Just ask Jason Kilar how fast things can change in Hollywood.
The WarnerMedia chief, just days after The Wall Street Journal profiled his “script for a new Hollywood,” is already negotiating his exit, following AT&T’s decision on Monday to offload its media business to Discovery in a merger. His glory days leading the legacy Hollywood studio into the age of streaming are officially numbered.
Kilar’s expected exit comes just 13 months after he was hired to lead WarnerMedia and help HBO Max, its nascent streaming service, compete with giants like Netflix and Disney+. His year on the job was a whirlwind — even without factoring in the global pandemic — as Kilar made several landmark personnel and business decisions that reshaped the company.