🎬 The Netflix of Gaming

👋 Good morning! You never know where you’ll get your next big break. Just ask Joe Cote, the Massachusetts educator whose Reddit horror story ‘I Pretended to Be a Missing Girl’ caught Hollywood's attention. Earlier this week, Warner Bros. announced Sydney Sweeney will star in and produce the adaptation. The chilling tale about a mysterious woman appearing years after a teenager's disappearance is getting the Oscar treatment with Eric Roth polishing the script. From r/nosleep to studio greenlight—maybe it's time we all started posting our screenplay ideas on Reddit.

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:

• YouTube Dethrones Hollywood

• AMPTP’s New Negotiator

• Endeavor Goes Private

• The Netflix of Gaming

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

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Martini Shot 🍸

CLOSEUP
📺 YouTube just dethroned Hollywood…

Hollywood's nightmare scenario has arrived: viewers are choosing free creator content over premium subscriptions. Nielsen's data for February show YouTube now dominates 11.6% of total TV viewing time—more than Disney and about equal to Netflix and Amazon combined. And this doesn't even count viewership on phones and tablets, where creators dominate even more.

It's been easy for industry veterans to dismiss creator content as amateurish or low-quality over the years, but these data tell a different story. According to Deloitte's latest media survey, younger viewers are abandoning Hollywood's premium offerings at an alarming rate:

• 56% of Gen Z finds social media content "more relevant than traditional TV shows and movies”

• Half of young viewers feel stronger personal connections to creators than to TV personalities or actors

• 41% of consumers say streaming content isn't worth the price they're paying

Beyond the authentic connections that younger viewers feel with creators, here's what gives YouTube and creators their competitive edge:

• 🤖 AI-Powered Discovery: Social platforms use sophisticated recommendation engines that consistently outperform traditional streaming services

• 🌊 Content Flood: YouTube receives an endless stream of fresh, niche content at virtually no cost, while studios spend millions per release

• 💰 Price Fatigue: Rising subscription costs are pushing consumers toward free, ad-supported alternatives—Disney lost 700,000 subscribers at the end of 2024 after announcing yet another price increase

• 🎯 Ad Effectiveness: Younger audiences report social media ads are more influential on their purchasing decisions

Looking ahead… Traditional media companies are in an increasingly tight spot. As China Widener, Deloitte's vice chair, puts it, this frustration with rising prices and questionable value "is going to force a different business model conversation" if studios can't thread this particular needle soon.

INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
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WIDESHOT
🎬 WME Group, the AMPTP, and the Netflix of games…

🏛️💼 Ari Emanuel's talent empire comes full circle. Endeavor just completed its $25B deal to go private under Silver Lake's ownership. The company is rebranding as WME Group and returning to its agency roots after a decade-long acquisition spree (including UFC, WWE, and tennis tournaments) that tried to overcome talent agencies' limited scalability as commission-based businesses. As part of the restructuring, Emanuel will transition to executive chairman, with Mark Shapiro taking over day-to-day leadership, while co-founder Patrick Whitesell exits with the football division for his own $250M venture. This leadership shuffle—coming right after UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer's departure—marks one of Hollywood's biggest regime changes in a decade and suggests the end of agencies' ambitious M&A strategies.

🤝🎭 Hollywood just hired a negotiator who's played for both teams. The AMPTP just named Greg Hessinger as its new chief negotiator, bringing unusual credentials to the table. Unlike his predecessor Carol Lombardini, Hessinger has worked both sides—previously leading SAG and AFTRA before switching teams to represent studios and networks. The announcement comes as the industry is still recovering from the 2023 strikes, and all three major guild contracts expire next year. The studios are pumped about the hire, with AMPTP praising his ability to "bring parties together." SAG-AFTRA's Duncan Crabtree-Ireland kept it professional, calling Hessinger an "experienced negotiator" with "extensive knowledge" while looking forward to "productive bargaining." Meanwhile, the DGA's already prepping for battle, naming Jon Avnet and Karen Gaviola to lead their team. When Hessinger starts April 14, he'll have about a full year before the real showdown begins at the bargaining table.

🎮📺 Netflix wants to be the Netflix of gaming. After pouring $2B into gaming since 2021 (acquiring four studios and offering 140 ad-free games), the streaming giant is flipping its strategy to focus on the family living room. Former Fortnite exec Alain Tascan is now leading Netflix's push toward TV app games that use phones as controllers, casual party games for "family game night," and games based on Netflix hits like ‘Squid Game.’ With 300M subscribers but just 1.1M daily gamers, there's massive growth potential. Unlike competitors, Netflix is deliberately avoiding costly blockbuster games (known as "AAA titles"—think ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Grand Theft Auto’) and complex console experiences. Instead, they're taking "bold, curated swings" with smaller-scale games that blur lines between passive and interactive entertainment—potentially creating new storytelling opportunities for an industry Netflix has already disrupted once. In this maturing phase of the streaming wars, expect to see more innovative strategies like this as platforms look beyond subscriber growth to deepen connections with existing users.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• Amy Pascal and David Heyman have officially signed on to produce the next ‘James Bond’ film for Amazon MGM. (more)

• Lizzo is set to star as rock ‘n’ roll trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in ‘Rosetta,’ a biopic in development at Amazon MGM Studios. (more)

• Jack Reynor and Laia Costa will star in Lee Cronin’s ‘The Mummy,’ a new horror reimagining from Atomic Monster, Blumhouse, and New Line. (more)

• Nicholas Hoult will star in an untitled bank heist thriller directed by David Leitch for Amazon MGM Studios. (more)

• Lionsgate has pulled ‘Saw XI’ from its release calendar amid behind-the-scenes tensions, replacing it with ‘The Strangers: Chapter 2.’ (more)

• Sony has pulled ‘Street Fighter’ from its release calendar. (more)

• Phoebe Dynevor’s shark thriller ‘Shiver’ has been pushed a year. (more)

• Amazon MGM Studios’ adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s ‘Verity,’ starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, sets May 2026 release. (more)

• Kevin Hart will star in Netflix’s wild bachelor party comedy ‘72 Hours,’ reuniting with ‘Ride Along’ director Tim Story for the streaming giant. (more)

• ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman,’ starring Jennifer Lopez, will hit theaters this fall for an awards season run via Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. (more)

• Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to ‘Unicorns,’ a cross-cultural romance starring Ben Hardy and Jason Patel. (more)

• Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired Australian horror ‘The Moogai’ for North American release, with a theatrical debut set for May. (more)

• Rachel Morrison will direct ‘Love of Your Life’ for Amazon MGM Studios, reuniting with the studio following her recent work on ‘The Fire Inside.’ (more)

TV Development 📺

• Jessica Chastain and Adam Driver will star in ‘The Dealer,’ a high-stakes art world drama series ordered by Apple TV+ from Media Res. (more)

• John Lithgow and Jimmy Smits will reprise their iconic roles in ‘Dexter: Resurrection.’ (more)

• Amazon MGM Studios is developing a ‘Murdle’ TV series based on G.T. Karber’s hit murder mystery puzzles. (more)

• Christopher Masterson and Justin Berfield will reprise their roles in the ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ revival at Disney+. (more)

• James Norton will star in and produce ‘Wavewalker,’ a TV adaptation of Suzanne Heywood’s memoir, with Jack Thorne writing the series. (more)

• Linda Cardellini will star as Pamela Voorhees in ‘Crystal Lake,’ Peacock and A24’s ‘Friday the 13th’ prequel series. (more)

• Emmy Rossum is set to executive produce and is in talks to star in an untitled Hulu thriller series inspired by the 1987 film ‘Black Widow.’ (more)

Other News 🚨

• Alan Cumming is set to host the BAFTA TV Awards. (more)

• March Madness hits highest early-round TV ratings in over 30 years. (more)

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