Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to the best new reporting at Puck. Today, we lead with Eriq Gardner’s exclusive reporting on the behind-the-scenes reasoning that drove Disney and Universal to sue Midjourney for allowing unauthorized depictions of their prized I.P.—the first major salvo in the Hollywood-A.I. copyright wars. Until now, most of the industry’s lawsuits over A.I. focused on how models were trained, not their outputs. Now, with other studios sitting out, Disney is trying to take control of Hollywood’s legal playbook for the A.I. era before the Trump administration weighs in with rules of its own… Plus, below the fold: John Heilemann and former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson discuss the constitutionality of Trump’s hard-line immigration tactics. Marion Maneker previews the micro-renaissance of the O.G. Art Basel in Switzerland. Sarah Shapiro digs into the business savvy of the $100 million J.Crew wannabe, Tuckernuck. And exclusively for Inner Circle members, Julia Alexander investigates why Max’s live sports experiment failed to move the needle—and why other streamers shouldn’t be concerned. Meanwhile, on the pods: John Ourand rings up CNBC’s Alex Sherman on The Varsity to yak about what’s going on with F1, UFC, and MLB media rights. On The Town, Matt Belloni takes a deep dive into the strange world of test screenings. And on The Powers That Be, Leigh Ann Caldwell sits down with Sen. Brian Schatz to get to the bottom of his problems with the G.O.P.’s Big Beautiful Bill.

Disney is racing to keep its fight with Midjourney inside the judicial system and out of the political swamp. Insiders insist the endgame isn’t a licensing deal, but to actually compel A.I. companies to stop ripping off Hollywood’s prized I.P. Whether Midjourney negotiates is an open question… but Disney is done asking nicely. Read Now

A bracing conversation with former D.H.S. secretary Jeh Johnson about the realities of mass deportation, Trump sending troops to L.A., the handcuffing of Senator Alex Padilla, and America “being pushed to a breaking point.” Read Now

“A beautifully structured series"

- Variety

“Amanda Seyfried does some of the finest and most powerful work of her career.”

- Chicago Sun-Times

“This series dares viewers not to look away”

-  A.V. Club

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[WATCH] Amanda Seyfried Says Making Peacock’s ‘Long Bright River’ Series ‘Lit a Fire Within Me’ [WATCH] Nikki Toscano Says Female Team on ‘Long Bright River’ Supported Her During Directorial Debut: ‘Ego Was Missing at All Times’ [WATCH] ‘Long Bright River’ cocreator Liz Moore on being ‘excited to make changes’ when adapting her book to television _____ For more on LONG BRIGHT RIVER, visit PeacockFYC.com

In recent years, Art Basel in Paris stole some of its thunder, but O.G. Basel is having a micro-resurgence. Early reports suggest that there’s money on the ground, but not a lot of urgency. Read Now

The D.C.-born fashion brand, a favorite of the Butterworth’s set, has quietly bootstrapped a $100 million business by blending private labels with curated brands. But multibrand retail is notoriously difficult—and scaling the brand beyond its single retail location will take serious capital. Read Now

As the dust continues to settle on the Warner Bros. Discovery partition, David Zaslav’s decision to leave live sports coverage on the curb has baffled the sports media world. Read Now

CNBC’s Alex Sherman returns to the pod to gab about the biggest forces reshaping sports media—from the streaming ambitions of Amazon, Google, and Netflix, to the accelerating collapse of linear TV, epitomized by the dual Comcast and WBD divorces. They also size up the precarious futures of F1, UFC, and MLB media rights—and what comes next for the ever-evolving sports landscape. Listen Now

“The tone is as delightful as ever… It’s more like immersive theater than reality TV”

- Daily Beast

“Traitors is taking reality competition to stylishly outrageous new levels”

- Decider

_____ [READ] Alan Cumming Talks The Traitors, Queer Visibility, & Why X2 “Is the Gayest Film I’ve Ever Been In” [READ] How ‘The Traitors’ Shook Up Its Own Format in Season 3 [READ] ‘The Traitors’ New Season Is the Best Yet—With Some Fantastic Twists _____ For more on THE TRAITORS, visit PeacockFYC.com

Matt is joined by Kevin Goetz, the C.E.O. of Screen Engine/ASI, to discuss the world of test screenings. They dive into the importance of these test screenings, which filmmakers utilize the screenings (and which refuse), lessons learned while testing Sinners, how Kevin interprets the audience data, and the responsibility of communicating that data to filmmakers. Listen Now

In this special episode of The Powers That Be, Leigh Ann Caldwell sits down with Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz for a wide-ranging chat about Trump’s controversial decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles, the perils of his “invasion” rhetoric, the ongoing dysfunction surrounding the Big Beautiful Bill, and how Democrats can un-DOGE America. Listen Now

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