'A Nightmare': The Battle for Warner Bros Shakes Hollywood
Hollywood faces a studio crisis as Warner Bros collapses. Job losses, streaming wars, and power struggles signal a historic industry shake-up.
Disaster, catastrophe, and a bad dream. That's how Hollywood's creative workers describe the downfall of the once-powerful Warner Bros., as Netflix and Paramount battle to acquire the historic studio, and Tinseltown braces for more upheaval and job losses.
Warner's collapse and the impending sale – whether it's to Paramount SkyDance in its entirety, or in pieces to Netflix – is being mourned in Hollywood, where a historic production slowdown has already severely impacted the entertainment industry. The loss of the studio, which produced iconic films from Casablanca and Goodfellas to Batman and Harry Potter, will likely mean more job cuts and certainly one less buyer for film and TV projects.
Interviews with dozens of actors, producers, and camera crew reveal an industry trying to choose the lesser of two evils: control by a tech giant accused of destroying movie theaters (Netflix) or by billionaires considered close to President Trump (Paramount).
"David Ellison is a right-wing billionaire Trumper," said one camera assistant about the CEO of Paramount SkyDance, who is the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder and close Trump ally Larry Ellison. "Netflix has historically been known for not micromanaging production."
If Netflix gets the deal it wants, it would acquire Warner Bros.' most prized assets – the 102-year-old studio, HBO, and its vast archive of films and TV shows – leaving Warner's legacy television networks, such as CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery, for another buyer. Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance's $108bn (£81bn) hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. includes backing from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and a fund launched by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
This has raised concerns about potential censorship and government interference.
President Trump added fuel to the fire when he said that "CNN needs to be sold."
The Warner Bros. deal is the latest in a long line of major changes in Hollywood since the pandemic.
Film and TV production ground to a halt during simultaneous actors' and writers' strikes in 2023. It seemed like everyone in Hollywood was working in 2022 as studios and streaming services went into creative overdrive after the Covid lockdowns. But when the labor strikes ended, the production boom never returned.
The fallout meant that many media companies had to close their doors – or merge. David Ellison's Skydance Media acquired another iconic Hollywood studio, Paramount, earlier this summer, resulting in thousands of job losses.
When Warner Bros. put itself up for sale, Paramount launched an aggressive campaign to acquire the company. But the studio ultimately announced a deal with Netflix. A spurned Paramount then went directly to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders with a hostile takeover offer, which they are touting as "better" than the Netflix deal.
Whether they're siding with Paramount, Netflix, or any other potential buyer, the one thing people in Hollywood seem to agree on is the villain of this story – Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who earned $51.9 million last year while Warner Bros. lost over $11 billion and the company's stock dropped by nearly 7%. “I’ve watched Warner Bros. struggle ever since David Zaslav became CEO and ruined it,” said one actor, who lost his job and subsequently his home. He declined to be identified because he still hopes to work for Netflix and Paramount.
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Several people compared Mr. Zaslav to the fictional film character Gordon Gekko, who famously declared “greed is good” in the 1987 film Wall Street.
Mr. Zaslav took the helm in 2022 during another major merger involving Discovery, Inc., which he orchestrated with AT&T’s WarnerMedia, creating Warner Bros. Discovery. The merger resulted in thousands of job cuts — and a lavish compensation package for Mr. Zaslav.
“Zaslav is just Gordon Gekko — he came in, broke everything, and sold it off,” said a producer who worked on Warner Bros. sets. “He said, ‘I’m going to make all the shareholders rich, and who cares about the history of this place?’”
“Over the past three and a half years, under the leadership of David and the talented team at WBD, the studio has regained its leadership position with a unique slate of original content films, overseen the relaunch of the DC Universe with a ten-year plan under a single unified leadership team, and launched its streaming service globally, which has become profitable for the first time.”
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For many film workers, the question of who is buying Warner Bros. seems almost irrelevant. Instead, they are focused on how to reinvent themselves amidst an industry contraction and the increasing use of AI in entertainment.
"Every morning, no matter how much I try to tell myself to be positive, I wake up with this feeling that I've failed on all fronts," says an actor who is now homeless with his wife and two children, relying on odd jobs and the kindness of friends and food banks. He asked not to be identified because he fears it could jeopardize his future work.
"I want Netflix to buy Warner Bros., not some foreign company," he says.
Others are not so sure. The tech giant may represent the biggest disruption to the industry since Warner Bros. introduced "talkies" in 1927.
"I think it's a disaster," says a film exhibitor who declined to be identified because he works with Netflix. "This is a company that is openly, proudly saying that theaters are no longer necessary. It's terrifying. It's a nightmare."
Many theaters in the U.S. refuse to show Netflix films because of their streaming-first strategy.
"At least with Paramount, we know the films will come to the big screen. They haven't eliminated movie theaters," said a producer who has worked for all three companies.
Netflix has tried to allay these fears, saying they "expect to maintain and build upon Warner Bros.' existing operations and strengths, including theatrical releases for films."
Many in Hollywood want to believe them. John Evans, a sound technician who also acts, writes, and produces, sees Netflix's lavish restoration of the iconic Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard as a sign of their good intentions.
The Egyptian, a classic 1922 theater, was the site of the world's first movie premiere—Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks—and was in disrepair before Netflix purchased the property in 2020 and gave it a $70 million makeover.
"I think it's a good sign," Mr. Evans said, adding that streaming is how many film workers, like the rest of the world, watch movies and TV. On the Warner Bros. backlot, tourists are taking selfies in front of the Central Perk cafe set from Friends and wandering past buildings that stand in for New York or Los Angeles. Inside the offices and writers' rooms, it's business as usual for those still working.
"I've been through seven mergers," said a producer working on the Warner Bros. lot developing a new show. He explained that a studio closing is sad because it means one fewer customer, making it even harder to get shows made and sold. "But if you make good stuff, you make good stuff."
The producer spoke on the condition of anonymity the day Paramount and Skydance announced their hostile takeover bid. He said he was too busy trying to get a show on the air to worry about the sale—and wouldn't be surprised if another billionaire or trillionaire swooped in with another offer for the studio at the end of it all.
"I joke that Elon could come in and do it, but he really could," he said of the Tesla and X owner. "When you have people with trillions of dollars, there are no rules."
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