| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover stars are some of the creators and executives that have made YouTube a media monster. Production in L.A. has reached another all-time low. Jennifer Fox will produce the Governors Awards ceremony. And Spotify video podcasts will soon appear on Netflix. — Abid Rahman
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YouTube Just Ate TV. It’s Only Getting Started ►On the cover. In two decades, Google-owned YouTube has grown from a user-generated circus to become a dominant force in media, the hub for a wide array of genres, from talk and comedy to food and unscripted fare. But the bigger prize for the video platform would be to take over the other hours people are spending on their TV sets, and there are signs that YouTube is close to a breakthrough there. THR's Alex Weprin spoke to CEO Neal Mohan on his $100b vision for YouTube’s future and the disruption it’s left in its wake. The cover story. |
THR's 50 Hottest Influencers on the Planet ►The creator A-list. They’ve conquered your feed, and now they’re coming for Hollywood. With THR's second annual Creator A-List, we set out to spotlight the influencers, comedians, models and multihyphenates powering entertainment industry’s new ecosystem — not just as marketing muscle but as writers, producers and full-fledged brands in their own right. So, meet the 50 digital disrupters and intriguing influencers who are reshaping culture, comedy and celebrity — and turning viral fame into serious real-world clout. The list. |
L.A. Film and TV Production Hit New Lows ►Ooooooof. Production in Los Angeles has reached another all-time low, a new nadir that will either be a diving board to continuing, deep-rooted erosion or an inflection point in the recovery of the region’s film industry. The three-month period from July to September saw losses in every category of production — except for a slight uptick in feature film shooting — compared to the same period last year, which saw the then-lowest levels of filming, according to a report from FilmLA, the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and county, issued on Tuesday. Shooting in L.A. decreased by more than 13 percent to 4,380 shoot days over that span. Production in the region has been slipping since the record highs of 2021. Since then, the dual writers and actors strikes hastened the exodus of films and TV shows out of L.A. It wasn’t any one thing but a combination of higher labor costs, oversubscription to the tax credit program and the allure of bountiful subsidies to shoot elsewhere. The story.
—🤝 Extension. 🤝 In a ringing endorsement of his rule, Cinema United has extended the contract of CEO-president Michael O’Leary for an additional five years. As the largest global trade organization of movie theater owners, Cinema United plays a critical role in advocating for the interests of the theatrical experience. Its members represent more than 67,000 screens across the U.S. and world. (The top lobbying org was known for decades as the National Association of Theatre Owners). It also administers the movie ratings system in conjunction with the MPA. The story.
—🤝 New banner. 🤝 Erik Feig is launching an indie production banner, Arena SNK Studios, to expand the Hollywood producer’s reach in movies, TV, gaming and live events. Feig’s company says it has secured around $1b in financing backing for the new venture, which is led by backers in Saudi Arabia. That’s part of a step investment deal, with a major tranche received up front, followed by the remaining funds coming as milestones are hit. The financial stakes are coming from MBC Group, the Saudi-owned Middle East broadcasting giant and the largest media operation in the region, and SNK, the Japanese video game company now owned by MiSK Group, a foundation led by Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman. The story.
—Chipping away. For what is likely the first time in Amazon‘s history, founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos‘ stake is now less than 10 percent of the company. In a securities filing Tuesday, Bezos disclosed that he now owns 9 percent of the company’s shares, after selling off more than 100m shares over the course of the past year. A year ago, Bezos owned 10.1 percent of Amazon. When the company went public in 1997, the tech mogul owned more than 43 percent of the company. When he stepped aside as CEO in 2021 and handed day-to-day control over to Andy Jassy, he owned 14.1 percent of the company, per SEC filings. The story. |
Major TV Networks Reject Pentagon Press Access Rules ►Spines located. Fox News, Newsmax, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, AP and NBC News have joined a slew of other U.S. media outlets refusing to sign up to the Pentagon’s press access rules ahead of a Wednesday deadline. "Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues. The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections," Fox News, where Pentagon head Pete Hegseth was formerly an on-air host, said in a joint statement with ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News on Tuesday. The story.
—As you were. Jennifer Fox, the Oscar-nominated film producer, will produce the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2025 Governors Awards ceremony, Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor announced Tuesday. It will be Fox’s seventh time overseeing the event, following the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th editions. At the event, which will take place in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on Nov. 16, four Hollywood luminaries will be celebrated: Debbie Allen, Tom Cruise and Wynn Thomas will receive honorary awards, and Dolly Parton will receive — remotely, from Nashville — the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The story.
—"We made these changes so teens’ experiences in the 13+ setting feel closer to the Instagram equivalent of watching a PG-13 movie." Instagram is taking a cue from the Motion Picture Association. The Meta-owned social platform said Tuesday that moving forward its teen accounts “will be guided” by the MPA’s PG-13 rating, which limits language, drug use, violence, nudity and other mature themes. The rationale for using the familiar rating is to help parents and kids understand what is being limited by the platform. The story.
—Denied. The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and left in place the $1.4b judgment against him over his description of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a hoax staged by crisis actors. The Infowars host had argued that a judge was wrong to find him liable for defamation and infliction of emotional distress without holding a trial on the merits of allegations lodged by relatives of victims of the shooting, which killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut. The justices did not comment on their order, which they issued without even asking the families of the Sandy Hook victims to respond to Jones’ appeal. An FBI agent who responded to the shooting also sued. The story. |
Why 'Tron' May Mark End of Jared Leto's Franchise-Leading Days ►"No one asked for this reboot." Like a Light Cycle slamming into a Jetwall, Tron: Ares was savagely derezzed at the box office this weekend, bringing in at least $10m less than its projected opening gross. The Disney sci-fi tentpole pulled in a dismal $33.2m from 4,000 theaters against a net production budget of at least $180m. Overseas, the sci-epic also failed to connect, grossing $27m for a global start of $60.2m. THR's Seth Abramovitch, Borys Kit and Pamela McClintock report that as Ares disappoints, Hollywood insiders question whether self-styled boundary-pushing A-lister Jared Leto can still be counted on to carry a franchise vehicle to the bank. The story.
—📅 Who needs to be Jesus again, anyway? 📅 Sony Pictures is counting on Jim Caviezel to be a box office angel. The studio and Mandalay Pictures announced Monday they have set a Nov. 6, 2026, release date for Archangel, an action pic set to star Caviezel alongside Olivia Thirlby, Garret Dillahunt and Shea Whigham. The project originated when Mandalay brought Sony a script by Chris Papasadero and Randall Wallace, with Caviezel attached to star and David Zelon and Peter Guber on deck to produce and exec produce, respectively. Archangel doesn’t appear to have anything to do with why Caviezel isn’t a part of Gibson’s two-film project The Resurrection of the Christ, a follow-up to Passion of the Christ that Lionsgate will open back-to-back over the Christian holidays in Spring 2027. The story.
—🏆 In the mix. 🏆 Tate McRae, Ed Sheeran and Doja Cat just got one step closer to the Oscars. That’s because the team behind F1, the acclaimed summer blockbuster from Apple and Warner Bros. that stars Brad Pitt as a Formula 1 race car driver, has chosen their songs — “Just Keep Watching,” “Drive” and “Lose My Mind,” respectively — as its submissions for the best original song Oscar race. With the implementation of “the Menken rule” in June 2008, the Academy’s music branch capped the number of songs that any single film can submit at three (and dictated that no more than two from any single film can ultimately be nominated), which has forced films with killer soundtracks, like F1 , to make some tough decisions. The story.
—🏆 Orwellian. 🏆 The Critics Choice Association has unveiled its nominees for the 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards, taking place on Nov. 9 at the Edison Ballroom in New York. Orwell: 2+2=5 leads the nominations with seven, including best documentary feature. Raoul Peck received a nod for best director, while the doc also was recognized in the best political documentary category. The Perfect Neighbor followed with six nominations, including best documentary and best director for Geeta Gandbhir. The nominees. |
Netflix Inks Deal With Spotify to Stream Video Podcasts ►🤝 Look out YouTube! 🤝 Spotify video podcasts will soon appear on Netflix. The two companies have announced a partnership to bring a select number of podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer to Netflix’s platform. Initial titles include The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Zach Lowe Show, The McShay Show, The Rewatchables, Conspiracy Theories and more. The video podcasts will be available on Netflix in the U.S. in early 2026, with other markets to follow. The move comes amid the explosion of video podcasts, with YouTube ranking as the most popular platform for consuming podcasts. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos had floated the idea of bringing video podcasts to the platform in April 2025, citing their popularity, and saying that the company is “constantly looking at all different types of content and content creators” to feature on the platform. The story.
—Streaming lifts. ABC’s comedies Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary opened their 2025-26 seasons with decent-sized audiences for their initial airings — and a big bump from streaming and other delayed viewing. The two shows’ Oct. 1 season premieres added millions of viewers, and each more than tripled their initial rating among adults 18-49 over seven days of cross-platform viewing. Abbott, in fact, grew by more than six times its opening number in the key ad-sales demographic. After a week of streaming on Hulu, Disney+ and other platforms, plus DVR playback, Shifting Gears had 7.57m viewers and a 1.17 rating among adults 18-49, equivalent to about 1.59m people in the demo. The total audience grew 73 percent from 4.37m for the Tim Allen-led show’s first airing on ABC, and its adults 18-49 rating grew by more than three times from its starting point of 0.35. The ratings. |
D'Angelo 1974 - 2025 ►"The shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life." D’Angelo, the Grammy-winning R&B icon who helped launch neo soul in the ’90s, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. He was 51. D’Angelo's career started with a bang, after releasing the classic albums Brown Sugar (1995) and the Grammy-winning Voodoo (2000). Along with his solo works, D’Angelo collaborated with fellow pioneers like Erykah Badu, Questlove and Lauryn Hill, duetting with Hill on “Nothing Even Matters” off her all-time classic The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The obituary.
—"A savant. A true alien." Tributes poured in for R&B icon D’Angelo after his family announced the singer’s death on Tuesday, with stars including Tyler, the Creator, Doja Cat, Nile Rogers, Flea and Missy Elliot all honoring the late legend. “I couldn’t understand how someone could write something so simple but personal but broad but genius,” Tyler, the Creator wrote on Instagram. “That’s how special he was. A savant. A true alien. I am so lucky to have gotten my copy of VOODOO when I did. We are so lucky to have been alive to enjoy his art. My musical DNA was helped shaped by this man. Forever grateful. Safe travels.” The reaction.
In other news...
—Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien face off after plane crash in Sam Raimi’s Send Help trailer
—Kylie Jenner debuts first song "Fourth Strike"
—Demi Lovato is going “Live From Roku City”
—DOC NYC announces full lineup
—Michael Moriarty named CFO of Disney’s Experiences division
—Shareef O’Neal, son of Shaq, signs with Wasserman
—Heather Hill, longtime Young and the Restless director, dies at 85
What else we're reading...
—Claire Wang writes that KPop Demon Hunters is set to be a top Halloween costume, and Asian kids are loving the representation [NBC News]
—Tariq Panja explains why FIFA boss Gianni Infantino was at the Gaza summit in Egypt [NYT]
—Christopher Weaver, Meghan Bobrowsky and Brian Whitton report that a prison was locked down for Ghislaine Maxwell to have a mysterious meeting [WSJ]
—Roxana Hadadi profiles famed Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi, whose latest film It Was Just an Accident is looking a hot favorite for the 2026 Oscars [Vulture]
—Margo Snipe writes that the death of artists like D’Angelo reveal the alarming state of Black men’s health [Capital B]
—Absolutely wild story from Jason Beeferman and Emily Ngo about the bigoted and fascist-curious group chats between the leaders of the Young Republicans [Politico]
Today...
...in 1951, I Love Lucy made its television debut on CBS. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Paul Walter Hauser (39), Dominic West (56), Ncuti Gatwa (33), Mira Nair (68), Chukwudi Iwuji (50), Todd Solondz (66), Michael Caton-Jones (68), Ali Fazal (39), Tyler Jacob Moore (43), Bailee Madison (26), Josefin Asplund (34), Noel Gugliemi (55), Jere Burns (71), Charlotte Hope (34), Grace Van Dien (29), Vanessa Marcil (57), John Getz (79), Larry Miller (72), Matt Keeslar (53), Vincent Martella (33), Alex McKenna (41), Stephen Tompkinson (60), Robert Baker (46), Shawn Andrews (54), Zak Orth (55), Lynn Lowry (78), Jarrod Schulz (48), Götz Otto (58), Renée Jones (67), Devon Gummersall (47), William Brent (30) |
| Drew Struzan, the iconic movie poster artist who created the marketing art for an enormous number of popular films, has died. He was 78. The obituary. |
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