Better Call Paul

This week, Paul and Mesh interview Manuel Hernandez and Jeff McKay, the founders of Conquest Collective, an NIL collective which focuses on creating and leveraging opportunities for current and former student athletes at the University of Southern California. We discuss how, unlike more typical collectives which rely on donations, they plan to leverage their individual skill sets and the Hollywood backdrop to create a business model where athletes can gain valuable business and marketing skills and take control of their own brands. 

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Paul and Mesh begin by bantering about a few recent NY-area events, New York Fashion Week and the VMAs. They then shift to the Toronto Film Festival, which had some great moments despite the lingering impacts of the SAG and WGA strikes. They then break down AMC Theater’s recent fundraising efforts and how the company is trying to get back to a healthy financial position. Finally, Paul and Mesh review the controversy surrounding Danny Masterson's rape conviction and the letters of support from his Hollywood friends.

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Paul and Mesh kick off the show with the US Open, a symbol of tennis’s rising popularity which hit an all-time high in attendance. They then shift into Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner's divorce announcement and a major announcement from another of Joe Jonas’s ex’s, Taylor Swift, whose Eras concert film will be theatrically released nationwide. Paul and Mesh then transition into the media business as executives tout the potential of bundling to improve streaming margins and expand growth. Finally, they conclude with another impact of the WGA strike, the suspensions of several prominent non-writing EP and showrunner deals. 

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This week, Paul and Mesh give the latest update on the WGA & SAG strikes as the WGA is back at the negotiating table with the AMPTP, and it appears the sides are making progress implementing guardrails around AI-produced materials. Paul then breaks down a recent vote among VFX workers to potentially authorize unionization and its likely impacts. The episode concludes with a recap of the recently decided Thaler v. Perlmutter case which addressed the question of whether AI-created art qualifies for copyright protection.

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This week's episode kicks off with a brief update on the resumption of talks between WGA and the AMPTP as the WGA strike drags on past 100 days. Next, Paul discusses Megan Thee Stallion’s quest for justice against Tory Lanez and breaks down Tory's conviction and 10-year sentence. Finally, Mesh and Paul conclude with a celebration of hip hop’s 50th birthday and marvel at how the genre has evolved from its NYC roots to become a worldwide cultural and economic phenomenon (and they each share their top 10 hip hop albums of all time).

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This week, Paul and Mesh focus on the music industry with a discussion of two lawsuits: Bosko Kante’s suit against Dua Lipa and Warner Music Group for unauthorized use of his performance on Levitating remixes and Lizzo’s former back up dancers who are going after Lizzo for harassment. Finally, on a positive note, they discuss Taylor Swift’s phenomenal Eras tour which has been selling out stadiums and may have even played a role in avoiding a U.S. recession. 

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Paul and Mesh kick off with the opening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and discuss Seth Rogan’s plan to breathe new life into the franchise. They then discuss the wave of interim agreements which have enabled SAG to allow nearly one hundred “indie” projects to continue production during the actor’s strike. Finally, they discuss another union, IATSE, and its exploratory approach to AI and machine learning.

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In this week's episode, Paul and Mesh celebrate the box office performances of Barbie and Oppenheimer, whose openings contributed to the 4th highest-grossing domestic box office weekend ever. They then note that AMC theatres has scrapped their sightline program and will offer consistent pricing going forward. Shifting gears, they discuss Lionel Messi's much-anticipated debut for Inter Miami, the deals that helped lure him to South Florida and the intriguing role played by David Beckham. To wrap things up, they discuss the pending FTC investigation into OpenAI which is centered on privacy and data concerns but may have broader impacts as regulation tangles with the AI industry.

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Paul and Mesh begin this week’s episode with a look forward to a rare head-to-head matchup of tentpole films, Barbie and Oppenheimer and a recap of the Emmy nominations (hint: HBO did very well). However, the entertainment industry is in flux as the SAG and WGA strikes drag on. Paul recaps the points of contention from both SAG and the AMPTP and Paul and Mesh ponder what the broader implications of a prolonged strike might be. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers as the strikes are a result of many factors, some of which are long-standing (e.g., streaming) and others which are just emerging (e.g., AI).  

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In this episode, Paul and Mesh reflect on uber-luxury in the world of athletes and entertainers, including the auction of a microscopic Louis Vuitton-inspired handbag by MSCHF for a staggering $63K. They then discuss the hype surrounding Mission Impossible 7 - "Dead Reckoning Part One", which is already boasting a 90+% on Rotten Tomatoes, is tracking to be the best performing film of the series and further cement Tom Cruise’s legacy. Next, they recap some executive restructuring at one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. Finally, they turn to a potentially impending SAG strike which may coincide with the WGA strike. The impacts of these labor issues are wide-reaching including on events like San Diego Comic Con which many of the major players have decided to sit out. 

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