In a profile published byThe New York Times Magazine, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav conceded that the demands of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) union were reasonable.
While concluding in September, the union initially went on strike earlier this year in May due to low residual payments against the major movie studios represented by the AMPTP. The WGA was soon joined on strike by their sister union for actors, the SAG-AFTRA, which recently achieved a historic deal.
Zaslav stated that he commends the union’s demands and does not mind if his company “overpays” the workers for what they actually deserve.
They are right about almost everything. So what if we overpay? I’ve never regretted overpaying for great talent or a great asset.
During the 148-day strike, CEOs such as Zaslav and Disney’s Bob Iger wereheavily scrutinized for their controversial commentsabout the strikes. Specifically, Zaslav stated that the strike would end because the writers have “a love for the business and the love for working” rather than WGA members achieving a fair wage. His comments angered many WGA members because it seemed as if Zaslav, who made a total of $276 million last year, was dismissive of their demands.
Another past controversy under Zaslav’s leadership during the strike was the alleged “oversight” on the MAX streaming platform in which the names of DGA and striking WGA members were consolidated under a generic “creatives” list under television shows and films.
The WGA Strike Deal Explained
Here’s everything the WGA won in the deal that finished their strike.
What Does the Future of Warner Bros. Discovery Look Like?
While Zaslav attempts to boost his popularity among industry workers and the public, the CEO plans to expand popular Warner Bros franchise IPs likeHarry Potter, DC, andLord of the Rings.
At a presentation earlier this year in September, the CEO stated thathe feels more content could be utilizedfrom those properties.
One of the other real strengths of Warner Bros. is we talk about the great IP that Warner Bros. owns. But, for us, the challenge is that our content, our great IP — Harry Potter, DC, Lord of the Rings — that content has been underused. We think there’s a lot of shareholder value in attaching a 10-year DC — a real plan around DC, bringing Harry Potter back to HBO for 10 consecutive years, doing multiple movies of Lord of the Rings. When you put those franchises in, it’s the best performing studio in the world. We need to deploy our best capital, and we need to do it with the best creative people in the world.
However, Zaslav’s ambition to expand may be hindered bya potential congressional investigationinto the unprecedented pattern of shelving finished and unreleased movies likeBatgirlandScoob! Holiday Hauntfor insurance money.
Warner Bros Disovery’s latest franchise project,Blue Beetle, is currently streaming on MAX.
