Disasters, catastrophes, and nightmares. That is how Hollywood’s creative professionals characterize the demise of the once-mighty Warner Bros, as Netflix and Paramount compete to purchase the historic company and tinsel town prepares for further turmoil and job cuts.
Hollywood at a Crossroads
Warner’s fall and likely sale, whether to Paramount Skydance as a whole or to Netflix in parts, is being lamented in Hollywood, where a record productivity slump has already hammered the entertainment business. The loss of the studio, which has produced legendary films ranging from Casablanca and Goodfellas to Batman and Harry Potter, would almost certainly result in additional job cutbacks and one less buyer for film and television projects.
The BBC’s interviews with scores of performers, producers, and camera crews show an industry struggling to evaluate the lesser of two evils: domination by a digital behemoth accused for eliminating movie theaters (Netflix) or billionaires seen to be too cozy with President Trump.
“David Ellison is a right-wing billionaire Trumper,” a camera assistant remarked of Paramount Skydance’s CEO, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder and close Trump backer Larry Ellison. “Netflix has traditionally avoided micromanaging production.”
Politics Meets Entertainment Power
If Netflix achieves the deal they want, they will purchase Warner Bros’ crown jewels: the 102-year-old studio, HBO, and its massive catalog of films and TV episodes, leaving Warners’ heritage TV networks, such as CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery, to another buyer.
Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance’s $108 billion (£81 billion) hostile takeover attempt for Warner Bros has received support from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and a fund established by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
It has generated worries about potential censorship and government overreach.
President Trump fueled the flames by saying, “It is important that CNN be sold.”
The Warner Bros. transaction is the latest in a string of dramatic shake-ups in Hollywood since the outbreak.
Strikes Reshape Hollywood Economics
Film and television productions came to a standstill in 2023 because to simultaneous actor and writer strikes. Everyone in Hollywood seemed to be working in 2022, as studios and streaming services moved into creative overdrive after the Covid shutdowns. However, after the labor strikes ended, the manufacturing boom never resumed.
As a result of the aftermath, numerous media firms have closed or merged. David Ellison’s Skydance Media acquired Paramount, another renowned Hollywood company, earlier this summer, resulting in thousands of job layoffs.
When Warner Bros. posted a for-sale sign, Paramount started an aggressive push to acquire the firm. However, the company eventually revealed a preliminary agreement with Netflix. A disappointed Paramount then moved directly to Warner Bros Discovery stockholders with a hostile takeover bid that they claim is “better” to the Netflix transaction.
Zaslav Becomes Hollywood Villain
Whether they are pulling for Paramount, Netflix, or another possible bidder, Hollywood seems to agree on the villain of this story: Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who received $51.9 million last year as Warner Bros lost more than $11 billion and the company’s stock plummeted almost 7%.
“I have seen Warner Bros suffer since David Zaslav took over as CEO and dragged it into the dirt,” says an actor who lost his house when his job dried up. He declined to be named because he still expects to work for Netflix and Paramount.
More than one individual linked Mr Zaslav to the fictitious movie character Gordon Gekko, who says “greed is good” in the 1987 film Wall Street.
Mr Zaslav took over in 2022 amid another big merger of Discovery, Inc., which he led, with AT&T’s WarnerMedia to become Warner Bros Discovery. Mr Zaslav received hefty compensation packages as a result of the consolidation.
Industry Faces Uncertain Future
“Zaslav is simply Gordon Gekko; he came in, broke everything, and sold it all,” recalls a producer who worked on the Warner Bros set. “He stated I would make all stockholders wealthy, so who cares about the history of this place?”
“Under the direction of David and the amazing team at WBD over the last three and a half years, the studio has reclaimed its leading position with a distinctive slate of films driven by original material.
“We watched the relaunch of the DC Universe under a single unified leadership team with a ten-year plan, and the streaming service has debuted internationally and proven profitable for the first time ever,” Warner’s director of communications, Robert Gibbs, told the BBC.
For many Hollywood professionals, whomever acquires Warner Bros. has seemed nearly unimportant. They have instead focused on how to reinvent themselves as the business shrinks due to consolidation and the expanding usage of artificial intelligence in entertainment.
Theatrical Future Under Threat
“Every morning, no matter how much I tell myself to be optimistic, I wake up feeling like I have failed in every way,” says an actor who is now homeless with his wife and two children, surviving on the generosity of friends and food banks while doing odd jobs. He requested anonymity because he was concerned about the implications on future employment.
“I would rather have Netflix buy Warner Bros than foreign money,” he argues.
Others are not so certain. Since Warner Bros pioneered “the talkies” in 1927, the tech behemoth has probably been the industry’s most disruptive force.
“I believe it is a catastrophe,” says a film exhibitor who asked not to be named since they deal with Netflix. “This is a group that openly and proudly declares that theaters are no longer essential. That is terrifying. “It is a nightmare.”
Netflix Courts Theater Loyalty
Because of Netflix’s streaming-first policy, many theaters in the United States refuse to play its films.
“At least with Paramount, we know films will make it to the big screen. “They did not destroy movie theaters,” claimed one producer who has worked for all three businesses.
Netflix has attempted to allay such concerns, stating that they want “to sustain Warner Bros’ present operations and grow on its strengths, including theatrical releases for films.”
John Evans, a sound technician who also dabbles in acting, writing, and producing, sees Netflix’s careful restoration of the landmark Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard as a statement of good faith.
The Egyptian, a legendary 1922 cinema that hosted the world’s first movie premiere, Robin Hood starring Douglas Fairbanks, had fallen into ruin when Netflix purchased the facility in 2020 and renovated it for $70 million.
Hollywood Braces for More Upheaval
“I believe that is a positive indicator,” Mr Evans said, noting that many film professionals, like the rest of the world, enjoy movies and TV via streaming.
Tourists take pictures in front of the Central Perk café from Friends on Warner Bros’ backlot, as they walk past facades of skyscrapers that represent New York or Los Angeles. Inside the offices and writers’ rooms, those who are still working go about their business as normal.
“I have gone through seven mergers,” a Warner Bros. producer stated while producing a new program, stressing that losing a studio makes it even more difficult to get shows developed and sold with one less client. “But if you produce excellent things, you will make good stuff.”
The producer talked anonymously on the day Paramount Skydance revealed their hostile acquisition proposal. They said they were too preoccupied with getting a program on the air to care about the sale, and they would not be shocked if another billionaire or trillionaire made another bid for the studio before the conclusion of the process.
“I joke about Elon coming in and doing this, but he could,” they added of the Tesla and X owner. “There are no rules when you have individuals worth trillions of dollars.”
