00:00There's a new development, or at least there's a rumor about Netflix that's been quite persistent for the past few days.
00:06It would appear that Netflix is very interested in acquiring Warner.
00:12So, it's not official at all, it's... not a theory, but in any case it's information that's circulating, it could be possible.
00:21The problem with that, as I was saying earlier, is that Netflix is completely resistant to the idea of theaters.
00:28and that today Warner is one of the last studios in Hollywood that still promotes filmmakers in movie theaters.
00:37So the problem is that if Netflix buys Warner, let me tell you, it's going to be extremely bad for movie theaters.
00:43Warner has contributed enormously to the success of the movie theater and cinema in general over the past two years.
00:49Which wasn't a given, because there was a time when Warner wasn't doing so well; I know that post-Covid they were releasing their films at the same time.
00:54on their streaming platform and in cinemas, it was a mess.
00:56But for the past two years, something has happened, and frankly, and I'll tell you why because
01:00We have the example of Sinners, for instance. Sinners, which is directed by Ryan Cooler, I don't know if you've seen it, which came out this year.
01:06Sinners is a film that is not part of a franchise, so it is a non-franchised film.
01:11It's a film, it's an original story, and yet it's a film that has grossed over $280 million worldwide.
01:17So for a budget of, I think, 50 million, something stupid like that.
01:20So it's a huge success considering what it is, meaning a film that came out of nowhere.
01:24which is released out of season, which is banned for those under 16 in the United States.
01:28It's a completely unexpected success, and it's a success that's good for the cinema.
01:31and it's also good for the authors since it's a film that will allow other authors to...
01:36Then we thought, well yeah, we can take risks and the studios will give us free rein
01:41because Sinners worked, even though it was a completely different film.
01:44Whether you like it or not, it doesn't matter.
01:45The success of Sinners is good for cinema and that's what matters.
01:49So there's this guy named Mike DeLuca, who was hired by Warner in January 2022.
01:55and who is the co-president and CEO of Warner Bros.' film division.
02:00It oscillates between art-house cinema and mainstream cinema, and that's exactly what I think a major studio in Hollywood needs to do.
02:06And so this is the guy who signed, for example, the sequel to Dune in 2024, this is the guy who signed Shyamalan's The Trap.
02:12This is the guy who signed Joker Folia 2, even though in this case, Joker Folia 2 was likely to be released no matter what.
02:19because the first one was a huge success, but it's still an art film.
02:22In 2025, he was the one who directed Bong Joon-ho's film, Mickey 17; he was also the one who directed Sinners.
02:27He's the one who signed Furiosa, he's also the one who recently signed Paul Thomas Anderson's Battle After Battle.
02:33Because you should know that not all of these films necessarily worked.
02:36So Dune 2 worked well, Sinners worked extremely well,
02:40But Joker Folia 2, Furiosa, and Mickey 17 were incredible box office flops.
02:45In other words, it wasn't profitable at all, and it almost cost the famous Mike DeLuca his job.
02:52who, I remind you once again, is one of the last executives in Hollywood who actually cares about what auteur cinema is.
02:58And that proves it, but he didn't necessarily lose his job despite huge flops like Joker Folia 2.
03:07Furiosa and Mickey 17 because, alongside that, when he makes auteur films like that,
03:12In parallel, he directs films like Superman, he directs films like Minecraft that have kind of almost reached a billion dollars
03:18What's really huge is that he's directed films like Barbie, and there's also The Conjuring, so the fourth or fifth Conjuring film.
03:23who made like 500 million worldwide and so actually he's smart enough to think
03:28I'm going to sign big hit films for the cinema and films that are for everyone, namely Minecraft,
03:32Films that aren't exactly high art, but at least they bring in money for Warner Bros., to put it mildly.
03:36With that money I'm going to redistribute it to the authors who deserve to make a film
03:41Like Paul Thomas Anderson, like Bong Joon-ho, like even Todd Phillips, why not?
03:46So, there you have it, for the past two years we've had a studio that actually cares about the room.
03:54And thanks to this guy, this guy who is the CEO of Warner, the film division of Warner
03:59And who's smart enough to think, "I'm going to release Minecraft because it's a stupid movie, but it's going to make a billion"
04:04And next to it, I'm going to release Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another."
04:08Because he's a damn good writer who deserves his film in theaters, Warner needs to remain an independent studio
04:14And I think it has the resources to remain an independent studio; DC is coming and I think it's going to do well.
04:19After that, you can think what you want; personally, I didn't like Superman at all, but at least it works.
04:23And it's going to bring in money for studios that have been around for over 100 years.
04:27And who are still making films in movie theaters, that's what's most important.
04:30Yes, Netflix will completely kill Warner, but more importantly, Netflix will kill movie theaters if this happens.
04:35Because we've seen it, if you tell me again that Apple TV wants to acquire Warner
04:38Well, Apple TV is already a bit more open to the theater; they're open to writers.
04:43They let people do it, they let artists do it
04:46like The Batman 2 for example, that kind of thing
04:48Indeed, these are films that should be released in theaters, not on Netflix, absolutely not.
04:52absolutely not
04:53So, uh...
04:55So there you have it.
04:56Here we go!
05:11Here we go!
05:13Here we go!
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