Movies - TV
Animators Have A 'Deep Distrust' Of Warner Bros. After HBO Max Purge
By BEN F. SILVERIO
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's great HBO Max purge continues to send ripples throughout the entertainment industry and the company is burning bridges left and right with creators. According to a new report from The Wrap, there is a "deep distrust" among the creative talent in the industry when it comes to WBD at the moment.
Naturally, the bulk of the pushback has been from those involved in the animation industry as a number of streaming exclusive shows were scrubbed from the streamer, essentially erasing them completely. Compounding the issue is the callous way WBD handled the purge as many creative teams weren't given forewarning that it was even happening.
The longest-lasting effect of this merger will be tied to WBD’s choice to favor accounting decisions over creative ones just to save the company a little bit of money on writer and actor residuals. Moving forward, why would anyone want to do business with them in the future? As this chapter on the history of animation in Hollywood is still being written, it's hard to say how things will turn out.