ICYMI: Writers' Secret Post-Strike Gripes; Disney Dogfight; Why Malone ❤️ Zaslav
Plus: Where's OpenAI's Hollywood killer?
I was just a regular Ankler subscriber a year ago when Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield, in particular, covered the writers and actors strikes like no one else in Hollywood. Today I’m proud to work with them both — as well as everyone else on our team — bringing you perspective you won’t find anywhere else. That includes our take on the first anniversary of the end of the writers strike this week, in both Series Business and on The Ankler podcast, where we considered the strike’s impact for working writers and the problem for everyone else caught in the industry’s massive contraction.
Hollywood is nothing without the people who work in it, and we don’t need a labor action or layoffs to anchor our work in your experiences. (Of course, when those do happen, we are there to cover it. Check out Sean McNulty’s excellent coverage this week of the Disney and Paramount layoffs.)
So with no further ado, our best of the week, ICYMI:
Series Business: Strike Post-Mortem; Video Game Labor Fight
When the writers strike ended a year ago, one scribe described it as if “a war ended.” Elaine talks to writers, showrunners, agents and execs (and WGA West president Meredith Stiehm) about the gains but also the pitfalls in this era of TV business contraction, and how mini-rooms remain a controversial deal point (for paid subscribers only):
While SAG-AFTRA’s video game strike continues in the U.S., voice actors are pushing for better protections in the U.K., too. Manori Ravindran reports on the horrors facing actors as video games become more realistic involving scenes with fights and sexual assault, and, yes, NDAs:
What Data Says About Who Disney’s Next CEO Should Be
Bergman, Walden, Pitaro or D’Amaro? Who’ll replace Disney CEO Bob Iger is the question du jour. Entertainment Strategy Guy breaks down the performance record of each of the presumed internal candidates; reveals what each CEO candidate’s hire would say about Disney’s future direction; and offers a bold solution that suits Disney’s complexity:
Rushfield: Zaslav’s Overlord; Hollywood Monster Factory
Richard explains this week’s comments by WBD backer John Malone and why they indicate that all of CEO David Zaslav’s bad press doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of WBD’s endgame:
Que Sora, Sora
Remember when OpenAI’s preview of Sora, its generative AI video tool, scared Hollywood to death way back in February? In this edition of Reel AI (for paid subscribers only), Erik Barmack lays out five reasons why Sora isn’t out yet; how far generative AI video has to go; and how OpenAI could unlock a new trove of video game IP into Hollywood:
When the Matinee Idol Met the Sultan of Schlock
Rudolph Valentino was a 31-year-old heartthrob movie star when a sudden illness initiated a 15-day tabloid torrent of hysteria and fabricated images led by the notorious New York Evening Graphic. In the latest Ankler Rewind, Joe Pompeo looks back on the most outrageous newspaper in U.S. history that “reported what nobody else would dream of printing” and “invented what it could not report,” setting the bar for modern celebrity culture:
Photos: 'Nightbitch' to 'Fancy Dance'
Our roving photog Todd Williamson takes you to TIFF premieres and a star-studded benefit in Malibu in the latest Todd on the Town:
Prestige Junkie: Will Ferrell, and the Best Actress Race
As Oscar season cranks up, Katey Rich breaks down the early contenders for best picture and best actress, and on her Prestige Junkie podcast, chats with Will Ferrell and Harper Steele about their Netflix road trip friendship doc Will & Harper:
THE WAKEUP
As consolidation and cutbacks continue to rock Hollywood, the smartest people in the business read Sean McNulty to understand their implications:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
A Hollywood 'Depression' the Strike Couldn't Fix Inside what the writers strike wrought (and didn't) one year later:
MARTINI SHOT
You Must Answer the Questions About Feet Rob Long salutes the vital 'middler' role of agents:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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