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Kevin Spacey’s time at The Meadows is now a key detail in a legal dispute that, until now, has been unfolding in virtual obscurity.

A $50 Million Twist in the Kevin Spacey Scandal

The production company behind Netflix’s “House of Cards” is claiming that Spacey’s alleged sex addiction should have triggered its insurance policy. But Lloyd’s of London suggests the studio knew all about his “condition”—and lied about it from the start.

Eriq Gardner • October 16, 2023

Shirley Halperin • October 16, 2023

The Sound of Silence

The music business was built, like the rest of Hollywood, by immigrants escaping antisemitism. So why is the industry so silent in the wake of the massacre in Israel?

Jonathan Handel • October 13, 2023

Can the Actors Beat the Writers’ Deal?

SAG-AFTRA will almost certainly compromise on the key issues to a degree. And in fact, it already has.

The WGA, after a nearly five month strike, got essentially everything the quieter Directors Guild got, plus more. Now, as talks between SAG-AFTRA and the studios hit a major speed bump, the actors want what the writers got—and more. Will it work?

Netflix was the one company with the scale to emerge stronger, comparatively speaking, from the streaming wars.

Julia Alexander • October 10, 2023

Netflix Lessons for the Max+ Era

Ted Sarandos once said his goal was to become HBO faster than HBO could become Netflix. Instead, it looks like Netflix is simply becoming cable… leaving every other streamer, once again, racing to catch up.

British actress Julia Ormond sued the talent agency CAA for allegedly enabling Harvey Weinstein’s predatory abuse.

Matthew Belloni • October 6, 2023

The Harvey Weinstein Story That Hasn’t Been Told

Actress Julia Ormond’s lawsuit against CAA raises troubling issues about the alleged enabling of abuse in the pre-#MeToo era—murkier, both legally and ethically—and the key subjects are Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane, two of the most powerful agents in Hollywood.

Love Is Blind

Julia Alexander • October 3, 2023

The Great Streamer Transparency Fallacy

Hollywood’s fixation with forcing Netflix and the others to reveal consumption data is commendable. But what if that transparency isn’t as transparent as the writers, actors, and agents all hoped?

Less than a week after the WGA strike ended, hundreds of reinstated writers have been notified that their deals will not be extended.

Matthew Belloni • October 2, 2023

And Now the TV Purge Begins…

One of the post-strike realities: fewer shows, fewer writers on overall deals, and perhaps an amusing roundabout: after a generation of Peak TV, writers are starting to focus on movies.

Jonathan Handel • October 2, 2023

The WGA Deal Ten Commandments, Part II

Five more takeaways after five months in hell, including the much-discussed performance bonus in streaming and why the wins in A.I. might be short-lived.

The WGA says the new deal contains $233 million per year of gains, which is almost three times the $86 million that the guild says the studios were offering before the nearly five-month strike (though it’s nowhere near the $429 million the guild sought).

Jonathan Handel • September 29, 2023

The WGA Deal 10 Commandments, Part I

Herewith, the most important conclusions and long-term takeaways from five months of hell.

For WBD C.E.O. David Zaslav, almost anything is up for grabs if it generates the revenue needed to pay down the company’s whopping $47.5 billion in debt.

Julia Alexander • September 27, 2023

Zaz’s Sports Moneyball

Warner Discovery C.E.O. David Zaslav will begin streaming NBA, NHL, and MLB games exclusively on its Bleacher Report add-on to Max. But don’t expect everything to suddenly change overnight.

A federal judge has ordered Netflix to trial over Ava DuVernay’s ‘When They See Us,’ a 2019 docudrama about the notorious Central Park jogger case.

Eriq Gardner • September 25, 2023

The Ava DuVernay/Netflix Suit No One Talks About

Inside the complex libel fight over the portrayal of Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor-turned-novelist, in the acclaimed Central Park Five film, ‘When They See Us.’ Could this impact the streamers’ risk tolerance, and the future of docudramas?

The studios made it clear that if there wasn’t a deal this weekend—and preferably before the Yom Kippur sundown—they were planning to move on to SAG-AFTRA.

Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • September 25, 2023

Hollywood’s Post-Writers Strike Reality

Both sides claim victory as the 146-day impasse ends, the actors wait in the wings, and the next weeks and months come into focus. A sigh of relief in Hollywood, yet there are reasons to believe this aftermath will look very different.

Lachlan, James, Anna and Rupert Murdoch in New York City, 1987.

Matthew Belloni • September 22, 2023

Murdoch’s Audience of Two

Was Rupert’s ‘retirement’ notice intended to signify his ride off into the sunset or denote his full-blown support of Lachlan—or, more likely, was it meant for an audience of his daughters, Liz and Prue, whose votes may control the family trust?

bob iger

Julia Alexander • September 19, 2023

Reflections on the Disney-Charter Hostage Crisis

What we did, and didn’t, learn from the carriage fee negotiation heard round the world.

Drew Barrymore

Matthew Belloni • September 18, 2023

Social Media Has Already Won the Strike

The Drew Barrymore saga perfectly encapsulates an underappreciated aspect of this labor impasse. Online discourse hasn’t necessarily dictated what the studios will agree to, but it’s unquestionably offered the WGA leadership more leverage.

From the beginning, Costner has seen Yellowstone as The Kevin Costner Show, even as its headstrong co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan has maintained ultimate control and the backing of Paramount.

Matthew Belloni • September 15, 2023

Kevin Costner Spent His Strike Summer Fighting Over ‘Yellowstone’

Costner’s threat to sue over his likely exit from TV’s top show comes after months of back-and-forth with Paramount, a rep’s hasty trip to New York, and a call with Taylor Sheridan that did not go well.

Israeli hits like ‘Fauda‘ are certainly finding new audiences in the U.S., but the foreign genre generally isn’t as popular as English language series.

Julia Alexander • September 12, 2023

Lost in Translation

As Hollywood engages in its grueling labor war, and production grinds to a halt, studios and streamers are turning to a workaround: internationally-produced scripted and unscripted series. Will it work?

AMPTP president Carol Lombardini.

Jonathan Handel • September 11, 2023

Will the AMPTP Crack?

With the dual strikes causing real damage and the companies pursuing divergent goals, holding the Hollywood management alliance together may be impossible.