“Frankenstein” producer Scott Stuber spent the final laps of awards season answering questions from industry insiders about his thoughts on the future of Warner Bros. and HBO amid “Succession”-level drama surrounding the latter’s future.
Mr. Stuber has the outlook to run one of Hollywood’s biggest film studios, given his time at Universal Pictures and seven years of experience leading Netflix’s expansion of its original film ambitions. He explained why the Megabucks merger agreement sparked such an emotional response from the creative community and related sectors.
“For those of us in our fifties who grew up with HBO and Warner Bros. being the gold standard, those were the most important emotions. So it’s very difficult to change those. It’s emotional. It’s a big change,” Stuber told Variety’s Marc Malkin on the red carpet at the Actors Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
The coming months will be difficult for Paramount and WBD staff, as well as the employees who work with them, as Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of WBD will result in major layoffs. But he thinks it will also spark an explosion of entrepreneurial activity.
“These are really tough times in terms of people losing their jobs. No one wants that to happen,” Stuber said. “I hope that new companies with entrepreneurial spirit will start up. I think when things consolidate and things get difficult, it’s incumbent upon all of us to find new ways and new avenues. And I hope that all kinds of new places will arise.” And if you look at the last 50 years, companies like New Line, A24, and Miramax were born out of a new entrepreneurial spirit. And I hope that a lot of people who would unfortunately be out of work come together and let’s build something great together. ”
David Ellison has been in Hollywood’s fishbowl for the past year, ever since his company completed the acquisition of one of Hollywood’s oldest brands. Stuber expects Paramount to be able to complete the integration once the deal receives regulatory approval and is completed. Paramount Skydance hopes to complete the transaction by the end of September. Stuber thanked Warner Bros. Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdi, and HBO head Casey Bloys.
“What I like about David is that he loves storytelling. And any time a company owns our studio, and we’re all trying to do something for a living, you want that person’s head that you know to be someone who loves stories, and David does that,” Stuber said. “We have a great executive staff at Warner Bros. and HBO. We hope all of these great people will continue to tell the story of Mike, Pam, Casey and their team, but we’re in a period of transition, and I think it’s incumbent upon all of us to hold onto what’s really important, and that’s great storytelling.”
Why did Netflix back away from pursuing Warner Bros. and HBO so quickly after Paramount added more money to its bid?Stuber said he was not surprised by the decisions made by the board and his former boss, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
“He’s an incredibly smart businessman,” Stuber said. “As a company, they’re really disciplined, they’re really thorough. And when they got to the point where they were willing to go beyond what they wanted, they had the discipline and the balance sheet to say, ‘This is not the right deal for us right now.’
(Photo: “Frankenstein” producer Scott Stuber and his wife, actor and entrepreneur Molly Sims, at Sunday’s acting awards ceremony.)
