John Evans, a sound technician who dabbles in acting, writing and producing, points to Netflix’s loving restoration of The Egyptian Theatre along iconic Hollywood Boulevard as a sign of their good faith.
The Egyptian, a classic 1922 theatre, was the site of the world’s first movie premiere – Robin Hood starring Douglas Fairbanks – and had fallen into disrepair before Netflix bought the property in 2020 and gave it a $70m makeover.
“I think it’s a good sign,” Mr Evans said, adding that streaming is how many film workers consume movies and TV like the rest of the world.
On the backlot at Warner Bros, tourists snap selfies in front of the Central Perk cafe set from Friends, and stroll by facades of buildings that stand-in for New York or Los Angeles. Inside the offices and writers’ rooms, for those still working, it’s business as usual.
“I’ve gone through seven mergers,” a producer working on the Warner Bros lot said while developing a new show, explaining it’s sad to lose a studio because it means it will be even harder to get shows made and sold with one less customer. “But if you make good stuff, you make good stuff.”
The producer spoke on the condition of anonymity on the day that Paramount Skydance announced their hostile takeover bid. They said they were too busy to worry about the sale because they were trying to get a show on air – and they wouldn’t be surprised if another billionaire or trillionaire made another offer for the studio by the end of all this.
“I joke about Elon walking in and doing this, but he could,” they said of the Tesla and X owner. “When you have people worth a trillion dollars, there are no rules.”
