants as it pursues “faith-based” programming:
Reel AI: The Bold, Visual Future for Pitching Scripts
Writers are constantly told that they need to create visually engaging projects. With AI storyboarding, they can do just that — turning a script into a comic book, or any other visual medium, with a few clicks before the meeting. In this edition of Reel AI (for paid subscribers only), Erik Barmack reveals what tools are available now; how good they are; and the long-term possibility of using these tools to create new IP:
Rushfield: Golden Globes Shenanigans
In an Ankler Exclusive, Richard reveals that members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are seeking to reopen what everyone thought had been a done deal for Todd Boehly and his business partner Jay Penske’s acquisition of the Golden Globes (certainly if you read the reports from Penske’s trade monopoly). HFPA members are asserting misdealing and deception, and we’ll continue to follow this developing story. (You know Penske’s trades won’t.) Plus, Richard weighs the implications of Trump’s victory and predicts what’s to come in the inevitable wave of M&A:
ESG: What Comes After Superheroes? These Genres
As superhero films sputter at the box office, what IP can take the cape? Entertainment Strategy Guy breaks down the seven genres or IP sources with the most potential; the high-risk, high-reward nature of science fiction; and the three genres he’d bet on for the future:
Oliver Stone’s America is No Longer Hollywood’s
Hollywood, particularly Oliver Stone, used to push the envelope politically in a way that not only brought about conversation and change but real box office, too. Matthew Frank explores why these films disappeared — and what can be done to bring them back:
Ankler Rewind: Spielberg’s Alien Obsession
An overnight adventure as an 10-year-old boy, a precocious amateur film at 16, and a 30-year-old’s bravura follow-up to the original blockbuster — Joe Pompeo shares the rich tale of how Steven Spielberg’s lifetime of experience created Close Encounters of the Third Kind:
Prestige Junkie: June Squibb & Malcolm Washington
Katey Rich spanned generations this week, speaking with the 94-year-old June Squibb about her action turn in this summer’s Thelma and 33-year-old Malcolm Washington on his directorial debut:
THE WAKEUP
While other outlets and financial analysts presented a misleading picture of what’s happening at WBD, Paramount and Fox in their earnings reports this past week, Sean McNulty went deeper than the press release to tell you what you really need to know:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
Trump 2.0: Why Ari Wins, Studios Lose Mergers galore? Is the news business cooked? Does anyone want what Hollywood's selling?
MARTINI SHOT
What to Say About What Just Happened Rob Long on how to use the word ‘huh’ in this political moment:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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