Darren Aronofsky brands Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros “a bummer”
Darren Aronofsky has branded the new deal between Netflix and Warner Bros as “a bummer”, saying, “Having one less player is always bad.”
The director was speaking at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in the aftermath of the news that Netflix had won the highly sought-after bidding war of Hollywood studios seeking to take over Warner Bros, meaning it now owns its entire back catalogue.
Aronofsky has become the latest figure to voice concerns, as he told audiences at the festival (via Variety): “I have not digested it yet,” before adding, “It’s such brand new news. My sense is it’s not going to be a smooth road. I caught a few headlines today.”
The Caught Stealing director continued, It feels like everyone’s freaking out about it. I don’t want to comment on it because I just don’t understand any of it, and it’s very easy to fall into rally points right now.”
Although he opted for caution, the Oscar-winner advised that having more potential buyers involved in the process of pitching potential films is always preferable than having to resort to one default option.
“When you want to make a TV show or a movie, you send it out to everyone, and you hope a few of them get hungry for it and get a bidding war of some type that gives you what you need to make a piece of art. Having one less player is always bad. That’s a bummer,” he explained.
It comes as, despite it being confirmed that Netflix had won the race to take over Warner Bros, rival studio Paramount has launched a hostile cash bid to counter the potential deal.
US President Donald Trump, who has links to Paramount through the father of its CEO, David Ellison, being one of his biggest financial backers, said the Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros “could be a problem”.
If the Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros isn’t approved, the streaming service has agreed to pay a $5.8 billion penalty fee, which would be the largest in history.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.