The recent layoffs at Turner Classic Movies have filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson so worried about the future of the network that they have scheduled an emergency meeting with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who has reportedly deadline.
Earlier this week, TCM fired most of its leadership, including executive vice president and general manager Pola Changnon, senior vice president of programming and content strategy Charles Tabesh, vice president of brand creative and marketing Dexter Fedor, corporate vice president and strategic partnerships Partner Genevieve McGillicuddy and Studio Vice President of Production Anne Wilson. The news doesn’t bode particularly well for the future of the channel, which has been instrumental in exposing new generations to film history for decades.
Scorsese, Spielberg, and Anderson are certainly some of the greatest directors of our time, and Spielberg and Anderson are on the board of the Film Foundation, Scorsese’s film restoration and preservation organization. Their concern that Zaslav might stymie their efforts to put film history on record feels especially plausible when you recall that he didn’t necessarily steer Warner Bros. Discovery in a content-friendly direction: Since last year, the company shelved already completed Project, which has removed hundreds of episodes of classic TV shows from streaming services and canceled beloved contemporary shows.
I hope the trio of directors can combine their strengths to explain something to the CEO.