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The studios wanted to scan background actors’ faces for perpetuity and use AI to generate scripts. The unions shut Hollywood down for 148 days. It was the first time the assembly line stopped since 1960.

Intellectual Property (IP) fortress. Disney owns Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, and National Geographic. Its vault is the Louvre of childhood. The studios wanted to scan background actors’ faces

In a homogenized culture, weirdness is the only remaining scarcity. A24 is popular precisely because it refuses to be popular for everyone. Part IV: The Legacy Comeback (Warner Bros. Discovery) No studio has had a more public nervous breakdown. Under CEO David Zaslav, Warner Bros. made the decision to shelve Batgirl for a tax write-off, angered every filmmaker on earth, and then rebranded HBO Max to “Max,” erasing one of the most prestigious names in television. Intellectual Property (IP) fortress

"Director as brand." A24 gives auteurs (Ari Aster, Greta Gerwig, the Safdie brothers) final cut and tiny budgets ($10-30 million). In return, it gets loyalty and cultural currency. Past Lives (2023) cost $12 million, grossed $40 million, and will be remembered longer than Ant-Man 3 . In a homogenized culture, weirdness is the only

But here is the twist: It’s working. Sort of.

Can it scale? In 2024, A24 took a $200 million investment to expand. Critics worry they will become what they despised: a mini-major chasing hits. But for now, they remain the proof that popular doesn’t have to mean stupid.

By J. Samuels