June 18, 2026

THE INEXPLICABLE SUICIDE OF HOLLYWOOD:

In late February of 2026, Netflix announced it was pulling out of its attempt to purchase Warner Brothers, paving the way for Paramount and David Ellison to merge the two century-old studios. David Zaslav spent four years as the most hated executive in Hollywood, acting as hatchet man at Warner Bros., priming and pruning the company for its eventual sale, so you’d think the consensus reaction would be positive, no matter whether Netflix or Paramount won the bidding war. That has not been the case. Ellison has been greeted by hostility and skepticism despite his pledge to produce at least 30 films per year for theaters (something Netflix would not have done). It would be logical for actors, writers, directors, and production staff to be happy to resume business as usual. It would be logical to believe that beggars can’t be choosers, and that replacing Zaslav, who was brought in specifically to cut debt, would be met with relief, but that wasn’t the case. The news triggered a backlash.

Former Hollywood Reporter editor Matt Belloni worried it would result in mass layoffs, only to be rebuffed by the fact that every major studio was already doing layoffs; a month later Disney laid off 1,000 employees. Elizabeth Warren announced she was going to fight the merger, and 4,000 Hollywood professionals signed a petition opposing it. Did they not get the memo? Hollywood is dying. Surely now is not the time to fight whoever is willing to invest money in more production, right? They’re willing to cut off their nose despite their heavily botoxed, nipped and tucked faces. Entertainment media rooted for Netflix because CEO Ted Sarandos was on their side. The idea of the largest global streamer absorbing a major theatrical studio and almost surely reducing the number of movies in theaters was a concern they were willing to overlook. As long as it was the company that paid the Obamas $65 million for their now departed partnership, they’re happy.

We’re now nearly halfway through 2026. The Paramount/Warner Bros. merger seems set to go through. The WGA leadership avoided another strike, making major concessions to extend the deal for four years. Bob Iger finally resigned as CEO of Disney with little fanfare. The heads of Disney Animation and Lucasfilm have been replaced. Unlike other domestic industries that have been killed by offshoring, importing, and international competition, there isn’t really an easy substitute for Hollywood productions. Even as the country has become more diverse than ever, and despite the best efforts from entertainment media and awards shows, foreign films do not perform well domestically. So, while the domestic auto industry can be decimated while Americans still buy cars, the fall of the domestic entertainment industry just leaves a gaping hole.

This could accelerate the decline:

Related:

Though to be fair, its local industry building a crappy product and eventually having their lunch eaten by overseas production isn’t the only reason Detroit collapsed:

Posted at 8:22 am by Ed Driscoll