Shares of the merged company dropped to their lowest point since they began trading in 2022. CEO David Zaslav said, “This better aligns our carrying values with our future outlook.” - Bloomberg (MSN)
The entertainment division's bonanza was from improvements in direct-to-consumer streaming and the box-office hit Inside Out 2. … The streaming business specifically (which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+) had third-quarter revenue of $6.4 billion and net income of $47 million, compared to last year's third-quarter losses of over half a billion. - The Hollywood Reporter
Ziff Davis will be “the third corporate parent for the pioneering tech news and reviews site in four years” - with its value dropping at each sale. - Variety
The CEO “said the company must reduce payroll by 20% or layoffs will commence later this month, adding that employees have until Aug. 16 to take the buyout packages, which max out at 12 weeks of pay.” That includes about 100 journalists, some who recently won Pulitzers. - Creative Loafing
"That Pixar hit, about core emotions like joy and sadness, and this summer’s blockbuster sequel, which focuses on anxiety, have been embraced by educators, counselors, therapists and caregivers as an unparalleled tool to help people understand themselves." - The New York Times
The Annenberg report: Of the top 100 2023 films, the numbers are grim - from the 99 that had no Native or Pacific Islander women to the 39 without Black women. Why the backsliding? - HuffPost
"Just 32% of speaking characters in the top 100 movies at the box office in 2023 were women or girls, according to (USC's) Annenberg Inclusion Initiative annual report released Monday. That’s very nearly the same percentage as when Stacy L. Smith first began the study in 2007." - AP
But House of the Dragon? “There are more than a dozen dragons running around the Seven Kingdoms, and every one, Fairfield says, is ‘bespoke’ — a combination of layers, pitch changes, and audio manipulation that gives each a distinct personality.” - Vulture
Now, on the 25th anniversary of the iconic horror film, Burkittsville, Maryland, the new mayor “thinks the town deserves to see some benefit from the landmark movie’s success.” - Washington Post
Movies that shift "feminist shifting “the struggle of feminism into the past strip it of its political essence and allow it to be viewed in terms of battles won without having to confront those still to be fought, or those within feminism itself.” And Italy loved that. - The New York Times
The actor who made his name in raunchy movies like Swingers and Wedding Crashers says that Hollywood execs are too concerned with IP now. "The people in charge don’t want to get fired more so than they’re looking to do something great,” he claims. - Variety
Another sudden, grim, creepy reminder to journalists to save PDFs. One former staffer: “Heart is breaking for the folks that have been there so much longer, poured so much of themselves into it just for it to be taken away with ZERO notice. How is this ok?” - The Verge
But he was young, see? So it was just a boy being a boy! MrBeast, for those who don’t know, makes a lot of money as the person running. YouTube's most subscribed-to channel. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
