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Welcome back to What I’m Hearing, now coming to you on Tuesdays without the + attached. Same Eriq Gardner, same behind-the-scenes analysis of the biggest disputes and legal machinations in entertainment, just no brand confusion.

Tonight, Eriq takes stock of the growing anti-WarnerMount movement, including the tactic likely to be employed by the newly emboldened state attorneys general. Plus, the Village Roadshow–Warner Bros. settlement number. All yours, Eriq (and send him tips at Eriq@puck.news).

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Mentioned in this issue: Pedro Pascal, Phil Weiser, Jason Bateman, Taylor Swift, Brendan Carr, Nicholas Hill, Florence Pugh, Norm Eisen, Ted Sarandos, Rob Bonta, Denis Villeneuve, Jonathan Skrmetti, Jeffrey Kessler, Ben Stiller, J.J. Abrams, Stephen King, Jason Kilar, and more…

Let’s begin…

Eriq Gardner

Tuesday Thoughts…

The Village–Warner Bros. settlement, revealed: The sprawling legal fight over The Matrix Resurrections is finally over. Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, its decades-long co-financing partner, have been warring over a soured relationship that produced more than 100 films, including Sherlock Holmes, The Lego Movie, Happy Feet, and the Ocean’s franchise. At one point, Village had more than $100 million reserved for potential Matrix 5 liability, with appeals and counterclaims still in play. Instead, after arbitrators issued their final Matrix award last month, Village agreed to pay...

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WarnerMount vs. The Gathering Storm

Suspicions are building inside Paramount and beyond that Netflix is astroturfing Hollywood’s “Block the Merger” campaign and engaging with regulators about the deal. Netflix denies it all—but the growing push to kill WarnerMount is very real.

Eriq Gardner

It was a banner week for state attorneys general. First, a federal jury found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as an illegal monopoly. Then a federal judge in California halted the Nexstar–Tegna merger, giving credence to states’ claims that the deal would diminish competition in local TV markets. More than a few people are now asking whether the newly emboldened A.G.s will make a run at Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery. The answer is: Almost certainly.

For years, the Justice Department set the pace on competition enforcement. But in the more transactional Trump era, state A.G.s are learning that...

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Puck founding partner Matt Belloni takes you inside the business of Hollywood, using exclusive reporting and insight to explain the backstories on everything from Marvel movies to the streaming wars.

A professional-grade rundown on the business of sports from John Ourand, the industry’s preeminent journalist, covering the leagues, players, agencies, media deals, and the egos fueling it all.

Hulu’s TMZ Reality

JULIA ALEXANDER

The NFL’s $4.6B Headache

JOHN OURAND

Hold de Meo

LAUREN SHERMAN

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