• HOLLYWOOD
  • WALL STREET
  • SILICON VALLEY
  • WASHINGTON
  • MEDIA
  • FASHION
Get 1 free article
RECENT AUTHORS
  • Julia Alexander
  • Tina Nguyen
  • Theodore Schleifer

  • Sign In
  • Join Puck
  • Newsletters
  • Authors
  • Podcasts
  • Sign In
  • Join Puck
Welcome back to What I’m Hearing… Just like Santa, I’m working through the holidays.
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
What I'm Hearing
What I'm Hearing

PREVIEW VERSION

Click here to get 21% off your first year of Puck or use promo code HOLIDAYS2022 at checkout.

Welcome back to What I’m Hearing… Just like Santa, I’m working through the holidays.

First, congrats to Peggy, a legal affairs executive, who won the Avatar box office contest with a $120 million guess. (Nearly everyone was waaaay over the actual $134 million number.) A spiffy Puck hat is on its way, and thanks to the couple hundred readers who submitted.

Programming note: My usual Sunday email will come on Monday due to Christmas, with Julia Alexander’s streaming predictions. Then next Thursday I’ve got the Hero of the Year, followed by my own 2023 surefire, can’t-miss predictions on Monday, Jan. 2. Then back to normal schedule in the new year.

Also, thanks to the podcast industry insiders who voted The Town one of the Top 15 pods of 2022. (We beat Rachel Maddow!) And thanks to Vulture for saying it’s the “perfect podcast for the year Hollywood went crazy,” and to Podcast Review for putting us on its Top 10 list.

Thursday Thoughts (Berlanti and More Edition)…
  • Behind Berlanti’s WME breakup: CAA’s Bryan Lourd has been in attack mode lately, picking off...

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 receive 21% off your first year, you can subscribe here

Learn More
The Hollywood Villain of the Year Is…
The Hollywood Villain of the Year Is…
Gunnar Wiedenfels, Zaz’s hatchet man, became the avatar of Hollywood’s perilousness in 2022 and managed to turn Warner Bros. and HBO, two of the industry’s premier brands, into objects of scorn and suspicion in the creative community.
MATTHEW BELLONI MATTHEW BELLONI
Let’s call 2022 the year of the write-off. Or maybe the year that most entertainment people would like to write off. Or, if we’re really being honest, it was the year that Hollywood itself was written-off—and not like when a TV star bails on a hit because he thinks he’s a movie star.

We don’t need to rehash the awfulness of 2022 in this space. Suffice to say...

Keep Reading with 21% Off
$(ad3_title)
FOUR STORIES WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
4 Streaming Commandments
4 Streaming Commandments
A look back at what we learned from Hollywood’s streaming annus horribilis.
JULIA ALEXANDER
S.B.F.’s Saudi Play
S.B.F.’s Saudi Play
A chronicle of S.B.F.’s voyage to the Middle East to fundraise from M.B.S.
WILLIAM D. COHAN
’23 Tech Tea Leaves
’23 Tech Tea Leaves
A assortment of holiday predictions across Silicon Valley.
BARATUNDE THURSON
Licht Literature 101
Licht Literature 101
A close reading of the surprisingly upbeat Times profile of Chris Licht.
DYLAN BYERS
https://puck.news/subscribe/?subscribe__coupon=HOLIDAYS2022
Puck
Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn

Need help? Review our FAQs page or contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news.

Puck is published by Heat Media LLC. 227 W 17th St New York, NY 10011.

SEE THE ARCHIVES

SHARE
Try Puck for free

Sign up today to join the inside conversation at the nexus of Wall Street, Washington, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and more.

Already a member? Sign In


  • Daily articles and breaking news
  • Personal emails directly from our authors
  • Gift subscriber-only stories to friends & family
  • Unlimited access to archives
  • Bookmark articles to create a Reading List

  • Off the record conference calls with authors and staff
  • Invites to exclusive in-person events
  • Early access to new editorial and product features
  • Exclusive access to Puck merch
  • Premium podcast content

Exclusive to Inner Circle only

Latest Articles from Hollywood

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.
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.


Get access to this story

Enter your email for a free preview of Puck’s full offering, including exclusive articles, private emails from authors, and more.

Verify your email and sign in by clicking the link we just sent.

Already a member? Sign In


Start 14 Day Free Trial for Unlimited Access Instead →

Latest Articles from Hollywood

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.
In November 2021, Tatiana Spottiswoode testified before the House Judiciary Committee about her relationship with Zia Chishti, and how Chishti allegedly subjected her to humiliating situations at work and sent her disturbing emails.
Eriq Gardner • September 4, 2023
A Legal Coda to the #MeToo Era
The bizarre story of a disgraced C.E.O. attempting to win back his reputation. It’s a plot that involves former lawyers for Harvey Weinstein and Gretchen Carlson, landmark legislation, Congress, and more.

You have 1 free article Left

To read this full story and more, start your 14 day free trial today →


Already a member? Sign In

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • FAQ
© 2023 Heat Media All rights reserved.
Become a member

All of the insider knowledge from our top tier authors, in your inbox.

Sign up

Already a member? Sign In

Verify your email!

You should receive a link to log in at .

I DID NOT RECEIVE A LINK

Didn't get an email? Check your spam folder and confirm the spelling of your email, and try again. If you continue to have trouble, reach out to fritz@puck.news.

SIGN UP with Google
SIGN UP with Google
SIGN UP with Apple
SIGN UP with Apple
OR USE EMAIL & PASSWORD
Password strength:

OR
Sign in

Not a member yet? Sign up today

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Google
Sign in with Apple
Sign in with Apple
OR USE EMAIL & PASSWORD
Don't have a password or need to reset it?

OR
Verify Account

Verify your email!

You should receive a link to log in at .

I DID NOT RECEIVE A LINK

Didn't get an email? Check your spam folder and confirm the spelling of your email, and try again. If you continue to have trouble, reach out to fritz@puck.news.

YOUR EMAIL

Use a different sign in option instead

Member Exclusive

Try Puck for free

Use our promo code: DOUBLEDOWN


  • Daily articles and breaking news
  • Personal emails directly from our authors
  • Premium podcast content
Welcome to Puck!

You are logged into a free account as unknown@example.com

Already a member? Sign in with your paid account


Directly Supporting Authors

A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

Personalized Subscriptions

Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

Stay in the Know

Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.