☀️Sundance Deals Come Alive; AMAZON TV Shakeup
PAR, SEARCHLIGHT slate changes / FOX’s next creator deal / Trump film tariffs re-emerge
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
Where life of the party, Dario Amodei, is at it again!
Yes, everyone’s favorite ANTHROPIC AI CEO shared another banger of a prognostication about the very AI technology his company is continually enhancing — including warnings that:
AI will disrupt 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs over 1–5 years.
We may have AI that is more capable than everyone in only 1–2 years.
But, just think of how much money ANTHROPIC will make as a result! Always look at the upside, folks. Note that AMAZON, a company likely to lay off several thousand people this month, is a major backer of the business.
ANTHROPIC is also home to CLAUDE, the bot whose latest release has seemingly had every coder in Silicon Valley rethinking their life choices.
It is also being sued by several major music publishers for copyright infringement.
Amodei also has warnings that . . . frankly, I also believe in — namely that:
AI will get to a point by, say, the timing of the closing for the NETFLIX BROS. deal whereby bad actors (not the Hollywood kind) will be enabled to do a lot more damage with AI.
Trump’s reversal to allow NVIDIA chips to be (legally) sold to China is a big error.
Or, my own belief that there will just be a general, large-scale AI-induced “whoopsie” event that occurs sooner than later. But either way — you can check out Dario’s forecasts here in his 38-page manifesto . . . or just have your AI bot of choice tell you the most important parts.
PLUS: Amodei also emphasized AI’s “importance of preserving democratic values and rights at home is particularly relevant,” in light of the events happening in Minnesota.
Now, someone should also share that with the partners of early OPENAI backer KHOSLA PARTNERS, who curiously chose X as the best way to share their wildly different takes on the execution of Alex Pretti.
OPENAI CEO Sam Altman also said “What’s happening with ICE is going too far,” in an internal Slack message to employees, cited by the NYT.
He also called Trump “a very strong leader” and hopes “to see trust rebuilt with transparent investigations.” I’m waiting right next to ya, Sam — be sure to bring it up at your next White House visit.
THEN: The Tonys will be on Sunday, June 7, on CBS.
OI: Here are your BAFTA Film Awards nominations.
SO: The final CBS Late Show/Colbert episode will be Thu. May 21.
ALSO: The Senate committee hearing on the NETFLIX BROS. deal will happen on Tuesday, Feb. 3 in case you’re looking for Ted that day.
AH: Kumail Nanjiani will host the DGA Awards this year on Feb. 7.
OH: Bari Weiss’ next move at CBS NEWS is adding podcasters and writers/creators to the family, including some who do work for The Free Press.
Names include Andrew Huberman, Peter Attia, Niall Ferguson, Patrick McGee, Casey Lewis and more here, detailed by Axios.
BUT: The early 2026 layoff chorus is getting warmed up after AMAZON leads the way shortly:
UPS is going to lay off another 30k folks in operational roles. It laid off 48k last year (34k operational, 14k management).
PINTEREST is cutting 15% of its staff this year, mostly due to AI-induced changes.
YUP: The NHL’s OTTOWA SENATORS team is now making Heated Rivalry-inspired jerseys with the names/numbers of the 2 main characters in the show. They’ve moved about 400 units so far, with another 400 on the way at a cost of about $240 each.
AND: About a year after Chappell Roan launched a fund with BACKLINE CARE to support mental health for folks in the music industry, it’s creating a B-LINE 24-hour assistance line (1-855-BLINE99 or text 254-639) for music professionals and their families with SPOTIFY as lead sponsor, alongside Noah Kahan and other music industry players.
YEAH: For a guy trying to constantly reassure Americans that the U.S. economy is 🔥 (in the good way), Trump keeps making moves to the contrary — which is now good news for the MEDICARE crowd, as rates are basically now being held flat in 2027, despite expectations for about a 6% hike. Note that 2026 rates got a 5% hike a year ago from the Trump admin when the economic outlook was in . . . a different place.
Lo and behold, all healthcare provider stocks took a big hit (ranging from —7% to -20% this morning) as a result . . . and gonna guess the rest of us will be paying for this instead next year, so healthcare execs can keep the lifestyle they’re accustomed to.
Thus, add health insurance bigwigs to the list of Charlie Brown executives who thought things would be bright for them under a Trump presidency a year ago . . . but have now also whiffed on the football.
FINALLY: The non-profit GOODWILL had a record year in 2025, with sales roughly +7% and topping $7B. Secondhand business SAVERS VALUE VILLAGE also saw sales at +16% in its last quarter.
🎥 THE SILVER SCREEN
