Under their new leadership, one thing is clear: there’s a lot of change coming for Paramount. From changing the style of release ahead to internal reshuffles. To fill in more, we have our entertainment lawyer Los Angeles with Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake.


Brandon Blake

Among the spate of layoffs and restructuring that inevitably comes in the wake of an ownership change, there’s definitely a trend emerging. Ellison is now looking for those he feels were devalued.  It’s a no-coddling, brash approach that Silicon Valley will be familiar with, but which flies against the general Hollywood developments of late, where blunt is the “new normal”.  While the shift certainly predates Ellison’s takeover of the studio, it has accelerated it significantly, and we’ve seen several C-suite exits for it, with some even calling the new leadership “arrogant” in their approach, a continuation of the “alpha” approach the Ellison family has always brought to the table.

Others, however, see it as a much-needed shift, given how the studio was not just struggling openly through recent years, but notably battling with resources and approach. After all, every Paramount release this year has lost money at the box office, with Regretting You, an October release, the only exception to date. Even Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning managed to bomb.

Apparently, this new “distressed asset” philosophy and brusque approach extends to offering new chances to directors and other creators that Hollywood has been passing on for several years, either due to scandal or simply a lack of perceived marketability in their works. Not without ruffling some feathers on those used to the original Paramount culture, as is becoming more and more obvious with time.

In a way, these culture clashes are inevitable when you face not just new ownership, but a whole imported “culture” from a completely different industry. Especially when that incoming culture is very focused on its power displays and dominance, which we’re seeing at present. However, we’re seeing it spill into the new Paramount slate, too, with one insider rather wryly observing that pretty much every new movie greenlit is a “male-led testosterone fest.”

While it lacks some subtlety, and they do have some other genres queued for release, it does highlight a noticeable swing in preferred genres to middle-of-the-road commerciality, with no risks to be taken. It’s clear we won’t be seeing critical darlings or awards-bait from Paramount, for a while at least. What is more questionable, however, is how they will meet their planned 15 theatrical release titles a year goal if they keep cancelling already greenlit works, especially with the studio seeming to be somewhat on the outs with Tom Cruise, who has been responsible for many of their latest hits.

No matter what one personally thinks of the changes at Paramount, it’s inevitable that “new brooms sweep clean,” as the saying goes, and clearly the new Paramount leadership team is keen to get sweeping. What this will mean for the studio in the long term is, for now, anyone’s guess, but let’s hope to see some revitalization of Paramount’s assets result from the changes.