The Ankler Podcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. 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

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. 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

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

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. To read more about this interview, click here. For the sharpest coverage of the entertainment industry, become a paid subscriber to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Zaslav, on a break from sitting courtside at elite sporting events, has a new idea to help save WBD: Give HBO away for free to Charter cable subscribers. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield analyze why and what it means amid growing warnings of “chaos” and industry consolidation from leaders including Sony CEO Tony Vinciquerra and Ari Emanuel. Plus: Katey Rich previews the Emmys and early Oscar buzz, and Matthew Frank tips everyone to Hollywood’s new Wild West: legal gambling on movies. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As everywhere from Alabama to Bulgaria battle to attract productions with tax incentives, studios are saying bye, y’all to Hollywood. With shoots being exported all over the globe, what happens to those who came to Los Angeles to have an entertainment career? Ankler contributor Ashley Cullins joins to break down the production location war — and L.A.’s plan to fight back. Plus, Sean McNulty and Elaine Low explain the Disney-DirecTV carriage dispute, and Richard Rushfield reports from the scene as TIFF begins. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple is the most valuable company in the world. There are more than 2.2 billion Apple devices in use worldwide. Remind us why it’s in the (often) money-losing entertainment business again? Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield explore why Apple is retreating from its blockbuster theatrical ambitions — sorry, George and Brad — why it had them in the first place and what happens next. Also: Prestige Junkie’s own Katey Rich joins to discuss the start of fall film festival season and aces some Oscars trivia. Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices