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Matthew Belloni, Eriq Gardner, Julia Alexander, Kim Masters & Scott Mendelson
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Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
An essential, insider-friendly Hollywood tip sheet from Matthew Belloni, who spent 14 years in the trenches at The Hollywood Reporter and five before that practicing entertainment law. What I’m Hearing also features veteran Hollywood journalist Kim Masters, as well as a special companion email from Eriq Gardner, focused on entertainment law, and weekly box office analysis from Scott Mendelson.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
Matthew Belloni
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November 11, 2022
Hollywood’s Path of Mutually Assured Destruction
Writers are angrier than ever, and ready to strike. But between the industry’s streaming arms race and stock market woes, those studio water towers aren’t exactly overflowing with champagne these days. Look out below.
Matthew Belloni
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November 7, 2022
The CW Chooses Its Undertaker
Brad Schwartz is taking over the last-place broadcast network that has become little more than a linear money pit, and the numbers are only getting worse. Those Greg Berlanti-produced Y.A. shows and DC Comics adaptations are likely coming to an end under new owner Nexstar, and ultimately, the economics of the entire network probably aren’t sustainable.
Matthew Belloni
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November 4, 2022
Why Ari Emanuel Banned Amy Pascal
Emanuel may be the C.E.O. of a public company, but he isn’t above putting the chill on an executive when they refer talent to Bryan Lourd.
Matthew Belloni
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November 4, 2022
Hollywood’s Worsening Catch-22
The plunging value of entertainment companies presents terrible options: limit streaming spending too much and you risk being left behind; go all in and you risk spending yourself out of business. Is there a magical middle ground?
Matthew Belloni
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October 31, 2022
Five Awkward Questions for the New DC Studios
The inside conversation percolating in Hollywood about the new Gunn-Safran regime, and what it might reveal about Zaslav’s strategy to take on Marvel.
Matthew Belloni
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October 31, 2022
The Will Smith Image Rehab Tour, Sponsored By Apple
If anyone wonders whether there are consequences in Hollywood for bad behavior, just juxtapose Smith’s seamless redemption tour for Emancipation with what people were saying about him after the Slap at the Oscars.
Matthew Belloni
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October 24, 2022
The Next Star Wars Movie Terrifies Lucasfilm
Kathleen Kennedy’s stewardship of the movie franchise continues to baffle as a key right-hand exits and a new film, perhaps the one in development with Damon Lindelof, isn’t expected until at least 2025, six years after ‘Rise of Skywalker.’ With Marvel churning out multiple movies every year, such a massive pause is borderline corporate negligence.
Matthew Belloni
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October 21, 2022
The Netflix Middle-Finger Quarter
After a yearlong humbling on Wall Street, Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos’ victory-lap earnings call was both offensive and defensive—an F-U to the haters who cast doubt on the company’s ability to remain disruptive. Some arguments landed more solidly than others.
Matthew Belloni
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October 17, 2022
Mark Shapiro on Endeavor’s Ultimate Fight
The president of the multi-tentacled entertainment giant discusses the future of live sports, talent representation, all those acquisitions, the streaming economy, UFC, CAA, the company’s post-I.P.O. dip, Ari’s vision, and much more.
Matthew Belloni
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October 14, 2022
Chris Albrecht’s Past Is Prologue
A gruesome incident from the executive’s past, largely known to the industry, is now revisited with a fresh perspective in a new HBO book, which has put Albrecht in executive purgatory. Is it fair, or simply the reality of how Hollywood treats the BH Times (Before Harvey)?
