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Posted on 09/16/2025 9:40:23 AM PDT by sphinx
Ellison's most audacious move may be yet to come.
Paramount's new chief executive is preparing a bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab, home to Warner Bros film and television studios, HBO, CNN, TNT and Warner Bros Games. The company is on the verge of breaking up, as its television business declines, but Ellison intends to go bigger, creating a media colossus combining Paramount's library of classics like "The Godfather" and "Star Trek" with Warner Bros' own extensive collection.
Some observers see bigger ambitions in Ellison's media moves.
In recent weeks, Ellison installed Kenneth Weinstein - a supporter of President Donald Trump and the former CEO of conservative think tank Hudson Institute - as ombudsman of CBS News. At the same time, he has reportedly been in talks to acquire the Free Press and bring founder Bari Weiss into a leadership role at CBS News.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
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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.
Oops. That should be David, not Larry.
However this turns out, it seems clear that David Ellison understands that Hollywood has alienated half of America (or more), and he wants to fill that void.
It's a start. I'm always cheering for the little indie films that become hidden gems, but the company that David is trying to build is big enough to be a major disruption in the force.
I don’t see how Larry Ellison or david, whatever could do a worse job than what’s been going on. A random hobo on the street could run it better than the woke clown show right now.
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.
“However this turns out, it seems clear that David Ellison understands that Hollywood has alienated half of America (or more),”
it may be only HALF of the US...
But what about rest of world?
How many countries flat out ban all gay content?
That’s kinda the point.
A lot of freepers have simply walked away ... or content themselves by endlessly rewatching golden oldies. As a matter of personal preference, that’s fine.
But as a culture war issue, it matters. We are raising younger generations that are relentlessly tuned into screens. At this point, for half of America, it’s too much to say that “we are raising” the next generation. Online content has become not only the public forum, but the babysitter and, for the armies of the dimwitted, the primary teachers.
What they are consuming matters, and we can’t fight something with nothing. Popular culture is a sewer. Hollywood is a dying disaster area. Popular music? Big time sports? Everything is contaminated.
In all these fields, there are people still doing good work. If conservatives won’t support them, who will? And if we don’t support them, the left wins total information dominance by default. That’s the issue.
Offering up oldies to younger gens is also an option. I’ve seen movie forums with ages 20-30 and at least once a week someone sees “Master and Commander” for the first time and is blown away by it. That’s a gateway into traditional hollywood films like Mutiny on the Bounty, Captain Blood, 20,000 Leagues, etc. The argument doesn’t have to be “back in my day movies were better.” It becomes self evident through exposure. And exposure comes from championing the greats.
Masters of the Air on Apple + is really good.
Probably smart, nothing new worth it coming out of Hollywood these days so profiting off the past is smart.
Seems to me that there’s no short supply of networks offering the same catalog of previously run movies.
I want rules (FCC?) changed to allow local channels to stream live broadcasts. Thats the only content gap that seems to be an opportunity. Obviously antennas work if you’re in range and hopefully all the transmitters are not 180 degrees from each other. But providing local channel live content over the internet would make it easier. It would also enable use of other devices, like the one you are probably holding right now.
Current packaging of local content (cable tv, streaming) is a mandatory bundle of channels I either don’t want or have access to streaming elsewhere. And it’s way expensive. I use an antennas..
Digital advertisers would have a larger addressable market, could target more effectively (placement, product, promotion), and measure performance with deeper analytics. Broadcasters would sell something better to advertisers.
I can't wait for AI to snatch woke Hollywood talent jobs. There will soon be no use for location shoots because that can all be replicated inside of a computer, without the worry for errant planes, expensive remote electricity, or weather delays. But most promising is the elimination of preening nouveau-riche a-holes who consider themselves to be our enlightened betters.
David Ellison could be another Selznick or Zanuck if he keeps playing it smart making movies for the broad audience instead of his alleged peers inside the industry bubble. I’d root for that.
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.
Der Tiger. I saw a trailer a while ago but I don’t have a line on it. Apparently it will stream soon on Prime.
WWII, tanks and not Hollywood, so it covers three major freeper cinematic food groups. I look forward to some freeper reviews.
Good stuff is still being made, but finding it is the trick.
I suspect that’s what he’s thinking. The woke mafia alienated middle America. Instead of just kvetching about it, filmmakers should recognize it as an underserved market and move aggressively to fill it.
The big streamers do pick up high quality independent films for distribution, but these tend to be smaller films and are often not seriously promoted. They tend to flash briefly across the just added streamer landing page and then disappear into the catalogue. The only people who will find them tend to be those who know they’re there and go looking for them. They become hidden gems.
The two best new movies I’ve seen this year are The Friend and The Ballad of Wallis Island. Both are very quiet, character driven indie films. Nobody is toxic, everyone behaves well, and neither is escapist. They are about death, loss, regret, and soldiering on, with stiff upper lips and impeccable behavior all around.
For those who like that sort of thing.
The Bigs are preoccupied with flying spandex, CGI driven spectacles and cash grabs on old IP. They are trying to compete with TikTok. The indies continue to do traditional drama, and some of it is good. IMHO, these are preferable to watching Patton or The Godfather for the 43rd time.
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.
It's hopeful... thanks for posting.
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.
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