Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. Here’s what you need to know… and stick around for more on Matt’s Amazon-Altman scoop.

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For your awards consideration, HBO Max presents ROOSTER. Starring Steve Carell, this new comedy series focuses on the complicated relationship between a successful author and his daughter. Don't miss the series IGN called “HILARIOUS & BRILLIANT”. ROOSTER is now streaming on HBO MAX. 

Meanwhile, on the pods…

And now, a little more on Amazon’s Altman about-face…

HOLLYWOOD

Amazon, which made headlines earlier this year by spending $75 million to make and market a fawning Melania Trump documentary, is now doing the opposite: dumping a nearly finished film that paints a powerful tech figure and Trump ally in a negative light. Last night, Amazon confirmed to Matt that Artificial, its high-profile movie about OpenAI C.E.O. Sam Altman, will not be released as planned and is being shopped to other distributors. The decision was made by Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, who informed filmmaker Luca Guadagnino and the rest of the producing team.

Obviously, the move raises many questions—including whether Amazon was afraid to poke a bear like Altman. Earlier this year, Amazon and OpenAI announced a massive strategic partnership, including a $50 billion investment in OpenAI by Amazon. Altman has also cultivated a relationship with Trump and the current administration at a time when Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, have also curried favor with the White House. In any case, CAA is now trying to find a new home for Artificial, and held a couple secret screenings over the past few days for potential distributors. The reception was said to be warm, so hopefully the movie finds a home.

Click here to read Matt’s full story.

HOLLYWOOD

Did Quinta Brunson balk at the prospect of the Ellisons? Where are we on a Wasserman deal? Is Tom Hardy really trying to get back into MobLand? And more of readers’ hottest queries answered.

WASHINGTON

Hawkish Republicans are apoplectic over the president’s hastily signed deal with Iran—an agreement that falls far short of his original demand for “unconditional surrender.” Meanwhile, Trump’s capitulation leaves J.D. Vance holding the bag.

SPORTS

For a while, it seemed as though YouTube was coming to eat everyone’s lunch in the sports media business. But after its recent miss on a suite of NFL games, many media insiders are wondering how much the Google guys really want to be in on the actual game action—and if they need the league at all.

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For your awards consideration, HBO Max presents: HACKS - the Emmy® Award-winning HBO Original series starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder.  In the aftermath of mistaken news reports that Deborah passed away, she and Ava return to Las Vegas, determined to secure Deborah’s legacy as a comedian. Don't miss the series Variety is calling “ONE OF TV’S BEST COMEDIES EVER”. HACKS is now streaming on HBO MAX.

FASHION

All but left for dead in the final years of Les Wexner’s reign, the intimates behemoth has regained its footing, reengaged customers, and is posting enviable turnaround numbers. How is C.E.O. Hillary Super doing it? And can she keep this up?

A.I.

A captivating conversation with Márcia Mayer, a former Pixar producer who now works at Google DeepMind, about the lab’s new A.I.-assisted short film that’s become the talk of Tribeca.

FASHION

Malique Morris joins Peter to discuss Target’s big bet on bringing Isaac Mizrahi back as creative director at large, in hopes that his playful, kitschy sensibility can revive the “Tarjay” magic as Amazon, Walmart, and Quince push in. Then they get into Net-a-Porter’s shrink-to-grow overhaul under Mytheresa’s new ownership.

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