This Month
Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez in full bloom at Met Gala
The annual charity event for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, otherwise known as Anna Wintour’s Met Gala, is getting underway, drawing fashion’s A-listers.
- Updated
- Leanne Italie
April
New Yorkers’ unvarnished views of Donald Trump aired in ‘hush money’ trial
Hundreds of potential jurors are being sifted through as the court faces a huge challenge selecting more than a dozen people from heavily Democratic Manhattan.
- Joe Miller
‘Waterboarded with green magic’: the bizarre Gen Z cult of Shrek
The 2001 film about a lovable ogre in a swamp has found a new lease of life among young adults, many of whom weren’t even born when it first came out. But why?
- Poppie Platt
February
‘This is awful’: Entire New Zealand TV newsroom shuts, 200 jobs axed
US owner Warner Bros. Discovery said subsidising endless losses in a declining ad market “is not sustainable”.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
From Barbie to Baby Yoda: why we’re trapped in the cult of cute
Anything that reminds us of a baby triggers intense emotions and a willingness to spend money.
- Stuart Jeffries
Disney boss bets on Fortnite and Taylor Swift
CEO Bob Iger unveiled a slew of announcements as he hit back at activist investors seeking bigger profits from Disney’s streaming service and movies.
- Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine
January
Disney takes $110m more from Australia, hikes streaming price by 28pc
It will cost more to have the same service on Disney+ from March. The global entertainment giant posted a nearly 30 per cent jump in profit in Australia.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Opinion
- Pop culture
Is this the endgame for the age of heroes?
Who wants to watch 30 films and 10 TV series to engage with a franchise that continues to spread itself too thin at the expense of quality filmmaking?
- Maya Phillips
Mickey Mouse isn’t the only icon out of copyright this year
From a Cole Porter classic and novels by Virginia Woolf and DH Lawrence to a film of Buster Keaton’s, many significant works are entering the public domain in 2024.
- Michael Cavna
December 2023
Elon Musk’s X in political advertising push to offset revenue falls
Plans for new political ads team to hit $US100 million in sales ahead of US presidential election are met with industry scepticism.
- Hannah Murphy
From baby races to hidden Mickeys: here’s what a Disney cruise is like
Finally, the brand’s cruise line has made its Australian debut. Our writer stepped aboard a sceptic. Not so his two children.
- David Marin-Guzman
Peltz’s Trian seeks Disney board seats after request is rejected
Activist investor Nelson Peltz has launched a new proxy fight against Disney after the entertainment giant rejected its bid for board seats.
- Crystal Tse and Thomas Buckley
November 2023
Musk launches X-rated tirade at advertiser threats
Elon Musk hit out at brands that have pulled their advertising from X after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
- Kate Conger and Remy Tumin
Backlash grows over Elon Musk’s antisemitic post
Comcast, Paramount and Warner Bros follow IBM in pulling back from X, formerly Twitter, amid concerns about antisemitic content.
- Dana Hull
Hollywood actors end multibillion-dollar strike
George Clooney and other stars lent support to the months-long work stoppage, which resulted in studios pulling movies and losing billions of dollars in ticket sales.
- Brooks Barnes, John Koblin and Nicole Sperling
Andrew Forrest, Camilla and the $24m payday
Six months after Andrew Forrest’s Tattarang took a 25 per cent stake in the business, he has taken a small payday as the company’s operating profit has halved.
- Lauren Sams
- Opinion
- Media & marketing
Rupert Murdoch gets the Fox News treatment
A brutal book on the cable channel argues that its founder came to exercise less influence over the network than the politician it created – Donald Trump.
- Tina Brown
September 2023
- Opinion
- Industrial relations
Hollywood screenwriters beat the studios doing what they do best
In the court of public opinion, the studios got wiped out by the writers union, and none of their high-priced media consultants could do a thing about it.
- Jason Bailey
Hollywood writers head back to work after deal on royalties, AI
The tentative contract contains guarantees that artificial intelligence technology will not encroach on writers’ credits and compensation.
- Brooks Barnes
Striking screenwriters reach deal with Hollywood studios
The Writers Guild of America, which represents more than 11,000 screenwriters, reached a tentative deal on a new contract with entertainment companies.
- Brooks Barnes and John Koblin
