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Welcome back to What I’m Hearing, and a happy Mother’s Day weekend to all the moms.
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Welcome back to What I’m Hearing, and a happy Mother’s Day weekend to all the moms.

Best Strike Sign Contest: Remember to send me your submission by Friday (tomorrow) at 5 p.m. I’ve received hundreds so far; most are funny, some are very funny, a few are inspired. On Sunday, I’ll pick my 7 favorites and put them to a vote of WIH readers. Then, next Thursday, I’ll crown the Best Strike Sign and give out the Puck merch. Good luck!

Inner Circle event: Puck contributor and labor law expert Jonathan Handel and I are doing an off-the-record call with Inner Circle members Friday at 1 p.m. Pacific. Join us. And if you’re not an Inner Circle member, you can upgrade here.

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Thursday Thoughts…
  • CAA’s New Suitor Has an Inside Connection: French billionaire François-Henri Pinault has set his sights on the talent behemoth CAA. I’m told by two sources that Pinault, chairman and C.E.O. of the luxury fashion group Kering, has approached TPG, the private equity firm, about buying out its stake. Pinault, of course, is also the husband of actress and CAA client Salma Hayek-Pinault, so that would work out nicely.

    Remember, TPG first invested in CAA back in 2010 and became the majority owner in 2014—an eternity in private equity years. But TPG has received other incoming calls about CAA over the years, and, as recently as 2021, it chose to...

Can’t see the full story? You’re receiving the free version of What I’m Hearing at . For full access to Puck, and to each of my colleagues, you can subscribe here.
Learn More
Can the Striking Writers Avoid Class Warfare?
Can the Striking Writers Avoid Class Warfare?
The class divide between the haves and have-nots of Hollywood writers has not yet been an issue in this labor stand-off. But, if history—and past comments by Todd Phillips and Aaron Sorkin—is a guide, it likely will soon enough.
MATTHEW BELLONI MATTHEW BELLONI
Back in the early days of the Hollywood Reporter Roundtable series, before social media really took off and any deviation from a publicist narrative led to a million aggregator headlines, people would often speak their minds on those panels. I remember co-moderating one such gathering of six screenwriters, in 2010, at the old Capital Grille in the Beverly Center.

It got heated. Todd Phillips, who had just come off a contentious writing credit dispute over Robert Downey Jr.’s contributions to Due Date, alternatively referred to the WGA as...

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Latest Articles from Hollywood

The WGA says the new deal contains $233 million per year of gains, which is almost three times the $86 million that the guild says the studios were offering before the nearly five-month strike (though it’s nowhere near the $429 million the guild sought).
Jonathan Handel • September 28, 2023
The WGA Deal 10 Commandments, Part I
Herewith, the most important conclusions and long-term takeaways from five months of hell.
For WBD C.E.O. David Zaslav, almost anything is up for grabs if it generates the revenue needed to pay down the company’s whopping $47.5 billion in debt.
Julia Alexander • September 26, 2023
Zaz’s Sports Moneyball
Warner Discovery C.E.O. David Zaslav will begin streaming NBA, NHL, and MLB games exclusively on its Bleacher Report add-on to Max. But don’t expect everything to suddenly change overnight.
A federal judge has ordered Netflix to trial over Ava DuVernay’s ‘When They See Us,’ a 2019 docudrama about the notorious Central Park jogger case.
Eriq Gardner • September 25, 2023
The Ava DuVernay/Netflix Suit No One Talks About
Inside the complex libel fight over the portrayal of Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor-turned-novelist, in the acclaimed Central Park Five film, ‘When They See Us.’ Could this impact the streamers’ risk tolerance, and the future of docudramas?
The studios made it clear that if there wasn’t a deal this weekend—and preferably before the Yom Kippur sundown—they were planning to move on to SAG-AFTRA.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • September 25, 2023
Hollywood’s Post-Writers Strike Reality
Both sides claim victory as the 146-day impasse ends, the actors wait in the wings, and the next weeks and months come into focus. A sigh of relief in Hollywood, yet there are reasons to believe this aftermath will look very different.
Lachlan, James, Anna and Rupert Murdoch in New York City, 1987.
Matthew Belloni • September 22, 2023
Murdoch’s Audience of Two
Was Rupert’s ‘retirement’ notice intended to signify his ride off into the sunset or denote his full-blown support of Lachlan—or, more likely, was it meant for an audience of his daughters, Liz and Prue, whose votes may control the family trust?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 18: Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger attends the Exclusive 100-Minute Sneak Peek of Peter Jackson's The Beatles: Get Back at El Capitan Theatre on November 18, 2021 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney)
Julia Alexander • September 19, 2023
Reflections on the Disney-Charter Hostage Crisis
What we did, and didn’t, learn from the carriage fee negotiation heard round the world.
Drew Barrymore
Matthew Belloni • September 17, 2023
Social Media Has Already Won the Strike
The Drew Barrymore saga perfectly encapsulates an underappreciated aspect of this labor impasse. Online discourse hasn’t necessarily dictated what the studios will agree to, but it’s unquestionably offered the WGA leadership more leverage.


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Latest Articles from Hollywood

From the beginning, Costner has seen Yellowstone as The Kevin Costner Show, even as its headstrong co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan has maintained ultimate control and the backing of Paramount.
Matthew Belloni • September 14, 2023
Kevin Costner Spent His Strike Summer Fighting Over ‘Yellowstone’
Costner’s threat to sue over his likely exit from TV’s top show comes after months of back-and-forth with Paramount, a rep’s hasty trip to New York, and a call with Taylor Sheridan that did not go well.
Israeli hits like ‘Fauda‘ are certainly finding new audiences in the U.S., but the foreign genre generally isn’t as popular as English language series.
Julia Alexander • September 12, 2023
Lost in Translation
As Hollywood engages in its grueling labor war, and production grinds to a halt, studios and streamers are turning to a workaround: internationally-produced scripted and unscripted series. Will it work?
AMPTP president Carol Lombardini.
Jonathan Handel • September 11, 2023
Will the AMPTP Crack?
With the dual strikes causing real damage and the companies pursuing divergent goals, holding the Hollywood management alliance together may be impossible.
Ken Griffin is locked in a nasty behind-the-scenes legal fight with Sony Pictures over his depiction in ‘Dumb Money.’
Matthew Belloni • September 11, 2023
Ken Griffin’s Secret War on ‘Dumb Money’
The hedge fund billionaire is locked in a nasty behind-the-scenes legal fight over his depiction in the new GameStop movie and has hired at least two separate law firms to send Sony Pictures threatening letters—one of which I obtained.
In finding a synergistic private buyer in François-Henri Pinaul, whose $40 billion in assets include Kering and Christie’s, TPG managed to thread the needle.
Matthew Belloni • September 8, 2023
Parlez-Vous CAA?
A French fashion player announces himself in Hollywood as the talent agency’s private equity backers prove that, even if the sky appears to be falling, you can still make a lot of money in this town.
AMC’s deal with David Zaslav and WBD’s Max streamer is ostensibly premised on the notion that the network will be able to capture subscriber attention from the larger platform.
Julia Alexander • September 6, 2023
Disney, Zaz-AMC & the New Fronts in the Streaming Wars
News and notes on the hottest topics in the streaming industrial complex: Warner Discovery’s deal for AMC+ shows, the ESPN-Charter battle, and more.
Fran Drescher has ceded some of the spotlight to chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who comes across as firm and determined but not ferocious.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • September 4, 2023
The Official End-of-Summer Strike Report
A candid conversation on The Eight’s strategy, Fran Drescher’s whereabouts, why Bradley Cooper isn’t in Venice, the interim agreements and more as Hollywood’s summer of unrest turns into an autumn free-for-all.

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