Transcript: A Hollywood 'Depression' the Strike Couldn't Fix

Inside what the writers strike wrought (and didn't) one year later

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Elaine Low (00:04):

Welcome to The Ankler Podcast. This is Elaine Low of the Series Business newsletter here at The Ankler, filling in for our usual host, Sean McNulty, on this Thursday, September 26th. Joining me today from Los Angeles is The Ankler himself, Richard Rushfield, as well as our executive editor, David Lidsky, dialing in from New York. David, it is technically fall in New York now. Does it make you want to buy school supplies or a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils? To paraphrase one of my favorite movies.

David Lidsky (00:34):

New York is nice in September because in the mornings and evenings you really feel it, so I do recommend it.

Elaine Low (00:56):

Yeah, it always makes me think of my favorite quote from You've Got Mail when she's like, "It makes me want to buy school supplies, a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils."

Richard Rushfield (01:05):

That says something about the wild rebel in you that your imagination runs to school supplies and sharpened pencils.

Elaine Low (01:17):

I am a wild child, Richard. It kind of feels like fallout here in LA, right? Now that that horrible heat wave where it was 110 degrees has passed us by.

Richard Rushfield (01:25):

Yeah, yeah, it was cloudy yesterday.

Elaine Low (01:27):

That's new.

Richard Rushfield (01:28):

It was crazy.

Elaine Low (01:29):

Yeah. Well, unfortunately, a cloudy week for the industry here as well with two major companies engaging in layoffs, starting with Paramount and then Disney, each reportedly cutting hundreds of employees this week. Disney's cuts impacted around 300 in the U.S. with the trades reporting that legal, finance, HR, and comms were hit the hardest, and Paramount saying that its planned reductions are now 90 percent complete with its office of the CEO issuing a memo that they're looking to accelerate streaming profitability while at the same time adjusting to the evolving landscape in our traditional business. Now, unfortunately, this isn't different from kind of steady drumbeat we've seen of layoffs for the last year or two, is it Richard?

Richard Rushfield (02:14):

No, and it's in all likelihood going to continue. Paramount claimed they were 90 percent of the way towards fulfilling their goals that they promised, but there's a bunch of streaming services and companies associated with them that the marketplace has decided can't survive on their own. I don't know whether they're right or wrong, so the pain and cuts will continue until there are no more.