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What I'm Hearing...
Matthew Belloni
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Sunday and Thursday
An insider-friendly tip sheet from Matthew Belloni, who spent 14 years in the trenches at The Hollywood Reporter and five before that as an entertainment lawyer. Subscribers also receive What I’m Hearing+, Julia Alexander’s companion email focused on the streaming industry and the players who run it all.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
HOLLYWOOD
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September 25, 2022
The Talent Agency Hunger Games
While CAA’s Bryan Lourd is embracing his role as King of Hollywood after absorbing ICM, and WME is installing new leaders, the pressures of a changing industry have forced the sharks to audition for their own jobs.
HOLLYWOOD
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September 24, 2022
Oprah and Apple Are Splitting Up
Four years ago, Oprah signed a gigantic multi-year deal with Apple. That relationship is now changing.
HOLLYWOOD
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September 22, 2022
The Golden Globes’ Contract Year
After a scandal, hiatus, and failed attempt to nab Chris Rock, the Globes are back on NBC but as an aging player in a contract year, hoping to avoid a celebrity boycott, put up impressive-enough numbers, test free agency, and ultimately take their talents to, er… CBS or Netflix.
HOLLYWOOD
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September 18, 2022
The Oscars May Go Down Fighting
New Academy C.E.O. Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang have an ambitious plan—eventizing the show, amping up the hype machine, going full-blown top-shelf talent and Met Gala—but can they save the Academy from itself?
HOLLYWOOD
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September 16, 2022
What the Hell Is Happening with ‘Ted Lasso’?
Apple’s zeitgeist-defining Emmys magnet has been plagued by production delays and the perfectionism of star-auteur Jason Sudeikis. But the biggest obstacle to Season 3 might be the unresolved question of how streaming blockbusters are valued, and who reaps the benefits, in the post-TV era of television.
HOLLYWOOD
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September 11, 2022
Stallone’s Reality Bites & More Netflix Drama
A ‘Kardashians’-style unscripted show following Sly’s family (and his unfolding divorce) is the latest in a series of surprising, revenue-generating maneuvers for the ‘Rocky’ star as he re-capitalizes on his fame. Plus news on the latest Netflix re-org and seven questions about the Emmys.
HOLLYWOOD
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September 8, 2022
The Book of Reed Hastings, Revisited
Two short years ago, the Netflix visionary and chief corporate philosopher wrote a business memoir extolling all the qualities that made his company totally unique, different, and special. So what happens when his stock tanks and he’s taking pages from everyone else’s playbook?
HOLLYWOOD
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September 5, 2022
Netflix’s U-Turn & the Next CNN Purge
The real conversation inside Hollywood and Wall Street about Reed and Ted’s ad-tier about-face, Zaslav’s narrative heel-turn, Chapek’s ESPN dilemma, and the long arm of John Malone.
HOLLYWOOD
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September 1, 2022
The Tendo Exit and the New Netflix
Back in 2018, Sarandos pitched Nagenda on the promise of building out a spare-no-expense team to focus only on making great studio-style movies, and running it with autonomy—the Netflix culture. Then the Great Correction happened.
HOLLYWOOD
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August 28, 2022
Worry, Darling. Worry a Lot.
Is Olivia Wilde’s recent P.R. train wreck the result of sexism, or various unforced errors, or is it simply a near-term headache that will be absolved after her film Don’t Worry Darling proves that she was a media genius all along?