Shari’s Summer Blues, Meyer’s Lemons, Russiagate Revisited

Happy Juneteenth, and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon download of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Eriq Gardner digs into the antitrust murmurs surrounding Sony Pictures’ sudden acquisition of Alamo Drafthouse. Are studio-owned multiplexes the future of the theatrical business—or is this merely a blip on the way to an era of major regulatory shake-ups in Hollywood?

Plus, below the fold: Julia Ioffe marvels at the Kremlin’s ham-fisted ’24 influence operation. Marion Maneker profiles the digital disruptor rattling the art market. On Impolitic, John Heilemann sits down with legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer to candidly assess the perils of chef stardom. On The Town, Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw discuss the tenuous theater business and Pixar’s big comeback. And on The Powers That Be, William D. Cohan joins Peter Hamby to consider Shari’s options and the next beat in the Paramount saga.

ERIQ GARDNER

Inspecting the antitrust tea leaves surrounding the recently consummated Sony-Alamo Drafthouse deal. Are studio-owned theaters the future of the theatrical business, or is this arrangement merely a blip on the radar as we wade into an era of major regulatory shake-ups in Hollywood?

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JULIA IOFFE

Eight years on from 2016, much of the Russian influence operation is now run out of the Kremlin, from Putin’s presidential administration. The good news: a lot of it is bafflingly bad and some of it is hilariously awful.

MARION MANEKER

What’s the solution to the art market’s demand doldrums? If you ask Loic Gouzer, it’s a “conviction-based auction house.” A look at how his business, Fair Warning, is succeeding where the rest of the market is struggling.

JOHN HEILEMANN

John is joined by legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer to mourn the shocking loss of a mutual friend, the fast-rising culinary superstar Jamal James Kent, at just 45. Danny also reflects on what has and hasn’t changed in restaurant culture since the heyday of bad boy celebrity chefs, the extent to which the industry has recovered from the pandemic, and the crucial differences between mere service and genuine hospitality.