HOLLYWOOD
Matthew Belloni
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April 11, 2022
Johnny and Amber Have Both Already Lost
One of the ugliest defamation battles in Hollywood history goes to trial this week, live on TV. Whatever the outcome, the real damage has been reputational—and, for Depp, largely self-inflicted. What does he have left to lose?
Matthew Belloni
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April 8, 2022
The David Zaslav Honeymoon Is Already Over
The goodwill tour has finished, and the executive purge has begun. Here’s who’s up, and who’s out, as Team Zaz assumes full control of the combined (and debt-ridden) Warner Bros. Discovery.
Eriq Gardner
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April 4, 2022
The “Shitty Media Men” Lawsuit From Hell
Notes from the legal underbelly of the #MeToo movement, and other pressing issues on my docket.
Matthew Belloni
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April 4, 2022
How to Get Fired for ‘Cultural Insensitivity’ By Netflix
A white showrunner working with Ava Duvernay hired a diverse writers room for a Matilda animated series. Then the staff turned on her, becoming the latest flashpoint in Hollywood’s culture war.
Matthew Belloni
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April 4, 2022
Notes on a Scandal: The Worst Week for Hollywood
What I’m hearing about the post-slap resignation, the Will Packer fallout, what happens to Smith’s projects, the race issue, and the Scientology question.
Matthew Belloni
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April 1, 2022
Will Smith Forgot to Thank His Many Enablers
Did Oscars execs really ask Smith to leave? Inside the wild, emergency board of governors meeting in the aftermath of the slap fiasco—and who’s ultimately to blame.
Eriq Gardner
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March 29, 2022
The Will Smith Legal Fallout
ABC, the F.C.C., the L.A.P.D… How Hollywood and the law enforcement are making sense of slapgate, one day later.
Matthew Belloni
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March 29, 2022
Will Smith’s Slap Heard Round the Academy
Inside the Dolby Theater, there was no doubt the attack was real. Now come the recriminations: What, if anything, could the Oscars have done differently? And will there be punishment for one of Hollywood’s biggest stars?
Baratunde Thurston
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March 28, 2022
Will Smith’s Tragic Lesson
During the peak of his powers, Will Smith submitted to the worst possible instincts, allowing what should have been his brightest moment to reveal his own shadow through an act of violence. Smith’s meandering and pained Oscars acceptance speech was couched in the language of abuse.
Matthew Belloni
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March 25, 2022
Tim Cook’s Oscar Moment Didn’t Come Cheap
If Apple wins the top prize Sunday for CODA, it will have achieved in two years what Amazon and Netflix couldn’t accomplish in a decade. How? The road to the Oscars wasn’t easy—and reveals a lot about the harsh realities of Hollywood.
Matthew Belloni
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March 21, 2022
Behold the 2022 Awards Season Awards!
Puck’s first annual, totally subjective and partially grievance-based salute to the oddities and embarrassments of Hollywood’s interminable Oscar season.
David T. Friendly
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March 20, 2022
The Real-Life TV Series Is Killing Off Great Movies
A Hollywood producer reflects on how ripped-from-the-headlines streaming series are outcompeting box office rivals with faster turnaround, A-list talent, and better paydays. Being second sucks.
Matthew Belloni
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March 18, 2022
Why Hollywood Is Souring (Some) on Streaming
Media companies were betting on the ability to invest big, grow fast, and join Netflix in the redefined TV hierarchy. Now, increasingly, they seem to be asking: What if everything Netflix thought it knew turns out to be a lie?
Matthew Belloni
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March 14, 2022
The Truth Behind Bob Chapek’s Florida Flip-Flop
Disney’s new C.E.O. badly miscalculated in his attempt to pivot the company from left to center, compounding one of Disney’s worst internal crises in years. Will the public relations train wreck derail Chapek, too?
Matthew Belloni
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March 11, 2022
The Cool Kids of NY Film Are Now Worth $2.5B
Inside Hollywood, A24 has always punched above its weight for an indie studio. Now the arty New York media brand is trading on its hipster ethos for $225 million in private equity cash—and, in this overheated market, why not?
Julia Alexander
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March 10, 2022
How ‘South Park’ Became the Envy of Streaming
These days, most new shows don’t make it past three seasons. But a long-running cartoon that has a fortified fan base, the promise of daily engagement, and guaranteed new episodes is perhaps the most valuable asset in media.
Eriq Gardner
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March 9, 2022
The War Comes to Hollywood
Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine is reshaping the global economy. And for Hollywood, that means one thing: a torrent of future litigation.
