HOLLYWOOD
Matthew Belloni
•
July 18, 2025
CBS in Distress: Colbert’s Exit & The Rhodes-Weiss Era
As Paramount prepares to remake itself, David Rhodes has emerged as a likely successor at CBS News, possibly advised by Bari Weiss. And company insiders suggest that the Colbert cancellation was purely economic, but is that buyable?
Eriq Gardner
•
July 15, 2025
The Silver Lake–Endeavor Deal Cage Match
Today a court in Delaware began considering who would steer the appraisal challenge over the price that the private equity firm paid to take Ari Emanuel’s media and representation business private. It’s as messy—and as lucrative—as it sounds, and has two prominent law firms vying for fees as high as half a billion dollars.
Julia Alexander
•
July 14, 2025
HBO Max Needs More HBO
After a two-year identity crisis at the newly re-rechristened service, how can David Zaslav and Casey Bloys make the streamer successful, and not just the butt of every joke?
Matthew Belloni
•
July 11, 2025
Sam Altman Is Getting ‘Social Network’-ed
I got my hands on ‘Artificial,’ Hollywood’s new version of ‘The Social Network’ for the A.I. age. Altman and Elon Musk will probably hate their portrayals, but it’s a small miracle that Amazon, itself a player in the A.I. race, is making this $40 million movie in the first place.
Eriq Gardner
•
July 8, 2025
The Tony Robbins A.I. Power Within
A new court case over an A.I.’s celebrity doppelgänger, somewhat hilariously approximating Tony Robbins, may establish precedent for the bursting docket of entertainers looking to protect their flesh-and-blood box office potential.
Scott Mendelson
•
July 7, 2025
A Jurassic-Age Blockbuster Formula
With ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth,’ Universal once again proves that there’s more than one way for Hollywood to build a blockbuster franchise.
Matthew Belloni, Ian Krietzberg & Eriq Gardner
•
July 3, 2025
A.I.’s Independence Day Terror
A frank conversation about the real and immediate impacts of the incipient and ubiquitous technology on entertainment—Midjourney implications, job wipeouts, licensing realities, and what to expect in the next decade versus what’s science fiction.
Julia Alexander
•
July 1, 2025
Why Netflix Shouldn’t Be YouTube
As it approaches an audience ceiling, the leader in subscription streaming is looking to nick a few elements of the free model to drive engagement—namely, mastering shortform, creator-made content. Easier said than done…
Kim Masters
•
June 30, 2025
Can Matt ’n’ Ben’s Company Scale Beyond Matt ’n’ Ben?
Amid the content recession and C-suite shake-ups, Artists Equity battles to live up to its quixotic mission of giving creatives more freedom and offering cast and crew a piece of the profit. With Damon’s wife moving into a leadership role and a new Sony deal, will the company have to change with the times, too?
Matthew Belloni
•
June 27, 2025
HBO Just Dramatically Changed How It Pays Everyone
The prestige outlet is moving to a “bonus” system based on thresholds of “success” in different categories. It’s all dependent on HBO’s definitions of success, and not dissimilar to how other outlets calculate payouts. But it raises a troubling question: Why?
Eriq Gardner
•
June 24, 2025
A Warners ‘Matrix 5’ Battle & The NFL’s Sunday Ticket Showdown
News and notes from around the entertainment law universe: The looming battle over the F.C.C.’s ability to deregulate media ownership; the latest twists in the NFL’s ongoing antitrust drama over Sunday Ticket; and the lingering derivative rights questions following Alcon Entertainment’s deal to acquire Village Roadshow’s film library for $417.5 million.
Scott Mendelson
•
June 22, 2025
A Midsummer Box Office Dream
A timely 2025 midyear health check on the theatrical business, which is outpacing 2024 but behind 2023, as the industry plays with old formulas to manufacture new hits. So far, with a strong incoming late summer slate, $4 billion domestically looks like the floor.
Matthew Belloni
•
June 20, 2025
The Mail Room: Bond Directors, Blumhouse’s ‘Saw’ Deal & Apple’s Post-F1 Strategy
With the first half of 2025 nearly behind us, let’s open up my inbox for reader questions on everything from the 007 director bake-off and why Warner Bros. didn’t win the ‘Matrix’ auction, to Baldoni-Lively aftershocks and Tom Cruise’s honorary Oscar.
Julia Alexander
•
June 18, 2025
How Niche TV Replaced Peak TV
A wide-ranging chat with Tubi content chief Adam Lewinson about the spectacular growth of free ad-supported streaming, how Tubi got the Super Bowl, and the surprising breakout success of Sidelined.
Eriq Gardner
•
June 17, 2025
The Real Reason Bob Iger Declared War on A.I.
Disney is racing to keep its fight with Midjourney inside the judicial system and out of the political swamp. Insiders insist the endgame isn’t a licensing deal, but to actually compel A.I. companies to stop ripping off Hollywood’s prized I.P. Whether Midjourney negotiates is an open question… but Disney is done asking nicely.
Kim Masters
•
June 16, 2025
Brian Grazer’s Trump Turn: Imagine That
The longtime Democratic donor’s sudden political conversion comes at a delicate time for Imagine Entertainment, enraging his partners but potentially smoothing new business with Amazon MGM—and unlocking new avenues for relevance. “I’m sure Brian wasn’t a Republican until it became convenient,” said one producer who has known Grazer for decades. “He was obviously a Democrat B.B.—before Bezos.”
Matthew Belloni
•
June 12, 2025
Is Warner Bros. Ready for Its Close-Up?
'Superman' (or any single movie) won’t move a media company’s stock price like its overall television business does. But now that David Zaslav is spinning off his linear assets, there’s about to be a lot more pressure on the film studio to perform.
