I genuinely do not understand how it can be more profitable to make movies and just throw them away over and over. I keep hearing something something taxes but I don’t think that’s how taxes work!
this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2024
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Hollywood accounting exists but is not the reason this is happening.
Trump changed the way you can write down a loss in business. The issue is that movies cost at least 50% - 150% additional dollars to distribute and market.
So spending $80m + $40m ~ $120m is seen as a bigger risk when you can simply take a full loss on the $80m immediately by terminating the “useful life” of a project (ie hurling it into the sun never to be seen again), and offset profits you had somewhere else. Like all your reality shows about children having to work in the mines or whatever ghoulish thing Zaslav made money doing.
So is the actual concern that the marketing costs more than the expected return? If so why even make the damn thing?
The foundational question of filmmaking…
The thing a lot of people don’t know about film is it takes about 3-8 (or more) years to make a studio feature film
Typically this type of flip flopping is a result of leadership change. The previous leadership approved it and has a vision for it. Zaslav came in and has a different view of its potential.
The tax change has accelerated how this happens. It used to be that a new admin would come in and bury a movie on straight to DVD or a shit release date with no marketing.
If the movie is already done and they have their own streaming service, shouldn't they be able to just slap it on there for very little cost and not bother marketing it other than automatic in app suggestions?
But no one is paying them.
Honestly the logic of streaming exclusives/originals is fucking weird.
As the whole point of things in streaming service is to make people join or not cancel.
The point of new shows is to make money by selling.. SOMETHING.
I never understood the point of ALL of the Netflix originals. Like having a few shows a year, and mostly running a back catalog is a win-win for consumers, Netflix and show creators, as it’s basically just running shows in syndication.
For WB under the new management, after they said they wanted this movie gone, allowing someone else to have it.. means a chance that Coyote movie may be popular. Which means Zaslav was wrong and is incompetent.
Presumably streamed movies' effective revenue are a function of views and the streaming service price. It seems pretty likely that this movie (and especially some of the other canned movies, like Batgirl) would get enough views for the revenue to be higher than whatever they get from the tax write off, even without marketing. And I would think if they still make a loss on it, they can still write off however much the net loss was.
It must make sense to the bag men doing it, right? I figure there's some voodoo magic the money men are doing to inflate the value of the loss they write off. If they sold it they wouldn't be able to use their imaginations on say...(guessing here) lost potential international ticket revenue? Syndication revenue? Related toy sales?
Im no tax man but that's my take
So basically The Producers scam?
it's tax evasion by the larger capital formation of the studio system.
Hollywood accounting is a thing but is not why this all is happening
Yea I'm no economist but it seems like an economic system where it makes more sense to spend 80 million dollars making something and then setting it on fire is the smart business decision it seems like the system and those business decisions are fucking stupid as dogshit.
capitalism is when no movies
-George Lucas
So I get if they think the bids they’re getting from the streaming services are too low to justify spending on the marketing, or if it’s unfinished and at this point it’s not worth completing. But if they’ve got a full movie in the can, why not just upload it to YouTube and be like “free movie y’all.” The PR off that move would at least be something.
The PR off that move would at least be something.
The tax write-off for binning it is probably worth more to them than that.
That’s depressingly true. The tax structure is completely backwards when it comes to loss write-offs and depreciation, creates absolutely perverse incentives.
They should have to release it into the public domain to write it off for taxes.
Anti-Cartoon Adult Aktion stay winning
My precious coyote legal drama has been stolen. I'm going to paint a tunnel on a wall and slam into it in protest
I just found out this was made from this post and I genuinely would have seen it. Looney Tunes fucking rule and I always hold out some hope they'll get their shit together, they do very briefly at times and this seems like it could work.
It would be a damn shame if one of the hundreds of people with access to the final product accidentally leaked a copy to a torrent site, distributing it to the internet in a way that cannot be contained.
who the fuck was supposed to watch that anyways? Me when I was ten yo?
It tested through the roof allegedly so everyone except you?
Kids know who Will E. Coyote is? Good
First I've heard of it and I'm interested. It's something I haven't seen before if nothing else.
Brb gonna go yell at clouds 
idk a Wile E. Coyote courtroom dramedy sounds kinda fun, I'd watch it
For real, I was genuinely excited by the prospect of this. I have no idea if the final product in this case was actually good or not but in theory I actually think a looney tunes parody of a court drama is a hilariously great concept. Just imagine all the twists and turns and star witnesses and exhibits A through Z. There's a lot you can do with the setup.
We already did Roger Rabbit and you'd need to have something real special to make up for the reused gimmick
Not no.
I’m less upset about the loss of a mixed animation/real life movie, and more upset at Zaslav for trailblazing a path that makes the industry even shittier.
fair enough
I mean, I would absolutely pirate that when I'm faded out of my mind
Does that count?
My coyotes, gone
I have 15 years experience in this industry and 10 vested in a union. This shit was the bees knees for labor based workers. I’m so worried it’s gonna vanish in the next 5-10. I literally have no skills outside union film production.
FUCK RIGHT OFF!!! This is an obvious fucking win. I'd see this in a heartbeat, my dad and uncles would too, my grandfather's ass would be there opening night if he hadn't died years ago. Like...I can see it in my head and it's honestly mid but thr idea has been joked about for almost a century now.
And nothing of value was lost
Who the fuck is ACME
I wish there was a court case about piracy not being a crime in certain contexts when it actively improves society like keeping lost media around. Like, if they're not going to make money off of it, and IP would just be costly paperwork, why not just make it public domain?
When I dispose of my garbage, someone can use my newspaper as a cum rag for all I care.