We all know that Woke Hollywood is a problem. Burning it in effigy is a favorite pastime on FR when we take a break from more important topics. Part of the problem is that big tech moved in with streaming and bought up most of the big legacy studios, with Disney -- cross subsidized by the parks, cruises and merch -- and Netflix -- still the industry leader by virtue of first mover advantage -- hanging in and turning themselves into streamers as well. The industry is now dominated by companies that are in the subscription business, not the movie business, and it shows.
A lot of freepers have walked away and have a let it burn attitude. We look at Apple, Amazon, Disney, Netflix, etc., ask ourselves if they can straighten themselves out. We usually answer, "Nope. Let it burn."
I keep banging the drum for the remaining independent studios and the constant micro startups, usually making much smaller movies -- but movies that can be made outside the Borg. I continue to think that these are part of the solution going forward.
David Ellison is an outside disrupter. I should put an asterisk by "outside;" he started in Silicon Valley -- you and I might have done so as well if Larry Ellison was our dad -- but got interested in movies long ago. He started Skydance Media in 2006 and started feeling his way forward, but that's now 19 years ago so he has a track record. I haven't followed Skydance closely over the years, but Ellison's first film was Flyboys -- a pretty good movie on a worthy subject -- and he's also credited on some others that you may have heard of: True Grit (2010, the Coen Brothers version), the Jack Reacher series, World War Z (another Tom Cruise vehicle if you haven't watched it), the Mission Impossible franchise, and Top Gun: Maverick. There are a lot of other Skydance connected films that I've not watched, but Ellison seems pretty old school, wanting to make movies that people want to watch, as opposed to propaganda movies designed to sell The Message.
That's the audience focused discipline that Amazon, Apple, Disney, et. al. need to recover -- if they can -- to pull out of the death spiral. But personnel are policy, and they need sweeping changes in senior management and at the Board level.
Larry Ellison comes in as a relative outsider and newcomer, with some serious money to back up his ambitions. He has just pulled off the acquisition of Paramount -- for which Shari Redstone had been courting buyers for years -- so he has joined the industry Bigs. Now he's circling Warner Bros Discovery, which has been a rumored breakup/takeover target for years now, as it doesn't have a big tech sugardaddy.
I certainly can't vouch for Larry Ellison's personal politics. His dad -- well, let's just say he's colorful in too many ways to count -- seems to travel enough in RightWorld circles politically to mark him as an outlier in Hollywood had he gone into movies as well as yet another retirement hobby. Whether any of that carries over to his son, I don't know. It's enough for me if Larry seems to want to make good movies, and the ones I've mentioned are impressive.
I have no idea whether he can pull off another major acquisition so soon. LeftWorld is working itself into a frenzy at the thought that someone not a certifiable Woke type might become one of the giants in the industry. Bring it on.
Breaking up the ideological monolith is the needful thing. I don't really care who does it.
FWIW, David's sister, Megan Ellison, also got interested in movies and eventually founded Annapurna, which has also made some pretty good films. Megan is gay, which may or may not inform her politics, but she's also credited with The Master, Zero Dark Thirty, Her, American Hustle, and Phantom Thread, among others. I've seen some suggestions that she might get involved in a takeover bid on Warner Bros Discovery. TBD.
Outside disrupters with serious money behind them who take over one of the Hollywood giants could shake up the industry fast. And it's not just movies. A former CEO of the Hudson Institute in a senior job at CBS ... and maybe Bari Weiss as well? That could be interesting to watch.
Given Larry's ties to Trump, maybe they can arrange a guest appearance by Trump to personally fire everyone at CNN. One can hope ....
I know I’ve not posted on movies for a considerable time. It’s been a subpar year for films, but I have seen some very good new movies of the type that don’t raise much interest on FR, given the obvious genre preferences here. But we chug along as usual grousing about the Hollywood mess.
Well, Woke Hollywood is coming apart at the seams, and productions continue to shift anywhere but California. That’s progress. The biggest problem is at the leadership level, and outside disruptors are long overdue.
Ellison could fire everyone at CNN,cut a deal with Chris Ruddy to merge Newsmax content onto it, and knock Fox News off their throne.
Probably smart, nothing new worth it coming out of Hollywood these days so profiting off the past is smart.
Anyone heard about that German WWII movie? I think it follows a Panther or Tiger crew. Kind of like Fury from the Kraut perspective. Looks interesting.
Underrated but the racial aspect in the middle reel was not just forced but false.
"I keep banging the drum for the remaining independent studios and the constant micro startups, usually making much smaller movies -- but movies that can be made outside the Borg. I continue to think that these are part of the solution going forward."
One way would be to choose some classics for remakes with conservative actors. There is a whole company of mostly conservative actors reaching the end of their run in "The Chosen".
And not downbeat movies, but screwball comedies just ever so slightly contemporized (no smoking , etc.)
If he buys WBD, I hope he cleans up DC Comics and Warner Animation.
I wonder if he’ll get involved with Angel Studio. They are producing some excellent, pro-American, pro-religion stuff. And they’re doing well, profitably.