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What Filmmaker Laura Poitras Thought When Seymour Hersh Suddenly Quit Her Documentary About Him

The investigative reporter took years to agree to the film. Poitras has won awards for her documentaries about Edward Snowden and Nan Goldin.”Her main thought, when Hersh briefly bailed on the project, was a sense of relief that he had considerately done so on-camera.” - The Guardian (UK)

Mad Men’s Special Effects Foreman Has Some Things To Say About The Events Of Recent Days

Such events being HBO’s Mad Men remaster that showed a little too much. “We always tried to camouflage ourselves as much as possible, but these days they tend to just say ‘we’ll erase it in post.’ Only this time, apparently they didn’t erase us.” - The Verge (Archive Today)

And We Know It’s Good For Netflix

The deal with Warner Bros. “gives the streaming giant an identity it didn’t have before and a back catalog that will rival that of Disney+. It could also transform the streaming giant into something far more akin to a traditional movie and TV studio—if that’s what it wants to be.” - Wired

Hey, Hang On, Netflix Might Be Great For Warner Bros.

Well, good, anyway. “Staffers at the company are taking comfort in what Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said about HBO on a call with Wall Street analysts just after the deal was announced. … ‘They are saying all the right things,’ the WBD insider said, somewhat hopefully.” - Vulture

Pathé Will Return To Making English-Language Films

“French production and exhibition giant Pathé is looking to ‘re-launch’ its English-language film business with the appointment of FilmNation president of motion pictures Ben Browning as co-CEO of Pathé U.K.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Netflix To Buy Warner Bros. Discovery For $82.7 Billion

“The deal has a total enterprise value (including debt) of approximately $82.7 billion, with an equity value of $72 billion, the companies said. The announcement … came after a weeks-long bidding war that pitted the streaming giant against David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance and Comcast.” - Variety

Now Bollywood Has A Rival For The Spotlight In India’s Enormous Movie Industry

Bollywood, based in Bombay/Mumbai and producing movies in Hindi, has always been the center of India’s cinematic universe. Yet there are centers of filmmaking in other Indian languages based in other state capitals. One of those centers — Tollywood, which produces Telugu-language movies in Hyderabad — has been enjoying a big run of successes. - AP

Russia Blocks Facetime, Roblox

Both restrictions are part of an accelerating clampdown on foreign tech platforms: In the case of FaceTime, Russian authorities allege it is being used for criminal activity, while Roblox was accused of distributing extremist materials and "LGBT propaganda." - CBC

Is Appointment TV Making A Comeback?

As more shows switch to a weekly release schedule, it gives viewers a chance to watch the episodes as they become available and take part in the same cultural moment, but experts suggest what's happening is more of a happy middle ground between appointment viewing and binge watching. - CBC

Paramount Claims Bias In Warner Deal

“It has become increasingly clear, through media reporting and otherwise, that WBD appears to have abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process, thereby abdicating its duties to stockholders, and embarked on a myopic process with a predetermined outcome that favors a single bidder. - Deadline

A Great Big New Film Studio In A Grim New Jersey Brownfield?

Hedge fund manager Arki Busson is hoping to ride a wave in production studio construction generated by state-government subsidies. His goal: 1888 Studios, the largest such facility in greater New York, on 60 abandoned acres across an inlet from outer Staten Island. - Curbed (MSN)

Race To Buy Warner Bros. May Come Down To Relationship

Netflix showing strong interest in WBD's assets, including making a mostly cash offer to acquire them, coincided with reports that the White House had antitrust concerns, while Comcast, which also submitted a bid, still has to deal with the challenge that President Donald Trump loathes CEO Brian Roberts. - The Wrap (MSN)

Why Trump Won’t Go After “South Park”, No Matter How Ferociously It Lampoons Him

None of the late-night hosts Trump repeatedly attacks have said anything nearly as outrageous as what the animated series does, depicting the President having an affair with Satan and siring the Antichrist. Why does Trump never lambaste South Park? Because it has two things he respects more than anything else. - The Hollywood Reporter

Iran Sentences Filmmaker Jafar Panahi To Prison While He’s Abroad Accepting Awards

As he was in New York receiving three Gotham Awards for his Cannes-winning It Was Just an Accident, a Tehran court sentenced Panahi to a year in prison and a two-year travel ban for “propaganda activities against the system.” - AP

Netflix: Viewership Of Southeast Asian Content Up 50 Percent In 2025

More than 100 Southeast Asian titles have appeared in Netflix’s Global Top 10. Over 40 of those titles charted in 2025 alone. Titles from the region also ranked in the top 10 lists of over 80 countries in 2025. - Deadline

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