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Monday, July 17, 2023

Labor war consumes Hollywood, Deadline report sparks drama, LAT denies report on sale talks, Tucker Carlson goes on tour, POLITICO names a new top editor, Mark Zuckerberg expresses optimism about Threads, and Microsoft inks major "Call of Duty" deal with Sony. Plus, did "Mission" miss at the box office? But first, the A1.

THE A1

Murdoch's MAGA Matrix

CNN Photo Illustration/Mike Segar/Reuters

Rupert Murdoch is sticking with Donald Trump.

Despite his well-known disdain for the disgraced former president and reports that he would like to push the GOP in a fresh direction, Murdoch's new Fox News prime time lineup suggests the right-wing media mogul has decided against aggressively taking on the de-facto leader of the Republican Party.

The influential Fox News lineup, which debuts Monday night, is made up of Trump mouthpieces — personalities who have willfully spread propaganda and misinformation on behalf of Trump during his years in the White House. That is no accident.

With the surprise firing of Tucker Carlson from the 8pm perch this spring, Murdoch had the opportunity to reshape Fox News prime time. He could have promoted conservative personalities who have shown some skepticism toward Trump to key time slots. But Murdoch chose not to. He didn't even elevate a single such voice.

Instead, the aging patriarch decided to stick with a slate of familiar MAGA-boosting hosts in the lead up to the 2024 presidential campaign season, assembling an evening line up consisting of Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters, and Greg Gutfeld. All four have, for years, been firmly in the Trump camp and provided a safe space for Fox's audience seeking daily reassurance of their beliefs. A MAGA Matrix, if you will. Don't expect any of the hosts to push back against Trump in a serious way.

Perhaps the MAGA line up suggests that Murdoch has read the writing on the wall. While he would like to see the GOP move past Trump, the masses that actually make up the party remain firmly in his camp. With the help of Murdoch's own media machine, Trump reshaped the party in his image. Winding back the Republican Party to a previous era may be impossible, even for Murdoch.

Murdoch's best efforts to prop up a Trump-like alternative has even proven unsuccessful. Despite the Republican kingmaker's promotion of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the last few years, the not-so-subtle nudging of the voter base has not worked. A steady drumbeat of polls has continued to show Trump dominating the 2024 Republican field, while DeSantis' campaign has all but stalled.

Murdoch is not blind to this. Recent reporting from The NYT has indicated that he may be souring on DeSantis and hopeful another candidate, such as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, might hop in the race. Even if Youngkin did enter the race, Murdoch surely knows that his odds of dethroning Trump would be slim. Which may explain his decision to go with a prime time lineup that has reliably championed Trump.

Murdoch may dislike what the forecast says. He may believe the coming election, in which a twice-indicted and impeached former president fighting for his own survival, will damage the country. But he seems to also believe that the best way to position his media empire for survival is not through resistance, but adapting to the grim reality.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration;Drudge Report

Drama By Deadline: An anonymously sourced report published by Deadline last week has become a rallying cry for those on strike in Hollywood. The report, from Dominic Patten, quoted an unnamed studio executive who claimed "the endgame" for the studios "is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses." Naturally, the article — which generated fierce pushback from the AMPTP, the association that represents the studios — inflamed already high tensions in Hollywood. Ron Perlman responded, for instance, by going on a profanity-laced rant against the unknown executive.

Given the level of outrage generated, the article has led to a fair share of criticism. Puck's Matthew Belloni wrote in his newsletter that it may be the "most irresponsible thing to ever run on Deadline." Belloni mocked the notion "anyone even remotely close to AMPTP leadership would be dumb enough to leak those quotes and guarantee a sh-tstorm of anger throughout the creative community." The Wrap's Sharon Waxman said that she "only 25%" believes that the studio exec actually "exists." And Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw also offered some pushback: "This is beyond hyperbole. Big companies crave stability — not strife. Studios make more money by producing new TV shows and movies. They make a lot less money when they don't have new product. A prolonged period of inactivity is bad for business."

► Reached by email Monday, Patten declined to respond to the criticism.

HOLLYWOOD HELL

SAG-AFTRA warns the "acting profession" might "no longer be an option for future generations" unless there is "transformative change." (Variety)
"Traditional TV is dying. Ad revenue is soft. Streaming isn't profitable. And Hollywood is practically shut down," Lillian Rizzo writes. (CNBC)
This headline on Jake Coyle's story concisely sums the state of play up: "Hollywood plunges into all-out war on the heels of pandemic and a streaming revolution." (AP)
Barry Diller proposes top Hollywood executives and actors should take a 25% pay cut "to try and narrow the difference" between the industry's richest and poorest. (CBS News)
Catherine Shoard says A-list actors are "next in the firing line." Shoard writes that SAG-AFTRA is currently targeting studio execs, "but it can't be long until their ire is directed closer to home." (Guardian)
Adam Schiff calls for A.I. regulation as he joins picketers. (Deadline)
"Where's our Lew Wasserman when we need one?" asks Sharon Waxman. (The Wrap)
Three studio bosses tell Benjamin Mullin, Brooks Barnes, and Nicole Sperling that "Hollywood's content factories could sit idle for little more than a month — roughly until Labor Day — until there would be a serious impact on the release calendar for 2024, particularly for movies." (NYT)
SAG has begun granting waivers to indie productions, including faith series "The Chosen" and upcoming film "Bride Hard." (Deadline)
CBS has revamped its fall 2023 lineup amid the dual strikes. (THR)
Samrhitha A reports that Netflix is, to some degree, "shielded" from the strikes because of its global footprint. (Reuters)
📅 Speaking of Netflix: The streamer will report earnings on Wednesday.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Lashing Out in LA: The Los Angeles Times is strongly denying a report that owner Patrick Soon-Shiong has had discussions about selling the newspaper to Hollywood publishing titan Jay Penske. The report came by way of Joe Bel Bruno on his Substack, The Intersect, Sunday night. Bel Bruno cited two unnamed sources for his report and described supposed talks as early and fluid. But The LAT is saying the report is inaccurate. "There is no truth to it, and there are no talks," a spokesperson for The LAT told me Monday.

"Soon-Shiong met with Penske to discuss the Los Angeles Times (not a deal per se) more than five years ago — before the Soon-Shiongs acquired the Los Angeles Times — and they have not met since," the LAT spokesperson added. "The Soon-Shiongs have no interest in selling the Los Angeles Times." Notably, the report from Bel Bruno came just after Soon-Shiong sold the San Diego Union-Tribune to Alden Global Capital and said that his intention was to now focus on The LAT. "We believe in the L.A. Times," Soon-Shiong said at the time, "and are committed to its future."

IN THE INDUSTRY

"One week on from the Sun's first allegations about Huw Edwards, there are still major questions and unresolved details about the six chaotic days of claim and counter-claim," Jemma Crew and Ian Youngs report. (BBC)
"The allegations and responses to them have plunged the [BBC] into yet another crisis – and raised serious questions about the Murdoch tabloid," Vanessa Thorpe and Jon Unglued-Thomas report. (Guardian)
"Journalists and other personnel at BBC News remain divided over the organization's treatment of the story concerning its most senior news anchor Huw Edwards," Caroline Frost reports. (Deadline)
NBC News Now has found its way into Xfinity's channel guide, a move that should give the streaming channel much more visibility. (Variety)
Axios Local has launched in its 30th market: San Diego. (Axios)
Aden Ikram wrote about how NewsNation is "cashing in on renewed interest in UFOs." (Fortune)
RIP: CBS New York meteorologist Elise Finch died at 51. (CBS)

MEDIA MOVES

POLITICO named John Harris its top editor and said Matt Kaminski will step down, transitioning to an editor at large role. "To be clear: John is not returning to a job he once had," chief executive Goli Sheikholeslami said. "To the contrary, he is stepping into a new role as the single top editorial executive in the company, with newsrooms in the United States and Europe reporting to him." (NYT)
The NYT hired Heather Knight as San Francisco bureau chief. (NYT)
Tubi named Vimeo veteran Anjali Sud as its chief executive. (Variety)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images

The Tucker Tour: Tucker Carlson has been busy over the last few days. On Friday, the fired Fox News star moderated a Blaze Media event in which he grilled GOP presidential candidates, including former VP Mike Pence. (The event notably did not receive any coverage on Fox News and producers at the network, I'm told, were instructed to avoid airing clips from it without additional legal and editorial approval.) And from Iowa, Carlson flew down to the MAGA-driven Turning Point USA conference, where he was greeted like a star and gloated about savaging Pence.

It all seemed part of a strategy to keep Carlson in the public view after his ousting from Fox News. Carlson, who remains locked in a legal dispute with the right-wing network, has been adamant that he will not quietly sit on the sidelines ahead of the 2024 election. By participating in the events, he is continuing to signal he wants to maintain a prominent outpost in the public discussion. Of course, doing so without the backing and distribution of Fox News is difficult. Vlogging on Twitter simply does not offer the same reach or influence that a prime time show on Fox News does. But whether Carlson will ultimately be able to preserve the significant power he amassed at Fox News remains to be seen.

► Related: CNBC's Brian Schwartz reports that Carlson's Twitter show has landed a seven-figure advertising deal with shopping app Public Square.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Ron DeSantis is set to exit the Fox-verse, in a significant media strategy shift. The Florida governor will sit down with Jake Tapper in South Carolina for an interview airing Tuesday. (CNN)
"The Five" opened its program Monday denying the climate crisis' effect on the extreme heat sweeping the world, with Jesse Watters blasting "climate change obsessed liberals." (MMFA)
Barack Obama spoke out against book bans on TikTok. (WaPo)
Jim Jordan accused the FTC of "harassing" Twitter, calling the agency's probe "a shakedown" during a hearing. (The Verge)
Charles Barkley blasted right-wing "rednecks or a--holes" attacking Bud Light over its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney. (Mediaite)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/picture alliance/dpa/Sipa USA

Pulling the Thread: Mark Zuckerberg is "very optimistic" about the future of Threads. The Meta chief, who was trolled over the weekend by Elon Musk for having not posted on his new platform in days, wrote Monday that the progress the text-based app has made is "way ahead" of what was anticipated. "The focus for the rest of the year is improving the basics and retention," Zuckerberg said on Threads, perhaps subtly pushing back against reports usage has dropped since its impressive launch. "It'll take time to stabilize, but once we nail that then we'll focus on growing the community. We've run this playbook many times (FB, IG, Stories, Reels, etc) and I'm confident Threads is on a good path too."

TOO MANY TABS

Sorry, E.U. friends! Meta is blocking European users from accessing Threads via VPNs. (TechCrunch)
Meanwhile, over on the 🐦 app: Twitter is still bleeding cash, with Elon Musk citing major debt and a near-50% plunge in ad revenue. (AP)
Microsoft inked a 10-year deal with rival Sony to allow "Call of Duty" to remain available on Playstation, an erstwhile major point of contention in its ongoing attempts to acquire Activision-Blizzard. (CNN)
Relatedly: British regulators extended Microsoft's deadline to purchase Activision Blizzard to August 29. (Reuters)
In Norway, Meta will be fined 1 million crowns a day unless it fixes privacy breaches, the country's regulator announced. (Reuters)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Paramount Pictures

Did 'Mission' Miss?: It wasn't the opening weekend blockbuster some had hoped it would be. Despite rave reviews, "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One" opened below expectations in the three-day weekend window, with $56.2 million in domestic ticket sales. The disappointing figure put the film under "Fallout," the sixth installment in the Tom Cruise franchise, which grossed $61 million in the three-day opening. As The NYT's Brooks Barnes put it, "the spectacular (and perhaps unrealistic) result that Hollywood expected did not materialize." That said, the film did still have a solid showing. And, as Variety's Rebecca Rubin pointed out, the $80 million five-day opening was a franchise best. Rubin also noted comparisons between "Dead Reckoning" and "Fallout" aren't "exact" since the latest film opened earlier, on a Wednesday versus a Friday. Which is all to say that sizing up the performance of the action flick is complicated. What matters now to Paramount is if the good word of mouth will give it legs at the box office.

OFF STAGE

"The action star has gone to great lengths to avoid the press for more than a decade": Caity Weaver writes about her "impossible mission" to find Tom Cruise. (NYT)
Are you going to a "Barbenheimer" double feature this weekend? It's shaping up to be the double feature event of the year. (Variety)
Christopher Nolan said he will not direct another superhero movie, critiquing studios for being exclusively plot-focused and not treating films as an "audiovisual experience." (Variety)
Steven Soderbergh is debuting his sci-fi series, "Command Z," at a secret screening in New York. (THR)
Elton John testified in Kevin Spacey's trial in the U.K. (BBC)
Taylor Swift's most recent LP, "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)," quickly climbed to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart — breaking the record for the most No. 1 albums for any female artist in history. (Pitchfork)
"Minx" will be picked up for a second season by Starz after it was canceled by Max. (Daily Beast)

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 tomorrow.