Despite fears of media consolidation and disruption from tech giants and artificial intelligence, WME co-chairmen Christian Muirhead and Richard Weitz remain optimistic about the future of Hollywood.
“We have real confidence in the power of art. There’s real demand for it — that hasn’t changed,” Muirhead told the Financial Times’ Business of Entertainment conference on Thursday. “The distribution may change and evolve, but the one constant is that the world will give you a reason to want to go to a movie or a television show or read a book. So we feel very optimistic about the future.”
The pair believe that AI will be a tool to enhance artists’ creations rather than a way to replace jobs.
“Gavin Newsom putting guardrails in place to protect our clients is the best thing that can happen. If you look at the estates of the deceased, whether it’s Elvis or whether it’s Marilyn Monroe, or any of the actors or persons that we’ve had, they’re going to be protected. They’re also going to be protected with their likeness and their voice,” Weitz said. “There’s this Oprah Winfrey special I watched the other day on ABC that has all the titans of AI. And it is scary, of course, and they are admitting that it’s scary, but we have to embrace the change. We also have to make sure we’re protecting our clients.”
As for media industry consolidation’s impact on Muirhead and Weitz’s clients, the pair admitted that they don’t know definitively what changes will look like but argued that it will be dictated by consumers. Muirhead pointed out that other players historically pop up during times of consolidation.
“Whether it’s Media Res or Blumhouse, you have these independents that are getting a lot of support, and we need more buyers and more independents to have a healthy ecosystem. So as you see more consolidation, then you’ll see more new entities spring up,” Muirhead said.
In the streaming space, Muirhead and Weitz pointed to the growth of Tubi and YouTube, calling the latter a “huge threat” to the traditional players, as well as social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
“Ultimately, it’ll be fine, and we’ll navigate through it. But yeah, there’ll be more change to come, for sure,” Muirhead added.
In addition to talking AI and media consolidation, Muirhead argued there’s “no one size fits all proposition anymore” when it comes to distribution.
“We’re not going to put everything out theatrically. It doesn’t make sense for us, which is why I think this George Clooney and Brad Pitt movie [Wolfs], which looks great, I would have gone the movie theater, but everyone’s going to watch it. Why? Two major stars on a service that’s exclusive to them, that is a premium movie.”
“I don’t think that the movie theater is the best place for all movies and our clients are sophisticated enough to understand that,” Weitz added. “It’s better to be the No. 1 watched movie on a streaming reserve that may not get the immediate box office.”
The duo also praised David Ellison’s $8 billion deal to buy Paramount, calling him, Jeff Shell and Gerry Cardinale an “incredible team.”
“If Sony had bought it, that would have been problematic. One less buyer in the marketplace. I think it ultimately is a bad thing,” Muirhead added. “But more importantly, you have a new owner that does two things. One, he cares about the product. This is not Gulf + Western owning Paramount in the 1970s. He’s somebody who deeply cares about movies and television and content. Then in addition to that, he has a vision for the future and has relationships in Silicon Valley, obviously, that will be beneficial to how the studio and our world evolve. As far as we’re concerned, it’s a win on both fronts. We’re really excited about it.”
When asked about the future, Muirhead emphasized that the “long view” of the industry is great, despite short-term challenges.
“We’ve never been more excited about the representation business and what the opportunities are for our clients,” Weitz added. “There are no rules anymore. You can listen to a podcast, have an idea, and that could be the next big blockbuster. You’ll be playing a game on Sony PlayStation and have it be the biggest show on Amazon with “Fallout” or “The Last of Us” on HBO. The industry has never been more exciting for us.”
