Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya likeor email me atseanmcnultynyc@gmail.com),and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

Where life of the party, Dario Amodei, is at it again!

Yes, everyone’s favorite ANTHROPIC AI CEO shared another banger of a prognostication about the very AI technology his company is continually enhancing — including warnings that:

• AI will disrupt 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs over 1–5 years.

• We may have AI that is more capable than everyone in only 1–2 years.

But, just think of how much money ANTHROPIC will make as a result! Always look at the upside, folks. Note that AMAZON, a company likely to lay off several thousand people this month, is a major backer of the business.

• ANTHROPIC is also home to CLAUDE, the bot whose latest release has seemingly had every coder in Silicon Valley rethinking their life choices.

• It is also being sued by several major music publishers for copyright infringement.

Amodei also has warnings that . . . frankly, I also believe in — namely that:

• AI will get to a point by, say, the timing of the closing for the NETFLIX BROS. deal whereby bad actors (not the Hollywood kind) will be enabled to do a lot more damage with AI.

• Trump’s reversal to allow NVIDIA chips to be (legally) sold to China is a big error.

Or, my own belief that there will just be a general, large-scale AI-induced “whoopsie” event that occurs sooner than later. But either way — you can check out Dario’s forecasts here in his 38-page manifesto . . . or just have your AI bot of choice tell you the most important parts.

PLUS: Amodei also emphasized AI’s “importance of preserving democratic values and rights at home is particularly relevant,” in light of the events happening in Minnesota.

• Now, someone should also share that with the partners of early OPENAI backer KHOSLA PARTNERS, who curiously chose X as the best way to share their wildly different takes on the execution of Alex Pretti.

• OPENAI CEO Sam Altman also said“What’s happening with ICE is going too far,” in an internal Slack message to employees, cited by the NYT.

  • He also called Trump “a very strong leader” and hopes “to see trust rebuilt with transparent investigations.” I’m waiting right next to ya, Sam — be sure to bring it up at your next White House visit.

THEN: The Tonys will be on Sunday, June 7, on CBS.

OI: Here are your BAFTA Film Awards nominations.

SO: The final CBS Late Show/Colbert episode will be Thu. May 21.

ALSO:The Senate committee hearing on the NETFLIX BROS. deal will happen on Tuesday, Feb. 3 in case you’re looking for Ted that day.

AH:Kumail Nanjiani will host the DGA Awards this year on Feb. 7.

OH:Bari Weiss’ next move at CBS NEWS is adding podcasters and writers/creators to the family, including some who do work for The Free Press.

• Names include Andrew Huberman, Peter Attia, Niall Ferguson, Patrick McGee, Casey Lewis and more here, detailed by Axios.

BUT: The early 2026 layoff chorus is getting warmed up after AMAZON leads the way shortly:

• UPS is going to lay off another 30k folks in operational roles. It laid off 48k last year (34k operational, 14k management).

• PINTEREST is cutting 15% of its staff this year, mostly due to AI-induced changes.

YUP:The NHL’s OTTOWA SENATORS team is now making Heated Rivalry-inspired jerseys with the names/numbers of the 2 main characters in the show. They’ve moved about 400 units so far, with another 400 on the way at a cost of about $240 each.

AND: About a year after Chappell Roan launched a fund with BACKLINE CARE to support mental health for folks in the music industry, it’s creating a B-LINE 24-hour assistance line (1-855-BLINE99 or text 254-639) for music professionals and their families with SPOTIFY as lead sponsor, alongside Noah Kahan and other music industry players.

YEAH: For a guy trying to constantly reassure Americans that the U.S. economy is 🔥 (in the good way), Trump keeps making moves to the contrary — which is now good news for the MEDICARE crowd, asrates are basically now being held flat in 2027, despite expectations for about a 6% hike. Note that 2026 rates got a 5% hike a year ago from the Trump admin when the economic outlook was in . . . a different place.

• Lo and behold, all healthcare provider stocks took a big hit (ranging from —7% to -20% this morning) as a result . . . and gonna guess the rest of us will be paying for this instead next year, so healthcare execs can keep the lifestyle they’re accustomed to.

• Thus, add health insurance bigwigs to the list of Charlie Brown executives who thought things would be bright for them under a Trump presidency a year ago . . . but have now also whiffed on the football.

FINALLY: The non-profit GOODWILL had a record year in 2025, with sales roughly +7% and topping $7B. Secondhand business SAVERS VALUE VILLAGE also saw sales at +16% in its last quarter.