ICYMI: Spec Script Sizzle; MSNBC Mess; TV Jobs '25; LeBron ProdCo Shoots Bricks
Plus: Erik Barmack reveals how OpenAI's Sora will change your production
Like you, we sprinted to the finish this week, putting out some of our best stories of the year (if I say so myself). Our jam-packed lineup underscores how, if you’re not already a paid subscriber, you simply don’t perform at your job with the same top-of-class information about this industry as your peers. This week, The Ankler was the first place you read about why we’re seeing more spec script sales (and Dan Lin’s role in this at Netflix), and the only place to get a detailed breakdown of OpenAI’s Sora generative video tool from a working Hollywood producer. Sean McNulty told you Netflix would buy rights to Women’s World Cup Soccer before it happened, and a friend inside a massive TV news division told me they’re relying on The Ankler’s coverage of all the tumult in that corner of the business to learn what’s really going on inside their own company.
I’m also proud to share that with the Oscar shortlists released this week, 11 of the 15 documentaries still in contention for a nomination have been part of Ankler events, with nine participating in the Documentary Spotlight series we hold in partnership with Thom Powers’ Pure Nonfiction. Unlike the trades, we don’t and won’t cravenly feature any documentary for a check like Am I Racist?, from an anti-trans, anti-gay parents filmmaker who has, among so many things, called for Jimmy Kimmel’s arrest by Trump. We respect your time and intelligence too much.
A reminder: A subscription to The Ankler is the best gift you can give yourself or a colleague, something of real and meaningful value to your career or anyone you want to see succeed in this business.
Now, with no further ado, let’s recap this blockbuster week ICYMI:
Spec Script Market Goes Boom
Unknown writers are scoring seven-figure deals for spec scripts with no talent attached, and it’s not even 1995. Nicole LaPorte chronicles why the new spec market has emerged; reveals the major spec sales of the last few months and what price they fetched; how what’s selling right now differs from the spec market’s '90s heyday of Shane Black and Joe Eszterhas; and how Netflix film head’s Dan Lin is influencing a massive IP change:
TV News Scoops: Joy Reid, Stephanie Ruhle Pay Cuts; New MSNBC Chief Name in the Mix
With Disney’s capitulation to Trump’s defamation suit, Lachlan Cartwright takes measure of the TV news biz in a jam-packed dispatch: What George Stephanopoulos’ contract negotiations may have had to do with ABC News’ settlement; the new name emerging as a contender for MSNBC chief; CNN’s plan to fill Chris Wallace’s time slot; NBCU’s SpinCo CEO Mark Lazarus’ unconventional daytime programming idea; the latest anchors facing pay cuts:
Series Business: How to Stand Out in the 2025 Job Market
Between consolidation, fewer show orders and an emphasis on tech, this year was “just not a great year for hiring,” says one executive recruiter. Will 2025 be different? In Series Business (for paid subscribers only), Elaine Low surveys the available jobs in the L.A. area at Warner Bros. and Disney; the best thing you can do to distinguish yourself as a job seeker; and why we might be seeing “the emergence of a new breed of media professional”:
How Chicken Shop Date Became Buyers’ White Whale
YouTube star Amelia Dimoldenberg and her Chicken Shop Date series have become the envy of every network and streamer. Manori Ravindran sits down with Dimoldenberg to find out what producers can learn from YouTube creators, especially on budgets; why more entertainment formats need to start online; and the three things YouTube gives her that traditional studios won’t:
Entertainment Strategy Guy: 2024’s Producer Naughty List
Behind the hype for buzzy producers from A24 to LeBron James’ SpringHill Company is the cold reality of how their projects actually perform. In his latest debunking (for paid subscribers only), Entertainment Strategy Guy analyzes six Hollywood players that didn’t live up to their valuations or reputations this year; the two bedrock rules routinely being forgotten; and how the market contraction will expose others who rode the boom:
Reel AI: What Sora’s AI Video Tools Mean for Hollywood
After 10 months of hype, OpenAI finally released its generative AI video product Sora. In Erik Barmack’s Reel AI (for paid subscribers only), he puts the product to the test and shows where Sora’s output could be best integrated into productions today; the one popular genre that may be most affected; and why editors and VFX artists may love the tools (and who doesn’t need to worry yet about their jobs):
Rushfield: Ankler 100; Tales from the '90s with Winnie Holzman
Richard Rushfield says ‘bah humbug’ to 2024 with his annual list of the year’s 100 worst moments in Hollywood, told in two parts. Plus, in the second episode of his special pod series Hollywood Stories, writer Winnie Holzman is wildly entertaining and unsparing in sharing the drama behind her cult teen drama My So-Called Life and how that led to her triumphant success with Wicked on Broadway and the big screen:
Photos: A Complete Unknown Premieres, Tyler Perry Tribute
Todd on the Town takes you to two A Complete Unknown events with Timothée Chalamet, a star-studded Tyler Perry celebration, NBC’s Motown Christmas and much more:
Prestige Junkie: Oscar Shortlists, Guadagnino’s Right-Hand Man
Katey Rich explains what to make of the Oscars’ newly announced shortlists, chats with Blitz director Steve McQueen about his film’s novel approach to dramatizing WWII and profiles screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes and his wild journey from Challengers spec script to becoming director Luca Guadagnino’s go-to scribe:
Notable: Lainey Wilson’s Heartland Connection
Fresh off landing a spot on the Oscars’ original song shortlist for her Twisters hit “Out of Oklahoma,” country star Lainey Wilson interrupted her family vacation to speak with Rob LeDonne about how her authenticity lends itself to the genre; the origin behind her Oscar-contending track; and what it was like winning the Grammy for best country album:
THE WAKEUP
This week, Sean McNulty broke down all the pressing info you need to know about Netflix, from the flurry of sports projects it’s acquiring to the record-breaking debut of the Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman-led Carry-On:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
A New Spec Script Boom Catches Fire Some writers are raking in millions again on original ideas. Why now?
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
MARTINI SHOT
Sharing Our Showbiz Luck Rob Long on the good fortune to complain — and give to others:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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