Steven Spielberg And Martin Scorsese Will Now Run Turner Classic Movies
Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson are now in charge of programming for Turner Classic Movies.
What can a company that revolves around classic movies do when they start to worry that their business could go under? Call in some legendary movie professionals like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, of course! This is exactly what Warner Bros. Discovery has done to help save their Turner Classic Movies cable TV network, according to CNBC.
Since 1994, Turner Classic Movies has been sharing the greatest classic films of all time from its extensive library. Viewers can tune in to the network at any time to watch older films like the 1940’s Pride and Prejudice, 1955’s East of Eden, and 1962’s To Kill a Mockingbird. However, the cable TV network has not been doing so well under the umbrella of Warner Bros. Discovery.
After a few recent rounds of layoffs and a change in management at Turner Classic Movies, executives at Warner Bros. Discovery have called in the big guns: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson.
The three directors have an appreciation for classic films that have shaped today’s cinematic world, and they don’t want to see these films fade away or be forgotten. The three of them will work with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy to determine which movies will be aired on cable TV.
Steven Spielberg burst onto the movie scene back in 1975 with his classic blockbuster Jaws, and then went on to direct other iconic films like Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Martin Scorsese is best known for his long and dramatic films that often star Robert De Niro or Leonardo DiCaprio, like Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Departed. Paul Thomas Anderson, the youngest of the three, is best known for directing films like Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, and Punch-Drunk Love.
Movie buffs and those who want to preserve classic films recently took to social media to share their concerns about the layoffs at Turner Classic Movies. This inspired David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, to reach out to the legendary filmmakers for their help in saving the TV network. All three were happy to lend their knowledge and support to the film preservation cause.
With the help of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, Turner Classic Films can preserve cinematic culture and continue to share classic films with new and old generations. Another key player in the preservation is the longtime programming chief Charles Tabesh who was nearly let go when the company shook up its management team.
Luckily, he is still a part of the team, and there has even been a thirty percent increase in the investment in Turner Classic Films’ content, further solidifying their future programming.
It is imperative that Turner Classic Movies keeps its film library alive and strong so that modern filmmakers don’t forget where the art came from. Otherwise, we could be stuck watching terrible movies like Daddy Day Camp and Jaws: The Revenge.
