In the cover story segment of today’s episode of “Daily Variety,” Tatiana Siegel details a Variety investigative report that asks a straightforward question: “What does David Ellison want?” And Chris Willman explains why he fell in love with a certain concert venue near Palm Springs.
This cover story coincides with Team Ellison reaching the 100-day mark of control at Paramount and CBS. Since 1994, Paramount has had a new owner, which has brought about major changes and big changes in the culture.
“Last week’s layoffs were pretty dramatic. 1,000 people left. I would say the optics don’t really matter. Other studios that aren’t run by a millennial mogul who is the son of the second-richest person in the world, there might be a little more fear of being told on social media, ‘Oh, I’m going to be told on social media that I’m firing too many women,’ or that I’m cutting too many shows that are supposed to be progressive,” Siegel said. “I don’t think David Ellison cares about optics. And all of CBS News and Bari Weiss. It’s like a hydra with multiple tentacles with different dramas unfolding.”
Paramount’s content focus changed significantly along with the national political climate. In keeping with Ellison’s Skydance media focus, the new model of Paramount is eschewing arthouse in favor of big-tent films and TV shows that appeal to vast America.
“The biggest deal we’ve done since David Ellison took over the studio is this UFC[broadcast rights]deal, which is worth $7.7 billion over seven years, which is about the list price of Paramount itself,” Siegel said. “And one of the interesting things that I found in the reporting – and I’m sorry, it’s so crazy that I have to laugh – is that there’s going to be a UFC fight on the White House lawn[next year]which is frankly amazing. The White House commented to me and said, ‘It’s going to be a great event.'” That’s something that I probably couldn’t have imagined five years ago. ”
Willman, Variety magazine’s chief music critic, highlights the growing popularity of Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California, just south of Palm Springs. It can accommodate approximately 10,000 people for concerts. It’s large enough to try out a big rock show, small enough to feel intimate, Willman explains, but far enough from Los Angeles (about 190 miles east) to count as an out-of-town tryout.
“One of the benefits of that is that upcoming acts like Paul McCartney and Olivia Rodrigo, who also started her tour there, can rehearse there. They can book the arena a week or two in advance of opening night. Irving Azoff used the phrase, ‘They can put on a show.’ The stage is as big as the Forum, the Hollywood Bowl, and other stages, so it’s easy for the industry to be able to perform all their productions on that stage. The audience is only two-thirds as big, but the stage is just as big,” Willman says. “So when they perform at Acresure, they absolutely want to do a full show. It’s hours away from the industry. Unless you want them to come out, you’re hours away from having a bunch of your friends show up and bother you. So this is, in Broadway terms, the sweet spot for out-of-town tryouts.”
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