In brief
The ongoing battle for Warner Bros is reshaping Hollywood, with potential buyers Netflix and Paramount vying for control of the storied studio. Amidst a historic production slump, industry insiders express concerns about job losses and the future of filmmaking in the face of consolidation and the rise of tech giants. As creative professionals weigh the implications of a sale, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, faces criticism for the studio's decline under his leadership.
Disaster, catastrophe and nightmare. That's how Hollywood's creative workers describe the fall of the once mighty Warner Bros, as Netflix and Paramount battle to buy the historic studio and tinsel town braces for more upheaval and job losses.
Warner's decline and impending sale – whether it's to Paramount Skydance as a whole, or to Netflix cut up in parts – is being mourned in Hollywood, where a historic production slump has already battered the entertainment industry. The loss of the studio, which has created iconic films ranging from Casablanca and Goodfellas to Batman and Harry Potter, likely means more job cuts and definitely means one less buyer of film and TV projects.
Interviews with dozens of actors, producers and camera crews reveal an industry attempting to weigh the lesser of two evils: control by a tech giant blamed for killing movie theatres (Netflix) or billionaires seen as too cosy with President Trump (Paramount).
David Ellison is a right-wing billionaire Trumper, a camera assistant said of the Paramount Skydance CEO. Netflix is much more historically inclined to not micromanage production.
If Netflix gets the deal they want, they will buy Warner Bros' crown jewels – the 102-year-old studio, HBO, and its vast archive of films and TV shows – leaving Warners's legacy TV networks, like CNN, TNT Sports and Discovery, for another buyer.
Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance's $108bn hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros meets with skepticism due to its backing from controversial figures. The Warner Bros deal is the latest in a long line of major shake-ups in Hollywood since the pandemic, with many media companies forced to close doors or merge.
Overall, whether they're rooting for Paramount or Netflix or another potential buyer, the one thing people in Hollywood seem to agree on is this story's villain - David Zaslav, whose leadership has been criticized and linked to the studio's downfall. Many industry workers are now focusing on how to reinvent themselves as the industry shrinks amid consolidation and the growing use of AI in entertainment.
