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Business Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Warner Bros discovers it can't be everything
IN WHAT is quickly becoming a pattern, Warner Bros Discovery is making headlines for taking a mulligan. Less than a month after reversing its inexplicable 2023 decision to drop the valuable HBO branding from its streaming service, HBO Max, the entertainment conglomerate is following up on its three-year-old merger of two separate companies them into two separate companies. The specifics of this and similar recent shake-ups make clear a troubling trend: Media giants attempt to be every kind of entertainment company at once, and then struggle to do much of it particularly well. Ultimately, the audience is left with the short end of the stick. To be fair, the split isn't quite a full-blown reversal like the HBO Max to Max back to HBO Max branding backflip. The 2022 merger brought together WarnerMedia's assets (including Warner Bros, DC Entertainment HBO, CNN and TNT) with Discovery's holdings (Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery+ to name a few). The new proposal will separate Warner Bros Discovery's offerings into two companies: one for its streaming assets and film studios, and another for its legacy cable TV channels. Or at least that's one way to delineate the divergence of its holdings. Another, more blunt, version would be: For the most part, the company has put its profitable pieces (streaming and film) in one pile and the non-profitable pieces (the TV networks) in another. Few who were paying attention to the 2022 deal would be surprised by its ultimate failure. Warner has a long and chequered history of ill-advised mergers. Its previous ownership, AT&T, is a noteworthy example. As part of the deal with Discovery, AT&T spun off WarnerMedia with tens of billions of dollars in debt, which Warner Bros Discovery then assumed. The resulting company has managed to pay down about US$20 billion, which would be impressive were it not for the remaining US$34 billion still owed (plus an estimated US$40 billion in lost value). Still, we're not talking about some fly-by-night operation – Warner Bros recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and has become shorthand for excellence in film and television. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Within that century, it released 1927's The Jazz Singer, an industry disrupter that was the starter pistol for the 'talkies' revolution. The studio was praised for its gritty, socially conscious Depression-era dramas and crime pictures and released legitimately iconic movies such as Casablanca, Rebel Without a Cause, Bonnie & Clyde, The Exorcist, Goodfellas, The Shawshank Redemption, the Harry Potter franchise and (of course) the Looney Tunes shorts and features. And let's not forget Warner Bros produced smash TV shows such as Friends and ER. All of which prompts the question: If a company with that kind of pedigree can't stay afloat in a media landscape that's perpetually hungry for entertainment (or, to put it less artfully, 'content'), who can? The bleak current outlook of the industry indicates that perhaps the answer is 'no one'. Even the Walt Disney Co, which has managed to couple a keen eye for valuable properties with a cultural influence and brand recognition that most other studios can only dream of, may not be infallible. Between the decreased dominance of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the chinks in the armour of its Disney+ streaming service, it's seen better days. Universal Studios, America's oldest surviving film studio (founded in 1912) and still the go-to image of motion picture production thanks to its popular tours, is in the midst of its own sorting-and-separating process. Its parent company, Comcast, announced plans last year to split the oversized NBCUniversal into two groups. Like Warner Bros Discovery, it separated into profitable assets (such as NBC, Bravo, Peacock and theme parks) and less profitable ones (the likes of USA, Syfy, E!, Oxygen, MSNBC and CNBC). Only time will tell if the less lucrative group can survive on its own. The uncertainty is an unfortunate symptom of a fractured media landscape that has been saturated with more viewing options than audiences can (or want to) keep track of. One thing that is not a mystery is that if executives want to compete in a crowded field, they have to be willing to think outside the boxes they've so carefully constructed. Warner Bros did that in a big way at the end of the 1940s. When profits had fallen by more than 50 per cent (due to multiple factors, including the Paramount Decrees and the looming threat of television), Jack Warner tightened belts at the studio. He ended long-term contracts with several of its most expensive stars. It was painful and difficult, but it kept the doors open and the lights on, and the studio reconfigured how they made movies for the changing times and trickier landscape. One could argue that these spin-off solutions are roughly equivalent to Warner's cuts, but solving contemporary problems requires executives to fixate on more than mere numbers as measures of success. As in past moments when audience attention has wavered (in the face of such threats as radio, television and home video), the best solution lies not in bookkeeping but in creativity – empowering filmmakers, showrunners, writers and actors to produce entertainment that genuinely excites audiences and compels them to seek it out. BLOOMBERG The writer is a film critic and historian whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Vulture, The Playlist, Slate and Rolling Stone. He is the author, most recently, of Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend.
The Age
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
30 going on 13: How old is too old to play a teenager on TV?
I was 12 years old when I first laid eyes on bad boy Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie), lighting up outside the Cohens' Newport Beach mansion on The OC. 'Who are you?' asked his new neighbour and eventual love interest Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) in the show's pilot. 'Whoever you want me to be,' he famously replied, his eyes locked as tight on her as his ratty leather choker was wrapped around his neck. It was many years until I learnt that the actor who played this 16-year-old heartthrob was actually almost a decade older than the troubled teen he portrayed. And, aged 25 at the show's premiere, McKenzie was significantly older than Barton, who was just 17. It puts a weird spin on the Ryan and Marissa clippings from Dolly magazine that patchworked my bedroom walls – and an even more uncomfortable lens on the show after Barton's subsequent claims the actors dated during filming. But, in the history of film and television, there's nothing strange about an adult man whacking on a leather jacket and calling himself a highschool. James Dean was a similar age (24) when he portrayed 17-year-old Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause – a film that is popularly credited with defining the very concept of a 'teenager' and is a direct reference point for that opening episode of The OC. (Much like Barton, Dean's co-star Natalie Wood was also much younger – 16 – at the time of filming.) It's actually exceedingly rare that a teenager is cast for these roles at all. Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta were 29 and 23, respectively, when they starred as high-school sweethearts in Grease. Rachel McAdams was 25 when she portrayed queen bee Regina George in Mean Girls. Andrew Garfield was 27 when he played 17-year-old Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man. Zendaya, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney were all in their early 20s at the start of high-school drama Euphoria (meaning the long-anticipated third season will feature an unavoidable time jump) – as were most of the cast of other recent teen shows such as Sex Education and Riverdale. I've been thinking a lot about this, ever since watching Overcompensating. The debut sitcom from Benito Skinner, based on his college experiences from the early 2010s, has recently faced some pushback over its casting. Skinner, 31, plays a fictionalised version of himself as a college freshman (who are generally 18 or 19 years old). And he's joined by other actors predominantly aged from their late 20s to mid-30s (including season two The White Lotus alumnus Adam DiMarco, who is 35). Loading 'After several years of development, Overcompensating arrives at a time when Skinner … can no longer plausibly pass for the teenage version of himself,' one critic wrote in Slate. 'He looks more out of place than Ben Platt did playing a teen in 2021's Dear Evan Hansen.' (Another one for the list! Platt was 27 when he played the 17-year-old outcast.) So why does this keep happening? There are some big logistical factors at play: the first is that it's simply much harder to film with underage actors. Local legislation will often dictate talent under a certain age must be accompanied by a parent, can only work reduced hours and will need on-set tutors. Older actors also usually have more experience and, often, some name recognition that bolsters the project. Zendaya and Cole Sprouse, for instance, became stars through the Disney Channel well before appearing as teens on Euphoria and Riverdale. Having actors who are above the age of consent also helps make certain plot lines feel slightly less perverted to watch (see: basically everything that happens on Gossip Girl). There, however, are some real downsides to this. The first is that actual teenagers grow up thinking they should look like Blake Lively. The 'teenage girls' we watch on film and TV generally have clear skin, full chests and roughly 500 times the self-confidence of the average 16-year-old. And, with broad chests and big arms, the boys aren't much better. Plus, there's always going to be a 'how do you do, fellow kids' inauthenticity to seeing a 27-year-old try to capture what it means to be 17 today. Loading This is what drove then-uni student Jamie Brittain to create Skins back in 2006. Explaining the origins of his famously unfiltered teen drama, he told DigitalSpy it was a direct response to 'deeply patronising' series such as Dawson's Creek and The OC. 'Everyone looked so perfect,' he said. 'It drove me crazy. They were aggressively promoting the notion of [Seth Cohen (played by Adam Brody)] as this virgin nerd … but he was one of the sexiest men on television! And he was a man, as well – he was not a teenager!' Instead, Brittain and his team scouted for no-name teens to join his cast (except for 17-year-old Nicholas Hoult, who had been a child actor in About a Boy). That led to the discovery of Daniel Kaluuya, then 18 and also writing on the show, and Dev Patel, who was 16 when he landed the role of gangly and fun-loving Anwar. When the cast aged out of the roles, they created a whole new generation of teens to focus on. This was revolutionary for me at the time, a 15-year-old watching people my age having the same heartbreaks, house parties and hugely emotional reactions to Crystal Castles. But it turns out there are whole separate issues worth considering when you have actual 17-year-olds doing sex scenes, years before on-set intimacy co-ordinators are common practice. Speaking on her podcast, now in her 30s, original Skins cast member April Pearson (Michelle) admitted: 'I do feel like I was too young … There's a difference between being officially old enough and mentally old enough.' Mischa Barton has said the same of her time on The OC. She has recently spoken about coming into the show as a virgin, 'a kid', and feeling pressured to grow up quickly and meet the expectations of her character. After being thrust into the spotlight and frequently sexualised at a young age, she was also hounded by paparazzi, leading to breakdowns and PTSD. Loading So maybe Skinner is on to something by leaning in to the absurdity of older actors on Overcompensating. It worked for Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, who were 32 when they started playing 13-year-old versions of themselves in Pen15. Set in 2000, with the cargo pants and MSN Messenger plot lines to prove it, that show was also a satire of a very specific era in their lives. Skinner's on-screen sister Mary Beth Barone (age 33) recently made the point on their podcast saying,'I wouldn't want younger actors to play these parts. They wouldn't be able to nail the millennial cringe of that time period.' Skinner added: 'I get what [people] are saying. But at the same time … all of us having space from that time in our lives allows us to be more comfortable.'
Sydney Morning Herald
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
30 going on 13: How old is too old to play a teenager on TV?
I was 12 years old when I first laid eyes on bad boy Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie), lighting up outside the Cohens' Newport Beach mansion on The OC. 'Who are you?' asked his new neighbour and eventual love interest Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) in the show's pilot. 'Whoever you want me to be,' he famously replied, his eyes locked as tight on her as his ratty leather choker was wrapped around his neck. It was many years until I learnt that the actor who played this 16-year-old heartthrob was actually almost a decade older than the troubled teen he portrayed. And, aged 25 at the show's premiere, McKenzie was significantly older than Barton, who was just 17. It puts a weird spin on the Ryan and Marissa clippings from Dolly magazine that patchworked my bedroom walls – and an even more uncomfortable lens on the show after Barton's subsequent claims the actors dated during filming. But, in the history of film and television, there's nothing strange about an adult man whacking on a leather jacket and calling himself a highschool. James Dean was a similar age (24) when he portrayed 17-year-old Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause – a film that is popularly credited with defining the very concept of a 'teenager' and is a direct reference point for that opening episode of The OC. (Much like Barton, Dean's co-star Natalie Wood was also much younger – 16 – at the time of filming.) It's actually exceedingly rare that a teenager is cast for these roles at all. Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta were 29 and 23, respectively, when they starred as high-school sweethearts in Grease. Rachel McAdams was 25 when she portrayed queen bee Regina George in Mean Girls. Andrew Garfield was 27 when he played 17-year-old Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man. Zendaya, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney were all in their early 20s at the start of high-school drama Euphoria (meaning the long-anticipated third season will feature an unavoidable time jump) – as were most of the cast of other recent teen shows such as Sex Education and Riverdale. I've been thinking a lot about this, ever since watching Overcompensating. The debut sitcom from Benito Skinner, based on his college experiences from the early 2010s, has recently faced some pushback over its casting. Skinner, 31, plays a fictionalised version of himself as a college freshman (who are generally 18 or 19 years old). And he's joined by other actors predominantly aged from their late 20s to mid-30s (including season two The White Lotus alumnus Adam DiMarco, who is 35). Loading 'After several years of development, Overcompensating arrives at a time when Skinner … can no longer plausibly pass for the teenage version of himself,' one critic wrote in Slate. 'He looks more out of place than Ben Platt did playing a teen in 2021's Dear Evan Hansen.' (Another one for the list! Platt was 27 when he played the 17-year-old outcast.) So why does this keep happening? There are some big logistical factors at play: the first is that it's simply much harder to film with underage actors. Local legislation will often dictate talent under a certain age must be accompanied by a parent, can only work reduced hours and will need on-set tutors. Older actors also usually have more experience and, often, some name recognition that bolsters the project. Zendaya and Cole Sprouse, for instance, became stars through the Disney Channel well before appearing as teens on Euphoria and Riverdale. Having actors who are above the age of consent also helps make certain plot lines feel slightly less perverted to watch (see: basically everything that happens on Gossip Girl). There, however, are some real downsides to this. The first is that actual teenagers grow up thinking they should look like Blake Lively. The 'teenage girls' we watch on film and TV generally have clear skin, full chests and roughly 500 times the self-confidence of the average 16-year-old. And, with broad chests and big arms, the boys aren't much better. Plus, there's always going to be a 'how do you do, fellow kids' inauthenticity to seeing a 27-year-old try to capture what it means to be 17 today. Loading This is what drove then-uni student Jamie Brittain to create Skins back in 2006. Explaining the origins of his famously unfiltered teen drama, he told DigitalSpy it was a direct response to 'deeply patronising' series such as Dawson's Creek and The OC. 'Everyone looked so perfect,' he said. 'It drove me crazy. They were aggressively promoting the notion of [Seth Cohen (played by Adam Brody)] as this virgin nerd … but he was one of the sexiest men on television! And he was a man, as well – he was not a teenager!' Instead, Brittain and his team scouted for no-name teens to join his cast (except for 17-year-old Nicholas Hoult, who had been a child actor in About a Boy). That led to the discovery of Daniel Kaluuya, then 18 and also writing on the show, and Dev Patel, who was 16 when he landed the role of gangly and fun-loving Anwar. When the cast aged out of the roles, they created a whole new generation of teens to focus on. This was revolutionary for me at the time, a 15-year-old watching people my age having the same heartbreaks, house parties and hugely emotional reactions to Crystal Castles. But it turns out there are whole separate issues worth considering when you have actual 17-year-olds doing sex scenes, years before on-set intimacy co-ordinators are common practice. Speaking on her podcast, now in her 30s, original Skins cast member April Pearson (Michelle) admitted: 'I do feel like I was too young … There's a difference between being officially old enough and mentally old enough.' Mischa Barton has said the same of her time on The OC. She has recently spoken about coming into the show as a virgin, 'a kid', and feeling pressured to grow up quickly and meet the expectations of her character. After being thrust into the spotlight and frequently sexualised at a young age, she was also hounded by paparazzi, leading to breakdowns and PTSD. Loading So maybe Skinner is on to something by leaning in to the absurdity of older actors on Overcompensating. It worked for Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, who were 32 when they started playing 13-year-old versions of themselves in Pen15. Set in 2000, with the cargo pants and MSN Messenger plot lines to prove it, that show was also a satire of a very specific era in their lives. Skinner's on-screen sister Mary Beth Barone (age 33) recently made the point on their podcast saying,'I wouldn't want younger actors to play these parts. They wouldn't be able to nail the millennial cringe of that time period.' Skinner added: 'I get what [people] are saying. But at the same time … all of us having space from that time in our lives allows us to be more comfortable.'
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Notorious stretch of California highway dubbed ‘Blood Alley' where James Dean died is to close for safety work
A stretch of California highway where actor James Dean died will temporarily shut down. The road, known as 'Blood Alley,' spans 20 miles of Highway 41 and connects the state to the Central Valley, Paso Robles and Kettlemen City. The high volume of traffic and the narrow lanes have been blamed for a high number of accidents. Authorities will be carrying out construction on the highway for five days from June 9 to 13. The work will extend from the interchange of highways 41 and 46 near Cholame, about 20 miles east to Reef Station near the junction of state Route 33, according to SFGate. The Independent has emailed Caltrans, the state's transportation authority, for more information. Jim Shivers, a Caltrans spokesperson, told the San Francisco Chronicle the new works were the latest effort to make the stretch of road safer. He said: 'There will be some lengthy detours, which we have acknowledged. The flip side of that is we'll have a brand new interchange opening up soon. It's a major upgrade, it's a major safety enhancement.' In 2002, the San Francisco Chronicle reported 54 people had died on the stretch of highway, with James Dean being one of them. An additional 690 people were injured in the same spot. On September 30, 1955, the 24-year-old actor – who had recently achieved superstar status with his movies Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden and Giant – got into his Porsche 550 Spyder and started driving up the coast toward Salinas. Around 5.45p.m., he passed through the intersection in Cholame, about 227 miles from San Francisco. Ford Tudor, a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, turned onto the road and struck Dean's car. The actor's vehicle crumpled on impact and Dean died from severe injuries, including a broken neck. He became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award acting nomination, and later received a second. The site of the crash has become a tourist attraction, featuring a sculpture of the actor. Caltrans has spent two decades working to improve safety conditions on the road. The State Route 46 Corridor Improvement Project expanded the number of lanes and added a new interchange. Officials believe the established detour will be operable through the improvement efforts. Drivers heading west from the Central Valley are being advised to take Highway 41 to state Route 33 south to Highway 46 west before rejoining Highway 41. Officials say they are optimistic the work will be completed ahead of July 4.
Fashion Network
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Sacai and Levi's channel James Dean in latest collab collection
Sacai and Levi's have channeled James Dean in a Rebel Without a Cause moment for their new denim-driven latest collab collection, unveiled Monday. Entitled Levi's® x Sacai, the collection disrupts the American brand's iconic silhouettes via the Japanese label's distinctive assemblage techniques and experimental design. 'While embracing Sacai designer and creative director Chitose Abe 's visionary approach to transforming familiar garments into unexpected new forms, the new Levi's® x Sacai collection celebrates the heritage of Levi's® denim craftsmanship,' the giant jeans label said in a release. Abe had teased her initial partnership ideas for the capsule collection in her June 2024 show. This new collection features overalls with elephantine legs, or classic denim jackets subverted with Abe's signature flight jacket nylon trim. Others are reimagined as Victorian layered cloaks. Blazers in black denim are finished in yellow stitching, as are denim Tyrolean tunics. Pockets are displaced, doubled up or overlapping, in a collection that includes womenswear and menswear. Featuring actress and model Chase Sui Wonders, alongside model Chandler Frye, the ad campaign blends the timeless lived-in quality of denim with the avant-garde approach of Abe. Shot by photographer Craig McDean and styled by Karl Templer, it's all about a rebel with a fashion cause—part of the essence of both brands' DNA. The Levi's® x Sacai collection will be available through exclusive pop-ups at Selfridges on May 26, Landmark Hong Kong on May 27 and worldwide starting May 28 on the Levi's® app, in select Levi's® flagship stores, and at select Sacai retail locations. Founded in 1999 in Tokyo, Sacai is now consistently one of the ten best runway collections staged in Paris, where it presents every season. Levi's, founded in 1873, is the ultimate denim brand par excellence. Available in 110 countries in 3,400 stores, the corporate entity Levi Strauss & Co. reported annual revenues of $6.4 billion in 2024.
