In this article, we will examine what his administration has done to roll back protections for marginalised people. We will also unpack what these actions could mean for the entertainment industry and its workers.

Eroding Work Protections

In January, Trump signed three executive orders. These orders mainly focused on rolling back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programmes. Along with affirmative action and protections for trans people. High, Jordan and Ostrager note that though the orders were aimed mainly at federal agencies, they instruct agencies to make “reports identifying…private sector companies with the most ‘egregious and discriminatory’ DEI programs.” Along with “potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations and large non-profits.” Meaning they will have wide-reaching effects.

What This Means

These orders are meant to send the message that measures being taken to protect and cultivate better working environments for marginalised people and address systemic hiring biases that often disadvantages people who are marginalised because of, “their race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin,” will be vilified by the Trump administration. Companies that voice inclusive policies even face potential legal action. Meaning this is being done to create an intimidating environment for marginalised people. Crucially, although these orders frame themselves as anti-discriminatory, the ACLU says these orders “weaponize civil rights laws’ to reverse decades of progress for women, people of color and for all communities.”

Company-implemented programmes around diversity measures have been criticised for how businesses often use them to whitewash their image over taking concrete steps to address company discrimination. However, they still help many marginalised people. These orders aim to destroy even these small protections that make businesses consider their hiring practices, employees’ talents and well-being.

How Companies Are Responding

Big media companies like Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount, Disney and Amazon have already changed their policies significantly. Amazon excluded a section from a 2024 report that indicated the company was focused on “diversity and inclusion in hiring”. They also said they are “winding down outdated programs and material,” relating to DEI initiatives. Disney is changing its Disney+ content warnings, shifting its “talent strategy” to centre on business outcomes over fostering diversity and inclusion, and closing a website celebrating the contributions of underrepresented voices at the company. Paramount has rolled back its targets to attract more diverse employees and has removed website content speaking to DEI initiatives. WBD are also changing their language to revolve around “inclusion”. In addition, it is making its application process “uniform and consistent”.

Many of these companies are trying to make it clear that they still value diverse perspectives and inclusive environments. That said, these measures, coupled with Amazon creating content around the Trump family and WBD having reportedly had similar suggestions made, Paramount’s potential merger on the way, and Disney pulling content featuring diverse characters, indicate these companies are just trying to garner favour from the Trump administration to protect their financial interests. All while trying to hold onto marginalised audiences and workers, despite capitulating to policies made to make them feel unwelcome.

The Future

We will have to wait and see how these orders affect the whole American film industry, as well as the film industry broadly and if workers and companies will fight these orders. However, these actions also reiterate a dark truth. The film industry has long dragged its feet on improving on-screen and behind-the-scenes representation. Now that high-profile companies have retreated from commitments to diversity and protecting marginalised groups, it has the potential to alienate diverse creatives from the entertainment industry further. Thereby depriving them of a voice within culture and their workplace. Plus, if these companies bow to pressure, the number of productions pandering to the Trump administration will undoubtedly rise over the next few years. Which will serve to normalise its hateful rhetoric. For that, these companies should be ashamed.

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Scream (2022) Recap

When Tara Carpenter is attacked by a new Ghostface costumed killer, her half-sister Sam seeks help from Dewey Riley, as he helped with the investigations of all the prior Ghostface killings. Following the murder of several of Sam’s friends and Dewey, news reporter Gale Weathers (Dewey’s ex-wife) and Sidney Prescott (Dewey’s best friend) try to help solve the case. Eventually, the killers are revealed as Stab fans (films based on events seen in the franchise) wanting to provide better material for future Stab filmmakers by getting the oldest Ghostface survivors back together. After helping Tara and Sam defeat the killers Sidney assures Sam that, given time, she will heal from her experiences. Gale commits to eulogizing Dewey rather than publicising the killers before Sam accompanies Tara to the hospital. 

Scream Without Sidney

Many horror fans have asked why Neve Campbell is not returning for Scream 6? In a statement, Campbell said her exit was related to pay. After 25 years with the franchise and fighting hard to be valued in the industry she said she was not offered enough to justify her return. Which is entirely understandable. After all, Neve Campbell has given Scream she has the right to step away if she isn’t paid her worth. Especially given how much the series makes at the box office. But this raises the question, how can the franchise continue without its main star?

Not All Horror Heroes Return

Many of Scream (2022)’s survivors have already been confirmed to be starring in Scream 6. Courteney Cox will be returning as Gale, the only series mainstay, along with prior series cast members like Hayden Panettiere. This is an unusual angle for a long-running horror series to take. Usually by the sixth entry horror franchises have become about new characters fighting the series killer. But pivoting to lesser-known characters has worked in the past.

The Saw franchise for example was originally a mystery before turning its focus to Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) in Saw 2 and 3. Then after his death Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), a minor Saw 3 character, became the lead antagonist. With Jigsaw remaining a constant fixture through flashbacks. And after Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t return as Laurie Strode for Halloween 4 the Halloween series made Laurie’s daughter Jamie (Danielle Harris) the series protagonist. Meanwhile, Donald Pleasence continued appearing as series mainstay Dr. Sam Loomis.

Although the choices of these series displeased some fans of the established leads they ensured that their series went on. These approaches provided series continuity. They also kept fans on board by including other beloved characters in their stories. And because the writers focused on making Jamie and Hoffman interesting they quickly became fan favourites. So as long as Scream’s good character writing remains intact and they don’t ruin Sidney’s legacy by killing her off-screen the series could go on with new leads.

Can Scream 6 Succeed?

Some may say continuing the Scream films without Campbell means the series will lose its unique identity. But both the TV series and Scream (2022) managed to shift the focus in whole or in part onto new protagonists. Despite mixed critical reception, the series lasted 3 seasons and Scream (2022) earned over $140 million worldwide. Proving that the franchise can continue and be popular without focusing on Sidney.

Unfortunately, the films have wrung every drop out of satirizing slasher films. So short of a full reboot if the series is to remain ongoing Sidney can’t be a constant forever. But with interesting new leads like Sam and Tara and legacy actors still on board the series has the potential to please fans old and new. Of course, Sidney could always return if next time the studio makes Neve Campbell a better offer. But why bring back one of the most beloved final girls when you can save some money?

Also Read: Carry On Screaming: Scream 5 Revives The Series

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What Is Paramount+?

Paramount+ is actually a relaunch/rebranding of CBS All Access which launched in 2014. After CBS remerged with Viacom in 2019 and began including more of Viacom’s (now Paramount Global) content on All Access it was eventually decided to relaunch the service under the Paramount brand. Paramount+ launched across America in March 2021 and expanded to various territories before reaching the UK on June 22nd 2022.

What Paramount+ Offers?

The new service contains films and TV shows produced by many Paramount Global-owned brands. Including Paramount, the Showtime network, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon/Nick Jr., the Smithsonian Channel, and MTV.

It includes classic movies and shows like Star Trek, Frasier, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Oz, Scream 1-3, and the Mission: Impossible series along with their own original and exclusive content. Which so far includes Halo (based on the game series), Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe, 1883 (Yellowstone’s prequel), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and The Offer (which depicts the making of The Godfather). 

And the service has announced plans to produce original media in the UK, Spain, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy and more. With the aim of commissioning 150 international projects by 2025.

The Promise Of Paramount+

According to recent figures, Paramount+ has around 40 million subscribers. And its UK availability now means there are huge expansion opportunities for the service. Currently, it’s cheaper than many of its contemporaries. Their originals are also doing well at drawing in viewers. And their commitment to commissioning original international programming, rather than focusing solely on English-speaking territories, could herald a unique path forward for future production company-owned services. As well as offering more opportunities for smaller productions worldwide.

Each Paramount+ brand also has many existing projects that can be added later to appease new subscribers. This would be welcome as the current content slate is lacking. Some film franchise entries are missing e.g. Friday the 13th Parts 1 and 3, the first Transformers and Paranormal Activity, the last two Kelvin Star Trek films etc. Other key franchises are missing altogether (e.g. the Godfather and Indiana Jones). And there isn’t much balance and variety in terms of modern and classic shows and films on offer. Something that needs rectifying.

Streaming’s Future

But there is also a big problem this service represents. The continued proliferation of production company-owned streaming services is harmful to viewers overall. As it will lead to customers having to purchase more services to watch a variety of media. Whereas once you could watch Twin Peaks, Disney movies, and a range of independent and international films through something like Now TV, many films and shows have now been pulled to effectively be held hostage behind their distributors/producers’ paywall. These production company-owned streaming services, therefore, lack diverse ways to keep viewers interested. 

And this results in these services lacking longevity. One key reason for Netflix’s success is its variety. It works with filmmakers across the world to make and promote new stories. It also includes a number of great modern blockbusters and awards contenders. And it contains classic films and TV from production companies all over the world. It offers something for everyone.

Paramount Global owns many beloved properties. And their investment in independent and international productions is good. But its restriction to streaming Paramount Global-owned or distributed projects will always be limiting. For itself and its customers.

Also Read: The New Hollywood: Streaming Giants

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Let’s take a trip through history and the current media landscape and see if we can begin to understand what led to the decline of the old studios and the rise of the streaming giants.

Where They Are Now?

In Hollywood’s Golden Age (between the 1920s and 1960s) there were eight studios that made up the biggest movie production houses: MGM, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, 20^th Century Fox, RKO Pictures, United Artists, Columbia Pictures, and Universal Pictures. These companies were responsible for producing some of the greatest films, both of the golden age and of all time. However, after the golden age, these studios had many varying fates.

RKO Pictures was largely folded by the late 1950s. The company was later revived, but it had little success. Its most recent film was 2015’s Barely Lethal. Along with this the other iconic studios are now all owned by other companies. Sony bought Columbia Pictures in 1989; ViacomCBS has owned Paramount since 1994; Comcast owns Universal; Disney purchased 20^th Century Fox in 2019 and rebranded it as 20^th Century Studios; AT&T controls Warner Bros; MGM acquired United Artists in 1981. And despite facing bankruptcy in 2010 MGM survived and is currently being purchased by Amazon.

Several things have contributed to the current Hollywood landscape. For example, the loss of studio control over cinemas and the prevalence of television were major factors in ending the golden age. This left many studios floundering financially and needing to be saved through buyouts. Many of these production houses have managed to recover thanks to buyouts, cinema box office, and distribution deals. But a new market is providing huge competition for them.

The Streaming Wars

Movie streaming platforms have emerged as a huge market force in the past decade. This is because streaming and VoD services offer more flexibility for viewers, allowing them to view a wide range of movies from home for reasonable prices. Which has led to a huge audience frequenting these services.

And with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing cinemas to close, over the last year streaming sites were able to rob big Hollywood studios of their control of the market. Allowing these platforms to effectively become the new Hollywood studios, bringing out big new movies weekly (both original and distributed on behalf of other companies) that captured attention.

The most prominent players in the western world of streaming are Netflix, which has 208 million subscribers worldwide and earned around $25 billion in 2020, Amazon Prime, which has 200 million worldwide subscribers, and Disney+ with over 100 million subscribers. All these companies provide wide catalogues of films and TV shows, new and old, while also having their own brands of original content. However, the way these companies acquire said content is very different.

Netflix and Amazon Prime get their originals through producing and acquiring the distribution rights to various projects. Disney+ similarly produces and has distribution rights for many IP’s. But they also have their own film production studios. Meaning Disney is fully capable of making their own original content to put on their streaming sites. Thus ensuring they keep 100% of the revenue, which makes Disney+ much more like a traditional film studio. This makes it a huge threat to other film companies because of its ability to pivot effortlessly between streaming and cinematic distribution for its movies.

Those that Survived

Streaming has transformed Hollywood and movie production/distribution over the last few years. And even with cinemas reopening big studios will need to take steps to mitigate the financial damage done by the pandemic. This means that studios are now, more than ever, having to consider pivoting to streaming to recoup their losses.

Comcast entered the streaming wars last year with Peacock, made to showcase films from Universal. ViacomCBS also replaced their streaming network, CBS All Access, with Paramount+. But other studios are going to larger lengths to win over audiences.

Through its $8.45 billion purchase of MGM, Amazon hopes to boost the content it can offer. In addition, some also speculate that Amazon will use MGM to produce content for Prime, rather than letting it remain a standalone entity. Similar to what Disney is doing with its studios. And recently AT&T announced that it will merge Warner Media and Discovery into its own streaming platform. This will put the back catalogue of Warner Bros, CNN, Turner, and Discovery (as well as the streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+) into one place. These moves have the potential to really shake up the market.

But while this influx of new streaming platforms from movie studios and the move towards studios making content for streaming may be financially beneficial and offer consumers more content, it also shows that streaming services are slowly moving towards offering content produced exclusively by them and their affiliates. Thus customers may soon have to subscribe to various sites to get everything they want. Rather than having a diverse range of material on various sites.

What do you guys think of the effect the streaming wars is having on the American film industry?

Also Read: The History of Paramount Pictures

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Paramount’s Origins

The story begins in 1912 when Adolph Zukor established the Famous Players Film Company. Then in 1914, along with Jesse L. Lasky’s Feature Play Company, Famous Players began distributing films through W. W. Hodkinson’s Paramount Pictures Corporation. During this time the classic Paramount logo, 24 stars, representing the film stars it had contracted, above a mountain was unveiled. Come 1916 the three companies merged into Famous Players-Lasky. Later, the company changed its name to Paramount Pictures, Inc. as part of a reorganisation in the mid-1930s. Its origins make Paramount one of America’s longest surviving film studios.

A Long History

The company’s first few decades were very successful. It was recognised for producing high-quality films (Famous Players-Lasky’s Wings won the first Oscar for best picture) and contracted bankable movie stars and talented directors like Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, Ernst Lubitsch and Josef Von Sternberg. But another key to their success was their ownership of a large number of cinemas and a process called block booking. Which allowed Paramount to pack cinemas exclusively with their films.

But several hardships set Paramount back. They filed for bankruptcy in 1933. A number of factors may have contributed to this. Including the great depression, the difficulty in adapting cinemas for talking pictures and more. After recovering, in 1948 the supreme court ruled that film studios could not control cinema chains in the case United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. This loss and competition from television hit Paramount hard. Leading them to release many of their stars and reduce their personal productions to a few more, expensive pictures.

Gulf + Western bought Paramount in 1966 and restored the studio’s success with acclaimed star-driven hits and high concept pictures. It also bought Desilu Productions. With this acquisition, Paramount gained the rights to produce TV hits like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible.

This era continued until 1994 when Viacom (now ViacomCBS) gained a controlling share in Paramount. After this, they created the UPN TV network (later it became the CW after striking a deal with Warner Bros). And with 20^th Century Fox it co-produced and distributed the highest-grossing film ever made at the time, Titanic. During the 21st-century things have remained relatively steady. With Paramount briefly acquiring DreamWorks and gaining the distribution rights to Miramax’s back catalogue. Recently the studio also leapt to streaming with Paramount+.

Notable Movies Made and Released by Paramount

Beginning by distributing the film Queen Elizabeth through the Famous Players Film Company, Paramount and its earlier iterations would create and showcase many highly regarded projects. The studio has been responsible for making and distributing many best picture winners across the world. Including Wings, Going My Way, The Lost Weekend, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Godfather Parts 1 and 2, Ordinary People, Terms of Endearment, Forrest Gump, Braveheart (in North America), Titanic, No Country for Old Men (in the UK) and The Kings Speech (in Australia).

And it is also responsible for creating and distributing many successful and acclaimed film series such as The Godfather, Star Trek, Friday the 13th Parts 1 – 8, Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, Transformers and the Paranormal Activity series. But these selections only scratch the surface of the many great, successful and important films the studio has been involved with.

Conclusion

Paramount has come a long way from it’s beginnings. It is one of the oldest surviving film studios, having formed over a hundred years ago. It quickly became a huge movie production, distribution and exhibition company which owned its own chain of theatres.

And over its life it has fought receivership, was at the centre of a landmark legal case and changed owners several times.

But despite this turbulent history Paramount has helped deliver many important films and franchises to audiences. And has had an immeasurable effect in shaping the modern movie landscape.

Also Read: The Unlikely Success of A24

Your contribution to Big Picture Film Club will allow us to continue to produce content. No matter the amount your contributions are greatly appreciated.

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