Why’s Netflix Suddenly Buying So Many Shows?; Disney’s ‘Bachelorette’ Mess
Plus: Why Paramount-Warners won’t happen — Rushfield’s 10 reasons
It’s worth saying again: Independent media matters. Your job and nothing short of this industry’s future depends on it.
Mediaite took note of this fact this past week, highlighting Richard Rushfield’s leading coverage of the Paramount-WBD merger in a moment where most other media mindlessly accepts it as a done deal — even cheerleading it — no questions asked.
From Mediaite:
Richard’s piece goes beyond Wall Street’s objections to the deal, and the fragility of its Middle East backing, with 10 very good reasons why this “inevitable” agglomeration is anything but:
And on the topic of situations on the brink: Elaine Low had exclusive reporting on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul and the shelving of The Bachelorette by ABC. Last week, Elaine went inside what went down inside Disney, its decision-making and the cost to the company for pulling the plug:
Elaine also broke down the complex and unsettling story for Hallie Jackson on NBC News Now…
… and on Ankler Agenda with The Ringer’s Juliet Litman, host of the popular Bachelor Party pod, and our own Natalie Jarvey:
Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:
Series Business
Lesley Goldberg hears from a dozen industry players to understand what’s driving the new flurry of buying at Netflix — and what boxing in David Ellison’s potential Paramount-WBD behemoth has to do with it:
Plus: Manori Ravindran chats with WBD’s CEO of global streaming and games JB Perrette about HBO’s future under Paramount and much more:
Reel AI: How Sora Beat Hollywood Before Dying
Maybe entertainment was too small for OpenAI. But Erik Barmack believes the bigger play is still coming, as he assesses the fallout of Sora’s demise and the end of OpenAI’s $1B pact with Disney:
Plus, Erik breaks down Hollywood’s answer to the music catalog boom — investing in immortal stars that can act on screen for eternity:
Crowd Pleaser: Box Office Data Gurus
Matthew Frank goes inside PostTrak, the exit-polling machine that captures what fans actually think. If only Hollywood would listen:
Kevin Williamson’s Career Fear
Ashley Cullins talks to the Scream creator about why he’ll never direct another installment of the horror franchise, the data that doomed his Netflix series The Waterfront and the biggest Hollywood scare of all — too many ideas, too little time:
Prestige Junkie: Hail Mary & Love Story
Katey Rich chats with Project Hail Mary and The Martian screenwriter Drew Goddard about how he adapts Andy Weir’s novels into blockbusters. Plus: Katey forecasts Emmy chances for FX’s buzzy Love Story as it taps into Kennedy lore and ’90s nostalgia:
The Wakeup: Deals, Deals, Deals!
Not a bad week for movies, as Sean McNulty lays out the buys: Gwyneth Paltrow and Adam Sandler pics at Netflix, Disney’s Snow White spinoff with the Naked Gun crew, a new Shane Black film at Sony and more:
📹 Ankler Shows
Monday Morning Quarterbacks: Project Hail Mary is a certified original hit. Sean and Christopher Rosen weigh what went right and the lessons for theatrical’s future:
Rushfield Lunch: Legendary publicist and The Angellotti Company founder Tony Angellotti joins Richard to give his thoughts on the state of the Oscars and what he’s learned from decades of awards campaigns:
📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE BY NATALIE JARVEY
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
As an Ankler subscriber, you are automatically subscribed to all of our newsletters and podcasts by default. Not interested in all of them? Customize which ones would like to receive notifications for. It’s easy to do.
Log into your Substack account from a desktop or laptop, select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
Under Subscriptions, click on The Ankler to review the sections you’d like to subscribe to/unsubscribe from.
On the next page, click on the toggles next to each newsletter and podcast you want to receive emails for. A gray toggle indicates notifications are off.
Alternatively, when you get an email newsletter, select “Unsubscribe” in the footer of the email and click on “Turn off emails” next to each section you’d like to unsubscribe from.
