☀️ TIKTOK PR Stunt Backfires
Affleck moves Accountant 2 to Amazon / WBD turns TruTV into Sports Net / Fox fills WWE slot with football
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKED-IN if ya like) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY, March 8, 2024.
Where we’ll see if Rupert Murdoch will give India’s Mukesh Ambani a run for the money (literally) in the campaign for “Wedding of the Summer” this year.
Yes, Rupes is showing up the haters and gonna get married again . . . a sentence I gotta say I’m kinda surprised I’ve written twice in the past 18 months.
This time, the 92-year-old is gonna get hitched on June 1 at his vineyard 🍷 to 67-year-old Elena Zhukova, a retired molecular biologist . . . so somebody fill in Cousin Greg. As I’m sure you all have on your calendars, it’s also Rupert’s birthday on Monday — so make that a 93-year-old groom (I already took the “Two tickets to Olivia Rodrigo” option on the registry, so good luck with your gift).
For those keeping score at home — Murdoch got divorced from Jerry Hall in summer 2022, became engaged to Lesley Ann Smith in spring 2023, broke that off a few weeks later, and started dating Elena in August 2023 . . . having been introduced to her by his ex wife, Wendi Deng.
Ya know, maybe Succession called it a day one season too early. #GoldenBachelor
THEN: Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied finalized their divorce, after apparently separating last year.
ALSO: IATSE / Teamsters and the AMPTP concluded negotiations for the week, and the guilds will “caucus” for a week with their respective folks, before coming back to the table on March 18.
AND: Job growth remained strong in February despite the continued massive layoff news, with the U.S. adding 275k jobs. Although the unemployment rate rose 0.2% to 3.9%, and the December and January job adds were revised downward in the final tallies.
PLUS: That new TIKTOK U.S. forced-sale bill cleared the House committee 50-0 yesterday, with a full House vote expected later next week.
Yeah, maybe next time TIKTOK — don’t send notifications to American users that allowed them to call their House representatives with a few taps on the app (many of whom I’m sure aren’t even of legal voting age), leading to some elected officials being “bombarded with hang-ups and questions,” according to the WSJ, and some shutting down their phones to all constituents as a result (some of whom, perish the thought, may have had non-TIKTOK issues). And ya say the vote was 50-0 in favor, huh? 🙄
Now, no one tell them about votes around oh, I dunno . . . college loan forgiveness? 🤫
REST IN PEACE: Goes out to entertainment legend Steve Lawrence (of Steve & Eydie fame), who died at the age of 88 from Alzheimer’s complications.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL RESULTS
I’m joining the Kung Fu Panda 4 optimists this weekend at “Over $54 Million”
WAKEUP POLL PART TWO
What? It worked for Dune 🤷♂️. Besides, we need to get y’all on the record about Oscars ratings.
We had 16.6 Million in 2022, 18.7 Million in 2023 . . . so whatcha say for 2024? We have a brand new, uh, 7 p.m. ET start time 🙄, and movies many Americans actually saw for a change. Plus, the Globes and Grammys all already saw upticks this year.
Of course, in a move that couldn’t be more on brand, you still can’t livestream the show on a streaming service. In 2024.
PLUS
A final heads-up from me to let your Oscar brilliance shine for all Ankler readers to bask in — fill out your Oscar category winners here (voting ends at 9 a.m. PT on Sunday).
The winner gets some nice rewards, with all details and prizes listed here, including a mention in this here newsletter and a mention on next week’s Ankler pod so, my apologies in advance for mispronouncing your name. Okay yeah, maybe we should have Elaine do that part.
NEW ANKLER PODCAST EPISODE
OH: A special thanks to Richard 🙌, who couldn’t have been more welcoming and happy to see me when I became his office mate yesterday while I hit L.A. for a couple of days during my West Coast trip.
🎥 THE SILVER SCREEN
