"Hollywood Heavyweights Sign Letter Opposing Paramount’s Deal for Warner Bros. - The letter warns that the deal will result in fewer jobs for creatives, along with higher costs and less choice for audiences."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/business/media/hollywood-letter-opposing-paramount-warner-bros-deal.html

You can't stop progress...

Or why does Hollywood continue to fight the last war?

Do I like Bari Weiss in control of news not only at CBS, but CNN?

Do I like Zaslav walking away with a billion dollars?

No, but the story here is not the consolidation of aged film studios, but the explosion of alternative avenues of distribution.

Statistics, as well as analysts, tell us Netflix's main combatant for viewing time is not Disney+ or Amazon Prime or Hulu or network or cable, but YOUTUBE!

The barrier to entry on YouTube is nonexistent! Anybody can create and play.

As for the amount of money they say it takes to make a movie...

Let's see, music is the canary in the coal mine for digital disruption. So what happened in music when the avenues of distribution were changed, from physical retail to online streaming? Creation EXPLODED!

Used to be it cost a fortune to go into a studio and make a major label album. Now you can do it on you laptop in your home. And even the biggest stars are making music more cheaply, why do you need a big studio to cut vocals? The entire industry has changed as a result of technology. But we hear again and again from those in the film world that the game must remain the same. Why are movies immune? They've got no antitrust protection like the NFL...and the government is investigating that right now, since you have to pay multiple outlets to see all the games, the three (four) network availability is long gone.

So...

Let's talk about distribution... The problem isn't getting in the theatre, being available at all. Even completely indie pictures that are not picked up at film festivals can be monetized on YouTube and other services.

As for technology... You can and even auteurs like Steven Soderbergh, have shot complete movies on iPhones.

Now let's be clear, if you've got tens of millions of dollars, great gaffers, never mind cinematographers, and support with craft service can you achieve a better-looking film than you can for bupkes? OF COURSE! But the dirty little secret is what makes a film successful is story, not look. Look is secondary. But so many went to film school and put look first... Maybe they should be forced to work on the cheap.

Furthermore, the major studios have curtailed production dramatically. Why? Because the audience cannot support more films. Theatrical attendance is down. Trying to keep the theatres propped up with numerous films is akin to trying to prop up your local full-price physical bookstore when there's the Amazon alternative. As for publishers, they killed the e-book, and what is the result? BUSINESS IS DOWN! That's what keeping your business in the past looks like.

So, would creative people like more outlets for their wares?

OF COURSE!

But talk to mastering engineers, there used to be a few elite people, now there are a zillion and you can even do it with LANDR and no people.

But it's not only in Hollywood that no one can lose their job, but America in general. Just because you trained for a gig, even worked it for a decade or two, you're not entitled to lifetime employment, no one gets that in America anymore, but film people believe they deserve this?

Films are now a home experience. If I hear one more ancient self-satisfied director talk about seeing flicks in a theatre...

I'm going to whip out twenty five year old stories where the major labels and classic acts said that MP3s were inferior and music must be listened to on a purchased CD. MP3s were good enough for the public, and they loved the portability. In an on demand world do you really want me to plan ahead to see a movie in a theatre with those who do attend on their smartphones and...talk about a bad experience. My home screen may not be as large, but the film starts when I want it to, I can pause it for a bathroom break or a phone call...this is not a step backward, but progress.

Can we discuss overseas production? Absolutely, but in the same breath we have to talk about local incentives, i.e. states competing against each other with tax breaks.

The film business is far from perfect, but...

It is a business. And Warner Bros. Discovery is LADEN with debt. Wasn't that the complaint just recently? That Zaslav was killing projects left and right? It is a business, and something had to be done about that debt.

This is the greatest time in history to be a creator. The means of production and distribution are at your fingertips. Do they look identical to the ones of the past? No, but how come Hollywood not only overpays its executives, but believes its cheese should never move?

This is a bad look. Do you really think the public has sympathy for these creators protesting? It's like the billionaires lobbying against the California wealth tax. Who exactly has compassion for these people?

Certainly not the public... Which is overwhelmed with content. Never mind so many angry that studios don't even make the kinds of films they like anymore.

As for consolidation... Once again, it happened in music first. And I must admit, the three remaining majors do have undue power as a result of their catalogs, but that wouldn't differ whether there were three or six, it's hard for an independent company to compete with an entity with these past treasures...

However, when it comes to streaming music, the majors have negotiating leverage, but ultimately, Spotify, et al, give all rightsholders essentially the same split. Maybe on the terms the majors negotiated, but there's a limit to how good a deal they can make, otherwise the DSPs will be put out of business, they need a profit too. As for that profit... Physical retailers got a hundred percent markup. Spotify, et al, give about 70% to rightsholders, and there's no manufacturing, no shipping and no returns!

But what has happened as the majors have consolidated?

The indie field has burgeoned. That's an understatement, the indie slice of the pie keeps growing and that of the major labels' new artists' keeps going down. Nature abhors a vacuum. The majors can't break an act, so nimble indies are running circles around them.

Actually, the same thing is happening in video too, it's just that smug Hollywood doesn't want to admit it. Sure, there's dreck on TikTok and YouTube, but there's a ton of dreck coming from the studios too. But all the innovation seems to be coming online. That's where the bleeding edge is, and that's what people always want in entertainment, something new and different.

We are not living in the days of yore... Even the aforementioned CBS News and CNN... They reach a tiny fragment of the public, most people get their news from a zillion different sites. Do you really think America wants to see the same few studio films? OF COURSE NOT!

And of course studios make TV shows too... But come on, streaming has added so many new shows, there may not be as much production now, but compared to the pre-Netflix days?

How can so many be so out of touch? Even Lars Ulrich ultimately embraced the techies. As for not wanting Metallica's work tapes distributed, the script has now flipped. Acts are begging for any attention at all! They're not only putting out everything in the vault, they're creating material especially for social media, to try and gain traction.

So I've got no sympathy.

And who are you complaining to anyway? Trump? Like Trump is on the side of Hollywood?

As the Eagles sang three decades ago, GET OVER IT!


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=828178025010391a0f83cf7802ae715b

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=828178025010391a0f83cf7802ae715b