Last year, as I’m sure you all know by now, Discovery swallowed up what was then known as WarnerMedia. Before that, it was known as AOL TimeWarner, and before that, TimeWarnerTurner. Why am I listing all these deadnames? To get to the point that for about 30 years, there’s been a program source called TCM (originally Turner Classic Movies) dedicated to keeping the spirit of classic movies alive. I’m not just talking about the movies that we all liked as kids. I’m talking about important, award-winning fare from throughout the 20th century. To the extent that they’re available, even silent films are included.
For most of its life TCM was a cable or satellite channel. It gained a streaming app like everyone else. And when HBO Max launched, there was a TCM-specific hub featuring not only culturally relevant films but also the ones we liked as kids.
Could TCM be in danger?
Earlier this week, perennial streaming villain David Zaslav, head of Warner Bros. Discovery, laid off several top TCM execs. More layoffs are said to be on the way. It’s obvious that TCM will never be a top earner for Warner Bros. Discovery, and Zaslav has shown no mercy in cutting unprofitable divisions.
The fear of losing TCM is so palpable that no less than three titans of the film industry set a meeting with Zaslav to express their concerns. Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson came together to lobby for TCM’s future. Their meeting must have gone decently. The directors issued this joint statement this week:
Turner Classic Movies has always been more than just a channel. It is truly a precious resource of cinema, open 24 hours a day seven days a week. And while it has never been a financial juggernaut, it has always been a profitable endeavor since its inception.
Earlier this week, David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, got in touch to talk about the restructuring of TCM. We understand the pressures and realities of a corporation as large as WBD, of which TCM is one moving part.
We have each spent time talking to David, separately and together, and it’s clear that TCM and classic cinema are very important to him. Our primary aim is to ensure that TCM’s programming is untouched and protected.
We are heartened and encouraged by the conversations we’ve had thus far, and we are committed to working together to ensure the continuation of this cultural touchstone that we all treasure.
Spielberg, Scorsese, and Anderson
So is that, that then?
I doubt it. I think that there’s still a danger that TCM could disappear or at least be savagely cut. The film library it shepherds could be lost to the public. I, for one, think that would be a huge mistake. The cinema of the 20th century is the most comprehensive document of any society, ever. It should be preserved for anyone and everyone to access, as inexpensively as possible.
I think your average filmgoer is aware of films from their teenage years and later, and that’s it. This means that well over half the population may never have seen a single film made before 1990. I’m sad for them, if that’s true. My own perspectives were shaped by the films I saw made in the 1930s, 1940s, and beyond. I learned a lot from those films. Many of them are horribly politically incorrect today, but that’s the point. We have to be aware of the past before we can learn from it.
Not all the blame belongs on Zaslav.
Of course, that’s not a sentence I write often. I, like many others, hold Zaslav accountable for savaging what was once a mighty content source. He might still be making cuts at this moment. But he’s a businessperson. He’s there to make money. He’s not there to be a philanthropist.
That’s why I’ll say again, we need a national streaming library. There needs to be a place where classic movies, TV, and even radio shows are available to the public. Current copyright laws make that hard or not impossible without some sort of cooperation, however.
All I’m saying is that companies like Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery need to, well, poop or get off the pot. If they want to retain ownership of their vast libraries, they need to put them to good use. They need to make them available to people. If they don’t want to put them to use, they need to allow some other entity to make them available, even for a fee.
Maybe Zaslav will call me into a meeting like he did with those much more talented fellows. I doubt it. But unless he does, and unless he explains things to my satisfaction, I’ll keep worrying. Losing Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Blackboard Jungle, and The Great Dictator (among thousands of other films) would be a massive loss for us as a society. It shouldn’t be the responsibility of one person to protect it, especially if it’s a person with a profit motive.
