ICYMI: Ivy League H'wood; AI Movies; Paramount Puzzle
ICYMI: Ivy League H'wood; AI Movies; Paramount Puzzle
Catch up on our recent best
First of all, I’m the new guy here, but a big thanks to those of you who are part of our growing Anklerverse. Janice was at the Milken Conference this week, and dropped this nice bit of news from the stage (via Oliver Darcy at CNN):
Part of our fast-expanding audience is bringing in new voices, including the launch of Katey Rich’s Prestige Junkie newsletter, her incisive look at all things awards. Katey joins The Ankler after a decade at Vanity Fair; this week she broke down Netflix’s scramble to support breakout hit Baby Reindeer, then took stock of HBO’s life after Succession. Katey is in your inbox every Monday and Thursday and soon also in your podcast feeds with a coming Prestige Junkie podcast.
You can also see Katey interview Expats creator/director/writer Lulu Wang and Sarayu Blue on Monday, May 13, at the latest in our The Ankler x Backstage Screening Series. RSVP here:
Happy Mother’s Day to all, and before your brunch, check out the rest of our best of the week, ICYMI:
Rushfield: Industry & the Ivy League, Paramount Dilemmas
Richard unearthed the alma maters of 162 top players to discover that Cal State may be a better feeder than any leafy East Coast college:
In Jamboree: Richard took on the latest twists in the Paramount-Ellison-Apollo saga — and that truly awful Apple ad:
Let’s Go to the AI Movies
Reel AI columnist Erik Barmack went to an AI film festival and found that the technology is enabling stunning, yet still very human, storytelling:
So, Should Writers Still Pitch Paramount+?
As Paramount sits in acquisition limbo, Elaine Low investigates why agents aren’t sure what to pitch its flagship streaming service:
Elaine discussed the state of play in her regular appearance with Susanne Whatley on Morning Edition as part of LAist’s Entertainment Thursday:
Eurovision and the Entertainment Protest Era
Eurovision is one of the most popular live events in the world, but Manori Ravindran assesses its ill-fated apolitical stance and current debacle:
A Prince, a Pecker — and Donald Trump
Fresh off testifying in Trump’s hush-money trial, David Pecker emails with Claire Atkinson for her great read about how JFK Jr.’s George magazine led the social-climbing publishing executive straight to Mar-a-Lago:
☀️THE WAKEUP
Oh, legacy studios! Tough week for them during this earnings season, which means Sean McNulty was both in the trenches and extremely trenchant breaking down the futures of WBD and Disney:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
WBD, Disney and the New Frenemy Era Struggling studios keep banding together to make streaming work:
MARTINI SHOT
Famous vs. Unfamous Rob Long on the end of 'bankable' stars:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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