Nobody needs me to make the same big-picture Hollywood predictions that we’ve all seen year after year: The “streaming wars” will lead to consolidation; Shari Redstone will sell ViacomCBS; Apple will (or won’t?) buy a legacy studio. Blah, blah. Someday those will come true and everyone will feel smart, just as we all did this year when AT&T predictably unloaded WarnerMedia and Amazon finally pulled the trigger on MGM.
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Latest Articles from Hollywood

Matthew Belloni
•
December 31, 2021
David Ellison and the Penis Politics of ‘South Park’
The would-be owner of Paramount scores the F.C.C. greenlight and survives the latest threat to the deal via Trey Parker and Matt Stone, whose outrageous (and nude) parody of Trump comes days after one of the most contentious talent negotiations I’ve covered.

Kim Masters
•
December 31, 2021
In Colbert Blood
CBS’s decision to cancel ‘The Late Show’ has shaken a town beset by fears regarding industry economics and the cozy dealmaking between Trump and the Ellisons. Will the creative community revolt?

Matthew Belloni
•
December 31, 2021
CBS in Distress: Colbert’s Exit & The Rhodes-Weiss Era
As Paramount prepares to remake itself, David Rhodes has emerged as a likely successor at CBS News, possibly advised by Bari Weiss. And company insiders suggest that the Colbert cancellation was purely economic, but is that buyable?

Eriq Gardner
•
December 31, 2021
The Silver Lake–Endeavor Deal Cage Match
Today a court in Delaware began considering who would steer the appraisal challenge over the price that the private equity firm paid to take Ari Emanuel’s media and representation business private. It’s as messy—and as lucrative—as it sounds, and has two prominent law firms vying for fees as high as half a billion dollars.

Julia Alexander
•
December 31, 2021
HBO Max Needs More HBO
After a two-year identity crisis at the newly re-rechristened service, how can David Zaslav and Casey Bloys make the streamer successful, and not just the butt of every joke?

Matthew Belloni
•
December 31, 2021
Sam Altman Is Getting ‘Social Network’-ed
I got my hands on ‘Artificial,’ Hollywood’s new version of ‘The Social Network’ for the A.I. age. Altman and Elon Musk will probably hate their portrayals, but it’s a small miracle that Amazon, itself a player in the A.I. race, is making this $40 million movie in the first place.

Eriq Gardner
•
December 31, 2021
The Tony Robbins A.I. Power Within
A new court case over an A.I.’s celebrity doppelgänger, somewhat hilariously approximating Tony Robbins, may establish precedent for the bursting docket of entertainers looking to protect their flesh-and-blood box office potential.
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Latest Articles from Hollywood

Scott Mendelson
•
December 31, 2021
A Jurassic-Age Blockbuster Formula
With ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth,’ Universal once again proves that there’s more than one way for Hollywood to build a blockbuster franchise.

Matthew Belloni, Ian Krietzberg & Eriq Gardner
•
December 31, 2021
A.I.’s Independence Day Terror
A frank conversation about the real and immediate impacts of the incipient and ubiquitous technology on entertainment—Midjourney implications, job wipeouts, licensing realities, and what to expect in the next decade versus what’s science fiction.

Julia Alexander
•
December 31, 2021
Why Netflix Shouldn’t Be YouTube
As it approaches an audience ceiling, the leader in subscription streaming is looking to nick a few elements of the free model to drive engagement—namely, mastering shortform, creator-made content. Easier said than done…

Kim Masters
•
December 31, 2021
Can Matt ’n’ Ben’s Company Scale Beyond Matt ’n’ Ben?
Amid the content recession and C-suite shake-ups, Artists Equity battles to live up to its quixotic mission of giving creatives more freedom and offering cast and crew a piece of the profit. With Damon’s wife moving into a leadership role and a new Sony deal, will the company have to change with the times, too?

Matthew Belloni
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December 31, 2021
HBO Just Dramatically Changed How It Pays Everyone
The prestige outlet is moving to a “bonus” system based on thresholds of “success” in different categories. It’s all dependent on HBO’s definitions of success, and not dissimilar to how other outlets calculate payouts. But it raises a troubling question: Why?

Eriq Gardner
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December 31, 2021
A Warners ‘Matrix 5’ Battle & The NFL’s Sunday Ticket Showdown
News and notes from around the entertainment law universe: The looming battle over the F.C.C.’s ability to deregulate media ownership; the latest twists in the NFL’s ongoing antitrust drama over Sunday Ticket; and the lingering derivative rights questions following Alcon Entertainment’s deal to acquire Village Roadshow’s film library for $417.5 million.

Scott Mendelson
•
December 31, 2021
A Midsummer Box Office Dream
A timely 2025 midyear health check on the theatrical business, which is outpacing 2024 but behind 2023, as the industry plays with old formulas to manufacture new hits. So far, with a strong incoming late summer slate, $4 billion domestically looks like the floor.
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