"He’s adamant. No more Borat. No more Bruno. No more Ali G. … He’s tired of hoodwinking people to expose their prejudices, and he’s even more tired of the death threats that periodically follow. ... Eventually his luck will run out." Problem is, he’s said this many times before. - The Hollywood Reporter
"Being vulnerable with his subjects generally inspires them to return the favor. ... He’s seen subjects go to trial, face romantic rejection, and lose their jobs on-camera; he’s also been holed up in a dingy motel bathroom while two of them had sex in the other room." - New York Magazine (MSN)
The prevalence of AI in microdramas is reflected in the top-performing titles that Owl & Co. found for the latest quarter on apps that require viewers to pay for their stories. - The Hollywood Reporter
“California’s $750 million bet on Hollywood has not reversed the overall decline in production, according to data released Wednesday by FilmLA. Instead, production levels fell 3.7% in the third quarter — even as the share of projects receiving state subsidies continued to rise. Location shoots remain well below the five-year average.” - Variety
“The movie business needed Netflix to wake up. They needed a real disruptor... Maybe we are now entering a period where the relationship works the other way around, with Netflix being inspired by the movie business. I think the two worlds are additive.” - Deadline
For the year, Netflix said, it expects revenue growth to be 13 percent, roughly in line with its previous estimates. Shares dropped more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. The company acknowledged the undercurrent that led to the recent tumult: concern about stagnating attention time on its service. - The New York Times
“Two-thirds of vertical drama releases outside China in the third quarter of 2026 from 20 top platforms were AI generated, according to the consulting firm Owl & Co.’s latest ‘What We Watched on Vertical’ report.” (In China, the figure is thought to be 95%.) - The Hollywood Reporter
As the Corporation tries to save £500 million ($670 million) over the next two years, it is ending over-the-air transmission of these two television stations as well as BBC Radio 4 Extra. As of next spring, programming from those outlets will be made for streaming only. - The Guardian
“SAG-AFTRA's independent Verticals Agreement helped open the door for producers to hire union performers for the format's notoriously small-scale productions. They've also brought some structure and legitimacy to the medium. ... Bigger-name talent is now more open to verticals thanks to the protections the agreement brings.” - TheWrap (MSN)
The ousters of two of the company’s top creative executives are a sign that the streaming giant’s leaders feel the service needs to overhaul its content offerings. - The Wall Street Journal
Margaret Low joined NPR at age 23 as an overnight production assistant and rose to senior vice president for news, the network’s top editorial job. She then spent five years running The Atlantic’s live events division before becoming WBUR’s first CEO in January 2020 – “just in time for a global pandemic,” she said. - WBUR
In recent years, the shows have become money losers and the network TV business — faced with a decline in viewers that is squeezing profits — are cutting them loose. - Los Angeles Times
This week, a new organization called the American Entertainment Alliance will begin publicly pushing for legislation to force the biggest entertainment and streaming companies — including Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime Video and Skydance — to allocate half of their original content budgets to shows and movies from independent producers in the United States. - The New York Times
