Who? That’s the creator and showrunner (real name Cooper Smith Goodwin) behind The Amazing Digital Circus, the latest YouTube-incubated phenomenon to hit big in theaters. Her extended final episode, dubbed The Last Act, cost about $3 million and opened to $20.4 million domestic in about 2,200 theaters over four days, prompting distributor Fathom Entertainment to extend a planned stunt for two weeks.

Crazy fact: Along with Obsession and Backrooms, the so-called “YouTuber movies” have generated more than $300 million domestic in the past month, per Screendollars. Runner-up: Jonathan Glickman, the head of Miramax, who scrapped a previous version of Scary Movie 6 and brought the Wayanses back, which resulted in a $55 million domestic debut ($105.5 million global) for co-owner Paramount, about four times the previous installment, not adjusted for inflation. And… just for fun: Yes, that’s Jeff Zucker in the new trailer for Primetime, A24’s upcoming exploration of the To Catch a Predator era on Dateline NBC. Zucker, the ex-CNN chief and current C.E.O. of media investor RedBird IMI, was running NBC Entertainment, and then all of NBCUniversal, during the 2004-07 run of the hidden-camera sting operation, which ended after a high-profile suspect killed himself. Turns out Zucker’s son, Andrew, happens to be friends from Harvard with Lance Oppenheim, the film’s director (no relation to Noah!), so when the script called for a Zucker character, Andrew suggested his dad might be game to film for a few hours. No word if he shares scenes with star Robert Pattinson.

“I kick myself every single day for not flipping this production. I was encouraged not to and I naively listened.” —Sally Choi, art director on Obsession, lamenting on Instagram that she did not protest making about $300 per day (“$6,741 after taxes. No mileage,” she said) on an indie movie that cost $750,000 to make and would go on to gross $225 million and counting at the box office.

Related: Focus Features head Peter Kujawski still hasn’t decided when Obsession will debut on P.V.O.D. After 24 days in release, it’s certainly eligible for home video under the Focus model, but the film’s incredible hold and scant 7 percent decline this weekend suggests meaningful box office for weeks to come. Theater owners are watching this one carefully to see how Universal will handle Focus hits once the big studio switches to a 45-day-minimum theatrical window in 2027. Runner-up: “It’s the Holocaust grandmother and her 6-year-old paraplegic wheeling over? It’s a hard no.” —Sean Penn, elaborating to CNN why “people should not do selfies ever with anyone.”

99.1 minutes Average time spent on YouTube each day per account in 2025, up from 87.2 minutes in 2024, while Netflix dropped from 100.5 to 93.4 minutes. [Digital i]

$5.4 billion Valuation of A.I. music startup Suno in a new funding round, more than double the number only a few months ago. [Bloomberg]

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

"The finest chapter of ‘The Diplomat’ to date."

- Variety

______

[WATCH] Inside THE DIPLOMAT Season 3 Debora Cahn, Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, Allison Janney, and Bradley Whitford discuss bringing Season 3 of THE DIPLOMAT to life, as the series returns with tested alliances, new characters, and potentially catastrophic consequences.

______ For more on THE DIPLOMAT, visit series.netflixawards.com

45 percent Share of daily ad-supported audio time still spent on traditional radio among 18-to-34-year-olds, where podcasts accounted for 30 percent. [Nielsen]

$700 Price of three tickets for an Imax 70mm screening of The Odyssey on July 25 at AMC Lincoln Center in NYC that sold on eBay on Friday. [eBay] 118,000 People who attended a Ye concert in Istanbul after he was banned across Europe. [Bloomberg]

Has there ever been an office email that oozed more contempt for management than the one sent to staff by surviving 60 Minutes correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim? “We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure,” they wrote last week. “That is simply, categorically not the case.” Still “deeply upset” over the firings of respected leaders Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich, they continued: “As far as we can tell—because no explanation has ever been offered, they were expelled because they fought for our 60 Minutes values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity. Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships.” Where does this leave 60 Minutes’s newly named chief Nick “Enjoy the Bagels” Bilton, who now has to navigate the narrow terrain between his very self-confident and assertive boss, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, and the traumatized and, so far, very eager-to-leak 60 Minutes team? A CBS News spokesman told me that Bilton has already moved to “steady the ship” with the conciliatory memo he sent to staff last week, praising the show and promising editorial independence. Weiss hasn’t been heard from, though I gather that may not have been her choice. (Semafor’s Max Tani reported on Sunday that she had dropped out of an off-the-record gathering of senior P.R. and communications professionals.) But if you thought that Weiss is chastened, you’d be wrong—or so I’m told by sources who have observed her closely.

I have previously weighed in on David Ellison’s interesting hiring decisions, as well as the hubris of someone with Weiss’s inexperience in television and hard news taking the job. That temerity was underscored when she made it a priority to tackle the news division’s crown jewel. The result was Scott Pelley not just noting her lack of qualifications but publicly calling her incompetent. In his lacerating New York Times interview Sunday, Pelley also said Weiss “brings an ideology into CBS News, where that is just anathema.” Pelley and others at 60 Minutes have alleged editorial interference, which a CBS News spokesman has repeatedly denied. One question that continues to swirl, as the bad headlines continue to roll in and the grief and anxiety mount, is: What is driving Weiss at this point? (Aside from the nine figures the Ellisons paid to acquire The Free Press, of course, and the likely earnout.) A TV exec who is familiar with the players in this drama stressed to me that he believes Weiss is powerfully driven by ideology. “Bari sees herself not as a journalist chronicling our time” but as a leader working “to transform CBS and ultimately CNN into organizations that save Western civilization from the dark forces of Islam, D.E.I., and the virus of ‘woke,’” he told me. “She is incredibly charismatic, and she got investors and, eventually, the Ellisons wrapped around her pro-Israel, anti-D.E.I., anti-#MeToo agenda.” Take a look at Weiss’s 2024 TED Talk, which begins with her ticking through a string of her beliefs like a profession of faith. As her defenders often point out, some of those views—like her support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage—are center-left. But she also declares “that all people are created equal but that all cultures are not equal,” and that America “really is the last best hope on Earth.” The TV exec thinks Weiss rejects the fundamental concept of unbiased journalism. “We were all trained that we’re not supposed to know what the leader of a newsroom thinks,” he said. “Her view is that’s just dishonest. Her view is you cannot be neutral now because the stakes are existential for civilization, for Israel, for the United States.” I checked in with a Weiss ally to get his assessment of that take. Andy Mills met Weiss when both were working at The New York Times. He left the paper in 2021, in the wake of his role in producing the discredited 2018 podcast Caliphate. He was also semi-canceled after The Washington Post aired some inappropriate-conduct allegations. Nonetheless, Weiss recruited Mills to help her launch The Free Press. He has subsequently started his own online journalism site, Longview. Mills finds it upsetting that Weiss is portrayed as “this monster, this murderer of CBS News,” yet he doesn’t quite rebut the views of the TV exec. Weiss has “a very confident and strong sense of her own version of morality,” Mills said, and “wants to have the largest amount of impact that she can to influence the world to be what she sees as more moral.” Weiss believes that “to fight antisemitism is to fight the decaying of society,” Mills added, though he averred that she isn’t “deeply anti-Islam, but more pro-Western.” As for her reputation for desiring unflinching loyalty, Mills said, “Maybe more so than other leaders of companies, she is looking for allies in what she understands will be an uphill battle.” Though all this might seem to put Bilton in a very tight squeeze, CBS News spokesman Jeremy Adler told me that, in fact, Weiss “welcomes dissent and different beliefs and different opinions.” Any suggestion that her actions are motivated by ideology and her stated support for Israel, he added, is not only inaccurate but “might have some roots in antisemitism.” So far, the Ellisons have maintained a steady silence about the 60 Minutes debacle. But as Matt asked last week, how much pain can David take? A talent rep with clients in this mix said, in a word: more. “The Ellisons just want to get the fucking deal closed,” he said. “If 60 Minutes is a sacrificial lamb, they don’t care.” But once they lock up the merger—assuming they do—this rep said they might consider installing a seasoned television news executive over Weiss’s head to oversee both CBS and CNN. (My colleague Dylan Byers has reported that management has at least discussed such a possibility, while CBS has denied it.) “That’s how you solve it,” he said. “It’s one good media exec away from being run properly, and bringing back balance and dignity.” Whether the Ellisons will arrive at that conclusion, and whether 60 Minutes can still be saved if they do, only time will tell. That clock is ticking.

Martin Scorsese, who happens to be working on a movie project with Bilton (as Matt reported, it’s carved out), broke some hearts in Hollywood last week when he signed on as an advisor to Black Forest Labs—a German A.I. startup behind the text-to-image model Flux. You probably saw the video, recorded in Scorsese’s New York office, in which he described a scene set in a village, with varying images promptly appearing on a screen thanks to A.I.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

"The finest chapter of ‘The Diplomat’ to date."

- Variety

______

[WATCH] Inside THE DIPLOMAT Season 3 Debora Cahn, Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, Allison Janney, and Bradley Whitford discuss bringing Season 3 of THE DIPLOMAT to life, as the series returns with tested alliances, new characters, and potentially catastrophic consequences.

______ For more on THE DIPLOMAT, visit series.netflixawards.com

Scorsese very pointedly limited his Black Forest A.I. to preproduction work, not scene generation. Still, the storyboard illustrators of the world were unsurprisingly not impressed. “He throws every single storyboard artist he’s ever worked with under the bus, as he demolishes their livelihoods with models that are likely trained on those storyboard artist’s [sic] same works,” concept artist and illustrator Karla Ortiz tweeted. Director and animator Sam Deats also weighed in: “There is absolutely no reason to need A.I. built on the stolen work of millions of artists to storyboard your vision, have some damn pride and respect your peers.”

So how did Scorsese, whose own storyboarding is part of his legend, end up embracing the technology loathed and feared by so many in Hollywood? Credit or blame goes to his former longtime agent, Michael Ovitz, an early investor in Black Forest and a current advisor to the company. Scorsese’s manager, Rick Yorn, also a Black Forest investor, subsequently got involved. Given my newly rekindled relationship with Ovitz, I asked the erstwhile uber-agent how this deal came to be. “I didn’t have to argue with him about it,” Ovitz said. “Marty’s a very curious guy. I said, ‘All I ask is that you take 10 minutes and do a Zoom.’” Scorsese provided some prompts and saw the application at work. After that, “I didn’t have to say anything,” Ovitz said. (Scorsese also had the opportunity to become an early Black Forest investor, according to a source with knowledge of the company.) Scorsese’s P.R. rep said the filmmaker is declining any comment beyond the video he posted and a statement he gave to the Times that read, “I’m interested in the intersection of technology and storytelling, and seeing how that can push the bounds of creativity to create deeper and richer experiences for audiences. Remember, cinema is a young medium, only around 125 years old, so we have to be open to how it can evolve.” Ovitz is predictably fatalistic about A.I.’s adoption—“You’re not going to stop it, so there’s no reason to fight it.”—but still thinks people in Hollywood are overreacting to the tech that Scorsese endorsed. “There’s multiple types of A.I., and the media business seems to be threatened by all of it,” he said. “I think that’s an error. Black Forest is a tool that’s going to reduce the cost of making content.” Ovitz said he’s dubious that A.I. is going to be as much of a threat as many in Hollywood fear, though he added, on a somewhat ominous note: “This isn’t the one that should concern anybody. It’s ones they haven’t seen, that I have.”

The annual Equilar 100 C.E.O. pay ranking is here! Entertainment-related execs hold 11 of the top spots (I included Apple, even though I’m pretty sure Tim Cook has to be reminded periodically that he makes film and TV). Drumroll…

8. David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery, $165 million (+218 percent) 20. Tim Cook, Apple, $74.3 million (even) 26. Ari Emanuel, TKO, $67.4 million (+272 percent) 28. David Ellison, Paramount Skydance, $63.2 million (n/a) 34. Ted Sarandos, Netflix, $53.9 million (-13 percent) 35. Greg Peters, Netflix, $53.2 million (-12 percent) 44. Bob Iger, Disney, $45.8 million (+13 percent) 50. Perry Sook, Nexstar Media Group, $39.5 million (+10 percent) 51. Derek Chang, Liberty Media Corp., $39.3 million (n/a) 67. Brian Roberts, Comcast, $35.1 million (+4 percent) 78. Michael Rapino, Live Nation, $32.6 million (-1 percent) [Equilar] Related: Most C.E.O.s hate this list, but I think Zaslav kinda likes it because a) he exhibits little to no shame about his outrageous pay packages, and b) inclusion on a list with leaders like Elon Musk and Satya Nadella makes his own outsize number seem less like a grotesque blemish on the rear end of corporate America and more like part of a trend. He’s one of those guys, you can almost hear him saying. It’s just the way it is… despite the fact that the list is mostly composed of very profitable companies or those poised for wild growth, not a fire sale. ISS, the proxy advisory firm, is calling B.S. on that theory, declaring Zaslav’s upcoming payout of as much as $887 million a “misalignment between C.E.O. pay and company performance.” You think? (Usual disclosure: Zaslav is a de minimis investor in Puck.) [Reuters] Every couple years, Netflix participates in a We’re just gonna make good movies now piece. This year’s version has film chief Dan Lin saying “we just won’t work with” filmmakers who want theaters. Until, of course, they will. [N.Y. Times] Where are the new music hits? From January through April, around one out of every three streams on Spotify went to songs at least a decade old. [WSJ] Nonunion microdramas are replacing actors with A.I. No wonder the studios are looking at picking up more of them. [Business Insider]

My Thursday points about ‘60 Minutes,’ and how Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton mismanaged their star talent, drew pointed responses. Some examples…

“You’re exactly right [about the talent question]. 60 has always been produced differently than other news shows to strengthen the audience connection to the correspondents. We linger on the correspondent reaction shots; we follow the walk-and-talks longer; we show the correspondent experiencing what we want the audience to feel. It’s not an accident that the audience develops a relationship with the correspondents. They are every bit the ‘stars’ as Tom Cruise or Angelina Jolie.” —A CBS News alumni “Fortunately for Team Bari, TV is not like the newspaper business and people can’t voice their frustration by canceling subscriptions. But… the real test will come over time, when viewers decide to change their viewing habits. The CBS Evening News never recovered its viewership numbers after David Rhodes removed Scott Pelley from the anchor desk in favor of a cheaper Jeff Glor.” —A CBS News producer “Judging by how long movies can take to actually happen (especially Marty movies), [Bilton] will likely have the honor of getting hired by 60 Minutes, producing 60 Minutes, and getting fired from 60 Minutes, all while waiting for a green light.” —A producer

Is Disney’s Moana a Lilo & Stitch or a Snow White? Younger women will determine that outcome, according to the latest Quorum film tracking chart…

Have a great week, Matt

Maya Tribbitt contributed research for this issue. Got a question, comment, complaint, or a Knicks courtside seat I can sell for a huge profit? Email me at Matt@puck.news or call/text me at 310-804-3198.

Need help? Contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news.

You received this email because you signed up to receive emails from Puck, or as part of your Puck account associated with {{customer.email}}. To stop receiving this newsletter and/or manage all your email preferences, click here.

Puck is published by Heat Media LLC. 107 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10006