The Vending Lot · Film Studio Lot & Merch Stand
Hollywood Changed Today.
Here’s Everything.
A $110 billion merger reshapes the studio system. Ryan Coogler gets the X-Files. Metallica at Sphere goes on record. Sheryl Crow is back. And Alice Cooper wrote a memoir. It’s a full week.
Breaking — October 13, 2026
On October 13, 2026, Skydance Media officially closed its $110 billion mega-merger uniting Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery into a single entertainment powerhouse under CEO David Ellison. This is one of the largest media consolidations in entertainment history, effectively reshinking the traditional Big Five Hollywood studios. The combined company brings Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Studios, CBS, HBO, Max, and Paramount+ under one roof alongside an enormous combined IP library. The practical mandate is staggering: the company is contractually required to produce and release a minimum of 30 feature films and nearly 190 television shows annually. Ellison has committed to a $30 billion annual content budget, positioning the new entity to aggressively compete with Netflix and Disney. Wall Street is closely watching how Max and Paramount+ are managed as combined streaming assets, while creatives across the industry are processing what 190 television shows a year means for production volume and employment.
$30B
Annual Content Budget
190+
TV Shows Mandated Per Year
💡 What This Means for Fans and Collectors
The merger consolidates legendary IP under one roof — Mission Impossible, the entire Paramount catalog, DC, HBO, Warner Bros. classics, CBS procedurals — all now operating under a single production entity. The Vending Lot carries official licensed merchandise across many of these properties now under the Skydance umbrella.
Mission Impossible — In the Collection
Shop All 13 Mission Impossible Products →
Series Order — Hulu
On October 13, 2026, Hulu officially gave a full series order to a brand-new reimagining of The X-Files developed by Ryan Coogler, the filmmaker behind Creed, Black Panther, and its sequel. The series stars Danielle Deadwyler (Till, Station Eleven) and Himesh Patel (Yesterday, The Odyssey) as two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents assigned to the long-shuttered division dedicated to unexplained phenomena. They will not be playing Mulder and Scully. These are entirely new characters with their own histories and dynamics, brought together to investigate what the original series left unresolved. Coogler wrote and directed the pilot, which wrapped filming earlier in 2026, and serves as an executive producer. Jennifer Yale (Underground, See) serves as showrunner. Crucially, original X-Files creator Chris Carter is on board as an executive producer, lending the revival direct lineage to the source. The format will blend the classic “monster of the week” episodic structure with an overarching sci-fi conspiracy, and the casting has drawn immediate praise from television critics who note Coogler’s track record for breathing new life into legacy franchises. The ensemble also includes Steve Buscemi, Amy Madigan, and Ben Foster.
Danielle Deadwyler
Himesh Patel
Steve Buscemi
Amy Madigan
Ben Foster
Ryan Coogler — Director/EP
Chris Carter — Creator/EP
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Live Release · October 22, 2026 · Sphere Las Vegas
Metallica’s “Life Burns Faster” residency at Sphere in Las Vegas is getting professionally recorded, mixed, and mastered through their partnership with nugs.net — every single night of the 24-show run. The October 22, 2026 performance is available to pre-order as a premium 2-CD set ($24.99) or in various digital formats, from standard MP3 to Hi-Res audio. Because the band is strictly adhering to their “No Repeat Weekend” format, every show pulls from a unique setlist with deep catalog cuts. An October 22 and 24 CD bundle is also available at $49.99 for collectors wanting both nights. The high-fidelity recordings are highly anticipated by fans specifically because Sphere’s acoustic technology promises a listening experience unlike any traditional arena recording.
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New Album — Out Now
Sheryl Crow’s 12th studio album, Pick You Up, is out now via Old Green Barn Productions. Written and produced alongside longtime collaborator Jeff Trott, who co-wrote her 1990s classics including “Everyday Is a Winding Road” and “My Favorite Mistake,” the record is a deliberate return to the Adult Album Alternative and Americana territory that launched her to global fame. Moving away from heavier electronic elements, the album relies on acoustic guitars, Wurlitzer pianos, and driving rootsy rhythms, leaning into themes of shared humanity, hope, and community. Early standout tracks gaining traction on AAA radio include the title track and the ballad “Staring Back at Me.” Critics are calling it her most cohesive record in over a decade.
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Now Streaming · Disney+ & Hulu
The comprehensive documentary Don’t Look Back in Anger, chronicling the volatile history, breakups, and enduring legacy of British rock band Oasis, has officially debuted for streaming audiences on both Disney+ and Hulu. The film covers the full arc of one of the most commercially successful and personally combustible bands in rock history — the Gallagher brothers, the feuds, the peak Britpop era, and the 2009 split that left fans waiting for a reunion for nearly two decades. For anyone who missed the band live or wants the full story behind the catalog, this is the definitive account.
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New Book — Out Now · October 13, 2026
Alice Cooper officially released his latest autobiography, Devil On My Shoulder, on October 13, 2026 via a major publishing release. The memoir offers an unfiltered look back at five decades of the theatrical shock-rock career that changed what a rock concert could be. Cooper pulls back the curtain on the creation of his iconic stage props — guillotines, gallows, boa constrictors — alongside a deeply candid account of his severe battle with alcoholism and his eventual path to sobriety. He also breaks down the logistics of the massive arena tours of the 1970s that rewrote the rules of live rock production. Critics and fans are praising the book for its dark humor, vulnerability, and the same specific storytelling voice that makes Cooper as compelling in an interview as he is on stage.
Shop Alice Cooper Collection →
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