Happy Presidents’ Day and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon roundup of Puck’s best new reporting. Today, we lead with Lauren Sherman’s exclusive reporting on an imminent collaboration between Nike and Skims—the world’s largest sports conglomerate and the world’s most talked about intimates company. Nike is presumably hoping the partnership with Kim Kardashian will give it an edge over Lululemon and Alo in the women’s apparel market. But it may also be a promise ring that leads to a future Skims acquisition. Plus, below the fold: Leigh Ann Caldwell talks to anxious Hill Democrats about how they’re countenancing Trump’s cultural victory. Dylan Byers reveals how magazine industry leaders are bracing for the A.I. revolution. Scott Mendelson chats with Imax China boss Daniel Manwaring about the world’s first single-market billion-dollar blockbuster. And Marion Maneker punctures the fantasy of a globe-spanning mega art advisory business. Meanwhile, on the pods: NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill joins John Ourand on The Varsity to discuss the NBA’s lucrative media rights deal. On Impolitic, John Heilemann connects with Timesman Robert Draper to unpack his profile of Charlie Kirk and the MAGA youth movement’s TikTok strategy. And on The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly and Dylan examine Fox News’s mainstream pivot, the internal turmoil brewing at CBS News, and the future of print media.

FASHION

For the past year or so, the powers that be at Nike and Skims have been secretly working on a product collaboration—a harbinger of both companies’ futures at a critical time for them. Not only could Skims help to address Nike’s loss of market share to the likes of Alo, Lululemon, and even Vuori, but the historic sports brand might reciprocate the favor. One person close to Skims suggested that this collaboration was a precursor to a possible acquisition, while another pooh-poohed that outcome. In any case, one thing’s for certain: A lot of rich people are about to get much richer… Read Now

WASHINGTON

In less than a month, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have neutered the legislative branch, dismantled agencies, defied laws, and threatened judges as they’ve gutted the bureaucracy, choked off congressionally mandated federal funding, and fired thousands of federal employees. And there’s a dawning fear in Democratic circles that the Republicans have won a cultural victory, too. As Leigh Ann reports, the party is struggling internally with how to push back against a president who is pushing the bounds of the law. They’re also under pressure from donors, lefty opinion writers, liberal groups, and some constituents to act more aggressively to thwart Trump’s refashioning of our political system. All the while, a looming question hangs over the party: Who will emerge as a leader to navigate the Dems through the wilderness? Read Now

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

ANORA IS THE MOST AWARDED FILM OF THE YEAR. Winner of the Critics Choice Best Picture, DGA Best Director, PGA Best Picture, and Writers Guild Best Original Screenplay awards, ANORA has been hailed as “a marvel of filmmaking and acting” (NYT) that “reaffirms that movies are still capable of generating miracles” (Rolling Stone).   A culmination of 30 years of filmmaking from writer/director/editor Sean Baker, ANORA is nominated for six Academy Awards® including Best Picture and Best Director. This awards season, the choice is simple: Follow your heart.  

MEDIA

Few in the media industry would dispute the merits of the recent lawsuits that publishers have been filing against A.I. companies—or these publishers’ essential need to protect their award-worthy I.P. But in recent and manifold conversations with leaders on both the business and editorial side of the magazine industry, it became clear to Dylan that, lawsuits aside, these institutions are seemingly unprepared for the coming A.I. transformation. Drawing from his discussions with Nick Thompson, the C.E.O. of The Atlantic, and David Remnick, the legendary editor in chief of The New Yorker, Dylan examines some of the prevailing strategies (such as they are) for getting ahead of a truly existential threat. Read Now

HOLLYWOOD

No film has ever earned $1 billion at the U.S. box office. But the North American market is nowhere near as large as China, where Ne Zha 2, a follow-up to the 2019 animated blockbuster, has now grossed $1.636 billion, and counting, since its release on January 29—crushing the previous global record for a single marketplace. It’s also not a one-off: During the past three weeks, which included the Lunar New Year, Chinese audiences turned out for Detective Chinatown 1900 ($440 million), Creation of the Gods II ($160 million), and Boonie Bears: Future Reborn (just over $100 million). Combined, these four blockbusters have grossed more than $2 billion in less than a month. To get the intel on this wild box office boom, Scott called up Daniel Manwaring, C.E.O. of Imax China, who revealed what this jolt may portend for Hollywood. Read Now

ART

Why can’t the art advisory business keep pace with the growth of mega-galleries and global auction houses? A good advisor can make a great deal of money working for only a few committed clients who transact at the top of the market—they get paid, at least in part, based on the volume of their transactions. And like the family-office industry, which has grown up to service the needs and whims of the ultra-wealthy, art advisors have emerged to handle the unique challenges of navigating an individual’s entrée into collecting or managing ever-larger collections. But for a handful of reasons, which Marion investigates, there have been no market forces incentivizing independent advisors to band together to create a large-scale advisory firm that would mirror the consolidation of the auction and gallery businesses. Read Now

SPORTS

NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill joins John for a candid conversation about his pivot from the court to the sidelines, where he’s become a standout broadcaster. Hill discusses his ownership stakes in various sports franchises, the health of the NBA, and the impact of their blockbuster media rights deal. He also reflects on leading Team USA to back-to-back gold medals and weighs in on ESPN’s evolving media strategy. Listen Now

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

ANORA IS THE MOST AWARDED FILM OF THE YEAR. Winner of the Critics Choice Best Picture, DGA Best Director, PGA Best Picture, and Writers Guild Best Original Screenplay awards, ANORA has been hailed as “a marvel of filmmaking and acting” (NYT) that “reaffirms that movies are still capable of generating miracles” (Rolling Stone).   A culmination of 30 years of filmmaking from writer/director/editor Sean Baker, ANORA is nominated for six Academy Awards® including Best Picture and Best Director. This awards season, the choice is simple: Follow your heart.  

WASHINGTON

John is joined by New York Times Magazine writer and bestselling author Robert Draper to discuss his new profile of the unrivaled leader of the MAGA youth movement, Charlie Kirk. Draper explains how, at just 31 and without a college degree, Kirk has emerged as a dominant force on the right through a deft combination of donor courtship (bolstering his organization, Turning Point USA), social media savvy (amplifying his own voice via TikTok and podcasting), and high-level Trumpworld personal diplomacy (cultivating friendships with Don Jr. and J.D. Vance). Draper also weighs in on the first four weeks of Trump 2.0 and whether calling Elon Musk a “dick” is a fruitful path for Democrats seeking to find their voice as the opposition party. Listen Now

MEDIA

Jon Kelly and Dylan Byers huddle up to address a wide spectrum of plotlines consuming the media landscape, from Fox News’s mainstream pivot—bolstered by a recent influx of blue chip advertisers—to the internal turmoil brewing at CBS News. The duo also discuss the fickle state of print publications, and contemplate the future of the magazine industry. Listen Now

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