🎬 Splitting the Empire

👋 Good morning! A documentary about music legend Brian Eno is mounting an awards campaign with a unique challenge—the film is never the same twice. 'Eno' is the world's first generative documentary, using custom-coded algorithms (not AI) to create a unique version at every screening. One show might explore his Roxy Music era, while another focuses on his work with U2 and Bowie. The million-dollar question facing Academy voters? How exactly do you nominate a film that transforms with each viewing?

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:

• WGA Calls Out Studios

• Warner Bros. Discovery Splits Up

• Sundance 2025 Lineup

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

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Release Radar: What to watch this weekend

• Martini Shot 🍸

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

TOP STREAMED
📊 What U.S. audiences were watching this week…

WIDESHOT
🎬 WBD’s reorg, WGA vs. AI, and Sundance 2025…

🏢🔄 Warner Bros. Discovery is splitting its empire into old and new media kingdoms. The media giant is slicing itself into two distinct units—old-school TV networks in one corner, streaming and studios in the other—effective mid-2025. This corporate makeover sent WBD's stock soaring, as Wall Street sees the clean split as prep work for potential sales or spinoffs of either unit—particularly the aging TV networks business. The timing's no coincidence, aligning perfectly with NBCUniversal's plans to spin off its own cable networks, hinting at possible industry matchmaking. While WBD's traditional TV business still generates solid cash ($2.1B in profits), it's bleeding viewers and ad dollars—they already took a $9B write-down last summer. Here's the kicker: they're bundling HBO with streaming instead of cable, even though it plays in both sandboxes—basically screaming "digital or bust" while dangling their TV networks for a potential strategic sale.

🤖📝 The Writers Guild of America is calling out major studios for sitting idle while tech giants feast on their intellectual property. A bombshell Atlantic investigation published in November revealed that over 53,000 movies and 85,000 TV episodes were used without permission to train AI systems at Apple, Meta, and Salesforce. Yesterday, the WGA sent a scathing letter to studio CEOs claiming this violation of their basic agreement has harmed writers whose work was essentially “looted” to create potential AI competitors. The timing is particularly charged, as these systems could theoretically generate content that competes with union writers. Despite the gravity of these allegations, major players like Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are keeping mum.

🎬🏔️ Sundance dropped its 2025 lineup earlier this week, showcasing 87 features from 24 countries at its potentially final run in Park City (Jan. 23—Feb. 2). With the fest landing just days after the inauguration, politics take center stage through docs on book banning (‘The Librarians’), trans rights (‘Heightened Scrutiny’), and the Ukraine war (‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’). First-time directors make up 41% of the slate, but big changes are brewing—organizers will pick between Cincinnati, Boulder, or Salt Lake City for 2027, with the big reveal expected after the fest wraps. Here are some highlights:

• Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna lead Bill Condon's ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ remake

• Questlove follows his Oscar-winning ‘Summer of Soul’ with ‘SLY LIVES!,’ exploring Sly Stone's journey

• A24's bringing heat with three titles, including buzzy midnight selection ‘Opus’ starring Ayo Edebiri

• Justin Lin's back in indie mode with ‘Last Days,’ his first Sundance appearance since ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’

• Cooper Raiff's taking a TV swing with ‘Hal & Harper,’ featuring Mark Ruffalo and Betty Gilpin

• Andrew Ahn pairs Bowen Yang with Lily Gladstone in ‘The Wedding Banquet’

After 2024's breakouts like ‘A Real Pain’ and ‘I Saw the TV Glow,’ the pressure's on for this fresh crop of talent. More than 80% of the lineup's still up for grabs, setting up what could be a lively market despite the industry's bumpy ride.

INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM THE DAILIES
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LAST LOOKS
Development 🗒️

• Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser will reprise their roles in a new ‘Yellowstone’ spinoff under Taylor Sheridan’s creative helm. (more)

• Apple Original Films acquires Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots’ romantic drama ‘All of You.’ (more)

• Hulu has ordered a pilot for a new ‘Prison Break’ series, written by ‘Mayans M.C.’ creator Elgin James. (more)

• David Auburn will write the English-language remake of the Oscar-winning Danish film ‘Another Round,’ with Chris Rock set to direct. (more)

• Peacock has secured a ‘Friday Night Lights’ reboot, centered on a high school football team’s journey to a championship after a devastating hurricane. (more)

• Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, and Michael Govier will write a fresh take on ‘Tom and Jerry’ for Warner Bros Pictures Animation. (more)

• Austin Butler is set to star as Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino’s new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ ‘American Psycho’ for Lionsgate. (more)

• Jared Leto is in final talks to join Al Pacino, Jessica Chastain, and more in Barry Levinson’s JFK conspiracy thriller Assassination. (more)

• Eddie Redmayne joins Julia Roberts in Sam Esmail’s paranoid thriller ‘Panic Carefully,’ centered on the hunt for a cyberterrorist. (more)

• Mike Flanagan is officially writing a ‘Clayface’ script for DC Studios, reimagining the shapeshifting character as a horror-thriller tragedy. (more)

• Disney, Scott Sanders, and Danny Strong team up for ‘Becoming Houdini,’ a spy thriller on Houdini’s life and rumored spy work. (more)

• Kit Harington joins Mark Wahlberg in the sequel to Apple and Skydance’s hit action comedy ‘The Family Plan,’ set during Christmas in Europe. (more)

• Disney is developing a live-action remake of ‘Tangled’ with Michael Gracey (‘The Greatest Showman’) in talks to direct. (more)

• Bill Skarsgård and Dacre Montgomery will star in Gus Van Sant’s hostage thriller ‘Dead Man’s Wire,’ based on a true story. (more)

Business 🤝

• YouTube TV will increase its monthly price to $82.99 starting in January, citing rising content costs and service investments. (more)

• BuzzFeed is selling the company behind ‘Hot Ones’ for $82.5M, helping reduce its debt while host Sean Evans and investors plan the show’s future. (more)

• Tom Holland has signed a production deal with Sony under his new company Billy17, starting with the feature project ‘Burnt.’ (more)

• Lloyd Braun, Sarah Bremner, and Noah Oppenheim have launched Prologue Entertainment, an indie film and TV studio backed by Jeff Zucker and RedBird Capital. (more)

Other News 🚨

• The 97th Oscars will simulcast live on Hulu this March, marking a historic streaming move for the Academy. (more)

• YouTube viewers streamed over 1B hours daily from their living rooms in 2024. (more)

RELEASE RADAR
📅 What to watch this weekend?

🎥 THEATRICAL

• Kraven the Hunter: R-rated Marvel action film starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the ruthless big-game hunter, with Russell Crowe.

• The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim: Animated ‘Lord of the Rings’ prequel from Warner Bros. Animation, featuring Brian Cox and Miranda Otto.

📺 STREAMING

• No Good Deed: (Netflix) Dark comedy series from ‘Dead to Me’ creator Liz Feldman, starring Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow.

• Dream Productions: (Disney+) Animated ‘Inside Out’ spin-off series about rival dream directors in Riley's mind, starring Paula Pell and Richard Ayoade.

• Carry-On: (Netflix) Action thriller about a blackmailed TSA agent starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman.

• Elton John: Never Too Late: (Disney+) Documentary following the music legend's farewell tour, directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish.

🔮 BOX OFFICE PREVIEW

'Moana 2' should lead again with $20-30M in its third weekend, followed by 'Wicked' at $15-20M in its fourth frame. The newcomers aren't looking so hot: Sony's R-rated Spider-verse entry 'Kraven the Hunter' is hunting for a modest $13-15M from 3,200 theaters, while anime spin-off 'The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim' looks DOA with just $6-7M from 3,500 locations. Neither newcomer seems likely to break the pre-holiday slump, but the bigger picture is brighter—2024's box office is closing in on last year's $8.9B total, quite the comeback after a rough start to the year.

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest trends & viral moments