Recently, George Clooney emphasized that major conglomerates have taken control of Hollywood. He stated that smaller production companies like Paramount are facing significant challenges, as large multinational corporations are gradually engulfing these film studios.
In July of this year, Skydance Media announced the acquisition of Paramount Global, with the transaction expected to exceed 8 billion US dollars and set to be completed in the first half of 2025. Prior to this acquisition, Paramount had collaborated with George Clooney on various projects such as “Suburbicon” and “Up in the Air,” with the latter earning Clooney an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
On the 13th of the month, when asked by British GQ magazine about the impending sale of Paramount to Skydance Media and the changes occurring in Hollywood, Clooney commented that Paramount, which had been publicly traded for some time, was akin to a small family-owned store nowadays.
Clooney remarked, “Paramount is one of the greatest original film companies, but in some cases, you don’t have a say because the business is being devoured. It’s like everything else, being eaten up by large WalMarts and Amazons around the world, and Paramount is like that quaint family store in a small town.”
In addition to acquiring MGM in 2021, Amazon also owns its own Amazon Studios and Prime Video streaming platform. As of now, Walmart has not made any acquisitions in the Hollywood studio industry.
When asked why there are fewer films like the non-franchise movie “Wolfs,” which only features stars Clooney and Brad Pitt on the poster, Clooney expressed his belief that the studios’ transformation has diminished Hollywood’s ability to cultivate stars and invest as heavily in actors as in the past, making actors no longer the focal point.
Clooney added, “They don’t cultivate stars like the old studio system did. We were at the tail end of that period when I started, where you could work at a studio and make three, four movies—in some instances, there were some work schedules. I don’t think that’s the case anymore. So, it’s harder to sell things based on a movie star’s name.”
Reflecting on the intense competition he faced in his youth, Clooney mentioned, “But it’s a great time for a young actor. When I was a young actor, if you looked in the back of the L.A. Times every Monday morning, they’d list 64 shows being made.”
“In those 64 shows, if you were really in one of those shows, you had to work hard to get into the top 20 to remain on air. That’s the way it was; they made five movies a year back then. And now, there are 600 shows, so there’s a lot more work for actors,” Clooney explained.