Examples of Damage Control in… Entertainment: The Bad PR Is Getting to Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery has been on a roll with financial cuts since new CEO David Zaslav and other department leaders took over, following the merger of both Warner Bros. and Discovery. The biggest was the Batgirl film starring Leslie Grace, killed despite the movie finishing filming and being in post-production. The cuts also hit animated works, which are being sold to other streaming services if not killed entirely for tax write-offs.
Between Batgirl’s cancellation and the other superhero projects that won’t move forward, and the movie with a shitheel of a star they refuse to part ways with, WBD is laser targeting the most diverse initiatives for the trash heap. If that wasn’t clear through the projects defunded or destroyed, it would be through articles claiming the executives want more projects that focus on “middle America,” a convenient way to write “straight white people.” (They probably say “non-woke” projects behind the scenes given who’s in charge now.) Animation has never been taken seriously by Hollywood company executives and even many creatives. It’s disappointing that WBD is walking back the strides made towards creating new animated works for Cartoon Network and adult animation for HBO Max following the executive switch, outside some exceptions, it’s hardly surprising.
WBD has created a staggering amount of bad PR for themselves since the middle of the year, and there was every indication that they didn’t give the slightest shit about it. Perhaps they do now.
The Hollywood Reporter reported a week ago that the Warner Bros. Television Workshop was being shut down at the 2022-2023 season’s end. The writers’ and director’s workshops were regarded as important pipelines for the company to scout and hire new creatives looking to enter the entertainment business, and has existed for about 40 years. If there were questions regarding why this was happening, beyond the constant number of layoffs made at certain departments over several weeks, notable alumni from the workshop includes the likes of Akela Cooper, LaToya Morgan, Zak Schwartz, Jude Weng, Jaffar Mahmood, and Regina King. A workshop that created opportunities for people of color creatives? That must go.
Fortunately, it’s not, at least for now. Immediately after the workshop’s importance for introducing a diverse group of creatives to entertainment was championed, most importantly from the Directors Guild of America, WBD reversed their decision. The workshop will live on in a somewhat different form, and be housed with the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion unit. “By continuing this successful WBTV initiative through the DEI division, we ensure that Warner Bros. Discovery’s continued commitment to training and development continues,” said Asif Sadiq, WBD’s new chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer, in a statement. The change will be effective in April 2023. This was a quick effort to shift the narrative, but this isn’t to say it won’t be downsized.
It was included among the info in last week’s group of layoffs across all entertainment divisions that Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network will be brought under one division, though the brands will remain distinct. Extrapolations about what this could mean were inconsistent. Variety implied that their output will remain the same, difficult to believe considering the history of consolidations. Cartoon Brew, however, determined that this will essentially be the “Cartoon Network” brand’s end.
It’s the last part that gave Cartoon Network’s PR, and thus WBD’s, a small out. “Y’all we’re not dead, we’re just turning 30,” Cartoon Network said via Twitter. “To our fans: We’re not going anywhere. We have been and will always be your home for beloved, innovative cartoons.” Acknowledging that the brand itself isn’t disappearing is one thing, one already mentioned in previous info. But Cartoon Brew never outright said the brand was disappearing. It was RapTV who helped spread this in a tweet that garnered a significant number of retweets and likes, but I would hope that this wouldn’t be anyone’s main source. (Don’t answer that. I’m sure it is.) But even they said “Cartoon Network Studios” and not “Cartoon Network” itself. Regardless of the damage control here, consolidation will undoubtedly lead to project production cuts, especially considering how WBD has treated animated projects this year.
WBD was able to damage control some of this, but the end goal remains the same. The company will continue to make massive cuts to several studios, rendering certain divisions and services unrecognizable in another year — or less. But don’t worry, Zaslav and his crew will somehow find the resources to fund projects they really want to see, including further The Flash movies that may or may not star Ezra Miller. Talk about having their priorities straight.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
