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Earnings season kicks off this week with Netflix on Thursday, Oct. 17, and I’ll be experimenting with a number of AI tools to see if I can surface any surprising insights to share with Sean McNulty (after I’ve fact-checked them). Remember that many earnings calls are at 8:30 a.m. ET and Sean brilliantly deconstructs what you need to know just an hour or so after they’re over. That is just part of what makes the price (or gift) of an Ankler subscription the best investment you can make in your career or someone else’s today.
Wakeup readers know Sean’s tough on AI, but I’m open, cautiously, to new ways of working, as the rapid encroachment of AI into the entertainment workplace begins.
The Ankler is the only place you’re reading about these changes. Erik Barmack dove deep into this new reality in his special three-part Reel AI series (for paid subscribers), AI at the Studios, as AI tools “ominously, persistently improve.” Any execs who thought AI would never impact what they do, or their jobs, are in for an awakening.
Check out Erik’s excellent three-parter here about AI, today’s jobs and the evolution of the workplace:
Before we recap the rest of the week, I’m excited to share some updates on our October events just days away:
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The Ankler x Pure Nonfiction Documentary Spotlight on Oct. 18 at Vista House in the Hollywood Hills has added The Last Republican to our lineup of contending documentary films. Director and producer Steve Pink will sit down with Thom Powers to discuss the film, which follows former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, the first Republican to hold President Trump accountable for the Jan. 6 insurrection. Request your invite today:
Then, I’m delighted to share some of the panelists in conversation with my expert colleagues at the Montclair Film Festival in Montclair, N.J., Oct. 18-27:
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Katey Rich’s panel, “Hollywood Awards Season: Who Wins and Why It Matters”, will feature Sony Pictures Classics co-founder and co-president Tom Bernard, as well as former Prestige Junkie podcast guests Chris Murphy of Vanity Fair and Chris Rosen of Gold Derby: Oct. 20, 4 p.m. ET. Tickets here
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The Wakeup’s Sean McNulty moderates “Annual Report: State of the Film Industry” panel with NEON EVP for Nonfiction and Special Projects Dan O’Meara and WME partner Maggie Pisacane: Oct. 26, 1 p.m. ET. Tickets here
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Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins leads “Artists, Audiences & Artificial Intelligence” with the investor and strategic advisor Greg Kahn, cofounder of AI Trailblazers, with more TBA: Oct. 26, 3:30 p.m. ET. Tickets here.
Learn more about the entire Montclair Film Festival lineup, featuring screenings of such buzzy Oscar contenders as Conclave, Anora, Emilia Pérez, Blitz and Nightbitch, and get tickets here.
So with no further ado, ICYMI:
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After a career-spanning conversation with director Jason Reitman about everything from Saturday Night to restoring the iconic Westwood Village theater, Richard Rushfield heads into much murkier waters — that of Jay Penske, the Golden Globes and a Turkish gala his trades kept hidden:
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As Hollywood CEOs opine on the coming consolidation, are they secretly rooting for another Trump administration to make it happen? Entertainment Strategy Guy explains (for paid subscribers only) the one thing any company must do to get a deal approved in a second Trump administration and who’ll be a buyer, a seller — or likely sitting things out:
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In this week’s Series Business (for paid subscribers only), Elaine Low talks to a 16-year industry veteran who’s constantly hustling but can’t yet save for retirement; how they rely on their family for household basics; and the pressure of being a native Angeleno who can’t afford to live there any longer:
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Joe Pompeo secured a piece of the hot Al Pacino memoir, Sonny Boy (out Oct. 15), to tell the story of the actor’s mid-1970s career crossroads and how Dog Day Afternoon and its daring, sensitive portrayal of a transgender relationship set Pacino, post Godfather and Godfather II, on a new trajectory:
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Katey Rich breaks down the pros and cons of 11 best actor contenders as they vie for a nomination. She also chats with Cristin Milioti, star of HBO’s The Penguin, and The Apprentice screenwriter Gabriel Sherman about the Trump biopic’s fraught journey:
Sean McNulty had all the news you need this week, from Colleen Hoover as the new IP engine to the slow start for Netflix’s prestige pictures:
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Shane Smith is Ready to Talk Media. Again Out of semi-retirement, Vice’s co-founder chats with Janice Min about went wrong for Vice (in his mind), and what he thinks about the media industry and where it’s headed:
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