The Change

Midjourney + Nano Banana: Curt Doty

I’ll say it. I was in the Netflix camp on the Warner Bros. deal.

Didn’t happen.

And let’s not forget—Netflix was the villain for a hot minute. Short theatrical windows. “Destroying cinema.” The usual Hollywood panic cycle. Meanwhile, they were quietly rewiring the entire business model under everyone’s feet.

Now here we are.

Lesson: the biggest media companies are no longer media companies.
They’re tech companies.

Amazon. Netflix. Apple. They didn’t just disrupt Hollywood—they decentralized it. 

Sure, there’s still gold in the vault—HBO, Warner Bros., legacy IP that actually means something. But let’s not kid ourselves: the gatekeepers have changed. And some of these new ones? More restrictive than the old studio system ever was.

So congrats—30 movies a year out of a mega-merger.

But which 30? What titles: The Legend of Pete Hegseth?

Because if the answer is algorithm-safe, franchise-adjacent, Right-Wing-Correct, lowest-common-denominator content… we didn’t save Hollywood. We embalmed it.

The Ladder Is Gone

That old career ladder? Dead.

Entry-level → mid-tier → studio deal → greenlight?

Gone.

What replaces it isn’t another ladder. It’s scaffolding.

Build something that surrounds your world. Move laterally. Up. Down. Across. Collaborate. Ship. Iterate. Don’t wait for permission—because no one’s handing it out anymore.

Be a generalist who builds.

You’re not trying to get into the studio system.

You are the studio system now.

And while everyone debates mergers, new companies are popping up daily—new distribution models, new pipelines. Some AI-powered. Some not. Doesn’t matter.

The point is: the barrier isn’t access anymore.

It’s initiative.

Then the Letter Drops

So now we get the letter.

A thousand signatures deep.
Names that built this town.
The kind of roster that gets greenlights just by walking into a room.

And yes—they’re right.

Consolidation kills oxygen.
Less risk. Less output. Less opportunity.
An industry that used to run on volume and variety now collapsing into a handful of decision-makers and an AI Chatbot.

We’ve seen this math before. It doesn’t end well.

Hold my zero beer as I tell a little story that happened over a hundred years ago. United Artists was an American film studio founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith. It was created so artists could control their own films and distribution, rather than relying on the big studios of the day.

Why it mattered

United Artists became an important alternative to the classic studio system. It was known for backing major filmmakers and distinctive projects, including many influential films over the 20th century.

United Artists was the pioneering film studio founded by top silent-era stars to give filmmakers more control over their work. Its brand still carries a legacy of artistic independence and Hollywood history.

This isn’t about whether todays letter is right.

It is.

But letters don’t rebuild industries.

Builders do. Charlie Chaplin. Mary Pickford. Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith were those builders.

So take the time to understand what’s actually changing here—because it’s not just mergers. It’s power structures. It’s distribution. It’s ownership.

And more importantly:

It’s access.

This disruption isn’t just something happening to you.

It’s something you can use.

If you’re willing to stop waiting—and start building.

About The Author

Curt Doty is a former studio executive and award-winning creative director with deep leadership experience across the entertainment and branding industries. Ten years in Television. Ten Years in Movies.

As the founder of CurtDoty.co, a creative consultancy, Curt has led integrated marketing, multi-channel storytelling, branding, identity, and user experience initiatives for a diverse roster of clients.

Over the past 15 years, Curt has leaned into innovation—leading R&D projects at Apple, Toshiba, and Microsoft, and pioneering interactive content.

Today, Curt’s work also explores the intersection of AI and entertainment. A sought-after fractional leader (CCO, CMO), speaker, and AI educator, he focuses on demystifying AI for creatives and executives alike.

Curt is a sought after public speaker having been featured at Mobile Growth Association, Mobile World Congress, App Growth Summit, Promax, CES, CTIA, NAB, NATPE, MMA Global, New Mexico Angels, PRSA, EntrepeneursRx, Digital Hollywood, SHRM, Streaming Media NYC, and Davos Worldwide. Download his speaker presskit here. 

Through public speaking, keynotes and podcasts, Curt is continuing his role as a visionary voice in the future of creativity. He is now a board member of The Human AI Innovation Commons, Encoding Equity Into AI-Generated Prosperity. A framework for ensuring the innovations arising from Human – AI collaborations benefit humanity broadly, not just corporate shareholders.