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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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June 6, 2022
How to Succeed Amid the Great Streaming Correction
I recently chatted with a trio on the frontlines of the content wars about the future of Disney+, what a recession would mean for development (and bidding wars), The Great Netflix Correction, and what Wall Street got wrong about Hollywood.
Matthew Belloni
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June 3, 2022
Warner Bros. Goes All In on Disney
David Zaslav would like nothing more than to replicate the Marvel miracle, to mine the archives for new franchises and compete with Pixar on animation. But DC isn’t Marvel, and new WB film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy will need more than just Igerian ambition to compete.
Matthew Belloni
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May 31, 2022
Netflix’s Six-Point Crisis Playbook
Ted Sarandos’ damage-control confessional provides a fascinating glimpse into Netflix’s psyche at an inflection point for the company.
Matthew Belloni
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May 27, 2022
The Tom Cruise Back End Anomaly
Hollywood old timers hope that Top Gun’s retro appeal will resuscitate the box office, and if so, Cruise and producer David Ellison have set themselves up for huge windfalls.
Matthew Belloni
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May 23, 2022
Johnny Depp’s Fake News
The dark arts of media manipulation for political gain, once the realm of D.C., have come to Hollywood in the sordid trial of Depp vs Amber Heard, and there’s no going back now.
Matthew Belloni
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May 20, 2022
TV in 2022: Why Weren’t The Upfronts an Email?
It’s all about “the portfolio” now, or “our unified approach,” or “company-wide capabilities.” Everyone is all-in on the kitchen-sink approach, which quickly becomes about the brands and platforms, not the actual content.
Matthew Belloni
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May 16, 2022
Can Alan Horn Come Home Again?
The biggest rumor swirling around town is that Alan Horn is returning to Warner Bros. under the new Zaz era. Rather than partake in the rumormongering, I picked up the phone and asked Horn myself.
Matthew Belloni
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May 13, 2022
Bob Chapek’s Hail Mary
Disney’s subscriber growth is holding up, but the playbook has changed and Chapek lags in the metric Wall Street now wants—actual revenue. With the goalposts of success moved and added pressure on Marvel and the rest, the embattled C.E.O. is making bold promises and writing checks his company may not be able to cash.
Matthew Belloni
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May 9, 2022
The Netflix Crisis Is Bad, But Not That Bad
Yes, layoffs are coming. Chatting with people around Hollywood, you’d think Netflix is going out of business. But those 220 million subscribers don’t have much to worry about—for now.
Matthew Belloni
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May 6, 2022
Tom Cruise Might Barely Recognize This Movie Business
The new Top Gun is not competing against theatrical releases so much as shorter windows and new streaming drops. Should Cruise be scared Thetan-less, or will these fresh strategies save the movies?