Today’s AJ highlights: Does Paramount still have a chance at buying Warner? Tech billionaire (and dad of Paramount owner David) Larry Ellison has personally guaranteed $40.4 billion to back Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. There’s another growing political and legal battle in Washington, where a Kennedy Center trustee has filed a lawsuit against President Trump, alleging he is “willfully flouting the law” to satisfy personal vanity.
Playwrights Horizons is facing a significant legal challenge, being sued for discrimination over its use of ticket discounts specifically for audience members of color. This comes at a precarious time for the industry, as the legendary Public Theater—despite its Hamilton windfall—is undergoing its third round of layoffs in just four years.
AI is flooding the creative market, with a report that Suno users are generating 7 million tracks a day, which means that every two weeks, AI is creating as much music as exists on Spotify. More old school, the Metropolitan Opera is actively courting influencers to share their “delight and surprise” at the art form with a younger generation. Delight AND surprise? Do tell.
Finally, the passing of Eddie Sotto, the former Disney “Imagineer” who shaped the visitor experience at theme parks around the world.
All of today’s stories below.
