Ryan Reynolds Is Trying To Save Turner Classic Movies
Ryan Reynolds is fighting to save TCM from being dismantled by Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Warner Bros Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav is wading into dangerous waters right now, as he might be making half of Hollywood angry with some of his recent decisions. One of these decisions is laying off key staff members at the company’s Turner Classic Movies (TCM) network. One celebrity who is making sure his opinion is heard on the matter is Ryan Reynolds, who took to Twitter to advocate for TCM:
Ryan Reynolds is far from the only one taking Zaslav and Warner Bros Discovery to task regarding their TCM decisions. Prestige directors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson even scheduled an emergency call with Zaslav to discuss the moves at Turner Classic Movies. While there haven’t been any official announcements about its fate, firing top brass is never a good sign.
Amongst the Turner Classic Movies cuts are executive VP and general manager Pola Changnon, senior VP of programming and content strategy Charles Tabesh, VP of brand creative and marketing Dexter Fedor, VP of enterprises and strategic partnerships Genevieve McGillicuddy, and VP of studio production Anne Wilson.
It’s no wonder that Ryan Reynolds, Spielberg, and other Hollywood heavyweights are concerned about TCM. However, if Zaslav wants to keep people like this happy, and it certainly seems like he does, the calls to save Turner Classic Movies will likely be heeded.
Zaslav and Warner Bros Discovery have already made it known that the company is trying to be a creative safe haven for filmmakers. The co-CEOs of the company’s film division have even stated their intention of getting Christopher Nolan to come back to the studio, which he worked with for nearly all of his projects before moving his upcoming movie to Universal.
Alienating people like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Ryan Reynolds by cutting TCM certainly wouldn’t be a good step in that direction.
It makes a ton of sense that Ryan Reynolds and these other celebrities are advocating for the continuation of TCM. Turner Classic Movies is a prestige channel that is aimed at showing off cinematic classics from the Warner Bros library, along with licensed films from various other studios. It’s honestly baffling that Warner Bros Discovery would even be considering this move since it can show off so many of its top films on the network.
If Warner Bros Discovery decides to upset Ryan Reynolds and other TCM fans by axing the network, it wouldn’t be the first group that the company has peeved off since the Discovery merger. Some of Zaslav’s initial moves were to cut a ton of content and cancel shows and projects, including the infamous cancellation of the nearly completed Batgirl film, reportedly for tax benefits.
If the company wants to regain its reputation and keep people like Reynolds and Scorsese happy, we might see Turner Classic Movies live to fight another day.
You have to imagine that if Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson took time out of their day to schedule an emergency call, WBD would take them pretty seriously. TCM is a beloved channel by more than just Hollywood super directors and stars. It would certainly be a shame to see it just shuffled off the board.
