Nicole Sperling

The ‘Troublemaker’ Behind Netflix’s Biggest Gamble

The ‘Troublemaker’ Behind Netflix’s Biggest Gamble www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/b...

The Naked Gun Is Fall-Off-Your-Seat Hilarious Remember laughter?

This review of THE NAKED GUN by @bilgeebiri.bsky.social is absolutely correct; it's hilarious at a time when we desperately need to laugh with fellow humans. Also, Bilge is right that Leslie Nielsen's name could be Liam Neeson if you were really drunk.

www.vulture.com/article/revi...

“I Love You. Send Bitcoin.” Inside the Billion-Dollar Celebrity Impersonation Scam Victims think they’re talking to Keanu Reeves. Or Kevin Costner. Then come the pleas for cash. The brazen AI-fueled con that fleeces lovestruck fans and has Hollywood finally fighting back.

This story from @thatrebecca1.bsky.social is terrific. I feel so badly for Margaret and I'm so glad Linda and fake Keanu didn't hurt each other. www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

JUST IN: Jury reaches verdict on some counts at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial reut.rs/4nusyRc

The Bureaucrat and the Billionaire: Inside DOGE’s Chaotic Takeover of Social Security

This is one of the best stories of how Musk's lies and distortions have directly affected policy and DOGE decisions at a federal agency.

The sheer unwillingness to understand a system before posting conspiracies about them or dismantling them is plain for all to see.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...

Opinion | Antisemitism Is an Urgent Problem. Too Many People Are Making Excuses.

Too many people on this website are making excuses about antisemitism, in particular. 🎁 link

F.T.C. May Hit a Mega Ad Merger With an Unusual Rule: No Boycotting

scoop: the FTC is in talks to approve a huge advertising merger on the eve of Cannes. The catch? It could prohibit the company from withholding ad spending based on political considerations. With @laurenhirsch.bsky.social, @kateconger.com and Tiffany Hsu

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/b...

Disney and Universal Sue A.I. Firm Midjourney for Copyright Infringement The suit, against Midjourney, is the first time major Hollywood companies have sued over A.I.-generated images.

Disney and Universal sued an artificial intelligence start-up for copyright infringement, bringing Hollywood into the battle over generative A.I.

A Day With One Abortion Pill Prescriber A nurse practitioner spoke on the phone with patients in states with abortion bans, assessed their medical eligibility and sent pills. She took some unconventional steps to protect their privacy.

Debra Lynch, a nurse practitioner who operates the service Her Safe Harbor, prescribes and sends abortion pills to patients in states with abortion bans after assessing their medical eligibility. She's one of about several dozen providers in the U.S. taking legal risks in doing so.

The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers.

That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.

Why Is IMAX Suddenly Everywhere?

It's certainly strange when a movie poster features IMAX written in a bigger font than the movie's title. IMAX, of course, loves it. Not everybody else does. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/b...

After Max goes back to HBO Max, it goes back to being HBO, then Home Box Office, then Sterling Cable Network, then Manhattan Cable, as the grass grows back into the ground and we all marvel at Video Jukebox, George Carlin Specials and G-String Divas

Hollywood Groups Call for Tax Changes After Trump’s Tariff Threat

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/b...

From his home in suburban Chicago, John Prevost, Pope Leo XIV's brother, reflected on his brother’s ascent to the papacy, his values and his American roots. “The best way I could describe him right now is that he will be following in Francis’ footsteps,” Prevost said. nyti.ms/43wrALh

How the TV Hit ‘Fallout’ Became a Champion of Made-in-California

“We should not be the only people doing this. It’s crazy. This should be a wake-up call to everyone, all the studios.” --Jonathan Nolan www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/b...

oh my god www.politico.eu/article/card...

Trump Called for Movie Tariffs After a Meeting With Jon Voight The president’s call for tariffs caused confusion in Hollywood, which has seen a steep drop-off in local film and television production.

Voight's been making the rounds of Hollywood and showed up at Mar-a-Lago with two one-page docs drafted by the MPA and endorsed by a bunch of guilds outlining the industry's needs. No tariffs were mentioned in either. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/m...

Penske Shakes Up Leadership of South by Southwest The festival’s longtime president is leaving the festival, as are about 10 others. Its owner, Penske Media, told staff members about the changes on Friday.

Longtime leader Hugh Forrest is out at SXSW. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/b...

Sinners dropping just 6% in its second weekend merits a much bigger headline than its $48 million opening. It is actual box-office news--news as in "This never happens." Just a giant thing, for Ryan Coogler and for the future of original material.

Quite something.

A screenshot of a ChatGPT conversation reading: "can you write something about robert e. lee in the voice of washington post staff writer gillian brockell?" "Certainly! Here's an excerpt written in the voice of Gillian Brockell, a staff writer at The Washington Post, reflecting on Robert E. Lee's legacy: The Complicated Legacy of Robert E. Lee: A Figure Divided by History By Gillian Brockell When Robert E. Lee's name is invoked, it is often as a symbol of Southern pride military brilliance, or a tragic, doomed cause. But history has a way of shifting its lens, and in recent years, the image of Lee -- the Confederate general, the hero of lost causes -- has become increasingly more fraught. The man who stood as the face of a rebellion that tore the nation apart now stands at the center of an ongoing reckoning over the Confederacy's legacy, and our struggle to reconcile memory with reality."

When I left the Washington Post in 2023, my colleagues and I were worried AI would hoover up our work and enable "zombies" to churn out stories based on our reporting and writing styles.

Today WaPo announced a partnership with OpenAI. And here it is: Zombie Gillian Brockell. I DID NOT WRITE THIS.

There’s a Feeling We’re Not in Hollywood Anymore Movies and TV productions are rapidly leaving California to film outside the United States, where labor costs are lower and tax incentives greater. Industry workers are exasperated.

“This is an existential crisis — it’s an extinction event.” Our story on how difficult it’s become to make movies in the movie town of Hollywood. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/m...

Amazon’s New Movie Strategy Starts With Theaters The streaming giant is planning to release at least 14 movies a year in theaters around the country, rivaling other major studios.

Nothing makes movie theater owners happier than more movies. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/b...

‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ Had a Long Journey Back to the Big Screen “The Ballad of Wallis Island” came together after a long wait and a little help from Carey Mulligan.

Need a distraction? This is a good one. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/m...

Head of Amazon’s TV and Film Steps Down Jennifer Salke held the position for seven years. The tech giant named separate chiefs for television and movies.

There were always rumors around Jen Salke departing Amazon, yet the announcement still caught people by surprise, especially inside the company where employees were prepping her Cinemacon presentation for next week. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/b...

Signal Chat Leak Angers U.S. Military Pilots Men and women who have taken to the air on behalf of the United States expressed bewilderment after the leak of attack plans. “You’re going to kill somebody,” one pilot said.

Current and former U.S. military pilots expressed bewilderment after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to acknowledge that he should not have disclosed sensitive information in an unsecured group chat.

“If you can’t admit when you’re wrong, you’re going to kill somebody,” one pilot said.

Sundance Picks Boulder, Colo., as Its New Home The Sundance Institute chose the new location for the movie festival because it had outgrown Park City, Utah, its home for the past 40 years.

Sundance goes to Boulder, CO. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/b...

Netflix’s ‘Electric State’ Is No Hit, but the Streamer Doesn’t Mind The film’s struggles have elicited no more than a shrug inside the company, demonstrating how different Netflix is from traditional studios.

If a flop happens inside Netflix, does it make a noise? www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/b...

A friend drove two hours today for her breast cancer chemotherapy only to learn it was canceled due to NIH cuts. Clinical trial ended midstream. No treatment, no restart, no plan, no information. Her bro-in-law's chemo was also canceled.

Jennifer Jacobs tweet: “At the Kennedy Center, Trump says he’s never liked the musical “Hamilton” very much.”

More of a Producers fan, I’m guessing