As a seasoned gamer with over three decades of experience navigating the dynamic world of media and entertainment, I can’t help but feel a sense of kinship with Barry Diller. His pursuit of Paramount Global, driven by a personal desire for symmetry in his life, resonates deeply with my own journey in gaming.
According to Barry Diller’s account of events, he came very near to gaining control over Paramount Global, closer than some media outlets might suggest.
At a Financial Times gathering last Friday, I openly expressed my genuine and heartfelt desire to take over the studio. This interest isn’t driven by financial gains or strategic moves, but rather for a sense of balance in my own gaming journey.
At age 52, I found myself in a bidding war with the Redstones regarding Paramount. Ultimately, I chose not to place the final bid and walk away. Then, after another 30 years, the opportunity resurfaced. Instead of viewing it as a personal desire, I saw it as a responsibility. I felt confident that I knew how to handle it. And when you come across a company that has been poorly managed for over a decade and a half, if you can still keep it going with just fumes, it presents an excellent opportunity. We gave serious thought to the prospect.
Diller felt that his efforts significantly accelerated Skydance’s winning acquisition of the company (Diller jokingly suggested Redstone should send a bouquet of flowers or a pot of chicken soup), and after they sealed the deal, he chose to step aside.
After Skydance finalized their agreement, the opportunity arose for others to make higher bids, but with no guarantee of success. In this instance, I chose not to engage in the bidding war. Additionally, I found that I wasn’t particularly interested in acquiring it.
As a passionate follower, I too have my thoughts about the current landscape of Hollywood – a battleground where legacy studios are facing an uphill struggle against tech titans, according to this media magnate.
Diller stated that the landscape is no longer suitable for farming as it faces unprecedented challenges. He clarified that this doesn’t mean traditional companies are doomed, but they no longer hold ultimate control or dominance globally.
Hollywood’s dominance is no longer present,” he explained. “So, what does it mean to lead in Hollywood? Today, the power has shifted to tech companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple. In essence, they control the global film and television industry. This is quite a distance from the old idea we had about Hollywood.
He suggested that the ambition of certain corporations such as Warner Bros. Discovery to engage in consolidation might be overly idealistic or unrealistic.
Diller expressed his dislike for the idea of consolidation, stating it’s often a trick used by people with inflated egos who believe size and scale are critical. In Diller’s view, if you can reach your audience – which today can be achieved in numerous ways, from publishing digitally to simply pressing a key on a computer – then scale doesn’t matter. What truly matters is producing quality programs, movies, or TV shows that people actually want to watch. If your content is superior to your competitors’, you’ll succeed. However, no one can alter the fundamental landscape because tech companies have vast resources of capital.
And he weighed in on artificial intelligence, telling the conference that he has seen some of the advanced models in development, and that “I think we’re within months, maybe a year, of true artificial general intelligence. It’s so mind boggling, it’s almost even impossible to grasp.”
For Hollywood, this development could significantly impact the employment scene: if you’re involved in animation production, it represented a massive hiring opportunity – CGI work, being expensive, required large teams of workers to create animated films. However, considering Diller’s statement, it seems that future projects might not require as many employees due to advancements in technology.
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2024-09-20 21:24