James Cameron penned a scathing letter to Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on antitrust, competitive policy and consumer rights, over the possible Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
In the letter, obtained by CNBC, the “Avatar” and “Titanic” director warned Lee about the detrimental effects the merger could have on the entertainment industry. Cameron likened the merger’s effect on the theater-going experience to a “sinking ship” and cautioned that the acquisition could lead to massive job losses.
“I believe strongly that the proposed sale of Warner Brothers Discovery to Netflix will be disastrous for the theatrical motion picture business that I have dedicated my life’s work to,” Cameron wrote. “Of course, my films all play in the downstream video markets as well, but my first love is the cinema.”
The pending acquisition – set as an $83 billion merger deal – has raised concerns among lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle about Netflix’s dominance in the streaming market, as well as the potential impact to competition, consumer prices, jobs in Hollywood and the theatrical business.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended the deal to the Senate Judiciary’s subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights that Lee chairs at the beginning of February. He argued that the deal would “strengthen the American entertainment industry, preserve choice and value for consumers and create opportunities for creators.” He touted more than 155,000 American jobs created by Netflix productions and $225 billion contributed to the U.S. economy to date.
“We will give consumers more content for less. So this is not a typical media merger where you end up with what’s called the Noah’s Ark problem — two of everything,” Sarandos said at the time. “We’re buying a company that has assets that we do not and we will keep investing in Warner Brothers. We will preserve one of the five major studios in Hollywood. We’ll support theaters by releasing those movies with traditional 45-day windows and we will keep growing the American entertainment industry.”
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