Netflix's Problem; YouTube Plays Hardball; California Fright; Musk's Opening; Creator A-List

Weekender: What's interesting and what matters in Hollywood.

View on web New reader? Subscribe October 24, 2026 Hollywood is being reshaped before our eyes, but that chaotic disintegration is running headlong into the rhythm of our favorite season: awards. The leaves are turning, the James Bond hopefuls are testing and the Oscar campaign whispers are starting, too.  — Erik Hayden    Ticker: Ryan Gosling gets the band back; Mike Flanagan's Carrie pays off; Sandra Hüller goes Marvel; Is Jon Feltheimer going to sell? Playing Hardball Netflix, Disney+, Tubi and others are aggressively cutting deals for top creators, in some cases securing original programming or day-and-date releases with YouTube, offering millions of dollars in the process. YouTube is not taking it lying down, launching a carrot-and-stick approach to try and keep its place as the primary home for top talent. Alex Weprin's story leads off the magazine this week. The report. Who Iz He? With his OG character Ali G back in Who Iz I? and outrage already brewing, the comedy provocateur talks cancel culture, boycotts and putting his money — and his life — on the line for a laugh. Sacha Baron Cohen tells Lacey Rose: "I'm never cavalier. These movies are dangerous to make, but we try to limit the risks and keep everybody safe. But even physically, they're incredibly demanding." The cover story. Kingmaker As Elon Musk starts investing in his friend Larry Ellison's family project Skydance, Steven Zeitchik connects the dots: "If Musk both had a minority stake in two of the biggest studios and was also one of the biggest Internet providers around, he would achieve the kind of pipes-content verticality that no company has ever held in American media and communication, let alone a single person at the head of that company. (Musk holds about 85 percent of the voting shares in SpaceX.) Controlling a stake in HBO and CNN along with the ways we watch it — what could go wrong?" The column. They Said It   "As I'm getting older, being a man of letters is more my thing." — Quentin Tarantino on not directing Cliff Booth, specifying he's into "screenplays and books and plays, everything except poetry."   "I feel like a sports car in a parking lot of Tauruses." — Ben Silverman, on his NBC tenure. Now, the Propagate Content mogul is busier than ever with a major slate.   "I felt like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, I was naively walking into this new neighborhood." — Tony Dokoupil, to THR, on his CBS Evening News tenure.   "The quarters ahead can get lumpy." — Michael Cavanagh, on Peacock hitting a profit for the second time in six years, but giving some wary guidance to Wall Street.   "I have to pick and choose who the fuck I work with." — Jed Wallace, Hollywood fixer who's now fighting legal cases, privately boasting to a billionaire customer that his roster included "world leaders, celebrities, diplomats, high-profile individuals."   "We just want to make sure that our members are prepared to upskill and re-skill." — Jillian Arnold, on being named IATSE’s first tech czar and prioritizing crew being involved in the creation of AI tools.     Logline of the Week  [Untitled Denzel thriller / Amazon MGM] "Centers on a former police detective serving a life sentence who is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Granted compassionate release with six months to live, he returns home to the estranged daughter he left behind and a grandson he never knew existed. But his dark past has not forgotten him."   By the Numbers The most-read stories on THR.com this week   1) "Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart to Receive First Joint Award"   2) "R.J. Mitte’s Mother Opens Up About His Tragic Passing"   3) "Tom Skerritt, Star of Picket Fences and Alien, Dies at 93"  Chart of the Week Not a great trendline: Los Angeles film and TV shoot days keep plunging as local officials scramble for a turnaround plan. L.A. saw a nearly 5 percent drop in shoot days from June to September compared to the same period last year and an 11 percent drop compared to the previous quarter, per the latest report from permitting office FilmLA. The total is 36 percent below the five-year average. The report.   (Speaking of production flight, I joined Politico's Daniel Miller on KQED's The Forum this week for an in-detail, hourlong chat titled "Can California Save Hollywood?" The full episode and transcript is here.) What's Next? "Netflix is in the storytelling business, but it seems to have lost the plot on perhaps the most interesting story it needs to be telling: Its own," Alex Weprin writes after the dust settles on a reorg by the streamer. "Netflix was once part of the legendary group of FAANG stocks that drove stock market growth for years. Once it began its pursuit of Warner Bros. last year, however, Wall Street got spooked." The big picture. Portrait of a Lady Citizen Kim author Jonathan Van Meter opens up to Maer Roshan on his five years inside Kim Kardashian’s world: the sex tape, sibling rivalries, falling for your subject, Paris Hilton’s 17 cancellations and why Kanye isn't in the book. What was she most upset about? "The number one thing was the way I wrote about her father." The Q&A. Knight Vision Wildwood director Travis Knight, the filmmaker and Nike scion, poured untold millions into his critically acclaimed "grand experiment." But he knows the real test is yet to come. In David Canfield's profile Knight says, "I find myself essentially performing all the time," of his role as Laika figurehead. The feature. Top Influencers For THR's third annual Creators A-List, we did something different and curated a hyper-specific guide to the influencers who are the most important to Hollywood. These are the comedians, sketch writers and actors who are booking roles, as well as the TikTokers and YouTubers that studios consider their press tour secret weapons. The 25.   *Print, honestly, is a better reading experience for any true magazine. And THR is well-worth a read. Subscribe! About Town THR took over Galerie on Sunset and welcomed cover star Charli D’Amelio as part of its Creators A-List party. Jennifer Lopez stepped out at the LA Opera’s Opening Night Gala. Margaret Cho was honored at the Friendly House Awards Luncheon in L.A. Pam Grier was honored at the Santa Fe Film Fest. Producer George Schlatter made an appearance at the Newport Beach Film Festival tied to his doc premiere. Gina Rodriguez hosted the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala in L.A. Hugh Jackman performed at the Gateway for Cancer Research’s Cures Gala in Illinois. Jeremy Renner and sister Kym hosted the Raise the Stakes poker fundraiser in Reno. All 81 photos from this week's events and premieres. Meanwhile, Maer Roshan discussed upheaval in the industry with UTA CEO David Kramer at our Power Managers event at Spago in Beverly Hills. Speaking of, these are the top managers overseeing fortunes of top stars and industry players, the deciders on whether it makes sense to sign that next contract. The list. Upcoming Releases Notable movies heading to theaters The Bottom Line One-liners from THR's team of critics   James Watkins' DC villain film Clayface "is a bona fide body-horror delight." Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G: Who Iz I? yields "equal parts belly laughs and boredom." Peter Berg's World War II drama The Mosquito Bowl is "technically impressive, emotionally hollow." Taika Waititi's Klara and the Sun is a "cloying, clumsy AI fable" with "forced humor that rarely prompts even a smile." Season three of Netflix's Nobody Wants This is "as endearing and exasperating as ever." Téa Leoni and Tim Daly's NBC sitcom Newlyweds is "straight out of the late '90s." Carrie-Anne Moss and Hudson Williams' AMC+ series Yaga is "devilishly difficult to pin down."   And finally: From the Archives Today in 1997: Gattaca hits theaters — "Andrew Niccol has concocted a zesty story potion." ADVERTISEMENT This email was sent to facestuffs.aaaaa@blogger.com by The Hollywood Reporter. 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