Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546058
MOTIONPICTUREC O S T U M E R S .O R G 7 ago and shrunk the Big Six to the Big Five, a major distribution channel was lost. When Skydance merged with Paramount, one development slate vanished. With larger studios comes less creative work as the behemoths need to constantly turn a profit to stay in one piece. With more than $50 billion in debt, there's no room for the unconventional, off-beat, mid-budget films that have no proven record. And with fewer studios around, these original films will have a harder and harder time to find a distributor for their work, if they can get the funding to make the film at all. But this doesn't just mean less work on original content, but less work overall. In recent years, Hollywood has taken several hits to production: the COVID-19 pandemic, the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, and the LA wildfires. The industry has yet to fully rebound and remains unlikely to do so. Following the Paramount Skydance merger, 10% of Paramount's workforce was laid off. Following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, a $3 billion cost-savings plan was implemented, which resulted in thousands laid off over the next few years. When Disney acquired Fox, 4,000 jobs were lost at Fox. There's no doubt that more jobs will be lost in the Paramount and Warner Bros. sale, and hundreds, if not thousands, of entertainment workers have already permanently left the industry, with more and more on the brink every day. All of this leads to less competition overall, which can only mean fewer and fewer projects will be green lit as studios see less need to create new work, and rely on already produced, already popular, work to keep raking in money, mostly in the form of streaming. In this new media landscape, most entertainment is watched from home, and much of the streamed content relies heavily on a large library. When people discover "new" shows, that doesn't mean they're looking for new releases, but rather "new to them" content, which is older shows that already have several seasons out. Paramount's leadership has already announced plans to consolidate Paramount+ with HBO, knocking out one streaming platform entirely and merging two libraries, which can only lead to higher subscription prices and one less studio to take on new work. But not all is lost! A loss of original filmmaking in the traditional film studio system can only lead to a rise in original filmmaking elsewhere. Crowdfunding and alternative funding methods has risen in the age of the Internet, making independent filmmaking more and more feasible to creatives previously shut out by a lack of funds. In addition, boutique independent distributors like A24 (Moonlight, Everything PHOTO: SONY PICTURES/COOLCAESAR