General Film Thread

[SM]

Dunno what you mean.  Filmmaking by committee works every single time.

[DarthJoker45]

https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1852514133763035342

[Nightmare Asylum]

https://x.com/THR/status/1854524779405226054

Yeah, this tracks for Zaslav...

[Kradan]

 

[Nightmare Asylum]

After Trump Win, Hollywood Prepares for Megamergers — and Volatility
A palpable buzz has taken hold of corporate boardrooms that another four years of the Republican will free up dealmaking.

On Nov. 7, a day after Donald Trump's presidential victory, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav delivered a not-so-subtle message to Wall Street: It's open season on dealmaking, and Hollywood is better off for it.

Discussing the narrowing field of players in a media and entertainment environment that's in a "generational disruption," the CEO said that the upcoming administration may "offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different" and "provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that's needed."

The sentiment was echoed Perry Sook, chief executive of TV giant Nexstar who noted that he intends to jump on deals: "We believe that there is value to be created for our shareholders through further consolidation."

And also by Sinclair chief executive Chris Ripley. "It does feel like a cloud over the industry is lifting here, and we do think some much needed modernization of the regulations will be forthcoming," he said. "We intend to participate in that, in the M&A in the industry, be it as a buyer as a seller or a merger partner."

A palpable buzz has taken hold of corporate boardrooms that another four years of Trump — and perhaps more importantly an administration not beholden to President Joe Biden's antitrust ideology — will free up dealmaking.

For years, media titans who've seen their empires slowly fade into obscurity as linear TV declines and streaming upends legacy competitors have grumbled over the government's about-face on its scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions after decades of rubber-stamping deals. They've been positioning themselves for a return to a not-so-long-ago time that saw Disney gobble up Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm (not to mention most of the Fox empire).

At an investor conference in September, Sony chief executive Tony Vinciquerra predicted "chaos" in Hollywood over the next two years. "Mergers and bankruptcies and sales and all kinds of fun things," he said, adding that only the biggest companies will survive absent "some massive mistake or miscalculation."

And with Trump in the White House, the kind of volatility that resulted in deals — good (think Google's $1.6. billion purchase of YouTube) and bad (think AT&T's $100 billion takeover of Time Warner after it bought DirecTV for $49 billion at the peak of the TV business) — is in the air. By way of consolidation, media could be radically reshaped from the top-down without the regulatory oversight that's stymied mergers in recent years.

"It's the perfect storm," says Alan Klein, a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett who was involved in the purchases of Twitter by Elon Musk and Activision by Microsoft. He notes a confluence of factors incentivizing dealmaking that also includes a soft landing for the economy and the lowering of interest rates.

Once in office, Trump's first order of business will likely be to remove Lina Khan as chair of the FTC and Jonathan Kanter as head of the antitrust division of the Justice Department. They collectively filed 50 merger enforcement actions in the fiscal year ending in 2022 — the highest level of oversight in over 20 years (28 in 2023). Not reflected in that figure is the sharp uptick in the number of transactions that've been abandoned after antitrust concerns were conveyed. It also doesn't account for deals that simply didn't move beyond boardroom discussions due to their activity.

Trump's next move after that may involve rolling back certain antitrust initiatives pursued the duo, namely revised merger guidelines, which give a road map for regulatory review of acquisitions that was considered hostile to dealmaking.

"There was a real shift during the Biden administration, with Lina Khan and Kanter pushing the boundaries around new and developing theories of harm that was a starker contrast from prior administrations that relied more on traditional antitrust theories," says Edward Lee, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis who advised mogul Vince McMahon in WWE's merger with UFC.

For signs that potential buyers were scared off by the government, look no further than Paramount Global's sale to Skydance Media, a smaller competitor whose acquisition of a major studio could sidestep scrutiny by the Justice Department.

Like that deal, expect further encroachment by Big Tech onto Hollywood. Purchases involving the largest studios, like Disney, WBD and Netflix, will concern regulators. But under a regime that cares less about mergers between companies at different levels of the supply chain (think producers and distributors), does YouTube look to fortify its offerings as one of the top distributors of TV programming?

"They're on the cusp of creating the new behemoth in media," says David Sands, a partner at Sheppard Mullin's entertainment practice who handles mergers and acquisitions. "Will they move for a studio to lock up content?"

Though Trump is expected to continue antitrust cases against Big Tech, some of which he started, he's signaled an openness to the scale and reach of the industry. In October, he indicated skepticism over forcing Google to divest parts of its business after the Justice Department won a pivotal antitrust case against the online search giant. 

"If you do that, are you going to destroy the company? he said at an event in Chicago in October. "What you can do without breaking it up is make sure it's more fair."

That remark shined a spotlight on the power that Trump will wield over dealmaking. In the weeks leading up to the election, tech C-suites cozied up to the president elect, who fielded calls from Google's Sundar Pichai and Apple's Tim Cook, reported The Wall Street Journal. There's more value in having Trump's phone number or knowing someone who does than with previous presidents, according to an individual who has a personal relationship with Trump.

Media executives have taken notice of the dynamic. In September, Zaslav and Elon Musk were seen sitting next to each other at the U.S. Open. The next month, WBD hosted Tesla for its robotaxi rollout event, which led to the studio getting sued for misappropriating Blade Runner 2049. If you ask Zaslav, he's likely to say the lawsuit was more than worth it: He gets access to the foremost Trump whisperer, and along with him, Trump's ear if he were to pursue a regulatory risky deal.

Also in the cards: TV station consolidation. In Sinclair's earnings call on Wednesday, Ripley was bullish in the loosening of industry regulations over what he called "outdated broadcast rules" that probit the ownership of more than two top four ranked TV stations in the same local market, and for good reason. The conservative-leaning TV empire nearly secured an effective oligopoly in TV broadcasting when it reached a $3.9 billion deal to buy Tribune with the help of Trump's FCC, which in 2017 revived a decades-old regulatory loophole that exempted it from exceeding federal limits on media ownership. The deal was only scrapped after intense push back from special interest groups and Democrats, who voiced concern over the weaponization of programming to support Republican presidential and congressional candidates in swing states.

Like Sinclair, Nexstar, which ended up buying Tribune, pointed to regulation as the "number one priority" of both the TV giant and broadcast trade group NAB.

"Our industry's real competition comes from big tech companies who have unfettered access to every screen in America, from phones, desktops to the TV in the living room," Sook said. "Yet our ability to compete with those behemoths is stymied by regulations that were last updated in 2004. This industry needs strong companies who can compete on a level playing field for both viewers and advertisers on every screen in America, not just some of them. And the time is now to seek this reform and Nexstar is once again prepared to lead."

Still, macroeconomic factors will supersede regulatory concerns. Trump campaigned on promises to impose higher tariffs — a move that will likely lead to higher prices and more inflation. Wall Street economists have predicted fewer rate cuts from the Fed next year, which will hinder dealmaking across all industries.

To some workers, Hollywood is better off without any more consolidation. In recent years, many industry groups, namely the Writers Guild of America, have faulted dealmaking for undermining labor.

"Mergers are bad for workers, period," says writer Adam Conover. "There's less competition for your services, and so you get paid less."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/trump-hollywood-deals-mergers-1236056410/

Awful.

[Nightmare Asylum]

Conan O'Brien to host Oscars for the first time in his career
The comedian and TV personality will emcee the 97th Academy Awards telecast on ABC.

Late-night icon Conan O'Brien is set to host the Oscars for the first time in his comedy career.

The Academy announced Friday morning that the 61-year-old former Late Night and Conan talk show host will emcee the 97th Academy Awards broadcast on ABC, taking the reins from fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted consecutively in 2023 and 2024.

"America demanded it and now it's happening: Taco Bell's new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme," O'Brien joked in a press statement. "In other news, I'm hosting the Oscars."

Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Janet Yang added in a joint statement that O'Brien is "the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, his love of movies, and his live TV expertise," while also praising "his remarkable ability to connect with audiences" through his comedy.

O'Brien has hosted other major events in the past, including the Emmys in 2002 and 2006, as well as the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 1995 and 2013.

Prior to Friday's announcement, Entertainment Weekly confirmed in July that both Kimmel and comedian John Mulaney turned down offers to host the ceremony, with Kimmel later explaining on the Politickin' podcast that he didn't want preparation for the gig to impact his nightly episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live for another year.

"It's hard and it's a lot of work and the show suffers a little bit to be honest," he said. "When I'm focused on the Oscars, I'm less focused on the show. And I just decided I didn't want to deal with that this year. It was just too much last year."

Many potential contenders have already risen through the ranks in the current Oscars race, with acting contenders ranging from Mikey Madison (Anora), Angelina Jolie (Maria), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Ariana Grande (Wicked) to overall Best Picture contenders such as the aforementioned Anora, Dune: Part Two, The Brutalist, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, and more.

The 2025 Oscars will air Sunday, March 2, on ABC at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, with the official red carpet presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

https://ew.com/conan-obrien-oscars-2025-host-8745910

Wow, the Academy is making an actual solid choice in regards to the operation of their show this year???

[ace3g]

[Nightmare Asylum]

https://bsky.app/profile/coreyatad.com/post/3lcl25xniuc2k

[Nightmare Asylum]

Sylvester Stallone Among Newest Investors In AI-Driven Analytics Platform Largo.Ai

https://deadline.com/2025/02/sylvester-stallone-invests-largo-ai-1236276550/

Nicolas Cage Slams AI: We Can't Let 'Robots Dream for Us' and They 'Cannot Reflect the Human Condition'

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/nicolas-cage-slams-ai-robots-cannot-reflect-human-condition-1236294371/

The duality of man (God bless Nicolas Cage).

[Nightmare Asylum]

[Local Trouble]

[Nightmare Asylum]

I always love stories like this so much.

[Nightmare Asylum]

Technicolor Begins to Shut Down Operations 'Due to Inability to Find New Investors'

Following a weekend during which it tried to make 11th hour deals to save the company and its brands, Technicolor Group CEO Caroline Parot sent a memo to employees Monday, writing "due to inability to find new investors for the full Group, despite extensive efforts, [Paris-headquartered] Technicolor Group has filed for Court 'recovery procedure' before the French Court of Justice to give a chance to enable to find solutions."

Technicolor encompasses VFX giant MPC ("Mufasa," "The Lion King"), commercial VFX brand The Mill, Mikros Animation and Technicolor Games. A total shutdown of MPC and Technicolor's operations would affect thousands of visual effects workers in countries include the U.S., UK, Canada and India. The turn in business has raised the alarm and sparked sadness within the VFX community.

Parot's memo explains, "In each country, the appropriate framework for orderly protection and way forward is currently being put in place to allow, when possible, to remain in business continuity."

Technicolor has already started to shut down U.S. operations. On Friday, it began alerting customers and employees, sending U.S. employees a WARN notice as required by law for large companies that anticipate closings and mass layoffs.

At least one recovery effort already started for roughly 100 U.S. employees of The Mill. The creative leadership and most of the creative staff that was Technicolor's The Mill U.S. is joining forces with Dream Machine FX to launch a new venture, Arc Creative, Variety reported exclusively on Monday. A statement from the artists explains they they are working to launch the new entity amid "the complexities of Technicolor's Chapter 7 proceedings."

Questions remain about how studios will finish upcoming projects that are currently housed at MPC, which include Disney's live-action remake of "Lilo and Stitch" and Paramount's "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning," as well as Mikros' work, such as Paramount and Nickelodeon's upcoming "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" sequel.

Technicolor has experienced several restructurings and management changes since filing for chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in 2020. The Technicolor memo states, "the Group has been experiencing difficulties linked to a variety of factors and has not been spared from external headwinds: the difficult operational situation resulting from post-COVID recovery, a costly and complex separation from the previous group followed by the writers' strike leading to a slowdown in customer orders causing severe cash flow pressures." Technicolor and MPC were contacted by Variety for comment.


The text of Parot's memo to employees follows.

Dear Team,

As we have communicated over the past months, the Group has been experiencing difficulties linked to a variety of factors and has not been spared from external headwinds: the difficult operational situation resulting from post-covid recovery, a costly and complex separation from the previous group followed by the writers' strike leading to a slowdown in customer orders causing severe cash flow pressures.

Today, the company must face reality. Due to inability to find new investors for the full Group, despite extensive efforts, Technicolor Group has filed for Court "recovery procedure" before the French Court of Justice to give a chance to enable to find solutions.

In each country, the appropriate framework for orderly protection and way forward is currently being put in place to allow, when possible, to remain in business continuity.

This decision was not taken lightly; every possible path to preserve our legacy and secure the future of our teams will be thoroughly explored to offer a chance to each of its activity to be pursued with new investors.

Technicolor is more than just a company, it is a community of talented, passionate, and creative individuals who have brought some of the most iconic visual experiences to life. The work we create together demonstrates our dedication and artistry and defines Technicolor.

As we move forward, our priority is to support you through this transition. Given the complexities of labor laws and regulations across the different countries in which we operate, this process will be conducted on a country-by-country basis, ensuring compliance with local frameworks, and providing the necessary support for each of you.

We recognize that this is an incredibly difficult moment, and we are here to support you in any way we can.

In each of your countries, you will receive a dedicated email in relation to your situation in due time.
Technicolor Post was sold to Streamland Media for $36.5 million in 2021, merging its operations with Streamland's businesses, including Picture Shop. In 2022, Technicolor relaunched MPC and the other current brands as Technicolor Creative Services while the company's connected home and supply chain services were separately brought under a new brand, Vantiva.

With deepest appreciation and respect,

Caroline Parot

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/technicolor-begins-to-shut-down-1236319436/

Well this sucks...

[Nightmare Asylum]

Long live the theatrical experience.