Biden’s ’24 Jiu Jitsu, Baratunde on A.I., Streaming Freakonomics

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon roundup of the best new work at Puck.

Today, Tara Palmeri reports on the new D.C. narrative coalescing around Joe Biden’s potential re-election bid—and how the ’24 bench-warmers are moving to Plan C.

Plus, below the fold: Matt Belloni explains why Hollywood executives are long James Cameron. Baratunde Thurston joins Peter Hamby on The Powers That Be to discuss ChatGPT’s impact on the cultural sphere. Marketing superhero Alex Bigler unwraps Puck’s Mirth & Merriment Guide. And on The Town, Matt sits down with UTA’s Jeremy Zimmer to consider how the streaming downturn is hitting the town’s talent agencies.

TARA PALMERI

So, countless signs suggest that Biden is running, and with an aura of inevitability. But Democrats-in-waiting are already busy working on plans B, C, and D—just in case, you know…

MATTHEW BELLONI

Even if ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ performs as Hollywood hopes, Cameron alone can’t save cinema. There simply aren’t enough big movies these days to sustain theaters—and far too many duds.

PETER HAMBY, BARATUNDE THURSTON, and ALEX BIGLER

Baratunde Thurston joins Peter to discuss ChatGPT and its impact on the cultural sphere. Then marketing superhero Alex Bigler walks listeners through Puck’s 2nd Annual Mirth & Merriment Guide!

MATTHEW BELLONI

Matt is joined by the CEO of United Talent Agency (UTA) Jeremy Zimmer to discuss how the financial downturn of the streaming model has trickled down to talent agencies, why pivoting for back-end profit participation in streaming makes sense, and more.