The Wellness Scene

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Happy Monday, Future Party. Well, it seems official — Paramount did submit an offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for about $20 per share, a modest premium over the $17.10 the stock was trading at as of Friday. But CEO David Zaslav and the rest of WBD’s board deemed the offer “too low.” Ironically, WBD’s stock has climbed 36% since reports surfaced that Paramount CEO David Ellison was interested in the company in the first place. Translation: Wall Street likes the sale narrative — so expect WBD to sell to someone.

Correction: In last week’s Lyft article, we wrote that the company’s deal with Tensor marked the first time it would buy autonomous vehicles outright. In fact, Lyft did purchase some vehicles in its deal with Baidu. So, expect even more robotaxis on the streets.

Resorts, clubs, and other hotspots are now offering health- and wellness-focused experiences to cater to evolving tastes in nightlife, travel, and relaxation.

Why It Heals: Abstinence, longevity, and body optimization are among today’s biggest trends. And with the Global Wellness Institute valuing the wellness-tourism market at $830 billion (and growing), it’s only natural that luxury destinations are pivoting to capture the demand.

Behind The Treatments: Vacationers don’t just want to return to everyday life more relaxed — they also want to come back healthier.

Final List: Carolyn Addison, head of product at luxury travel firm Black Tomato, told Bloomberg, “A lot of our clients are bagging heavy, booze-laden trips to experience more unusual wellness experiences.” That’s no surprise, considering Gallup found in July that only 54% of Americans now drink alcohol — the lowest percentage since the organization began tracking drinking habits in 1939. People are over the hangover.

Next Appointment: The growing array of wellness offerings could soon trickle down to transform the classic happy hour. Goodbye, half-off cocktails; hello, half-off peptide infusions.

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Netflix and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro are teaming up to open a first-of-its-kind stop-motion animation studio in France.

The Big Picture: Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Guillermo del Toro emphasize that stop motion — the animation style used in del Toro’s Oscar-winning Netflix film Pinocchio — is about as “AI-proof” as an art form can get. It’s a meticulous, human-driven process, with artists manipulating physical objects frame by frame until movement comes to life. In an era dominated by automation, it stands out as a rare investment in pure artistry.

Behind The Scenes: Investing in stop motion is really an investment in people.

Last Adjustment: The Gobelins studio echoes LVMH’s “ateliers” across Europe — luxury workshops dedicated to teaching and preserving traditional craft. Stop motion is similarly ripe for that kind of stewardship, especially as the art form gains prestige through filmmakers like Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs) and Travis Knight (director and owner of the stop-motion studio Laika).

For Netflix and del Toro, the studio will also play a central role in producing their next collaboration — a stop-motion adaptation of Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant.

Coming Soon: As Gen Alpha seeks more analog forms of tech and entertainment, stop-motion animation could become an intriguing field of study… especially as AI disrupts other industries.

89% of you voted No in Friday’s poll: Have you ever worked as a driver for a rideshare platform?

“I do taxes for several… definitely not my idea of a good job.”

“No, never. They pay bottom dollar, yet expect you to fork out top-dollar vehicles — insurance, maintenance, etc. — to cover the bulk of the company’s overhead. A total rip-off!”

“I am not fond of driving. I prefer to be a passenger while someone else drives.”

“My business is so slow that I still do drive Uber occasionally.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🎥 Film finance and production company Boies Schiller Entertainment has launched CenterStage — an AI platform for kids to insert themselves into personalized, generative stories.

📘 Reese Witherspoon’s famous book club has partnered with WhatsApp to expand its customer offerings globally.

🏀 Charter is teaming up with Apple to broadcast Lakers games on the Vision Pro, which will make viewers feel like they’re sitting courtside.

💸 The White House is imposing an additional 100% tariff on China, along with new export controls on critical software, in response to Beijing’s restrictions on rare-earth metal exports.

🧐 Apple is offering a $2 million bounty to white-hat hackers who find vulnerabilities in the new iPhones or iOS.

✈️ Startup Reliable Robotics is testing autonomous planes in the sky — but don’t expect the public to get on board, literally or figuratively, anytime soon.

🤖 Amazon is routinely using generative AI to refine product listings… and it's reportedly leading to 15%-20% more sales.

💰 Coinbase and Mastercard have each offered $2 billion to buy stablecoin startup BVNK.

👢 Crocs and T-Pain are showing off a new shoe — boots with the fur. And yes, we already know you’re singing the tune.