Layoffs seem inevitable, considering, again, the amount of debt Paramount has gone into just to acquire Warner Bros. The settlement demands that Paramount contribute $47.5 million to a “workforce fund” over five years to aid those laid off, but giant corporate mergers have a history of massive layoffs whose costs may exceed that sum. - The Atlantic
“On Tuesday, the ax fell. A few hundred employees, mostly in human resources and tech, were laid off, a person familiar with the situation confirms. … The cuts are the fourth round of layoffs this year.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Eline van der Velden said that in response to a question about the AI-generated “actress” suddenly speaking in Cantonese during an interview. About Norwood’s future career, van der Velden said “We get loads of offers in, we’ve said no to anything (like) a traditional film, because that’s not what she’s made for.” - Variety
“It’s not just about a one and done, you know, ask for a payment and be done. We really want to nurture the relationship through the journey from anonymous all the way into a paying subscription, and we know that the majority of people aren’t going to ever come over to a paying subscription." - Press Gazette
It’s no secret that we’re kind of in a content race to the bottom right now. Social media and shortform video have pushed everything from music to documentaries into a race to truncate their lengths and make everything bite-size, in order to bend to the current of algorithm-centric audiences. - Slate
“UTA, which represents the Globe, has been fielding inquiries about potential adaptations for the article” — headlined “A Western Mass. lesbian bar required KN-95 masks. When it changed the rules, all hell broke loose.” — “both in the scripted space and the documentary sphere.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The Paramount Skydance chief executive will have to work hard to repair badly frayed relations with Hollywood talent who fiercely opposed the consolidation of two historic studios as a bad deal for workers. - Los Angeles Times
Beast Games does not provoke debates about who can or should win and how. Rather, it stages a demonstration of what money can make people agree to. - The Conversation
The bill provides a tax credit of at least 20 percent on the wages of the vast array of workers who create movies and TV shows. That includes actors and directors as well as camera operators and makeup artists. - The New York Times
It’s all about attention to mundane detail. The new The History of Concrete fits Hallmark "because that’s the kind of living proof that this rhythmic cyclical way of storytelling is actually soothing and attractive to people over long periods of time.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Well, a bot sport, anyway. Bots are doing so much online work that regular collectors just can’t keep up - and are getting excluded from the things they love as a result. - The Verge
Jeff Probst doesn’t care about the Trump-loving network owners. Instead, he says, he cares about story. “Our stories are so much more interesting now because we have people from completely different walks of life.” - Variety
Ad spending on political podcasts jumped 42% in the first half of 2026 after rising 36% during the same period last year, according to Magellan AI estimates provided to TheWrap. Taken together, spending increased approximately 93% over two years. - The Wrap (MSN)
