When
news
broke
last
week
that
Reese
Witherspoon
-
star
of
Legally
Blonde
and
Wild
-
had
sold
her
production
company
Hello
Sunshine
to
a
group
backed
by
private
equity
giant
Blackstone
Group,
no
one
in
Hollywood
was
really
surprised.
The
size
of
the
deal
was
jaw-dropping:
Blackstone
has
reportedly
paid
$500
million
in
cash
for
a
majority
stake
in
Hello
Sunshine,
valuing
the
company,
which
produces
HBO's
Big
Little
Lies,
Apple
TV's
The
Morning
Show
and
Hulu's
Little
Fires
Everywhere,
at
around
$900
million,
the
Wall
Street
Journal
reported.
But
there
is
a
lot
of
money
sloshing
around
show
business
right
now.
Amazon
recently
agreed
to
buy
MGM
studios
for
$8.45
billion
and
television
group
Discovery,
whose
TV
networks
include
Animal
Planet,
TLC
and
the
Discovery
Channel,
in
May
announced
a
$43
billion
merger
with
WarnerMedia,
the
group
that
owns
film
studio
Warner
Bros.
and
television
channels
HBO
and
CNN.
Every
major
media
company
with
a
strong
track
record
and
an
A-list
celebrity
owner
-LeBron
James'
SpringHill
Co.,
Ron
Howard
and
Brian
Grazer's
Imagine
Entertainment,
or
Westbrook
Inc.,
the
film
and
TV
company
co-founded
by
Will
Smith
and
Jada
Pinkett-Smith
-
are
reportedly
fielding
nine-digit
buyout
offers.
What's
driving
this
spending
spree
is
streaming,
according
to
industry
experts.
The
market
for
films
and
television
series
is
booming
thanks
to
the
deep
pockets,
and
global
ambitions,
of
video-on-demand
platforms
from
Netflix
and
Amazon
Prime
to
newer
streamers
-
Disney+,
AppleTV+,
WarnerMedia's
HBO
Max
-
launched
by
traditional
media
giants.
But
while
demand
for
"content" is
skyrocketing,
the
supply
of
high-quality
films
and
series
-
and
the
writers,
directors,
producers
and
actors
that
can
deliver
it
-
remains
in
short
supply.
This
is
leading
to
a
scramble
for
talent.
Netflix
signed
major,
nine-figure
deals
with
television
producers
including
Ryan
Murphy
(Glee,
Pose)
and
Shonda
Rhimes
(Grey's
Anatomy,
Scandal)
to
provide
a
steady
supply
of
movies
and
series
to
feed
their
subscribers'
insatiable
hunger
for
more
stories.
The
streaming
boom
has
mostly
been
great
news
for
creators,
especially
for
those
from
once-marginalised
groups.
Netflix
money
helped
Rhimes
create
multicultural
period
drama
Bridgerton
and
gave
Murphy
the
LGBTQ-focussed
alternative
history
series
Hollywood.
But
as
major
studios
and
media
companies
push
their
movies
and
shows
onto
their
own
streaming
platforms,
they
can
come
into
conflict
with
the
creators,
who
want
to
ensure
the
value
of
their
work
is
being
maximised.
See
what
happened
on
July
29,
when
Scarlett
Johansson
filed
suit
against
Walt
Disney
Co.,
claiming
Disney
violated
her
contract
for
the
Marvel
movie
Black
Widow,
potentially
costing
her
tens
of
millions
of
dollars,
by
releasing
the
film
on
Disney+
at
the
same
time
it
went
to
theaters.
This
is
where
private
investors
come
in.
Wall
Street
companies
like
Blackstone
are
offering
film
and
TV
talent
an
alternative
to
the
studios
and
streamers.
When
Reese
Witherspoon
makes
a
new
series
or
film
for
Hello
Sunshine,
she
-
together
with
Blackstone
-can
sell
it
to
whatever
streamer
offers
them
the
most
money.
Witherspoon
also
said
the
investment
was
a
win
for
equality,
since
it
meant
she
could
"double
down" on
her
mission
to
"hire
more
female
creators"
to
tell
their
stories.
"This
is
a
meaningful
move
in
the
world
because
it
really
means
that
women's
stories
matter,"
she
said
in
a
statement
announcing
the
deal
with
Blackstone.
Hello
Sunshine
is
just
the
start.
Blackstone
is
reportedly
looking
to
invest
a
minimum
of
$2
billion
in
new
media
and
entertainment
holdings
and
has
hired
former
Disney
executives
Kevin
Mayer
and
Tom
Staggs
to
help
pick
which
companies,
and
talent,
to
invest
in,
according
to
media
reports.
And
Blackstone
isn't
alone
in
trying
to
create
an
independent
entertainment
company
for
Hollywood's
streaming
era.
New
York
investment
firm
KKR
has
Leonine,
a
German
media
company
founded
in
2019
that
has
gobbled
up
some
of
the
biggest
local
film
firms,
including
TMG,
Universum,
as
well
as
TV
producers
Wiedemann
&
Berg
(makers
of
Netflix
hit,
Dark).
French
investment
firm
MACSF
has
Mediawan,
which
owns
several
French
film
and
TV
producers,
including
the
makers
of
Call
My
Agent!,
another
hit
Netflix
show.
Earlier
this
month,
Leonine
and
Mediawan
joined
forces
to
buy
Drama
Republic,
the
U.K.
television
company
behind
TV
series
Doctor
Foster
and
The
Honorable
Woman,
Variety
reported.
In
an
era
increasingly
dominated
by
big
streaming
companies,
says
Drama
Republic
co-founder
Greg
Brenman,
private
equity
gives
independent
producers
more
options.
"If
a
global
streamer
buys
your
show,
they
usually
want
to
own
it
everywhere
for
all
time,"
he
says.
Making
TV
and
films
with
outside
money
"can
be
commercially
beneficial"
for
independent
creators.
"Because
you
still
have
control
of
your
show
once
you
make
it."