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Welcome back to What I’m Hearing. I’m home from a weekend in Vegas and am now officially the last person to tell you that the Sphere is very cool! Who knows if it will ultimately succeed, but seeing a band like U2 there is a rarity in entertainment: a truly incomparable experience. (No, this is not becoming a Jim Dolan fan newsletter.)
Programming note: I did a fun profile interview with LinkedIn where I complained about how busy I am (sorry). On The Town, Lucas Shaw and I debated who will buy Paramount, casting director Denise Chamian revealed that she really wanted Austin Butler for Miles Teller’s role in Top Gun: Maverick, and Julia Alexander and I picked the streaming power move of the year. Subscribe here and here. And a big thanks to film Academy C.E.O. Bill Kramer for the shoutout to Puck at the member meeting this weekend.
Give the gift of What I’m Hearing! Click here to become the envy of your holiday party. And FYI, this week Puck is publishing our annual gift guide, so look for that in your inbox.
Discussed in this issue: Dana Walden, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Beyoncé, Tom Cruise, Jay Penske, Bob Iger, Jamila Hunter, Tim Cook, Charles King, John Woo, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Jacob Elordi, Ron DeSantis, and… Nelson Peltz’s ego.
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| Who Won the Week: Steve Phelps |
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| Who? Sure, Spotify announced that Taylor Swift was listened to more than 26 billion times this year. But Phelps is the NASCAR president who closed new media deals worth $7.7 billion over seven years, a jump of 40 percent over existing contracts, and he added Amazon and Warner Bros. to NBC and Fox.
Honorable mention: Ousted CNN chief Chris Licht, fresh from his nice shout-out by... |
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
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In Uganda’s 2021 presidential election, music star, activist, and opposition leader Bobi Wine rallies his people in a dangerous fight for freedom from an oppressive 35-year regime. The Playlist hails it "a portrait of unfathomable political courage" and the San Francisco Chronicle boldly declares it "a clarion call against authoritarianism." This film is a testament to the courage and determination of Bobi Wine and all the brave opposition leaders all over the world who continue to fight for justice, democracy, and freedom. Bobi Wine: The People's President, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
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| All Hail the Niche Event Film |
| A subgenre of demographically specific movies, as exemplified by current hits featuring Beyoncé and Godzilla, used to be gravy for the theatrical business. Now it’s a necessity. |
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| I’m told Disney isn’t planning on replacing Jamila Hunter, the top original programming executive at Freeform, who bailed this week to run TV at Charles King’s Macro studio. So add another network to the list of formerly active purveyors of original scripted shows that will likely be forced to ride out the waning days of cable with almost exclusively licensed... |
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| FOUR STORIES WE’RE TALKING ABOUT |
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