Trump Administration and MPA Together Against Canadian 'Online Streaming Act'

 

Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Carney

The Motion Picture Association (members of which include all the major film studios and streaming companies) is heavily supporting the Republican-led, bipartisan 'Protecting American Streaming and Innovation Act'.

This piece of legislation takes aim at Canada's Online Streaming Act, a money grab, which forces U.S. digital media companies to finance, via cash payments, Canadian media content production.

The Trump administration aims to "counter Canada's digital trade barriers targeting American streaming companies and content producers."

The Canadian Act, passed in 2023, obligates U.S. digital platforms, like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and even Spotify, to subsidize local Canadian film, TV, and music production. However, implementation has been held up by a Federal U.S. Court of Appeals.

Trump says he will sign the Act if passed by Congress, putting an end to the Canadian scheme.

Could India Be the Next Big Entertainment Market?

 

Bollywood and Beyond

Kelly Day, VP of Amazon/MGM and Prime Video, says of India, "By far one of the most important markets anywhere in the world, which gets bigger and better every year."

With its huge fanbase, depth of audience engagement, and the production of Indian originals, the Indian market is primed for world dominance. There seems to be growing and widespread acceptance of Indian content, which is global. There will be more roll-out of Indian films by major studios and distributors, and more film production, be they Indian centric or other genres.

English is no longer the default language of choice for global storytelling as local language content is on the increase.

In addition to Indian production, Korean K-dramas and Japanese anime and manga-to-live-action film adaptations have strong international momentum.

Disney Gets New CEO and It's a Major Shift

 

Josh D'Amaro and Bob Iger

Bob Iger is finally passing the torch to a new CEO. The incoming Disney top man will be Josh D'Amaro, who was formerly Disney's Head of Parks, Cruises, and Consumer Products.

In his acceptance speech, D'Amaro stressed that Disney+ will be the force connecting with consumers worldwide, not the Disney filmmaking side. He also wants to push ESPN Unlimited, which was intro'd last summer as the best sports caster in the world.

D'Amaro stated, "The company's divisions will work in concert as 'one Disney'."

Mike Cavanagh and Brian Roberts of Comcast/Universal

Josh D'Amaro will be the third new CEO to head up a major media company. He follows David Ellison, who heads Skydance/Paramount and will soon also include Warner Bros., and Mike Cavanagh, who took the reins at Comcast/Universal as co-CEO with Brian Roberts.

Larry Ellison, Founder and CEO of Oracle, with his son David

These three individuals, D'Amaro, Ellison, and Cavanagh, will oversee mass media on a global scale. All are pragmatic, no-nonsense business-first managers who, for better or worse, are not advocates of introducing or pushing for social issues into company policies. Political correctness is out, and consumer/fan centrism is in. 

Deneuve's New Book on Monroe

 Iconic French actress Catherine Deneuve authored a book entitled 'Marilyn Cherie.' It will be published in May to coincide with the 100th birthday of Monroe. 

Deneuve and Monroe

The book is about Monroe as a person and not a celebrity. She delves into the profound impact Monroe had on her life. The book includes many photos of Monroe not previously published.

Deneuve is a long-time fan and devotee of Monroe, who influenced her on-screen work and approach to acting. "So beautiful, so open, almost unknown. So generous with her body, but so child-like, which never makes her seem indecent. The actress whose films I have seen over and over and are precious to me," writes Deneuve.   

Deneuve, now 82, considered Monroe her mentor

The book's photos are owned by Sabastien Cauchon and taken from his private collection. This is a must-have book for every Monroe or Deneuve fan.

By: Jim Lavorato

Paramount Takes Warner Bros. - Good/Bad for the Cinema?

Paramount Takes Warner Bros.

On 2/26/26, the drama over the acquisition of WB ended with their acceptance of Paramount's $31/share bid. Netflix was out! This now begs the question: Is this good or bad for movie theaters?

Hollywood has been schizophrenic on the issue. First, when it appeared that Netflix would be the likely acquirer, Hollywood panicked. Filmmakers, actors, guilds, and unions were united against Netflix gobbling up WB. Their worry was the fear of a very short, or worse, non-existent theatrical release window. Now, the panic that Paramount will need to vertically integrate WB operations into its own will ensure massive layoffs at WB, compromising creativity and production. Neither is nor was true.

The issue that concerns me is what impact a massive media company has on the cinema.

Paramount will be huge. It currently consists of: Paramount Pictures, CBS Television and Sports, Showtime, Paramount+, Pluto TV, BET+, Nickelodeon, Miramax, and Paramount Automation. With the WB acquisition, it will add: WB Pictures, HBO, HBO-MAX, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Studios, Spyglass Media, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, Cinemax, TNT, WB Theme Parks, DC Comics and publications, Discovery Network, TBS, HGTV, Animal Planet, Food Network, and CNN. WB employs over 35,000.  This is massive, and it will require significant operational cost-cutting for Paramount/Skydance to reduce its debt load, which will exceed $76 billion post the WB takeover.

Ellison will be managing a huge media giant

David Ellison, CEO of Paramount/Skydance, vowed that 30 feature films will be destined for the silver screen each year. That means a feature is released every 12 days. Hmmm...that's a lot.

In summary, I believe the Paramount takeover of WB is better for cinemas vs. a Netflix purchase. If Ellison lives up to his promise of 30 features per year (in 2025, Paramount and WB combined had 28 major releases) and provides a 45-day theatrical release window, it will be beneficial to movie theaters. We'll wait and see. 

By: Jim Lavorato