High anxiety in movie industry
http://bit.ly/1rJ5jkE
BEN FRITZ AND SRICH SCHWARTZEL | THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
前言：這幾天除了衝擊歐美關係的馬航二次空難，福斯娛樂集團想要買進華納的計畫也是
在歐美新聞網站有熱門討論與深度分析的重要政經事件，以下就藉由華爾街日報記者深入
淺出的巧妙手筆，近一步了解好萊塢圈內人士對此事件的看法
HOLLYWOOD has long expected consolidation as the movie industry grapples with
lower home-entertainment revenue, changing video-consumption habits and the
need for global scale.
好萊塢專家已經在很早以前，就預測片場間大規模的合併案遲早會發生，因為這個產業正
在與以下環境搏鬥－片場家庭娛樂部門的收入(DVD或藍光租售)逐年下滑、影視消費模式
的改變，與對北美以外市場的更加需要。
Already, most studios have shrunk the number of films they release each year
and closed art house-focused divisions to focus on big-budget event movies.
事實上，大多數的片場都已經調降每年電影的發行量，並陸續關閉藝術導向的子公司，轉
而把投資目標聚焦在大成本的盛會型熱門電影。
But for those who live and breathe by the traditional studio model, Wednesday
’s news that 21st Century Fox wants to buy Time Warner, owner of the Warner
Bros production studio, was reason for anxiety.
然而對那些以傳統電影片場模式生存的人來說，上週三21世紀福斯想買進時代華納集團（
也就是華納兄弟電影母公司）的震撼消息，卻成為他們最近焦慮的緣由。
Mergers wouldn’t just mean fewer jobs, but less competition for talent and
less diversity among the industry’s key decision-makers.
因為購併象徵的不只是更少的工作機會，也代表演藝人才競爭的空間變少了。當然，娛樂
圈重要決策者的多樣化程度也只會下降。
Though a consolidated Warner and Fox would probably have “a tremendous
appetite for content”, said Jeremy Zimmer, chief executive of the United
Talent Agency, “anytime two becomes one, that’s a problem”.
好萊塢經紀公司UTA的總裁Jeremy Zimmer接受記者訪問時說：「假如華納與福斯合而為一
的話，對單一公司的內容資產或許會更有吸引力，但這種如虎添翼的併購案一旦實現，那
就是問題了。」
註：UTA簽約的著名藝人有強尼戴普、裘莉、查寧塔圖、葛妮絲派特洛等，業界公認UTA是
好萊塢第三大經紀公司，僅次於CAA與WME
Fox would want to keep Warner Bros and its own Twentieth Century Fox
separate, according to a source.
有消息指出：假如福斯成功買進華納，福斯仍會讓華納自己保持獨立運作。
Still, it is difficult to imagine that operations would not be consolidated
over time if two of Hollywood’s largest film and television studios came
under the same corporate roof.
然而，當好萊塢兩間最大的影視製作片場共處於同一個屋簷下時，很難想像不會隨著時間
過去而進行人事上的重整。
Warner’s own New Line Cinema division could be a harbinger. Time Warner
acquired New Line some 18 years ago, as part of its purchase of Turner
Broadcasting System. For 10 years, New Line operated separately from Warner
Bros.
華納自己的「新線」影業就是一個血淋淋的案例。時代華納在1996年「透納傳播系統」的
併購案中，順道把新線納入成為自己的資產－不過在雙方合作的前十年，新線的經營並沒
有受到華納的特別限制。
But in 2008, Time Warner eliminated New Line operations, including home
entertainment, distribution, television and more.
Today, New Line is a label within Warner Bros that employs 60 people, down
from 550 at its peak.
但到了2008年，華納卻大幅裁撤了新線的不少部門，如行銷DVD的家庭娛樂部門、原本獨
立於華納的發行宣傳部門、有製作一些節目的電視部門..等。如今，新線在華納管控下，
只剩下60位工作人員，明顯跟當初巔峰期的超過5百人有不少差別。
Warner Bros is Hollywood’s largest producer of films and television shows but
Fox isn’t far behind and the two have similar strategies to put together
diverse slates for the broadest possible audiences.
華納是好萊塢現今規模最大的影視製作片場，然而福斯相比之下卻也沒有落後太多；而且
，這兩家公司有不少產品的潛在觀眾群與宣傳策略，其實是相近的。
Among the few points of differentiation are Fox’s greater success in family
animated films and Warner’s ownership of the DC Comics superhero library.
如果要列舉這兩家公司比較大的差異，福斯在家庭導向的動畫喜劇更為成功，華納自己擁
有的DC漫畫可堪稱是規模龐大的超級英雄圖書館。
Fox’s biggest recent successes include the X-Men and Ice Age movie franchises,
along with The Simpsons and Modern Family on television.
福斯近期最成功的品牌，電影有「X戰警」與「冰原歷險記」兩大吸金系列，電視部分則
包括今年因本土化在台灣翻紅的動畫喜劇「辛普森家庭」、美國收視超過千萬人，但在
亞洲因同性戀情節被壓制的偽記錄片喜劇「摩登家庭」。
Warner Bros has Harry Potterand The Lord of The Rings as well as television
hits The Big Bang Theory and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
華納這邊除了「哈利波特」、「魔戒」兩大奇幻冒險系列電影外，美國收視率最高的影集
「宅男行不行」、今年奧斯卡主持人艾倫迪珍妮主持的脫口秀，也是由他們負責製作的。
Both are in the midst of changes in senior leadership. Warner chief executive
Kevin Tsujihara was promoted to the top job just a year ago.
這兩家影視集團近年也面臨重要高層更替的關鍵時刻。華納去年才讓日裔的凱文辻原升官
變成CEO，而他也是有史以來第一位帶有亞洲血統的片場高官。
Fox chief Jim Gianopulos took the reins solo in late 2012 after his longtime
co-chairman Tom Rothman was ousted. It is widely believed that Fox later this
year will bring on Stacey Snider, the former chairman of Universal and current
CEO of DreamWorks SKG, to help run the studio.
至於福斯在2012九月以前，原本是採用雙董事長模式，但當Tom Rothman辭職之後，現在
就只剩下Jim Gianopulos獨自領導福斯影視娛樂部門。另外，業界也相信福斯會在不久的
將來，把前環球董事長、目前是夢工廠CEO的Stacey Snider挖進經営團隊。
On the Warner lot on Wednesday, when employees were given no more information
than what was disclosed to the public, there was a sense that a deal of some
sort was imminent. Much of the talk was about what sort of buyer would be
best.
再把現場拉回到上週三華納的總部，當那裡的工作人員知道的(福斯提出的併購提議)資訊
其實跟其他外界看熱鬧的鄉民沒有太大差別時，公司內部有一種大交易案遲早會發生的感
覺，許多人甚至已經在討論哪個企業集團會是最好的買家。
“The people who work for Warner Bros would rather be bought by Google than
Fox,” said one executive, “because we don’t want to be redundant”.
華納一位匿名高層就對華爾街日報表示：「比起福斯，華納的工作人員寧願被Google買下
－因為他們不想(在被同質性集團收購後)變成冗員。」
(21st Century Fox and News Corporation, owner of The Australian, were until
mid-2013 part of the same company.)
最後順便補個八卦︰撰寫此文的華爾街日報，與刊登此報導文的澳洲新聞網站，原先都與
福斯娛樂一樣隸屬美/澳雙國籍媒體大亨梅鐸掌權的新聞集團，不過福斯已經在去年年中
從新聞集團劃分出去，但福斯的頭號領導者仍然是梅鐸。