The other week, close to the time Netflix chief Ted Sarandos was being grilled by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee over the company’s proposed $83 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, “Avatar” filmmaker James Cameron sent a letter.
Now details of that letter have emerged via Variety. Sent last week to Senator Mike Lee, and subsequently attained by CNBC, Cameron’s letter has slammed Netflix’s potential purchase, calling it “disastrous” for the theatrical business and those it employs:
“I believe strongly that the proposed sale of Warner Brothers Discovery to Netflix will be disastrous for the theatrical motion picture business that I have dedicated my life’s work to. Of course, my films all play in the downstream video markets as well, but my first love is the cinema.
The business model of Netflix is directly at odds with the theatrical film production and exhibition business, which employs hundreds of thousands of Americans. It is therefore directly at odds with the business model of the Warner Brothers movie division, one of the few remaining major movie studios.
The U.S. may no longer lead in auto or steel manufacturing, but it is still the world leader in movies. That will change for the worse.”
Lee answered with a statement saying: “We have received outreach from actors, directors, and other interested parties about the proposed Netflix and Warner Brothers merger, and I share many of their concerns. I look forward to holding a follow-up hearing to further address these issues.”
The letter comes as Sarandos popped up on Matt Belloni’s The Town podcast the other day to discuss the sale.
The talk touched upon a number of topics – from why they reopened the Warner Bros. sale process for seven days, why Netflix’s bid is better, and the biggest question of all – commitment to a theatrical window and robust marketing spending for Warners titles.
Sarandos says during the discussion: “we’re not changing anything about the Warner Bros. model compensation for filmmakers at all”. He also says you only have to look at the Disney-Fox deal to show how being purchased by a studio could be harmful:
“If you look at the Disney-Fox merger, they went from making 33 movies a year to making about 20. That’s a bad outcome. And that’s exactly what Paramount is proposing in their bid. What we’re doing is keeping them alive. We are investing in them at the rate that they’re producing films today, plus what we’re releasing for Netflix today, and growing that business.”
Sarandos also indicated Netflix is sticking to a traditional 45-day theatrical window followed by a PVOD and HBO Max release. Sarandos also responded to Cameron’s comments today, saying he “was particularly surprised” by them. Appearing on Fox Business’ “The Claman Countdown” (via Deadline), he said:
“I met with James personally in late December and laid out for him our 45-day commitment to theatrical exhibition of films and to the Warner Bros slate. So I am … I’m particularly surprised and disappointed that James chose to be part of the Paramount disinformation campaign that’s been going on for months about this deal. I have never even uttered the words ’17-day window.’ So I don’t know where it came from or why he would be part of that machine.”
Paramount, meanwhile, says they have cleared a ten-day waiting period after responding to a second request for information from the DOJ and, as of now, “there is no statutory impediment in the U.S. to closing” its deal for Warner Bros. Discovery.
