While MGM top film exec Michael De Luca and TV chief Mark Burnett are for now part of the interim leadership structure at Amazon Studios, insiders say they face an uphill battle to adapt to the tech giant’s corporate culture and retain a role at the streaming-oriented company in the future.
“This is not a merger, this is a straight up acquisition,” Bryan Sullivan, a partner at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae who focuses on entertainment and investment, told TheWrap. “Amazon is in the driver’s seat. And MGM just goes along for the ride.”
And executives at the studio being acquired have good reason to feel anxious.