Thursday, August 4, 2022

Weasel of The Week: David Zaslav

 David Zaslav is CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, and, if you go by recent reports, a self-appointed hatchet man who has further alienated DC Comics fans.

How, you might ask?

On Tuesday, it was announced that "Batgirl", starring Leslie Grace & Michael Keaton, in post-production at the time of the announcement, was being cancelled. A holiday themed sequel to last year's CGI "SCOOB!" movie was also cancelled.

Or, as Scooby-Doo would say, "Ruh-roh!".

There are reports that Zaslav intends to take the $80-90 million budget for "Batgirl" as a tax write-off. The initial reactions from fans are, of course, predictable, with one wag going so far as to say that Zaslav was a villain for cancelling "Batgirl", amid rumors that the production wasn't exactly what DC & WBD were hoping for. Keep in mind, too, that Zaslav, back in May, scrubbed a live-action "Wonder Twins" movie, a week after the leads had been cast.


"And I was ready for my closeup, too!"

I know what you mean, Jayna. I feel your pain.

The decisions Zaslav has made, and will continue to make, will cast him in a similar light to WWE co-CEO Nick Khan, who has been with WWE 2 years as of this month, and has been miscast as a villain for all the budget cuts since then, though one cut was reversed recently. I went so far as to opine on Reddit that Zaslav has probably never read a comic book as a youth, and, others have said he's basing his decisions on personal opinions. Not a good look from a business standpoint for consumers.

The merger of Discovery+ and HBO Max will soon be finalized with staff from both streamers being cut. Given what Zaslav has already done, DC Comics fans should be very afraid.

Zaslav's reckless decision making makes him this week's Weasel of The Week.

6 comments:

Silverstar said...

Yeah, I was looking forward to that Wonder Twins movie; I wanted to see those characters finally done justice.

Zaslav is a reality TV guy who's obsessed with cutting costs and thinks movies should be released theatrically rather than via streaming. He's recently announced cuts to WB's Kids and Family Entertainment division next. We've been warned.

hobbyfan said...

In regards to movie releases, he's old school. However, cutting movies for tax write-offs? Not good.

Steven Dolce said...

God called him guilty, nuff said.

hobbyfan said...

Eventually, reality TV won't be big business anymore, and then what happens to Zaslav?

Steven Dolce said...

I hope WBD cancels TTG.

hobbyfan said...

As long as Teen Titans Go! continues to make bundles of money for WBD, it ain't going anywhere.