The age of the Hollywood mogul was supposed to be over.
asserted
age → suppose → mogul
Movies are dead, haven’t you heard?
asserted
you → hear → ?
Even the grandest studio – Warner Bros. – had started to resemble a relic of a powerful past.
asserted
studio → start → past
Then came a “kid.”
asserted
kid → come → ?
David Ellison, the son of Oracle’s billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison, was 23 when he arrived in the movie capital in 2006.
asserted
he → arrive → 2006
Hollywood insiders laughed behind his back.
asserted
insiders → laugh → back
He was dumb money to be fleeced, another starstruck rich guy with a chequebook.
asserted
He → fleece → chequebook
A 2015 GQ profile ran with the headline “The Kid Pays for the Picture”.
asserted
Kid → run → Picture
On Monday, after a remarkable, almost inconceivable run of dealmaking and brinkmanship, David Ellison – all of 43 years old – stood on the verge of adding Warner Bros. Discovery to his Paramount Skydance, giving him control of two businesses that helped invent the movie and television industries.
asserted
that → stand → industries
A settlement with 12 states cleared the antitrust lawsuit that was the remaining obstacle to the $US111 billion ($158 billion) takeover.
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that → clear → takeover
Ellison was already an unusual figure in modern Hollywood – a controlling owner who was also CEO and a hands-on movie and television producer.
asserted
who → control → Hollywood
Adding Warner Bros. Discovery will expand his power to a scale without precedent, spanning a wider range of media than the empires of classic moguls such as Jack Warner and Louis B. Mayer.
asserted
Adding → add → Warner
Even Bob Iger, for all his regal command as Disney’s CEO over the decades, never combined all those roles.
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Iger → combine → roles
“David’s about to become the Hollywood equivalent of Superman, Caesar and Midas combined,” Joseph M. Singer, a veteran film financier and former studio executive, said in an email.
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Singer → become → email
“He won’t just be sitting at the table.
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He → sit → table
He’ll have extraordinary influence over who gets a seat.”
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who → have → seat
Singer had publicly opposed the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount Skydance, citing concerns about consolidation-related job losses and the roughly $US79 billion in net debt that the conglomerate would carry at closing, among other worries.
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conglomerate → oppose → worries
“I believe David’s intentions are good and his ambitions genuine,” Singer said.
asserted
Singer → believe → ?
“But I remain concerned that this concentration of power is not in the interests of our business.
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concentration → remain → business
I hope I am proved wrong.”
asserted
I → hope → ?
A senior agent and two film producers privately likened Ellison to Michael Corleone in The Godfather, a Paramount film.
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agent → liken → Godfather
The character began as an outsider and became the boss, consolidating power with startling effectiveness.
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character → begin → effectiveness
The Ellison family’s ties to President Donald Trump – which included a dinner that David Ellison hosted in April “honouring the Trump White House” – have made many Democrats and a sizable contingent in Hollywood wary of his growing power.
asserted
Democrats → include → power
His empire will now span CNN and CBS News; HBO, MTV, BET, Comedy Central and TNT; the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services; and two of Hollywood’s oldest movie studios.
asserted
empire → span → studios
Put another way, Ellison will soon have Batman, Harry Potter, Captain Kirk, Wonder Woman, Ethan Hunt, Maverick and SpongeBob SquarePants reporting to him.
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Batman → Put → him
“We vehemently oppose the agreement to allow David Ellison to take over Warner Bros. Discovery,” a campaign called Block the Merger said in a statement.
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campaign → oppose → statement
The campaign was organised by the Future Film Coalition, a nonprofit that gathered thousands of signatures from film and television workers opposed to the merger.
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that → organise → merger
Ellison settled the antitrust lawsuits with California and 11 other states after months of legal and political combat.
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Ellison → settle → combat
The lawsuits argued that the merger would reduce competition in movies and cable TV.
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merger → argue → movies
The states relented after Ellison agreed to concessions, including a five-year commitment to release at least 30 movies annually, $US1.5 billion in additional domestic production spending, and the creation of an independent board to safeguard editorial independence at CNN and CBS News.
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Ellison → relent → CNN
In an email to Paramount employees, Ellison said he expected the Warner Bros. Discovery takeover to close in about two weeks.
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takeover → say → weeks
He will exercise control of Paramount and Warner Bros. through his family’s 77.5 per cent stake in the company’s voting shares.
asserted
He → exercise → shares
“This is the first time since Walt Disney that you will have a family own and control a major Hollywood company with this level of hands-on management,” said Gerry Cardinale, a Paramount board member.
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Cardinale → have → management
“There’s a changing of the guard taking place,” Cardinale added, referring not only to Ellison’s ascension but also to an owner-operated model that Hollywood had largely abandoned.
asserted
Hollywood → ’ → that
Amassing all that power may prove easier than wielding it.
uncertain
Amassing → amass → it
Along with the mountain of debt, Ellison’s new company will need to contend with a cable TV business that is shrinking as viewers continue to cut the cord.
asserted
viewers → need → cord
He must also integrate two enormous companies – he has promised $US6 billion in savings – while navigating internal turmoil and political and editorial pressures at CBS News and CNN.
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he → integrate → News
Despite owning two major streaming services, Ellison will still be competing against Netflix and YouTube.
asserted
Ellison → own → Netflix
He also faces Hollywood’s most basic problem: how to make movies and TV shows that enough people want to watch.
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people → face → that
‘David’s about to become the Hollywood equivalent of Superman, Caesar and Midas combined.
asserted
David → become → Superman
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
