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Film Studios

longlegs movie
Matthew Belloni • September 6, 2024

Hollywood’s 10 Percent Problem

According to a new study, only one-tenth of the 500+ movies either released or scheduled for release by the major studios and streamers between 2022 and 2026 actually came from an internal development slate. Is this the new normal, or a wake-up call that the system has become far too risk-averse?
Matthew Belloni • March 1, 2024
Disney, Netflix & The Less-Is-More Movie Mantra
alan bergman bob iger David Greenbaum
Executive shuffles at two top film studios underscore a strategic shift amid a challenged business, where fewer projects are getting made, quality may finally trump quantity, and, if all goes well, Disney could actually ditch the cookie cutter for the occasional creative risk.
Matthew Belloni • January 14, 2024
Lionsgate’s Long, Long Road to a Lifeline
Jon Feltheimer, Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth at the premiere of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" held at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 13, 2023 in Los Angeles.
An executive shake-up comes amid C.E.O. Jon Feltheimer’s latest play to make the ‘Hunger Games’ outfit more attractive to a buyer like Netflix or Apple. But is anyone in the market for a slimmed-down studio, and how do you solve a problem like Starz?
Producer David Ellison attends the Royal Film Performance and U.K. Premiere of Top Gun: Maverick at Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London.
Matthew Belloni • November 26, 2023
Final Strike Jitters, Disney Blame Game & A Shari-Ellison Scenario
A special Thanksgiving mailbag answering the town’s most burning questions, including what happens if SAG-AFTRA rejects its deal, an odd funeral no-show, and what to do with all the antisemitism around Hollywood.
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.
Writer, director, and former actress Justine Bateman recently said that, regarding A.I., studios might be overlooking the “largest copyright violation in the history of the United States.”
Eriq Gardner & Matthew Belloni • August 21, 2023
Will A.I. Eat Hollywood?
Thoughts on a looming tech reckoning, Iger’s “Avatar” profit-sharing dilemma, and the “Blind Side” legal imbroglio.
The threat A.I. poses to the livelihoods of Hollywood’s writers goes beyond the mere existential threat of being replaced by auto-generated text.
Baratunde Thurston • July 25, 2023
A.I.: A Hollywood Odyssey
There are ways that these tools can enhance storytelling, support labor, and improve the industry. But that has to be determined in collaboration—not by a handful of big tech companies dropping random, unvetted digital tools on an industry. Not again.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher with chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • July 17, 2023
Burning Questions on Hollywood’s Summer From Hell
The streets are full of picketing actors and writers, and our mailboxes are full of lingering questions. Herewith, an urgent mailbag on a crazy situation.
stranger things cast
Matthew Belloni • January 2, 2023
23 Semi-Surefire Hollywood Predictions, Predicaments and Preoccupations for 2023
For the second year in a row, I polled sources for offbeat observations and areas of preoccupation that you might not be thinking about, both big picture and small, regarding what to expect in this year of likely pain and anxiety.
Former President Obama And First Lady Michelle
Matthew Belloni • December 8, 2022
The Obamas’ Hollywood Education
Netflix has quietly done what Spotify wouldn’t: re-up Barack and Michelle’s Higher Ground production company after a rocky experiment in entertainment. The question now is whether the Obamas can justify that hefty investment, or whether Hollywood is merely a pricy post-presidential hobby.