Liz Phelps
@lizphelps.bsky.social
Freelance TV Producer, NYC. WGAE nonfiction organizing committee member. Interested in tech, politics, protecting workers, and good sample flips. www.lizphelps.com
In his NYT op-ed, David Ellison doesn’t address the actual partisan issue with his stewardship of Paramount, CBS and possibly CNN. It’s not that he will impose his political views; it’s that he will promote Trumpian politics to serve his business interests.
Why does this read like one of those long IG posts from a celebrity who's been caught cheating or whatever.
Opinion | David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal (Gift Article)
The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of CNN.
nytimes.com
1.3 million Michigan voters have cast their ballots as of 10 am, about 300,000 more than those in the 2024 primary, according to Michigan Secretary of State's Office
The Paramount-WBD merger has been put on ice. Now the question is whether WBD's biggest showrunners and executives will stay put or seize new opportunities while the industry's biggest deal sits in limbo. Lesley Goldberg reports: mrf.lu/25GH7
Hold your video production friends in your thoughts today. Seems like there’s a massive frame.io outage.
In his quest to see ‘The Odyssey’ in its original format, Lane Brown investigates how a $30 Imax ticket became our only worthwhile moviegoing option.
How Imax Won The Movies
In his quest to see ‘The Odyssey’ in its original format, Lane Brown investigates how a $30 Imax ticket became our only worthwhile moviegoing option.
vulture.com
Christopher Nolan Says He Would Be “Terrified” to Direct a Romantic Comedy
Christopher Nolan Says He Would Be “Terrified” to Direct a Romantic Comedy
Christopher Nolan has directed everything from sci-fi thrillers such as Interstellar, Tenet and Inception to historical dramas like Dunkirk and Oppenheimer, mysteries like The Prestige and Memento and superhero films with his Dark Knight trilogy. But there’s one genre the Oscar-winning filmmaker said he’d be “terrified” to tackle: romantic comedies.
bit.ly
The best television shows of 2026 so far “spotlight an arguably universal experience: the emotional cost of living in a broken world,” Inkoo Kang writes. www.newyorker.com/culture/on-t...
Welcome to the Age of Broke TV
Soulless moguls and wealth porn are out. Amid a real-life economic downturn, the greatest shows of 2026—from “Beef” to “The Comeback”—are all about scraping by.
newyorker.com
A judge granted a temporary restraining order that will pause the Paramount-WBD merger for two weeks while states seek injunctive relief.
Judge Pauses Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger for 2 Weeks After Antitrust Lawsuit
A judge granted a temporary restraining order that will pause the Paramount-WBD merger for two weeks while states seek injunctive relief.
bit.ly
This is worth reading. I'd also add that the devaluing and dearth of culture reporting has contributed to folks online to gravitating to this type of "press." It's prevalent because audiences eat it up.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2w agoActing the fool: why have Hollywood press tours become so gimmicky?
Now that the tempest has stopped, I can go do my laundry I guess.
The union representing Hollywood screenwriters on Tuesday sued to block Paramount’s $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a day after a coalition of 12 Democratic state attorneys general challenged the transaction.
Hollywood Writers Sue to Block Paramount-Warner Deal
Move by Writers Guild of America comes a day after 12 Democratic-led states sued to stop the merger on antitrust grounds.
on.wsj.com
“The damage this deal would do to America's entertainment and news industries would be an absolute, unmitigated disaster.” The Paramount Skydance merger with Warner Bros. Discovery must be blocked.
"The lawsuit filed Monday argues that the merger violates the Clayton Act, a 1914 statute outlawing mergers that lessen competition or lead to monopolies. The lawsuit details the potential harms to competition in the traditional theatrical movie and TV businesses."
Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Is Challenged in Court by California and 11 Other States (Gift Article)
The lawsuit, filed by California and 11 other states, argues that the deal would harm movie theaters and damage America’s entertainment industry.
nytimes.com
They should do a version of The Odyssey that's just a person trying to navigate the MTA when multiple subway lines are down/under construction.
Sources: David Ellison's advisers are urging him to move Paramount's HQ and much of its spending out of California if AG Rob Bonta sues to block the WBD merger (Rohan Goswami/Semafor) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink
Meta has removed a feature from its new Muse AI photo and video tools that had sparked outrage from Hollywood power players like CAA and SAG-AFTRA.
Meta Pulls Back on Opt-Out AI Function After Hollywood Outrage: “This Feature Missed the Mark”
Meta has removed a feature from its new Muse AI photo and video tools that had sparked outrage from Hollywood power players like CAA and SAG-AFTRA.
bit.ly
When this new Laci Kaye Booth album comes out in September, I am going to be so insufferable. You will not hear me shut up about it.
ain’t it pathetic? #countrymusic #femalecountry #original #newmusic #unreleased
TikTok video by Laci Kaye Booth
tiktok.com
Politics aside, this quote from the NYT's June exposé on Platner has haunted me ever since I read it.
Disney wrote in a regulatory filing with the FCC that its long-running ABC daytime talk show “The View” qualifies as a “bona fide news program,” making it exempt from the rule requiring equal airtime to political candidates on broadcast TV.
Disney tells the FCC that ‘The View’ counts as a news program
The FCC since February has been probing whether “The View” violates equal-time rules.
washingtonpost.com
I know everything's a mess in politics right now, but we need to talk about how two guys named Dan Sullivan are both running for Senate in Alaska.
Why are two Dan Sullivans running for Senate in Alaska?
YouTube video by KARE 11
youtube.com