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☆ ‘Oppenheimer’ Wins Producers Guild Award. Is the Best-Picture Oscar Next?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Kyle Buchanan | More About Kyle Buchanan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

(This year the PGA nominees matched exactly the Oscar best-picture list.) Since 2009, when both groups expanded the number of best-film nominees from five, the PGA winner has repeated at the Oscars all but three times. Only one film has ever taken top prizes from the producers, directors and actors guilds, as “Oppenheimer” has done, and still lost the best-picture Oscar, “Apollo 13” (1995). Nolan’s film is far better situated than that one was with two acting wins possible for stars Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. So the question now isn’t whether “Oppenheimer” will triumph at the Oscars, it’s how many statuettes it will earn before taking the top prize.

Persons: There’s, “ Oppenheimer, ”, Christopher Nolan’s, “ We’ve, ” Nolan, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, “ Oppenheimer ”, Oscar, “, Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr Organizations: Producers Guild of America, PGA Locations: Dunkirk

☆ Hollywood's AI issues are far from settled after writers' labor deal with studios
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Drew Richardson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Writers Guild of America's labor deal with Hollywood studios was billed as a big win for writers, but industry experts fear the agreement's artificial intelligence guardrails won't be enough. The contract does, however, leave room for studios to train AI using preexisting material. WGA's original May proposal, which triggered the strike, would have disallowed studios from using any materials to train AI outright. Hollywood studios training AI with preexisting materials could create a whole new set of issues for writers by allowing the studios to use previous work to generate similar materials without the writer's consent or even awareness. Allowing studios to train AI with preexisting material was a "punt" down the line, and studios will inevitably "push to use AI as far as possible," said Peter Csathy, founder and chairman of media legal advisory company Creative Media.

Persons: Justine Bateman, Leslie Callif, Donaldson, Callif, Peter Csathy Organizations: Writers Guild of America, The, Hollywood, CNBC, WGA, Alliance, Television Producers, Beverly, Creative Media Locations: Netflix's, York, New York City, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, U.S

☆ 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' box office gives theaters a sugar rush. What they need is a steady drip of hits
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

So while the this fall harvest is surely welcome, as is so often true, a Swift solution isn’t likely to be an enduring one. Advance sales for “The Eras Tour” left little doubt that the event would be a major success, leaving only the precise numbers in doubt. In that sense, the next blonde hero flying to the rescue might be more important: Brie Larson, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, whose sequel “The Marvels” hits theaters on November 10. Still, there aren’t many artists with the kind of followings that Swift and Beyoncé command.

Persons: Taylor Swift’s, “ Taylor Swift, “ Barbie ”, ”, Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, Swift, –, Brie Larson, a.k.a, Captain Marvel, underwhelming, “ Indiana Jones, “ Barbie Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, “, Marvel, Guardians, Galaxy Locations: North America

☆ The back-to-office backfire: Companies ending WFH perks lose out on top talent, who view flexible work as equivalent to an 8% raise
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Employees see flexible workplaces as an equivalent benefit to an 8% raise, WSJ reported. In some cases, employer pressure to return to in-person work results in employee efforts to unionize or strike over the rollback in benefits, according to Entrepreneur magazine. Insider previously reported work stoppages seen have the highest level of public support since 1965. Some employees, like an Arizona administrator making six figures, have quit altogether when called back to the office, Insider previously reported. Research by Prithwiraj Choudhury, an associate professor at the Harvard Business School and remote work expert, found that employees who worked from home 75% of the time were the most productive, Insider previously reported.

Persons: Nicholas Bloom, Prithwiraj Choudhury Organizations: Service, Disney, JPMorgan, Guardian, Labor Department, Actors Guilds, Employers, Street, Workers, Stanford, Harvard Business School Locations: Wall, Silicon, Arizona

☆ Ongoing strikes could kill Hollywood's momentum after the 'Barbenheimer' bump, but 4 industry insiders and analysts are still optimistic about the future of these 5 entertainment companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Here's which entertainment companies will outperform, according to analysts and industry insiders. Four industry veterans Insider spoke with unanimously agreed that unless the strikes are resolved soon, the movie industry's much-needed revival will fizzle out. In a mid-July note about the movie industry, Reese and Pachter highlighted three theater-related companies that are best positioned to survive in this difficult environment. FuboTV should be a winner since it's a solid alternative for cord cutters who still need news and sports coverage, which aren't impacted by the strikes, Pachter noted. Netflix is perhaps the most fascinating company in the media industry right now.

Persons: Barbie, Oppenheimer, Paul Dergarabedian, Alicia Reese, David A, Gross, Strikes, Reese, Michael Pachter, Dergarabedian, Pachter, Richard Gelfond, JPMorgan's David Karnovsky, Wedbush's Pachter, aren't, it's Organizations: Hollywood, Wedbush Securities, Entertainment Research, Alliance, Television Producers, Consumers, Netflix Locations: Hollywood, creatives

☆ Prolonged Hollywood strikes could lead to 'an absolute collapse of an entire industry,' says IAC Chair Diller
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Diller, a former Paramount Pictures CEO, predicted a domino effect should the dual strikes not resolve quickly. "These conditions will potentially produce an absolute collapse of an entire industry," he said. That means that by the time the strikes are settled, there won't be enough money to ramp programs back up. AI companies must come up with a fair business model before ingesting publishers' copyrighted work, Diller said. "It took 15 years to get back on paywalls that protected publishers," Diller said.

Persons: Barry Diller, Diller Organizations: IAC, CBS, Paramount Pictures, Google, Microsoft, CNBC, YouTube, Hollywood Locations: Hollywood

☆ How A.I. took center stage in the Hollywood writers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Kate Sammer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The implementation of generative AI could mean sweeping changes for the entertainment industry. Advocates for AI technology see it as a tool that will uplift content creators and break down the barriers to entry. "And you don't have to have any sort of skills as a visual effects artist or as someone in the entertainment industry." Since the last writers' strike in 2007, widespread consumer adoption of video streaming has exemplified how novel technologies can upheave the entertainment industry. Discovery , losing billions and billions and billions of dollars a year."

Persons: Justine Bateman, Caleb Ward, Dan Rayburn, —, Rayburn Organizations: Guild of America, Netflix, — Disney, Warner Bros, Discovery, Writers Guild of America, Hollywood

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