Big news this week for The Ankler! Our CEO Janice Min announced a brand new partnership with Letterboxd on Thursday that encompasses joint events, shared ad sales through awards season and a new newsletter about audience, Crowd Pleaser, that combines Ankler reporting with Letterboxd data. Janice announced the multi-faceted offering at Axios Media Trends Live in New York (to audible murmurs of approval among the sold-out crowd); moderator Kerry Flynncharacterized our big reveal as such: “As some legacy outlets chase scale, independent media brands are succeeding by going niche and pairing sharp editorial voices with passionate communities.” Contact Ankler’s London Sanders (london@theankler.com) for more information, and thank you to our launch sponsor, FX’s Alien: Earth.
IN CROWD Janice Min, center, announced Ankler Media’s new partnership with Letterboxd at Axios Media Trends Live on Sept. 18, in a session moderated by Kerry Flynn, and alongside Feed Me author Emily Sundberg. (Axios/Edin Studios)
Meanwhile, the dark chill that swept through the industry this week with ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! “indefinitely” had Team Ankler all over it.
In an emergency episode of The Ankler podcast (review us, like us and subscribe here), Lesley Goldberg laid out to host Elaine Low and Natalie Jarvey new details about what actually went down behind the scenes between Disney’s Dana Walden and the company’s marquee star:
Emergency Pod: The Kimmel Crisis & What’s Next
The Ankler Podcast
34:43
Richard Rushfield renewed his call for industry leaders to — excuse my language — grow a pair.In a Rushfield Lunch attended live by more than 3,000 people, he also spoke with The Bulwark’s Jonathan V. Last about just how dark this situation really is and the only way to resist authoritarianism: “These things are only ever really stopped by just bodies. Masses of bodies,” Last said:
And what if Disney hadn’t backed down? Sean McNulty’s trenchant analysis of just how very, verylittle ABC parent Disney had at stake and the actual financial costs of pushing back on Carr will blow your mind. Let this be an object lesson to everyone else potentially in the crosshairs:
And as hundreds of protesters showed up outside Disney’s Burbank HQ, Elaine and Lesley were on the scene and will have more for paid subscribers on Monday about the tick-tock of this crisis and what the demise of late night — even if Kimmel finds his way back — means for careers in comedy and entertainment.
Now, ICYMI, here’s the rest of our best of the week:
As Hollywood players try to get ahead of the AI curve, Elainereveals how one talent agency owner is harnessing the tech to scale his client roster from 300 to 1,000; how “Ari,” the AI agent he built, nails the job of a human (and how it fails); plus, how other industry execs and creatives have made ChatGPT part of their routine:
After Penske Media Corporation and ATX TV Festival organizers broke up, fest founders Emily Gipson and Caitlin McFarland tell Lesley exclusively about what went wrong and how they’re plotting ATX’s expansion, finding investors and recruiting sponsors. (Plus, don’t miss Lesley’s scoop about a juicy new Julie Plec-Andre Agassi tennis drama!):
Even before they came for Kimmel, Richard sounded the alarm way back on Tuesday (what a week!). Showbiz has become the Joe Biden of industries, convinced we’re winning when we’re losing, unable to change our ways or even acknowledge the chaos enveloping us:
At a time when, per one dealmaker, “there is such an appetite to scale,” Paramount and Warners aren’t the only ones exploring new pacts — Hollywood’s mid-market companies are also seeing heavy activity. Ashley Cullins surveys top players on the future of Neon, Black Bear, Bleecker Street, North Road and the Candle Media of it all (oof):
As Paramount Skydance plants its flag with big content investments and a possible bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Entertainment Strategy Guy thinks David Ellison is sitting on the most undervalued asset in Hollywood, and tells us what the potential WBD acquisition really means:
Post-Emmys, Katey Rich recaps the hit-or-miss telecast, with high highs (surprise wins forJeff Hiller and Katherine LaNasa), low lows (Nate Bargatze’s speech-tightening gimmick that could’ve also used some trimming) and everything in between. Plus: Katey’s early Oscar picks:
Monday Morning QBs: This week on our live box office show, Richard and Sean bemoan the lack of depth and volume at multiplexes — and why one-offs like Demon Slayer and KPop Demon Hunters won’t save us:
Remembering Robert Redford: An iconic, one-of-a-kind star, Robert Redford changed the medium of film forever. And that’s before you even get to his Oscar-winning work as a director and, of course, his founding of the Sundance Film Festival. Richard, Katey and Ankler Media deputy editor Christopher Rosen weigh the life and legacy of a Hollywood legend:
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