The Ankler Podcast

Free. Popular. Unprofitable Nov 01, 2024

FAST services are heralded for stratospherically high subscriber totals. Tubi has 80 million monthly active users, Roku’s got 85.5 million — Samsung is even at 88 million. So how come none of them are turning a profit? Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and Sean McNulty evaluate free TV’s struggle (and how paid streaming compares). Plus: What Harris or Trump would mean for industry M&A; and NBCUniversal’s mysterious “study” of whether to spin off its cable networks.

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Hollywood’s WFH Wars Worsen Oct 25, 2024

Hollywood is a relationship business. So can you learn from your bosses, network and get promoted if you’re working from home? Nicole LaPorte talks to Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield about the divide over remote work as Lionsgate and Amazon mandate five days in office, and agents and execs warn that young Hollywood’s work-life balance may come at a professional cost. Plus: What Disney’s buying for Hulu, FX and ABC while the company’s Iger succession drama takes another turn.

Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals.

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Hot Seat: Tina Brown on Trump, Harris, Meghan Markle & Menendez Brothers Oct 21, 2024

Janice Min interviews Tina Brown, a sharp observer of the seismic social changes that have led to our chaotic new politics, in a wide-ranging and often hilarious conversation about the journalists impressing her, the frustrating state of cable news punditry, what celebrity she’d put on the cover of a magazine in 2024, her maternal rage after Trump supporters ridiculed Gus Walz, andHarryand Meghan (buckle up for one big anvil drop of ouch). That’s on top of a lot of talk about Trump, Harris, Elon Musk and the forces and figures driving our anxiety.

To read more about this interview, click here. For the sharpest coverage of the entertainment industry, become a paid subscriber to The Ankler.

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CNN Stars Brace for Impact Oct 18, 2024

An unprecedented election, two wars, deadly hurricanes. Yet CNN’s average primetime TV audience dropped to just 853,000 total viewers during September. Ankler contributor Lachlan Cartwright joins Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and David Lidsky to discuss his scoop-filled blockbuster about sweeping changes coming to CNN, chief Mark Thompson’s pay cut on the table for Chris Wallace, star salary “beheadings” and a digital makeover inspired by . . . Vice?! Plus: WBD fills its NBA-sized hole with every random league under the sun.

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Joker 2, Flops and Why Everyone Should Calm Down Oct 11, 2024

Nobody is arguing Joker: Folie à Deux was a success. But it took a ballsy, director-led swing, followed up on a rare R-rated smash hit and — oh yeah — fought to shoot in L.A. Does it really deserve the pile-on? Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and David Lidsky break down why cinema’s sudden “Flop Era” is actually a positive (seriously), and what it has to do with a new report that reveals how drastically production is down, particularly in L.A. Plus: Manori Ravindran surveys brand-funded series beyond Chick-fil-A, and Richard dives into his exposé of the Golden Globes’ questionable under-the-radar Sharon Stone gala in Turkey, a country with a wildly antisemitic Trump-buddy dictator. Where could you read about it? Not in Jay Penske’s many trades. Ooof!

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Hot Seat: Shane Smith is Ready to Talk Media. Again Oct 07, 2024

At its peak, Vice had a valuation of $5.7 billion, two shows on HBO, 2,600 employees in more than 30 countries, and was the 10th most valuable private company in America. Its cofounder and CEO, Shane Smith rode the wave of digital media, until it crashed and burned. He talks to Janice Min about what went wrong, if he has regrets and his thoughts on the future of media — which now includes his new podcast, produced with Bill Maher.

Read the interview in a Q&A format here. Subscribe to The Ankler for more entertainment and media news here.

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The $10 Billion in AI Cash About to Rock Hollywood Oct 04, 2024

In business, there is a new power hierarchy now, reports Dealmakers columnist Ashley Cullins: AI companies flush with cash at top; next, the studios that have the content AI players crave; and at the bottom, talent. Ashley dives into how agents, reps and execs are scrambling to protect clients and IP — all while fighting for a piece of the $10 billion in AI fees projected to flood entertainment in 2025. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield also talk what Disney’s studio contraction signals about a potentially more entrepreneurial future in TV, and how Sony pulled off its drama-free CEO transition.

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A Hollywood ‘Depression’ the Strike Couldn’t Fix Sep 27, 2024

Sept. 27 marked the first anniversary of the end of the writers strike and while pay bumps and streaming bonuses (for two blockbuster shows) are great, the business remains in a world of hurt. Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and David Lidsky explore the seismic production pullback, newly instated minimums as maximums — and why Richard wants negotiators from both sides in a penalty box for three years. Plus: John Malone’s master plan for WBD, and the gang tries to make a movie using AI.

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Succession and the Cult of Iger Sep 20, 2024

How do you follow the all-mighty Bob Iger? In the case of Bob Chapek, you don’t. The current public bake-off for whoever’s next already has been unsettling, as Richard Rushfield dispels the superhero CEO myth and evaluates how the perception of such actually harms his eventual successor and Disney itself. Plus: Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard analyze the upcoming box office slate and hit the lido deck for a bit of fall TV nostalgia.

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An HBO Earthquake Rocks Hollywood Sep 13, 2024

David Zaslav, on a break from sitting courtside at elite sporting events, has a new idea to help save WBD: Give HBO away for free to Charter cable subscribers. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield analyze why and what it means amid growing warnings of “chaos” and industry consolidation from leaders including Sony CEO Tony Vinciquerra and Ari Emanuel. Plus: Katey Rich previews the Emmys and early Oscar buzz, and Matthew Frank tips everyone to Hollywood’s new Wild West: legal gambling on movies.

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TV Series are California Leavin’ Sep 06, 2024

As everywhere from Alabama to Bulgaria battle to attract productions with tax incentives, studios are saying bye, y’all to Hollywood. With shoots being exported all over the globe, what happens to those who came to Los Angeles to have an entertainment career? Ankler contributor Ashley Cullins joins to break down the production location war — and L.A.’s plan to fight back. Plus, Sean McNulty and Elaine Low explain the Disney-DirecTV carriage dispute, and Richard Rushfield reports from the scene as TIFF begins.

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Apple Now Thinks Different About Movies Aug 30, 2024

Apple is the most valuable company in the world. There are more than 2.2 billion Apple devices in use worldwide. Remind us why it’s in the (often) money-losing entertainment business again? Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield explore why Apple is retreating from its blockbuster theatrical ambitions — sorry, George and Brad — why it had them in the first place and what happens next. Also: Prestige Junkie’s own Katey Rich joins to discuss the start of fall film festival season and aces some Oscars trivia.

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Hollywood and the Kamala Blockbuster Aug 23, 2024

Hollywood’s forays into politics are often elitist, counter-productive, and sometimes just plain cringey. But at the DNC, it wasn’t just Kamala Harris and Tim Walz who seemed to nail it, but the entertainment industry as well. Ankler contributor Alison Brower joins Sean McNulty and Janice Min from Chicago, where she explains the vibe shift in Hollywood’s approach, the Hollywood producers who put on the show, and the celebrity moments that worked and why. Also: Elaine Low, David Lidsky and Sean dissect the Bronfman vs. Ellison title fight for control of Paramount and how Iger will finally pass the baton at Disney.

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Tubi Puts Hollywood on Edge Aug 16, 2024

People like free. And in an age where CEOs are raising streaming prices faster than you can say gallon of milk, FAST services like Tubi and Pluto TV have doubled in size in the past couple years — ads and all. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and David Lidsky break down the success of the new FAST players and what they could mean for the next chapter of the Streaming Wars. Plus: Paramount shutters a TV studio as layoffs begin; Sony’s steady “arms dealer” strategy; and a box office trivia throwback.

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WBD Financial Panic: No Way Out Aug 09, 2024

First, Disney films may have buoyed its Q2 earnings — thanks Inside Out 2! — but theme park struggles led Anxiety to overwhelm Joy. Then Warner Bros. Discovery delivered its disastrous report, with a 5 percent drop in revenue, a $9.1 billion write-off on its cable assets and yeah, Furiosa. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield break it down and the need for a plan in a moment where entertainment’s diminishing cable workforce is in a full-fledged freakout.

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Linear TV's Summer of Pain (If You're Not the Olympics) Aug 03, 2024

Yet another round of layoffs hit Hollywood this week, this time at Disney, as the company preps to let go of 140 people at National Geographic, Freeform and other struggling areas of the largely linear business. Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low evaluate how much studios can keep cutting — save for the Olympics, of course — before they hit bottom. Plus: Shawn Levy and Deadpool & Wolverine bring comedy back to multiplexes; IATSE’s ominous warning to its members; and a reflection on the strikes, a year later.

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Inside Kamala Harris’ Hollywood Jul 26, 2024

Entertainment execs are paid to find tomorrow’s stars today — and that applies to politics too. Matthew Frank joins Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield to name names of who identified Kamala Harris’ talent early — from Disney’s Dana Walden to legend Sherry Lansing — and what her win could mean for Hollywood. Plus: David Lidsky breaks down the implications of the new NBA rights deal on scripted TV and the business prospects of Peacock and Warner Bros. Discovery, and we preview Deadpool & Wolverine.

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WBD Woes and an Uncertain Future Jul 19, 2024

Paramount isn’t the only legacy studio struggling with tough choices and crushing debt these days. Warner Bros. Discovery, after laying off 2,000 people over the last year, will now be cutting another 1,000 jobs. All while Wall Street tells David Zaslav that WBD isn’t working and he should explore a breakup of the company. Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low analyze the latest job cuts and where WBD and other studios actually are still hiring. Plus: Peter Kiefer joins to discuss the reboot epidemic; the divide between what’s selling today and what gets Emmy noms; and a tribute to the late Bob Newhart.

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Paramount: New Boss, Same Problems Jul 12, 2024

The (seeming) finale of the Paramount sale drama brings closure to some questions but raises more. How is David Ellison’s promise of a rejiggered tech stack going to stem linear TV losses? Where is the additional $3 billion in revenue he is projecting coming from? And wait, is that Jeff Shell? Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low break down the next phase of the drama to come. Also: how people are vacationing right now (if at all), and the reinvigorated summer box office.

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HBO, A24 and Prestige's Next Phase Jun 28, 2024

HBO and A24 are two of the only Hollywood brands left that signal prestige. But for better or worse, both are now leveling up — or is it down? Sean McNulty, Elaine Low, and Richard Rushfield break down HBO’s incorporation of Max’s upcoming tentpole Warner Bros. IP series, like the Harry Potter and Green Lantern adaptations, and A24’s massive investment round led by Josh Kushner. Also: what’s selling now in unscripted and Hollywood’s lost Latin opportunity.

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Greenlight Like It’s 1985 Jun 21, 2024

What’s the one common trait across every studio executive with greenlight power? They’re all old enough to remember the launch of the first Mac. And what they give the go-aheads to on their film slates shows it (looking at you, St. Elmo’s Fire sequel). Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield break down what remake fever means to the box office, why Paramount and AMC stocks are the opposite of Nvidia, and how showrunners have adapted to the world of brand-building.

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Hot Seat: Ed Zwick’s Battles With the Stars Jun 15, 2024

Over four decades, legendary director, writer and Oscar-winning producer Ed Zwick built an enviable body of work, from acclaimed films (Courage Under Fire, Legends of the Fall) to zeitgeisty TV series (Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life). Ankler CEO Janice Min spoke to Zwick about his best-selling memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions, a page-turner that’s packed with revealing stories about what it took to bring his iconic movies over the finish line, including his battles with Julia Roberts, Matthew Broderick, and Hollywood bigwigs who “messed with the wrong hippie.”

Transcript here. Subscribe to The Ankler here for more entertainment news.

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A TV Deal Flurry. For Some Jun 14, 2024

It feels like 2019 all over again — for a lucky few, that is. The Night Agent creator Shawn Ryan this week inked an eight-figure overall with Netflix, the latest in a flurry of recent announcements bucking the slash-and-burn trend in overall deals and first looks. Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low discuss who is getting these deals (and not), how Paramount can turn around four straight years without growth, and why are movie theaters nice everywhere but L.A.?

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'My Career Feels Like it's On Life Support' Jun 07, 2024

The state of careers in entertainment is shifting radically. As a new college major takes over the industry, the latest class of graduating seniors also is being told by their screenwriting and film professors, “Nope, find another line of work.” But how do these shifting tides impact those already mid-career? The team talks about Elaine Low’s new Salary Confessions series, where one development exec bares their full rage and grief as their ambitions — and pay — hit a dead end.

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Pray for Paramount. And the Movies May 31, 2024

Maypocalypse Nowjust came to a close,endingwith the worst box office since 1995. The timing happens to coincide with Paramount’s uncertain future as Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low talk through the current state of play — and best and worst case scenarios. Meanwhile, in TV land, the team dive into Elaine’s stunning interview with a big name TV studio exec who, anonymously, explains their private thoughts and intel on what’s selling, what’s not and why the market is in such chaos.

For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Transcript here.

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Cannes vs. Box Office: Film's Troubling Split Personality May 24, 2024

At the Cannes Film Festival, the active buyers’ market and (largely) applauded indies had everyone in the market, from haute couture hangers-on to cinema’s swells, feeling festive says Claire Atkinson. But back in L.A., an early June gloom has descended, with Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield talking movies’ early signs of a summer bummer — and a release calendar that looks like it’s on Ozempic.

Transcript here.

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Scripted TV SOS! May 17, 2024

Hollywood descended upon New York Citythis week for the Upfronts, the traditional TV showcase, to promote almost everything but as sports, live events and movies dominated the stage and star power. The crew breaks it down while Richard Rushfield and Sean McNulty dive into Hollywood’s new, possibly misguided belief that sports will save Hollywood.

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WBD, Disney and the New Frenemy Era May 10, 2024

Earnings season has been a rough go as Disney, Paramount, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery deliver their Q1 results. And if you thought “Sports Hulu” was a surprise, just wait for the new bundle of Disney+, Hulu and . . . Max?! Sean McNulty dives into Disney and Warners tepid earnings, their new streaming bundle, and the urgency in joining forces. Plus:Do you have to befrom an Ivy League school to rise to the top of Hollywood? Maybe the opposite, says Richard Rushfield, who breaks down alma maters of the industry’s bold-faced names.

For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Transcript here.

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RSVP to the upcoming event at the link below:

May 13th – The Ankler x Backstage Screening Series: Expats

May 14th – The President & The Podium

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TV Deal Turmoil 2024 May 03, 2024

What to do in this moribund market? Elaine Low outlines TV writers’ post-strike challenges — including the rickety staffing ladder — while our new Dealmakers columnist Ashley Cullins dives into the deterioration of the overall deal — and her news that Amazon and Apple are presenting new terms to industry agents and lawyers that sound a lot like . . . backends! (Remember those?) Plus: Peter Kiefer assesses agency efforts behind the celebpreneur boom, while the crew breaks down Paramount’s ongoing drama and previews summer box office.

For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Transcript here.

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Link here to live stream the Milken Institute: Journalism Today: New Voices, New Models, New Methods where Janice Min (Ankler Media, CEO) will be speaking on May 7th at 4p PST.

RSVP to the upcoming events at the links below:

May 10th (Waitlist Only) – Ed Zwick and Janice Min: In Conversation

May 13th – The Ankler x Backstage Screening Series: Expats

May 14th – The President & The Podium

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How Dad TV Muscled Into Hollywood Apr 26, 2024

Reacher, The Terminal List and Jack Ryan may not win Emmys, but Dad TV has become a juggernaut for a TV business desperately needing one. Entertainment Strategy Guy joins Sean McNulty to break down the truth behind Prime Video’s Dad TV crown, streaming’s corresponding Mom TV — and what the abundance of both mean for prestige TV. Also: the crew on the state of Peacock after Comcast’s earnings call; what five TV agents told Elaine Low about the state of the business; and Richard Rushfield’s marketing stunts that worked.

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AI and Hollywood's 'Sophie's Choice' Apr 19, 2024

Though the strikes ended, the fight around AI is far from over. Following the debut of her Dealmakers newsletter, new contributor Ashley Cullins joins to reveal her conversations with powerhouse entertainment lawyers and CAA, their behind the scenes maneuvering to protect Hollywood talent, and the agonizing Sophie’s Choice actors will face when deciding to allow AI replica rights (a choice the A-list can reject more easily, but not up-and-comers). Also: Elaine Low details five TV agents’ assessments of what streamers want to buy these days, and Richard Rushfield foretells A24’s dangerous trajectory.

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The Paramount Soap Opera Apr 12, 2024

There’s plenty of worry about AI writing scripts . . . but let’s see AI come up with a story about two billionaire families negotiating a complex sale of an iconic, troubled entertainment conglomerate — and wreaking havoc in their wake. Sean McNulty and David Lidsky weigh just what David Ellison’s buying, why every shareholder not named Shari Redstone is mad and what AI has to do with it. Speaking of, Sean welcomes producer Erik Barmack to discuss his new Reel AI newsletter for The Ankler and how the technology can be a “cheat code” in script coverage. Also: Elaine Low on laid-off execs starting their own companies, and Richard Rushfield from CinemaCon.

Also, we’ve been nominated for a Webby Award, vote for us here by April 18th!

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How Ari & Iger Outfoxed Wall St. Apr 05, 2024

When Endeavor went public in 2021, the agency pulled out all the stops to present itself as innovators and a disruptor — the kind of terminology Wall Street loves from tech companies. But, as it often goes with the media companies that try the same tack, “investors never fully bought it,” says David Lidsky, who joins to evaluate Endeavor’s recent decision to go private again. Also: Sean McNulty and Elaine Low discuss the culmination of Disney’s proxy war, and Peter Kiefer joins to break down his story on Silicon Valley’s new ideology around AI and why Hollywood should pay attention.

Also, we’ve been nominated for a Webby Award, vote for us here by April 18th!

Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here.

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UTA vs. the Talented Mr. Kassan Mar 29, 2024

Hollywood is filled with, er, colorful personalities. The one of the moment: Michael Kassan, the former MediaLink connector-in-chief now in dueling lawsuits with UTA. David Lidsky joins to reveal The Ankler’s investigative reporting into Kassan’s curious legal and financial history, including a $3.3m IRS tax lien taken out on his Beverly Hills home the week before he went to war with UTA. Also: Elaine Low on TV workers’ struggles as unemployment outpaces series cutbacks, and Richard Rushfield on the current studio merger landscape.

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Wall Street's War on Hollywood Mar 22, 2024

Wall Street likes surefire bets — growth companies that deliver predictable returns for infinite quarters. But in Hollywood, “you’re in the failure game,” says Richard Rushfield. Yet when the alchemy works, hits power the industry. Still studio leaders are mired in machinations to appease investors, often with disastrous results: a studio for sale (Paramount); activist investors (Disney); and open jobs at Netflix and NBCU that have almost nothing to do with creativity. Despite it all, when Sean McNulty and crew evaluate the upcoming box-office slate, they find cause for hope. After all, Ankler Rule No. 1: this is a business of hits.

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Disney, WBD and Hollywood's Jobs Shift Mar 15, 2024

One of the most plum jobs in entertainment historically has been that of the creative exec. But now, with data informing programming choices more than ever, and advertisers hungry for user information, Elaine Low examines how the job market is revealing those shifted priorities through the lens of the two most storied legacy studios, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery (while sharing a peek at Amazon Studios). Meanwhile, Sean McNulty lays out the current streaming advertising landscape, and Richard Rushfield opines on the lingering puzzles from the Oscars.

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Netflix's New Sports Playbook Mar 08, 2024

Richard Rushfield assessed the State of the Industry this week, and we have questions: Why is there reason for hope? Why is Netflix suddenly so into sports? What are its live TV ambitions? Is there really no superhero fatigue? Or do we just need better superhero movies, as Disney's Bob Iger says? Will the Oscar telecast be less than four hours? And will anyone watch? As always, Sean McNulty and Elaine Low join Richard to answer these questions and more, including perhaps the biggest one of all: Who will Richard be wearing at the Academy Awards on Sunday?

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Film Shakeup at Netflix and Disney Mar 01, 2024

This week featured two huge film jobs finding their man: Netflix and Disney. Over at Netflix, seasoned producer Dan Lin is set to replace Scott Stuber, and Disney promoted David Greenbaum from Searchlight head to Disney Studios head. Do these moves mean a return to more original fare? “There’s reason for hope,” says Richard Rushfield. “I mean, normally when you get these kinds of announcements, it’s like, ‘Ok, well, another person like that to a different person like that.’ But these are people you’re genuinely excited to see what they might do, so go figure.” Also: the crew discusses the Paramount and Endeavor earnings calls, and what the takeaways were from the whole earnings slate.

Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here.

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Warner Bros.' Wobbly Future Feb 23, 2024

As Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav pours money into reconstructing Robert Evans’ legendary estate, a far more daunting reconstruction awaits: his company. On Friday, WBD had its Q4 earnings report, and it wasn’t pretty. Zaslav’s company missed on both earnings and revenue, and the stock went down roughly 12 percent. The crew looks at what WBD’s head honcho's plan to remedy the disaster. Also: Richard Rushfield breaks down his five-part field guide for how to navigate Hollywood types, and Elaine Low gives an update on the upcoming IATSE negotiations.

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Paramount's Best/Worst Week Ever Feb 16, 2024

The gods of Hollywood never give with both hands. Just ask Paramount who, in one week, delivered a record-shattering Super Bowl and Jon Stewart’s triumphant return. But currently for sale, the debt-laden studio within days was laying off three percent of its workforce — roughly 800 staffers — and Warren Buffett shed a third of his stock in the company. The team weighs in on what appears to be a shortage of interested buyers, why, and what happens next. Also: Elaine Low on how to read the TV tea leaves from her chat with FX chief John Landgraf.

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Disney's Next Decade Feb 09, 2024

Disney CEO Bob Iger dropped one bombshell after another this week: a new ‘sports Hulu’ with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, a gaming splurge, and, yes, of course, news about Taylor Swift. As the Q4 earnings call revealed, theme park revenue continues to lead, as linear TV profits sunk, and streaming and the movie studio suffered nine-figure losses. What does it all mean? Elaine Low, sitting in as host of this week’s podcast, also shares her findings on where the jobs are (and aren’t) around the TV industry; Peter Kiefer joins to break down his big stories on the drama behind L.A.’s private school scene and the spiraling doc market. Transcript here.

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Netflix's Search for the Most Powerful Job in Film Feb 02, 2024

A film executive with a TV metabolism. Relationships with top talent. A culture fit in a challenging company. If you can manage all three, you might have a shot at the Netflix film chief role recently vacated by Scott Stuber. There’s lots of names in competition, but more reasons for boss Bela Bajaria to be picky. “If you judge power in film by how much you can green light, there’s no film job that’s even close to this,” says Richard Rushfield. Also: Elaine Low on the new reality in the unscripted space, and Peter Kiefer delves into Westwood’s historic Fox theater’s new ownership group, led by none other than Jason Reitman.

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The Rapid-Fire News Out of Netflix Jan 26, 2024

Netflix’s head of film, Scott Stuber, stepped down from his post after seven years in a perfect ankling (meaning, it was unclear who left whom and why). That shocker was followed by one bombshell after another: a massive 10-year, $5 billion deal for WWE Raw in its first move into live sports, the most Oscar nominations out of any studio, and a record subscriber count reported on its earnings call. All of it portends a different Netflix than the one we’ve known. “Who else is making giant moves like this right now?” asks Richard Rushfield, who earlier examined the Stuber departure. Also: Claire Atkinson joins to break down her buzzy story on Hollywood’s overworked, often abused PR chiefs to the CEOs.

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Ari Golds of a New Hollywood Jan 19, 2024

Inside the gleaming towers of marble and modern art containing Hollywood’s storied agencies lays the beehive of Hollywood: 10 percenters rolling calls and doing deals (that close slowly), and fresh faces filing the mailroom. But agencies aren’t immune to industry upheaval. Consolidation is just one reason more agents are leaving for management(resulting in a new class of manager superstars) as the team dives into our weeklong series about the representation business. Also: Elaine Low returns from TV conference NATPE, and Richard Rushfield and Peter Kiefer check in from Sundance.

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Pain in the New Year: Amazon Layoffs, Paramount Peril Jan 12, 2024

Toast the New Year with RC Cola? It’s the kind of subpar beverage apropos to the first days of 2024, where a dreary Golden Globes (the RC Cola of Awards Shows) was celebrated for not being the lowest-rated in history; one of the most valuable companies in the world (Amazon) laid off hundreds in Hollywood, and one of the most storied studios (Paramount) has perched a semi-permanent “For Sale” sign out front. “It’s not a great way to start off the year,” says Elaine Low, who’s joins Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield to survey the worsening landscape that — surprise! — may yet deliver some silver linings.

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'It's Like California in the 1920s' Jan 05, 2024

Five years ago, Hollywood rose up in protest over Saudi Arabian dissident Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, which U.S. intelligence found was approved by the country’s leader, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. Now, with Hollywood in lean times and in need of new markets, the Kingdom and its $776 billion sovereign wealth fund appear back in favor, reports Claire Atkinson, with one movie producer likening it to "California in the 1920s." Meanwhile, political waters also are churning around the Golden Globes, where a ribbon-wearing campaign for Israeli hostages being held captive by Hamas may or may not bear out, explains Peter Kiefer, who broke news of the efforts. Also: Andy Lewis delivers George Santos’ thoughts on an upcoming HBO film, and Richard Rushfield expounds on his New Year resolutions for Hollywood.

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The Most Blunder-ful Time of the Year! Dec 22, 2023

From mass layoffs to major strikes to multiplex disasters, the entertainment industry isn’t likely to forget 2023. Richard Rushfield runs through his annual Ankler 100, Hollywood’s most miserable moments of the year, as 2024 looms with even more possible disruption as a Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount merger raises myriad questions: Would a hypothetical deal even pass DoJ and FTC muster? What would HBO/Showtime and CNN/CBS News combos look like? And will any of these efforts even matter against Big Tech? Says Claire Atkinson, who joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low: “It feels to me like they need to do these huge acquisitions or else the tech guys are just going to run away with the show.”

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Note: The Ankler Podcast will not be releasing an episode next week. See you in 2024!

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A Peek Under Netflix's Secretive Hood Dec 15, 2023

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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What the Heck is 'Undeniable' TV? Dec 08, 2023

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.

Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here.

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What Movie Audiences Want for the Holidays Dec 01, 2023

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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In Conversation: Judy Blume & Kelly Fremon Craig Nov 25, 2023

‘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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72 Hours with Netflix in Vegas Nov 17, 2023

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.

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Actors and Their Digital Replicas: Hollywood’s New Reality Nov 16, 2023

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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Fran Drescher Q&A: How AI Brought Hollywood CEOs to the Brink Nov 11, 2023

“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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Joy, Worry and 'Very Tired Tears' Nov 10, 2023

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.

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Alex Cooper and the Bold Future of ‘Call Her Daddy’ Nov 03, 2023

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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Israel, Gaza and the Maha Brouhaha Oct 27, 2023

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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Streaming's Next 'Tooth and Nail' Fight Oct 20, 2023

The pivot into advertising is off to a rough start: Journalist Sahil Patel on the shuffle inside Netflix as it misses first-year ad goals by half.

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'A Culture of Dystopia and Nihilism' Oct 13, 2023

The world has no shortage of villains, and according to Jonathan Taplin, author of The End of Reality, Hollywood is currently up against four: Silicon Valley billionaires Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreessen and Elon Musk. “We have right now a culture of dystopia and nihilism,” says Taplin, who argues that ‘The Four’ are wreaking havoc yes, on politics and economics, but also popular culture by creating their own model of escapism, a role once filled by Hollywood.

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Hollywood Greenlights Get Harder Oct 06, 2023

Post-strike, writers have returned to a vastly changed industry. “A big theme I’m hearing from a lot of studio people is that the bar for a greenlight has just gotten much, much higher in the last few months,” says Richard Rushfield, who joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low to evaluate the worrisome post-strike landscape.

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An Agency's Golden Handcuff Quandary Sep 29, 2023

For years, CAA agents were promised a pot of gold. Now as the behemoth sells, the 10 percent crew cries foul over its own 10 percent.

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Five Days in September Sep 27, 2023

What went on during those last five crucial days of negotiations between the WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers? Showrunner and WGA negotiating committee member Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything) takes us behind-the-scenes of the talks.

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A Town Holds its Breath Sep 22, 2023

Looking for signals and signs that the end is near for the WGA strike. Plus, Peter Kiefer talks about one of the other casualties of the shutdown — Democratic political fundraising — as President Joe Biden faces the fight of his career.

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Lies, Whispers, Rumors: a Strike Struck Sep 15, 2023

Since the last round of talks between the WGA and AMPTP on Aug. 22, the deafening silence that fell over Hollywood kicked the rumor mill into overdrive. “This is a function of this stage of the strike where there's a vacuum of information… coupled with a deep sense of distress and desperation to try and figure this thing out,” says Peter Kiefer, who, together with Elaine Low, unraveled the real story of a proposed meeting between showrunners Kenya Barris, Noah Hawley and WGA leadership — and the agent-led whisper campaign behind it. Also: Richard Rushfield calls both sides to task for squabbling over process and procedure: “The rest of the industry should not be asked… to give up a year of income over a fight over whose turn it is to present something.”

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Inside the Era of Bob Iger 2.0 Sep 15, 2023

CNBC's Alex Sherman goes behind the scenes of Disney's succession plan disaster and the 'disintegration' of his inner circle.

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Nightmare Scenario of January 2024 Sep 08, 2023

Why a next-year end to the strike looks possible, what the Charter-Disney debacle has to do with it, and Richard Rushfield's TIFF report.

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The Ankler x Wakeup Summer Box Office Finale Sep 07, 2023

After making bold summer box office predictions at Memorial Day, Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield return to talk about the titles that took in $4 billion stateside, and crown one winning workhorse studio with the highest return on summer movie investments.

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Myth of the Hollywood Dream Job Sep 06, 2023

Labor contagion keeps spreading as union actions across the country catch fire. That's no coincidence, says labor journalist and Work Won’t Love You Back author Sarah Jaffe, who joins Elaine Low to discuss what disparate industries, from teaching to health care to Hollywood, have in common, but also what’s unique to creative people in entertainment and the arts.

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How to Quit Hollywood Sep 01, 2023

Former hotshot TV writer Patty Lin, who quit Hollywood in 2009 when industry toxicity overwhelmed her, discusses her dishy new memoir, 'End Credits'.

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'My Year is Gone Career-Wise' Aug 25, 2023

Before the strike, actress Addie Weyrich had an FX pilot. Today, she is waiting tables.

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Leaks, Meetings & Calls. Oh My! Aug 18, 2023

After months of silence, studio heads seem newly committed to reaching an agreement with the WGA.

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Lina Khan Q&A: Hollywood 'Red Flags', 'Doom Loop' & the Future of M&A Aug 16, 2023

FTC Chair Lina Khan on the agency’s views on the various crises roiling entertainment.

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'It Will Surprise Us How Fast it Can Disappear' Aug 11, 2023

Dickinson creator Alena Smith joins to discuss the destructive effects of streaming and the corporatization of entertainment.

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WBD and the Struggle of Legacy Studios Aug 04, 2023

Three earnings calls on the same day reveal how entertainment companies are no longer playing the same game.

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Studios, Strikers and a Tense Game of Chicken Jul 28, 2023

The WGA accuses the studios of being in a ‘mutual suicide pact.’

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Duncan Crabtree-Ireland: 'It Takes Two to Tango...the Companies Aren't Stepping Up' Jul 22, 2023

As Week 1 of the actors strike draws to a close, an interview with SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on Wall Street’s impact on the impasse, the stickiest issues on the table and more.

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The Raw Deal Point Roiling Hollywood Jul 21, 2023

Entertainment Strategy Guy joins to discuss perhaps the most existential of issues at the heart of the current SAG-studio impasse: profit sharing.

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Iger, Ire, Actors: Apocalypse Now Jul 14, 2023

For the first time in over 60 years, Hollywood is in the throes of a double strike.

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The Murky Definition of a Hit Show Jun 30, 2023

As streamers remove series and unions fight over residuals, agreeing on metrics is near impossible.

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Iger, Zaslav and the Hollywood CEO Crisis Jun 23, 2023

Who had the worst week in Hollywood? Was it Bob Iger, whose Disney headaches keep mounting? Or The Flash hype man David Zaslav, who watched his superhero film sputter just days before Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese scolded him? Hard to say, yet both CEOs face the same conundrum: “It starts with stopping the bleeding, to the best they can,” says Richard Rushfield, who joins Elaine Low and Sean McNulty. Also: how Taylor Sheridan became writers’ public enemy this week; Ryan Murphy’s decision to boomerang back to Disney; and why, with one week left in contract talks, it’s impossible to predict SAG’s next move.

Full transcript here.

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Inside Bob Iger's Ticking Timeline Jun 16, 2023

The most-watched entertainment company in the world, Disney lately is roiled by major exec changes, an animation eclipse from other studios, layoffs and a CEO racing to both name a successor and right the ship at the same time. CNBC media reporter Alex Sherman joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low to talk the perfect storm facing the company with less than 18 months left in Iger’s second term. Also: the PGA-LIV anti-trust problem (2:27), latest on the strike, and what’s next on the Sun Valley agenda (43:52).

Full transcript here.

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The Agency Titans Showdown Jun 09, 2023

Turning Tiffany into Walmart: that’s how Ari Emanuel recently described Bryan Lourd’s stewardship of CAA, putting some harsh, eyebrow-raising words behind the heated rivalry between the Endeavor and CAA chiefs. Peter Kiefer joins Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield to discuss his juicy profile of the war between the two agenting titans (21:26)— and why it explains Hollywood’s dilemmas of the moment. “We’re in the era of Ari and Bryan… and they really don’t like each other very much,” says Kiefer. Also: the PGA’s questionable decision to merge with the Saudi-backed LIV (4:05), how Jeff Zuckeroutplayed (former) CNN chief Chris Licht (7:43), and the state of the writers strike amid the DGA’s tentative deal and SAG’s negotiations (40:05).

For a transcript, click here.

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Hollywood Execs' Summer Bummer Jun 02, 2023

In-between thewriters and studio/streaming chiefs are Hollywood’s day-to-day working executives, who find themselves in a rare slowdown — and assorted existential crises.

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Summer's High Stakes Movie Showdown May 26, 2023

The box office drought is over. But there are only so many slots for winners.

For a transcript, click here.

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Hollywood's Disappearing ATM Machine May 19, 2023

What the death of cable TV has to do with the writers strike.

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How Writers are Winning the Strike Narrative May 12, 2023

How writers have leveraged themes around the gig economy, CEO pay and suspicions about Silicon Valley to their benefit.

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Warning Signs from Week One of the Strike May 05, 2023

With an impasse over everything from quotas to AI, the first week of the strike has revealed an entirely different playing field than the one from 2007-2008. Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low join Sean McNulty to talk what they’ve seen on the pickets, the particular ire at Netflix, the AI arguments, and the tenuous, shifting solidarity from the other guilds. And, the how and when this possibly ends. Also: David Zaslav’s optimistic earnings call and its impact on the strike (1:37), and the upcoming DGA negotiations (23:25).

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On the Ground with the WGA Picketers May 03, 2023

In a special Strikegeist episode, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield join Sean McNulty to report back what they are seeing and hearing (and the who’s who) at the picket lines across town. “Upbeat but not combative,” says Rushfield, who took in the scene outside Paramount. Also: why a short-term resolution doesn’t seem likely (10:36); takeaways from Elaine’s interview with WGA lead negotiator Ellen Stutzman (11:24); awkwardness surrounding FYC events (22:18); and why AI has more than just writers worried (13:21).

For by-the-minute coverage of the WGA strike, please subscribe to our free Strikegeist newsletter. And if you enjoy this podcast, please click here to subscribe.

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What Really Happened in Vegas Apr 28, 2023

If the theme of last year’s CinemaCon was “movies are back,” then this year’s is “movies are really back.” Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low join Sean McNulty to report what they saw during their three dizzying days at the Vegas pep rally.

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The Dark Underbelly of 'Love is Blind' Apr 21, 2023

As Hollywood braces for a writers strike, one genre of television will remain unscathed: unscripted. But reality has its own pitfalls: recently Netflix juggernaut Love is Blind whiffed in its attempt to livestream its reunion episode. Today, Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield are joined by Insider’s Katie Warren, whose recent piece exposed horrifying work conditions on the show for contestants — a reminder of how inexpensive costs and inexperience make unscripted so budget-friendly to make. Also on tap: how the DGA is entangled in WGA negotiations (1:22), the migration of entertainment execs to the gaming world, as reported by Low (25:22), and what to expect at CinemaCon next week (38:21).

For a full transcript, click here.

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Netflix Earnings: What We Learned Apr 19, 2023

Sean McNulty and Elaine Low analyze what the co-CEOs said (and didn’t) in its Q1 earnings report about the strike, subscribers, the ad tier and passwords.

For a full transcript, click here.

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Dr. Pimple Popper Meets Harry Potter Apr 14, 2023

For the first time in 13 years, the iconic HBO moniker will not headline a platform as HBO Max becomes Max. Was the brand that snobby?

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Drop the ‘HBO.’ Just ‘Max.’ It’s Cleaner (Wait - Is It?) Apr 13, 2023

Elaine Low and Sean McNulty discuss the implications of HBO Max's rebrand.

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Hollywood's New Grey Ceiling Apr 07, 2023

Entertainment was once dominated by brash young executives (Barry Diller, Sherry Lansing, Dawn Steel and Robert Evans all ascended in their thirties). Now? Nearly every top job in town belongs to someone with decades (and decades) of experience. “When there’s a storm, you turn to the steady captain who’s been at the helm before,” says Peter Kiefer, whose piece about Hollywood’s Grey Ceiling — frustrating to those waiting their turns at top — got the town talking (15:11). Also: Endeavor’s potential for middle America domination with its WWE-UFC merger (5:48), confusion around Amazon’s streaming strategy (11:04), and the surprising lack of kids movies in theaters (39:18).

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Strikes, Firings and the (Possible) Mother of All Mergers Mar 31, 2023

Hollywood’s tectonic plates are continuing their steady shift, this time with Netflix’s decision to part ways with longtime film execs Lisa Nishimura and Ian Bricke. The move raises the broader question of what other senior-level anklings are coming, an issue Elaine Low hit on in her reporting on Hollywood’s new workplace culture: “It's making people question, ‘what am I doing with my career?’” (32:25) Also: Martini Shot host and OG WGA member Rob Long explains why he flip-flopped and now supports the Guild’s demands (1:08); how a strike could affect release strategies and content creation pipelines (17:54), Richard Rushfield’s apocalyptic vision of the streamers’ strike game plan (34:47); and why the team is split on an analyst’s new recommendation that Apple should buy Disney (43:57).

For a full transcript of this episode, click here.

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Tom Ryan: The Future of FASTs in Streaming Mar 27, 2023

This is last in a series of conversations from NXStream Global, the March 8 summit from Advertising Week and The Ankler at UTA. The first three were with Tony Vinciquerra, Jeremy Zimmer and Rich Paul.

When Tom Ryan launched free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service Pluto TV in 2013, he defied the widely held belief that the future lay in on-demand, ad-free paid subscription services such as Netflix. Then, in 2019, he sold Pluto TV to Viacom for $340 million, becoming part of Paramount Global. “We've got the broadest possible content offering, and the broadest possible business model,” says Ryan. In conversation with Sean McNulty, Ryan, now president and CEO of Paramount Streaming, discusses the combination of Paramount’s assets with Pluto’s, now in 35 markets (8:54), the critical importance of “best of breed” partnerships around the globe for growth (16:57), and how Paramount+ added 10 million subscribers in Q4 — more than any other streamer (19:35).

For a full transcript of the conversation, click here.

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A Showdown Over Streaming Economics Mar 24, 2023

With a strike looming, will Apple, Amazon and Netflix decide to make real concessions.

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Is it Worth Working in Hollywood Anymore? Mar 17, 2023

Amid a looming writers strike, cutbacks across the board, price increases and layoffs, Hollywood is at an inflection point, both in terms of how Wall Street sees it and how Hollywood sees itself. New Ankler reporter Elaine Low joins Richard Rushfield and Sean McNulty to dissect the existential crisis around town, as people wonder, what does it even mean to work here anymore? “This year you're really gonna have both creatives and studio execs taking a good hard look at themselves,” says Low. (5:52 The trio also discuss what the average entertainment consumer wants and expects (22:50), whether Apple and Amazon will quit streaming if their core businesses fail to drive independent revenue (30:25), and the soon-to-begin WGA strike negotiations (45:10).

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Rich Paul: 'Don't Get Comfortable Having a Lot of Money' Mar 16, 2023

Sports agent Rich Paul shares his strategy for keeping clients like LeBron James and Jalen Hurts in the money.

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'It Was a Great Show': Bruce Vilanch Unpacks the Oscars Mar 13, 2023

Bruce Vilanch spent 14 of his 24 years on the Academy Awards as the show’s head writer (2000-2014), collaborating with hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, David Letterman and Steve Martin. Today, he breaks down why this year’s Oscars worked — from the use of live TV producers, to heartfelt speeches, to Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes.

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Jeremy Zimmer: I'm Siding With the WGA Mar 11, 2023

With the entertainment business in chaos, and a potential WGA strike looming, UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer comes out swinging in support of better economics for writers, and delivers sometimes scathing opinions about the unprofitable state of streaming, the great un-ordering of series, and stardom (including Leonardo Di Caprio's advice to Timotheé Chalamet).

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Streaming's Reckoning: Industry Titans Speak Up Mar 10, 2023

As the one-year anniversary of the Great Netflix Correction approaches, the town’s streaming future sure looks a lot more uncertain as Bob Iger, Jeremy Zimmer, UTA CEO, and Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra make pointed remarks about the un-sustainability of the current streaming economy.

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Tony Vinciquerra: Will Smith, the 'Woman King' Snub & Spider-Man's Future Mar 10, 2023

Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra talks to Janice Min about The Woman King’s Oscars snub; PlayStation and The Last of Us; the decision to work with Will Smith again, and Spider-Man and Kevin Feige.

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Hollywood at War: Now and Then Mar 03, 2023

For decades, the prevailing narrative around Gone With the Wind has been that it romanticized slavery and the antebellum south. But, as David Vincent Kimel learned when he discovered one of the film's few remaining shooting scripts, it almost did the exact opposite. The Yale grad student joins the podcast to talk about his groundbreaking story, which exposes the film's warring screenwriters and deleted scenes depicting the horrors of slavery (23:48). “It really is shocking how gritty and uncompromising that early material was,” he says. Also: Richard Rushfield's dire takeaways from talking with 20+ writers against the backdrop of a looming WGA strike (13:18), and the NBA agent joining our IRL Oscar week streaming summit (0:43).

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Richard Rushfield's Star Prom Date Feb 24, 2023

Today, Richard Rushfield dives deeper into his high school classmates growing up in L.A. (names include Matthew Greenfield, Jay Sures, Brett Morgen, Jason Blumenthal, Maya Rudolph and Jack Black),part of the many revelations from his profile in the Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair. Get ready to learn what car Sures drove, who carpooled with his sister, and which of the names above was his prom date (albeit group date). Also: the forces driving a near inevitable writers strike (19:02), how to interpret David Zaslav’s earnings call (10:11), and more on our IRL Oscar week streaming summit (39:04).

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What's Eating Hollywood Execs? Feb 17, 2023

“It’s a terrible place to make creative decisions when fear seeps into the process,”Peter Kiefer tells our hosts, as he explains what he learned from interviews with a dozen of the town’s senior executives (13:39). Some culprits? Underwater stock options, a top-down obsession with optics, the ruthless demands of Wall Street and private equity, and a relentless mining of old IP. Oh yeah, and the constant threat of layoffs. Also: our IRL Oscar week streaming summit (1:00), the new nepo-ex atop AMC Networks (4:13), Don Lemon’s bad behavior (11:06), and Richard Rushfield’s advice (34:43) for Jenna Ortega and all stars.

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How Hollywood AI Will Make 'Every Creative Job Look Different' Feb 10, 2023

Few technological disruptors to the entertainment industry have appeared quite as fast, or as existentially forebodingly, as artificial intelligence. After ChatGPT, DALL-E and other new AI technologies became publicly available in recent months, Cornell Law professor James Grimmelmann says, “I could feel the ground shifting.”Today, he walks our hosts through samples of AI music, script-writing and visual effects, and the ways in which the industry may be forced to evolve. “I don’t think Hollywood should be afraid. But every person should be thinking how every creative job… is going to look different as a result of this.” Also on tap: what’s coming under Bob Iger’s second shot at Disney.

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Actors' New Job Anxiety: 'Everyone's Afraid' Feb 03, 2023

In what Mark Zuckerberg has deemed the “year of efficiency” — corporate-speak for layoffs and cost-cutting — economic pressures are being felt across Hollywood, from writers to producers to below-the-line workers and, of course, actors. Joining today, seasoned actress Rebecca Metz (Better Things, Shameless) reveals how unique circumstances for performers (shorter seasons, exclusivity windows, the disappearance of residuals) have taken a toll, even for those on hit series. As actors, making less now, leave L.A. (“I have a lot of friends who have left town”), Metz puts forth a straightforward career goal for the streaming era: to “like my life while being able to support myself.”

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What to Know About Netflix's New Co-CEO Jan 20, 2023

It's certainly not the soap opera that went down at Disney, but Netflix’s new succession plan might turn out to be just as earth-shaking. Prior to the streamer’s Q4 earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings announced Greg Peters, current COO and CPO, as his replacement. Insider’s Elaine Low joinshosts Sean McNulty and Janice Min to discuss her reporting on the little-known Peters, breaking down who he is (physics and astrophysics major at Yale, foodie), how he complements co-CEO Ted Sarandos (Peters isunaffected by Hollywood glamour), and what it portends for the world’s biggest streamer.

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Why it Worked: The 'Otto' Surprise Jan 16, 2023

Host Sean McNulty sits with Josh Greenstein, president of Sony’s Motion Picture Group, to break down the studio’s latest theatrical success, Tom Hanks’ A Man Called Otto (a $15 million opening weekend). The two dig into Greenstein’s out-of-the-box marketing campaigns that reached Otto’s broad demographic — from AARP screenings, to an advent calendar, to Hanks’ TikTok debut. Greenstein also talks the studio’s new deal with Legendary, the upcoming Spider-man movie and CEO Tom Rothman’s strategy for making movies. Says Greenstein, “We’re really trying to bring all audiences into the tent.”

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The Disney Drama Continues! Jan 13, 2023

This week, the Disney soap opera took even more twists with a board shake-up and vocal misgivings from today’s Hollywood bogeyman: the activist investor. Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield unpack the welts from Nelson Peltz (which include a finger wag for the $71 billion purchase of Fox), and why Disney attracts so much drama. Also: Richard shares his view from the inside of the Golden Globes, its predictable ratings collapse, and what it augers for awards season. Lastly, with Richard jetting off to the Sundance Film Festival, the team talks about the indie sector’s theatrical wing all but in collapse, and what might come out of the confab. (Note, click here for a special invitation to an Ankler event for readers and listeners in Park City.)

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Why it Worked: Jason Blum and James Wan on 'M3GAN' Jan 11, 2023

Host Sean McNulty wanted to start the New Year with stories of success in a new Ankler podcast series, Why it Worked. First up: horror’s top hitmakers, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Atomic Monster’s James Wan, the powerhouses behind low-budget smash M3GAN. The two talk the viral TikTok dance trend, what made the movie and campaign work, how they look at tracking (or don’t), and why the studios and streamers struggle to produce their own low-budget, high-margin hits. Will there be a M3GAN sequel? The duo answer, as well as questions around how they work together, the status of their merger, and future plans. As Blum puts it: “Thank God this one part of the business is still working!”

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The NFL vs. Awards Shows Jan 06, 2023

When Buffalo Bill Daram Hamlin awoke in the hospital following his dramatic medical crisis during Monday Night Football, his first words in the hospital were “Did we win?” On today’s pod, Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Janice Min, joined by The Bulwark’s Sonny Bunch, contrast the NFL’s high-stakes dramas to the deterioration of the public’s interest in Hollywood’s own competitions: awards shows (of the top 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in 2022, 82 were NFL games; the Oscars were 77th on the list). With the Golden Globes just days away (and likely programmed on Tuesday to no go opposite football), the four discuss the void of anticipation, who and what is owning the public mindshare right now if not for movies and TV, Avatar: The Way of the Water, and if the audience should feel optimistic about movies in this year ahead.

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2022: The Best (But Mostly Worst) of Times Dec 23, 2022

In the final pod of the year, The Ankler looks back on Hollywood’s tumultuous 12 months and what lies ahead in 2023. Hosts Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield are joined by Jason Hirschhorn, CEO of digital content and curation company REDEF, for a probing discussion around the state of Hollywood and the Streaming Wars. Hirschhorn discusses hard choices facing media giants as they pivot from customer acquisition to retention, and what the implications are for programming (12:42). The trio also talks which companies are best positioned for next year (28:36), the changes ads bring (15:25) and whether anyone will ever be able to unravel the apps and services jungle that viewers must navigate to watch shows (32:42). Topping it off: their picks for best of 2022 (60:55).

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The DC Universe Soap Opera Dec 16, 2022

Is anything more dramatic than the DC Universe (16:19)? With a history that includes off-screen ups and downs around Henry Cavill, Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon, Christopher Nolan, Ben Affleck and Amber Heard, “it’s like a soap opera in its 11th season,” says Richard Rushfield, who joins hosts Sean McNulty and Tatiana Siegel. The group unpacks the controversial decisions from new chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery’s adjacent HBO Max library purge (23:52). Also: Ankler contributor Nicole LaPorte discusses her buzzy grim story about the new hustle life for Hollywood writers, and if Bob Iger was the hidden hand behind Disney movies suddenly landing China releases (37:41).

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The Talented Ms. Finch Dec 09, 2022

In recent years, Hollywood embraced the “authorship” principle — the belief that writers and filmmakers best share the “lived experience” of their subjects to be authentic. As relayed by Peter Kiefer, the Ankler contributor whose bombshell Elisabeth Finch interview has rocked the town, the producers of medical soap opera Grey’s Anatomy, Shondaland, wholly embraced this belief system. Kiefer explains to hosts Sean McNulty, Janice Min and Tatiana Siegel not only how he ended up with Finch’s confessions, but how the current climate may have aided and abetted her staggering series of lies. In five hours of taped interviews, Finch confesses: “It was absolutely dead wrong to do that… Culturally it became cooler if [the pitch] was based on something in reality.” Even if the reality was fiction.

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Rearranging the Deck Chairs Dec 02, 2022

Three months into the job as AMC Networks, CEO Christina Spade was shown the door — a shorter tenure than even ousted Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s (26:42). “Not even a word from her. It was literally an announcement in a SEC filing,” notes host Sean McNulty. “Then, the next day they announced 20 percent of the staff is being let go.” This comes on the heels of a week of stunning reorgs at CNN, Paramount and Amazon. McNulty, joined by Richard Rushfield, Tatiana Siegel and Ankler contributor Nicole LaPorte also discussed the increasingly bleak outlook for producers (14:59) and the curious case of the Emancipation red carpet where no reporter dared breathe a word of The Slap (2:59).

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The Week the Floor Fell Out — Again Nov 18, 2022

Watching the fiasco consuming Twitter, Hollywood might think it’s above the madness. But the mood of workers in entertainment feels more like the spiraling social media platform than anyone wants to believe. Amazon is laying off 10,000 people, Roku is cutting 200, John Malone said streaming economics have lead to “blood running down the gutters” and Vice Media seeks to cut 15 percent of its budget — which won’t come from “saving paper clips,” says Janice Min, joined by host Sean McNulty. Also: the role of tech-driven economics on Hollywood chaos (10:28), Twitter’s Elon Musk-fueled descent (13:46), the future of crypto stories in film and TV (23:41), and Marvel’s snowballing franchise fatigue (37:30).

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The Last Movie Stars in Hollywood Nov 11, 2022

Jennifer Aniston declared the movie star dead. Now hosts Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Tatiana Siegel, joined by Rob Long, offer their condolences as Hollywood scatters the ashes of its once-mighty creation (21:02), destroyed by self-inflicted wounds (and names of those who still endure). The group also talks agents and managers (7:32), and how streaming makes them — for better or worse — more valuable. “Streamers are so besieged with 2,000 shows in production that they demand any project [have] everybody attached,” says Rushfield. “They need a whole package ready to go.” Also: Early returns on The Ankler’s ruthless Agents, Managers and Attorneys poll (3:38) and schadenfreude over Silicon Valley’s woes (49:30): Says Long, “I am celebrating the humbling of our overlords.”

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Second Inning of Hollywood Hell Nov 04, 2022

Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Roku, Lionsgate. Third-quarter earnings reports are all variations on a theme: things are bad. Layoffs are hitting every corner, and streaming “clearly [is] not making money yet and will not for another two years if it even gets to that point for some of these companies,” says host Sean McNulty (30:31), joined by Janice Min, Richard Rushfield and Tatiana Siegel, as the team lays out likely scenarios coming (including the “twin apocalypse” of a recession and a writers guild strike). Ankler contributor Peter Kiefer also joins to dissect Tuesday’s election, including a town divided over Rick Caruso v. Karen Bass for mayor and a wild Los Angeles County supervisor race rife with antisemitism allegations (5:10). Also on tap: Jeff Zucker’s $1 billion comeback (32:36).

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It's Not Just You. Things are Gloomy Oct 28, 2022

Recession. Ad declines. Subscriber plateaus. The tides continue to shift since the Great Streaming Bubble’s implosion of 2022. In the wake of a pessimistic Q3 earnings season, hosts Sean McNulty, Janice Min and Richard Rushfield are joined by CNBC media reporter Alex Sherman to break down the town’s latest thoughts around David Zaslav (1:35); if Comcast should give up on Peacock (16:30); why Apple didn’t discuss Apple TV+ on its earnings call (spoiler: there was likely no good news, 14:59); and if it make sense for Microsoft to acquire Netflix (16:30). Lastly, Sherman hits on Wall Street’s confusion around it all: “Wall Street doesn’t love mixed messages.”

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Netflix: Where Quantity is Job 1 Oct 21, 2022

Netflix has released more than 45 films(!) so far in 2022, the majority of which are neither loved by critics nor audience, according to Rotten Tomatoes (and as analyzed film-by-film by host Sean McNulty). Not a single one of the other streamers and studios has reached the same average level of disapproval (for the record, everyone else combined have released a total of 86 films in the same time frame). McNulty, Janice Minand Richard Rushfield discuss the quantity vs. quality debate, and if it matters for Netflix, whose Q3 earnings showed subscriber growth. The trio discuss the opposite strategy in play by David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. Discovery (see: WBD: What’s the Plan column) and why (try to contain your excitement!) not all debt is created equal.

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Netflix is Growing. Just Not in the U.S. Oct 19, 2022

Netflix took a victory lap on Tuesday with its Q3 earnings report that revealed — surprise! —the company beat its revenue forecast (or, as host Sean McNulty likes to say, Netflix underpromised and overdelivered). In a special episode recorded at Advertising Week in New York, McNulty, Janice Minand Richard Rushfield break down the ad tier (9:00); the streamer’s 2.4 million subscriber growth stagnating in the U.S., but exploding in Asia (1:09); the company’s not-so-subtle roasting of its money-losing competition (5:35); the comeback of Ryan Murphy with Dahmer (6:52) and its dunk on House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power; the streamer’s theatrical plans for Glass Onion (12:26), and Netflix’s commitment to gaming but not sports (21:57).

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'The Writers Guild Wants a Time Machine' Oct 07, 2022

With a potential WGA strike on the horizon, can the chasm between studios and angry writers be bridged? Hosts Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Tatiana Siegel are joined by Martini Shot host (and WGA member) Rob Long to unpack the impending doom. “The Writers Guild continually strikes for a time machine and to go back and change the way [deals] were written,” notes Long. “‘If only I could go back and’ as we always say, kill Hitler.” The foursome also talk Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s questionable victory lap (38:55), David O. Russell’s very odd on-set antics (31:43); and Netflix’s never-say-never theatrical release of Glass Onion (5:27)

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Awards Shows' Last Stand Sep 23, 2022

Viewership for Hollywood awards shows is plummeting. Hosts Janice Min, Tatiana Siegel and Sean McNulty survey the rocky terrain that’s led to the Golden Globes’s shaky one-year NBC deal (far less than its once-$60 million a year license fee), and prompted the Academy’s new Hail Mary efforts to remake the Oscars (and red carpet) for ABC. “There’s no way now they’re getting $100 million a year [today],” McNulty says. In a season where Avatar 2, Steven Spielberg, Top Gun: Maverick and Elvisare in the mix, the shows are throwing everything against the wall to remain culturally relevant — with streamers likely their next home. The team also unpacks Amazon’s Thursday Night Football numbers(9:41), Apple Music’s Super Bowl steal (6:30), and Spielberg’s Toronto audience award with The Fabelmans (42:25).

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P.R. vs. Journos: the Toronto Chill Sep 16, 2022

Hosts Janice Min, Richard Rushfield, Tatiana Siegel and Sean McNulty take stock of a new phenomenon on the festival circuit fest: the ever-shrinking and choreographed press conference (20:34). High-profile press conferences — from Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical The Fabelmans to Harry Styles’ period gay drama The Policeman — featured questions vetted in advance (likely a result of Venice’s Don’t Worry Darling debacle), with Styles answering just one question at the My Policeman post-premiere Q&A. “It’s an erosion of the ability to report at a festival,” says Siegel. Also on tap, the hosts tackle the arrival of Thursday Night Football on Amazon (6:19), woeful Emmys ratings (3:52) as well as Bob Chapek and Brian Roberts’ “public negotiation” over Hulu (28:41).

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Emmys' Brutal Hangover Sep 13, 2022

Oof — well, that’s an Emmys down. Today, hosts Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield dissect the Emmys, and what it says about the streaming giants who stage their annual showdown over bragging rights with increasingly little meaning to the larger audience. Who comes out of this show stronger Diminished? And would all the streamers just be better off ignoring the Emmys altogether? The hosts also throw around some wild ideas on how to fix this awards show and others, and what lies before us on the next road to Oscar.

(Curious minds can click here to watch the Love Boat 1983 ABC Fall Preview Special referenced in the episode.)

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The Forgotten Audience Sep 09, 2022

What does America really want to watch? In recent years, Hollywood has become obsessed with prestige content — the kind, as host Richard Rushfield puts it, that entertainment executives can talk about green-lighting to impress people at dinner parties. Richard, Janice Min, Tatiana Siegel, and The Wakeup’s Sean McNulty break down surprising stats that reveal how and why Hollywood became out of touch with so much potential audience (the subject of Entertainment Strategy Guy’s “The American Viewer” series), a topic with new urgency as streaming growth in the U.S. plateaus (28:19). Also, Richard and Tatiana check in from the Toronto International Film Festival (05:26), the hosts discuss the MIA marketing heads of streaming (13:04), and Sean lays out the details of Cineworld’s unsurprising bankruptcy filing (23:36).

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Streaming 2.0: Let's Make a Deal! Sep 02, 2022

For the price of just a few coffee runs, you can access the entire Peacock catalogue – Sunday Night Football, Love Island, and all – for a full calendar year right now. That deep-cut offer ($20 for 12 months) might signal red flags unique to the no-growth Comcast streamer, but drastic lever-pulling is engulfing the entire streaming marketplace (16:20) — from price slashing (Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount+/Showtime bundling) to ad tiers (Netflix and Disney+). Hosts Janice Min, Richard Rushfield, and The Wakeup’s Sean McNulty also talk House of the Dragon vs. Rings of Power (10:24), the return of monoculture (41:15), and the decline of marketing-sculpted movie stars (44:34). Plus: Richard struggles when quizzed about Netflix’s top 10 movie openings weekends from Summer 2022 (47:05).

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Mad at Zaz Aug 26, 2022

Rarely does an entertainment CEO become a trending topic on Twitter, but that’s exactly where Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav found himself this week as heat increases over his company’s layoffs, DEI handling, the removal of library content including hundreds of Sesame Street episodes from HBO Max, and those so-called ‘funeral screenings.’ Hosts Janice Min, Richard Rushfield, and The Wakeup’s Sean McNultyhone in on what’s happening behind closed doors and why as mounting debt puts increasing pressure on the company. Also on today’s episode, the trio play producer Dan Lin’s prophetic remarks aboutDC (11:44), and run down Entertainment Strategy Guy’s fantasy M&A picks (23:40) for an embattled industry.

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Have We Reached Peak Anxiety? Aug 19, 2022

The town may finally be acknowledging the undeniable pressures unique to this industry. This week, Jonah Hill, Tom Holland and Ezra Miller all said they are modifying their behavior to protect their mental health. Hill is stepping away from promoting his movies and making public appearances due to panic attacks; Holland announced he has abandoned social media to help stay emotionally balanced; and Ezra Miller is seeking treatment for a complex mental health issue. Hosts Janice Min, Richard Rushfield, Tatiana Siegel and Sean McNulty survey Hollywood’s littered emotional landscape and how an industry whose very businesses are in current disarray adds another layer of stress onto its inhabitants. Separately, the hosts dive into new headlines ranging from Netflix’s Scott Stuber interviewing at Amazon, and Brian Stelter’s firing from CNN.

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Emmys Live TV Virtuoso Tells All Aug 12, 2022

There’s nothing more stressful or exhilarating than the high-wire act of live television. The Ankler Hot Seat podcast host Tatiana Siegel welcomes one of the best in the genre: Hamish Hamilton, director of the upcoming 74th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 12. Londoner Hamilton has helmed some of the most memorable moments of live TV including this year’s Super Bowl halftime extravaganza, Kanye West’s interruption of Taylor Swift’s VMA win, and the London Olympics Opening Ceremony when Queen Elizabeth jumped out of a helicopter (yes, she rehearsed that move 5-6 times!). Hamilton also previews his live Beauty and the Beast with H.E.R., coming up on ABC. An Emmy nominee himself this year (for the 2022 Super Bowl), he also weighs in on two live shows he didn’t direct: the Oscar slap flap and the 2004’s Nipplegate at the Super Bowl. “You want people to be talking about your show,” says Hamilton. “On another hand, you want everybody who hits that stage, for it to be a safe place.”

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Disney Subscriber Victory? Not So Fast Aug 11, 2022

Following Disney’s Q2 earnings call, many headlines declared the company’s victory over Netflix as Disney+ subscribers reached 221 million — squeaking ahead of Netflix (at 220.67 million). But in this episode, The Wakeup’s Sean McNultytells Janice Minand Richard Rushfieldthat, in this case, the numbers don’t reveal the whole story (think India, domestic stagnation and revenue per subscriber). The trio also discuss the town’s curious changing narrative around Disney chief Bob Chapek, the company's declared break-even point for streaming, and the date the company has circled in its calendar to stop losing money on streaming. All this, plus other juicy tidbits (for those who love data and analysis, that is).

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'At What Point Do You Make a Profit?' Aug 05, 2022

On this episode, hosts Janice Min, Tatiana Siegel and The Wakeup’s Sean McNulty take quick measure of entertainment’s giants after another day of wild Q2 earnings calls all about streaming that included Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and Lionsgate. Some quantified(ish) what success looks like down the road; others stayed vague. WBD CEO David Zaslav said that HBO Max and Discovery+, which boast a total of 92 million combined subscribers worldwide, will break even as a united service when it adds another 40 million, likely in 2024 or 2025, as $3 billion in “efficiencies” (ouch), start to unroll. Paramount CEO Bob Bakish called their losses “a growth phase” (a $445 million loss last quarter against revenues of $672 million). All begged the hard question: when does streaming investment actually begin to pay off?

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* What?! Netflix Just Lost its Biggest TV Show in America

* Will Peacock Exist in a Year?

* Which Streamer Has the Most Bombs in 2022?

* Who Killed the Marvel Juggernaut?

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Will Peacock Exist in a Year? Jul 29, 2022

As recession fears mount, Comcast becomes the latest to deliver a bleak earnings picture, with its streaming service Peacock stuck firm on 13 million subscribers, despite spending over $2 billion a year on content.

Hosts Janice Min, Tatiana Siegel and Sean McNulty discuss what that might mean for its future and what to expect next on the earnings front (Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and Lionsgate will report their results in the coming days, and the New York Times and BuzzFeed are on deck amid the ever-shrinking digital ad spend).

Also on today’s episode, Netflix gives a limp green light to more of The Gray Man, and lands the opening movies for the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. But are those slots cursed?

Which Streamer Has the Most Bombs in 2022

Netflix Saved by ‘Stranger Things’

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Martini Shot: Agents are People Too Jul 27, 2022

This week, Rob Long has a confession to make: he likes agents—they’re “the friendly bacteria in the lower intestine of the dirty business we call entertainment,” he says. In defense of this controversial point of view (well, for a writer, anyway), Rob offers a cautionary tale about a past-his-prime agent who, along with his assistant, saves the career of a struggling writer with a spec sale of an old script. In the process, he reinvigorates his own career and gets the assistant promoted to agent, too. All’s well that ends well, right? But that’s not the end of the story.

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Streaming's New Bad Omen Jul 22, 2022

Earnings season is underway, and everyone should be taking notice of Snapchat’s dismal performance (and Twitter’s that followed). The tech company’s stock took a 27 percent nosedive immediately after reporting shocking ad sales declines. That portends a bleak near future for every ad-dependent entity — including Netflix and the streaming services increasingly pivoting to advertising to save the day. Is the chill temporary or is a new ice age afoot? Janice Min, Tatiana Siegel and The Wakeup’s Sean McNulty break it down. Also: Yellowstone is TV’s biggest hit, but Hollywood isn't rushing to replicate its success. And TCA scraps its in-person event and goes virtual. Is it really about Covid — or just a convenient excuse?

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Netflix Saved by 'Stranger Things' Jul 20, 2022

The Netflix Q2 2022 subscriber numbers are in! And… huh. No splat. What does the lack of a collapse — but not exactly successful April through June quarter — indicate about the state of the streaming business at the midway mark of 2022?Hosts Janice Min and Richard Rushfield are joined by Ankler contributor Sean McNulty, writer of the daily morning newsletter The Wakeup to dive into the numbers beneath the headlines, including increasing clouds on the U.S. horizon, what the picture looks like in Q3, and what to expect from the rest of the streaming service subscriber reports to come in the weeks ahead.

Subscribe to The Ankler, and you also get The Wakeup included in your subscription each weekday morning among the collection of newsletters bringing you behind the doors of the Hollywood and media business.

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EMMYS! 'Yellowjackets' > 'Yellowstone' 🏆 Jul 13, 2022

The Emmy noms are in. After months of posturing, positioning and the biggest glut of prestige entertainment the world has ever seen, the votes have been tallied and the final sprint towards the big night is off and running. Besides the usual snubs and surprises, this year’s crop was a barometer on the state of the streaming wars and television in general. To sift through the results, host Richard Rushfield is joined by L.A. Times Pulitzer Prize winner and longtime TV critic Mary McNamara, television writer and Martini Shothost Rob Long, and Sean McNulty, author of The Wakeup. On the roundtable today: which mogul had the worst day? Why is Yellowstone the odd bison out? And lastly, our panelists name their picks for what will win and what should win.

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Pod: Married to the Bob Jul 01, 2022

Today’s Ankler Hot Seat podcast dissects this week’s move by the Disney board to extend CEO Bob Chapek’s contract for three more years. Hosts Richard Rushfield and Tatiana Siegel are joined by Ankler contributing editor Peter Kiefer to discuss why the Twitter mob — hailing from both the right and the left of the political divide — tried (and failed) to topple the P.R.-challenged chief from his top perch. The trio also breaks down Disney employees’ internal anger over the company’s exclusion of Planned Parenthood from its corporate matching gift program (which supports many pro-life crisis pregnancy centers). And it’s time to celebrate (or rue) the 15-year anniversary of the iPhone, whereby Hollywood’s collective attention span has become so short it can no longer follow an Adam Sandler movie plotline.

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Pod: The King Is Dead? Jun 24, 2022

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Today’s Ankler Hot Seat podcast tackles this weekend’s big studio opening, the oft-challenged biopic Elvis. Hosts Tatiana Siegel and Richard Rushfield are joined by The Wakeup writer Sean McNulty to discuss the $85 million Warner Bros. film that endured a lengthy production shutdown back in March 2020 when Tom Hanks became the first celebrity to land in the hospital with Covid. Add to that an untested star in Austin Butler, a 2-hour-and-40-minute runtime and a jam-packed marketplace with such options as holdovers Top Gun, Jurassic World: Dominion and Lightyear, as well as new horror entry The Black Phone.

But McNulty notes that the biggest problem is “Does anybody care about Elvis?” He adds: “I'm in my mid-40s and I have a mild curiosity about him. I didn't grow up on his music. So does anybody born after 1980 really care about Elvis, or really care to find out if they don't know [his music]?”

Siegel, who was on the ground for the Cannes Film Festival in May, says that Warners also didn’t capitalize on the built-in buzz of premiering at the festival because — unlike Top Gun — Elvis bowed so late in the festival that most attendees were gone by that point. Additionally, Presley songs have not remained part of the popular music canon in the way Elton John and Queen had before the releases of biopics Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody.

Rushfield also highlights that older Middle America — the most natural demo for Elvis — might be put off by director Baz Luhrmann’s take on the King. “The Baz Luhrmann treatment has him skewed in a way that's emphasizing Elvis as this sort of transgressive figure in a way that's definitely not making a pitch towards Elvis' natural fan base,” Rushfield says. “The great advantage of this film is that all the people that you might blame for it are gone. There's nobody at Warner Bros. taking the fall for this movie.”

If preview tallies for Elvis are any indication, $3.5 million doesn’t bode well for the film. (The low-budget Black Phone did $3 million in fewer theaters.)

The trio also broke down why Lightyear stumbled and what it means for beleaguered CEO Bob Chapek as well as more Netflix layoffs (and more schadenfreude).

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