ICYMI: Endeavor Wall St. Wipeout; AI at the Gates; TV Exec Tell-All
Catch up on our recent best
An L.A.-based writer friend wrote me to let me know that she’s tied up this week, driving to Austin to witness Monday’s total solar eclipse. Have you also hit the road to see the sky go dark? Or is the upheaval of this business already blocking out of the sun for you? I’m joking! It’s bumpy, but we’ll be okay!
We shined light on Hollywood’s big topics this week — from the implications of Endeavor going private following its now-cringy attempts to persuade Wall Street that it should be valued like Big Tech (hey, my first solo byline) to AI’s Silicon Valley evangelists and their resolve to upend, well, everything in entertainment.
From one AI company’s website: “We believe a team of 3 writers — with no actors, directors, or other crew — will win an Academy Award in the next 10 years. We are building the tools they will use to do that.” Hmm.
And please join us for the kickoff of The Ankler x Backstage Screening Series on this Friday, April 12. We’ve partnered with Disney/Marvel for Loki, featuring a Q&A with Tom Hiddleston, and Elaine Low will be moderating.
RSVP to the Loki-Tom Hiddleston event right here:
Now, our best of the week, ICYMI:
AI Utopians Crash Hollywood
Peter Kiefer breaks down the implications for the entertainment business of a new Silicon Valley movement called “effective accelerationism” (or e/acc), which posits that AI is inevitable, and that its progress — regardless of job losses — cannot be impeded. And Hollywood is in its sights:
Drama! Acting ‘Craft’ vs. the Streaming Era
Patsy Rodenburg, a top U.K. acting teacher, resigned from her post over the erosion of “craft” training, the famous theatrical fundamentals that have spawned armies of Oscar-winning actors. Naturally, blame streaming! Manori Ravindran covers all sides of the controversy and what it might mean for the pipeline of U.K.-trained talent that’s always in demand:
A TV Studio Production Exec Unloads
Elaine owns the “Survive ‘til ‘25” beat as she covers the rocky post-strike landscape. This week she spoke to an SVP-level TV studio production executive with 30-plus years experience, who anonymously divulged their thoughts on the production slowdown, why AI isn’t as scary as many think (we’ll send them Peter’s story!) and IATSE’s demands:
A Failed Market Endeavor
Why did Endeavor never convince public-market investors that its assets and strengths deserved to be valued more richly? I dove into the faulty assumptions in CEO Ari Emanuel’s positioning and why no one ever bought the idea that Endeavor was really a tech company:
But don’t worry about Ari or Patrick Whitesell: They each get a private jet and other goodies when the deal to take Endeavor private closes. Sean McNulty brilliantly breaks down the financial windfalls for leadership, the incentives to sell off parts and what the future of Endeavor looks like:
☀️THE WAKEUP
And a reminder — you’re already starting flat-footed if you aren’t reading Sean every single morning. Here’s what else he wrote about this week:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
How Ari & Iger Outfoxed Wall St. Hollywood's one-two punch beat back critics, activists, complainers:
MARTINI SHOT
‘It Only Made, Like, $50 Million’ Rob Long considers failure, hate-watching and flops:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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Hope the writer’s getting paid. Driving to see darkness seems fairly stupid.