Just a few months ago, Steven Spielberg sat on stage next to his longtime composer John Williams and talked about continuing his film studies—which is now the equivalent of watching Turner Classic Movies. “I always look back to look ahead,” he said. Spielberg mentioned TCM by name, at which point a man in the audience gave a loud shout, prompting a standing ovation. “Thank!” Spielberg shouted back. “Ben MankiewiczThanks for coming!
The lively screamer wasn’t actually Mankiewicz, one of TCM’s most popular hosts, but that’s why the joke drew crowds of moviegoers. The network is loved for its modern curating of old movies. It’s more than just a TV channel. It’s a community.
This week, that community was shaken when Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company that owns the network, has fired several senior TCM executives, some of whom have been there for decades. It seems to herald a bleak — or perhaps none at all — future for the classic movie channel. A day later, IndieWire reported that Spielberg and his fellow filmmakers were heavyweights Martin Scorsese And Paul Thomas Anderson personally contacted Warner Bros. Discovery CEO david zaslav to intervene on behalf of TCM.
If anyone can save TCM, it’s these three.
A source close to the situation said there may be some development soon, but right now TCM and its legacy of presenting films that could sink into oblivion remain uncertain.
After dismissal, like rreport that Kathleen Finch, the network group’s chief content officer for Warner Bros. Discovery, wrote an internal memo to employees affirming the company’s support for TCM. “While change is never easy and can create a sense of uncertainty, I want to assure you that we remain fully committed to this business, the TCM brand and its purpose. is to protect and celebrate films that define culture. As storytellers, that is our legacy and we will continue to bring the history and impact of classic films to life on air and in other ways,” she wrote.
Even Zaslav expressed enthusiasm for the network in April, appearing at the 14th TCM Classical Film Festival alongside Spielberg and Anderson, as well as Mankiewcz. “I’m a fan just like you,” Zaslav told the crowd, according to Deadline. “If I weren’t here, I would sit with you. I watch Turner Classic Movies all the time. That’s the history of our country, motion pictures.”
