Ooh la la,Team Ankler is in Cannes this week hosting our Croisette Conversations — live panels and discussions with top filmmakers, talent and leaders, including Diego Luna, David Oyelowo and Academy CEO Bill Kramer — in partnership with Brand Innovators at the Armani Caffè.
Check out our full programming (updating daily) and RSVP to attend here, and watch your inbox for our Cannes Daily newsletters, including videos of our conversations, from Prestige Junkie’s Katey Rich, Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins and international correspondent Manori Ravindran.
Also, a few fun bits of Ankler in the news this week:
- If you’ve ever wondered how Sean McNulty does The Wakeup day after day, you can read about his unique POV and process in an interview with LinkedIn’s Andrew Murfett: “The newsletter Hollywood wakes up to.”
- Katey popped on NPR’s Morning Edition to talk Met Gala magic and the Jeff Bezos of it all.
- The Rapid Response podcast ahead of The Devil Wears Prada 2 featured our own Janice Min and WSJ magazine editor-in- chief Sarah Ball to talk the good, the bad and the beautiful of the glossy magazine glory days that launched the OG 2006 film. “I was the devil,” Janice jokes of her storied tenure atop Us Weekly, “and I did wear Prada.”
- Lastly, Mark Ruffalo and Matt Stoller’s New York Times op ed about the Paramount-Warner merger had a perfect shout-out to The Ankler and our own Richard Rushfield.
Now, ICYMI, our best and buzziest stories of the week:
Series Business
↑ Netflix, Obamas & the Death of Vanity Deals — Yes, Writers Win Hollywood belt-tightening has come for A-listers’ production deals with studios and streamers, Lesley Goldberg reports, as top showrunners and non-writing producers cash in.
Inside Netflix: How to Sell a Show There Right Now For part two of Elaine Low’s Sellers’ Guide (part one covered Apple TV), she reveals what’s in demand at Netflix and the execs who decide.
TV in 3: Sneaky Strategies Behind The Bear Bonus, HBO Harry Potter Plan Lesley games how FX’s surprise prequel boosts the series’ Emmy chances. Plus, Fox goes all in on faith with Jason Katims.
Crowd Pleaser
↑ Horror! A24’s Youngest Director Ever Started on YouTube Studios are finding the next under-30 horror auteurs online. Matthew Frank talks to Jason Blum about the trend and explains why Backrooms could open huge.
Reel AI
↑ USC to NYU: AI’s Stealth Film School Takeover Has Begun Adobe, Google and Runway are funding adoption of their tools across top institutions’ curricula, Erik Barmack writes, onboarding students into a tech-driven industry future.
Prestige Junkie
↑ The Woman Who Found Martin Scorsese’s Soul Katey talks to Mr. Scorsese director Rebecca Miller about the making of the five-part doc series, and why the auteur finally agreed to it.
Plus, Christopher Rosen catches up with Industry stars Myha’la and Marisa Abela to find out what’s next for the HBO juggernaut.
No Dragons: How Knight Flipped the Game of Thrones Formula Katey interviews A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner Ira Parkes and star Peter Claffey about the little Thrones show that could.
The Wakeup
In the thick of earnings season, there is no one better at crunching the numbers and gaming out takeaways than Sean. This week: Paramount, AMC Theatres, Disney and WBD:
Friday → ☀️ AMC, STARZ Biz Losses Mount in Q1 As TKO Sees UFC Boost
Thursday → ☀️ WBD Q1 Big TV Losses > Streaming Gains
Wednesday P.M. → ☀️ Takeaways: DISNEY’s D’Amaro Meets the Street
Wednesday → ☀️ AMC THEATRES Enters Concert Biz Amid Elusive Profits
Tuesday → ☀️ PAR Cuts Spend to Boost Profit in Q1
Sunday → ☀️ Millennials Lift Prada as Michael Keeps Soaring
Podcasts
Ankler Agenda
Elaine, Sean and Natalie Jarvey break down what earnings at Disney, WBD and Paramount signal, from Disney’s “super app” ambitions to the looming Warner-Paramount merger:
Shows
Monday Morning QBs
Sean and Chris take stock of Devil Wears Prada 2‘s $77 million opening — and why Gen Z said no:
Rushfield Lunch
American Cinematheque’s Grant Moninger joins Richard Rushfield to discuss the L.A. nonprofit at ground zero of the city’s revival screening boom — and its plans for public screenings at Fox Village Theater in Westwood Village this summer:
Like & Subscribe
New from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter:
↑ Media’s Devil Wears Prada Era Is Over. Women’s Sports Is Next Former Condé Nast exec Pam Drucker Mann gives Natalie the details of Reign, a new women’s sports media venture poised to tap the arena’s projected $3 billion in revenue.
How a Survivor and Traitors Alum Built Reality Fandoms Into a Podcast Empire Natalie chats with Rob Cesternino for a look at his new book and a business with more than 60 pop culture shows.
