David Zaslav: Hollywood reformer or wrecking ball?
LA TimesMonths before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, David Zaslav spent $16 million to buy the Beverly Hills estate of the late film producer Robert Evans and began refurbishing the tattered shrine to 1970s Hollywood. Then last year’s historic labor strikes brought film and TV production to a virtual halt, further disrupting Warner Bros. Discovery’s programming pipeline. Despite releasing last year’s biggest movie blockbuster, “Barbie,” which generated more than $1 billion at the box office, Warner Bros. Discovery’s financial struggles have alarmed Wall Street. It’s a consequential moment for our businesses,” Zaslav said in a December interview in his Art Deco office on the Burbank lot where Warner Bros. founder Jack Warner once called the shots. And Zaslav will need to make streaming service Max more popular with consumers and win over skeptics who denounced its commingling of HBO’s prestige quality with shows such as “Flea Market Flip.” Seemingly acknowledging his company’s offerings might not be strong enough to stand on their own, Zaslav has agreed to offer Max as part of a Disney bundle for Hulu and Disney+.
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