Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon assortment of Puck’s best new reporting. First up today, Matt Belloni digs into the evolving drama surrounding writer-producer Julie Bush’s excommunication from the Writers Guild for ostensibly violating the ’23 strike deadline. Is her exile a cautionary tale—or a sign that Hollywood’s most militant union is sharpening its knives for another contentious showdown with the studios? Plus, below the fold: Abby Livingston chronicles the Dems’ remarkable post-inaugural megadonor malaise. Lauren Sherman digs into her overflowing Line Sheet mailbag to answer pressing questions about Olivier Rousteing’s future at Balmain, Tory Burch’s runway strategy, a Donna Karan mystery, and much more. And Scott Mendelson decodes what the success of Sinners says about the state of Hollywood. Meanwhile, on the pods: Lauren rings up BMO retail analyst Simeon Siegel on Fashion People to game out Nike’s 20-year road map. On The Grill Room, Dylan Byers and Jen Psaki discuss her TV evolution as she launches her nightly MSNBC show. On The Town, Matt convenes with Lucas Shaw and Franklin Leonard to chart Sinners’ road to profitability. And on The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby and Leigh Ann Caldwell break down the messy Texas G.O.P. primary showdown that has the White House all riled up.

HOLLYWOOD

Julie Bush may have never meant to cross the guild, but her aggressive excommunication and public shaming for a strike violation suggests Hollywood’s most militant union is already gearing up for another contentious studio showdown. Read Now

WASHINGTON

The party seemed to have renewed pep in its step. Then the Q1 fundraising numbers came in… Donors are still exhausted, exasperated, pissed over Biden, and worse. But the Q2 prospects look better. Read Now

FASHION

Your burning fashion industry questions—on Olivier Rousteing’s future at Balmain, Tory Burch’s runway strategy, whatever happened to Donna Karan, and much more—finally answered. Read Now

HOLLYWOOD

The Ryan Coogler period horror-drama won the weekend, the Cinemascores, and word of mouth despite its unusual deal framework and the anxiety around Warner Bros. Here’s what Sinners says about the state of the business. Read Now

FASHION

Simeon Siegel, the sharp-eyed retail analyst at BMO Capital Markets, joins Lauren to discuss one of the last remnants of our disintegrating monoculture: Nike. With Nike in the throes of a still-active business crisis, Simeon breaks down everything from the Jordan-esque potential of NikeSkims to the importance of selling $50 sneakers at DSW. Simeon also forecasts whether Nike can maintain its magic for another 20 years—and if so, how it will maintain its mystique in a fragmented cultural landscape. Listen Now

MEDIA

MSNBC’s Jen Psaki joins Dylan for a candid convo about her next chapter: hosting a nightly show on the network. With today’s political discourse more combustible than ever, Psaki reflects on how she’s drawing from her tenure as White House press secretary to navigate a political-media ecosystem in overdrive. She also dishes on what it takes to cut through the noise in today’s oversaturated landscape—and why thriving in the chaos means doing everything, everywhere, all at once. Listen Now

HOLLYWOOD

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw and Franklin Leonard, a film executive and founder of the Black List, to discuss the weekend box office performance of Sinners, its road to profitability, and the conversation around the special deal that director Ryan Coogler negotiated with Warner Bros. to make it. They also debate why the international numbers for Sinners weren’t as strong, if race has anything to do with the type of media coverage the film has received, and if the type of deal that Coogler made marks the end of the studio system. Listen Now

WASHINGTON

Leigh Ann Caldwell joins Peter Hamby to dig into the messy Senate G.O.P. primary showdown brewing in Texas between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton—a race that riled up the White House after Paxton hired political strategist Jeff Roe, a Trump bête noire, to run his campaign. Then they chronicle the hard times facing Democratic lobbyists in Trump’s D.C. Listen Now

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