🎬 Hacked

👋Good morning! Today, at 8:30 am PDT, the Emmy nominations will be announced here, setting the stage for another round of Hollywood’s finest to vie for television’s most prestigious awards. 🏆

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:

• Warner Bros. Discovery in a Tough Spot

• AMC Bets on “Netflix Effect”

• Disney’s Digital Castle Breached

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

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Martini Shot 🍸

🎬😰Warner Bros. Discovery is in a tough spot, and Wall Street's getting antsy. With the stock down 30% this year, Bank of America analysts are pitching some bold ideas to right the ship: Sell CNN? Merge with Fox? Or create a "Linear TV Holding Co." – a separate entity to house all those old-school cable channels and a whopping $40B in debt. This would let WBD focus on its streaming and studio assets while potentially becoming a dumping ground for other media giants' unwanted channels. Basically, if it doesn't boost profits, it's gotta go. Meanwhile, WBD's not sitting still. They just sold Burbank Studios for $375M while agreeing to remain a tenant, showing they're serious about streamlining operations and freeing up capital. But they're also wielding the layoff axe again, hitting production, finance, and even their streaming service Max. All eyes are on CEO David Zaslav as Q2 earnings loom on Aug. 7th.

🎬🧟‍♂️ Netflix just scored a big win in the streaming wars, snagging 13 AMC shows for its platform. Starting Aug. 19, you can binge fan favorites like ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ and ‘Interview With the Vampire’ on the Big Red N. AMC's betting big on the "Netflix Effect," hoping this 12-month deal will give their shows the same boost ‘Breaking Bad’ got back in the day. It's like sending your shows to streaming boot camp - they come back buffer, more popular, and ready to crush it on AMC's own turf. This move could be a game-changer for AMC, potentially boosting viewership, brand recognition, and even subscriptions to their own streaming service. Plus, it's a sneaky way to get some extra cash and valuable viewer data.

🏰💻 Disney's digital castle might have been breached. Earlier this week, hacker group NullBulge claims they've nabbed 1.1 TB of Disney's internal Slack messages and files. We're talking the whole enchanted forest - unreleased projects, code, login credentials, and even photos of employees' dogs. The hackers say they're protesting AI-generated art, but the implications are no joke. Security experts who've peeked at the data say it looks legit, which could spell big trouble for the House of Mouse. Disney's staying mum for now, but this breach could expose sensitive info and lead to more targeted attacks.

Development 🗒️

• The Duffer Brothers are set to executive produce a new Netflix horror series, ‘Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen,’ created by Haley Z Boston. (more)

• Colin Firth joins Guy Ritchie’s ‘Young Sherlock’ series for Prime Video, portraying Sir Bucephalus Hodge. (more)

• Halle Berry exits Ryan Murphy’s Hulu legal drama ‘All’s Fair’ due to scheduling conflicts, just a week after her involvement was announced. (more)

• Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have acquired North American rights to Nicolas Cage’s film ‘The Surfer.’ (more)

• Lionsgate acquires John Carney’s film ‘Power Ballad’, starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, for theatrical release in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Ireland. (more)

• ‘M3GAN 2.0’ begins production with a star-studded cast including Timm Sharp, Aristotle Athari, and Jemaine Clement. (more)

• Amazon MGM Studios is developing the YA sci-fi thriller ‘The Loneliest Girl in the Universe’ into a feature film. (more)

• Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes, Gaby Hoffmann, and Kumail Nanjiani join the guest star lineup for S2 of Peacock’s ‘Poker Face’. (more)

• Neon acquires worldwide rights to Chris Stuckmann’s horror film ‘Shelby Oaks’, set to premiere at Fantasia Festival. (more)

• Jodie Turner-Smith joins Showtime’s ‘The Agency’, starring Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, and Richard Gere, with George Clooney executive producing. (more)

• Timothée Chalamet will star in and produce Josh Safdie’s A24 film ‘Marty Supreme’, inspired by ping pong champion Marty Reisman. (more)

✅ Renewed & Cancelled ❌

• Netflix renews ‘Somebody Feed Phil’ for S8. (more)

• Syfy has canceled ‘Reginald the Vampire’ after two seasons. (more)

• ‘Loot,’starring Maya Rudolph, for a S3 at Apple TV+. (more)

Business🤝

• Kathleen Jordan inks a two-year overall deal with HBO and Max to develop new projects. (more)

• Ice Cube’s Cube Vision expands its partnership with Paramount Global through a first-look TV deal. (more)

• IMAX and muvi Cinemas have signed a deal to open four new IMAX theaters in Saudi Arabia by 2025. (more)

• Dream Machine has acquired VFX studio Important Looking Pirates, known for work on ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Fallout’. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Jesse Collins Entertainment will produce the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards for the second consecutive year, airing Sept. 15 on ABC. (more)

• Streaming hit a record 40.3% of total TV usage in June, driven by younger audiences and double-digit growth for Disney+, Tubi, Netflix, and Max. (more)

• Teamsters’ bargaining days with AMPTP are running out, with wage increases for various roles remaining a major sticking point. (more)

• The return of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ won the night with 3.71M viewers, marking its 25th anniversary. (more)

• BET launches two FAST channels featuring Tyler Perry’s drama and comedy series, offering 600 hours of free streaming content. (more)