Tony Gilroy blasted the “tragic” nature of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger at the world premiere of his new film, “Behemoth!” Produced on a $36 million budget, “Behemoth!” is representative of the mid-budget, adult-oriented drama that once sustained Hollywood’s theatrical business — and allowed filmmakers like Gilroy to make a name for themselves in the industry. He fears the impending merger (which David Ellison just announced would place both of the historic movie studios under a company named Skydance) threatens to dismantle the very “healthy and beautiful business” he has worked in for over three decades.
“People say the movie business is in trouble,” Gilroy told Variety Friday night at Alice Tully Hall. “You go around, you stand anywhere you want, what do people talk about? Did you see this? Did you see that? What episode are you on? The business is solid, and to destroy the architecture that made it so in the name of venture capital, it’s tragic.”
Starring Pedro Pascal as a gifted cellist re-immersing himself in the world of Hollywood film scoring, “Behemoth!” marks Gilroy’s first major project since completing his work on the Emmy-winning series “Andor.” It was also selected as the centerpiece of the 64th New York Film Festival, following James Gray’s star-studded opening-night film “Paper Tiger” and preceding Ava DuVernay’s closing-night documentary “14th.” While introducing his new film, Gilroy praised the festival’s lineup as a bright spot amid an increasingly turbulent Hollywood landscape.
“Thank you for making [the festival] so elegant and glamorous, and for surrounding us with so many amazing films,” Gilroy told the crowd. “The way this is curated this year, this is a freakin’ lineup! Holy sh*t. And everybody knows it. When so many things go to shit in Hollywood, this is like a thank you. Thank you for letting us bring our soufflé to your groovy party.”
Gilroy also thanked Matt Greenfield and his partners at Searchlight Pictures, the indie studio owned by the Walt Disney Company, which also produced “Andor.”
“This is not an easy movie to greenlight, and it’s not an easy movie to sell,” he concluded. “But here we are. We’re here. We got here calmly, gracefully, no drama, and our joie de vivre intact.”
Skydance has tentatively set Tuesday, Oct. 6, to close the merger, which will consolidate Hollywood’s traditional Big Five studios (Disney, Universal, Sony, Warner Bros. and Paramount) under just four corporate owners. While Ellison has maintained that Paramount and Warner Bros. will retain their separate studio identities under Skydance, industry figures — including “Behemoth!” producer Sanne Wohlenberg — fear the consolidation will make the “possibilities for a filmmaker alarmingly limited.”
“God, it’s certainly turbulent and uncertain times, isn’t it? It never seems to get any easier,” Wohlenberg said. “I do think you have to take a deep breath and keep believing that things will be circular and come back. When you look at history, there have been many, many bad times. Sadly, we are steering into one, which will make the competitive nature of the industry and possibilities for a filmmaker alarmingly limited. And it shouldn’t be like that. I think we will survive it and I hope for better times.”
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