Stay Connected“Ankler Agenda” breaks down the headlines, trends and creativity shaping the evolution of Hollywood, the creator economy and entertainment.
The show is hosted by Elaine Low, author of Ankler Media’s popular “Series Business” Substack newsletter, who is joined weekly by her colleagues Sean McNulty (“The Wakeup”) and Natalie Jarvey (“Like & Subscribe”) — in addition to Richard Rushfield, the Ankler himself. Episodes will also be available every Thursday on YouTube.
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Hollywood officially entered the upside-down this week: streamers flexed like it was 2019 again with a flurry of new deals; Disney about-faced by licensing shows to one-time nemesis Netflix; and then Netflix, in the never-say-never category, dumped 10,000 pages of viewership data onto reporters. With Richard Rushfield and Sean McNulty breaking down the press call with Ted Sarandos, the team talks takeaways, good and bad, and why Netflix did it. Also: Penske Media’s conflict(s) of interest with the Golden Globe, and Narcos and upcoming Hotel Cocaine creator Chris Brancato joins Claire Atkinson to discuss how to responsibly make shows involving drugs: “If drugs [are] a centerpiece of the criminal activity, it’s very important to show that the outcome for most is jail or death.”
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The passing of Norman Lear coincides with a new TV era where, quite likely, not a single one of the legendary producer’s famous sitcoms would pass muster in a pitch meeting of today. While Elaine Low talks specifics about what’s selling and who’s buying in the contracted post-strike TV market, Martini Shot host Rob Long pays homage to Lear’s immense legacy (“his shows were’t about politics, they were about characters”). Also: Janice Min shares her scorcher of a live interview with Andrew Cuomo’s former top advisor Melissa DeRosa, who declares that President Biden should dump Kamala Harris, zings RFK Jr.’s “ego”, and decries the “total lack of leadership” over antisemitism in New York City.
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As Hollywood reels from a string of high-budget box office flops, Kevin Goetz, says, sure, contraction is coming. But, “every movie — if made and marketed for the right price — should make money,” says the CEO of Screen Engine/ASI, long considered a top expert on audience. Goetz joins to talk about recent changes he’s seeing in theater-going, what’s working (and not), and what films can learn from TV. Also: Sean McNulty, Peter Kiefer and Elaine Low talk Elon Musk’s F-U; Bob Iger’s flip-flop on Disney’s linear TV assets; and Israel-Gaza and the worrisome WhatsApp wars of Hollywood.
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‘Oh Judy, baby.’ That’s Judy Blume impersonating the many male producers who had approached her decades ago to bring her legendary book about a girl traversing puberty, family and friends to the big screen. She wasn’t having it and followed advice from her son: Wait for the girls who grew up with the book to be in power. Enter director Kelly Fremon Craig. In a poignant, fun and revealing conversation, the two women tell the story of how they met, what happened after, and the power of “small” stories, as part of The Ankler’s In Conversation series, hosted by Janice Min.
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Back from the golf-F1 mashup Netflix Cup, Richard Rushfield joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low to reveal that what happened in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas as the team talks Ted-spotting, celebrity entourages, and what it all has to do with the sports-ification of today's entertainment. Also how the streamer may be the only one left to take big swings (no pun intended).
Also: the Globes have a TV partner after a year of brutal rejection; Peter Kiefer reveals who's battling for Britney Spears' book rights; and SAG's new rules around "synthetic" performers.
Transcript here. For more about the entertainment industry, subscribe to The Ankler at TheAnkler.com/subscribe.
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Hollywood’s dystopian-sounding future is here, with AI the overriding issue for actors as they negotiated their new deal with the studios. Today, two actors on that SAG negotiating committee, Picard’s Michelle Hurd and actor Kevin E. West, walk host Elaine Low through new guardrails around “synthetic” performances, and how an actor can still get paid even when their replica is the one at work. The pair also unpack the new streaming residual “fund”, new intimacy coordinator rules, and what hair and makeup provisions mean for performers of color. As for criticism of the deal by some as it goes to a vote? “Everybody take a deep breath.”
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“None of the workers in this industry are going to let themselves be dictated to anymore by big companies,” says SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, who sat down, along with chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, with Elaine Low on Nov. 10, in the wake of a new contract with the AMPTP. They detail the drama around AI that took talks to the “last minute, literally the last day.” Drescher says the studios first said of proposed AI guardrails, “You'll have to trust us, but we’re not going to put it in writing… come on, do I look like I was born yesterday?’” And while never naming her, they spare no words for AMPTP president and negotiator Carol Lombardini: “I never want to go back to… a middleman. Now I want to talk to your boss.”
Transcript here.
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The longest actors strike in history is over, but a scarred landscape of reduced spending, fewer shows and a shrinking job market now awaits. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield reveal what executives are privately saying, and how to interpret those messages coming from Disney’s Bob Iger to WBD’s David Zaslav.To top it off, labor discontent is still afoot: Elaine interviews former Love is Blind alums Nick Thompson and Jeremy Hartwell, who detail “inhumane” treatment on the show as advocates for reality TV’s unionization; and, on a lighter note, the team offer a round of winter box-office predictions.
Transcript here. For more entertainment news, you can subscribe to The Ankler at theankler.com/subscribe.
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Swifties follow their favorite pop star from stadiums to theaters, even to NFL games. Now, Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper — founder of new multimedia company, Trending, with producer-fiancé Matthew Kaplan — hopes her fan army (known as the “Daddy Gang”) does the same. With her $60 million Spotify deal expiring soon, and plans to further activate her fanbase through a tour, an Alex Cooper multiverse of other shows, and, as the pair exclusively reveals, a detour into music with Unwell Music, the duo talk details of their budding media empire (which recently produced Netflix hit Love at First Sight) in clips shared by interviewer Nicole LaPorte. Also: HBO chief Casey Bloys’ bizarre Twitter exploits, what Condé Nast layoffs portend, and a game of “let’s guess the broadcast TV advertising rates!"
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The dramatic story of how high-flying CAA agent-to-the-stars Maha Dakhil ended up grounded as who-said-what about conflict in the Middle East inflames Hollywood.
Also; real-life Hollywood horror stories, Peacock’s losses peak, and Ralph Nader’s apocalyptic AI warning to Hollywood.
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