industry

Paramount on Wednesday was expected to cut 1,000 employees, the first wave of a deep staff reduction planned since David Ellison took the helm of the entertainment company in August.

People familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment said the layoffs will be felt throughout the company, including at CBS, CBS News, Comedy Central and other cable channels as well as the historic Melrose Avenue film studio.

Another 1,000 jobs are expected to be cut at a later date, bringing the total reduction to about 10% of Paramount’s workforce, sources said.

The move was expected. Paramount’s new owners — Ellison’s Skydance Media and RedBird Capital Partners — had told investors they planned to eliminate more than $2 billion in expenses, and Wednesday’s workforce reduction was a preliminary step toward that goal.

Paramount has been shedding staff for years.

More than 800 people — or about 3.5% of the company’s workforce — were laid off in June, prior to the Ellison family takeover. At the time, Paramount’s management attributed the cuts to the decline of cable television subscriptions and an increased emphasis on bulking up its streaming TV business. In 2024, the company eliminated 2,000 positions, or 15% of its staff.

Longtime CBS News journalist John Dickerson announced earlier this week that he would exit in December. The co-anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” Dickerson has been a familiar network face for more than 15 years, completing tours at “CBS This Morning” and the Sunday public affairs show “Face the Nation.” He was named the network’s evening news co-anchor in January alongside Maurice DuBois to succeed Norah O’Donnell. The revamp, designed in part to save money, led to a ratings decline.

The Paramount layoffs are the latest sign of contraction across the entertainment and tech sectors.

Amazon said this week it was eliminating roughly 14,000 corporate jobs amid its embrace of artificial intelligence to perform more functions. Last week, Facebook parent company Meta disclosed that it was cutting 600 jobs in its AI division.

Last week, cable and broadband provider Charter Corp., which operates the Spectrum service, eliminated 1,200 management jobs around the country.

Los Angeles’ production economy in particular has been roiled by a falloff in local filming and cost-cutting at major media companies.

As of August, about 112,000 people were employed in the Los Angeles region’s motion picture and sound recording industries — the main category for film and television production. The data does not include everyone who works in the entertainment industry, such as those who work as independent contractors.

That was roughly flat compared with the previous year, and down 27% compared with 2022 levels, when about 154,000 people were employed locally in the industry, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The industry has struggled to rebound since the 2023 strikes by writers and actors, which led to a sharp pullback in studio spending following the era of so-called “peak TV,” when
studios dramatically increased the pipeline of shows to build streaming platforms.

“You saw a considerable drop-off from the strikes and the aftermath,” said Kevin Klowden, an executive director at Milken Institute Finance. “The question is, at what point do these workers exit the industry entirely?”

Local film industry officials are expecting a production boost and an increase in work after California bolstered its film and television tax credits.

But Southern California’s bedrock industry is confronting other challenges, including shifting consumer habits and competition from social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

“There is a larger concern in terms of the financial health of all the major operations in Hollywood,” Klowden said. “There’s a real concern about that level of competition, and what it means.”

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (UPI) — South Korea’s law firm industry is ruled by Kim & Chang by any measure, while a handful of other companies struggle to catch up with the leader.

In terms of annual revenue, Kim & Chang reportedly posted about $1 billion last year, which was roughly equivalent to the combined revenue of its next four competitors — Lee & Ko, Bae, Kim & Lee, Yulchon and Shin & Kim.

When it comes to the number of lawyers, Kim & Chang was also second to none.

According to the Ministry of Justice, 1,020 lawyers licensed in Korea worked for Kim & Chang as of July, followed by 565 at Lee & Ko, 519 at Shin & Kim, 497 at Bae, Kim & Lee and 433 at Yulchon.

Kim & Chang was the only South Korean law firm in 2024 to be featured among the world’s Top 100 in a survey published by The American Lawyer and Law.com International.

Observers expect that the outfit will maintain its dominant position for the foreseeable future.

“As a perennial leader, Kim & Chang enjoys a premium. Corporate clients with deep pockets tend to select the best law firm available regardless of cost,” Sungkyunkwan University former law school professor Choi June-seon told UPI.

“Kim & Chang has a recruiting team that picks the cream of the crop. Its reward system, based on intense internal competition, is also notable. Its dominance is unlikely to fade within five years. And I expect it to continue even for a decade,” he said.

Economic commentator Kim Kyeong-joon, formerly vice chairman at Deloitte Consulting Korea, said that Kim & Chang has savored a first-mover advantage. Named after two founders, Kim Young-moo and Chang Soo-kil, it was established in 1973.

“As one of the earliest law firms in South Korea, Kim & Chang has stood out by meeting the mounting demand from corporate clients at a time when the country was undergoing rapid economic growth,” Kim said in a phone interview.

“In addition to its long history, the firm’s strength lies in its diversity across practice areas and industries, including M&A consulting, finance, antitrust, tax and litigation in both Korean and foreign languages,” he said.

Kim & Chang said the full-service law firm employs up to 2,100 professionals, including accountants, tax specialists and patent attorneys, on top of Korean and international lawyers.

Yonhap Infomax, a subsidiary of Yonhap News Agency, reported that Kim & Chang advised on 168 M&A deals last year worth $25.95 billion, capturing a 35.88% market share and remaining atop the list for 12 consecutive years.

Shin & Kim ranked No. 2 with 19.8%, chased by Lee & Ko with 12.6%, and Yulchon with 10.31%.

During the first half of this year, Kim & Chang again topped the podium with a market share of 28.27%.

Globally renowned law firms have tapped into the South Korean market since the early 2010s, but they have failed to make their presence felt. Some even exited the country after failing to achieve significant results.

“From the perspective of global law firms, it would be very difficult to build networks within Korea’s tightly-knit legal community. That’s why they have languished,” Seoul-based consultancy Leaders Index CEO Park Ju-gun said. “The situation is not likely to change in the near future.”

Asked which company might emerge as a serious contender to Kim & Chang, Park named Yulchon, which has chalked up fast growth over the past several years. Even so, he projected that it would take quite a lot of time.

Founded in 1997 as a latecomer, Yulchon has risen to the top ranks on the back of its expertise in tax, antitrust, and regulatory affairs. Other major players were mostly launched in the 1970s and 1980s.

Oct. 23 (UPI) — American Airlines announced Thursday it is onboarding a new commercial chief as the air carrier seeks to match its rivals.

Company officials revealed Nathaniel Pieper will be American Airlines’ next chief commercial officer effective Nov. 3.

“Nat is a world-class, results-oriented leader who has achieved tremendous success throughout his entire career,” said American CEO Robert Isom, adding that Pieper was “well-versed in the airline business, having led teams across multiple” different airline conglomerates.

Pieper, 56, currently sits as CEO of the Oneworld alliance in a collaborative that includes a number of airlines, including American and British Airways. His prior experience included high-level positions in finance, networks and fleet strategy.

“Nat’s experience and expertise, coupled with his recent work with us leading oneworld, make him incredibly well-suited to lead our Commercial team moving forward,” added Isom in a statement.

Pieper, who will report directly to Isom, replaced Vasu Raju after a corporate business-travel strategy failed its goal and ignited fierce pushback from travel industry leaders.

“He is exactly the kind of leader we want at American — collaborative and a great people leader with a relentless focus on delivering results while keeping an eye to the future,” Isom said in a staff note seen by CNBC.

Pieper joined American after time at Northwest Airlines, Delta and Alaska Airlines after entering the industry in the late 1990s.

He will oversee, among other departments, American’s commercial business strategy, loyalty program, network planning and revenue and sales departments.

Over the summer the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a partnership proposal between American and JetBlue in the northeast United States.

Meanwhile, American Airline officials added in a release Steve Johnson will return as the airline’s chief strategy officer.

The electric carmaker had unveiled chief Elon Musk’s proposed $1 trillion compensation plan in September.

Tesla’s proposed $1 trillion pay package for CEO Elon Musk has come under renewed scrutiny after proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) urged investors to vote against what could be the largest compensation plan ever awarded to a company chief.

ISS’s comments on Friday marks the second consecutive year that it has urged shareholders to reject a compensation plan for Musk.

Proxy advisers often sway major institutional investors, including the passive funds that hold large stakes in Tesla.

The ISS recommendation adds pressure on Tesla’s board before a closely watched November 6 shareholder meeting and renews scrutiny of Musk’s compensation after a Delaware court earlier voided his $56bn pay package.

Musk’s record Tesla pay plan could still hand him tens of billions of dollars even if he falls short of most of its ambitious targets, however, thanks to a structure that rewards partial achievement and soaring share prices.

Last month, Tesla’s board proposed a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk in what it described as the largest corporate pay package in history, setting ambitious performance targets and aiming to address his push for greater control over the company.

ISS said that while the board’s goal was to retain Musk because of his “track record and vision”, the 2025 pay package “locks in extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years” and “reduces the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels.”

Tesla’s shares rose after the compensation plan was unveiled last month, as investors believe the pay package would incentivise Musk to focus on the company’s strategy.

“Many people come to Tesla to specifically work with Elon, so we recognise that retaining and incentivising him will, in the long run, help us retain and recruit better talent,” Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson said in a video posted to Tesla’s X handle on Friday.

Unlike the 2018 pay deal, Musk will be allowed to vote using his shares this time, giving him about 13.5 percent of Tesla’s voting power, according to a securities filing last month. That stake alone could be enough to secure approval.

The proxy adviser cited the “astronomical” size of the proposed grant, design features that could deliver very high payouts for partial goal achievement and potential dilution for existing investors.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency.

ISS valued the stock-based award at $104bn, higher than Tesla’s own estimate of $87.8bn.

The grant would vest only if Tesla reaches market capitalisation milestones up to $8.5 trillion and operational targets, including delivery of 20 million vehicles, one million robotaxis and $400bn in adjusted core earnings.

The proxy adviser’s guidance on Musk’s pay was part of a wider set of voting recommendations issued on Friday.

As of 3:45pm in New York (19:45 GMT), Tesla’s stock was up 2.4 percent.

If you are not prepared for it, fame can be downright deadly. Alanis Morissette knows that better than anyone. Thirty years ago, she released her third studio album, “Jagged Little Pill,” which won five Grammys, including album of the year and best rock album, and went on to sell 33 million copies.

So, Morissette has a complicated relationship with fame. Now, she will be examining that and many other dimensions of her incredible three-decade career in a new Vegas residency at Caesars Palace that begins Wednesday and runs until Nov. 2.

As Morissette explained in a wide-ranging talk with The Times, the Vegas show will be much more than a concert. The show will take on a narrative feel that will showcase her humor, improv, wellness and all the other traits that have defined her over the years.

I love that you paired with Carly Simon on the song “Coming Around Again” because I see such a kinship based on you two over generations. There is so much in common between “You’re So Vain” and “You Oughta Know.” Not the least of which is I am sure you are both beyond over being asked, “Who is the song really about?”

Right, because what people don’t understand, and I can’t speak for Carly, but there’s a difference between revenge and revenge fantasy. I’m all about the revenge fantasy and punching pillows and gyrating and sweating and losing your s— in art. And Lord knows I’m unmeasured in other areas day-to-day, too, so it’s not like I’m some paragon of containment, but yeah, just the revenge thing, there’s a lot of schoolyard stuff going on. That’s all I’ll say for the moment.

Obviously, this is 30 years of “Jagged Little Pill.” I remember seeing Bruce Springsteen in ’88, when he did “Born to Run” acoustic. Every night when he introduced it, he would say, “I was thinking about how much that song was me, and how much I don’t want it to be me.” And I thought that was so interesting because, of course, there are songs you want to be you. So, what songs did you want to be you?

Yeah, there are so many songs that I would write about potential. So, I’d be in a relationship, and I would be writing about what I wanted to the point where whomever I may have been dating at the time, if I shared the song with them, sometimes they would say, “Who’s this about? This can’t possibly be about me.” I’m like, “Well, you know what? You’re onto something there. This is about what I wish we could be.” I think about also a song, because I’m working on the Vegas show, so we’re integrating so much. And I think the song “Not the Doctor” is probably one of the ones that I realized the naivety of having written, like, your issues just get away from me. Having been married now for 15 years, I realized that your partner’s challenges, you take each other on — all of it. So, there’s a little bit of knowledge now that makes “Not the Doctor” funny to sing.

And then “Incomplete” is a song that is a manifestation, as you just described, that I would be good. It’s like a prayer manifestation. There’s a song, “Knees of My Bees,” that I wrote about what I wished. In praise of the vulnerable man, it was what I wished. So yes, there’s some composites being made where I take seven people whom I had a similar pattern repeat, and I just lop them all into one song as one person and unify the communication; there’s no holds barred.

Has there been talk about extending the show? It does sound like you are putting a crazy amount of work into a show that right now lasts little more than a week.

For a long time — and a lot of journalists have said, “Yeah, right,” when I say this — but my energy doesn’t go into outcome. Whether the show is seen three times or 300,000 times, that’s not up to me in this moment. I’m creating stories and sharing parts of myself that I have hidden for the ’90s imperative of staying in your lane or it’s career suicide. So, I’m still unlearning that, which is the reductiveness of the ’90s, where you have to stay one thing. Then, well, what is one supposed to do if they have multiple talents or multiple intelligences dying to be expressed? We’re going to contain that so that we can keep the ’90s credo going. So, over the years, it’s just been, can I bring these other aspects of self into the whole expression of me through academia, through movement, through channeling, through live shows, through interviews right now? There are so many ways to express, and the ’90s really did say, “You do it one or two ways; you step out of that and your career is over.” Thank God that messaging is softened.

How have you seen culture and values change over your career?

It used to be “I want to be a millionaire,” and now everyone wants to be a billionaire. It used to be “I want to look 21 forever,” now it’s “I want to look 14 forever.” And then it used to be “I want to have fame as a means to an end for activism.” Now it’s just “I want fame as an end,” so it’s an interesting value system snapshot right now. And so many of us are flying in the face of it, so I’m not really worried about that. But the value system has gotten smaller almost, as though fame in and of itself is going to correct our attachment wounds. It doesn’t work, and I’m constantly raising my hand going, I thought fame would result in this profound sense of community that I’d be amongst my people and we’d be petting each other’s heads by the fire. That was not the case.

I think for anyone who comes out the other side of fame, there has to be a tremendous sense of gratitude that you survive it.

That’s a big piece of this Vegas show without me nailing it on the head or belaboring the point. It’s like, “How are some of us still here?”

How do you express that in the show? And it is interesting given your passion for wellness and mental health, it is in Vegas. Which has never been known for either.

Yeah, Vegas has been known for addiction and gambling, acting out, sexual acting out. What is Vegas known for? “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” It’s been known for that, but I believe that there’s a whole seismic shift going on. I have never underestimated people who come to my shows. Even in workshops, people are like, “Alanis, it’s too much.” And my thought is, “No, it’s not.” People can close their eyes, they can walk out, they can shut the radio off, they can take a break in the cafeteria. Part of why I love that it’s Vegas is that there’s this ceilinglessness in terms of no holds barred again, like I want to wear a boa. You want to do a backflip. Apparently, we’re doing a backflip. What has happened over the years is that again, it was this one-lane push, stay in your lane. And while this was all happening, there were all these other archetypal imperatives getting at me, like what about dancing? What about comedy? What about article writing? What about keynote speaking? What about workshop leading? What about channeling? There are all these other forms of expression that I live for. So, in some ways, I was cultivating them maybe privately. That’s just who I am. And I integrated it into every lyric.

Sinéad [O’Connor] said this perfectly, I don’t know word for word what she said, but the essence was you love the art, but you hate the artist. She said something about, “I appreciate that my audience wants everyone to hear more angry emotions from me through my songs, but then I have to be angry. And no one takes that into consideration.” I was like, “Yeah, because we’re used in the best way possible.” Artists are used as a screen upon which people identify themselves or people find who they are by hating and loving and trolling and attacking and it’s all projection, everything’s f— projection. So yeah, I just think people who are in the public eye have an experience inside of a social construct that is so violently unusual. And there’s no empathy afforded to them for that, other than maybe from people like you and me.

“There are all these other forms of expression that I live for,” says Alanis Morissette. “So, in some ways, I was cultivating them maybe privately. That’s just who I am. And I integrated it into every lyric.”

(Shervin Lainez)

How did you learn to deal with it? Unfortunately for Sinéad, she never was able to handle the fact that people were so hateful toward her, even though it had nothing to do with her.

I know, and basically that is the lack of handbook that is egregious, because so many people who were in the public eye are now physically gone. So much of it is their temperament, and I used to do talks at the neurobiology conferences at UCLA, and I would bring up the idea of temperament needing to be taken into consideration, whether it’s around suicidality or anything. Most artists are highly sensitive empaths. That is a version of neurodivergence over excitability, high-achieving, profound subtle awareness and attunement. All of these qualities that make the sweetest artists. And yet that temperament in a world that is doing what you just described Sinéad receiving, which is projecting hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. There’s no handbook on how to go, “Hey, we’re going to do shadow work here. We’re going to talk about rejection. We’re going to talk about if anyone’s saying anything that brings something up for you, bring it into therapy. Look at that part. Look at what they’re saying.” Also, always from me, look at the opposite. If you’re being invited to look at the part of you that is an a—. Always also look at the part of you that is deeply, deeply kind. For me, that’s the wholeness journey.

Being older, what have you learned about how to deal with all this?

I really do believe, Steve, that I could write a f— handbook now. I feel like if you and I got together, I could write the handbook, and we just hand it out to all the new celebs.

Do you now feel a responsibility to be able to pass your wisdom on to the new generation like Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo?

I feel great passion about it. I happen to be someone who is hilariously conscientious and intensely empathic. I’m always blown away by them, and then I see people like Olivia and I just think, “Oh, everything’s going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay if Olivia exists; we’re good.” [laughs]

What happened to your book?

What’s interesting is I did two years worth of narrative storytelling that we recorded. Initially it was for a memoir, or some version of what was being asked for was a memoir. That’s kind of a hard “no” for me because we’re using all the pieces that feel relevant to this particular story. The reason I didn’t want to do the memoir is ’cause there’s no way to articulate a life. There’s way to articulate snapshots. There’s a way to articulate chapters, maybe. But there’s no way to articulate, like, this is my sentimental life story. It’s not possible. So that’s why songs are so great. It’s like four minutes of a moment. Let’s just keep writing these moments and capturing these moments and that’s what Vegas is for me: a moment.

One of the things I’ve talked about with artists that they love so much about Vegas residency is you get to mix it up night to night. But it sounds like you’re going to have a show, so are you going to be incorporating different stuff or is it going to be more of a narrative story?

Both. For me as an actor, I’ve always enjoyed improv. I love it when there’s a general sense of structure for something, but then go off within it. This is the way I’ve always been, both sides of the brain. I want some structure and predictability and some version of a set list, which we already have. But then within some of the interstitial stuff and the scenes and the comedy and the physicality and the movement, yeah, it’s a movable feast. We’ll see what happens. I am completely out of my wheelhouse publicly, not privately, because I was in improv teams since I was 14. And I think comedy is one of the best forms of activism art, I really do, maybe even above music. So, we’re integrating all these forms of art. And I’m not thinking about any outcome. It’s really amazing to write a record, write a song, write an email, frankly, with no agenda. The agenda is just “let’s express ourselves.” And that’s plenty.

Do you feel like you’re having more fun now at this point in your career than any other point?

I have the most fun with collaborating. So, I can’t say this is any more fun, but I can say that there’s more people. So, in the past, it’s been me alone writing or me and my bestie writing or me and Glen [Ballard] writing. So, in some ways it was insulated, isolated and with the musical and with Vegas, let’s multiply those collaborators by at least five. What I’ve said a few times, and I still stand by it, is that for me, the happiest place is in this communal “can’t swing a dirty sock without hitting a master” kind of environment, and it is truly six plus six is a thousand for us.

Do you feel like, as you’re getting older, people are embracing you more?

Yeah, I make more sense. There was a period of time where I didn’t make any sense and perhaps there wasn’t that much resonance. And then 25, 30 years later, I feel like I’m starting to make sense to the world in a way that I didn’t expect to happen. I just always thought, “Oh, I’ll be on that smallest part of the bell-shaped curve forever and I’ll probably be kind of lonely there. And that’s just what it is in this lifetime.” But here I am 30 years later and I’m starting to get a sense that what I’ve been talking about this whole time is resonant for people. And I can’t tell you how healing that is for me.

On the day that Michele Mulroney was elected president of the Writers Guild of America West, writers won a significant victory. After writers protested ABC’s suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for days, the network brought the late-night show back on air.

“Our currency is words and stories, and the freedom to be able to express ourselves is really important, and so our members could not feel more strongly about this and of course we will be speaking out and lobbying and working in any way we can to protect this fundamental right,” Mulroney said in a recent interview.

Mulroney, formerly the WGA West vice president and a writer on the 2017 “Power Rangers” movie and 2011 film “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” enters her new role at a time when the industry is facing significant challenges.

Those include major consolidation in the industry as studios look to cut costs and move TV and film production overseas because of hefty financial incentives. The climate has been tough for many writers who have struggled to find work after enduring a 148-day strike in 2023. After the walkout, writers did secure groundbreaking protections for AI in contracts, but they are still confronting AI models ripping off their work without compensation.

As the guild gears up for contract negotiations next year, Mulroney said she plans to build on earlier gains in AI and other areas, and aims to convince the studios to pay more for WGA’s health plans amid rising healthcare costs.

“It’s going to need some support from the companies,” Mulroney said. “Their drastic pullback in production and employment led to a pretty severe industry contraction that has contributed to some strain on our funds. We’ll be looking to them to help fix that with us.”

When asked about whether she thinks there is appetite among WGA’s members for another strike, Mulroney said “it’s way too early to speculate about that.”

“It’s really hard out there in the industry for all industry workers and for many of our members, but our members have shown time and again that when they have to, when it’s necessary, we are ready to fight for the contract we deserve,” Mulroney said.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers declined to comment, but in an earlier statement said its members look forward to working with her “to address key issues for WGA writers and to strengthen our industry with fair, balanced solutions.”

A studio-side source who was not authorized to comment said that the WGA health plan faces “complex financial challenges that require a balanced approach to align with market norms and ensure long-term stability.”

To keep costs down, studios have been moving more productions to the U.K. and other countries offering significant financial incentives, shrinking job opportunities for entertainment industry workers in Southern California. Some have had to move out of state to look for jobs.

Unions including the WGA lobbied for California to boost annual funding for its film and TV tax credit program and succeeded in raising that amount to $750 million, from $330 million.

“This was a real bright spot of good news in an otherwise really bleak and tough time for our industry,” Mulroney said in an interview last week. “Now there needs to be federal action on this, too, so we’ll continue working with our allies to try to keep production in the U.S., and specifically in Hollywood, in Southern California.”

Mulroney declined to comment on President Trump’s renewed threat to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made films.

Another big worry for writers has been artificial intelligence. The WGA has been outspoken about wanting studios to sue AI companies that writers say are taking their scripts for training AI models without their permission. Earlier this year, studios including Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery took legal action against AI companies over copyright infringement.

“We were glad to see some of the studios come off the sidelines and file lawsuits to protect their copyright from these AI companies that are stealing our members’ work to build their models,” she said. “I think we will probably be dealing with AI and wrangling that for the rest of our lives, right?”

Mulroney, 58, ran uncontested, receiving 2,241 votes or 87% of the votes cast, according to the union. CBS series “Tracker” writer and co-executive producer Travis Donnelly became vice president, and TV comedy show “Primo” executive producer Peter Murrieta became secretary-treasurer.

Mulroney grew up in the U.K., the daughter of a factory worker and a janitor. She’s served on the union’s board of directors for four terms and as an officer for six years prior to being elected president.

Mulroney’s background was in theater and theater directing, but she had always dabbled in writing. In her 20s, she worked in development for a British TV and film studio where she read a lot of scripts, which led her to think, “Maybe I could write one of those things.”

Her first writing gig was for a PBS children’s show called “Wishbone,” about a Jack Russell terrier who imagines himself as a character in literary classics. She’s been a screenwriter for 25 years and is based in West Hollywood with her husband and writing partner, Kieran.

Mulroney succeeds Meredith Stiehm, who led the union during the 2023 strike.

Kimmel coming back on air was a parting gift to Stiehm, said Mulroney, adding that the union is still watching the situation.

“We’re still monitoring,” Mulroney said. “I somehow doubt this is the last instance we’re going to see where censorship and free speech are going to be a topic.”

For the past five years, I’ve been interviewing Hollywood professionals about what they wish they’d known when they were starting out. The entertainment business can feel opaque and overwhelming, and many who navigated it the hard way said they want to help level the playing field for those arriving with passion but without connections.

The best advice — which is collected in a book I co-wrote with my former Times colleague Jon Healey, “Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry” — was often about how they handled chaos. The key to longevity, many said, is how you manage the rejection, instability and heartbreak that are unavoidable in the industry.

And as Hollywood has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, strikes, recessions and periods of contraction — some reports estimate Hollywood jobs were down 25% in 2024 from their 2022 peak — many of them have had to take their own advice. Decades-long industry veterans have pivoted to adjacent professions, including teaching and advertising. Some of them have left Hollywood altogether.

But others have landed their dream jobs. They’ve learned how to build something from nothing. They’ve gotten to show what they’re capable of, once someone finally gave them a chance.

The most sensible advice to give young people who dream of working in the entertainment industry, they said, is to run in the other direction — or at least have a backup plan. There are so many practical, safer choices that can result in a happy, fulfilling career.

But dreams have a way of resurfacing, no matter how deep you try to bury them. So here’s what I would tell my own kids if they felt Hollywood was their calling.

Learn how all the different parts of Hollywood come together and figure out which jobs best suit your skills.

Many people, when they imagine working in Hollywood, think of only the most high-profile jobs: actor, writer, director and producer. But Hollywood is made of hundreds, if not thousands, of careers, from pre-production, production and post-production, to representation (publicists, agents and managers), design and more.

Some questions you can ask yourself: Do I like being in front of the camera or do I prefer being behind it? Do I want to be on set or would I prefer a desk job? Do I want a leadership role or do I prefer going deep into the day-to-day details? This can help you determine which path you should pursue.

Consider whether this is something you’d do even if no one paid you to do it.

Many Hollywood professionals will tell you not to take unpaid gigs, as it devalues your work and the industry itself. But that’s different from the time and effort you’ll have to devote to becoming extremely reliable at your craft — as well as the work you’ll do to convince people to give you the job (filming auditions, developing pitch decks, building portfolios and creating demo reels).

People across the industry consistently told us it often takes five to seven years before you earn a living wage. You not only have to keep wanting to do it for that long, with no guarantees of success, but you have to see it as an investment in yourself as an artist.

Anchor yourself with two essentials: money and community.

People who come into the industry with wealth and connections will have an advantage. But if you don’t know anyone in the industry, be diligent about saving and investing the money that you’re making from your day job or side gigs.

Prioritize networking by joining or creating your own communities. Networking isn’t just about attending intimidating Hollywood events — it can also mean going to film festivals, taking classes, joining a gym, engaging with your favorite social media influencers, collaborating on passion projects, joining Facebook groups or finding other whisper networks.

Make friends inside of the industry who are going through the same struggles so you can lift each other up. But also make friends outside of the industry who will remind you that there is life outside of Hollywood.

Figure out how you’re going to distinguish yourself.

Hollywood is an extremely competitive industry. The harsh reality is that most people are replaceable. So why would a producer or showrunner hire you over someone else? What unique skills or viewpoints could you bring to a project? Figure this out; it will be your advantage and calling card.

And once you pinpoint what sets you apart, create your own work (whether it’s sketches, designs, animations, TikTok videos or web series) and put what you’re proud of online. You’ll need to get very comfortable with self-promotion. Make sure that you’re on people’s minds if a job opens up that you’d be perfect for.

Learn AI tools.

If I were talking to a current working professional about AI, we would discuss its ethical and legal implications and what unions can do to protect worker rights and fight for fair compensation.

But if I were talking to a young person starting their career, I’d say, embrace the technology and figure out how it can make you more — not less — creative.

Know that it’s good to take breaks from Hollywood — and OK to leave.

Hollywood veterans will tell you that they’ve seen the industry rise and fall, again and again. Each time there’s an upturn, it feels like it won’t last. And each time there’s a downturn, it feels like it might be the end.

If Hollywood is your calling, you owe it to yourself to try, but if your experience in the industry starts to resemble a destructive relationship, you owe it to yourself to take some space or call it quits.

But for as long as you’re out there hustling, have fun on the roller coaster and appreciate every moment you get paid to do what you love.

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A female pilot has shared her experiences of breaking into the ‘challenging’ industry as a woman and has some words of advice for those who are considering the same journey as her

A female pilot has urged women to chase their dreams when it comes to their careers and not be deterred by male-dominated industries. Jenna, from Manchester, shared her inspiring journey on the ‘Update Aviation’ Facebook page, hoping to motivate others to follow their passions, even if they do feel like they’re chasing an impossible dream.

She emphasised the need for resilience but reassured that there’s “always a way” to make dreams come true. She penned: “My aviation journey began from a young age when my dad would take me to the Manchester airport pub every weekend to watch the planes! After we went on our first family holiday and my first time on a plane, I knew that was a job I had to do. Ever since, I have never given up on that dream.

“I have recently completed flight school and just got my first job flying the 737! (It still doesn’t feel real.)

“I started my flight training in January 2023 on an Integrated ATPL. I went over the Phoenix AZ for 8 months to learn how to fly and can honestly say it was the most amazing time I have ever had.

“I don’t think anything will beat flying all over the desert in a little PA28 every morning.”

She added: “Although I had the time of my life at flight school, and made memories that will last forever, I think it’s important to add that it does come with its challenges, and to get to the point it took rejection, determination and a whole lot of resilience.

“My advice to lady aviators is if you have a dream of being a pilot, you owe it to yourself to pursue it! Aviation can be a challenging industry to get into, both financially and mentally. But there is always a way!

“The flight deck has a place for anyone who has the passion to be in there, regardless of who you are!

“As a female who felt nervous about going into a male-dominated industry, I have to say how welcoming I have found the aviation industry!

“I’ve made lifelong friends and feel part of a community that always helps each other out!”

In the comments section, people shared their own experiences.

One mum wrote: “My daughter’s dream is to become a pilot. She has flown two small planes from Barton airport, Manchester, and absolutely loves it. She is only 12, nearly 13, and next week she is joining the air cadets to experience that side of aviation”.

Another added: “Well done and congratulations. My son has just started with Tui as a Pilot and will be based in Manchester. It has made me realise how hard the training is and how dedicated you have to be. It’s a wonderful industry to be in. Enjoy every minute,” a dad praised.

Someone else chimed in: “Well done to you. Absolutely fantastic. You show those stripes with pride, hun. Hard work pays off.”

Whilst another penned: “Well done Jenna you will never look back to what you have achieved I just love flying. Hope you’re flying one of my holidays”.

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Over the past few years, investors have witnessed in real time how breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked a new revolution in the technology sector. The next frontier — quantum computing — promises an even greater leap forward, unlocking efficiency and solving problems that strain the limits of today’s classical machines.

Together, the fusion of AI and quantum computing is expected to create trillions of dollars in economic value over the coming decades. While many companies are dabbling in quantum systems at the margins, two of the industry’s most influential players are already weaving this emerging capability into their broader strategies.

Let’s explore how Nvidia (NVDA -0.62%) and Alphabet (GOOG 0.55%) (GOOGL 0.61%) are positioning themselves to remain leaders at the cutting edge of AI’s next transformation.

Nvidia: GPUs, CUDA, and infrastructure

Nvidia’s rise throughout the AI revolution is deeply rooted in its dominance of the GPU market, where its chips have become the backbone of generative AI development. What investors may not fully realize yet is that the company’s ambitions extend beyond supplying accelerators to train large language models (LLMs). Quietly, Nvidia has been laying the groundwork for a prominent role in the quantum era.

A key part of this strategy is Nvidia’s software architecture, CUDA. CUDA includes tools designed to bridge classical computing systems with quantum-inspired research. At the moment, Nvidia’s CUDA quantum (CUDA-Q) platform is used by a number of academic institutions, as well as integrated with existing developers such as IonQ and Rigetti Computing.

This is a savvy move, as Nvidia is doing all of this without committing massive capital expenditures (capex) to build quantum machines from scratch. Instead, the company is positioning itself as the connective backbone across both hardware and software supporting the next wave of advanced computing applications.

Image source: Getty Images.

Alphabet: Willow, Cirq, and DeepMind

Alphabet has carved more direct inroads into quantum computing through its Google Quantum division.

A central focus is Willow, a processor built to scale quantum workloads more efficiently. To drive adoption, Alphabet introduced Cirq — an open-source software framework that enables developers to design quantum algorithms and run them directly on Google’s infrastructure. The company’s internal research lab, DeepMind, adds another dimension that gives Alphabet the unique advantage to test quantum technologies in-house and refine them at a faster pace.

What makes this approach so compelling is that Alphabet weaves these efforts into a vertically integrated stack. The company’s hardware, software, and research converge within a single ecosystem — allowing emerging services like Google Cloud and Gemini to compete from a position of strength against entrenched rivals like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Are Nvidia and Alphabet good buys right now?

Nvidia and Alphabet are each building durable platforms optimized for the next phase of advanced computing.

For Nvidia, the company’s GPUs and CUDA architecture are already indispensable to AI infrastructure. Moreover, the company’s collaborations in quantum computing create additional tailwinds across both hardware and software for the data centers of tomorrow. Meanwhile, Alphabet is stitching quantum into a broader, diversified ecosystem that spans processors, software frameworks, cloud distribution, and research.

For both companies, quantum computing is not the ultimate destination, but rather a strategic layer that reinforces their long-term growth prospects — positioning each as resilient, differentiated platform businesses in an increasingly competitive landscape.

I think that each company’s early bets on quantum computing will look shrewd in hindsight as these applications evolve from research-driven environments into real-world value creation.

For investors with patience, owning shares of both Nvidia and Alphabet today offers exposure to two businesses not just benefiting from the AI boom, but actively writing the narrative of its next chapter. For these reasons, I see both stocks as no-brainer opportunities right now.

Globally, the world is still reeling under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as we look towards the future, people rethink the need to travel and unwind from their hectic lives, and these developments will boost the global tourism industry.

Post the pandemic, the tourism industry is playing catch-up, and as per the UNWTO estimates, it is believed to have a major recovery towards global tourism in 2023, where the international arrivals reached 1,300 million, which was a 33.3 percent increase from 2022. The reason for this upward development has been because of the economic development, which inevitably helps in the creation of jobs, helping stabilize the post-pandemic economies. The Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024 highlighted the sectors of travel and tourism to continuously grow in the post-pandemic scenario. It has been observed that 71 out of the 119 countries’ scores increased as per the 2024 index, and the reason for this increase in its ranking has been due to the focus on areas of safety and security and aims at greater emphasis on health and hygiene domains. Furthermore, the Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024 mentioned that India ranked at the 39th position in the category of Asia-Pacific economies but has the largest travel and tourism industry in the region of South Asia. Furthermore, it tops the lower-middle-income economy category. For the United States of America, it has ranked first in the 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index, and the reasons for the first position, as per the Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024, have been due to several factors, such as the highly conducive business environment, highly skilled and qualified labor force, and readiness towards information and communication technology (ICT). Apart from these characteristics, the 2024 Index also observed that the reason for countries like the United States of America and others to have gained the top positions has been due to the brilliant provisions of transport and infrastructure associated with tourism and its services.

 India-US Contours of the Tourism Industry

Joseph Nye, the pioneer of soft power, opined that “a country which has a strong global influence is more successful in attracting tourism, and that would increase the economic development, investment, and abundant skilled labor force, which would do proper justice towards the use of soft power.” Tourism is one of the tools of soft power, and in the present global situation, the countries are collaborating and cooperating with one another.

One of the fastest growing domains of exchanges that can be witnessed has been the sector covering the people-to-people connections and exchanges. The relationship between India and the US has been evolving constantly, and both countries have many people-to-people interactions and a tourism industry, which has led this partnership to be stronger and more robust. In fact, the Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024 observed 9.24 million foreign tourist arrivals, and this depicted a 43.5 percent increase as compared to 2022, as it brought in foreign exchange earnings of Rs 2.3 lakh crores from countries like the United States of America, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, to name a few. This data clearly explained the opportunities in the domain of tourism and related sectors for growth.

Given India’s growth story and becoming globally influential, India can lead another growth story in the domain of tourism in the coming times. According to the Ministry of Tourism’s report titled “India Tourism Data Compendium 2024,” the tourism industry in India has great potential, as there are 43 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. India’s rich culture and heritage experiences not only open up the world to visiting a beautiful cultural experience, but they also open up the opportunity to learn and invest in the handicraft and textile industry in India. Apart from handicrafts and the textile industry, there are several other products that India is abundant in, and so, as of 31st March 2025, there are 658 geographical indicator tag applications registered, which clearly shows the richness and diversity of Indian products. Furthermore, given India’s rich flora and fauna, India offers diverse nations locations like the various national parks open for safaris, which also helps in gaining safari tourism like the Rhino Safari in Kaziranga in Assam and the Tiger Safari in Pench and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. There are other locations like Ladakh, Spiti Valley, and Rishikesh known for adventure tourism, and this domain is popular among the younger generation. For a couple of years, the wellness and medical tourism industry has made India the global destination for Ayurveda, yoga, and healthcare facilities, which provided provisions for affordable and reliable services. It was observed that in 2023, 6.9 percent of foreign visitors visited India for medical tourism. Another sector of tourism that is emerging is the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry, which caters to the business sector, and in 2023, it brought in 10.3 percent of foreign visitors to India to Indian infrastructural marvels like Yashobhoomi and Bharat Mandapam.

In the Union Budget 2025-2026, Rs. 2541.06 crore has been allocated for employment-led development, which would cater to different aspects like infrastructure building, skill development, and travel facilities, paving the way to promote the tourism industry of India globally. The budget also includes the need to develop 50 top tourist destinations, which would help offer MUDRA loans for homestays, enhance connectivity, and introduce e-visa facilities. Furthermore, the budget also aims to support areas of sustainable tourism through Swadesh Darshan Scheme 2.0, Heal in India, and Gyan Bharatam Mission, and these schemes will not only incentivize employment opportunities but also create a possible growth model. The famous tagline ‘Incredible India’ has gained a strong fan following and has been gaining immense traction in the last couple of years. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), it has been observed that the Indian sector of tourism and hospitality is expected to exceed Rs. 5,12,356 crore by 2028, and it is suggested that travel and tourism are the largest industries in India, with states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal working to develop the tourism circuits and enhance infrastructure for pilgrims.

 As per the industry of tourism in the United States of America, it has been observed that according to the 2018 US Travel Association’s report titled “International Visitations to the US from International Inbound Travel Market Profile,” travel is the largest industry export to India, as Indian students spend up to 52 percent of travel exports and 36 percent is by the Indian tourists. The tourism industry in the US caters to students who study there and make their family visit, and this helps in the domain of leisure tourism in cities like Orlando and Las Vegas, as they provide world-class luxury and entertainment experiences.

Another sector that the US works on is the business and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry, which helps attract many business travelers. Globally, the US has always been the most sought-after choice for tourism, as it offers a combination of landscapes, cultural attractions, and luxurious experiences, and many also visit America to live the ‘American dream through a short holiday.’ From the perspective of the US economy, the tourism industry not only helps in supporting people through employment but also helps equip them with the opportunity to have purchasing power. Furthermore, the domain of infrastructure and hospitality services also experiences a boom in growth.

Since both the countries are looking to expand their relationship with one another. The tourism industry seems to be the most viable sector for greater opportunities of cooperation and exchange.

Challenges

One of the key challenges has been the issuing of visas for Indian citizens to go to America. Though the tourist visas are available, the high costs and the wait time for attaining a visa for many Indians make them rethink their need to visit the great American dream through a short holiday, and so they end up choosing places in Southeast Asia like Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore, where the attainment of a visa is not just convenient but visas are available on arrival. Furthermore, the cost of travelling, hotels, and food is far cheaper, which makes it more lucrative for budget-friendly travellers. A challenge that the US faces with regard to travelling in India is the safety issue, especially for the female solo travellers, which has been a major cause of concern. Another issue that has been a concern

RN for American travellers to India, the cleanliness issue is a big one, and so most of the foreign travellers prefer staying in five-star hotels, which cater to them with their luxurious hospitality and services. This is a problem for budget-friendly travelers, as not everyone can afford a five-star hotel and pay for luxury travel in India, which also economically deters many from coming to India.

Possibilities

It has also been observed that about 92 percent of Americans will be travelling in 2025. With this growth data, there is a major possibility of attracting American international travelers to visit India. If American tourists visit India, they normally visit India for its cultural extravaganza and spirituality retreats, but there is a need to develop other sectors like visits to natural habitats and safaris, which would also attract a lot of tourism in this domain. In fact, India can also learn from the US about its culture of amusement parks and fairs, which would also help boost tourism and employment opportunities. Another aspect is that India and the US venture into student-led tourist groups, and in these groups, students connected to universities can not only interact with one another in their respective academic fields but also show them their understanding of their country, and this way there will be greater interactions among the youth of the two countries and help cement future relations. Business meetings can also be held in cultural hubs, which would give the businesses a chance at working along with travelling and enjoying their leisure time in exploring cultural hubs, and so the governments need to also promote and provide business convention centers in cultural hubs.

All in all, one aspect that India and the US can work on is the people-to-people connections, as they are guiding lights for the future.

President Trump’s new sky-high visa fees have shaken Silicon Valley’s tech giants as they contemplate a surge in the cost of hiring global talent and a new tactic the White House can use to keep Silicon Valley in line.

The tech industry was already navigating an economy with higher and unpredictable tariffs, when last week the Trump administration threw another curveball aimed directly at its bottom line: a $100,000 fee for the visas used to hire certain skilled foreign workers. The industry relies heavily on the H-1B visa program to bring in a wide range of engineers, coders, and other top talent to the United States.

The rollout has sparked confusion among businesses, immigration lawyers and current H-1B visa holders.

Over the weekend, the Trump administration clarified that the new fee will apply to new visas, isn’t annual and doesn’t prevent current H-1B visa holders from traveling in and outside of the country. Companies would have to pay the fee with any new H-1B visa petitions submitted after a specific time on Sept. 21, the White House said.

On Monday, the Trump administration also clarified that certain professions, such as doctors, may be exempt from the fee. Some observers are concerned that a selective application of the fee could be a way the White House can reward its friends and punish its detractors.

Meta, Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft have been strengthening their ties with the Trump administration by committing to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States.

Still, immigration has long been a contentious issue between the Trump administration and tech executives, some of whom were on a H-1B visa before they co-founded or led some of the world’s largest tech companies.

One of the most vocal supporters of the H-1B visas: Elon Musk, who backed Trump but has publicly sparred with him after he led the federal government’s efforts to slash spending. Musk, who runs multiple companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Africa and has held an H-1B visa.

Tech executives have said the H-1B visa program has been crucial for hiring skilled workers. Competition to attract the world’s best talent has been intensifying since the popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT sparked a fierce race to rapidly advance artificial intelligence.

The new fee could slow California’s development and the United States’ position in the AI race by making it tougher for companies — especially startups with less money — to bring in international employees, experts said.

So far this fiscal year, more than 7,500 companies in Californiahave applied forH-1B visas and 61,841 have been approved, data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows.

Tech companies use the visa program to hire computer scientists and engineers because the U.S. isn’t producing enough workers with the skills needed, said Darrell West, a senior fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution.

Trump “likes to talk tough on immigration, but he fails to recognize how important immigrants are to our economy,” he said. “Companies in technology, agriculture, hotels, restaurants and construction rely heavily on immigrants, and slowing that flow is going to be devastating for companies in those areas.”

In his executive order, the Trump administration noted that some companies, such as information technology firms, have allegedly misused the program, citing mass layoffs in the tech industry and the difficulty young college graduates face in landing jobs.

“President Trump promised to put American workers first, and this commonsense action does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down American wages,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

Economists and tech executives, though, have pointed to other factors affecting hiring, including economic uncertainty from tariffs, a shift in investments and the rise of AI tools that could complete tasks typically filled by entry-level workers.

California’s unemployment rate of 5.5% in August was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.3%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The rollout of the new changes has been “extremely chaotic,” and while the White House has tried to clear up some of the confusion, tech companies still have a lot of questions about how the fee would work, said Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of the Chamber of Progress, a center-left tech industry policy coalition.

“You never know what you’re gonna end up with the final policy in Trump world,” he said. “Somebody within the administration drives an announcement, there’s blowback, and then they end up modifying their plans.”

Tech companies have been trying to navigate a fine line in their relationship with Trump.

During Trump’s first term, high-profile tech executives, including those from Meta, Amazon, Google and Apple, spoke out about his administration’s order to restrict travel from several majority-Muslim countries. But in his second term, those same executives have cozied up to the Trump administration as they seek to influence AI policy and strike lucrative partnerships with the government.

They’ve contributed to his inauguration fund, appeared at high-profile press events, and attended a White House dinner, where Trump asked them how much they’re investing in the United States.

Microsoft declined to comment. Meta, Google and Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Changes to the H-1B program could also worsen relations with other countries, such as India, that send skilled tech workers to the U.S., experts said.

Indian nationals are the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa program, accounting for 71% of approved petitions, followed by those from China, at approximately 12%.

Some Indian venture capitalists and research institutes see a silver lining in this murky future. On social media, some have posted that the uncertainty surrounding H-1B visa rules could encourage talented engineers to return home to build startups, thereby fueling India’s tech sector. That would mean more competition for U.S. tech companies.

Kunal Bahl, an Indian tech investor and entrepreneur, posted “Come, build in India!” on social media. His firm, Titan Capital, launched a seed funding and mentorship program aimed at attracting students and professionals rethinking their future in the U.S. after the visa troubles.

Global tech companies might also consider opening more centers abroad where workers can work remotely and not have to move to the U.S., said Phil Fersht, the founder and chief executive of HFS Research.

“The more the U.S. makes itself a less attractive place to bring in talent,” he said, “the more it is going to harm its economy.”

Christopher Nolan was elected president of the Directors Guild of America on Saturday, taking over leadership of the union that represents more than 19,500 members.

Nolan, 55, is among the most successful directors of his generation. His previous film, 2024’s “Oppenheimer,” made more than $975 million worldwide and won seven Academy Awards, including best director and best picture for Nolan. His next film, a star-studded adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey,” opens July 16, 2026, and sold out shows a year in advance.

In a statement, Nolan said, “To be elected President of the Directors Guild of America is one of the greatest honors of my career. Our industry is experiencing tremendous change, and I thank the Guild’s membership for entrusting me with this responsibility.”

Nolan takes over leadership of the guild from Lesli Linka Glatter, who has served two terms since 2021.

Nolan added in a statement, “I also want to thank President Glatter for her leadership over the past four years. I look forward to collaborating with her and the newly elected Board to achieve important creative and economic protections for our members.”

Also announced on Saturday were Laura Belsey as national vice-president and Paris Barclay, a former president of the DGA, as secretary-treasurer. Additional vice-presidents include Todd Holland, Ron Howard, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Seith Mann, Millicent Shelton and Lily Olszewski.

Nolan has been a member of the DGA since 2001 and served as a member of the national board since 2015. He is chair of the guild’s theatrical creative rights committee and its artificial intelligence committee.

He won the DGA award for outstanding directorial achievement in theatrical feature film for “Oppenheimer” and was previously nominated for his films “Dunkirk,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight” and “Memento.”

Next year the DGA is expected to enter into new negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, who represent the studios and streaming services, over its basic agreement.

In a statement, the AMPTP said, “We look forward to partnering with President Nolan to address the issues most important to DGA members while ensuring our member companies remain competitive in a rapidly changing industry.”

It all started with a purchase of land in the 1960s. Then, from that small slice of Utah and the founding of the Sundance Institute in 1981 and, later, its expansion into the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford developed a vision that would reshape on-screen storytelling as we know it. Sundance opened doors for multiple generations of filmmakers who might not otherwise have gained entry to the movie business.

Redford, who died Tuesday at age 89, was already a hugely successful actor, producer and director, having just won an Oscar for his directorial debut “Ordinary People,” when he founded the Sundance Institute as a support system for independent filmmakers. His Utah property, named after his role in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” would become a haven for creativity in an idyllic setting.

Evincing a rugged, hands-on attitude marked by curiosity and enthusiasm about the work, Redford embodied a philosophy for Sundance that was clear from its earliest days.

“When I started the Institute, the major studios dominated the game, which I was a part of,” Redford said to The Times via email in 2021. “I wanted to focus on the word ‘independence’ and those sidelined by the majors — supporting those sidelined by the dominant voices. To give them a voice. The intent was not to cancel or go against the studios. It wasn’t about going against the mainstream. It was about providing another avenue and more opportunity.”

The first of the Sundance Lab programs, which continue today, also launched in 1981, bringing emerging filmmakers together in the mountains to develop projects with the support of more established advisers.

The Institute would take over a small film festival in Utah, the U.S. Film Festival, for its 1985 edition and eventually rename it the Sundance Film Festival, a showcase that would go on to introduce directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Nia DaCosta, Taika Waititi, Gregg Araki, Damien Chazelle and countless others while refashioning independent filmmaking into a viable career path.

Before directing “Black Panther” and “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler went through the Sundance Lab at the beginning of his career and saw his debut feature “Fruitvale Station” premiere at Sundance in 2013 where it won both the grand jury and audience awards.

“Mr. Redford was a shining example of how to leverage success into community building, discovery, and empowerment,” Coogler said in a statement to The Times on Tuesday. “I’ll be forever grateful for what he did when he empowered and supported Michelle Satter in developing the Sundance Labs. In these trying times it hurts to lose an elder like Mr. Redford — someone who through their words, their actions and their commitment left their industry in a better place than they found it.”

Chloé Zhao’s debut feature “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” premiered at the festival in 2015 after she took the project through the labs. With her later effort “Nomadland,” Zhao would go on to become the second woman — and still the only woman of color — to win the Academy Award for directing.

“Sundance changed my life,” Zhao said in a statement on Tuesday. “I didn’t know anyone in the industry or how to get my first film made. Being accepted into the Sundance Labs was like entering a lush and nurturing garden holding my tiny fragile seedling and watching it take root and grow. It was there I found my voice, became a part of a community I still treasure deeply today.”

Satter, Sundance Institute‘s founding senior director of artist programs, was involved since the organization’s earliest days. Even from relatively humble origins, Satter could already feel there was something powerful and unique happening under Redford’s guidance.

“He made us all feel like we were part of the conversation, part of building Sundance, right from the beginning,” Satter said of Redford in a 2021 interview. “He was really interested in others’ point of view, all perspectives. At the same time, he had a real clarity of vision and what he wanted this to be.”

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For many years Redford was indeed the face of the film festival, making frequent appearances and regularly speaking at the opening press conference. Starting in 2019 he reduced his public role at the festival, in tandem with the moment he stepped back from acting.

The festival has gone through many different eras over the years, with festival directors handing off leadership from Geoffrey Gilmore to John Cooper to Tabitha Jackson and current fest director Eugene Hernandez.

The festival has also weathered changes in the industry, as streaming platforms have upended distribution models. Steven Soderbergh’s 1989 drama “sex, lies and videotape” is often cited as a key title in the industry’s discovery of the Utah event as a must-attend spot on their calendars, a place where buyers could acquire movies for distribution and scout new talent.

“Before Sundance, there wasn’t really a marketplace for new voices and independent film in the way that we know it today,” said Kent Sanderson, chief executive of Bleecker Street, which has premiered multiple films at the festival over the years. “The way Sundance supports filmmakers by giving their early works a real platform is key to the health of our business.”

Over time, Sundance became a place not only to acquire films but also to launch them, with distributors bringing films to put in front of the high number of media and industry attendees. Investors come to scope out films and filmmakers look to raise money.

“It all started with Redford having this vision of wanting to create an environment where alternative approaches to filmmaking could be supported and thrive,” said Joe Pichirallo, an arts professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and one of the original executives at Searchlight Pictures. “And he succeeded and it’s continuing. Even though the business is going through various changes, Sundance’s significance as a mecca for independent film is still pretty high.”

At the 2006 festival, “Little Miss Sunshine,” directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, sold to Searchlight for what was then a record-setting $10.5 million. In 2021, Apple TV+ purchased Siân Heder’s “CODA” for a record-breaking $25 million. The film would go on to be the first to have premiered at Sundance to win the Oscar for best picture.

Yet the festival, the labs and the institute have remained a constant through it all, continuing to incubate fresh talent to launch to the industry.

“Redford put together basically a factory of how to do independent films,” said Tom Bernard, co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics. Over the years the company has distributed many titles that premiered at Sundance, including “Call Me by Your Name” and “Whiplash.”

“He adapted as the landscape changed,” Bernard added of the longevity of Sundance’s influence. “And as you watched the evolution to where it is today, it’s an amazing journey and an amazing feat that he did for the world of independent film. It wouldn’t be the same without him.”

Through it all, Redford balanced his roles between his own career making and starring in movies and leading Sundance. Filmmaker Allison Anders, whose 1992 film “Gas Food Lodging” was among the earliest breakout titles from the Sundance Film Festival, remembered Redford on Instagram.

“You could easily have just been the best looking guy to walk into any room and stopped there and lived off of that your whole life,” Anders wrote. “You wanted to help writers and filmmakers like me who were shut out to create characters not seen before, and you did. You could have just been handsome. But you nurtured us.”

The upcoming 2026 Sundance Film Festival in January will be the last one in its longtime home of Park City, Utah. The festival had previously announced that a tribute to Redford and his vision of the festival would be a part of that final bow, which will now carry an added emotional resonance.

Starting in 2027, the Sundance Film Festival will unspool in in Boulder, Colo. Regardless of where the event takes place, the legacy of what Robert Redford first conceived will remain.

As Redford himself said in 2021 about the founding of the Institute, “I believed in the concept and because it was just that, a concept, I expected and hoped that it would evolve over time. And happily, it has.”

Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.

On Wall Street, market cap serves as a differentiator of good and great businesses. While there are plenty of budding small- and mid-cap companies, businesses with valuations in excess of $10 billion have (more often than not) demonstrated their innovative capacity and backed up their worth to Wall Street.

But among this class of proven businesses is a truly elite group of 11 public companies that have reached the psychologically important trillion-dollar valuation plateau, not accounting for the effects of inflation over time (looking at you, Dutch East India Company). These 11 indelible titans include all seven members of the “Magnificent Seven,” Broadcom, Berkshire Hathaway, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Saudi Aramco, the latter of which doesn’t trade on U.S. exchanges.

Image source: Getty Images.

Last week, integrated cloud applications and cloud infrastructure services provider Oracle (ORCL 3.33%) came within a stone’s throw of becoming the 12th public company to reach at least a $1 trillion valuation before retreating. While the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) makes it a logical candidate to eventually surpass a market cap of $1 trillion, there’s another industry leader that’s ideally positioned to become Wall Street’s next trillion-dollar stock.

Oracle came oh-so-close to entering the trillion-dollar ranks

Following the closing bell on Sept. 9, Larry Ellison’s company delivered nothing short of a jaw-dropper with its fiscal 2026 first-quarter operating results.

It’s exceptionally rare when a megacap company moves by a double-digit percentage in a single trading session. At one point on Sept. 10, Oracle stock was higher by more than 40% and peaked at a market cap of $982 billion. Though it’s given back $150 billion in market value since its Sept. 10 peak, it closed out the week with a 25% gain, which isn’t shabby at all.

The hoopla surrounding Oracle has to do with its updated remaining performance obligations (RPO) forecast — RPO is essentially a backlog of future revenue based on contracts signed — and projected growth ramp for its high-margin Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) segment. OCI offers on-demand cloud-computing services, which can run AI workloads on private, public, and hybrid clouds, and also leases out AI compute.

On a year-over-year basis for the quarter ended Aug. 31, Oracle announced its RPO jumped 359% to $455 billion on the heels of signing four multibillion contracts during the fiscal first quarter. During the company’s conference call, CEO Safra Catz singled out privately held OpenAI and xAI, as well as Magnificent Seven members Meta Platforms and Nvidia, as some of these significant cloud contracts.

What’s perhaps even more impressive than the growth of Oracle’s backlog is its projected ramp in sales from OCI. Catz laid out a stunning growth forecast that calls for:

• 77% sales growth to $18 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2026
• 78% sales growth to $32 billion in FY 2027
• 128% sales growth to $73 billion in FY 2028
• 56% sales growth to $114 billon in FY 2029
• 26% sales growth to $144 billion in FY 2030

Catz and Oracle co-founder/Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison have outlined a clear path to outsized growth that the company has lacked since the dot-com days. However, a wait-and-see approach from investors may be preferred in the quarters to come given that Oracle has missed Wall Street’s earnings per share consensus in three of the last four quarters. This could stall its efforts to quickly join the elite trillion-dollar club.

Image source: Getty Images.

This is the sensational company that can beat Oracle to the trillion-dollar plateau

Considering how Wall Street lives and breathes anything having to do with AI, you might be thinking a tech company is the next logical candidate to reach the trillion-dollar plateau. But what if I told you that time-tested retailer Walmart (WMT 0.14%), which closed out last week with a market cap of $825 billion, has an inside path to a $1 trillion valuation?

On the surface, things might not seem perfect for the retail industry. Recent job market revisions point to a potentially weakening U.S. economy.

At the same time, the effects of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have begun to show up in monthly inflation reports. Between May and August, the trailing-12-month inflation rate, based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose by 67 basis points to 2.92%. When coupled with a weakening job market, rising inflation ignites fears of stagflation, which is a worse-case scenario for the Federal Reserve.

These scenarios are typically bad news for most retailers — but Walmart isn’t “most retailers.”

For decades, Walmart’s success has derived from its focus on value and convenience. When times are tough or uncertain in America, people turn to Walmart for a good deal on groceries, toiletries, and countless other items. If Trump’s tariffs are eventually ruled legal by the Supreme Court and remain in place, their inflationary impact is only going to drive more consumers, including affluent shoppers, into Walmart stores. Even if the company eats a portion of these tariffs, the benefit from increased foot traffic more than outweighs its sacrifice.

To build on this low-cost/value point, Walmart undeniably uses its size to its advantage. It has deep pockets and purchases products in bulk to lower its per-unit cost. This allows it to undercut mom-and-pop shops and national grocery chains on price and keeps consumers confined to its ecosystem of products and services (especially when they live close to a supercenter).

Another key to Walmart’s success has been its embrace of technology. Promoting its online retail channels and Walmart+ subscription service helped lift global e-commerce sales by 25% during the fiscal 2026 second quarter (ended July 31), and has pushed its U.S. e-commerce operations into the profit column. It’s also leaning into AI as a way to improve supply chain management and improve order fulfillment times.

It would only take a 21% move higher for Walmart to become the 12th public company to reach $1 trillion, and it looks to be in an ideal position to do so.

Paramount on Friday sharply denounced a proposed boycott of Israeli film institutions by a group that calls itself Film Workers for Palestine and is supported by dozens of Hollywood luminaries.

Earlier this week, the group launched an open letter pledging to withhold support for Israeli film festivals, production companies and other organizations that the group said were involved in “genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

The letter has been signed by hundreds of individuals, including filmmakers Jonathan Glazer, Ava DuVernay, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Olivia Colman and Mark Ruffalo.

“As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions,” the group wrote. “In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror.”

The group pledged “not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions — including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies,” which have been “implicated” in attacks on Palestinians. The group described its effort as being inspired by filmmakers joining the South African boycott over apartheid, a global campaign decades ago that proved influential in helping overturn the nation’s government.

Paramount, which was acquired last month by the Larry Ellison family and private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, made clear its opposition to the filmmakers’ campaign.

“We believe in the power of storytelling to connect and inspire people, promote mutual understanding, and preserve the moments, ideas, and events that shape the world we share,” said an emailed statement attributed to the company. “We do not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers. Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace.”

Paramount is the first studio to state a position on the divisive issue. An insider who was not authorized to speak about the internal debate said Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison and the company’s leadership team felt strongly about the need to speak out in opposition, believing that individuals should not be boycotted based on their nationality.

“The global entertainment industry should be encouraging artists to tell their stories and share their ideas with audiences throughout the world,” Paramount said. “We need more engagement and communication — not less.”

SACRAMENTO — Amid concerns that refinery closures could send gas prices soaring, California legislative leaders Wednesday introduced a last-minute deal aimed at increasing oil production to shore up the struggling fossil-fuel industry while further restricting offshore drilling.

The compromise, brokered by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, would streamline environmental approvals for new wells in oil-rich Kern County and increase oil production. The bill also would make offshore drilling more difficult by tightening the safety and regulatory requirements for pipelines.

With support from Rivas and McGuire, Senate Bill 237 is expected to pass as part of a flurry of last-minute activity during the Legislature’s final week. Newsom’s office said the governor “looks forward to signing it when it reaches his desk.”

The late introduction of the measure may force the Legislature to extend its 2025 session, set to end Friday, by another day because bills must be in print for 72 hours before they can be voted on.

The bill was introduced Wednesday as part of a package of energy policies that aims to address growing concerns about affordability and the closure of California oil refineries.

Valero and Phillips 66 plan to close plants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County’s South Bay, which would reduce California’s in-state oil refining capacity by an estimated 20%. Industry experts warn that losing refining capacity could lead to more volatile gas prices.

The closures have become a sore spot for Newsom and for state Democrats, pitting their longtime clean-energy goals against concerns about the rising cost of living — a major political liability.

The package tries to strike a balance between the oil industry and climate activists, but neither side seemed particularly pleased: Environmental groups panned the agreements, and industry groups said they were still reviewing the bill.

“I don’t think what’s in that legislation is going to keep refineries open,” said Michael Wara, the director of Stanford University’s Climate and Energy Policy Program.

Crude oil produced in California makes up a fraction of what refineries turn into gasoline, he said, so although increasing production may help stabilize the decline of local oil companies, it won’t benefit the refineries.

The bill would grant statutory approval for up to 2,000 new wells per year in the oil fields of Kern County, the heart of California oil country, which produce about three-fourths of the state’s crude oil. That legislative fix, effective through 2036, would in effect circumvent years of legal challenges by environmental groups seeking to stymie drilling.

The state, which has championed and pioneered progressive environmental policies to slash carbon emissions, also is home to a billion-dollar oil industry that helps power its economy and has significant political sway in Sacramento. Despite steady declines in production, California remains the eighth-largest crude oil producing state in the nation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, said the legislation “acknowledges the harms of oil drilling yet takes radical steps to boost it.”

“Removing environmental safeguards won’t reverse the terminal decline of California oil production but it will allow the industry to do more damage on its way out the door,” Kretzmann said, adding that it will have “no impact on refinery closures or gas prices.”

Ted Cordova, a vice president of E&B Natural Resources, an oil and natural gas company with operations in Kern County, told reporters earlier this week that California needs to reverse falling oil production to keep refineries operating. He said his firm gets emails from pipeline companies saying they are operating “at dangerously low levels, can you send us more?”

The bill also has the potential to create new hurdles for Sable Offshore Corp., the Texas oil firm that is moving toward restarting offshore drilling along Santa Barbara County’s coast, depending on when the company navigates through a litany of ongoing litigation and necessary state approvals.

The company has moved forward on repairs to the network of oil pipelines that burst in 2015 in one of the state’s worst oil spills, despite opposition from the California Coastal Commission.

The bill, which would take effect in January, reasserts the authority of the commission to oversee pipeline repair projects and requires the “best available technology” for any pipe transporting petroleum from offshore. That could add lengthy governmental reviews for Sable if the operation isn’t running by January.

The company, despite reports that it’s running low on capital and has suffered repeated setbacks, continues to say it hopes to begin sales as soon as possible.

Representatives from Sable did not respond to questions Wednesday.

Mary Nichols, an attorney at UCLA Law’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said the bill probably wouldn’t affect the ongoing project off Santa Barbara County’s coast — which remains tied up in litigation — but makes clear that there’s no easy path for any other company looking to take advantage of offshore oil in federal waters under the oil-friendly Trump administration.

“This was designed to send a message to anybody else who might be thinking about doing the same thing,” said Nichols, a former chair of the California Air Resources Board.

Lawmakers also introduced a tentative deal on cap-and-trade, an ambitious climate program that has raised roughly $31 billion since its inception 11 years ago. The revised language would extend the program from its current 2030 deadline until 2045.

The program, last renewed in 2017, requires major polluters such as power plants and oil refineries to purchase credits for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit, and allows those companies buy or sell their unused credits at quarterly auctions.

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City), one of the authors of SB 237, said she was glad to make progress on the push and pull between the state’s fuel needs and its commitment to green energy. She said she understands there are environmental concerns, but “at the end of the day, our purpose was an issue of petroleum supply.”

“We all don’t want an import model,” she said.

Times staff writers Melody Gutierrez and Hayley Smith contributed to this report.

This article contains spoilers from the first season of “The Paper.”

The journey to spin off the U.S. version of “The Office” has, until now, been long and slow. (That’s what she said.)

While the unconventional workplace comedy about a humdrum band of paper company employees, adapted from a beloved British series of the same name, famously got off to a sluggish start on NBC with a low-rated six-episode first season, it became a rare case study of how a risky gamble can become a pop culture phenomenon and one of the most popular sitcoms in TV history. Talks of expanding “The Office” universe began as early as Season 3, when another office branch was introduced. “Parks and Recreation” was initially conceived as a spinoff but morphed into a standalone series. Another centered on socially awkward Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) would get dropped. The series eventually ended its nine-season run in 2013 with no offshoot. But it still managed to have an afterlife without one, as fans obsessively continued to watch it in syndication or on streaming platforms.

Once “The Office” began making headlines in 2020 for the being the most streamed show in America, Greg Daniels, who captained the U.S. adaptation and was initially concerned about tarnishing its legacy with offshoots, was coming around to the idea that it was safely insulated enough to withstand any attempt to find a way to build out its kooky world.

Finally, more than a decade after “The Office” went off the air, Peacock is hoping the spinoff series “The Paper” can recycle some of that show’s success while finding its own path.

In “The Paper,” Domhnall Gleeson, left, stars as editor in chief Ned Sampson, and Tim Key plays executive Ken Davies.

(Aaron Epstein / Peacock)

This series shifts its focus to the staff at the Toledo Truth Teller, a struggling local newspaper in Ohio, which is being filmed by the same documentary crew that followed bumbling boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and his Scranton, Pa.-based Dunder Mifflin employees. (It’s a believable documentary subject when you consider the U.S. has lost more than one-third of its newspapers since 2005.) Daniels created the series with Michael Koman (“Nathan For You,” “How to With John Wilson”).

All 10 episodes of the first season were released Thursday on Peacock, and the show has been picked up for a second season. Daniels and Koman visited The Times earlier this month — and spoke in follow-up video calls — to discuss the comedy potential of a beleaguered industry, why Oscar is the obvious choice to be the crossover character in the spinoff and whether they plan to reference the president’s comments about the press. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

The series was originally going to launch with four episodes, then switch to a weekly drop. But it was recently announced that the full season is dropping at once. What happened? And do you have strong feelings about release models?

Daniels: Every company is different. I do know that they’re [NBCUniversal] being incredibly supportive and there’s a giant team gaming out every move. I trust that they have the best of intentions and have a lot of good strategy. My inclination was always to sneak on the air without any fanfare whatsoever, and then maybe advertise after — that is very naive, apparently. One possible nice thing about it being handled this way is our superfans will be able to watch at their own convenience, and maybe before they’ve seen too many promos. I’ve always felt like the show was cut to be the introduction to the show itself. And the more you know jokes you see from later in the seasons, the more you’re coming at it with an unintended awareness of what’s to come. It may play better, just clean for all the superfans. Actually, I thought at first, the pace-out model would be good because that was how “The Office” was on NBC. But they did point out to me that probably the majority of “The Office” fans have watched it on streaming, where they could binge the whole thing.

Koman: It’s not really my area, but that’s how I like to watch things. I’m always happy when it’s up to me — I can make my own schedule, and I tend to watch things quickly.

The crisis facing local journalism doesn’t feel like an obvious backdrop for comedy — and if you’re in it, it’s more of a can’t-help-but-laugh–to-keep-from-crying vibe. How did you arrive at a newsroom as your backdrop and what was the pitch?

Daniels: You wouldn’t think that selling stationary was a particularly hilarious or glamorous place to set a show. I think that there are some intentional differences with this show, and in the sense that we didn’t want to repeat aspects of “The Office.” For me, I was incredibly protective of the original show and the cast. I just waited a long time to do something like this. The original “Office” cast was very supportive by the time it came about. Since it’s a documentary, if you’re going to really commit to that device, you have to think all the time about [how] there’s really camerapeople in the room; they’re trying to cover something; they wouldn’t be there to just cover what they thought was a funny workplace. They’re there to cover an actual story. And the hollowing out of local newspapers is an interesting story that you could imagine a documentary crew from PBS being like, “Oh, this is a good story.” Of course, since it’s a comedy show, the stuff that’s happening in the background is really the point of the show — all the funny interactions with people as they try to do stuff. Another way that we wanted it to be different was the whole interaction between Michael Scott and his staff — he was not a very inspirational boss, and Ned Sampson, played by Domhnall Gleeson, comes in and he does manage to inspire the people working there. And the question is more: Is he biting off way more than he can chew and his staff can chew? Or should they be right and believing in him?

Koman: I just think reality always makes the best backdrop. And it’s good if your characters are facing a challenge and you have something to root for.

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1. Clockwise from top left: Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, John Krasinksi as Jim Halpert, BJ Novak as Ryan Howard and Steve Carell as Michael Scott in “The Office.” 2. Carell, Krasinksi and Wilson in a scene from the NBC comedy. (Justin Lubin / NBC Universal)

How did you land on Toledo?

Daniels: That was really about the alliteration of the Toledo Truth Teller. There’s something about the Cleveland Plain Dealer that I think is a super interesting thing. The name of it, I thought, has always been very intriguing. It kind of reminds you of the independence of these big Midwestern newspapers, which is different from now. It really feels like the big newspapers are L.A., New York, Washington, Dallas. I know the Cleveland Plain Dealer is still quite healthy, which is great. But there is something about the Midwest that feels nostalgic.

Koman: If I think of the heyday of print journalism, Ohio is just a place that comes to mind. They had so many really important newspapers and great journalists that came out of there, so it just seemed like … if somebody was going to try to revive something, that’s a state, and Toledo itself, is a place where you can see it happening.

Daniels: Toledo also has a certain “Office-y,” Scranton thing to it. There was a time where we were looking at where the other locations that Dunder Mifflin has offices. And the list is very funny. It’s like Yonkers and Nashua, New Hampshire. It’s all these words that are just kind of fun to roll off your tongue.

Greg, you had been resistant to the idea of expanding “The Office” universe. “Parks and Recreation” was originally meant to be a spinoff, but it eventually evolved away from that. Why now? What changed?

Daniels: There’s two questions. One is, why now? And part of that is that “Upload” [Daniels’ Prime Video series] is wrapping up. When we first started discussing it, I didn’t know what was going to happen with “Upload.” I had sold it and I was committed to being the showrunner and it kept getting picked up, so I kept having to put off thinking about any kind of [“The Office”] spinoff. But [the final season of] “Upload” is dropping Aug. 25. The other part of your your question — over the years, since the finale, the show had this enormous blow-up on Netflix. It just felt like this show is pretty bulletproof at this point. Even if we did a s— job with a spinoff, it’s not going to go back in time and mess up “The Office,” which was my concern. “The Office” was such a beautiful and rare confluence of the cast and the time and the format and the writers and everything — it seemed very arrogant to think you could pull that off again. But then after a while, it’s like, “Well, you got to try.” You can’t be intimidated out of ever doing anything.

Greg Daniels says the staff of a struggling newspaper is as relatable as their Dunder Mifflin predecessors: “That quality of morale being low is very ‘Office’-like. The tone is intended to be similar without having the characters be similar.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

How did you arrive at former Dunder Mifflin accountant Oscar Martinez (Oscar Núñez) being the connecting character between the two shows?

Daniels: When you look at the finale of “The Office,” everybody was going off in their own direction that had a lot of, in my view, meaningful wrap-up of their story. Jim and Pam were moving to Boston with Darrell; Toby was in England. But Oscar didn’t really have a big arc. He was pretty much Oscar the whole way through, and it didn’t feel like it was going to undo anything with “The Office” to keep Oscar involved.

Koman: It made sense, just on a business level, that if one company was acquired by another, that some people would move over into that company. He was the one person who, I think, would have stayed.

Daniels: He was maybe the most self-possessed. He had the most dignity, I think, of most of the characters. The idea that the crew has found him again just seemed appropriate. He did run for elective office at the end of “The Office,” so I feel like he is susceptible to being inspired and do something for his community, so he seems like a person who could buy into what Ned is selling.

Koman: Also, he has kind of a cosmopolitan personality. The city is like a third larger than Scranton.

Greg, you gave us one of the great will–they/won’t–they relationships in TV history with Jim and Pam. There are a couple of office romances brewing on “The Paper.” The season ends with Ned and Mare (Chelsea Frei) kissing. Is there a specific challenge with crafting a slow burn in the streaming era? How did you want to approach things this time around?

Daniels: You need to have stakes in stories. If you’re going to be very realistic and relatable, the stakes in people’s stories are mostly romantic because most people don’t battle aliens to save the world or whatever. So, the highest stakes a normal person usually has is who they’re going to marry or who they’re seeing, or what drama they’re in in their personal lives. There’s a column the New York Times does about people who are getting married, how-they-met kind of thing, which I love, and you realize that there’s hundreds and hundreds of stories of how people meet. It’s not all Sam and Diane or Pam and Jim. My aim would be to not have the audience be like, “Who’s the next Pam and Jim? Is that Pam and Jim?” That’s their relationship. Those two actors were brilliant. You can’t replicate it, but it doesn’t mean that other characters aren’t going to be romantically interested in each other.

Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) and Jim Halpert (John Kraskinski), the friends-to-lovers duo affectionately known as JAM, in a scene from “The Office.” (Paul Drinkwater/NBC)

“The Paper” features characters like interim managing editor Esmeralda (Sabrina Impacciatore), compositor turned reporter Mare (Chelsea Frei) and new boss Ned (Domhnall Gleeson). Mare and Ned have a will-they/won’t-they dynamic in the sitcom. (Aaron Epstein/Peacock)

We had a sense, at least through Kelly Kapoor and her pop culture references, that “The Office” took place in our shared reality, but it didn’t directly comment on real world matters. But considering the show’s setting and Ned’s idealism about the profession, with President Trump’s ongoing remarks about the press, can you see a day where those remarks or ideas are more directly referenced in some form? Or do you want to stay clear of that?

Daniels: I think there’s so many voices that [are] constantly talking about that, just from a comedy standpoint; I’m very tired of it. There’s also so many opinions that are so strong. My inclination is to do the fundamentals — it’s a character comedy. These are characters. They’re in a world of journalism [and it] has a lot of bumping between human beings and ethics, and to tell those stories is valuable. No matter what side you’re on, you can look at it and, hopefully, if there’s truth in what’s being presented, you can take something valuable away.

Koman: It’s important to think of this as a local paper. Their struggle is to credibly tell local stories, which is what I think the city needs, more than anything — a voice to just tell people what’s going on. Beyond that, I think the way that a culture will seep into a show like this — you should always have a sense of reality and that this is taking place in the present. I think of their minds as being focused on: How can we be a good news source for Toledo?

Michael Koman, who previously worked on docu-comedies “Nathan For You” and “How To With John Wilson,” on capturing the state of journalism realistically in “The Paper”: “What makes newspapers different than other businesses or other jobs is that people do arrive with a sense of enthusiasm for what they’re going to do. It seemed important that many of these people could have started their jobs like this, but now we’re meeting them at a point where that’s been tamped down enormously.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

The impulse when you hear about a spin-off or a reboot is to compare and to see who fits into what archetypes. Tell me about the types of characters you wanted to fill out in this newsroom.

Daniels: We tried to avoid that. What’s the point of doing something where everybody can go, “Oh, that’s the new Dwight”? They’re working in journalism and they have a very romantic, idealistic boss. He’s extremely interested in getting to the bottom of stories and being super rigorous and ethical, but he’s come in and replaced the temporary managing editor, Esmeralda, played by Sabrina Impacciatore, who has a very different view. She doesn’t really drill down that hard. She’s more about getting eyeballs.

Koman: What makes newspapers different than other businesses or other jobs is that people do arrive with a sense of enthusiasm for what they’re going to do. It seemed important that many of these people could have started their jobs like this, but now we’re meeting them at a point where that’s been tamped down enormously. Morale is low. In terms of who this group of people was, you could feel like that’s been dampened enormously and somebody new can come in who, either out of naivety or just optimism, thinks that he can revive it.

Daniels: That quality of morale being low is very “Office”-like. The tone is intended to be similar without having the characters be similar.

The title sequence is a montage of the various ways people make use of newspapers — rather than reading it. How would you describe your relationship to print journalism?

Daniels: When I first moved out here, I had a subscription to the L.A. Times, and the volume of papers was so gigantic, and it would come with these white ties to hold it all together. I built furniture in my apartment out of stacks of L.A. Times because they were so big. So it’d be like two weeks of them, I could make a stool and make a table with a full week’s worth stacked up.

Koman: Yes, I would say that digital media is all well and good until you need to pack glasses, then you hunt for a newspaper.

Daniels: One of my earliest memories is my parents trying to read the newspaper on their bed, and I wanted their attention, so I would roll onto the newspapers and look up at them, which would really irritate them. They were a big newspaper household.

Much like the news media, your industry is confronting budget constraints and technological disruption that is forcing changes to business models and programming strategies. What are your concerns about your industry right now?

Daniels: One of the big themes is the return to advertising. The streamers have all added ad tiers and that naturally is going to change the programming a bit. I don’t think, necessarily, [that] it’s bad. When you look at the heyday of Netflix, a lot of their biggest stuff had been developed under the old advertising model. I sometimes think about the French movie business, where it seems like they don’t care if something makes money or not. It’s just, if you’re in the club, you get to make movies over and over again. I’ve always felt like that there’s something more democratic about: You actually have to get people to watch your thing somehow.

Koman: The strangest thing about this industry is that it might change a lot, [but] the thing you’re making is a timeless product. You’re telling a story. There’s the part of it that is like, “Well, this will eventually be finished and will be presented somewhere” — and you have no control over how that’s going to change. But what you’re actually trying to make would have to hold up under any conditions.