How is the Sherman Act not flagging this? I guess this is the last battle cry for the streaming wars- so pacifism prevails?

 

It’s not just handing over a major company and their production slate to another, but now countless film and game studios, developing projects and careers and are at the mercy of an all-too-powerful corporation. Meaning theres going to be “restructuring” aka dissolvement for many of these minor players stuck in the settlement, watching stepmom move in, redecorate the house, and turn the family on a meticulous keto diet. For a company who originally prided its anti-Netflix values to creators, this is a backfire of the century. 

 

Monopolizing entertainment studios and leveraging AI hold hands while they watch the fire burn bigger and hotter from a safe distance. Independent cinema and gaming are at the mercy of a conglomerate board of greedy boomers dictating profit over art. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, maybe this acquisition will be just fine…(AOL / Time Warner merger went swimmingly so this should too, right? right?). But as a professional in this industry, my job relies on foresight and caution. If we aren’t at least worried about how this affects the independent scene (the pillars of the industry) then we succumb to a future of AI slop creating the stories detailing the human condition.  

 

Netflix doesn’t plan to support indie studios. A newsletter by FilmForwad stated, “Netflix can continue to devalue and disintermediate every function of the film industry”. Indie stories and creators are being squeezed out by comfortable house-hold names and regurgitated narratives. 

 

There is no definitive news regarding the future from Netflix other than the overusing empty promises of premising Warner films to their theatrical releases but really, whats a promise if not an emotional statement towing betrayal these days. The theatrical business bites its lip in anticipation. Haunting quotes of Sarandos’s pessimistic attitude on the theatrical business echoes. 

 

I slowly sip my coffee, pour another, and read on before I head out by 4 to go watch a film.