Raiders of the Lost Art

Big trouble in little Tinsel Town

In my previous post, I speculated that Hollywood is being looted as the media/entertainment industry collapses. An attorney over on LinkedIn read my rant and noted that he’s seen plenty of corporate raids, and Hollywood has that particular odor about it. I thought to myself, “Self, this reminds me of the Reagan era.”

So I dusted off the old B-school textbooks and looked up the classic signs of raids. You probably won’t be surprised at what I found, but you might be surprised at the scope of the current situation. Settle in, this is one of my deep dives.

Here are the generally accepted symptoms of corporate or industry raids, and examples in Hollywood over the past few years, particularly since the DEI/Woke era took over. It’s a bit of a slog, but I think it’s important to document them, since insiders, investors, or regulators might just stumble across this article.

1. Sudden Executive Turnover

When half the C-suite resigns “to spend more time with family,” something’s rotten.
A raid almost always starts at the top; new leadership is installed to extract, not to build.

• At Paramount Global (PG), CEO Bob Bakish stepped down in April 2024 amid poor performance and cost pressures.

• At Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), major leadership and studio-structure changes took place (for instance, chairman of the film group Toby Emmerich resigned in mid-2022).

• At NBCUniversal (NBCU), CEO Jeff Shell was ousted in April 2023 after an investigation into inappropriate conduct.

• At The Walt Disney Company (Disney), the studio experienced turbulence over succession and structural leadership shifts, including another CEO return (Bob Iger) and the appointment of a new chairman in 2024.

2. Cash-Rich Assets Quietly Moving

If the company starts selling prime pieces of itself—real estate, intellectual property, profitable divisions—without clear strategic logic, that’s your first real alarm bell.

• WBD struck a deal to establish a joint venture managing its music catalogue — including themes from Friends, Superman, Harry Potter — in a transaction said to be worth over US$1 billion. This is pure asset-monetization of legacy rights.

• PG’s historic Hollywood lot (their studio real-estate) is reportedly up for sale or lease‐back amid debt concerns.

• An historic studio lot (Occidental Studios) hit the market even as filming activity in LA drops — demonstrating real-estate assets being monetized rather than held for growth.

• Private-equity and credit firms (such as Carlyle Group) are financing production companies and acquiring content libraries, showing how content rights themselves are being treated as “cash-rich assets”.

3. Capital Expenditure Freezes

Nothing says “We’re not planning for the future” like cancelling equipment upgrades, innovation budgets, or expansion plans.

• Disney, in its 2021 annual report, explicitly states that, among mitigation measures due to COVID-19 disruptions and market uncertainty, it is “further suspending capital spending…” and “reducing film and television content investments”.

• Disney’s 2022 annual report similarly lists “capital spending, reducing film and television content investments, or implementing furloughs or reductions in force,” as part of their response to uncertainty.

• More broadly, an article in The Hollywood Reporter states studios’ unit revenue dropped (theatrical revenue down ~18.6% YoY), and that the studios are emphasizing “lower costs” to offset declining returns — which strongly suggests CapEx and deferred investment.

4. Explosive Growth in Debt

If debt balloons while revenue stagnates, someone is levering the company up to extract short-term gains. Private equity loves this trick: debt for the company, dividends for the raiders.

• WBD reported gross debt of around US$38 billion as of March 2025.

• WBD was estimated to have a debt burden of US$50 billion+ following the 2022 merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc.

• An article from Enders Analysis in Oct 2023 noted WBD’s “US$48 billion debt burden” in the context of streaming losses and legacy TV decline.

• WBD’s credit rating was recently downgraded to “junk” status, citing elevated leverage and structural pressures.

5. Accounting Shenanigans

Watch for changing depreciation schedules; “adjusted EBITDA” worship; inventory revaluations; quiet restatements of previous filings. When the books start to look like modern art, assume someone’s rearranging the furniture before the inspectors arrive.

• Bohemian Rhapsody (2018): This film reportedly grossed about US$911 million worldwide. Yet the studio’s accounting papers showed it as being US$51 million in the red on paper. This is a textbook illustration of “Hollywood accounting” at work.

• Profit-participation disputes in general: The practice of defining “net profits” in a way that virtually ensures zero payout is still alive and well in Hollywood. As one legal commentary puts it, the term “Hollywood accounting” refers to practices where “expenditures can be inflated to reduce or eliminate the reported profit, thereby reducing the amount payable under profit-sharing agreements.” For example, a lawsuit referred to in a 2024 article involves major allegations of disguised accounting to deny backend profits.

• General commentary on entertainment accounting: An article in Public Accountant (Dec 2023) highlights that franchise producers (in this case the “Olympus Has Fallen” series) claimed millions were hidden from royalties via complex accounting. A legal-news summary in February 2025 underscores that the problem is expanding beyond films into streaming, music, and other content, and that creators are increasingly challenged to audit what they’re owed.

6. Mass Layoffs Without Strategic Reason

Layoffs are normal. But layoffs in revenue-generating units, while overhead stays intact? That’s sabotage dressed as restructuring. If they fire the engineers before the marketers, run.

• Valence Media (owner of The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Vibe) – In April 2020, they laid off around 30% of their editorial staff (≈100 people) citing COVID-19 impact, hiring freezes and salary reductions.

• The studios/media sectors generally: A December 2022 article by Business Insider notes widespread layoffs at major media/entertainment firms, such as: tech-driven content arms like Amazon Studios, Netflix, WBD, and others were cutting staff in waves.

• Pixar Animation Studios (under Disney): In May 2024, Pixar laid off approximately 175 employees, around 14% of its staff, even though it is a creative studio with ongoing projects. Their public justification related to refocusing strategy (less streaming-first, more theatrical), but the move raised questions given the active pipeline.

• More broadly, an article in the Los Angeles Times (June 2025) described the continuing downsizing across Hollywood studios, remarking that “rosy projections of a robust recovery…have not materialized,” and employment cuts continue.

7. Outsourcing Core Competencies

A dying company starts outsourcing its own heartbeat: R&D, critical IT, manufacturing, customer service. This is how you hollow out an industry and sell its bones.

• Many major studios now outsource large chunks of their VFX and animation work to external vendors abroad. According to one report, “Hollywood studios outsourced over 60% of VFX-heavy scenes to vendors in India, the UK, and Canada.”

• A research article on “Animation in London/Matchmove in Bangalore” shows how the technical labor for global films is increasingly being shipped overseas.

• While VFX always involved external vendors, the shift is that these are now critical story-making functions (not just peripheral tasks) being moved out of the studio’s direct control.

8. Suppressed Wages & Talent Exodus

When the best people jump ship and HR responds by offering “pizza Fridays,” you know management has stopped investing in human capital. The raiders don’t care who leaves; they’re not staying for the long haul.

• Wages: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike in 2023 began in large part because writers argued that their incomes had been eroded by streaming-platform residuals, shorter seasons and “gig-economy” working conditions. One article reports that for many production-workers in Los Angeles, after mass layoffs, “[I]f they are able to find employment, it’s often a significant pay cut, sometimes as much as 50%.”

• Exodus: An article in the Los Angeles Times describes how workers across the entertainment trade are leaving LA, citing cost-of-living pressures plus fewer opportunities as productions pull back. A related piece notes local entertainment jobs in 2024 were down ~25% compared to 2022, and the number of shooting days in LA County dropped ~42%.

9. Regulatory Troubles Suddenly Vanish

Odd as it sounds, a company that should be under scrutiny but isn’t may be protected by someone with influence during a raid. If the watchdog is asleep, someone paid the kennel.

• The Paramount/Skydance Merger-Saga Interference (2023–2024)

  • Paramount Global faced a thicket of potential regulatory concerns — antitrust questions, shareholder lawsuits, and scrutiny over Shari Redstone’s control rights. Several issues that looked like they would trigger extended regulatory probes were suddenly downgraded, “resolved,” or quietly set aside during merger talks with Skydance. Regulators signalled “no immediate antitrust concerns” far earlier than expected, despite massive consolidation in the entertainment sector and several unions publicly warning about the deal’s impact on labor markets.

• Disney’s Florida “Reedy Creek” Showdown (2022–2023)

  • Disney became entangled in a highly public regulatory battle over the dissolution of its Reedy Creek Improvement District by the Florida government. Several federal-level antitrust and SEC probes into Disney — loudly promoted by various political figures — mysteriously fizzled out or disappeared from public view once the high-stakes constitutional lawsuits began to shift gears. No follow-through, no headline resolution, just… nothing.

• WBD & the AT&T Disposal — Expected Probes Never Materialized (2022–2024)

  • The WarnerMedia–Discovery merger created one of the largest media conglomerates in the world — a classic antitrust flashpoint. Observers expected months of FTC/DOJ resistance, extended review, or a structured consent decree. Instead, regulators just waved it on.

• Hollywood’s AI Usage Controversies — No Regulatory Follow-Through (2023–2025)

  • During the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, there were loud demands for federal and state investigations into studios’ use of AI likeness-scanning, data scraping, and biometric capture. Everyone expected FTC involvement, privacy-law enforcement, or at least serious public hearings. What happened? Crickets.

10. Industry-Wide Consolidation

If multiple firms in the same sector start failing in the exact same pattern while one or two entities hoover up assets, congratulations—you’re watching an industry raid, not a market cycle.

• In 2021-22, WarnerMedia (originally part of AT&T) and Discovery merged in a deal reportedly around US$43 billion. This created a media giant combining studio film/TV, cable networks, and streaming/DTC assets—a clear horizontal+vertical consolidation in the entertainment space.

• On 7 July 2024, Paramount Global and Skydance Media announced a merger valued at about US$8 billion (though some reports value the new entity higher). The deal involves Skydance acquiring controlling interest via National Amusements (the Redstone family’s vehicle) and then merging with Paramount.

• Hello Sunshine (Reese Witherspoon’s production company) sold for ~US$900 million in 2021. This shows smaller specialist companies being absorbed into larger entities in order to aggregate content, talent and distribution.

11. Media Narrative Suddenly Shifts

Pay attention to headlines like, “Industry struggles to adapt,” “Outdated business models,” and “Consumers changing direction”. This is often the smokescreen used to justify dismantling a sector already targeted for harvesting.

• Streaming Went From “The Future” to “The Problem” Practically Overnight (2022–2023)

  • Before: The narrative from 2018–2022 was gospel: Streaming is the inevitable future; Growth is infinite; Content spend must be massive.

  • After: Beginning around late 2022, major outlets abruptly pivoted: Streaming is unsustainable; Studios must cut spending; The binge model is dead.

  • This pivot appears almost coordinated. It gave studios political and labor leverage—“we can’t afford raises because the model is broken.” Narratives don’t flip without a push. This one protected the corporate pivot from expansion to austerity.

• “Superhero Fatigue” Became a Universal Talking Point — All at Once

  • For nearly 15 years, the media line was: Superheroes are invincible. The model cannot fail. Then suddenly, around 2022–2023: Superhero fatigue is real; The bubble burst; Audiences are ‘over it.’

  • The timing was extraordinary. Multiple major studios were already planning reduced output, restructuring divisions, and writing down projects. A narrative that once justified massive spending now justified massive cuts.

• The Labor Strikes Narrative Flip (WGA/SAG 2023)

  • Early narrative: Writers and actors are unreasonable, AI fearmongering, greedy, blocking progress.

  • Mid-strike narrative shift: Studios are out of touch. AI demands are dangerous. Workers deserve a fair deal.

  • This shift matched internal studio recognition that continuing the strike risked catastrophic production delays, so the press tone softened in lockstep. Narratives changed the moment the studios needed public goodwill to strike a deal.

• The “Hollywood is Back!” vs “Hollywood is Dying!” See-Saw (2021–2025)

  • The media has alternated between, “Hollywood is booming” (whenever Wall Street needs optimism), and “Hollywood is collapsing” (whenever layoffs, mergers, or write-downs must be justified). These flips don’t occur because of new facts, they occur because the industry needs cover stories for business cycles, restructuring, and investor messaging. And who runs the media? Yup.

12. Pension Funds Targeted

A favorite raid: underfund the pension, declare insolvency, and push the obligation to the state. The raiders walk off with the cash. The workers get a lecture on austerity.

• Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan (MPIPP) – Union/crew pension for U.S. film/TV industry

  • In September 2023, nearly 3,000 entertainment workers filed hardship-withdrawal requests from MPIPP. The total requested withdrawals were around US$44-45 million. A sudden wave of withdrawals suggests liquidity concerns or member anxiety about the fund’s stability.

• SAG‑Producers Pension Plan (part of the Screen Actors Guild‑American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ecosystem)

  • In mid-2025, actors and activists launched a campaign to force the pension plan to divest from fossil-fuel investments. They cited at least US$100 million of the pension’s assets exposed to fossil-fuel risk. While this is more about investment strategy than “being raided,” it reflects pressure on pension assets from external priorities, increasing risk.

• American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund

  • In July 2024, the musicians’ pension plan reportedly received a US$1.5 billion cash infusion to prevent insolvency. This suggests the fund was under significant stress and required external rescue.

A skilled orator could wave away a couple of these points, but the consistent overall pattern is one of a dying industry being strip-mined for value and left to rot. It’s a clear sign, to me at least, that major changes in media and entertainment are underway, and our gaze is being carefully managed to keep interference at a minimum. There’s also the desire to keep milking the rubes’ wallets while there’s still milk to be had.

Thanks to MWG on LinkedIn for giving me the exact term I was looking for to dig all this up. Cheers!

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There are two perfect films that may seem wildly different at first, but I think you’ll see the relevance once you’ve dug in. The first is, of course, Oliver Stone’s 80s icon Wall Street (1987). Terse writing and some great performances punctuate the corporate morality tale. The other film is Robert Altman’s brilliant Hollywood allegory The Player (1992). I love the Orson Wells-style opening shot, the story captures Hollywood in all its glory, and Tim Robbins’ performance is one of his best.

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