Presented by
It’s Thursday, FutureParty people. Netflix is finally getting serious about getting into sports with its latest event: a hot-dog eating contest. This Labor Day, reigning champ Joey Chestnut will face off against just-retired legend Takeru Kobayashi, who have a total 22 Mustard Belts at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Forget the Summer Olympics, this is the competition of the year.
In other news… Sony remembers the Alamo (Drafthouse), a chatbot runs for Parliament, and Ed Norton’s ad tech company is watching you.
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe
YouTube – Paddington in Peru
X
(Twitter)– The FlashGoogle – WWDC 2024
Reddit – The Blair Witch Project
Spotify – “Downbound Train” - Bruce Springsteen
.ENTERTAINMENT.
Alamo Drafthouse, presented by Sony Pictures // Illustration by Kate Walker
Sony Pictures acquires the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain
The Future. Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that it’s purchased the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema theater chain. While Netflix and Amazon own a tiny number of specialized theaters, Sony’s acquisition ensures that the studio (the only major one that doesn’t have a streamer) will always have a place to show its movies… which could kick off a competitive buying spree that reshapes the moviegoing ecosystem.
Means of distribution
Sony Pictures is getting into the movie business… no, the other movie business.
It announced that it had acquired Alamo Drafthouse (North America’s seventh largest theater chain) for an undisclosed amount from Altamont Capital, Fortress Investment Group, and the theater’s co-founder Tim League.
It’ll exist under the newly formed Sony Pictures Experiences, which will be run by Alamo CEO Michael Kustermann, who will also remain CEO of the chain.
That gives Sony its first theater chain since briefly owning Loews Cineplex Entertainment in the ‘90s (when the Paramount Consent Decrees that barred studios from owning theater chains had been relaxed).
Alamo, whose HQ will remain in Austin, TX, will still operate under the brand and retain control of its popular genre festival, Fantastic Fest.
For Sony, which has been doubling down on physical experiences in recent years, the acquisition gives the studio an exhibitor with a loyal following among younger moviegoers, a unique marketing platform, and a space to test strategies (like lowering ticket prices).
For Alamo, which had to file for bankruptcy protection in 2021 but also saw box office revenue increase 30% last year, the deal gives it a theater-loving, well-financed home where it can safely operate in a contracting business landscape.
     |
72.9% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you unwind by playing games?
“I usually play Wordle, Connections, and Strands while winding down for bed, but PokemonGo is my true love!”
“The hardest part is setting a time limit so I don’t get sucked in and waste hours…”
“I enjoy playing sweepstakes games. Yes, it’s enjoyable, but it can be profitable. It’s a good use of extra time.”
.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT ZERO INBOX.
Need to clean up your inbox?
Same.
If you’re like us, your email inbox is always the place to be. (And is never actually empty!)
Zero Inbox is here to change that. This AI-powered organizer (designed by Apple engineers) will help you clear annoying emails and sort your stuff to make your inbox more manageable. Hey, you might even achieve the coveted “inbox zero.”
Zero Inbox is more than a cleanup tool; it’s a productivity booster. It can help you:
Unsubscribe from unwanted emails with a single click.
Streamline your email management with AI-driven efficiency.
Feel secure about your email data with end-to-end encryption.
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Actor/director Edward Norton is adding ad mogul to his credits with analytics company EDO, which has determined a way to capture the search data for a brand after it appears in a movie or show. [Read More]
Lionsgate is rolling out a new online tool called “Story Spark,” which measures diversity and intersectionality in film and TV scripts. [Read More]
A federal judge has ordered pharma bro Martin Shkreli to stop playing copies of the meant-to-be single copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which is now under the ownership of PleasrDAO. [Read More]
Fashion & E-Commerce
Online marketing firm Omnisend found that Temu is now scoring more repeat shoppers than ecommerce stalwart eBay. [Read More]
Anti Social Social Club is collabing with 24 Hours of Le Mans, the infamous French endurance car race, on a 20-piece fashion capsule. [Read More]
Subsidiaries of LVMH and Dior have been put under court administration in Milan for potentially breaking labor laws somewhere in its supply chain. [Read More]
Tech, Web3, & AI
Wall Street is very high on Apple’s AI plans, but they fell a little flat with investors, sending its stock down 2%. [Read More]
After user pushback, Adobe has again changed its terms of service to note that it won’t train AI on its customers’ work. [Read More]
Databricks and Shutterstock have built an AI image generator that’s only trained on free-to-use Shutterstock images. [Read More]
Creator Economy
TikTok has introduced a feature that allows users to search for products on TikTok Shop with only images. [Read More]
A new social platform called Cara wants to be a haven for photographers who don’t want their images to be used for AI training, like how they currently are on Instagram. [Read More]
YouTube debuted a feature that lets creators A/B test thumbnails. [Read More]
.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
Courtesy of AI Steve
An AI chatbot runs for UK’s Parliament
The Future. An AI chatbot named “AI Steve” is running for a seat in Britain’s Parliament next month. If elected, expect countries all around the world to consider passing laws that codify that only humans can run for elected office.
Generative politician
AI Steve is the brainchild of Brighton-based businessman Steve Endacott, the chairman of AI voice company Neural Voice.
If AI Steve is elected (which is running as an Independent), Endacott will be the real-life avatar of the chatbot in meetings and parliamentary sessions, per Wired.
Endacott plans to collect the viewpoints of voters — AI Steve can have up to 10,000 conversations at once — so that the chatbot can determine its stance on policies.
Those stances will then be put forth to human “validators” so that they can be finalized into policy positions… which is allegedly how Endacott will vote, whether or not he agrees.
Endacott created AI Steve out of his frustration with running for office as a human being, similar to how copyright is awarded. Maybe he’ll have better luck as a chatbot?
But first, he’ll need to change its name on the ballot from “Steve AI.” The frustration continues.
| |
Watch: MNTN Chief Creative Officer Ryan Reynolds pitches the company’s new AI platform, MNTN Matched, which connects brand advertising with targeted, individual consumers on streaming platforms.
Read: Insider digs into the business philosophy of Wrexham co-owner (and successful showrunner/actor) Rob McElhenney.
Listen: The Town chats with LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield about the ongoing debacle over whether to sell (or, maybe not sell) Paramount Global’s majority shareholder, National Amusements.
.@rihanna has now sold over 1 million total album units in the US in 2024.
She is the only artist to reach this milestone without having released an album in the 2020s.
— #chart data (#@chartdata)
4:56 PM • Jun 12, 2024
For those wondering why she’s in no rush to release that next album…
JOBS OF THE WEEK
Explore a weekly curated list of the latest and greatest opportunities in business, tech, and entertainment. For more listings, check out the complete job board.
Product Manager, Content Acquisition
Netflix
Los Gatos, CA
VP of Venue Planning & Development
NBA
New York, NY
Content Strategist
Roku
Austin, TX
CRM Lead
Flo Health
London, UK
LATEST PODCAST EPISODE
Today we get into the Sony CEO's comments on their use of AI technology, how Snoop Dogg is working on selling his collectibles, and how Dave and Buster's is betting on gambling. We also have an extra special guest with us today, the co-founder and CEO of Tastemade, Larry Fitzgibbon!
June 6, 2024
Listen now 👇
Like what you see? Subscribe Now or Partner With Us
Keep the editorial team going! Buy the team a coffee! ☕️
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.