Two good finds at Half Price Books…both timely.

Sharing this killer link for anyone who needs a classic MTV fix!

Still looking like Netflix is at an advantage here. Most columns still discuss stock prices and debt structure, but the lasting issue here is about history, legacy, prestige, and power.

I had 90s Nation on over the weekend. Hopefully they can just upload these programs to YouTube. Having old broadcasts on a loop would be a nostalgia traffic goldmine. Someone did this ages ago with old Nickelodeon programming from the 90s. It even included the old commercials.

For those watching Cover-Up on Netflix — I’ve been meaning to dive into Seymour Hersh’s The Price of Power for years. There will no doubt be a similar book written about MAGA post-mortem.

I just feel like WB simply doesn't want to do business with Paramount. Trump will be enough of a lame duck by the time any antitrust issues come up, so maybe WB and Netflix are just running out the clock by letting the Ellisons throw tantrums.

For those watching Cover-Up on Netflix — I’ve been meaning to dive into Seymour Hersh’s The Price of Power for years. There will no doubt be a similar book written about MAGA post-mortem.

I just feel like WB simply doesn't want to do business with Paramount. Trump will be enough of a lame duck by the time any antitrust issues come up, so maybe WB and Netflix are just running out the clock by letting the Ellisons throw tantrums.

Shaping up to be an interesting year to come…

Excited to dive into this holiday gift!

Absolute expert level trolling from @tobymorton.bsky.social as well as great reporting from my friends at @thr.com

Still thinking about this. Zodiac link is a bit weak and AI “discovery” needs vetting, but some details here are quite intriguing.

Great history at @thr.com by Tom Doherty of Hollywood's precursor to the newly revived Committee for the First Amendment. This group, known as the 56ers, was decidedly anti-Nazi and was hitched with the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League in the lead-up to the US involvement in WWII.

Merry Christmas, Kev! 🎄🎁 …this skit is insane. And I love it.

New Hollywood remains omnipresent!

Great history at @thr.com by Tom Doherty of Hollywood's precursor to the newly revived Committee for the First Amendment. This group, known as the 56ers, was decidedly anti-Nazi and was hitched with the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League in the lead-up to the US involvement in WWII.

Wow...always be skeptical with these things but if this stuff checks out, Dahlia and Zodiac could be solved. Especially if the drawing described actually exists (and the Times claims to have seen it).

Yep. Was laid off from a tenured position this year. Very few cared to defend against the authoritarians taking over the university system. The regents gave us a few minutes deliberation before ending our careers. Much more of this to come, sadly. Big raises for administrators, though!

Tried to put some optimism into the Netflix discussion as they have less of a history of mass layoff [than Paramount] as well as a disinterest in appeasing MAGA. If we can take Sarandos at his word, which is a gamble, it *could* turn out pretty well for Warner Bros. and the industry.

Merry Christmas, Kev! 🎄🎁 …this skit is insane. And I love it.

Been enjoying this tale of espionage and family discovery. Anyone else reading this one?

Tried to put some optimism into the Netflix discussion as they have less of a history of mass layoff [than Paramount] as well as a disinterest in appeasing MAGA. If we can take Sarandos at his word, which is a gamble, it *could* turn out pretty well for Warner Bros. and the industry.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940) is a god damn delight and makes its later adaptation, You've Got Mail (1998) way more interesting because they gender bent the personalities of the main characters. Stewart's softer masculinity is replaced by Hanks's prescient Bezos-esque version. Fascinating!

The numbers here are staggering. Back in 2011, the religious fanatics in my hometown wanted to host a book burning in our library parking lot for any book featuring “gays” and replace them with books “written by ex-gays.” Yeah, they actually said that. To CNN.

Had a great time speaking with the guys at Inside the Arthouse to discuss the Netflix/Warner acquisition. So, if you want to listed to two historians and two industry insiders gab about this monumental merger, check it out. Here's the full link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zh1...

Some thoughts on WB over the last week, FCC, Netflix v Paramount, who is really in it for the history and legacy, and who is in it for a political power grab? ...also, this could all change if Apple or Amazon decided to enter the ring. (link below)

Some thoughts on WB over the last week, FCC, Netflix v Paramount, who is really in it for the history and legacy, and who is in it for a political power grab? ...also, this could all change if Apple or Amazon decided to enter the ring. (link below)

Looks like it's Netflix, unless Apple wants to enter the ring.

With all the Warner Bros. chatter, I recommend picking up my definitive history on the studio's founding brothers, now 40% from @kentuckypress.bsky.social!

My thoughts on Rob Reiner, up @thenation.com: "He was born into privilege, and all charges of nepo-babyism certainly apply [but] he paid back all those breaks ... in making the state of California a far better place to live for millions of its citizens." www.thenation.com/article/cult...

Great tribute by Stephen King, who understands what we all feel watching this film. It's fiction, based on a semi-autobiographical short story, but it simply "feels true."

Wow, this is perfect. Give it a watch.

With all the Warner Bros. chatter, I recommend picking up my definitive history on the studio's founding brothers, now 40% from @kentuckypress.bsky.social!

Interesting column about the recent history of Warner Bros. mergers and how they always fall into the same kind of issues. Netflix has a plan to avoid this and Paramount looking to overpay by billions actually makes them look like they're setting themselves up for problems should they win out.

It's one of those films you know is incredibly profound when you see it for the first time, as I did as a kid. It only gets better with time.

One way that the reaction to Rob Reiner's murder mirrors Charlie Kirk's is that the best way to eulogize each of them is to quote their words, and in both cases, doing so pisses off conservatives.

It's one of those films you know is incredibly profound when you see it for the first time, as I did as a kid. It only gets better with time.

TMZ is confirming…just terrible www.tmz.com/2025/12/14/r...

...I can confirm that the WB tour is awesome because guides will customize for you. “They’ve got one of the worst studio lot tours in LA,” he groused. “You go on that thing, and it’s just some kid pointing to a tree. ‘Oh, that’s the tree from “Pretty Little Liars.”‘ Who gives a crap?”

Thanks for including my Newsletter! open.substack.com/pub/chrisyog...

Finally making ground on my grandpa's WWII service. Looks like he was 96th division, joined January '43 and served through the war. This was their route. Battle of Leyte and Battle of Okinawa. We have a Japanese sword he brought home from the war. He never spoke a single detail about anything.

Cannot wait for this book! Steve Ross is brilliant and his last book, Hitler in Los Angeles, was a Pulitzer finalist. Highly recommended!

Still making the rounds in syndication!

SERIOUSLY.

Ooof. Where is today's Robert Evans? David Zaslav's "a garden-variety opportunist running a playbook...Zaslav didn’t create the streaming logic or hyper financialization of this modern era. He’s simply its avatar and accelerant, Late Hollywood’s most cunning profiteer."

"The Hollywood throne is not Augustus but Honorius, who had to rely on a military strongman to maintain his hold on power. And in the end Rome was sacked anyway."

“To suggest that we are not ‘good for the money’ (or might commit fraud to try to escape our obligations)” is “absurd." Is it, or are you just mad that people are weary of working with money and political connections that have a history of nefarious activity?

Last weekend I found this interesting history/analysis of HUAC and its originator Martin Dies from 1944. Great question on the cover. We can ask similar questions about so much today.

My column on the #WarnerBros sale in @latimes.com was given a FULL PAGE spread in the print Sunday edition. Wow.

My LA Times column is now making the rounds in the UAE. Seems like it struck a nerve, given the Saudi money being thrown at an attempt to acquire WB. www.gulftoday.ae/opinion/2025...