Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon roundup of Puck’s best new reporting. Here’s what you need to know… and stick around for more on Armie Hammer’s botched comeback.

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Meanwhile, on the pods…

And now, a little more on Hammer’s Hollywood comeback…

HOLLYWOOD

Late last month, Armie Hammer attracted his first burst of real buzz in years—and hated it. The actor, whose career was derailed by a #MeToo-era cancellation, had starred in Citizen Vigilante, a low-budget shock film from provocateur Uwe Boll in which he plays an American businessman hunting immigrants. After Germany blocked it from theaters, Elon Musk posted it in full for two days on X, propelling it to number one on Apple and Amazon. “The first time he saw it, he was in tears,” a source in Hammer’s camp told Kim. And not tears of joy.

As Kim reports, Hammer had received a scant 50-page script from Boll and was desperate enough for work to take it anyway. The path back to legitimate Hollywood, his associates say, runs through an established director willing to take a chance—someone like Luca Guadagnino, who cast him in Call Me by Your Name. Guadagnino, of course, has had a rough few months of his own. Meanwhile, a sequel to Citizen Vigilante is already in preproduction. Whether Hammer returns, the source told Kim, depends on one thing: “Life-changing money.”

Click here to read Kim’s full story.

MEDIA

Versant (a Comcast spinoff) and Sky (a future orphan) each announced bold acquisitions that may offer a strategic blueprint for how to survive outside the mothership in an ever-consolidating mediaverse.

SPORTS

Fans who have strayed from the World Cup’s officially sanctioned resale channels have seen their seats—and cash—disappear. Predictably, a new lawsuit is looking for remedy.

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WASHINGTON

Exclusive focus group data suggests that Americans across the political spectrum have soured on Trump’s second term. Inflation, Iran, and political dysfunction have eclipsed the postelection optimism that once buoyed his supporters.

FASHION

The meta-narrative around Jonathan Anderson’s Dior has been that of a work in progress. While his second couture outing mostly delivered on his promise, it’s still going to take months, if not years, to get the house in order.

HOLLYWOOD

At 2026’s midway point, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw joins Matt to select their winners and losers in the entertainment industry in a year that’s so far been defined by surprise hits, embarrassing flops, and big bets.

WASHINGTON

Leigh Ann Caldwell reunites with Peter to break down the Democrats’ unfolding Senate fiasco in Maine, where progressive nominee Graham Platner is reconsidering his campaign after being accused of sexual assault. Then Leigh Ann walks through a fascinating research project that’s been tracking a core group of voters since 2024.

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