👋 RIP to your inbox this AM. This is Warner, founder of AvA. Connect with me here on LinkedIn or IG.
‼️ Is today the biggest day in U.S. Soccer History? Maybe? Definitely in our lifetime (some hardcore soccer fan is about to be big mad and correct me).
⚽ Well regardless, this Wednesday Rich Motzkin is joining AvA LIVE. He’s the EVP & Managing Executive for Global Soccer at The Team (formerly Wasserman) who is widely recognized as one of the leading figures of U.S. soccer, and has represented icons like Alexi Lalas, Landon Donovan, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo, Tim Howard, and many more.
💼 Need a new boss or just looking for open Entertainment jobs? Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter. Plus Our Job Board now has 200+ early career Entertainment roles as well.
Not subscribed yet? Join 39,500+ of your peers. Your future self will thank you.
📹 For years, my biggest fear was getting in front of the camera. 5 years ago, I worked behind the scenes at a livestream tech company, helping other people take the leap while repeatedly convincing myself not to. Last week we pitched our first “perfect game” on AvA LIVE after 12 weeks of screwing up everything imaginable. Some personal thoughts here on how (and why) I overcame that fear.
During the show, I sat down with Reese Witherspoon's key collaborator & Hello Sunshine’s President of Film & Television, Lauren Neustadter. She shared 5 tips on how to land a job in Hollywood:
⭐ AI “actor” and Hollywood’s public enemy #1 Tilly Norwood is “starring” in a “movie”
It’ll be set in the “Tillyverse” and follow “Tilly, an AI being with no real body, no childhood and no lived experience of her own.” I’m not even going to mention the movie’s name and give it any more free press than it deserves. Yuck.
⭐ I am once again asking Hollywood to stop making (too many) sequels
“Minions & Monsters” earned $36.4 million domestically over July 4 weekend, clocking in as the franchise’s lowest debut. Its five-day total reached $61.4 million, well below the projected $80 million and down 49% from “Despicable Me 4.”
⭐ Similar vibe:
⭐ Xbox hits the reset button
Xbox is cutting 3,200 jobs and spinning off four game studios in the biggest shake-up in its history.
More broadly, Xbox’s cuts show how unsustainable the video game business has become: blockbuster budgets keep rising, hardware growth is slowing, and even the biggest companies can’t afford bloated teams or years-long development cycles without clearer hits. Gaming is still massive, but the era of spending endlessly for future growth seems to be over.
Will we ever actually get GTA 6 though?
⭐ Just like seemingly every influencer on IG, NBA is taking their own expensive Eurotrip
The NBA’s European expansion is officially turning into a land grab, with bids topping $1 billion and major markets like London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, and Istanbul all in play. Several EuroLeague teams also want in, setting up a potential power struggle over who controls the future of European basketball.
The bigger story: the NBA, like the NFL, are trying to turn Europe into their own global franchise business. Tipoff target: October 2027
⭐ Amazon MGM Studios crown jewel ‘Project Hail Mary’ has officially left theaters after 105 days
I am simply unable to watch movies over 2 hours. That changed Saturday when I turned on Project Hail Mary to cure my hangover.
After grossing more than $683 million worldwide, Project Hail Mary finally landed on Prime Video after a 105-day theatrical window. Studios are once again letting hit movies stay in theaters long enough to actually become hits, instead of rushing them to streaming after a few weeks. Turns out putting it alongside 10000 other streaming titles was not exactly helping the box office.
Back to my hungover watch. IT WAS SO GOOD. This is not an ad, and yes I teared up over a rock. You’ll understand when you watch.
⭐ Hollywood jobs are shrinking, but the industry in 2026 isn’t that simple
“Employment in movies and music fell again during the month, by 3,600, to 321,700, according to the estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Broadcast and content providers saw job gains of 1,400, to 336,900.” (Deadline)
That number leaves out a growing part of the industry: creators, freelancers, independent producers, small media companies, and self-employed talent building businesses outside the studio system.
So yes, legacy entertainment employment is contracting. But the broader story may be less “entertainment is disappearing” and more “the work is moving somewhere our old categories are still struggling to measure.”
With that said…. 200+ open roles below!!
13 episodes in, we finally went a whole show without any errors. Lucky number 13. The guests had some top tier insight to share too…
🎙️ Omar Al-Joulani, President of Touring at Live Nation: “You can look to the future and have goals, but ultimately you're judged on what you get done today. Number one thing: get stuff done, move the ball forward.”
🎙️ Stephen Colletti, Everyone Is Doing Great & One Tree Hill: “When we first got into the industry there were very set paths. That's something I really had to unlearn: asking for permission to do things.”
🎙️ Lauren Neustadter, President of Film & TV at Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine: “If you're in the industry, your peer group is your best first line of defense. Ask your friends to read your stuff and tell you the truth. Feedback is how we get better. Being curious, open to feedback, and having a growth mindset is important in whatever job you're in.”
🎙️ Nicole Lapin, 5x New York Times Best Seller & Finance Mogul: “You don't leap on hope. You leap on a runway. I tried to have a cushion before I jumped to working independently, before I got brave and burned my corporate bra, so to speak. The number one thing to create momentum in a fickle career like media is scale.”
💰Bonus $$ Advice from Nicole: Assistants make $45k. She shared advice on how not to be broke in your 20s (and 30s).
Our new job board features 200+ early career roles in Entertainment, including:
💼 Business Affairs Assistant - CAA - Apply Here
💼 Events - Fanatics - Apply Here
💼 Head Backstage Marketing - Spotify - Apply Here
💼 Coordinator, Distribution - IMAX - Apply Here
💼 Script Coordinator - Moonbug - Apply Here
💼 Creators Agent - The-Team - Apply Here
💼 A&R (Nashville) - Sony Music - Apply Here
💼 Day to Day Manager - Universal Music - Apply Here
💼 Marketing - NBCUniversal - Apply Here
💼 Account Coordinator - Netflix - Apply Here
💼 Marketing - Warner Music - Apply Here
💼 Partner Manager - Twitch - Apply Here
💼 Senior Publicist - Academy of Motion Pictures - Apply Here
💼 Social Analyst - Hearst - Apply Here
💼 Entertainment IP Manager - Pop Mart - Apply Here
💼 Office Coordinator - CBS - Apply Here
💼 Account Manager - Paramount Skydance - Apply Here
💼 Stylist - Universal Music Group - Apply Here
💼 Gaming & Digital Partnerships - The-Team - Apply Here
💼 Creative Coordinator - NBCUniversal - Apply Here
👋 See you back here on Wednesday
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The Mail Cart is written by Warner Bailey and edited by Riley Furey and Dominik Sansevere.
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