Stuck In Development

The SID Awards draft heats up (for Carl & Kevin, at least) as Carl & Eitan review the Oscar nominations. The two also try to make sense of Netflix's WWE deal.

After a hectic first three weeks of 2024, Eitan and Carl are finally back! In this episode, they catch up on two movies that overperformed a bit in Oscar nominations (even though this episode was recorded before they came out): Maestro and The Zone of Interest. They also check in on Apple's rocky start of the year ahead of what seems to be a critical 2024 for the Cupertino company. Happy new y...

For their last episode of 2023, Carl and Eitan received an incredible gift: actual viewership data from Netflix! The two dig into the (very limited, almost useless) dataset to try and draw insights around content shelf-life and Netflix's "auteur" projects. In other news, the two briefly discuss the outcome of the Epic v. Google trial as well as new releases Godzilla Minus One and The Hunger Games:...

Carl and Eitan are back in the swing of things after a small break for Eitan's wedding (!!). The main topics in this episode are Carl's love for the latest installment of the Hunger Games universe, and trying to figure out what Bob Iger means when he says some Disney movies are not performing well because they didn't have "enough on-set supervision". They also talk Eileen, Go...

SID has become unstuck in time. In this episode from 2.5 weeks ago, Carl and Eitan discuss whether Warner Bros' Coyoto vs. Acme could ever be a wise (or moral) decision; quickly discuss the now-very-wrapped-up SAG-AFTRA strike's implications on streaming numbers; and catch up on The Killer and The Holdovers.

Have you ever wished there was a contest where 3 media strategy nerds drafted movies and tracked how many nominations and wins each one gets across 10+ different awards shows to ultimately crown the 2023 Movie Award Champion? You have? Well, do we have a treat for you! In this episode, Carl and Eitan are joined by award and game master Kevin to draft the slate of movies more likely to reap the hig...

Carl and Eitan jam-packed this week's episode with a few pet topics. At the Box Office, they dissect the appeal of Five Nights at Freddy's and discuss Eitan's experience with Killers of the Flower Moon. They then attempt to read between the strategy lines of Disney's (full) Hulu acquisition and Apple's primetime "Scary Fast" event. The two spend the most time reveling...

The remaining movie schedule for 2023 looks good. The streaming price increases look bad (but make sense). In this episode, Carl and Eitan take stock of what's left of 2023. Join us!

Carl & Eitan discuss The Creator and Satya Nadella's testimony against Google in the U.S. and Plaintiff States v. Google LLC  antitrust case.

A single canary in a coal mine is usually a signal of change to come. But multiple canaries? In multiple coal mines? A wave of changes is coming. In this episode Eitan and Carl go through many different cracks the media market is showing, what they mean, and how they might play out. They include content licensing, targetting, acquisition valuations, new weird streaming ad-tiers, and many more! Joi...

Eitan provides Carl with a free therapy session on – what else – the state of streaming media. Also covered are Charter's updated contract with Disney as well as Disney's non-announcements about the future of Animal Kingdom.

This is an episode about moving past clinging to the past. Eitan and Carl delve into the latest news regarding potential farewells in the near future. They discuss what the fight between Charter and Disney could signify for the future of the cable TV industry, and speculate about a possible goodbye to the DinoLand U.S.A section of Animal Kingdom. Join us! PS - There have already been updates to so...

Carl's a ramblin' man after a week off from recording with Eitan. While essentially rehashing Eitan's solo episode, the two chat wade through a variety of tangents ( Ready Player One ! Warner's 2024 release calendar!) before discussing ESPN's sports betting gamble and the iPhone's prophesied transition to USB C chargers.

At first, this episode wasn't supposed to happen. And then a lot of things happened. With Carl unable to record this week, we first thought we wouldn't record. But then Microsoft tweaked its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. And then Warner Brothers Discovery delayed Dune 2 to 2024. So Eitan had to act. Join him as he quickly powers through a crazy week!

Carl and Eitan are NOT here for the modern streaming era today. The two are unable to easily find the movies they want to stream, and they're dismissive of perennial "you know, Disney could buy Apple..." takes.

Netflix added 5.9M subscribers in Q2! The password sharing is working! Or is it? In this episode, Carl and Eitan dig deep into Netflix's results and analyze if all the hype around their earnings number is warranted. They also spend some time finally talking a bit more about Barbie, and close out by sharing some Kickstarters that they've backed over the years. Matt Stevens' 'Good Mo...

As part of SID's eternal quest to not not be a Disney strategy podcast, Carl & Eitan bring numbers (and Eitan's sports perspective) to a number of rumors concerning ESPN, ABC & former top Disney execs Tom Staggs & Kevin Mayer. They also spend another 15 minutes on Oppenheimer while only giving Barbie 2 minutes... an offense that will be rectified next week.

It's not common for an episode of Stuck in Development to focus on movies that Eitan has seen but Carl hasn't. This week is one of those. To make it even more unexpected, it happened during Oppenheimer + Barbie weekend. In this "first version" of the episode the boys marvel at the performance of these summer blockbusters, as well as their perceived cultural impact after one weeke...

Eitan's been playing catchup on the summer movie season, so Carl & Eitan had to do a quick WAWW check in. In news this week, the two discuss some Logan Roy-esque behavior from David Zaslav's PR team and debate the money-making potential of Meta's Threads platform.

Did you ever see a news headline start with "Fire at...[insert place here]" and expect it to be a metaphorical fire given all the problems said place is going through, just for it to turn out to be an actual fire? Well, that's what happened to Warner Brothers Discovery. In this episode Carl & Eitan explore the latest problems the water-tower studio has faced, check in on the now...

It's an Oops! All WAWW! episode on SiD this week as Alex Szmutko steps in for Eitan. Alex & Carl discuss a host of movies & TV shows they've been watching & debating lately. Topics include: TV: Halt and Catch Fire, The Bear, Black Mirror, The Other Two, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Film: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Master Gardener, Past Lives, You Hur...

After many years of joking Eitan actually had his bachelor party at Disney World. He was joined by close friends (including Carl!), and this week's episode is all about reviews and reactions! With the help of votes from all of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Friends, Carl and Eitan go through their favorite rides, snacks or drinks, and vibes. They also touch on the things they thought are underrated in Di...

Shelby Vanhooser and Nick Sparks join Carl & Eitan to break down Apple's Vision Pro announcement at 2023 WWDC 2023. The boys approach the product from a variety of perspectives, from a historical tour through Apple's post-iPhone product launches to some galaxy-brained (but plausible) Meta-crushing conspiracy theories. Ultimately, they try to answer one thing: who is this device possibl...

With that title...is this another movie review episode? Right? Not this time! Carl and Eitan kick off the episode by analyzing Disney's announcing the closure of the Galactic Starcruiser multi-day experience. They go through its history, explore why it might have failed, and predict whether the Mouse should give it another shot at the concept. After that, the boys analyze Disney taking content...

Hello... Imaginears? This week, Carl and Eitan check in on a wave of developing topics including the WGA Strike and Disney streaming & theatrical news. They also (surprisingly!) come down favorably on a new flash-in-the-pan-sounding startup called Telly.