👋 Good morning! Angeleno cinephiles rejoice: Jason Reitman's 35-director collective just secured the future of the Village Theater in Westwood. The group that bought the historic venue (including Spielberg, Nolan, del Toro, and Chloé Zhao) is partnering with American Cinematheque to handle programming and operations when it reopens in 2027. Reitman says if movie theaters are churches, then the Village is "a cathedral."
Welcome back to The Dailies and happy hump day. Here's your mid-week dose of industry intel to power through. 👇
CLOSEUP
📉 Disney’s AI moonshot just crashed back to earth…
During last week's earnings call, Bob Iger talked up Disney's "productive conversations" with AI companies. But behind the diplomatic corporate speak, the entertainment giant's AI journey has been rougher than a ride on Space Mountain with the lights on.
Disney reportedly burned through $50M on its AI initiative, including an attempt to build its own proprietary video generation model. The company fired VP Ben Stanbury this summer after the effort stalled. What went wrong? Pick a card, any card:
Inside Disney, animators and actors were reportedly resistant to cooperate with AI initiatives. Even former talent is vocal about it: Dana Terrace, who created Disney's ‘The Owl House,’ told fans to pirate content rather than support AI just hours after Iger's comments last week.
Hollywood’s talent wants nothing to do with it. Across the industry, filmmakers and actors view AI as an existential threat. Directors like Guillermo del Toro say they'd "rather die" than use it, and Nicolas Cage called it a “dead end.” About 15% of SAG-AFTRA's members want AI to not exist at all.
The tech isn't ready anyway. Even with everyone on board, current AI can't meet Disney standards. It can't maintain consistent imagery across a feature film or output proper VFX resolution. Works great for TikTok clips, but over 90 minutes? Completely falls apart. One insider said Stanbury was doomed from the start with "unrealistic goals" and tech that "just isn't ready."
The bigger picture: Disney's not alone here. Lionsgate's Runway partnership has quietly scaled back for similar reasons. Across Hollywood, AI has settled into unglamorous tasks like script breakdowns and content dubbing, but can't actually replace production pipelines just yet. An Atlassian report found 96% of CEOs seeing zero ROI from AI.
INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM WRAPBOOK
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CLOSEUP
🔥 Adult animation is having a surprising hot streak…
Adult animation is living in two realities at once: While the Animation Guild president warns that "so many of our members are out of work and struggling to pay their bills," buyers can't get enough adult animated content. Agents report "massive appetite" across the board for new series.
Consider what’s happening: Netflix's John Derderian is actively expanding originals and IP adaptations like 'Stranger Things: Tales from '85.' Warner Bros. TV calls animation a "growth area" and is being "very aggressive" with development, even as WBD explores a sale of the whole company. Amazon just announced 'Invincible's' fifth season before the fourth even airs. Most surprisingly, Fox is toying with hourlong animated dramas, a major departure from its Sunday Animation Domination comedy block ('The Simpsons,' 'Family Guy').
So why are studios that won't greenlight a $10M live-action drama suddenly bullish on cartoons? The reasons paint a clear picture:
Animation costs $800K-$5M per half-hour episode, while comparable live-action runs double or triple that price tag.
The ROI beats prestige TV: one insider notes Amazon's 'Invincible' likely delivers better returns than 'The Boys' when you calculate "per dollar versus per viewer."
Shows last forever without cast complications: 'The Simpsons' is approaching S40 with no actor renegotiations, no aging-out scandals, no 'Stranger Things'-style races against puberty.
International appeal comes built-in: 'Blue Eye Samurai' pulled huge global numbers for Netflix without needing A-list dubbing.
Looking ahead… Industry insiders predict that within five years, major animators could bypass traditional platforms entirely for YouTube or social media, where they can retain full ownership, control merchandising directly, and monetize through ad revenue shares.
MARKET WATCH
📺 TV station owners are supersizing to survive…
Local broadcasters are pushing mega-mergers that would shatter decades-old ownership limits and reshape the entire TV landscape. Two major deals are testing the waters:
Nexstar-Tegna: Already America's biggest broadcaster, Nexstar just filed to buy Tegna for $6.2B, which would give them control of 54.5% of U.S. TV homes. That’s way above the current 39% ownership cap that's been around for decades.
Sinclair-Scripps: Not to be outdone, Sinclair bought an 8.2% stake in E.W. Scripps this week to pressure the company into a merger after months of "constructive discussions."
Why the sudden bulk-up? Station owners claim they need scale to compete with Netflix and Google, arguing that being a "broadcasting giant is an oxymoron" compared to Big Tech's reach.
The bigger picture: These deals would fundamentally reshape the TV landscape. When one company controls most of America's TV stations, it gains massive leverage over ABC, CBS, and NBC in programming negotiations. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr supports scrapping ownership limits, potentially green-lighting a new era of regional media empires with national reach.
INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM FINAL DRAFT
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LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️
Netflix has acquired Johnny Rosenthal’s comedy spec ‘Aunt Roxie,’ with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort and Amy Williams set to produce. (more)
David Castañeda will star opposite Aimee Carrero in Lionsgate and Midnight Pictures’ untitled home-invasion horror-thriller. (more)
Christian Bale is circling a major role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Michael Mann’s upcoming sequel ‘Heat 2.’ (more)
Kevin Costner is in talks to play Bill Clinton in ‘United,’ a new UN-backed TV drama he and Leonardo DiCaprio are executive producing. (more)
Veronika Slowikowska and Luke Kirby will star in indie comedy ‘Close to Nowhere,’ marking Samantha Carroll’s feature directorial debut. (more)
Josh Hutcherson, Frank Dillane, Caleb Landry Jones, and Whitmer Thomas are in talks for A24’s next Arkasha Stevenson horror film. (more)
Daisy Ridley will star in Pierre Morel’s action-thriller ‘The Good Samaritan.’ (more)
TV Development 📺
David Nicholls will adapt Sue Townsend’s classic novel ‘The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾’ into a 10-part BBC series. (more)
John Wells (‘The West Wing’) is teaming with Phoebe Fisher on ‘The Aisle,’ a new Netflix political drama. (more)
Peacock has renewed ‘Twisted Metal’ for S3, with David Reed stepping in as the new showrunner. (more)
Netflix is turning the family board game ‘Shark Bite’ into a high-stakes TV game show featuring giant animatronic sharks and $100K on the line. (more)
Daniel Dae Kim will host and executive-produce CNN’s four-part travel series ‘K-Everything,’ exploring the global rise of Korean pop culture. (more)
Netflix has ordered a five-episode series adaptation of ‘The Boys From Brazil,’ starring Jeremy Strong, Gillian Anderson, and Daniel Brühl. (more)
The History Channel Netherlands is rolling out ‘Streets of the Past,’ an AI-driven series from Tilly Norwood creator Eline van der Velden. (more)
Ben Schwartz and Lauren Lapkus are reviving ‘The Earliest Show’ as a new scripted TV comedy for Amplify Pictures and Funny or Die. (more)
Nina Dobrev will star in and executive-produce the erotic thriller series ‘Night Float,’ in development at Fifth Season and Made Up Stories. (more)
Business 🤝
Other News 🚨
Chelsea Handler will return to host the 31st Critics Choice Awards. (more)
AMC Networks has launched All Reality, a $4.99/month streaming service for its biggest unscripted shows, including a new ‘Bridezillas.’ (more)
Final Draft’s Black Friday Sale ends soon! Don’t miss the lowest price of the year on the Industry Standard Screenwriting Software. Sale ends November 30, 2025. (more)*
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See you Friday!
-The Dailies Team