The Warners
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Friend of the Blog Chris Yogerst (you may remember him from a podcast a couple years back) has thoughts on the Netflix-Eats-Warners deal. On the grand history of Warner Brothers:
The studio was built as a symbol of how movies can speak truth to power, even when the risks are legion. The brothers took a big chance investing in sound synchronization, producing relevant narratives that “ripped from the headlines,” and used their own personal resources to fund donation trains, build schools and hospitals, and serve as examples of respectable civic leadership. If the Netflix purchase is successful, they will own an incredible library that includes classic MGM titles (Wizard of Oz), RKO (Citizen Kane), and the entirety of Warner’s incredible history.
At Warner Bros., one can feel the history radiating from the buildings on the legendary lot. Harry Warner’s granddaughter, Karen Sperling, recently visited the studio and noted the significance of the lot. She “realized that all the facades constantly have been transformed to provide canvases of so many iconic moments in film history.”
Every lot has a list of major productions created under its roof. All productions stem from the success and courage of the influential films that came before. A walk through the prop house will jar memories of having seen just about everything in there before (because you have!). Back in April, following the paperback release of my book The Warner Brothers, I was asked to give a lecture and discussion for the Warner Bros. studio tour guides. Their enthusiasm for Warner history was palpable, their knowledge and desire to learn more was contagious.
Evidently the family is not super happy about either the Netflix or the Paramount offers. On the question of what will happen to Turner Classic Movies:
Netflix will then try to close a purchase of Zaslav’s portion of the company, which, in addition to the film and movie studios and HBO, includes smaller divisions such as DC Comics, theme park holdings — and, yes, Turner Classic Movies, we’ve learned. “TCM will be a part of Warner Bros. (Studios), post the company’s planned separation in 2026,” a representative from WBD told Vulture Monday evening.
While neither WBD nor Netflix had publicly commented on TCM’s post-Netflix sale fate before Monday, this statement does fit squarely with what we knew before last week’s surprise acquisition announcement. A few weeks after WBD announced its plan to split the company in June, the New York Times and other outlets reported that TCM would end up in the networks division. However, WBD followed up by telling Variety that, actually, TCM programming and strategy for the network would be overseen by Zaslav and Warner Bros. Pictures chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy (with the spun-off Discovery Global lending a hand on business operations, like dealing with cable operators). The new statement confirms that the Warner Bros. Picture bosses will still run TCM after next summer’s split — and, more importantly, that TCM will be a part of the company Netflix is trying to buy.
Netflix has been a poor steward of work produced before 1970, but I don’t know if that’s the result of intentional policy or simply a response to incentives.
Note also that Democrats are starting to make the right kinds of threats:
As the battle over Warner Bros. Discovery grows, two Democratic lawmakers are warning that their party may try to block or unravel any acquisition by Paramount when it returns to power.
In a letter to the WBD board and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent first shared with Semafor, Reps. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said they were concerned about the national security risk of letting foreign entities control a large portion of the US entertainment and media industry.
They also hinted that a future Democratic Congress and administration could try to unravel any Paramount-WBD deal.
See also David Sims on some of the more serious concerns in Hollywood, and Josef Adalion on how this could play out for various Hollywood constituencies.