Motion Picture: Paramount Lawyers Spar At WBD Merger Hearing, Colman Domingo To Write Live-Action Princess Tiana Movie for Disney

Jenna Ortega - Matt Winkelmeyer

(intellectualDrama: Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) to star in Nasty from director Mary Bronstein. Nasty, written by Isabella Jarosz and a 2024 Black List entrant, follows a young athlete battling for a spot on the Olympic gymnastics team who must overcome her biggest opponent: her coach. LuckyChap, the production company behind Barbie (2023), will helm the project; Ortega will also be producing. This is the latest project for Clockwork, the newly founded Warner Bros-based specialty label from a trio of former Neon executives: Christian Parkes, Jason Wald and Spencer Collantes.  

Lamorne Morris (New Girl, Fargo) has joined the dramedy Swimming Lessons alongside Heidi Gardner and Abby Elliott. The dramedy centers on Tay (Gardner), a single mother who leaves behind her complicated life in Los Angeles to return to her childhood home. She winds up embroiled in a custody battle over son Albee, an autistic child who is obsessed with the ocean but terrified of swimming. The project is being helmed by writer-director Casey Twenter, who is best known for Rudderless (2014). Morris is set to play Caleb, a charming swim instructor. Elliot takes on the role of Vicky, the new wife of Tay’s ex. Morris is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, and The Lede Company. Elliott is repped by Paradigm Talent Agency and OPE Partners. 

Ben Wang - Tibrina Hobson

Comedy: Michael star Colman Domingo is in talks to write an original live-action Princess Tiana movie based on the Princess and the Frog for Walt Disney Pictures. No deals have been closed, but allegedly Domingo is co-writing the feature with Tony Award-winning director Robert O’Hara. Disney has seen ups and downs in box office revenue when it comes to live-action adaptations of its IP (Intellectual property), with Lilo & Stitch taking home a record-breaking $ 1 billion for the company last summer in comparison to the Dwayne Johnson-led live-action Moana movie’s rocky start last weekend. 

Ben Wang has been cast in Kaet Might Die, the movie adaptation of Boobs Gone Rouge by Kaet McAnneny. Wang is best known for his role as Li Fong in Karate Kid: Legends. His next role is the highly anticipated Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Wang’s role has not been disclosed yet. Adapted by Angela Gulner and Yuri Baranovsky, Kaet Might Die is a dark comedy that tells the true story of a woman (Awkwafina) who has it all — until a cancer diagnosis upends her perfectly ordered life, forcing her to rely on humor and imagination to survive a crumbling marriage and overbearing family. CAA and Capture Entertainment are co-repping domestic sales for the project. Ben Wang is represented by Stewart Talent, Artists First, and Schreck Rose Dapello.

Netflix

Industry: At a Friday hearing, a group of Lawyers representing Paramount and a coalition of 12 state attorneys general appeared in federal court on Friday to argue over whether the proposed $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger should be temporarily blocked while an antitrust lawsuit proceeds. During the hearing, both sides debated whether recent films, including Obsession and F1, should be considered "blockbusters" when assessing the combined company's market power. The AG's attorney, James Weingarten, called it “unprecedented and unfair” for Par to propose a timeline “in order to help them save a payment that they agreed to make.” A federal judge said she expects to rule on the states' request for a temporary restraining order by July 22, 2026. That timetable could potentially avert “very severe harm” to Paramount from a so-called ticking fee – additional payouts by Paramount to WBD shareholders starting October 1, 2026, if the deal has not been finalized.

Netflix Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters pushed back on recent reports linking the streamer to major acquisitions and partnerships, including speculation involving Peacock. The executives reiterated that Netflix remains focused on organic growth while acknowledging the company is exploring new opportunities, including potential FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels as it continues to expand its advertising business. “We’re primarily builders, not buyers. That remains the case today. So, others will speculate about our intentions because they have their own reasons for that. But our track record is clear that we have a very high bar to do any big M&A,” said Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters. The remarks came after the company reported mixed second-quarter results and predicted a slight slowdown in growth in the third quarter. The numbers and projections seemed to only add to existing skepticism on Wall Street, sending Netflix shares down nearly 9% in after-hours trading.

Netflix expects its content spending to increase by approximately 10% in 2026 as the company continues investing heavily in original programming. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos also revealed that generative AI has already been used across nearly 300 productions, helping reduce visual effects costs and production timelines while allowing filmmakers to create shots that may have otherwise been too expensive. “We’re leveraging Gen AI for really complicated shots and sequences… enhancing crowds, or historical battle scenes, those kinds of things,” said co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Cost savings will likely be reinvested in more content on the service, which fuels engagement and the “whole revenue, profit flywheel.”

Netflix plans to stop releasing viewership data reports every six months while shifting to annual reports. The change is set to go into effect in 2027. The latest version of Netflix’s “What We Watched” report, which covered subscribers’ viewership habits from January to June 2026, was released Thursday along with the streamer’s latest quarterly earnings results. 

The new report revealed War Machine as the most-watched film on Netflix over the first six months of the year and limited series: His & Hers starring John Bernthal and Tessa Thompson as the top TV title. The decision to shift away from the six-month data structure comes following Bloomberg’s recent reporting that Netflix’s original series see a major decline in viewership in their second seasons. However, Netflix brass pushed back on that story Thursday. “In aggregate, we are not seeing any material change in our second-season viewing compared to season one,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during the company’s latest earnings call. Sarandos added: “When we look across the entire portfolio, across all the regions, all the content categories, our Season 2 fall-off is actually slightly improved this year relative to last year. Now, of course, you can pick any five data points to tell any story you want, but I’m going to repeat this: our Season 2 fall-off is actually slightly improved this year relative to last year, so no changes in release strategies.”