Plot Twist at Turner Classic Movies is upsetting movie fans

For many people in Hollywood, including lions like Steven Spielberg, Turner Classic Movies is not a cable channel. It is an extension of their identity.

And this week it was disappointing.

On Tuesday, the network, known as TCM, jettisoned its top five executives through a mix of buyouts and pink slips. The deceased were Pola Chagnon, the general manager; Charlie Tabesh, the channel’s lead programmer; Genevieve McGillicuddy, who ran the annual TCM Film Festival; Anne Wilson, a production manager; and Dexter Fedor, a marketer.

Warner Bros. Discovery, the network’s owner, promised viewers would see little to no change on TCM. The channel remains ad-free. “We remain fully committed to this company, the TCM brand, and its purpose of protecting and celebrating culturally defining films,” Kathleen Finch, chairman and chief content officer of the company’s domestic network group, wrote in a memo released today. shared with news outlets. .

But the station’s loyalists reacted with hellfire to the cuts, interpreting them as a further marginalization of an art form and a personal attack.

Our movie theaters are overrun with superheroes. Our movie studios have fallen victim to corporate consolidation. FilmStruck, our streaming service for silent era gems and noir classics, was discontinued. And now you’re stripping TCM, our last happy place, where Orson Welles is mercifully alive and well and “Key Largo” (1948) still counts as a summer hit?

Using an expletive, Ryan Reynolds sounded the alarm on Twitter, told his 21 million followers that TCM was a fixture in his life, calling the channel “a sacred corner of movie history — and a living, breathing library for an entire art form.” Mark Harris, a journalist and film historian, called cutbacks “a catastrophic talent cleanse.” Patton Oswalt, an actor and writer, took direct aim at David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. discovery, cursing him on Twitter and saying, “Couldn’t you just leave this one alone?”

Mr. Zaslav routinely describes himself as a huge fan of classic cinema. He has TCM playing in his office, proudly working from the same desk used by Jack Warner, one of the studio’s founders. In recent months, Mr. Zaslav, who last year’s Warner Bros. took over, the studio’s 100th anniversary.

Is it just an act?

By the end of Wednesday, three Hollywood titans – Mr. Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson – issued an unusual joint statement saying they were with Mr. Zaslav had spoken and were “encouraged and encouraged”.

“We are committed to working together to ensure the continuation of this cultural touchstone that we all cherish,” the statement said. “Turner Classic Movies has always been more than just a channel. It really is a precious source of cinema, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And while it has never been a financial juggernaut, it has always been a profitable business from the start.

The directors added, “We’ve talked to David every time, separately and together, and it’s clear that TCM and classic cinema are very important to him.”

The filmmakers said Mr Zaslav contacted them privately earlier this week to discuss TCM’s restructuring. “We understand the pressures and realities of a company the size of WBD, of which TCM is a moving part,” said the directors. “Our primary goal is to ensure that TCM’s programming is untouched and protected.”

In a business sense, TCM is a financial footnote to Warner Bros. Discovery, an entertainment conglomerate with approximately 37,000 employees worldwide and $34 billion in annual revenues. But like any other media magnate, Mr. Zaslav is grappling with a non-profit situation: Cable TV, which has long powered media conglomerates, is in decline, which means operating costs must also be reduced. Budget cuts affect all of the company’s many divisions.

According to a recent PwC report, fewer than 50 million households will pay for cable or satellite services by 2027, compared to 64 million today and 100 million seven years ago.

So TCM’s belt-tightening was more about preservation than destruction, at least according to Warner Bros. Discovery. Ben Mankiewicz, Jacqueline Stewart and the other TCM hosts will continue in their roles, according to a spokeswoman. TCM continues to pay for access to classic movies from all studios; there is no plan to limit the channel to Warner Bros. movies. TCM will also continue to serve as a “brand hub” on Max, the company’s streaming service.

Michael Ouweleen, the president of Cartoon Network, among others, will oversee TCM in the future. He is based in Atlanta. TCM was previously part of his portfolio on an interim basis.

“Michael shares our passion for classic films and strongly believes in the vital role of TCM in preserving and bringing iconic films to the attention of the next generation of cinephiles,” Ms. Finch said in her memo.

Mr. Ouweleen might be smart to remember that for TCM’s devotees, the network’s programming is less entertainment and more “the stuff dreams are made of.”