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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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October 31, 2021
‘Rust’ Blame Game: Let’s Follow the Money
The indie film industry is notorious inside Hollywood for penny-pinching financiers, lax on-set managers, cheap hires and poor on-sent conditions.
Matthew Belloni
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October 31, 2021
Kevin Hart Is Selling. Is Kevin Mayer Buying?
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Blackstone Group-backed company is one of the suitors as Kevin Hart jumps on the private equity party bus.
Matthew Belloni
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October 29, 2021
How Hollywood Fits Into Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse
A conversation with Matthew Ball about how Hollywood botched the rise of the internet, digital gaming, online distribution—and how Disney could turn Robert Downey Jr. into a metaverse billionaire.
Matthew Belloni
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October 25, 2021
An Early Frontrunner Has Emerged for the Academy’s Next C.E.O
Saving the Oscars must be the focus of the new C.E.O.—and with Hudson’s 2020 compensation reaching $950,000, the Academy should be able to convince a strong candidate to take the job. Who?
Matthew Belloni
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October 25, 2021
How Netflix Is Changing the Cancel Culture Conversation
It’s an open secret in Hollywood that many feel the movement toward greater accountability and inclusion sometimes goes too far—and are terrified of getting called out, themselves. Now Netflix has become an unwitting signpost in the culture wars, and some believe it may signal a turning point.
Matthew Belloni
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October 22, 2021
MovieFutures: What Is Theatrical Now? The Walls Are Closing In
Most Wall Street analysts believe that theater revenue in 2022 will drop below pre-pandemic levels, with trickle-down impacts across the entire movie industry.
Matthew Belloni
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October 18, 2021
Barbra Streisand Had Some Notes on Her Academy Museum Sign
A minor donor drama at the new, Renzo Piano-designed Academy Museum in Los Angeles gets the perfect Hollywood ending.
Matthew Belloni
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October 18, 2021
“We Want to Be Disney”: Maverick Carter Is a Buyer Now
At a time when legacy media companies are trying desperately to appeal to younger, more diverse audiences, SpringHill has a clear—and startlingly ambitious—vision.
Matthew Belloni
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October 18, 2021
Netflix Has Reached a P.R. Inflection Point
From the beginning, Reed Hastings has operated Netflix like his employees are part of a small family in a quiet Silicon Valley utopia. But with the Chappelle flap, it doesn’t appear that comms strategy is tenable any longer.
Matthew Belloni
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October 15, 2021
Can Ted Sarandos Clean Up His Chappelle Mess?
Netflix’s economic rationale for defending Chappelle’s transphobic routine has deepened an internal crisis that is not going away. When I texted Hollywood executives and comms pros this week about how the streamer is managing the controversy, a consensus emerged: Good policy, horrible P.R.
