Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon dispatch of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Matt Belloni and Bill Cohan debate the financial theories swirling around Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery—including whether Larry Ellison is really “backstopping” the equity and whether the Saudi money is a dealbreaker. In the end, are the Ellisons going to put forward a magic number that David Zaslav and his board simply can’t ignore? (For what it’s worth, Bill thinks it’s $34 per share…)

Plus, below the fold: Lauren Sherman reveals the next creative director of Versace—and foreshadows the next chapter for the luxury house. Kim Masters rings up Hollywood executive Alan Horn to reflect on the tragic death of legendary director Rob Reiner. And Bill examines the growing rift between the principals at Paramount Skydance and the WBD board.

Meanwhile, on the pods: Matt and Lucas Shaw reunite on The Town to assess Disney’s $1 billion peace treaty with OpenAI. On The Grill Room, Dylan Byers hosts Andrew Ross Sorkin for a candid chat about his DealBook-CNBC business empire. On Fashion People, Lauren and stylist Tallulah Harlech discuss the future of Versace, Jonathan Anderson’s new curiosities store, and the Timothée–Kylie–Chrome Hearts connection. And on The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby and Bill explain how the Warners-Paramount talks broke down.

HOLLYWOOD

Battle lines have been drawn over David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. Discovery, and both Netflix and Paramount think they have the winning formula. Will the Ellisons get to $34 a share? Can Netflix counter? Is Larry really “backstopping” all the equity? Or is the game already rigged?

FASHION

As the dust settles on Dario Vitale’s whirlwind ouster from Versace, the Prada Group’s likely new creative director reveals a more practical rationale for his departure—and offers some clues about the group’s vision for the storied luxury brand.

HOLLYWOOD

The longtime exec paid tribute to Reiner, his onetime partner in Castle Rock Entertainment, and explained why the director dedicated their first movie together to his father.

WALL STREET

Despite their numerous bids for all of WBD, a rift has opened between the principals at Paramount Skydance and the board and advisors of their target company—at least for now. Can money heal all wounds?

HOLLYWOOD

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Disney entering a licensing agreement with Sora and investing $1 billion in OpenAI. The deal allows OpenAI to use characters from Disney’s deep pocket of popular I.P. in its Sora A.I. video generator. They break down the details of the deal, why Disney did it, how C.E.O. Bob Iger handled the announcement, whether other companies will follow suit, and what this means for the long-term tension between Hollywood and A.I.

MEDIA

Andrew Ross Sorkin, founder of The New York Times’s DealBook and co-host of CNBC’s Squawk Box, joins Dylan for a candid conversation about the ins and outs of his media business. He walks through a typical day in his life, explains why he’s prioritizing quality over quantity (and skipping the media-empire chase), and breaks down his approach to high-stakes interviews. They also dig into the DealBook Summit—his toughest interview yet, his white-whale guest—and the advice he’d give to anyone trying to break into media in 2026.

FASHION

Lauren is joined by Tallulah Harlech, fashion director, stylist, and founder of Sylva. They discuss the future of Versace and Alaïa, Jonathan Anderson’s new curiosities store on Pimlico Road, what it means to be vulgar, why Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner are wearing Chrome Hearts and driving us crazy, and plenty more.

WALL STREET

Bill Cohan joins Peter with fresh intel on why Warner Bros. Discovery remains skeptical of the Ellisons and Paramount Skydance’s offer, as questions linger over whether they actually have the money they’re offering—and whether foreign financing from the Saudis, Qataris, and beyond could spark a lengthy national security headache.

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