Why is Michael Jackson’s probate case still open 16 years after his death? And how has it come to include underwriting film reshoots and brokering deals with abuse accusers? I explore… puck.news/why-is-micha...

What do you think he’ll say puck.news/josh-shapiro...

Write me a 200 word horror story about Tom Brady and his cloned dog.

Netflix’s A.I. memo is a little too on the nose. Meryl Streep’s to be specific. Plus: What Irving Azoff told me about UMG’s Udio deal. puck.news/netflix-ai-m...

The government shutdown isn’t bad for everyone. puck.news/can-comcast-...

I learned a lot about the MrBeast empire from this case… puck.news/mrbeasts-emp...

What’s next to in the A.I. copyright wars? Let me take a gander. puck.news/the-next-hol...

I’ll tell you who is having fun with A.I. text-to-audio. Those who work to put stuff on screens at NFL games to get fans hyped.

“A reasonable listener of ‘Not Like Us’ would conclude that Lamar is rapping hyperbolic vituperations.” —Judge Vargas storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Dish, Disney & The $4.99 Lawsuit From Hell puck.news/disney-sues-...

Lots of scoopage in the newsletter tonight including a new and potentially explosive child abuse allegation against Michael Jackson

Here’s a story recommendation. Really interesting one that covers protein bars, antitrust law, and more apple.news/AKsvME2sHSu6...

Under-the-radar, upcoming Hollywood trials: —Netflix’s “Inventing Anna” libel —“Real Housewives” copyright problem —Disney vs fired actor’s “religious” beliefs puck.news/how-inventin...

New pod: Who’s got the leverage in the next battles between Trump, the TV stations and Disney, and why Blue state attorneys general could play a surprising role. With @eriqgardner.bsky.social. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/2dIV...

While FCC chairman Brendan Carr sucks up the oxygen, there’s another force lurking—a reason, perhaps, to think that Nexstar is making a colossal political miscalculation in the Jimmy Kimmel affair. My latest…. puck.news/brendan-carr...

WSJ moves to dismiss Trump’s defamation lawsuit

Does American technology hegemony depend on Trump conscripting Spider-Man, Taylor Swift songs, and the Paw Patrol? Believe it or not, a former NSA general counsel is making the case the president should invoke the Defense Production Act. puck.news/could-hollyw...

We don’t agree to a Taylor Swift deposition but we’ve reserved October 20 for you

Lisa Cook and Shira Perlmutter. Not the greatest day for Trump’s attempted purges.

This week in WIH+: —Will the FCC review Rupert Murdoch's deal giving Lachlan the media empire? —An upcoming, overlooked multi-billion dollar TikTok trial —I use ChatGPT to crack the identities of a Hollywood lawsuit captioned "Doe Company v. Roe Company" puck.news/newsletter_c...

RedZone is terribly overrated even without commercials

I have a lot of trouble following the logic here

Almost like an annual tradition that just before NFL season begins, feds make a show of shutting down a big illegal sports streaming site. (Tough, though, because there are a ton of mirror sites.)

The guy took $55 million from Netflix and blew chunks of it on Rolls-Royces, real estate, speculative crypto bets, and even divorce lawyers. But, as I write, the fraud case isn’t quite straightforward. puck.news/legal-anatom...

Spoke about this on our podcast podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Trump’s interest in taking corporate stakes for the U.S. The purging of government officials. The transformative questions hanging over A.I… Connecting the dots… puck.news/could-trump-...

Sign of the Times

Nexstar wants to buy Tegna to create a local TV powerhouse. But as I sketched out a couple of months ago, this isn’t going to happen without legal fireworks…. puck.news/a-warners-le...

So much of the agitation surrounding A.I. and entertainment these days is fixated on content production. How about the gatekeepers of the entertainment ecosystem? A conversation with @iankrietzberg.bsky.social and @loudmouthjulia.bsky.social puck.news/will-america...

I wrote about this earlier in the week, but Warner Bros Discovery is ticketed for a trial later this month that should have Hollywood thinking differently about titles of movies and TV shows. puck.news/will-bill-ma...

I don’t think the Gina Carano settlement happens if Trump isn’t president. It wasn’t a frivolous case, but I expect Disney would have ultimately won. But there are bigger priorities these days than standing your ground.

In WIH+ this week: —Warner Bros Discovey faces trial later this month over something ugly —Laura Loomer’s sealed deposition where she gossips about what Trump’s staff is telling her —A Fox News hacking case somehow explores the legality of watching Netflix

The faux controversy over that Sydney Sweeney ad campaign is unofficially this year’s most annoying bit of “news”

How can we tell the difference?

I’m revealing exclusively that “Dune: Part 2” was released last year under a significant legal cloud—a huge claim from Lionsgate that it actually held foreign rights. Here’s what happened as well as the fallout. puck.news/inside-legen...

Delaware is quickly turning into the libel tourist destination of choice in the United States. Why? No anti-SLAPP.

Talking about it on Powers That Be podcast… podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Some analysis on the Trump-Murdoch case puck.news/why-trumps-l...

Trump Dow Jones et al…A sloppy rushed lawsuit over an allegedly sloppy rushed news story t.co/C2KrxXEXF6

Is Donald Trump really going to sue Rupert Murdoch’s paper? So he says… www.wsj.com/politics/tru...

My latest is about the mess created by Endeavor’s privatization. Between the privatization announcement and the actual squeeze-out, Endeavor’s stake in WWE and UFC soared, which should have been a good thing but… puck.news/silver-lakes...

Will A.I. be as smart as Swedish journalists? www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/w...

A.I. isn’t just training on copyrighted books, movies, and news articles. It’s also ingesting voices, faces, and personalities—and spitting out imitations. And one celebrity is quietly suing. puck.news/tony-robbins...

Can you build a robot to argue in front of the Supreme Court? Fascinating experiment by Adam Unikowski at Jenner & Block—with audio! adamunikowsky.substack.com/p/automating...

How long until Diddy's camp seizes upon the fact that he's been convicted on a law nicknamed the "White Slave Traffic Act"—the one that got Jack Johnson and Bob Dylan wrote a song about ("Hurricane")?

Should "60 Minutes" EPs sue for defamation? Now that Paramount has settled with Trump—sans apology or regret—it might behoove "60 Minutes" executive producers to be on the alert for those going too far in accusing them of unprofessional behavior. Just a thought.

We’ll see if the $16 million ransom actually achieves anything

The Des Moines Register also says Trump only dropped it because Iowa's anti-SLAPP law kicks in today

Quite a day for litigation funder Burford as NY judge orders Argentina to hand over controlling stake in previously nationalized energy company. And Senate parliamentarian rules litigation funder tax in reconciliation bill must be struck under Byrd rule.