What I’m Hearing: Star Wars Fears, the Corden Flap, & Nikki’s Cat

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Welcome back to What I’m Hearing, with the usual reminder: If you were forwarded this email, become a Puck member here.

First, thanks to Vulture for including The Town on its Best Podcasts of 2022 (So Far) list. This week, I picked the best and worst entertainment deals of the past decade with Lucas Shaw, forecasted NBA rights deals with Andrew Wallenstein, and debated Netflix earnings with Rich Greenfield. Listen here!

Discussed in this issue: Kathy Kennedy, Ted Sarandos, Damon Lindelof, James Corden, Bob Iger, Scott Stuber, Michelle Yeoh, Danny Masterson, Allen Grubman, and Nikki Finke’s cat.

But first…

Who Won the Week: Tom Ryan

I discussed the Netflix guys on Thursday, so it’s gotta be the PlutoTV co-founder and Paramount executive, whose free, ad-supported streamer joined The Gauge, Nielsen’s monthly report on share of viewership—meaning it captured...

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The Next Star Wars Movie Terrifies Lucasfilm

Kathleen Kennedy’s stewardship of the movie franchise continues to baffle as a key right-hand exits and a new film, perhaps the one in development with Damon Lindelof, isn’t expected until at least 2025, six years after ‘Rise of Skywalker.’ With Marvel churning out multiple movies every year, such a massive pause is borderline corporate negligence.

MATTHEW BELLONI

Last November, right after Patty Jenkins’ much-touted Rogue Squadron was placed on the dreaded back burner, I politely asked Disney C.E.O. Bob Chapek to remove Star Wars movies from the purview of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. After five films and about $6 billion in box office under Disney, this A+-level film franchise—a property other studios would kill for—had been essentially left half-digested in a Sarlacc pit.

No continuing storylines, no new characters worth following, several top-tier creators hired and then discarded, and little overarching creative vision. Lucasfilm was continuing to churn out...

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