1 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,399 Speaker 1: Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Tuesday, March third, twenty 3 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: twenty six. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co 4 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: LA He's in New York, and Variety has reporters around 6 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: the world covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode, 7 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: we'll hear from Variety's Michael Schneider, who examines all the 8 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: questions swirling around HBO as the storied brand braces for 9 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: Paramount's takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery. Casey Bloyse and company 10 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: are waiting for signals about how the premium TV Pioneer 11 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: will operate under Paramount's guidance if the one hundred and 12 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: ten billion dollar acquisition is completed. But before we get 13 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: to that, here are a few headlines just in this 14 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: morning that you need to know. Banaje is joining forces 15 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: with All Three Media, the two powerhouse European production groups 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: of linked arms, in a deal valued at eight billion 17 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: dollars to create an even bigger global production powerhouse with 18 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: tentacles all over the world. All Three Media has been 19 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: owned for the past two years by Jeffsucker's Redbird Imi 20 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: Media venture. Redbird Imi will own half of the company 21 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: alongside with Banajet. All three Media is the home of 22 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 1: the very hot reality show The Traders and other formats. 23 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: Banajet is known for such shows as Big Brother, Ster Chef, 24 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: Black Mirror, Peky, Blinders, and a host of other scripted 25 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: and unscripted series. Panaje CEO Marco Bissetti was honored last 26 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: year by Variety at MIPCOM with our Vanguard Award We 27 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: Were Right. Bassetti will be CEO of the combined company, 28 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: with Jeffsucker serving as Chairman of the board. Vers sent 29 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: reported its first quarterly earnings this morning as a standalone company. 30 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: The new parent company of CMBC MS NOW USA Network 31 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: and other former NBC unifse versual cable channels, disclose that 32 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: its net income fell thirty one percent last year. Advertising 33 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: and subscription revenue was challenged. The results put into the 34 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: results put into sharp perspective the uphill climb that CEO 35 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: Mark Lazarus faces in evolving this company beyond its foundation 36 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: rooted in linear cable TV. Lazarus's mission in the next 37 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: few years is to grow the business in other areas 38 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: while the linear cable cash is still flowing on the 39 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: Paramount Warner Brothers Discovery front, don't miss my colleague Nick 40 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: Viverelli's great story on how the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth 41 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,679 Speaker 1: funds are figuring into the Paramount deal. Viviarelli reports there's 42 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: a lot of uncertainty as to how much the various 43 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: funds are putting in. It's also raising questions about what 44 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: he calls soft power at a time when tensions between 45 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: the US and the region are spiking as we go 46 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 1: to war with Iram. After you read all of that 47 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: sobering news, don't skip my colleague Elsa Casslosi's great reporting 48 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,239 Speaker 1: on the wackiest Internet fueled conspiracy theory of the week. 49 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: It involves Jim Carrey and his appearance last week at 50 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: France's CESAR Awards. Carrie accepted his Career Achievement award in 51 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: such perfect French that the social media world has speculated 52 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: that it had to be a Carrie impersonator or even 53 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,519 Speaker 1: a synthetic AI creation, but that is simply not true. 54 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: Carrie practiced his speech for months. Cesar's chief Gregory caller 55 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,079 Speaker 1: tells Elsa. All of these stories and so much more 56 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: can be found on Variety dot com right now, and 57 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: now it's time for conversations with ridy journalists about news 58 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: and trends in show business. We'll hear from Variety TV 59 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: editor Michael Schneider on what the paramount Warner Brothers Discovery 60 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: news means for HBO and its leader, Casey Bloyse. Paramount 61 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: already has a streaming chief in Cindy Holland and a 62 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: linear TV chief in George Cheeks. At this point, we're 63 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: all still waiting for clarity on how HBO will be 64 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: situated and what happens to HBO Max. So many questions. 65 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: Michael Schneider, thanks for joining me. 66 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 2: Absolutely here we go. 67 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: Well, it does feel like we have just been on 68 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: NonStop twenty four to seven Merger watch since about late October, 69 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: when all of this Warner Brothers Discovery auction business really 70 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: got started. There's been a lot of focus on the 71 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: state of Warner Brothers, one of Hollywood's founding studios. There's 72 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 1: been less focus on what this all means for HBO. 73 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: You've written a great story that really takes the measure 74 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: of what's going on at HBO right now. It opens 75 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: with an anecdote that just illuminates the situation. 76 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 2: So basically, when the news came down Thursday afternoon, Casey 77 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 2: Bloyse came out and said, well, it's over, and you know, 78 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 2: he could be meaning a whole bunch of different things. 79 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 2: The expectation that Netflix was going to be the new 80 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 2: parent company owning HBO was not going to happen. And 81 00:04:57,680 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 2: I think it had taken several months for HBO Fi 82 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,600 Speaker 2: folks to really come to peace with the idea that 83 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 2: Netflix was going to be their new owner, but they 84 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,720 Speaker 2: had gotten to that point. I think Casey Bloy's especially 85 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 2: had come to terms with that and also had really 86 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,919 Speaker 2: talked at length with Ted Sarandos about it, and folks 87 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,720 Speaker 2: at HBO felt that Ted Sarandos really understood the value 88 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 2: of HBO and they felt comfortable with moving forward, HBO 89 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,919 Speaker 2: would continue as its own entity. Now, this just threw 90 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 2: all of that up in the air and brought back 91 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 2: so much uncertainty and shock and awe that they're still 92 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 2: sort of picking up those pieces today in Culver City. 93 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: Now, on Monday morning, I rose early to listen to 94 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: David Ellison's speak to Wall Street analysts and start to 95 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: sell the deal, and I was surprised that they didn't 96 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: have a more fullsome response ready to say this is 97 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: our basic vision for HBO. Ellison said he wants it 98 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: to operate with independence, but then made it clear that 99 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,480 Speaker 1: it will be combined with Paramount Plus in some fashion. 100 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: You and I both know this industries very much about 101 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 1: pecking orders and hierarchies, and I think it really it 102 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: sunk in that the idea that HBO could become a 103 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: tile on a Paramount Plus operating system, no shade to 104 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: Paramount Plus. That is a streaming service that was built 105 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: from the ground up. It was one of the original 106 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: network streaming services known as CBSLL access back in the day. 107 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: But nonetheless HBO just represented the gold standard and the 108 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: certainty that it will be now absorbed by a larger entity. 109 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: Even with Warner Brothers, Discovery and its predecessors have been 110 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 1: through a number of sales, it was never directly to 111 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: a direct competitor with overlapping operations. Mike, from your reporting, 112 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,840 Speaker 1: what kind of questions are people inside HBO asking? What 113 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: kind of questions are people on the outside asking about 114 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: what comes next? 115 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 2: Well, people have a lot of questions about just what 116 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 2: does this mean. Ellison did say that HBO Max and 117 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 2: Paramount Plus the streaming services will merge, but what does 118 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:01,919 Speaker 2: that mean to HBO the brand and where does that 119 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,880 Speaker 2: sit on top of this? And what's the structure going 120 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,599 Speaker 2: to be. Is Casey going to report directly to David 121 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 2: Ellison or will he report to Cindy Holland, the head 122 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 2: of a direct to consumer over at Paramount Plus. And 123 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 2: what does that mean for Casey Bloyes, who's deal with 124 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 2: Warner Brothers is up in another year, And how is 125 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 2: this going to work in terms of it's not easy. 126 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 2: You can't just snap your fingers and merge two large 127 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 2: streaming services. There's a lot of back end that changes, 128 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 2: and as the folks inside Warner Brothers have pointed out, 129 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 2: they've done that before when they put together HBO Max 130 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 2: and Discovery Plus. They do have that expence. So what 131 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 2: does this mean for their product team? Paramount Plus doesn't 132 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 2: have much of an infrastructure, So does that mean that 133 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 2: more folks at HBO Max will actually have to stick 134 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 2: around and maybe that's a good thing for HBO Max. 135 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 2: We don't know. 136 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: Paramount has said that they are really aggressively trying to 137 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: fast track this. They have targeted a Q three, twenty 138 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: twenty six closing date, which is the end of September, 139 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: and so I am I'm a little surprised that they 140 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: haven't had a little bit more of a structure conversation 141 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: even internally. Your reporting suggests that those conversations just have 142 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: not been had. 143 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 2: And so maybe those calls have happened today. 144 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: Now this is less urgent but more of a curiosity point. 145 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: HBO Max, as we know, was ginned up around the 146 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: time that AT and T decided that they needed to 147 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: have a general entertainment streamer, But just as a point 148 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: of curiosity, I think the lack of discussion about it 149 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: probably tells us that it's going away, probably as soon 150 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: as they can make it go away. 151 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 2: The question will be this new merged entity, will it 152 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 2: have a different name altogether, will it be a combo 153 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,559 Speaker 2: of the two, and where does HBO fit in all 154 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,079 Speaker 2: of that? Is it an automatic part of this new 155 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 2: service or is it an add on sort of like 156 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 2: what they tried to do with Showtime, Whichbo of course 157 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 2: is a much larger brand than Showtime is at this point, 158 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 2: but it's still a big question of Okay, where is 159 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 2: HBO fit in all of this? 160 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: The obvious model that we can look at is FX 161 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: and FX got caught in that transition of linear to streaming, 162 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: and so they came up with FX on Hulu. But 163 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: we've gotten used to it now. So with all due 164 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: respect to FX and Team Landgraf, HBO is just so much. 165 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: It's been bigger and it has encompassed so much. It 166 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: would seem humbling to see it as an imprint under 167 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: another brand versa. 168 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 2: And that's going to be a big part of the debate. 169 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 2: That's probably question number one on everyone's mind is, Okay, 170 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 2: who now is in charge of HBO? Who does Casey 171 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 2: Bloy's report to Is it David Ellison or is it 172 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,959 Speaker 2: City Holland? And what's the difference between the two And 173 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:38,679 Speaker 2: what does that mean for Casey? What does that mean 174 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 2: for HBO? A lot of questions, still so many. 175 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: Well, the last thought that I will leave you with 176 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: was you and I both remember the days of Probably, 177 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: even with all the corporate drama that has gone above 178 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: HBO in the last ten twelve years, probably their worst 179 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,080 Speaker 1: time was after the end of the Sopranos in two 180 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: thousand and eight ish after the end of the when 181 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: all of their big series franchises were starting, the Sunset 182 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: and Effects was starting to come on strong. AMC Network 183 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,680 Speaker 1: was coming on strong with mad Men and Breaking Bad. 184 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: You remember that the snarky phrase in the industry was 185 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,559 Speaker 1: be over right that HBO had was never going to 186 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: recapture that the glory days of the Sopranos. 187 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,319 Speaker 3: And right right in Sex and the City and they 188 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 3: are all even up time and yeah, and I'm sure 189 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 3: we wrote that story as well here at Variety, but 190 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 3: we were obviously proven wrong, you know. 191 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 2: And so you don't underestimate HBO. 192 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: You don't. Mike as always appreciate you talking to your 193 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 1: industry contacts and bringing us great perspective on what's going on. 194 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: It is a wild time. 195 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 2: It's not TV. Will it still be HBO? 196 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:55,959 Speaker 1: I know you couldn't resist that. As we close out 197 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: today's episode, here's a few things we're watching for. Steve 198 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: Carell is back in a comedy series that premieres Sunday 199 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 1: on HBO. Rooster revolves around a middle aged guy who 200 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: decides to go back to college. It comes from showrunner 201 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: Bill Lawrence, who we heard from last week on Daily Variety. 202 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: Variety is once again busy at festivals and markets around 203 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,680 Speaker 1: the world. On Friday, we'll produce the first of three 204 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 1: digital dailies out of the Thessolniki Festival in Greece. On Monday, 205 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 1: we'll start the first of four digital dailies out of 206 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: the Festival de Malaga in Spain. And on March eleventh, 207 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: we'll start the first of four dailies out of the 208 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: cph Dox Documentary Film Festival in Copenhagen. We love to 209 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,480 Speaker 1: hear from our listeners, so please send thoughts, scripes, and 210 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: other feedback about Daily Variety to podcasts at Variety dot 211 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: com before we go. Congrats to the children of East Tennessee. 212 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:51,679 Speaker 1: They are fortunate to live in the same time as 213 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: Dolly Parton. After ninety years, East Tennessee Children's Hospital in 214 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 1: Knoxville has been renamed the Dolly Partonhill Ldren's Hospital. Parton 215 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: has long been a supporter of the non profit Regional 216 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: Pediatric Center. She is truly one of America's foremost philanthropists. 217 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by 218 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 1: me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Michael Schneider, Styx nicks 219 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: hick picks. Please leave us a review at the podcast 220 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: platform of your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for 221 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 1: another episode of Daily Variety.