Behind the Curtain: Data, Marketing, Entertainment, and Storytelling

Disney Cruise Line is growing quickly, but the number of ships is only part of what caught my attention. In this episode, I look at what Disney is starting to do with that scale, from putting ships in new markets and reaching first-time cruisers to using Cruise Line as a much deeper part of Disney’s audience and marketing ecosystem. I also dig into the Disney Believe reveal, the creator scavenger...

Ynon Kreiz is leaving Mattel for Paramount, and once the Warner Brothers Discovery deal closes, he is expected to become Co-CEO alongside David Ellison. But the more interesting part may be what the appointment tells us about how David wants to run the combined company. In this emergency Brighter Path episode, I look at the split between Ynon and David, why Ynon’s Mattel and Maker Studios backgrou...

Dhar Mann may be moving beyond being a top creator and into something much bigger: a creator-native studio. In this episode of Brighter Path, I look at how Dhar Mann Studios is expanding across production, brands and platforms, and whether the audience relationship he built can travel beyond his own content. That may be the real test of what Dhar Mann Studios becomes next.

“Choosin’ Texas” has become a historic hit for Ella Langley, spending 23 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching audiences well beyond country. But how much of that audience is actually moving with Ella? In this episode of Brighter Path, I look beyond the size of the hit to follow what listeners did next. Are they staying with “Choosin’ Texas,” or moving into Dandelion, older music an...

Disney has made a series of major leadership moves this month across Disney+, technology, franchise strategy and Consumer Products. In this episode, I look at what those changes could tell us about where the company is heading, including the growing role of Disney+ as a connection point for fans, how Disney is bringing franchise and Consumer Products teams closer together, and what a more connecte...

What happens when creators stop sitting at the edge of Hollywood and start moving deeper into how entertainment is developed, produced and distributed? After two days of Created in LA at the El Capitan Theatre and Walt Disney Studios lot, I break down the ideas that stayed with me from conversations and sessions with Asad Ayaz, Zach King, Jenny Hoyos, The Try Guys, Dhar Mann, Dude Perfect, Jordan...

A24 and Dior’s new campaign starts with Sabrina Carpenter, Josh O’Connor, Drew Starkey, Sophie Wilde and Camille Cottin all playing versions of Jonathan Anderson. But the strange, funny film is only the entry point. In this episode, I break down the bigger two-year A24 × Dior partnership, the early audience response to the launch, why Sabrina is such an effective attention engine, and how the broa...

Calvin Klein, Gap and American Eagle are all using cultural talent to drive denim demand, but they are doing it in very different ways. In this episode, I break down the new Calvin Klein x Sadie Sink campaign and why the timing matters, how Feel the Fit is evolving beyond a traditional celebrity campaign, and what Calvin Klein needs to prove next as attention moves from Sadie → brand → denim → pro...

Disney used D23 to lay out what’s next across its Parks and cruise experiences, with major updates spanning Avengers Campus, Indiana Jones, Encanto, Coco, Cars, Monsters Inc., Villains and more. In this video, I break down the biggest announcements, what they mean for Disney’s experiences business, and where the company is placing its biggest bets for the next phase of growth. Key moments: 4:25 —...

Formula 1 is back from the summer break, but the audience and business story has changed. In this episode, I break down where F1 demand is moving heading into Zandvoort, which drivers and teams have the strongest momentum, and where that attention is translating into real commercial opportunity. We look at Kimi Antonelli’s championship rise, Max Verstappen’s unique Zandvoort moment, Ferrari and Mc...

What actually won D23 2026? This week, I break down why Avengers: Doomsday delivered the strongest immediate conversion, how X-Men and Tangled materially changed audience perception, and why Cars may have been the event’s most interesting franchise commercialization story. Then we move into this week’s box office, streaming, music, CTV, gaming and licensing signals, from The End of Oak Street and...

Spider-Man crossed $1 billion worldwide in only six days. The Odyssey crossed $1 billion through a completely different theatrical engine. GTA VI is generating massive demand months before launch. Disney is bringing TikTok creator culture into Disney+. Love Island USA delivered appointment-viewing behavior on Peacock. And entertainment IP kept moving through music, streaming, retail, hotels, beaut...

What does it take to turn one of history’s most legendary stories into a modern cinematic epic? Christopher Nolan joins Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and more for a revealing conversation about the making of The Odyssey. They discuss the scale of the production, the physical demands of filming, rebuilding an ancient world, finding the humanity inside Homer’s story and creating a movie des...

What does it take to translate a multi-billion-dollar animated masterpiece into a culturally grounded, live-action epic? Today, we are stepping behind the curtain of Disney’s live-action Moana (2026). In this exclusive block-buster episode, we sit down with the reimagined crew of the waka: breakout star Catherine Laga'aia (Moana), global icon Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (Maui), and the original voic...

Everyone is talking about Olivia Rodrigo’s latest album. I’m more interested in what happened after people pressed play. In this episode of Behind the Curtains, I explore how Olivia Rodrigo’s 2026 campaign evolved into a powerful audience flywheel, connecting music, search behavior, live events, retail, fashion, gaming, and brand partnerships into a self-reinforcing ecosystem. Rather than focusing...

This week’s box office wasn’t simply about who finished first. It was about understanding why audiences showed up. I break down why Toy Story 5 continued its exceptional run and what its performance says about Pixar, nostalgia, and family demand. I also explain why Supergirl opened almost exactly where the underlying behavioral signals had pointed for months, why awareness didn’t fully translate i...

This week I’m breaking down the entertainment stories that moved audiences beyond awareness and into action. We look at why Toy Story 5 continued to dominate while Supergirl opened almost exactly where the underlying demand signals had pointed for months, how Spider-Man: Brand New Day is beginning to convert promotional momentum into measurable audience behavior, and why Disney became the first st...

Supergirl is not currently one simple box office story. It has DCU momentum. It has comic-book fan validation. It has Jason Momoa’s Lobo energy. It has Krypto. It has a major consumer products layer. And it has Milly Alcock stepping into her first global theatrical franchise lead. But the real story is how those signals translate into demand. In this episode, I break down what is actually driving...

Audience demand remains one of the most misunderstood forces in entertainment. This week we analyze how Disney converted nostalgia into a $165M opening, why Olivia Rodrigo dominated global music consumption, how CazéTV is challenging traditional sports broadcasting, and what streaming, licensing, and fandom trends reveal about where the industry is headed next. (powered by Google)

Disney’s Hexed isn’t just another animated movie. It’s a test of one of the hardest challenges in entertainment: creating a franchise without nostalgia, existing fandoms, or built-in demand. In this episode, I break down the first trailer, what it’s trying to accomplish, why theatrical urgency isn’t the goal yet, and the early signals around character adoption, world-building, consumer products po...

One of the most touching moments from Moana’s next chapter. In this beautiful musical conversation, original Moana Auliʻi Cravalho joins Maui as they welcome Catherine Laga‘aia into the live-action world of Moana. Through the song Along The Way, they share a powerful message: no matter where the journey leads, those who came before are always with you. Driven by an uplifting melody, heartfelt lyri...

Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy sit down to discuss House of the Dragon Season 3, sharing insights into Daemon and Rhaenyra’s evolving story, the growing conflict in Westeros, and what fans can expect from the next chapter of the Targaryen saga. In this interview, the stars reflect on their characters, the challenges ahead, and the excitement surrounding one of television’s most anticipated returns.

This week’s briefing covers the entertainment trends executives should be watching: Toy Story 5‘s growing consumer products halo, Obsession‘s unprecedented hold, Netflix’s global content strategy, Prime Video’s romance adaptation momentum, World Cup audience records, and the music fandom ecosystems powering Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and LE SSERAFIM. The numbers are interesting. The audience be...

I sat down with the cast of Supergirl to talk about bringing one of DC’s most iconic heroes to the big screen. We discuss the characters, the story, preparation for the roles, what surprised them most during production, and why this film feels different from previous DC projects. A great conversation for superhero fans, entertainment professionals, and anyone following the future of DC Studios.

Most coverage focused on Taylor Swift’s surprise performance. The bigger story is what the premiere reveals about Disney’s long-term strategy for Toy Story. From audience expansion and franchise repositioning to licensing opportunities and theatrical demand, we analyze why this premiere may become one of Pixar’s most important marketing events in years. (Powered by Google)