ICYMI: Sundance Scene, Saved by the Bela, Sony's Greenstein

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Richard Rushfield

and

Janice Min

Jan 22, 2023

The Ankler Sundance Soirée: From left, Searchlight's David Greenbaum, Michelle Hooper and Matthew Greenfield; Richard with Epic's Joshua Davis; Disney's Sean Bailey and Paul Roeder. (photos by Preston Rescigno)

Every narrative thread in entertainment converged this week: Succession sagas (the Netflix shake-up), the havoc of consolidation (an investor crying foul on Bob Iger’s acquisition of Fox), and the theatrical vs. streaming divide (point: Sony!). Then, of course, there was Sundance, where Richard dusted off his “casual blazer” and played host to friends of The Ankler. Thank you to our sponsor, the Sommsation Film Lounge.

This week’s highlights, in case you missed them:

The Disney-Fox Deal: Who's Right? As an activist investor slams Iger's $71B buy, numbers reveal messy truths about how the mash-up panned out
Martini Shot: Digital Absolution Rob Long asks for forgiveness for never watching that show from that streamer you sent him
Why it Worked: The 'Otto' Surprise AARP to TikTok?! Sony Motion Pictures Group president Josh Greenstein is interviewed by Sean McNulty, for his new series, about how the studio nailed an audience from every corner

And two great reads and a listen about the changes at Netflix:

Rushfield: The Bela-Scott Shuffle at 6900 Feet Postcards from Sundance! The mood, movies and processing the big news from back home
What to Know About Netflix's New Co-CEO Reading between the lines of Greg Peters' ascension at the world's biggest streamer
Rushfield: Ask Not For Whom the Bela Toils She toils for thee. Another Netflix exec gets a close up, and we realize we've been looking at the company all wrong

➕ Sean was there to make sense of it all also on CNBC:

Power Lunch @PowerLunch

Just minutes away from Netflix earnings, where investors are looking for updates on the new ad-tier service, password sharing crackdowns, and subscriber growth updates. @JBoorstin, @theseanmac, and @michaelpachter weigh in ahead of the key report $NFLX

This Week in The Wakeup

We hope you already are in the habit of reading what the smartest people in the industry start their day with — Sean’s news and analysis:

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