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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 contributions from veteran Hollywood journalist Kim Masters, media analyst Julia Alexander, entertainment law expert Eriq Gardner, and special box office dispatches from Scott Mendelson.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
Matthew Belloni
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July 26, 2024
17 Days in Paris
NBCU Media Group chairman Mark Lazarus offers a candid assessment of his goals for the Olympics, how the Games’ value proposition has changed over the years, and A.I. Al Michaels.
Matthew Belloni
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July 23, 2024
Harris-Walden ’24
Disney TV chief Dana Walden and her husband go back years with Kamala Harris, and the relationship between the potential POTUS and the ascendant Hollywood executive could be meaningful for both of them.
Matthew Belloni
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July 19, 2024
David Zaslav’s Come-to-Jesus Moment
Warner Bros. Discovery’s well-compensated C.E.O. faces the reality of new pressure from Wall Street analysts, box office bombs, a fresh round of layoffs, and no answer for the worsening economics of television, as he contemplates the inevitable: Something big needs to change.
Matthew Belloni
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July 16, 2024
Netflix’s Scramble to Save the Secret Prince Movie
The Oscar winner Ezra Edelman’s exhaustive 9-hour documentary is stranded over a surprising objection from the late music icon’s dueling estates: It’s too long.
Matthew Belloni
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July 12, 2024
Ellison’s Hands-On, Arm’s-Length Paramount Preview
Skydance’s leader told me he’ll be involved in the decisions at Paramount Global during the deal-review process “within all the regulatory bounds we have,” and that he’ll maintain “the appropriate seat at the tables.” But what does that actually mean in practice?
Matthew Belloni
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July 9, 2024
Money Wins Paramount
Skydance’s David Ellison reveals plans for the storied studio as he leverages his father’s Oracle fortune and the motivation to reinvent a dying company amid questions about his promised tech fixes: “This is what I wanna do for the rest of my life.”
Matthew Belloni
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July 2, 2024
Hollywood’s Biggest Producer Considers Free Agency
Comcast/NBCUniversal’s deal with Despicable Me’s Chris Meledandri is up soon, and negotiations to re-sign him have begun in earnest. If he can’t find a way to capture more of the value he’s created, he and his Minions will explore their options elsewhere.
Matthew Belloni
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June 24, 2024
Kevin Costner Finally Realizes Taylor Sheridan Wasn’t Bluffing
Costner was never coming back to ‘Yellowstone,’ not after his absurd demands for the final season, and Sheridan was perfectly happy to write him out. So why did Costner go public about the breakup now?
Matthew Belloni
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June 21, 2024
‘L.A. Is a Much-Better-Weather Version of Detroit Right Now’
So says Scott Galloway, the business school professor and podcaster as he unloads on Hollywood in decline—why its unions “have their heads up their ass,” the urgent A.I. threat (“Try to shut them down”), and an entertainment industry he sees as “arrogant:” “You’re subject to the same economics as the rest of us, folks,” as he puts it.
Matthew Belloni
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June 18, 2024
Hollywood’s Report Card, According to High School Kids
A surprising conversation with a group of next-generation teen movie watchers about what they actually like, where they watch it, and the stars that move the needle.