Transcript: Joy, Worry and 'Very Tired Tears'

Exhausted and exhilarated, actors (and an entire industry) enter the next phase of a changed Hollywood

NEW DAY ONE Rachel Zegler hit the The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ premiere in London on the first day of back to work. (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Lionsgate UK)

Sean McNulty (00:02):

Welcome to The Ankler Podcast. This is Sean McNulty from The Wakeup newsletter here at The Ankler in New York City on the afternoon of Thursday, November 9th, joined as always by Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield in Los Angeles where we have no more strikes in Hollywood. So thanks for listening, everybody. It's been a fun run. Richard, we shut this thing down now, right? I'm a little unfamiliar with the protocol. What do we do?

Richard Rushfield (00:25):

I don't know. I miss them. I think it's time for a reunion. Let's get Fran and Duncan Crabtree there and with Chris Keyser, all back together in a room with David Zaslav, maybe do a party on his yacht, which he doesn't actually have. I'm not ready to let go.

Sean McNulty (00:45):

Elaine, I guess usually I have to note the time of recording, which is roughly about 12:20 Pacific time, but I think this week we don't have to for once, so that's nice.

Elaine Low (00:56):

Our long national nightmare is over.

Sean McNulty (00:58):

Is that the spin on this that we've been saying on TV all week?

Elaine Low (01:01):

Gosh. It's been a long six months for the industry, hasn't it?

Richard Rushfield (01:04):

Not ideally how long you'd have your industry shut down if you could choose. 

Sean McNulty (01:11):

We were talking about this in late April, I think, who had November 9th as the day, but-

Richard Rushfield (01:17):

Remember that consensus that there would be a strike, but it was going to be a short one, just maybe a week.

Sean McNulty (01:24):

Which time was that? Was that-

Elaine Low (01:25):

That's why I don't make predictions.

Richard Rushfield (01:26):

I don't like predictions.

Sean McNulty (01:29):

I think that was said in April. That was said in July. That was said in September. That was said in October. Exactly. So everybody's reputation is where it is, but the town is better for it here in the end going back to work. Richard, are you sad earning season finishes today? How would your rate the Q3 '23 versus the other Qs this year? What's your take here?

Richard Rushfield (01:53):

My earnings, I just got my earnings season outfit down, so it was really looking good for the Roku call, I thought, but we'll see if this is all still in fashion at the end of Q4. It'd be hard to say.

Sean McNulty (02:06):

Well, I can send it back to the cleaners for the Q4 calls in January, so it's still be in style then. We'll dive into some things there to note WBD and Disney in a little, maybe an Endeavor. Plus, we have the gathering of The Ankler's resident box office experts. Did you know we had three, Elaine? 

Elaine Low (02:23):

We do? 

Sean McNulty (02:24):

You're one of them.

Elaine Low (02:25):

What? This is news to me.

Sean McNulty (02:28):

You won the summer. 

Elaine Low (02:30):

Me, movie enthusiast?

Sean McNulty (02:30):

You won the summer. 

Elaine Low (02:32):

Oh, that's right. I did. I did win the summer. Thank you, Barbie.

Sean McNulty (02:35):

All right. If you forget that you won, you didn't really win. So there you go. The three of us will be reassembling here. Well, we're already assembled, but to, I guess, redeem ourselves from our summer predictions and we're going to take a look ahead to see who the winners are for the holiday box office season, which is kicking off here tomorrow. Then we also have Elaine did a great deep dive into the reality TV business. Just as the actor strike is coming to a close, there may be some more labor strife on the way just in time, just maybe not this weekend, Elaine. Take a weekend off and then more strife next week. Is that all right?

Elaine Low (03:10):

Yeah, I think we can handle that.

Sean McNulty (03:11):

Put my request in and we'll have Elaine's interview with two former participants in the Netflix's Love is Blind universe in just a little bit as well, but first, I get to, Elaine, do my Monty Hall. Let's make a deal or I guess we have a deal. Do you know who Monty Hall is, Elaine? Let me start with that.

Elaine Low (03:28):

Uh-huh. Sure, sure, Sean.

Sean McNulty (03:32):

As I wrote that, I'm like, "She wouldn't even know that reference at all, will she?" Oh, well. All right. So Elaine, please fill us in. Where are we at here on Thursday afternoon on November 9th?