Business Features
Meet the New Cool Kids of Indie Filmmaking
Last year, Sundance was the first in-person version of the festival since the pandemic forced the bastion of American independent filmmaking online for two years. It also acted as the unofficial debut for 2AM, the upstart production and management outfit headed by Christine D’Souza Gelb, producer David Hinojosa and manager Kevin Rowe. At the festival, 2AM […]
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The Hollywood Labor Chief Pay Chart: Top Union Leaders’ Compensation Revealed
2023 proved to a be a landmark year for Hollywood labor as actors and writers called a historic double strike in the name of reshaping a transforming industry. As that battle was waged over issues like AI and compensation in the streaming age, chief negotiators for the striking unions, as well as the directors’ union, […]
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How ESPN Is Dramatically Rewriting Its Streaming Playbook
Walking around ESPN’s sprawling campus in Bristol, Connecticut, visitors will find the sports giant’s mission statement at almost every turn. On walls, in windows, in the cafeteria: “Serving sports fans. Anytime. Anywhere.” It’s a humble slogan for the biggest brand in sports media, and arguably one of the biggest brands in all of sports, but […]
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California vs. the World: The Race to Nab Film and TV Productions
Last year, New York dispersed about $124 million in tax credits to various entities belonging to Paramount Global as a reward for 10 projects that were shot in the state. Those productions — which encompassed an array of feature films, TV series and even a talk show, including Clifford the Big Red Dog, Blue Bloods and […]
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Will a ‘Rush Hour’ Sequel Resurrect Brett Ratner?
In July, Lionsgate executives gathered for a routine greenlight meeting. On the agenda, however, was not a typical project. The studio was looking at Rush Hour 4, the long-talked-about next installment in the action comedy franchise. In different times, it might seem like an attractive idea for Lionsgate — which has an interest in building franchises […]
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As AI Encroaches on Hollywood, Animators Say This Is An Existential Moment
Jeanette Moreno King’s daughter is 17 and wants to eventually work in animation. As the president of The Animation Guild — a union that represents more than 5,000 artists, writers, technicians and production workers who have been credited on Kung Fu Panda 4, Wish and other recent releases — Moreno King, you might think, would […]
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Once a Cash Cow, Cable TV Is Now Roadkill. Is a Fire Sale Next?
In September 2022, a few months before he unexpectedly returned to The Walt Disney Co., Bob Iger warned that “a world of hurt” was coming to the linear TV business. Sitting on stage at The Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom, Iger told his interviewer, Kara Swisher, that “Linear TV and satellite is marching towards a great […]
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Jeff Shell’s Past Lingers Over Paramount’s Future
Is there a path back? That still stands as an unanswered question in the wake of the #MeToo tsunami that swept Hollywood starting with the downfall of Harvey Weinstein in 2017. And it presented with specific, thorny facts — accompanied by a cloud of nebulous rumors — as Skydance moves closer to sealing a deal […]
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“Our Billion-Dollar Olympic Lab”: What NBC Is Taking From Paris to L.A.
The Paris Olympics have put NBC and its employees in a mighty good mood. Walking through NBC Sports’ headquarters midway through the games, one could almost feel the energy and good vibes. And not just because of the live music and s’more-making in fire pits by the Eiffel Tower. No, not that Eiffel Tower. In […]
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How the Summer Box Office Went From Tragic to Magic
An exhausted Ryan Reynolds was overwhelmed when the opening-day grosses started pouring in on July 26 for Deadpool & Wolverine, the third entry in his audacious superhero series. By July 27, the impossible was within reach: The Marvel Studios pic was going to cross $200 million in its domestic debut, something no one thought possible […]
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What Hollywood Wants From Kamala Harris
As Democrats scrambled to shore up support for Kamala Harris, two megadonors openly challenged one of the core tenets of Joe Biden’s agenda, to rein in corporate power, in a move that could prove to be bitterly divisive within the party if Donald Trump is defeated in November. On July 25, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman went […]
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How the NBA’s Slam-Dunk Deals Will Reshape TV
The NBA’s blockbuster $76 billion megadeals with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime are a testament to its product, and the unrivaled reach and power of live sports. And the deals should also send shivers down the spines of almost everyone in Hollywood outside the network executive suites. While the 11-year agreements are seen as a critical […]
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