Welcome back to What I’m Hearing. Thanks to the NATPE Hollywood television conference for inviting me to moderate a great panel yesterday with Candle Media’s Kevin Mayer, Lionsgate’s Kevin Beggs, and analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich. I’ll run some excerpts from the conversation in Sunday’s issue…

Today I’m diving into two big stories: the Johnny Depp verdict, and the Warner Bros. upheaval. Plus, Jim Miller has the second half of his definitive Succession rankings. (You may disagree with his No. 1; I did, somewhat, but he makes a compelling argument.)

But first…

• Would Sheryl Sandberg, who’s stepping down from Meta, make a good Disney C.E.O.? It sounds kinda nuts to me, given the toxicity around the former Facebook C.O.O. But with Disney now diving head-first into digital ads on Disney+, her expertise, her experience as a former Disney board member, and her high profile, could be an asset. Plus, Disney, under Bob Chapek, was the worst-performing Dow Jones stock of 2021. Meta was not.

• Some movement in the Netflix awards machine. Elisabeth Baker, who had taken over awards marketing last year from overall awards guru Lisa Taback, was a victim of the layoffs a couple months ago, so now Taback has reasserted control over the TV ads and billboards that plug all the Oscar and Emmy contenders. Still waiting to see how the next round of cuts will impact Taback’s division, which is much larger than at rival streamers and studios...

P.S. As a reminder, you're receiving the free version of What I’m Hearing at . For full access to Puck, and to each of my colleagues, you can subscribe here.

Few would argue with imitating a company that, in a few short years, morphed from the home of pricey write-offs like Prince of Persia and John Carter, into a risk-averse hit factory that released seven billion-dollar grossers in 2019 on the way to a record $13 billion in global box office. As I reported a couple weeks ago, Zaslav even has Alan Horn, the overseer of that Disney film strategy, in line to consult on the Warners makeover, and Zaz has been seen lately in deep conversations at the Polo Lounge with Mr. Mouseketeer himself, former C.E.O. Bob Iger.

But as any moviegoer can tell you, Disney is very different than Warner Bros., and it’s not just that Disney is a brand unto itself—a fact Warners used to highlight, not run from. The success of the Disney silo strategy was dependent on a few very different (and arguably un-replicable) building blocks. I’m not saying this strategy won’t work for Warners; I’m just saying you can hire the same architects, and even draw the same schematics, but if the core materials aren’t there, the whole thing collapses under the weight of good intentions. Consider the evidence:

1. The Marvel Miracle

This one’s obvious: Disney has Marvel! “DZ has decreed DC is Marvel, so it is!” one producer texted me...