HOLLYWOOD
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.
Eriq Gardner
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June 25, 2024
The Big Problems Behind the ‘Bikeriders’ Backer
Regency needs hits to elevate its narrative after a bungled succession and a series of flops. A new lawsuit suggests the indie production company may be facing real financial challenges, too.
Scott Mendelson
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June 24, 2024
‘Inside Out 2,’ ‘Deadpool 3’ & The Benefit of the Disney Bounce
There is a certain grim irony in the year potentially being dominated by overperforming Disney toons and MCU spectaculars, like we’re right back to 2016 all over again. We’re not. But Disney’s success is a boon to the overall theatrical industry in profound ways.
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.
Eriq Gardner
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June 19, 2024
Will Biden Block the Sony-Alamo Deal?
Inspecting the antitrust tea leaves surrounding the recently consummated Sony-Alamo Drafthouse deal. Are studio-owned theaters the future of the theatrical business, or is this arrangement merely a blip on the radar as we wade into an era of major regulatory shake-ups in Hollywood?
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.
Scott Mendelson
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June 18, 2024
Inside Out 2 & The Quiet Re-Emergence of the Family Movie
The underwhelming performances for Disney animated movies over the past few years have helped shape the idea that family films were becoming commercially dicey. The success of Inside Out 2, however, is a rebuttal to that idea.
Matthew Belloni
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June 14, 2024
Shari Redstone Hasn’t Solved Her Biggest Problem: Shari Redstone
By putting Paramount up for sale, negotiating publicly for six months, and nuking a fully negotiated deal at the goal line, Shari has likely set the company on a downward spiral of chaos and uncertainty—one her father might have foreseen.
Eriq Gardner
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June 12, 2024
Does Bravo Have a First Amendment Right to Get Its Stars Drunk?
That’s NBCU’s surprising legal rebuttal to the Leah McSweeney lawsuit. And, even more remarkably, there’s actually some precedent for the argument.
Scott Mendelson
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June 11, 2024
Sony’s Will Smith Post-Slap Rebound
Smith’s new ‘Bad Boys’ reboot appears to be the first legit hit of the season—and the latest credential for Tom Rothman’s fiscally prudent tentpole strategy at Sony Pictures.
Matthew Belloni
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June 11, 2024
Stop Playing ‘Baby Reindeer’ Games
Netflix is pushing the stalker drama for Emmys as a “true story” even as key facts have fallen apart and its subject has sued for defamation. Now, TV Academy voters have a chance to reject the dishonest campaign.
The Editors
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June 10, 2024
The High Art of Costume Design
A wide-ranging conversation between Puck’s fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman and the talented costume designers behind six Emmy-eligible HBO and Max Originals series.
Eriq Gardner
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June 5, 2024
The Netflix-Fairstein Settlement Stunner
A last-minute deal made perfect sense for the streamer, which will donate $1 million to avoid a trial over Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us.” But why did Linda Fairstein, who had so much leverage over Netflix, walk away?
The Editors
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June 4, 2024
Beating the Odds: The Fight Against ALS
A behind-the-scenes conversation with the subjects and filmmakers of the moving documentary ‘For Love & Life: No Ordinary Campaign.’
Matthew Belloni
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June 4, 2024
Shari’s Moment of Hard Truth
The sweetened Ellison/Skydance deal is Redstone’s if she wants it. So why is she wavering?
Scott Mendelson
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June 4, 2024
Bad Boys & The Bummer Summer
Everyone in town is wondering whether ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ will be the latest summer movie to miss on its opening weekend tracking. But what if the tracking, and not the movie, is the problem?
