🎬 Shiny New Deal

👋Good morning! In a bid to support his SAG-AFTRA comrades, Jimmy Kimmel has issued a casting call for ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ that’s specially designed for actors who are just shy of qualifying for health insurance. His goal? To help them bridge the earnings gap and secure those much-needed health benefits.

Welcome aboard the Dailies. As you sip your morning brew, we’ll get you caught up with the fast-paced world of Hollywood - no need to chase down a newsstand, we’ve got everything you need right here.

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• IATSE Ratifies New Deal

• Netflix Q2 Earnings Drop

• AI Giants' YouTube Data Grab

• Last Looks 👀: Bite-sized scoops on developing stories/projects

• Release Radar: What to watch this weekend

• Video Village 📀

• Martini Shot 🍸

But first, it’s Friday, so let’s take a look at what people were watching this week… 👀

TOP STREAMED THIS WEEK IN THE US

🤝🗳️ IATSE has ratified a shiny new 3-year deal with the AMPTP, set to roll on August 1. Despite fears that the AI clauses could be a 'thanks, but no thanks' for some, both the Basic Agreement and Area Standards Agreement got a thumbs up from over 85% of voters. The perks? Significant wage bumps, stronger health and pension benefits, improved safety measures, and safeguards to prevent AI from stealing jobs. Meanwhile, the Teamsters are still negotiating with the studios, mainly over wage increases. Their current contract expires on July 31, and all eyes are on the clock to see if they'll hammer out a deal before the buzzer.

🎬📈Netflix dropped its Q2 earnings report. Here's the scoop:

• 8M new subscribers added, totaling 278M

• Revenue up 17% to $9.56B

• Ad-supported tier memberships grew 34%

• Phasing out Basic ad-free plan to nudge users to ad-supported or premium tiers

• Continued investment in exclusive content (hello, NFL on Christmas!)

• Password-sharing crackdown keeps driving signups

• Gave a hard pass on bundling with rivals like Disney+ or Max

• Teased a major TV interface overhaul

Despite the positive report, Netflix's stock took a hit due to a slightly less rosy Q3 revenue forecast. Netflix's booming subscriber growth and money-making magic tricks suggest it's still the one to beat in the streaming wars. As long as they keep serving up binge-worthy content, Netflix is likely to keep its crown.

🤖📺 AI tech giants like Apple, Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic have been caught with their hands in the digital cookie jar. It turns out they used subtitles from over 170,000 YouTube videos to train their AI models. This data grab spans 48,000 channels, from top-tier YouTubers to academic lectures, all without creator consent - a clear violation of YouTube's terms of service. This AI free-for-all could spawn digital doppelgangers mimicking creators’ unique style, potentially putting jobs on the chopping block. And guess what? Creators aren't seeing a dime from this data gold rush. This revelation raises eyebrows about projects like OpenAI's secretive Sora, their text-to-video AI—you know, the AI that made Tyler Perry pump the brakes on his studio plans. When asked point-blank if they used YouTube videos to train Sora, OpenAI's chief technology officer Mira Murati gave a suspiciously vague "I'm actually not sure about that."

Development 🗒️

• Andrew Scott will star in Studiocanal and Working Title’s D-Day movie ‘Pressure.’ (more)

• A film adaptation of the TV series ‘24’ is in early development at 20th Century Studios, with Brian Grazer set to produce. (more)

• James Morosini will direct the psychological horror film ‘Mommy’s Home’ for Lionsgate. (more)

• Greenwich Entertainment acquires North American rights to the period thriller ‘The Critic’, starring Ian McKellen. (more)

• Katy O’Brian, Margaret Cho, Brigette Lundy-Paine, and Cheyenne Jackson will star in Tina Romero’s queer zombie horror comedy ‘Queens of the Dead.’ (more)

• Charlize Theron will star in and produce the Netflix thriller ‘Apex,’ directed by Baltasar Kormákur. (more)

• Universal TV is developing a series based on Omid Scobie’s upcoming book ‘Royal Spin.’ (more)

• Joe and Anthony Russo are in talks to return to Marvel Studios to direct the next two Avengers movies. (more)

• Netflix taps Chloe Veitch to host its new dating show ‘Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark,’ where contestants determine if their late-night hookups could be true love. (more)

• Paramount acquires Julien Magnat’s horror/thriller spec ‘Familiar,’ with Walter Hamada producing through 18hz Productions. (more)

• Kate Siegel will star in and executive produce the dark comedy ‘Damned If You Do,’ directed by Jake Rubin and Evan Metzold. (more)

• Roy Wood Jr. will debut his fourth stand-up special on Hulu, taping in September at the Lincoln Theater in Washington D.C. (more)

• Amazon MGM Studios secures the psychological thriller ‘Sasha,’ with Greg Berlanti and Scarlett Johansson as producers. (more)

✅Renewed &Canceled❌

• CNBC cancels ‘Last Call’ with Brian Sullivan after one season. (more)

• Paramount+ has canceled the ‘Halo’ series after S2, and the show is being shopped for a new home. (more)

Business🤝

• Warner Bros. Discovery is set to match Amazon's $1.8B NBA rights deal. (more)

• Warner Bros. Discovery is considering splitting its studio and streaming businesses into a standalone company to address its $39B debt and flagging stock price. (more)

Other News🚨

• Room 8 Films, a new U.S. distributor for international movies, launches with a slate of films from Venice, Toronto, and Busan festivals. (more)

• Fox Entertainment cuts 30 positions after restructuring into three divisions. (more)

• Los Angeles on-location filming dropped 12.4% in Q2 2024, driven by a nearly 57% plunge in reality TV production. (more)

• Disney CEO Bob Iger and Willow Bay acquire a majority stake in Angel City FC. (more)

What to watch this weekend? 👀

🎥THEATRICAL

• Twisters: This standalone sequel to 1996’s ‘Twister’ stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones.

• Oddity: Paranormal horror written and directed by Damian Mc Carthy.

📺 STREAMING

• Lady in the Lake: (Apple TV+) Natalie Portman-led series based on Laura Lippman’s novel of the novel of the same.

• Find Me Falling: (Netflix) Rom-com starring Harry Connick Jr.

• Omnivore: (Apple TV+) Eight-part food docuseries created by chef René Redzepi and Cary Joji Fukunaga.

• Those About to Die: (Peacock) Ancient Roman gladiator series starring Anthony Hopkins.

🔮BOX OFFICE PREVIEW

With $7M already in the bank from previews, Universal's ‘Twisters’ is poised to suck up a storm of cash. This long-awaited sequel to the 1996 blockbuster is forecasted to rake in $50-60M domestically, easily outpacing the original's $41M opening.

While ‘Twisters’ spins into the top spot, expect ‘Despicable Me 4’ to hold on for second place with around $26M. The surprise horror hit ‘Longlegs’ might lose some footing in its second week, potentially allowing ‘Inside Out 2’ to sneak into the top three. With ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ looming on the horizon, this weekend could be the calm before the storm.