☀️ROKU Doing Great . . . Except For Making a Profit
AMAZON/UA enlists Bargatze / AMC's new ~$300M write-off / Melania’s next doc cash grab
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKEDIN if ya like or email me seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY, February 14, 2025.
Where it’s a real shame today’s adolescents aren’t into drinking anymore — the fake IDs have apparently gotten really good! Plus, last night’s return of TIKTOK to app stores was a perfect opportunity for shots.
However, it seems no more cramming into a car to head off-campus to the apartment of someone’s friend’s cousin’s boyfriend to stand in front of a giant posterboard of a drivers license to take a photo and hope that the lamination holds. 🤞 Not that I’d know anything about that, of course. 🤐
But now according to the NYT (which all the kids read, naturally), college folk (or any high schoolers who can already grow a beard) can now just simply go online, send a pic, pay in crypto and it arrives in the mail!
Kids today . . . they just have it too easy. But at least our teen movies were better.
KUDOS: To the schoolchildren of Philly, whom the city has given the day off from school today to celebrate the EAGLES parade.
BUT: At least they’re not staying home because they have the measles — unlike 22 kids in a West Texas county with one of the highest rates of parents getting vaccine exemptions for their K-12 kids based on “reasons of conscience,” including religious beliefs. Because as we all know, kids getting as many harmful viruses as possible on Earth is really God’s plan. Eh, I’m sure RFK Jr. is on it now that he’s confirmed. 🤝
AND: Senate Democrats sent a strongly worded letter to FCC Chair Brendan Carr about his actions so far which . . . well, uh — hey you’re on the record, mister!
PLUS: CNN hired Rahm Emanuel as a Senior Political and Global Affairs Commentator.
LOOK: PARAMOUNT got SEC and EU approval for its SKYDANCE deal. FCC, can we just put ya down in the ol’ yes column as well, or do we need to call your boss?
YAH: Melania will be getting at least $28M of the $40M that AMAZON is paying for her Brett Ratner-directed doc project, according to the WSJ. Turns out that DISNEY was another bidder on the project, with a paltry $14M. 👀
Melania’s camp is reportedly trying to squeeze even more money out of the project 🤯 by selling $10M “sponsorships” of the doc.
HUH: That Murdoch children FOX CORP family trust thing has a 2030 expiration date on it, according to details found by the NYT in combing through court documents from the Nevada trial. So, at that point everyone is welcome to sell those controlling shares to outsiders. Unless of course Rupert makes a move before that.
THEN: Meet your new Elle Woods, Lexi Minetree.
AH: 14 news publishers, including CONDE NAST, THE ATLANTIC and the L.A. TIMES, have sued a Canadian AI company called COHERE over copyright infringement for using their work to power the company’s AI product.
OH: GOOGLE said it has removed things like Black History Month and Women’s History Month from its popular Calendar app because it “wasn’t scalable or sustainable,” on a global basis. Yes, the company spending $75B in 2025 on AI can’t seem to manage the workload on . . . maintaining calendars. Bonuses all around for the Corporate Comms folks!
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The MARVEL bears have awoken on Captain America . . . and while I’m tempted to join the 20% club here, I think I’m gonna join the bears.
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