Hollywood Knows Diverse Films Make More Money. So Why Are Black Filmmakers Still Being Told to Wait? Black filmmakers say the success of rom-com You, Me & Tuscany will decide the fate of their indie films as DEI rollbacks take a toll.

The pressure on "You, Me & Tuscany" to be the bellwether for black rom-coms is unfair and unrealistic, and an illustration of how far Hollywood's diversity push has fallen. Jeremy Fuster takes an in-depth look at why studios continue to ignore a big rev opportunity. www.thewrap.com/creative-con...

We Tried Quilty, the AI Tool That Analyzes Scripts. The Results Were Shocking We ran screenplay for three hits — and one notable bomb — to see what Quilty would say, and the results were surprising.

Quilty AI promises to read your script and give you financial and creative feedback. We fed it three blockbusters and one bomb, and the results shocked us. @TheWrap www.thewrap.com/industry-new...

How to Get a Green Light for Your TV Show TheWrap delves into one of the trickiest challenges in the entertainment business: How to get a television pitch greenlit.

I'm extremely proud to introduce a new initiative at @thewrap.com: Trade Secrets. The ongoing series will tackle the biggest questions that come up when navigating Hollywood. Jose Alejandro Bastidas looks at how to get the elusive green light for a TV show. www.thewrap.com/creative-con...

AI in Africa: A Creative Revolution Challenging Hollywood Fears and Limitations AI creatives are making use of the technology and see it as a way to even the playing field against big Hollywood studios

The AI revolution is affecting everyone in Hollywood but rather than focus on fear, I chatted with African creatives who have used to AI as a springboard to the global creative scene and build communities around the technology in my latest @TheWrap story.
www.thewrap.com/industry-new...

Chasing WBD: Paramount vs. Netflix Pros and Cons | Analysis Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery puts its offer against Netflix public, but which company has the sweeter deal?

My latest TheWrap take on the Netflix-Paramount-WBD saga: A breakdown of the pros and cons of each bid, and the kind of factors WBD shareholders need to keep in mind as they weigh sticking with Netflix's agreed deal or tendering their shares to Paramount. www.thewrap.com/paramount-ne...

TheWrap Wins Best Website, Takes 8 Top Honors at National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards TheWrap won Best Website on Sunday at the Los Angeles Press Club's 18th annual NAEJ Awards, winning eight awards in total.

Thrilled that @thewrap.com won best website at the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards + 7 other awards, including a piece on the creator economy that was the very first story I edited here! www.thewrap.com/thewrap-wins...

Netflix Wins the Warner Bros. Discovery Bidding War, Enters Exclusive Deal Talks Warner Bros. Discovery has selected Netflix after the streaming giant offered $30 a share for the studio and streaming assets.

A late-breaking, but big story: Netflix has won the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war, securing an exclusive window to discuss a final deal to acquire the legacy media giant. Story by me and @sharonwaxman with an assist from Lucas Manfredi. www.thewrap.com/netflix-wins...

Paramount Is in Talks With Arab Wealth Funds on WBD Bid — but Not Because the Ellisons Need the Money | Analysis Paramount partnering with the Arab funds gives David Ellison a stronger case to get an acquisition done and blocks Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

The latest twist in the Warner Bros. Discovery M&A drama is Paramount talking to Arab wealth funds about joining its bid for WBD. My @thewrap.com analysis with @sharonwaxman.bsky.social breaks down why the deal isn't about money, but about strategy and politics. www.thewrap.com/paramount-sa...

How Disney’s AI Ambitions Hit a Wall | Exclusive Disney's ambitions in AI have been hamstrung by a resistant artistic community and technological limitations, TheWrap has learned.

Here's my TheWrap exclusive look at how Walt Disney's big AI initiative stalled out, with cultural clashes with talent, technical challenges and legal concerns causing it to hit a wall, leading to the dismissal of one exec who was essentially set up to fail. www.thewrap.com/how-disneys-...

Protecting Your Likeness From AI: What You Need to Know There’s no playbook to ensure your likeness doesn’t end up in an AI-generated video, so here are some resources that offer help.

OpenAI's Sora is a reminder that your likeness can be used in AI-generated videos and images. Here's a guide to protecting yourself and what to do if you find yourself in AI slop: www.thewrap.com/how-to-prote...

OpenAI’s Sora 2 Stresses Hollywood’s Uneasy Alliance With AI The tech giant’s latest video generator is once again raising the question of how much control media companies have over their IP.

OpenAI's Sora 2 ruffled feathers when it launched last week. In my latest @thewrap.com story, I explore how it further strains the already uneasy alliance between Hollywood and AI. www.thewrap.com/openais-sora...

What Happened to Lionsgate's Splashy Plan to Make AI Movies With Runway? It's Complicated | Exclusive Lionsgate's agreement with AI startup Runway serves as a cautionary tale of the pitfalls of embracing a technology too early.

A year ago, Lionsgate signed a "first-of-its-kind" deal with Runway to use its film library to train an AI model. But, as Jeremy Fuster and I found in our @thewrap.com exclusive, the partnership hit snags early on, a cautionary tale of the early risks of AI. www.thewrap.com/lionsgate-ru...

I'm moderating another @thewrap.com AI roundtable, this time speaking with FOX CTO Melody Hildrebrandt and Tubi CMO Nicole Parlapiano about how the tech is changing the user experience and content creation. Our livestream airs on Sep 25, so sign up on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/events/aiinh...

Crunchyroll Commerce Chief Explains How Anime Streaming and Theatrical Releases Co-Exist Office With a View: Mitchel Berger talks about the upcoming release of one of their hottest properties, "Demon Slayer".

"Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" was a huge box office hit this weekend. If you want to learn more about this phenom, check out my @thewrap.com interview with Mitchel Berger of Crunchyroll, who distributed the $70M+ film. www.thewrap.com/crunchyroll-...

Why a Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Makes Sense | Analysis The ink is barely dry on the $8 billion Skydance merger and Paramount CEO David Ellison may already be eyeing his next target

It appears as if David Ellison wants to merge his way into creating the next-generation media giant, with Paramount reportedly preparing a bid for WBD. @thewrap.com's Lucas Manfredi breaks down why a deal makes sense, even there are concerns about further M&A. www.thewrap.com/paramount-wa...

From Actors to Athletes: Why Talent Agencies Are Going All-In on Sports Why are talent agencies CAA, WME, UTA, Range, Gersh and Innovative giving top athletes the A-List treatment?

Our latest @thewrap.com GameOn installment from Umberto Gonzalez looks at how Hollywood talent agencies are expanding their focus to athletes and helping them build-up their post-sports media careers. www.thewrap.com/from-actors-...

Streaming Sports Boom Means More Confusion, More Frustration and More Bills As media companies are paying more for sports rights, the cost and confusion is being pushed onto the fans.

The next part in @thewrap.com 's Game On series is a look at how all those sports deals are leading to more confusion and higher prices for consumers. Is it sustainable? www.thewrap.com/sports-strea...

Sports Is the $29 Billion Juggernaut Driving Entertainment Massive deals over TV rights have become the norm as the demand for sports ripples through the leagues and media ecosystem.

We launched a new @thewrap.com called Game On, exploring how sports is transforming entertainment. Our lead story examines this $29B juggernaut and why it's the darling of streamers and broadcasters a like. www.thewrap.com/sports-right...

The Atlantic Envy: What Does It Know That Other Publications Don’t? The magazine’s hiring spree has gobbled up writers, many from the Washington Post, in an expansion its top brass say is sustainable.

From @thewrap: Brian Lowry talks to The Atlantic CEO Nick Thompson and editor Jeffrey Goldberg about the secret to their success, with the publication on a massive hiring spree at a time when other newsrooms are cutting staff. www.thewrap.com/the-atlantic...

Jeffrey Katzenberg Is Betting That Drones Will Be the Next Entertainment Medium The entertainment mogul and DreamWorks co-founder has invested in Nova Sky Stories, a drone startup run by Elon Musk's brother Kimbal.

I talked to entertainment mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg about his bet on drones becoming the next big entertainment medium, with Nova Sky Stories, run by Elon Musk's brother, Kimbal, crafting long-form stories. www.thewrap.com/jeffrey-katz...

Memo to Jay Leno: Your Late-Night Comedy Formula Expired a Decade Ago The former “Tonight Show” host won praise from conservatives for saying late-night comics should appeal to everyone. Tell that to Fox News.

Jay Leno caught flack for recommending comedians stop taking sides and try to play to everyone. But, as @thewrap.com's Brian Lowry writes, doing so ends up with a vanilla performance that doesn't really hook anyone, which is critical in this fragmented media world. www.thewrap.com/jay-leno-lat...

Ai4 2025 Agenda Ai4 2025 Agenda

If you're in Las Vegas next week, I'll be moderating AI4's keynote panel on Tuesday morning, discussing entertainment and AI with actor Breckin Meyer and Guy Ronen, CEO of AI studio Arcana Labs. Hit me up if you're planning on attending! ai4.io/vegas/agenda...

The Disney+ Curse: How the Streaming Service Hurt Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar Brands Disney+ has dinged all of the company's core brands, doing real harm to Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar brands.

Proud of this story: @thewrap.com's Drew Taylor took an in-depth look at just how Disney+'s rapid expansion and demand for new content have diminished key brands, Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar, and sapping fan enthusiasm. www.thewrap.com/disney-plus-...

'The Bad Guys 2' Marks a New Era of Franchise Building for DreamWorks As families opt for the familiar in theaters, the first sequel to an animated film released after the COVID shutdown has arrived.

Dreamworks used to regularly crank out franchises, but now it's increasingly reliant on sequels to classics like "Kung Fu Panda" and "Shrek." With "Bad Guys 2," the studio hopes to build upon the original and cement a new franchise. The latest from TheWrap www.thewrap.com/bad-guys-2-d...

Could AI Kill Off Hollywood's Talent Pipeline? Many top-tier directors and producers came into the business by doing the grunt work that AI may soon handle.

For the @TheWrap, I explore the impact of AI killing off entry level jobs in entertainment. When many of the directors, producers & decision makers started out as assistants, mailroom workers or interns, what happens when they're replaced by AI? www.thewrap.com/could-ai-kil...

As Skydance-Paramount Merger Closes, the 'South Park' Trump Takedown Shows the Fight Is On | Analysis Skydance got an immediate taste of the public relations headaches that come with the studio’s powerful, Trump-baiting talent.

The FCC may have cleared the Paramount deal, but for incoming Skydance owners, the South Park Trump takedown is just a sign of the headaches to come. Nice @thewrap.com follow-up story by Brian Lowry Kayla Cobb www.thewrap.com/skydance-par...

AI in Hollywood: How It Can Democratize Filmmaking — and Remain Ethical | Exclusive Video Five AI experts, spanning Adobe to Nvidia and Moonvalley, tell TheWrap how AI can be a "paintbrush in the toolkit of artistry"

Check out my first @TheWrap roundtable, focused on AI in Hollywood. I have guests from Adobe, Nvidia, Moonvalley, Flawless AI and the writer of the upcoming Wedding Crashers sequel to discuss the opportunities, risks and need for more education around AI. www.thewrap.com/ai-in-hollyw...

What's next for Stephen Colbert? @thewrap.com's Kayla Cobb looks at the different options, whether it's podcasting or a production deal with a big studio. Either way, the ball's in his court. www.thewrap.com/stephen-colb...

Making Sense of the Billion-Dollar AI Mega Deals Gamesmanship between tech companies and FOMO are driving sky-high AI company valuations. Will this bubble burst?

A month into @thewrap.com, I finally wrote my first story, making sense of all the AI mega deals and insane valuations, and whether this bubble is ready to burst. www.thewrap.com/ai-deals-val...

Colbert Bombshell Cancellation Raises New Questions About Paramount Merger, Free Speech The shocking cancellation of Late Show With Stephen Colbert raises questions about the Paramount merger and Trump's influence.

CBS ending Stephen Colbert's show in 2026 is at worst a damning blow to free speech and at best a "lights out" moment for network TV, says @thewrap.com's Brian Lowry and Sharon Waxman. www.thewrap.com/colbert-canc...