Fear, Anxiety Sink In at 20th Century Fox After Disney Takeover News
“Some people are radio silent and scared sh–less,” one insider tells TheWrap
Matt Donnelly and Itay Hod | December 15, 2017 @ 3:54 PM
Last Updated: December 16, 2017 @ 11:55 AM
Fear and uncertainty are sinking in on the 20th Century Fox lot now that Hollywood has had a night to sleep on Disney’s $52.4-billion bid to acquire the media company’s prime assets.
Employees at 20th Century’s film and TV studios are wracked with anxiety over the prospect of layoffs — which analysts said are a forgone conclusion — according to nearly a dozen staffers and collaborators TheWrap spoke with on Thursday and Friday. Some factions of the business have gone radio silent to partners and vendors in response to the gravity of the situation.
For the Fox businesses that will remain under Murdoch family oversight, there’s less worry about downsizing because their spinoff venture will not face redundancy with existing Disney employees, insiders in the broadcast and sports divisions said. But they face the small matter of a massive content void left by the two studios.
“Management has been handling this with as much detail as they can,” one high-level Fox executive who works across platforms said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“Much is unknown. People have been assured that even if they don’t end up with a role, they will be well taken care of,” added the executive, who also applauded the display of “human compassion.”
Still, many are “silently grieving,” another knowledgable insider said. While entertainment executives can be painted as lofty and inaccessible, another Fox executive said the party line inside the company this week was to show kindness to the anxious and afraid.
Fox Film Chairman and CEO Stacey Snider cancelled her planned appearance at the glittery Washington D.C. premiere of Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” on Thursday, instead choosing to stay and comfort her staff.
On top of arranged meetings with a team that included President of Production Emma Watts and distribution chief Chris Aronson, Snider left her door open all day spoke with worried employees, an insider said.
She underscored the studio would operate normally and with “swagger,” TheWrap previously reported, until the Disney oversight begins, the individual said.
Some non-creative departments in the film and TV divisions have gone quiet to outside partners, production entities and clients.
“Nobody is selling an agenda of fake optimism, it’s all pretty grounded and honest. But we’re still doing what we’re doing,” a top creative shotcaller said.
“Some people are radio silent and scared sh–less,” one media company CFO told TheWrap of communication with Fox. “People are nervous from the top down, but I think we’re all anxious to shake the trees and see where this ends up. Who wants to wait in agony?”
In announcing the deal, Disney said it expects at least “$2 billion in cost savings” derived from “efficiencies realized through the combination of businesses,” without elaborating on what that means.
But many analysts say the savings will likely come from job cuts. “There will be thousands of jobs lost,” BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield told CNN. “It is hard to see how any meaningful job creation will come out of this.”
One development executive with several projects set up at Fox Film and TV said there “will probably be a lot of people out on the street,” and said the deal was all people could talk about this week at power lunch haunts like Beverly Hills’ The Grill on the Alley.
While one person suggested “redundancy’ would be the biggest Hollywood buzzword in 2018, the majority of Fox insiders said they were instead focused on resilience.
“A few departments had their holiday parties on Friday, and they’ve been festive,” another lot insider said. Both companies said transition is expected to take from 12 to 18 months to complete, so no imminent action is expected.
There is no quantifying the ripple effect of Disney swallowing Fox’s film and TV studios, though one poignant takeaway emerges among too many questions: Many feel the acquisition solidifies Disney as the “most powerful company” in Hollywood.
Tony Maglio contributed to this report.
17 Times 'The Simpsons' Predicted the Future (Photos)
"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to U.S. beating Sweden for an Olympic gold medal in curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedy series got it right.
Lady Gaga
On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," Lady Gaga is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.
Fox
2016 Nobel Prize Winner
In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and, sure enough, in 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart were announced as joint winners of the prize.
Fox
Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack
In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)," magicians in a Siegfried and Roy-like show got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.
In 2003, Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.
Fox
Arnold Palmer
On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer joke... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.
Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to “Arnold Palmer” his pal Lenny.
“Arnold Palmer Lenny?” Marge responds. “You’re going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?”
He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.
Fox
Faulty Voting Machine
During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when votes cast for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.
In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but... his vote went to McCain instead.
Fox
Higgs Boson
In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer writes out an equation on a chalkboard which, if solved, “you get the mass of a Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," says Simon Singh, science author.
Fox
Horse Meat Scandal
In 1994, an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.
In 2013, it was reported that traces of horse DNA was found in beef products across the UK.
Fox
Guitar Hero
The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.
But in a 2002 "The Simpsons" episode, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.
Fox
Farmville
The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.
In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.
Fox
Old Beatles Letters
In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don’t care if it takes me another 20 years. I’m going to answer every one of them."
Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney 50 years later.
Fox
Smart Watches
Sorry Apple, but "The Simpsons" had smart watches first.
In a 1995 episode in which the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.
The first smartwatch wasn't created until 2013.
Fox
Disney Owns Fox
Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets.
Fox
U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling
In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home an Olympic gold medal for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."
Fox
Murder Hornets and Coronavirus
In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first noticed by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.
Fox
Donald Trump Presidency
In an episode from 2000 titled "Bart to the Future" that flashes forward to the future, Lisa becomes "the first straight female" president and takes over after Donald Trump, who ruined the economy.
Fox
Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip
In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. Fans noticed it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent escape attempt to Cancun.
Fox
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From Donald Trump’s presidency to Disney buying Fox to the spread of “murder hornets”
"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to U.S. beating Sweden for an Olympic gold medal in curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedy series got it right.