THIS WEEK’S BANTER

Amazon and Netflix boasted subscription numbers during their in-person debuts at the 2024 Upfronts, and Jimmy Kimmel roasted Disney CEO Bob Iger at the company’s presentation. What else were the biggest takeaways from this year’s Upfronts? 

Netflix announced that it will be streaming two NFL games on Christmas Day. Will this lead to more sports acquisitions for the streamer? And what’s up with the announced streaming bundle between Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break it all down.

Huge streaming numbers? Netflix and Amazon hosted their first live upfront presentations this year and made a big splash by touting their subscription numbers. “I gotta say both of their presentations were really compelling because they give you scale,” says Belloni. “Netflix's Bela Bajaria stood up there in front of a 500 million number. And that is the number of people they say they reach because it's 270 million subscribers worldwide. They say that with households, that's 500 million. And Amazon did the same. They kept saying, ‘We have 200 million subscribers.’” 

Disney still competitive? Disney’s upfront presentation included a spicy routine from Jimmy Kimmel and an appearance by CEO Bob Iger, but the big revelation was in the TV usage numbers posted outside the company’s presentation. “Nielsen put out a new data point the day of the Disney upfront, and it was very positive for Disney because it was a media distributor gauge, which is the total TV usage by media company, not by platform,” Belloni explains. “That very much benefits Disney because they have ABC, they have Disney+, Hulu, etc. And Disney gets 11.5% of viewership according to Nielsen, That is above YouTube, which is at 9.6%. And most importantly to Disney, it is way bigger than Netflix, which is at 7.6%.”

Bundle with a catch? Comcast announced a streaming bundle between Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock, but the details appear to hamper expectations. “They haven't told us what that costs. And really the issue is, there are these caveats. Like, if you're gonna be a consumer and say, ‘I want that bundle, Netflix, Apple, Peacock,’ you can't get it unless you're a Comcast subscriber, and you cannot get ad-free Netflix,” Masters clarifies. 

But wait, there’s more! Get the full scoop on this week’s audio edition of The Banter.

Roger Corman ‘never lost a dime’: Remembering the indie film pioneer

Roger Corman, who for decades dominated the world of B movies, died this week at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 98. If you don’t recognize the name, you almost certainly know some of the 400 movies he wrote, produced, or directed, including 1954’s The Fast and The Furious, 1960’s Little Shop of Horrors, and Attack of the Crab Monsters. 

He also helped the careers of countless others, including hiring young actors and directors at the start of their careers like Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Demme, and James Cameron.

Corman gave film and TV producer Gale Anne Hurd her first job in the industry. Today, her resume includes the Terminator franchise, Aliens, The Abyss, and The Walking Dead. Hurd joins Press Play to reflect on Corman’s outsized life and legacy.

Jeff Daniels on A Man in Full and life lessons from Jim Carrey and James Gandolfini

Actor Jeff Daniels moves effortlessly between genres and performance mediums. His memorable dramatic performances include Terms of Endearment and The Squid and The Whale, while one of his most celebrated performances is in the physical comedy powerhouse, Dumb and Dumber. Daniels won an Emmy for his role as Will McAvoy in the HBO drama The Newsroom, and he garnered Tony nominations for his roles in God of Carnage, Blackbird, and To Kill a Mockingbird. 

Now he’s on Netflix, starring as Charlie Croker in the six-episode series adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full. Daniels tells The Treatment how fun it was to play this larger-than-life character without being reined in by director Regina King. He talks about comedy lessons learned from Jim Carrey while working on Dumb and Dumber, and shares key advice from the late actor James Gandolfini about working in television.

I Saw the TV Glow director Jane Schoenbrun on suburban alienation, identity, and A24

Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s first feature, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance in 2021. The filmmaker capitalized on the moment to set up their next film, with Emma Stone and husband Dave McCary producing. 

“I guess I've learned in the industry it’s called a competitive situation, in that multiple people are sort of vying to do [your movie],” says Schoenbrun. “So you've got some heat behind you. And that obviously allows you to negotiate; in my case, that was very much about negotiating for creative autonomy.”

Jane Schoenbrun talks about how growing up in the suburbs was the inspiration for the sinister setting in their A24-backed second film, I Saw the TV Glow. The filmmaker also shares why the nuances of gender and identity play a major role in their work, and how they realized they were transgender after taking a mushroom trip with friends.

Weekend film reviews: Back to Black, IF, Gasoline Rainbow

What’s new at movie theaters this weekend? The latest film releases include Back to Black, IF, Gasoline Rainbow, and Babes. Weighing in are Shawn Edwards, a film critic at Fox 4 News in Kansas City and co-founder of the African American Film Critics Association, and Katie Walsh, film reviewer for the Tribune News Service and The Los Angeles Times.