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Thursday, July 13, 2023

Bob Iger makes headlines, the Associated Press and OpenAI strike a deal, Geraldo Rivera dishes on Fox News, AMC Theatres boss Adam Aron rips conspiracy theorists, Twitter starts sharing ad revenue, "Mission" eyes a $90M+ opening, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Hollywood Halted

CNN Photo Illustration/Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Hollywood is officially facing the ugliest labor dispute it has seen in more than half a century.

With SAG-AFTRA moving to strike on Thursday, all film and television production in the U.S. will effectively end, marking the first time that actors and writers have simultaneously engaged in work stoppages since 1960.

The now dual-front war on Hollywood studios will surely increase the attention on frustrations plaguing the industry. In the upcoming days and weeks, major actors will likely join writers on picket lines across the country, calling significantly more scrutiny to the shared discontent with studios.

Not only will the production of various projects be halted, but the promotion of them will also be impacted. That was already put on full display Thursday. The cast of the much-anticipated "Oppenheimer" walked out of the film's U.K. premiere "to write their picket signs," director Christopher Nolan announced on stage. Actors will also be barred from campaigning for Emmy Awards, nominations of which were just announced Wednesday.

It's unclear when precisely the studios will see eye-to-eye with the actors and writers, but both appear to be settling in for a protracted battle. The two sides are struggling to come to terms on some of the most defining issues facing the industry, including A.I. and how to properly compensate in the age of streaming, a combination that actors are calling an "existential threat." It could be many more months before deals are hammered out.

"It's complicated for everyone," a studio executive told me Thursday as we discussed the mess facing the industry. "It's like a Rubik's cube."

The one commonality both sides seem to have is a sense of exasperation toward one another. Disney chief Bob Iger reflected the views of studio executives on Thursday when he told CNBC's David Faber that the demands from unions were "just not realistic."

"It's very disturbing to me," Iger said, just before SAG-AFTRA officially declared a strike. "We've talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we're facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it's not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption."

Suffice to say, the writers and actors view things much differently.

"We are the victims here," Fran Drescher, president of the actors union, said at an impassioned press conference. "We are being victimized by a very greedy entity."

HOLLYWOOD HELL

The last time there was a dual-front strike, "Marilyn Monroe was still starring in films and Ronald Reagan was the head of the actors' union," Brooks Barnes, John Koblin, and Nicole Sperling point out. (NYT)
The Directors Guild of America said it is "extremely disappointed" in the studios and "strongly supports" the striking actors: "We are proud to stand with actors and writers in their fight to win agreements that address their unique and important concerns." (The Wrap)
The AMPTP, the association that represents the studios, put the blame on SAG-AFTRA: "The Union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry." (LAT)
"With an indefinite moratorium on interviews, red carpets, cover shoots, and more, the Hollywood media is in for a rough ride," Joe Pompeo and Natalie Jarvey write. (Vanity Fair)
The July 18 red carpet premiere of the buzzy "Special Ops: Lioness" has been canceled due to the strike. (Variety)
It's not just red carpet premieres: "Fall festivals are f**ked," one studio executive told Clayton Davis. (Variety)
But, the SAG-AFTRA strike will not impact the union's news and broadcast members. (Deadline)
The big picture? Nelson Lichtenstein argued the strikes show Los Angeles "is leading the labor movement." (LAT)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Mark Lennihan/AP

The Iger Interview: It's safe to say that Bob Iger knows how to deliver a news making interview. In addition to his comments about the unrest Hollywood is grappling with, the Disney boss generated headlines on several fronts in his sit down at Sun Valley with CNBC's David Faber:

► Open to selling TV assets: Iger signaled that he is looking to offload Disney's linear assets, including ABC. Saying he is taking an "expansive" approach to the networks, Iger described their business models as "definitely broken." He added that they "may not be core" to Disney anymore.

► Strategic partner for ESPN: The one network Iger views differently than the others is ESPN. And while he doesn't want to offload it completely, Iger said he is looking for a strategic partner for the sports outlet.

► Hits back at DeSantis: Iger responded to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other GOP critics who have tried to smear Disney by claiming it sexualizes children. "The notion that Disney is in any way sexualizing children is preposterous and inaccurate," Iger said. He added that Disney does not want to be in the culture wars, but also hit DeSantis for having "decided to retaliate" for speaking out against the so-called Don't Say Gay law.

► Self-inflected challenges: Iger said that when he returned to Disney and evaluated the business, he "realized the company is facing a lot of challenges." Iger described some of those challenges as "self-inflicted." He said "a lot of work has been accomplished" in the time he's been back at the helm, but he needs more time to address other issues, hence his contract extension.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Hiro Komae/AP

ChatGPT + AP: OpenAI and the Associated Press announced a landmark deal Thursday for the A.I. powerhouse to license the news organization's hefty archives. "The arrangement sees OpenAI licensing part of AP's text archive, while AP will leverage OpenAI's technology and product expertise," the AP and OpenAI said in a statement. "Both organizations will benefit from each other's established expertise in their respective industries, and believe in the responsible creation and use of these AI systems." The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Axios' Sara Fischer has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: Access to the AP's decades of stories will be immensely helpful for OpenAI as it seeks to train its ChatGPT language model and ensure it provides users with accurate information. And it certainly leaves the door open to other news organizations striking deals with A.I. developers. But it's also not hard to see some media outlets taking a different path, one similar to the road Sarah Silverman is going down, suing such companies for copyright infringement. We'll see.

IN THE INDUSTRY

President Joe Biden said at a news conference that he's "serious" about a potential prisoner swap in order to liberate Evan Gershkovich. (NYT)
"BBC News journalists had begun work on a potential exposé about Huw Edwards prior to The Sun newspaper sparking a U.K. media storm about the presenter," Jake Kanter reported, citing sources. (Deadline)
"It's weird, but it's being treated like any other story." Jim Waterson reported on how the BBC covered its own scandal. (Guardian)
Mark Landler contended that the BBC's coverage of itself "raised questions of its own." (NYT)
Former CNN chief Jeff Zucker is not seeking to acquire the network, his business partner, Gerry Cardinale, said on Thursday: "It's much ado about nothing." (Variety)
The Economist Editor-In-Chief Zanny Minton spoke to Joe Pompeo about "shifting" the outlet "into the 21st century," among other things. (Vanity Fair)
Willie Geist will mark his 300th "Sunday TODAY" interview this weekend. His guest? Matt Damon. (Today)

MEDIA MOVES

The WaPo promoted Rick Noack to Afghanistan bureau chief and hired Albert Samaha as a sports investigative reporter. (WaPo/WaPo)
Mediaite hired Diana Falzone as senior media reporter. (Twitter)
POLITICO tapped Julia Marsh as editorial director for California and Debra Kahn as its California policy editor. (POLITICO)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Revenge of Rivera: A day after departing Fox News, Geraldo Rivera appeared on "The View" to offer a candid assessment of his former employer and the personalities he previously worked with. Speaking about Tucker Carlson, Rivera said the extremist host-turned-vlogger descended into a "swampy" conspiracy world during his time at the right-wing channel. "I will never forgive Tucker about January 6th," Rivera said, referring to the fired Fox News host's trutherism about the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Speaking about the network as a whole, Rivera said an "atmosphere of fear" has gripped Fox News since the massive Dominion Voting Systems settlement. He added that his ideology "does not fit Fox" and said he believed he was treated unfairly during disputes with an unnamed co-host on "The Five," a likely reference to Greg Gutfeld. You can watch the full appearance here.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

AMC Theatres boss Adam Aron lashed out at "conspiracy theorists" who he said are "so prevalent in America." Aron was responding to bizarre claims the theater chain has been disrupting showings of "Sound of Freedom," a film that has been embraced by the QAnon community. (Variety)
Of course: Donald Trump said that he will be hosting a screening of the "Sound of Freedom" at his Bedminster club. (Deadline)
Awkward! OutKick founder Clay Travis might be bashing diversity initiatives, but listings for job positions at the outlet tout a commitment to "diversity, equity, and inclusion," Reed McMaster reports. (MMFA)
Taylor Lorenz reports on how the supposed "TikTok boat jumping challenge" was never actually a challenge on the short-form social media website, despite some news organizations saying so. (WaPo)
Jake Tapper drew a connection between Ray Epps' lawsuit against Fox News and themes in his new non-fiction thriller, "All The Demons Are Here." (Twitter)
Epps' lawyer told Tapper that his client, a former Fox viewer, now questions the network's relationship with the truth: "He questions many of the things that the right-wing media and Fox and its personalities have spewed about others because he knows when there's a lie told about him." (Mediaite)
Misogynistic conspiracy theorist Andrew Tate has filed a lawsuit against a woman he alleges falsely accused him of human trafficking and rape. (AP)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Confronting ChatGPT: With great success comes great scrutiny. The Federal Trade Commission is probing OpenAI for potentially violating consumer protection laws, The WaPo's Cat Zakrzewki reported Thursday. The federal agency is seeking records from the ChatGPT parent, including those related to its products making "false, misleading, disparaging or harmful" claims about people. The FTC also wants to know how OpenAI trains its language models. CNN's Brian Fung has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: "The probe threatens to complicate OpenAI's relationship with policymakers, many of whom have been wowed by the company's technology and its CEO, Sam Altman," Fung notes. "It also could focus further attention on OpenAI's role in a sprawling debate about the threat that generative artificial intelligence may pose to jobs, national security and democracy."

TOO MANY TABS

Google is adding several more languages to its Bard A.I. in an attempt to remain competitive with OpenAI's ChatGPT. (WSJ)
Meanwhile, Apple is rolling out a bilingual version of Siri. (TechCrunch)
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league is working "very closely" with Apple to bring an experience to the Vision Pro headset. (NY Post)
Twitter has started sharing some of its ad revenue with creators subscribed to Twitter Blue. (TechCrunch)
Twitter requested that a court end the FTC's restrictions on its data security practices. (WaPo)
Twitter also sued four Texas entities for allegedly engaging in data scraping. (Reuters)
Texas' ban on TikTok at the state level is facing a legal challenge, with a lawsuit filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute alleging it is a violation of Constitutionally protected free speech rights. (CNN)
It's been one week of Threads! While the platform sailed past 100M users in record time, it now has the challenge of keeping them engaged, Meghan Bobrowsky and Lindsey Choo report. (WSJ)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Paramount Pictures

'Mission' Brings the Magic: Tom Cruise and Paramount are eying a five-day opening for "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" of $90+ million. If the much-hyped film hits that mark, it will be a record for the iconic action series. All indicators point to the movie performing well. It has already notched $15.5 million at the box office in Wednesday showings. And the summer blockbuster received an "A" rating from CinemaScore. THR's Pamela McClintock has more here.

OFF STAGE

Kevin Spacey denied the charges of sexual assault brought against him in a London court. (NBC News)
Disney will slow down the rolling out of Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm movie and TV content as the company seeks to cut costs following underwhelming box office performances. (CNBC)
Billie Eilish released the music video for her song "What Was I Made For?" which the singer put out for "Barbie." (YouTube)
Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" is also taking over Roku City as the movie approaches its opening weekend. (THR)
Netflix dropped the trailer for its second season of "The Lincoln Lawyer." (YouTube)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will see you back in your inbox next week.