Puck vs The Hollywood Reporter

Looper Insights launches AI chat to price CTV home-screen placements

Looper Insights has announced the launch of Looper AI, a conversational interface that allows studios, streamers, and their marketing, content, distribution, and partnership teams to query the company's CTV home-screen placement data in plain language. The AI-powered chat provides answers with source tables, enabling users to understand the value of their on-device placements, compare with competitors, and take data-backed numbers into platform negotiations. The tool addresses a market gap where 65% of streaming executives believe platforms charge premium rates without adequate proof, yet only 8% use third-party verification. Looper Insights also plans to offer public Model Context Protocol (MCP) access, allowing its data to be integrated into AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and Copilot. This move positions Looper as a data source for AI-driven media planning and could increase pricing transparency in CTV advertising.

• Looper Insights launched Looper AI, a chat interface for natural language queries on CTV home-screen placement data.
• Only 8% of streaming executives use third-party verification for premium placement rates, while 65% believe platforms charge without adequate proof (State of Streaming survey).
• Looper plans to provide public Model Context Protocol (MCP) access for integration with AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and Copilot.

Mike Judge to Reclaim Beavis and Butt-Head Rights

Mike Judge is expected to be able to reclaim ownership rights to Beavis and Butt-Head from Paramount in 2027, according to reporting based on Matt Belloni’s newsletter at Puck News. The characters were created by Judge in the early 1990s and have been controlled by MTV and later Paramount through a series of corporate transitions (including Viacom and Paramount Global). Paramount revived the franchise in 2022 with a feature film and new episodes on Paramount+, later moving additional seasons to Comedy Central. If rights revert in 2027, Judge would gain control over future productions, licensing and ancillary uses, while existing catalogs already licensed to Paramount-operated platforms would remain in place.

• Mike Judge may reclaim control of Beavis and Butt-Head from Paramount in 2027.
• The report cites Matt Belloni’s newsletter at Puck News as the source for the reclaiming timeline.
• Beavis and Butt-Head originated as Mike Judge shorts in 1992 and premiered as a series on March 8, 1993.

Gwyneth Paltrow reportedly to host Sam Altman dinner

Gwyneth Paltrow is reportedly inviting guests to a private, off-the-record dinner honoring Sam Altman at her Hamptons home on August 29, according to Puck. The brief article notes Paltrow's roles as an actress and founder of wellness brand Goop and her investment activity through Kinship Ventures, which she launched in 2021 alongside Moj Mahdara. Kinship has been reported as raising a fund in 2023 and is listed in SEC filings as an investor in OpenAI; it has also backed AI companies such as Lovable and the marketing platform Nectar Social. The piece references Paltrow's public commentary on AI and mentions Goop Kitchen signing a lease at Anthropic's San Francisco HQ.

• Gwyneth Paltrow is reportedly sending invites for a private dinner honoring Sam Altman on August 29 at her Hamptons home (per Puck).
• Paltrow is described as an actress and founder of the wellness brand Goop.
• Paltrow invests through Kinship Ventures, which she launched in 2021 alongside Moj Mahdara.

Done Deal: Paramount Completes Warner Bros. Takeover, Creating Hollywood Giant

Paramount has completed its acquisition of Warner Bros., creating a new Hollywood giant. The deal was announced as a breaking news item on The Hollywood Reporter's news page.

Universal Presells Nolan's Odyssey Year-Early

Josh Stein argues that Universal’s decision to sell IMAX 70mm tickets for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey at midnight on July 17, 2025 — for screenings starting July 17, 2026 — represented a first for a major studio: collecting paying demand 12 months before a film existed. Roughly 25 IMAX 70mm locations were offered, 95% of seats sold within an hour, and about $1.5 million was collected from that small pool. Stein ties the event to a broader shift: counted, presold demand (from creators and auteur brands) can become a financeable asset, changing greenlight underwriting and capital-stack pricing. He cites parallel creator-market examples (A24’s Backrooms, Focus’s Obsession, Markiplier’s Iron Lung) and notes industry reactions including box-office results and major corporate deals and disclosure choices that reflect the value of measured demand.

• On July 17, 2025 (midnight Eastern), Universal put IMAX 70mm tickets on sale for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, for show dates beginning July 17, 2026.
• 95% of the available IMAX 70mm seats sold within an hour, producing roughly $1.5 million in gross from the deliberately small pool of about 25 locations.
• The Odyssey had a reported $250 million net production budget; its opening weekend later ran to $264.1 million worldwide, per Variety and Reuters.