Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your pocket guide to Puck’s best new reporting. First up today, Eriq Gardner uncovers a spectacular Hollywood legal saga over celebrity “life rights,” as the once-formidable agency CMG Worldwide spars with the estate of James Dean over whether their contract is still in effect. The twist? Dean’s name and likeness are about to slide into the public domain. But with the advent of A.I., the business of posthumous representation has gotten a lot more complicated—even if so-called “life rights” are worth a lot less than everyone thinks. Plus, below the fold: Peter Hamby travels to Norco, California, to chat with Rep. Ro Khanna on the sidelines of his three-city listening tour. Sarah Shapiro diagnoses L.L.Bean’s strange retail slump and Meghan Markle’s calculated return to influencer territory. And Marion Maneker previews the buzziest auctions and gallery shows as Art Basel descends on Hong Kong. Meanwhile, on the pods: Julia Alexander joins John Ourand on The Varsity to examine Peacock’s regional sports play, ESPN’s multipronged streaming strategy, and YouTube’s untapped advertising gold mine. And on The Powers That Be, Julia connects with Peter to examine three recent big-budget misfires: Snow White, The Alto Knights, and Netflix’s The Electric State.

HOLLYWOOD

Over several decades, the Beverly Hills firm CMG Worldwide built a veritable empire monetizing celebrities’ posthumous fame—while also shaping laws that enabled the practice. But the agency, led by Mark Roesler, is facing a pair of fresh legal battles over the legacies of two cultural icons. The first entanglement involves James Dean’s estate, which seems to have decided, after decades of lucrative deals, that it no longer needs a middleman. Meanwhile, CMG is also battling producer Jonah Hirsch over the rights to tell the story of late Hall of Fame ballplayer Roberto Clemente. But as Eriq points out, why does everyone pretend these life rights are so important when you don’t need legal permission to make a historical drama? Indeed, CMG might be discovering that the afterlife isn’t what it used to be. Read Now

WASHINGTON

On its face, Khanna’s three-city California tour was about protecting government programs like Medicaid and SNAP from possible Republican budget cuts. But much like Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, Khanna’s campaign-style visit was also an effort by an ambitious national Democrat to plant a flag outside the Beltway and show angry voters that at least some politicians are listening. Yet, as Peter reports, during his visit to Southern California’s sprawling Inland Empire, Khanna ended up getting an earful from Democratic voters demanding to know, in the words of one attendee, “why in the world the Democratic Party hasn’t fought back yet.” Read Now

FASHION

L.L.Bean, the quintessential Maine outfitter and a pillar of American prep, has everything a shopper could want. So why is the family-owned company struggling to maintain retail momentum? Despite two rounds of layoffs last year, L.L.Bean’s financial position seems less sturdy than its original barn jackets or famous duck boots, with net revenue stalled year over year in 2024 at $1.7 billion. While its legacy products continue to resonate, as Sarah explains, the brand struggles to connect with today’s diverse outdoor consumers and digital audiences. If L.L.Bean reimagines its marketing strategy while focusing its retail footprint around authentic strengths, could it escape its slump? Read Now

FASHION

In this punchy three-part dispatch, Sarah chronicles several micro-developments consuming the world of fashion. First, she reveals why Meghan Markle picked a side in the ShopMy vs. LTK battle, on the heels of the Duchess of Montecito casually dropping a link to a ShopMy page on her Instagram Stories Monday evening. Does the move signal Markle’s calculated return to influencer territory? Then, Sarah digs into the launch of Spence, the latest fashion-forward tennis brand capitalizing on the resurgence of the sport. Finally, she examines the arrival of Edikted, the trendy destination for tweens and teens—and whether it’s destined to become the next Forever 21. Read Now

ART

As Art Basel descends on Hong Kong, the increasingly attenuated market conditions in Asia (and the United States) have turned what ought to be a season of excitement into a soft launch for the city’s new look. To wit, this year’s fair marks the first time that auctions will be held concurrently at Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s, testing the market’s ever-growing appetite for Asian works. Meanwhile, big global galleries are also attempting to make a splash—Pace, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and Gagosian are all represented—and hoping to ignite a new era of excitement for the island city’s art scene. Read Now

SPORTS

Julia Alexander joins John to break down the high-stakes battle for sports supremacy in the streaming wars. She unpacks Peacock’s savvy regional sports strategy, dissects ESPN’s relentless multipronged play, and explores YouTube’s untapped advertising gold mine. Plus, she analyzes Amazon’s bold global expansion, delves into Netflix’s experimental approach, and reveals why Apple TV+ is struggling to keep up. Listen Now

HOLLYWOOD

Julia Alexander joins Peter for a deep dive into three recent misfires in Hollywood: Snow White, The Alto Knights, and Netflix’s The Electric State. Julia explains why, despite their colossal budgets, these films landed with a resounding thud and failed to meet their debut expectations. Is Hollywood at an inflection point, or are these merely symptoms of a deeper malaise? Listen Now

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