HOLLYWOOD
Matthew Belloni
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June 10, 2022
Bob Chapek’s Empire of Insecurity
The abrupt firing of beloved Disney executive Peter Rice was widely interpreted inside Hollywood as a move by Chapek to eliminate a prospective rival. Instead it has exposed just how weak his position really is.
Eriq Gardner
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June 6, 2022
M.L.B.’s Favorite Loophole Finally Faces Extinction
Major League team owners have good reason to believe that baseball’s lucrative, illogical, century-old antitrust exemption may be coming to an end.
Eriq Gardner
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June 6, 2022
Could Paramount Lose ‘Top Gun’?
An unexpected, blockbuster lawsuit contends that the studio no longer had the rights to the franchise when ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ hit theaters in May.
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.
James Andrew Miller
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June 2, 2022
The Insider’s Definitive Hierarchy of ‘Succession’ Episodes
After three seasons, the HBO hit has proved itself an awards juggernaut and a glittering crowd-pleaser. With Emmy ballots due next month, Jim Miller, author of the new HBO oral history, offers his power ranking of all 29 episodes.
Eriq Gardner
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May 31, 2022
The Legal Nightmare of Seth Green’s Stolen Ape
There are enormous unresolved questions surrounding N.F.T. rights. A similarly baffling case involving ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ shows just how ugly the dispute could get.
Eriq Gardner
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May 31, 2022
The Real Loser in Depp v. Heard
It’s easy to dismiss the trial as an especially vulgar celebrity spectacle. But whatever the jury decides this week, the Depp-Heard litigation could have stunning repercussions for the media, for free speech, and more.
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.
Julia Alexander
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May 30, 2022
Can ‘Stranger Things’ Save Netflix From Its New Self?
The global phenomenon, back after a three-year break, offers the embattled streamer an opportunity to change its narrative with a hybrid-binge drop strategy calculated to lure back subscribers and reduce churn.
Dylan Byers & William D. Cohan
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May 27, 2022
Why Brian Roberts Walked Away…
Notes on why NBCU-EA didn’t happen, thoughts on Warren & Shari, and Zaz’s next moves.
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.
Eriq Gardner
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May 23, 2022
Gloria Allred Finally Gets Her Bill Cosby Showdown
A civil trial is about to begin against Cosby. Here’s why Allred, not the disgraced comic, might take the witness stand.
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.
Eriq Gardner
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May 16, 2022
Johnny Depp’s #MeToo Game Theory
This week’s cross-examination of Amber Heard is being watched, crucially, by a nearly all-male jury. But the real decision before the jury is far more complicated than the he-said-she-said case that’s being tried in the press.
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.
