Better Call Paul

Paul and Mesh pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II. They discuss DC’s quest to find the right studio head. Paul explains why the legal framework around sports gambling and fantasy sports has evolved and allowed fantasy sports to grow into a $20B+ annual business. Finally, Paul and Mesh chat about Cineworld, the second-largest theatre operator in the world, its bankruptcy, and potential implica...

Paul and Mesh discuss Serena Williams's amazing tennis career and her upcoming new act as a VC. They then dive into the drama behind Olivia Wilide's Don't Worry Darling -Shia LaBeouf's departure from the movie and other tension between the cast. The film recently premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. Paul discusses the latest on the Top Gun: Maverick lawsuit between Paramount and th...

Paul and Mesh banter about HBO's House of Dragons premiere, Matt Reeve's greenlit Batman Universe and Bad Bunny's NYC/VMA takeover. They then dive into the main topic- Bareclona Football Club's financial struggles, as they leverage their assets in order to raise more money for fresh players and a new stadium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul kicks off the episode by sharing his favorite "law" show as Marvel launches their new legal comedy- She-Hulk. Paul and Mesh then do a deep dive into the state of South Asia's booming entertainment industry- from multibillion-dollar cricket rights to South Asian/Hollywood crossovers to Netflix's investment in India as they break records with the release of "RRR." Learn more about your ad choic...

Paul and Mesh recount the epic Rage Against The Machine concert at MSG and discuss Disney’s streaming services surpassing Netflix in total subscribers (with a nod to Hulu's success with its latest Predator installment, Prey). Paul and Mesh also delve into Anne Heche's unfortunate passing and its potential legal implications. Paul honors leading entertainment lawyer, Bert Fields, and his impact on...

Paul and Mesh share updates on the LIV Golf Tournament and their attempt to sign Tiger Woods with $700M. What's the latest with Britney Grimer and her nine year Russian sentence? Paul explains the sexual allegations against Deshaun Jackson and what it means for his contract and what actions the NFL should take. Paul and Mesh dive in on Warner Brothers Discovery shelving of Batgirl and the producti...

Paul and Mesh discuss Jordan Peele's Nope and the new Black Panther trailer. Paul explains why music festivals try streaming with the Lollapalooza and Hulu deal. Paul dives into the launch of NFL+ and how it makes the organization even bigger from a content standpoint and how they're working with their existing distributors. Bonus: Kyle Murray's contract dispute. Learn more about your ad choices....

Paul and Mesh discuss exciting news around Comic Con 2022 and what it means for the entertainment industry. Paul shares a story about hanging out with Jordan Peele at a previous Comic Con. Kate Bush hits 100M views on Youtube for her hit song "Running Up a Hill" which was featured in Season 4 of Stranger Things. Netflix earnings may be a turning point for the company, even amongst the increased co...

Mesh and Paul discuss the Emmy nominations and which studios/platforms lead the charge. BTS signs a content deal with Disney Plus, as they make a play towards the Korean market. Paul explains how inflation and supply chain issues are affecting Hollywood production budgets and how that might play into future content production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brittney Griner, one of the best basketball players on the planet has been detained in Russia for 5 months over a minor infraction. What will the U.S. do to bring her home and why has it taken so long? Plus we remember James Caan and the NFL announces a major potential shift for Sunday Ticket.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy 4th week! Hope everyone stayed safe. Paul and Mesh do a light episode around Minion's box office hit, Cameron Diaz's big comeback, Star Wars, and some M&A updates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The PGA Tour is adapting to the emergence of LIV, the new Saudi backed golf tour with a multi-billion-dollar bank account. As several prominent players defect from the PGA Tour for apparently greener pastures, Mesh and Paul explain the PGA Tour’s response thus far, the economics of the modern golf-industry in the U.S., and the legal framework which may be applied to the PGA Tour’s decision to susp...

Media companies are feeling the market volatility as consumer spending and advertising revenue are going down - where are they tightening their belts to compensate? How is this impacting mega-deal activity? Peter Rice was abruptly fired from Disney amidst a successful tenure. And YouTube is making a play for TikTok’ mantle as the dominant place for short videos. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

The family of the original writer of Top Gun is suing Paramount for copyright infringement claiming they agreed to a sequel Do they have a case? Johnny Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez will appear in a new documentary detailing the actor’s relationship with Amber Heard. And, we’ll also discuss Netflix’s interest in acquiring Roku. What does that mean for the stocks? Learn more about your ad choices....

Does Amber Heard have legitimate grounds for an appeal after losing the libel case against Johnny Depp? Can Hollywood heavyweights have a fair trial in the age of social media?  Hollywood studios are trying to shut down VPNs that make it possible to skirt the copyright restrictions. Also, Chelsea Football Club is acquired after the UK forced its Russian owners to put it up for sale. Find Mesh on T...

This week on BCP we’ll discuss Ray Liotta’s untimely passing and our favorite films of his from over the years. Also, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested $2.6B in Paramount. Known for buying undervalued and the long-term winners, we’ll go into the details of what he might see here. Lastly, Seth Green’s crypto wallet was compromised and he’s lost ownership of some high-valued NFTs includin...

The entertainment industry is covering their bases - Netflix hopes to further dominate things by introducing live streaming. And WarnerBrothers wants to be seen as the "fifth" US broadcast network. Then, we'll discuss the lawsuit being brought against Euphoria's Sydney Sweeny for breaking her agreement with LA Collective. Lastly, Maverick is back and Tom Cruise is not interested in streaming. Inst...

Kanye, OJ, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, Jesse Smollet: What do they have in common? Kendrick Lamar featured them all in his latest music video using deepfake technology. We’ll discuss the legality of that and whether or not he can be sued. Also, Disney takes $1B hit as it ends licensing to redirect to streaming. And lastly, Covid has officially caused more than 1M deaths in the US alone, but it’s also...

The box office is back with Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness raking in $190 million. The trickle down effects to the fully Disney Plus library is proving exponential. Also, Dave Chapelle was attacked during a comedy show and Olivia Wilde was served papers during Cinemacon. What is the process for protecting performers while they are on stage and what are the celebrity’s legal rights during perfo...

The future of Marvel. Our main topic this week is X-Men and Dr. Strange 2 and the immense IP crossover potential that exists between the Marvel Universe and Disney’s vast vault of characters. Paul gives a history lesson on Marvel’s sale of assets over the years and their bids to reacquire their most popular characters and what that means for the fans. Also we discuss the Johnny Depp libel lawsuit...

 A lot of drama in the streaming wars to discuss as Netflix’s stock plummets and CNN+ dissolves in a month. Also, Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard, his ex-wife, for defamation after she accused him of domestic abuse. Paul explains the different ways a defamation case can be litigated. How can people (and even podcasters) protect themselves financially and from today’s cancel culture? Learn more ab...

What do Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and a Russian Oligarch have in common? Château Miraval, the famed vineyard the couple owned together which has produced award-winning wine in recent years. Jolie reportedly claimed she could no longer be in business with her ex and sold her stake to Russian oligarch, Yuri Shefler. Pitt is now suing her citing he was denied approval as well as right of first refus...

Kanye West walked away from $8.5M when he pulled out as a headliner at Coachella and has been replaced by Swedish House Mafia and The Weekend. What does this mean for ticket holders who purchased based on his performance? And what recourse, if any, does Coachella have with him backing out? Also, Ketanji Brown Jackson makes history as the first African American woman confirmed to the Supreme Court....

In honor of the conclusion of awards season, we are launching the first annual Paulies! Highlighting the best in box office performance and how that contributes to a studio’s bottom line, best streaming service and what that means for IP, best M&A and what the impact is on taking down Netflix, and best overall legal argument. Also, Marvel took a big risk on Moon Knight launching with Oscar Isaac o...

This week on Better Call Paul, we discuss - the NFL signed long term agreements to distribute game coverage on TV, cable and digital platforms. It’s an unprecedented move to share rights across Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, FOX and NBC and rumored to be worth $113B over 10 years. Moon Knight, coming out at the end of March on Disney+, is the first new Marvel character to be launched via streaming and is...