The Ankler Hot Seat

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A weekly roundtable that takes you behind the scenes of Hollywood’s big personalities, power struggles and ever-changing playbook. Coming to you every Friday.

Richard Rushfield


    • May 2, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 39m AVG DURATION
    • 249 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Ankler Hot Seat

    What Deals in 2025 Reveal So Far

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2025 31:22


    Overalls, first-look pacts and original films are making a comeback — on paper, at least. Deal volume is up, but value is down. And that original film revival? It's starting to come from outside the studios. Ashley Cullins joins Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey to unpack her two-part series on current deal trends, from Sinners' mid-budget model to the studio execs evangelizing for self-releasing on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    How Webtoon Is Building an IP Gold Mine

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2025 38:15


    Natalie Jarvey, author of Ankler Media's creator economy newsletter, Like & Subscribe, sits down with Webtoon Entertainment COO David J. Lee and Wattpad Webtoon Studios' global head of entertainment, David Madden at NAB Show in Vegas. In this bonus episode they explore how Webtoon plans to expand the market for digital comics in the U.S. through Hollywood adaptations. Netflix's "Heartstopper" and "All of Us Are Dead" originated from Webtoon, and the company's studio is now making its own projects including Tubi's hit film "Sidelined: The QB and Me" and its upcoming sequel. Hear how Webtoon is capitalizing on global fandoms to amplify creators who can make up to $1 million a year on its platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Hollywood Jobs 2025: Good, Bad & Who's Hiring

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 30:47


    The rare creative exec job posting inspires a mad scrum, and TV writers are scrambling to get staffed. So Hollywood, why not consider the creator economy next door? Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey discuss both how to stand out in traditional Hollywood, and how to stand out if sliding over to one of the many proliferating creator studio businesses, and the opportunities in and out of L.A. Plus: The deeply warped Sinners discourse and Comcast's “who dis?” earnings call when it came to Hollywood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    AI, Hollywood and New Worlds of Storytelling

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 42:59


    Hollywood writer and producer David Goyer — known for “Blade,” “Foundation” and his writing on Christopher Nolan's “The Dark Knight” Trilogy — explores new formats of storytelling that are bridging the gap between AI and traditional entertainment through his latest franchise project "Emergence" and the AI-powered platform Incention, powered by the Story blockchain. Live from NAB Show in Las Vegas, in conversation with Reel AI columnist and producer Erik Barmack (plus a lively audience Q&A), Goyer unpacks how technological and narrative innovation can activate fandoms and transform traditional IP structures to reach new audiences everywhere. The self-described "tech-adjacent" creative describes his experiment with AI in part as a mission to "build some guardrails and some use cases that aid the creator." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Reality Check: Inside Non-scripted TV with Top Execs

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2025 41:46


    The Ankler gets real about what's happening in nonscripted TV, a diverse and thriving industry that includes documentaries, talent/competition/game shows and of course, reality TV. Boardwalk Pictures founder Andrew Fried, Pantheon CEO and Velvet Hammer co-founder Jen O'Connell, Propagate founder Howard Owens and Wheelhouse president of entertainment Courtney White join Series Business writer Elaine Low to dissect the challenges and bright spots of the market on stage at NAB Show in Vegas. These top players — responsible for shepherding projects as varied as FX's "Welcome to Wrexham," Netflix's "Untold," A&E's upcoming "Duck Dynasty" reboot and the digital-first "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" — reveal their strategies for finding new audiences as cable's reach dwindles, their secrets to great storytelling, and their tactics (including AI) to compete in a disrupted landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Netflix's Push to Take TV's Final 80%

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2025 31:31


    Yes, Netflix is huge, but apparently it's not huge enough for co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, whose recent earnings call revealed a road map for total market domination. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey break down its plan to capture the 80 percent share of TV consumption not already happening on Netflix or YouTube (think creators and podcasts to eating the rest of cable's programming). Plus: What to make of the Gen Z antics driving A Minecraft Movie, and Sean quizzes the crew on Netflix's 2025 original movies. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    WWE's Prez and Triple H on Global Growth, the Netflix Deal & Bad Bunny

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2025 52:51


    Live from Las Vegas! Exec editor Alison Brower headed into the ring with WWE president Nick Khan, and chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque for The Ankler's Business of Entertainment program at NAB Show, where the sports execs revealed why Netflix was strategically the right home for RAW, its flagship weekly showcase; how Triple H's writers create distinctive and memorable characters and stories across shows (and platforms); what draws talent from the late Betty White (“a badass”) to Bad Bunny into the ring; and the physical and mental trials in auditions that reveal who can be a megastar. As Triple H puts it, “You cannot teach charisma.” Khan and Levesque also preview WrestleMania 41, going down April 19-20 in Vegas. “It's our Super Bowl,” says Khan. But minutes after it's over, “a writer's assistant will walk in and put Monday Night RAW in front of me,” Levesque adds. “We are the story that never ends.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    CBS' Secret Sauce to TV Procedurals

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2025 33:37


    Live from the stage at NAB Show in Vegas, Elaine Low talks with ‘Fire Country' co-creators Joan Rater and Tony Phelan as well as CBS executives Bryan Seabury and Yelena Chak about the new boom in TV procedurals on broadcast and streaming. Hear about the inner workings of CBS Studios' development process, what it takes to expand a storytelling universe and Rater's gentle but firm method of raising the creative bar. Says Phelan, who's her husband as well as her co-EP, "Joan is notorious in the writers room for saying things like, 'It's just not awesome.'" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    WWE to Webtoon: Hollywood's New World Order

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025 30:48


    Storytelling remains fundamental to entertainment. But who tells those stories and how is shifting. A new era of influence revealed itself at The Ankler's just-wrapped Business of Entertainment program, in partnership with NAB Show in Vegas. Execs, creators and stars behind WWE (Nick Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque), Tribeca Festival and Sphere (Jane Rosenthal), Universal Music Publishing Group (Jody Gerson), Webtoon (David J. Lee and David Madden) and AI startup Incention (David S. Goyer), among others, took the stage to reveal an optimistic view of opportunity outside the traditional studio system. Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Janice Min break it all down. Plus: How Trump's tariffs plague Hollywood. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Amazon Delivery: TV & Film Whiplash

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2025 31:26


    Original movies in theaters? It's true! Sean McNulty dials in from CinemaCon to tell Elaine Low about his reaction to Amazon's bold film slate kickstarting a new era of studio leadership. Meanwhile, in L.A., Lesley Goldberg dishes with Elaine and Natalie Jarvey about the mess left in the wake of Jen Salke's exit from Prime Video, and what agents and showrunners expect from TV head Vernon Sanders. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Writers Hated Mini-Rooms. Now They Want Them Back

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2025 31:09


    TV shows take longer to develop, writers rooms are shorter and naturally “no one wants to continue to work for free,” says Lesley Goldberg, who joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low to share her survey of top writers on how they'd fix TV. There's Shawn Ryan's proposal to better train showrunners in writers rooms; details on how Zoom pitching creates opportunities; and why once-loathed mini-rooms need to return. Plus: Amazon's curious theatrical push. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    MrBeast & Beyond: Hollywood's New Stars

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 30:00


    First, streamers wanted YouTube and TikTok's screen time. Now they're gunning for their talent. Like & Subscribe's Natalie Jarvey joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low to talk about MrBeast and Ms. Rachel's streaming hits, whether Jake & Logan Paul and Benito Skinner are next — and what Hollywood has to give up for its shot at digital cred. Plus: Apple TV+'s just-revealed staggering losses and Snow White's fake controversy. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Big IP's Midlife Crisis: Marvel, DC, Bond

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2025 32:43


    Can Jeff Bezos be trusted with 007? Is James Gunn the hero DC needs right now? Will Casey Bloys help Harry Potter make it safely to TV? All of Hollywood's signature IP franchises face uncertain, perilous paths forward, and Richard Rushfield, Elaine Low and Sean McNulty decide whether they'd buy, sell or hold these tentpoles plus Marvel and Star Wars. Plus: The crew guesses which five series earned the coveted writers' streaming performance bonus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Tina Brown & Janice Min Talk Meghan Markle, Demi Moore, DOGE

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2025 35:50


    With the debut of Netflix's With Love, Meghan, longtime royal observer Tina Brown and Ankler Media CEO Janice Min joined forces for a rollicking Substack Live conversation over at Brown's Fresh Hell. Brown and Min appraise the Duchess of Sussex's new career act (“always brilliantly behind the curve,” says Brown), debrief on the Academy Awards and Demi Moore, and analyze Conan O'Brien's onstage nod to film craft that gave Hollywood “a real shot in the arm,” Min says. Plus: Why NYC's 10 percenters are still all in on Trump and Elon Musk. “They love what he's doing,” says Brown. “When billionaires get together, all they talk about is how many people they want to fire.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The Lost Art of Hollywood Swagger

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2025 50:12


    Hollywood execs want more “aggression” out of their young proteges, but Gen Z — raised in remote work and new rules — came to age without traditional role models. The Ankler team shares advice from their interviews with Greg Berlanti and Ted Hope for young creatives to stand out, something even more essential as the state of showbiz is begging for a new round of visionary leaders. If you're a Gen Zer in Hollywood yourself, apply to The Ladder, our members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Broadcast TV Surge; WBD's Sports Pause; Paramount Stalled

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 44:56


    Broadcast TV may be what “your uncle and your mom watches,” but it's a bright spot for the studios. Series Business' Lesley Goldberg joins Elaine Low to discuss her interview with CBS President Amy Reisenbach, why all those spinoffs and reboots give producers an “edge” and how year-round development helps “get the creative right.” Plus: Elaine, Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield discuss what the earnings of CBS parent Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery portend — no need for more sports, says Zaz! — and final Oscar thoughts before the big show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Michael Wolff on Trump's Coming 'Self-Destruction': 'He Will Pay the Price'

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2025 48:06


    The New York Times gave author Michael Wolff's new book a glowing review, but President Donald Trump disagrees, calling it a “total FAKE JOB, just like the other JUNK he wrote.” As with Wolff's three earlier books about the president, All or None is filled with juicy tidbits with fly-on-the-wall accounts from the chaos inside Trump's orbit. In unsparing words, he talks to Janice Min about woeful Democrats, Elon Musk, Melania, media's current panic and the threatening phone call he received from Trumpworld. Read the interview in an abridged Q&A format here. Subscribe to The Ankler for more entertainment and media news here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Hollywood's New Mission Impossible: Greenlights

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2025 33:05


    Budgets for studio theatrical slates and TV lineups are disappearing as fast as federal agencies these days. But there's hope! Dealmakers' Ashley Cullins joins to break down the new rules for landing a greenlight for an original film today, while Elaine Low reveals ways to navigate new small screen realities, from acing that Zoom pitch to turning that blinking yellow light green. And despite the industry's collective surrender, Sean McNulty explains why more data could flip the narrative of an industry perceived to be in decline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Hollywood's DEI Cave-in; Post-Fires Leave L.A. Debate

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2025 37:30


    As President Trump seeks to banish diversity, equity and inclusion, Disney buried its initiative this week, and Amazon continues to “evolve” its own. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and contributor Nicole LaPorte dive into whether Hollywood was ever committed to the cause — as Nicole says, “the erosion of DEI here has been going on for a quite a while” — and how to tell a real pronouncement from a fake one. Plus: How the L.A. wildfires have fueled a real estate frenzy while TV workers debate whether to flee the city altogether. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Inside #StayinLA; Two Minutes with Bob Iger; SpinCo Woe

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2025 40:28


    Disney started its latest earnings call with an uncharacteristically terse Bob Iger avoiding a trio of unpleasant topics: linear TV, declining Disney+ subscriber totals and Donald Trump. What wasn't said spoke volumes, but a few messages rang clear: film keeps churning out hits, ESPN has good/less good news, and the streaming division is firmly in the black. Meanwhile, SEC filings paint a bleak start to the future SpinCo, and a look inside the do-or-die #StayinLA movement. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield break it all down. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    A Dire Sundance, Indie Peril & the Creator Incursion

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2025 40:28


    Just two deals and Sundance is almost over? Ouch. Richard Rushfield, on the ground at the fest, gives his report on indie malaise and how to fix it. Plus: Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard on Peacock and NBCU's troubling Q4, and Netflix's showy 2025 slate, while Natalie Jarvey, author of the new Like & Subscribe newsletter, on why Hollywood absolutely should “work with” the creators upending entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    'Creators Should Be in Charge': Sean Evans, Rhett & Link

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 33:48


    Natalie Jarvey, author of Like & Subscribe, Ankler Media's new newsletter about the creator economy, speaks with YouTube stars Sean Evans, host of Hot Ones, and Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal — aka Rhett & Link, hosts of Good Mythical Morning. With 40 million subscribers between them, these digital innovators unpack the opportunities — creative, collaborative and financial — that come with betting on themselves. "If we can be even a small part of the story of another creator taking back something that they initiated and then taking the reins and leading, that's the type of story that we love and we want to champion," says Neal. "We believe creators should be in charge." The trio also map out the next moves for their brands. Boneless Hot Ones, anyone? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The New Showbiz: Hollywood, Creators, & Brands

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2025 45:02


    The entertainment industry for years turned its nose up at brand-backed film and TV, but in a disrupted Hollywood scrambling for new business models and fresh voices, the tide is turning. Natalie Jarvey, the writer of Like & Subscribe, Ankler Media's new standalone newsletter about the creator economy, moderates a discussion with four top stakeholders — Oscar-winning producer Dan Cogan (“Icarus”), Adobe Chief Brand Officer Heather Freeland, creator Jordan Howlett and UTA Entertainment Marketing Co-Head Julian Jacobs — about how marketers, filmmakers and creators are collaborating on innovative and meaningful storytelling. “Everybody loves a good story, and brands are aligning with that in a lot of interesting ways,” says Howlett, who as Jordan the Stallion boasts nearly 14 million followers on TikTok. Adds Jacobs, “The rule book is being unwritten and written as we speak.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Hollywood's New Trick to Screw Writers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2025 36:30


    Who loves doing free work? No one. Who loves getting free work? The studios. “If-come” deals — where a writer develops a show under contract but only sees money if the show sells — are on the rise post-Writers Guild strike and have led to a new “involuntary servitude,” even among big-name scribes. Ashley Cullins joins Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield to outline what's happening and who's fighting back. Plus: Katey Rich breaks down Oscar nominations, and Elaine shares the state of the unscripted market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    L.A. Production Spiral. Trump to the Rescue?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2025 43:13


    Can Jon Voight save Hollywood? Probably not. But President Trump's announcement that the Midnight Cowboy, Mad Max (Mel Gibson) and Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) would be his “special envoys” in L.A. on the eve of his inauguration followed the latest report on L.A.'s continued production exodus. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield dissect the numbers and where the industry is heading in 2025. Plus: How is Gen Z outfoxing studio and streaming marketers? Matthew Frank explains.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    ‘An Intense Couple of Days'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2025 33:59


    “Everybody was feeling really optimistic going into this year,” says Elaine Low — and while there are encouraging signs for Hollywood, from new business models to a return to the fundamentals, she and Richard Rushfield tell Sean McNulty about friends who have lost homes, Richard's memories of growing up in Pacific Palisades, and Elaine's anxiety over suddenly preparing a go-bag. On a lighter note: They also dissect their night at Netflix's WWE Raw premiere — with Richard announcing whom he'll be fighting at the next WrestleMania. We're collecting stories of how the entertainment community is coping with the Los Angeles fires. Submit yours here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Tales From the '90s: How New Line Dominated the Decade

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025 63:57


    For the capstone of his Hollywood Stories series exploring the 1990s — an era of explosive creativity and innovation in the entertainment industry — Richard Rushfield talks to two execs who helped New Line Cinema become the movie studio of that golden moment. Mike De Luca is today the co-chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, but in the '90s he was the head of production at New Line, a powerful role he stepped into at the tender age of 27. Richard Brener started as a temp at New Line in 1995 and never left, working his way up to run the studio (now a division of Warner Bros.) as its president and chief creative officer. Together they recall how the indie house launched by Bob Shaye in 1967 struck gold nearly 30 years later with comedy blockbusters (Austin Powers, Dumb and Dumber, Rush Hour, The Wedding Singer) and revered auteur-driven dramas (American History X, Boogie Nights, Se7en). As an indie, "you were kind of locked into lower-budget acquisitions and films — that all coalesced into a business plan of sleeper hits," De Luca says. “We were not afraid of trying things that we liked, even if other people had passed on them.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Lively vs. Baldoni: Lawsuits! Exposés! Rumors!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2025 40:23


    Blake Lively alleges a full-on smear campaign aimed against her. Justin Baldoni claims the star of his It Ends With Us used the New York Times to destroy his reputation. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield discuss the fallout of the feud heard round the world, the YouTube journalist roped into the ruckus, and why Richard boils it all down to typical Hollywood bluster. Plus: The crew breaks down how animation and IP defined the 2024 box office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Tales From the '90s: Ain't It Cool News' ‘Titanic' Impact on Hollywood

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2024 57:23


    At the dawn of the internet as we know it today, long before social media exploded the Hollywood hierarchy, there was Ain't It Cool News, an in-your-face site, launched in 1996, that covered the movie business — passionately, disruptively and absolutely without fear or favor. Drew McWeeny, who joined Harry Knowles' Austin startup in its earliest days, writing from L.A. under the pseudonym Moriarty, tells Richard Rushfield how Ain't It Cool News remade entertainment journalism, confounded the studios and enraged execs from Tom Rothman to Rupert Murdoch. Among other breaks with industry-coverage norms, McWeeny and his colleagues were the first to publish reports and reviews from test screenings, changing the fortunes of films including Batman & Robin and, most famously, Titanic. “I was addicted to Premiere, Movieline, all those magazines,” McWeeny recalls. “But it was all very carefully stage managed with the studios, and it had to be. We were the response to that, which was the most punk rock version of: No, not only do we not deal with the studios, but fuck the studios.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Trends Giving Us Hope in 2025. Seriously

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2024 38:54


    One sure precursor to any Golden Age in Hollywood? A long fallow period preceding it, not unlike the one we've been in. Now, with a spec market for originals coming back to life, and fresh opportunities for producers and writers to make money through YouTube, branded content, podcasts and yes, AI, Sean McNulty, Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and Janice Min take stock of where the industry is heading in 2025 with cautious optimism. Plus: The gang dissects the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni smear campaign revelations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Tales From the '90s: Ron Meyer's 'Miracle' Hollywood Career

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2024 37:50


    From founding CAA to leading Universal Studios, Ron Meyer built one of the entertainment industry's most storied careers. The high school dropout and former Marine talks with Richard Rushfield about his entire legendary run, especially the events surrounding the pivotal moment in 1995 when he successfully executed a maneuver that has stymied other sharks — leaving the talent ecosystem (and ending his partnership with CAA cofounder Mike Ovitz — "a marriage gone kind of sour”) to become a studio head. He also recalls what lured him to Hollywood ("I want to be the guy in that fast car with beautiful women"), the “ferocious” competition between his agency and William Morris, his “tug-of-war” with Barry Diller at Universal (where he lasted 25 years and survived six owners), the movies he's proudest of and why he's still an optimist about showbiz. “To the day I left Universal, I pinched myself,” he says of his Hollywood journey, which ended with his exit from the studio in 2020. “I always thought it was a miracle.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    A New Spec Script Boom Catches Fire

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2024 41:43


    Writers are getting paid $1 million or more on so-called “naked” scripts — no IP, actor or director attached. It may sound like Shane Black's 1990s, but it's happening right now as Nicole LaPorte joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low to reveal a fast change in the market (thanks, Dan Lin!), and the kinds of scripts selling (think Sherry Lansing). Plus: Lachlan Cartwright talks his massive scoops from TV news, including MSNBC's plan for more conservative voices, pay cuts for big on-air faces, and fears over ABC News' Trump settlement. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Tales From the '90s: Before ‘Wicked,' Winnie Holzman's ‘My So-Called Life' Changed TV

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2024 67:15


    Richard Rushfield sits down with Winnie Holzman, creator of the beloved but short-lived teen drama My So-Called Life, which ran for one 19-episode season from 1994-95 and later became a cross-generational cult hit. The show that launched Claire Danes and Jared Leto also captured adolescent angst onscreen in a totally new way — “School is a battlefield for your heart,” anyone? — that made ABC execs “deeply nervous,” says Holzman, though she was fiercely protected by her EPs and mentors, Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick. A student of poetry and the Stanislavski system, Holzman, in a candid, hilarious and nostalgic conversation, unpacks the emotion and humor that propelled her through multiple 1990s TV successes to the Broadway hit Wicked (she wrote the book of the musical) and its two-part film adaptation, whose first installment is in the Oscar hunt.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Joe Rogan Helped Trump Win. Now He's Conquered Comedy

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2024 37:45


    Pro-free speech, anti-trans, anti a lot of things, the standup comedians who made their bones on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast — from Theo Von to notorious Trump rally opener Tony Hinchcliffe — are rewriting how big comics can get without movies and TV. Ankler contributor Lachlan Cartwright joins Sean McNulty to discuss why Gen Z loves these guys and how these comics' reps are building multi-million-dollar constellations around these dark stars. Plus, Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and Sean explore WBD's “enhanced strategic flexibility” as studios decide now is finally the time to “see what we can do with our cable networks.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Tales from the '90s: 'Last Action Hero' Screenwriters Tell All

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024 81:46


    In this new Ankler series, Hollywood Stories, we are starting with wild untold showbiz tales from the '90s. For our debut episode, Richard Rushfield sits down with Adam Leff and Zak Penn, the original screenwriters behind one of film's most iconic flops, Last Action Hero. Speaking publicly together for the first time about the screenplay they sold when they were just out of college 30 years ago, they recall the highs — a heady bidding war, a yes from megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger — and the cascading humiliations of the misbegotten project, which became a superlatively excessive and lousy product of the bloated Hollywood machine it was originally meant to parody. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    HBO & the Harry Potter Gamble

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2024 32:08


    What is HBO heading into 2025? A major prestige cabler that can attract any talent it wants? An empire in decline? A little bit of both? Series Business writer Manori Ravindran was at the intimate London gathering where HBO chief Casey Bloys revealed plans for a Harry Potter series, and joins Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield to talk the storied brand's changed TV buying mandate, new frugality and if it needs a megahit to restore luster. Speaking of! Manori explains the new trick for selling series and getting them made: international co-productions, the kind of deal used on shows from The Day of the Jackal to The Night Manager. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    AI Stole My Scripts: Rage as Big Tech Takes Without Asking

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2024 53:54


    When The Good Wife co-creator Robert King saw that 139,000 produced TV and movie scripts — including his — were used for AI training, it “personalized” the AI issue for him. “There's something very offensive of someone just walking into your house, checking into your computer, grabbing everything and saying, Well, it's for the better good of training,” says King, who joins Elaine Low to discuss writers' reaction, why studios must take action and no one should believe Big Tech's assurances. Plus: Katey Rich joins Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine to game the Oscars race as it now stands, post-#Glicked. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    MSNBC's $125 Million ‘Ratings Viagra'

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2024 53:02


    Ratings are down 40 percent, Morning Joe's hosts are being ridiculed and the network's anchors and shows are soon to be ruthlessly reshuffled. Turns out it's time for MSNBC to take its $125 million “ratings Viagra.” Ankler contributor Lachlan Cartwright joins Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Janice Min to discuss his scoopy, blockbuster about MSNBC, Rachel Maddow's pay cut and who's likely to be on air and off (even before Comcast spins-out the channel). Plus: Richard Rushfield's exclusive on the Attorney General's investigation into the not-yet-closed deal to buy the Golden Globes and what it could mean for CBS' broadcast. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The New Disney Magic

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2024 39:42


    Don't mind the $430 million revenue drop in linear over the last two years — Bob Iger would like to shift your attention over to streaming, where price hikes have proven a magical Disney attraction. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield break down all the news from Disney's Q3 earnings call, new turns in the company's succession drama — and why Richard worries we're headed back to 1993, only worse. Plus: The crew predicts which films will top the holiday box office. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    State of Film: ‘Roll With the Punches'

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2024 39:10


    In this bonus episode recorded live at the Montclair Film Festival, Sean McNulty — author of The Wakeup newsletter at The Ankler — leads a discussion about the state of the movie industry. Neon executive Dan O'Meara, WME partner Maggie Pisacane and AMC Networks film head Scott Shooman join McNulty to break down the box office realities of 2024 and beyond, from how to reach audiences to changes in dealmaking to the broader consumer behavior shifts and cultural trends disrupting filmed entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    AI in Hollywood: More Intern Than God

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2024 48:14


    In this bonus episode recorded live at the Montclair Film Festival, Ashley Cullins — author of The Ankler's Dealmakers newsletter — leads a discussion about artists, audiences and artificial intelligence. Attorney James Grimmelmann, tech investor and advisor Greg Kahn, EDGLRD executive Eric Kohn and filmmaker Michaela Ternasky-Holland join Cullins to unpack AI's creative possibilities and limitations, the megadeals it's driving, the guardrails for Hollywood and the legal implications for artists and IP. Plus, how to conquer your fears and build your tech literacy with tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, Runway and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Trump 2.0: Why Ari Wins, Studios Lose

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2024 45:26


    Hollywood usually loves a sequel. Trump's reelection? Not so much. His forthcoming second term has the town feeling “resigned,” says Richard Rushfield (even if James Carville thinks he won't survive all four years). But M&A-obsessed CEOs aren't so downtrodden. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty, Richard and David Lidsky break down potential winners and losers, and deal scenarios — including a pro-con debate over Big Tech buying studios — and why the industry needs to learn the value of authenticity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Free. Popular. Unprofitable

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2024 36:16


    FAST services are heralded for stratospherically high subscriber totals. Tubi has 80 million monthly active users, Roku's got 85.5 million — Samsung is even at 88 million. So how come none of them are turning a profit? Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and Sean McNulty evaluate free TV's struggle (and how paid streaming compares). Plus: What Harris or Trump would mean for industry M&A; and NBCUniversal's mysterious “study” of whether to spin off its cable networks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Hollywood's WFH Wars Worsen

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2024 43:58


    Hollywood is a relationship business. So can you learn from your bosses, network and get promoted if you're working from home? Nicole LaPorte talks to Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield about the divide over remote work as Lionsgate and Amazon mandate five days in office, and agents and execs warn that young Hollywood's work-life balance may come at a professional cost. Plus: What Disney's buying for Hulu, FX and ABC while the company's Iger succession drama takes another turn. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Hot Seat: Tina Brown on Trump, Harris, Meghan Markle & Menendez Brothers

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2024 55:28


    Janice Min interviews Tina Brown, a sharp observer of the seismic social changes that have led to our chaotic new politics, in a wide-ranging and often hilarious conversation about the journalists impressing her, the frustrating state of cable news punditry, what celebrity she'd put on the cover of a magazine in 2024, her maternal rage after Trump supporters ridiculed Gus Walz, and Harry and Meghan (buckle up for one big anvil drop of ouch). That's on top of a lot of talk about Trump, Harris, Elon Musk and the forces and figures driving our anxiety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    CNN Stars Brace for Impact

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2024 39:00


    An unprecedented election, two wars, deadly hurricanes. Yet CNN's average primetime TV audience dropped to just 853,000 total viewers during September. Ankler contributor Lachlan Cartwright joins Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and David Lidsky to discuss his scoop-filled blockbuster about sweeping changes coming to CNN, chief Mark Thompson's pay cut on the table for Chris Wallace, star salary “beheadings” and a digital makeover inspired by . . . Vice?! Plus: WBD fills its NBA-sized hole with every random league under the sun. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Joker 2, Flops and Why Everyone Should Calm Down

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2024 42:03


    Nobody is arguing Joker: Folie à Deux was a success. But it took a ballsy, director-led swing, followed up on a rare R-rated smash hit and — oh yeah — fought to shoot in L.A. Does it really deserve the pile-on? Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and David Lidsky break down why cinema's sudden “Flop Era” is actually a positive (seriously), and what it has to do with a new report that reveals how drastically production is down, particularly in L.A. Plus: Manori Ravindran surveys brand-funded series beyond Chick-fil-A, and Richard dives into his exposé of the Golden Globes' questionable under-the-radar Sharon Stone gala in Turkey, a country with a wildly antisemitic Trump-buddy dictator. Where could you read about it? Not in Jay Penske's many trades. Ooof! Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Hot Seat: Shane Smith is Ready to Talk Media. Again

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2024 36:42


    At its peak, Vice had a valuation of $5.7 billion, two shows on HBO, 2,600 employees in more than 30 countries, and was the 10th most valuable private company in America. Its cofounder and CEO, Shane Smith rode the wave of digital media, until it crashed and burned. He talks to Janice Min about what went wrong, if he has regrets and his thoughts on the future of media — which now includes his new podcast, produced with Bill Maher. Read the interview in a Q&A format here. Subscribe to The Ankler for more entertainment and media news here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The $10 Billion in AI Cash About to Rock Hollywood

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2024 43:22


    In business, there is a new power hierarchy now, reports Dealmakers columnist Ashley Cullins: AI companies flush with cash at top; next, the studios that have the content AI players crave; and at the bottom, talent. Ashley dives into how agents, reps and execs are scrambling to protect clients and IP — all while fighting for a piece of the $10 billion in AI fees projected to flood entertainment in 2025. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield also talk what Disney's studio contraction signals about a potentially more entrepreneurial future in TV, and how Sony pulled off its drama-free CEO transition. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    A Hollywood ‘Depression' the Strike Couldn't Fix

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2024 37:28


    Sept. 27 marked the first anniversary of the end of the writers strike and while pay bumps and streaming bonuses (for two blockbuster shows) are great, the business remains in a world of hurt. Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and David Lidsky explore the seismic production pullback, newly instated minimums as maximums — and why Richard wants negotiators from both sides in a penalty box for three years. Plus: John Malone's master plan for WBD, and the gang tries to make a movie using AI. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Succession and the Cult of Iger

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2024 46:37


    How do you follow the all-mighty Bob Iger? In the case of Bob Chapek, you don't. The current public bake-off for whoever's next already has been unsettling, as Richard Rushfield dispels the superhero CEO myth and evaluates how the perception of such actually harms his eventual successor and Disney itself. Plus: Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard analyze the upcoming box office slate and hit the lido deck for a bit of fall TV nostalgia. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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