James Cameron has written a letter arguing that if Netflix is successful in its bid for Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming businesses, it could cause huge job loss, change the theatrical landscape and hurt the film export business.
The “Avatar” filmmaker sent his letter last week to Senator Mike Lee, chair of the Senate subcommittee on antitrust, and the letter was then recently obtained by CNBC.
“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 in the letter. “Of course, my films all play in the downstream video markets as well, but my first love is the cinema.”
Cameron predicted that if the number of big-budget films such as he makes contracts, “Theaters will close. Fewer films will be made. The job losses will spiral.”
“The business model of Netflix is directly at odds with the theatrical film production and exhibition business, which employs hundreds of thousands of Americans,” he wrote. “It is therefore directly at odds with the business model of the Warner Brothers movie division, one of the few remaining major movie studios.”
Lee answered with a statement saying, “We have received outreach from actors, directors, and other interested parties about the proposed Netflix and Warner Brothers merger, and I share many of their concerns. I look forward to holding a follow-up hearing to further address these issues.”
Cameron also contends that exports of Hollywood films would suffer in a Netflix-Warners merger. “The U.S. may no longer lead in auto or steel manufacturing, but it is still the world leader in movies. That will change for the worse.”
