ICYMI: Lin for the Win at Netflix
Catch up on our recent best
Hi there! I’m David Lidsky and I’m new around here — I joined The Ankler just two weeks ago as executive editor, coming from a long career at Fast Company — and I’m your new Sunday recapper (Janice and Richard, with great enthusiasm, have put themselves on weekend hiatus). FYI, I hold down the NYC wing of The Ankler with Sean McNulty and Claire Atkinson), but was able to spend the very week I’m discussing below in Los Angeles, cooking up ideas with Janice, Richard, Elaine Low and Peter Kiefer — and, yes, lunching in this town. Would love to hear from folks, either to introduce yourself or share any feedback. Find me at david@theankler.com.
With no further ado, our best of the week, ICYMI:
Disney, Netflix & Major Movie Drama
It’s not every week two of the biggest jobs in film end up with new leaders — and we were all over it, in our coverage, through our partnership with 89.3 LAist and The Ankler podcast:
With Sean Bailey out at Disney, Richard ponders whether the shakeup — which elevates Searchlight’s David Greenbaum to Disney Studios president — will lead to less “Big IP, all-remakes-all-the-time”:
Sean McNulty hit LAist 89.3 Entertainment Thursday, discussing Lin’s hiring at Netflix, the Disney shakeup, and what these personnel changes portend. Here's his Morning Edition debut:
Of course, Sean, Richard and Elaine also covered the news on The Ankler pod, out every Friday a.m. They feature a great snippet of an interview with Dan Lin, giving listeners a sense of his commitment in seeing through ambitious projects (in this case, his years making The Departed as a Warner Bros. exec). Now he just has to do that with the largest slate in town:
(If you prefer a transcript, read it here)
Streamer Strat Smackdown!
Entertainment Strategy Guy looks at the age-old question of how to release a show (weekly or binge) through the lens of Max’s True Detective: Night Country, Prime’s Reacher, Netflix’s The Crown and Griselda, Peacock’s Ted and The Traitors and AppleTV+’s Masters of the Air:
Will There Be a $%@! Strike?
In Series Business, Elaine chats with fiery Teamsters Local 399 boss Lindsay Dougherty, who shut down one production after another last year and is negotiating in tandem with IATSE starting right about now. Plus: Manori Ravindran previews the London TV Screenings:
Emma Stone and the Chicken Pot Pie
Our new Todd on the Town photo feature resulted in photog Todd Williamson, at SAGs, PGAs, and People’s Choice, shooting his (and only his) photo of Emma Stone that launched a thousand memes:
Oscar’s Little Big Races
While the Oscars’ three short-film categories are normally a showcase for emerging talent, Gregg Kilday analyzes this year’s nominees, which features the A-list likes of Wes Anderson, Sean Ono Lennon and Sheila Nevins:
☀️THE WAKEUP
With all the news this week — including earnings from Paramount and Endeavor — we had you covered with Sean’s trenchant analysis and wry humor. If you aren’t already starting your day with our morning business newsletter, you’re not even in the same conversation as the smartest people working in entertainment:
🎧 PODCASTS
MARTINI SHOT
We Cannot Be Boring Rob Long brings Google's AI a Cinnabon to prove a point:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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