Welcome back to What I’m Hearing, a little early tonight not because I’m silently meditating before tomorrow’s Dodgers-Yankees World Series, but because I’ve got a live taping of The Town in Hollywood. Our special guest is FX Networks C.E.O. and Mayor of Television John Landgraf, so look for that two-part podcast next week, and I’ll put a couple excerpts in Monday’s WIH…

Got a news tip or an idea for me? Just reply to this email or message me anonymously on Signal at 310-804-3198.

Let’s begin…

• Murdoch’s whiff on Sister: Today’s appointment of former Netflix TV chief Cindy Holland as “special advisor” to Skydance ahead of the Paramount merger comes with an unpleasant side effect: It’s the end of U.S. ambitions for Elisabeth Murdoch’s Sister production company. Per three sources familiar, when Holland was brought on board last summer, Murdoch’s plan (indeed, her pitch to Holland) was that Sister would acquire Criterion, the classic-film platform and distributor, which Holland would then supplement with prestige shows in a bid for upscale streaming subscribers. Alas, after months of talks, in May, Criterion and its Janus Films distribution arm were sold to billionaire Steven Rales, whose Indian Paintbrush finances Wes Anderson movies and operates an online film club. (Selling to a Murdoch is said to have been an issue for Peter Becker and the Criterion owners.)

  As I noted last year, Sister isn’t exactly replicating the success of Shine, Liz’s previous shingle, which her father Rupert’s News Corp. bought for $663 million in 2011. High-profile film head Stacey Snider was unceremoniously fired, spending has been lavish, employees have described a chaotic environment and odd behavior (Liz vapes a lot in meetings), and I’m looking at its TV output and can’t find a U.S. show that lasted more than a season, though the U.K. returns are slightly better.

  Now the question is what David Ellison and Jeff Shell have planned for Holland at Paramount. If she stays post-merger, her taste and Netflix track record with prestige shows like Orange Is the New Black and The Crown don’t exactly scream CBS or Paramount+, with its police procedurals and Taylor Sheridan. But Holland is probably just one piece of the Paramount puzzle, and Ellison isn’t allowed to telegraph his plans openly, at least not yet.

• More disturbance in the Lucasfilm force: Yet another Star Wars filmmaker has exited the Lucasfilm galaxy, I’m told. Steven Knight, the veteran screenwriter who created Peaky Blinders, is off the New Jedi Order film project set to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and star Daisy Ridley. Knight was enlisted last year after previous writers Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson were also hired with much fanfare and later dropped into a sarlaac pit. Lucasfilm is now hunting for a new writer on New Jedi Order, which almost certainly means the film will not be ready by December 2026, the date Disney has staked out for a Star Wars release.

  That date follows Jon Favreau’s Mandalorian and Grogu, which just wrapped shooting and is on track for May ’26, but Disney has not named the December film. Kathy Kennedy, who is somehow still running Lucasfilm, could drop another of the various Star Wars projects on that date, but that would mean starting production very soon, so I’m betting Disney will abandon the December slot, just like it did this week with Marvel’s troubled Blade movie.

• How much are theaters worth? About $70 million: As I previewed, Wuthering Heights filmmaker Emerald Fennell, star Margot Robbie, and backer MRC officially passed on more than $150 million from Netflix and took Warner Bros.’ significantly lower offer (it’s in the low $80 million range, plus back end, and it includes a wide theatrical release and a big marketing commitment, per sources). It’s probably a bummer for MRC execs, who were salivating at the risk-free Netflix cash. But they’re playing the long game, taking less now on the hope the costume drama works—and more importantly, they get Fennell’s and Robbie’s next projects.
• Sue’s big spread: Yes, I’ve seen the Sue Kroll fashion pics, no need to send screenshots! The Amazon MGM Studios marketing chief and notorious clothes horse stars alongside Ayo Edebiri, Richard Gadd, Drew Starkey, and others in a new Loewe campaign. Before you ask: No, Loewe doesn’t usually feature executives in its shoots. But, as my colleague Lauren Sherman points out, Kroll cozied up to Jonathan Anderson, the brand’s creative director, when he did the costumes for Amazon MGM’s Challengers. Lots of head-shaking around town about this one—“It never works out for executives who think they are talent,” noted one top player, citing Netflix’s former C.M.O. and current Real Housewife Bozoma Saint John—but this is pretty on-brand for Kroll, whose shopping habits are legendary. An Amazon rep says she at least got permission to moonlight, and she’s not a paid spokesperson… at least not yet.
• Box office over/under: Sony’s Venom 3 tracking has softened in the final stretch, with NRG dropping the off-brand Marvel sequel from $70 million three weeks ago to $60 million–$65 million in its final number today. That’s well below the $90 million debut for the 2021 sequel, so very cautiously I’ll take the over.

With so much at stake, I wanted to take the town’s collective temperature, to parse the anxiety level. So over the past week I surveyed about two dozen outspoken Hollywood Democrats—a mix of donors, activists, and vocal supporters at all levels of the industry, from studio chairman to emerging writer to late-night TV host. Quotes are edited for length and clarity…

Donna Langley, chairman, NBCUniversal studio group and chief content officer: “There’s no question this is yet another incredibly consequential election, but it also feels anomalous. Trying to predict where the country is headed based on past experience feels impossible—and seeing how seemingly close the polls are is anxiety-inducing, to say the least. When the blood pressure rises, I think back to the D.N.C. and how Kamala Harris and Tim Walz painted a picture of a brighter future and new generation of leadership, with the policies and vision and integrity to back it up. The momentum we all felt in that moment shouldn’t be forgotten as we enter the final stretch. So I choose to keep hope as my North Star, and I am very ready to turn the page!”

Casey Bloys, chairman and C.E.O., HBO and Max content: “Despite the noise and anxiety, I feel like the hopeful message always wins.”

Maggie Haskins, talent manager: “My mind is rapid ping-ponging anxieties from the moment I wake up… Will the Blue Wall hold? I was feeling good about Michigan—why is it bad now? I’ll send postcards. Wisconsin has a wonderful state party organization… right? Oh gosh, it’s going to take all week to count the votes in Pennsylvania. The interview with the Mormon women in Arizona regarding reproductive rights was really encouraging. But are there enough suburban white women disgusted by Dobbs? I can’t believe I’m telling people to listen to Liz Cheney. Why won’t Joe Rogan just say yes to having Kamala on his podcast??”

Damon Lindelof, writer-producer-director: “I’m feeling (uncharacteristically) optimistic… might as well be hopeful for the next two weeks because I’ll have four years to be despondent if I’m wrong.”

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Harris campaign co-chair: “There is no question that this is a razor’s-edge, cliffhanger race. Having said that, the turnout and support for the V.P. from Hollywood and the music industry is extraordinary. The fundraising continues to be unprecedented and record-setting. The get-out-the-vote efforts in the swing states are going to make the difference, and she will win this.”

Billy Ray, screenwriter: “I feel very calm and confident. I’ve seen zero evidence that Trump is adding to his base. And, per a recent poll released by George Barna, 32 million Christian churchgoers have decided not to vote in this year’s election. I don’t see how he can win without them. Meanwhile, everyone around me in Hollywood is in full meltdown-panic mode.”

Charlie Kesslering, screenwriter: “It feels like Brat Summer has given way to the Fall of Rome.”

Sarah Harden, C.E.O., Hello Sunshine: “I have a grounded confidence that Kamala will win—firstly, because I believe (not for the first time) that the world, and the polls, have deeply underestimated women, our power and our anger at the prospect of having our bodily autonomy stripped away from us and our daughters. And secondly, because the penny is starting to drop that Harris/Walz will actually deliver on the economy.”

Bruce Eric Kaplan, screenwriter-author: “It’s bleak. I’m scared. I want to be hopeful, but I don’t understand why it’s so close. It shouldn’t be this close.”

Ariana Berkowitz, writer-producer: “I was canvassing the other day, and an 18-year-old told me he wasn’t voting because it wasn’t his ‘thing.’ I’m worried there’s a contingent who aren’t in love with Kamala and aren’t scared enough of Trump. Like, they’re thinking, ‘Well, democracy didn’t end last time he was president...’”

Susie Arons, president, strategic communications, 42 West: “Every day I wake up filled with optimism, and by the end of the day, after doing battleground phone banking and get-out-the-vote one-on-one outreach, I find myself fighting back anxiety. There clearly seems to be fatigue and exhaustion, which in some cases is translating into ‘I may just not vote.’”

Ray: “I think older voters will be the surprise of this campaign. I think they’re going to go with Kamala.”

Arons: “Women are more committed to Kamala because of Roe, IVF, and freedoms, and they like her morals. Men are voting for Trump not specifying why but because ‘He’s Trump, he’s tough.’ I do see surprisingly more Kamala signs than Trump signs in what have become more purple areas, but fewer lawn signs altogether. I think suburban women in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan have to turn out for her to win. Kamala has a strong ground game in the battlegrounds, and I think that may be the decider.”

Cliff Gilbert-Lurie, talent lawyer, Ziffren Brittenham: “I’m very engaged and concerned. They need to bring ‘fresh votes’ into the system. [But] there’s been a lot of early voting, and my guess is that’s a lot of people who haven’t voted before, and women voters.”

Gotham Chopra, filmmaker: “I’ll make a sports analogy. Everyone has the stats and sabermetrics to substantiate their predictions. But, as the saying goes, ‘That’s why they play the games.’ Ultimately, who’s gonna show up on game day ready to do the work when it matters most? One side has organized and invested in the ground game, and hopefully that makes a difference.”

Jamie Patricof, producer-author: “I see a lot of people worrying in their group chats instead of doing the hard work. If that changes and people start taking action through canvassing, phone banking, getting out and doing their part—then we have a shot.”

Matt Johnson, talent lawyer, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole: “We’re preparing for the days and weeks after the election, when we will have to fight tooth and nail for the integrity of our democracy. Trump is clearly planning to question any election outcome that doesn’t go in his favor, and we all need to be prepared to have Kamala’s back. We’re already seeing their attempts to sow seeds of doubt by creating chaos—failed efforts to change the rules in Georgia and Arizona, fake slates of electors, and other tactics—so I think we are all worried, but optimistic that the Harris-Walz campaign will prevail.”

Ike Barinholtz, actor-producer: “I have been driving friends and family crazy by remaining relatively sanguine about it all. But I have also learned a lesson from 2016 and will not be expecting to pop champagne that night.”

Lindelof: “My wife and I are headed for Michigan this weekend to knock on doors. My advice: Supporters should reach out to friends and family in swing states and make sure they vote, and if possible, vote early. Phone bank. Pray. Breathe. Also… ignore the polls. Irrelevant at this point. I’d be saying that if she were up 10 points or if she were down 10. All that matters now is we put our heads down and do the actual work.”

Harden: “My one specific call to action: Men, we need you. Call your friends who are holding their nose and voting for lower taxes (that disproportionately benefit the ultra-wealthy) and rationalize it by saying that Trump isn’t going to do any of the crazy stuff he’s saying he will do. He will.”

Ray: “On the last weekend before November 5, I will be in Yuma and Pennsylvania. Inviting all of my colleagues to join me.”

Gail Berman, producer: “While I am extremely nervous about the election outcome, it is my sincere hope that the Harris-Walz ticket wins by a large enough margin to prevent all the crazy chaos that the Trump campaign is fomenting.”

Berkowitz: “The only thing that keeps me from panicking is taking action, so if you wanna canvass with me in Nevada next week, Belloni knows how to find me!”

Kesslering: “While it’s tempting to gawk as brain worms devour the American experiment, the next couple weeks might be better spent ignoring the polls, petting our dogs, and helping our swing state-residing parents fill out their ballots. Or misplace them, depending.”

Arons: “By the way, no one in the Midwest really cares what Hollywood or NYC thinks. Except the Swifties!”

Got a question, comment, complaint, or a good name for ESPN’s Jason Kelce late-night show? Email me at Matt@puck.news or call/text me at 310-804-3198.