MEDIA

Hollywood Expects David Ellison To Fail. Will He?

With $80 billion in debt and a sprawl­ing media empire to combine, David Ellison will have his hands full with the now court-approved combination of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery, known as Skydance. But so-called “expert” opinion has him failing before he even starts. - New York Post

Netflix Admits Using AI On More Than 300 Projects

Sung Q Lee, Netflix’s senior director of production for Asia-Pacific, said the technology was being deployed across the filmmaking process, but stressed the importance of preserving human creativity. - The Hollywood Reporter

If The Ellisons Think This Is Going To Be Easy, They Need To Read Some Hollywood History

Skydance "must braid together two huge film studios (housing nine film labels), four streaming services, three TV production studios, three animation units and more than 50 television networks, including two prominent news organizations." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

This Comedian Claims He Didn’t Mean To Slash The Income Of 800 People

And yet: "Hundreds of working-class comedians have lost a key source of income and exposure, while wealthy celebrity comics take up their airspace" on SiriusXM. - CBC

How Will Directors Learn To Direct Films If Ads Are All AI-Generated?

"The panicked race to introduce AI technology across the advertising industry, to cut client costs and avoid being pushed aside by big tech, has raised fears of a lost generation." - The Guardian (UK)

For Oscars Consideration, Did The Odyssey Peak Too Early?

"As tempting as it may be to imagine the Best Picture result as set in stone, history tells us that there will always be a few surprises along the way." - Vulture

Trends In Public Radio: Donations Up, Migration To Digital

The survey of more than 17,000 respondents from 49 U.S. public stations during June and July 2026 shows that since 2013, public radio listening has moved from 83% broadcast vs. 16% digital to this year’s 54% broadcast vs. 43% digital, with Jacobs forecasting “those two lines are going to cross .” - InsideRadio

Skydance Says It Will Make $6B In Cuts At Combined Paramount/Warner

“It’s important also to say this is not about cost reduction. This is about reengineering how we work. This is about reinventing the business model. So it’s not just synergies and reducing costs; it’s also improving how we perform.  - Deadline

Why Peter Greenaway’s Film With Dustin Hoffman Is Trapped In Post-Production Limbo

Production began (after a false start) on Lucca Mortis in early 2024; despite constant, expensive delays, a first draft version was ready by the end of that year. Then bigger difficulties arose: there are now two different versions of the movie (retitled Tower Stories), neither complete, along with an ugly contract dispute. - The Guardian

Documented: How Much Of LA’s TV Production Business Has Left

Over the last quarter-century, with the rise of streaming and the offshoring of production, the U.S. share of major-studio spending on TV episodes has fallen from 94% to 64%, according to a report commissioned by seven entertainment industry unions. - Los Angeles Times

Maybe “The Jazz Singer” Wasn’t The First Talkie After All

“The 46-minute feature film (Till the Bells Ring), featuring spoken parts and synchronised sound throughout, premiered in Edinburgh in October 1926, a year before The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, hit New York’s screens to widespread fanfare and took its place in the history books.” - The Guardian

Despite Being Shut Down, Voice Of America Still Costs $1.6 Million Per Week

“It’s been more than a year since the Trump administration dismantled Voice of America, the largest U.S. international broadcaster, saying ‘taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.’ Yet the agency is costing the government millions even as it stopped operations.” - Fortune

Disney Goes To Court To Contest Early License Review For ABC

Disney lawyers asked a judge in U.S. District Court in Washington to bar the F.C.C. from undertaking an unusual, early review of the broadcast licenses of the eight stations the company owns and operates. - The New York Times

The New Version Of Destroying Reputations In Hollywood

While the lawsuits differ, they all claim the smear campaigns were carried out through anonymous websites, fabricated social media posts or promotion of unflattering articles and posts on the internet.  - The New York Times

What Are Donors Getting For Investing In KCRW?

You paid for the building with your bonds. You paid for the programming with your pledge drives. You paid the $447,529 salary with your donations. What you got: a 2.0 share, phantom metrics, and eleven million in programming money nobody can itemize. - Gregg Lewis

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