The Farm Podcast Mach II AI, the Paramount-WB Merger & the Future of US Soft Power w/ Laura Shapiro & Recluse
Apr 27, 2026
Laura Shapiro, writer-producer and researcher with film and TV credits, digs into consolidation in Hollywood and the Paramount-Warner merger. She maps Gulf financing, lobbying and grassroots pushback. She explores how AI is reshaping jobs and creativity in film and whether U.S. industry moves mirror state-led models abroad, tying entertainment to global soft power.
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Episode notes
Netflix Lobbying Versus Grassroots Block the Merger Petition
- Laura Shapiro and others in Hollywood deny Netflix is funding the Block the Merger petition, but Netflix quietly lobbied regulators and retained antitrust advisers.
- The petition's 4–5k signers risk retribution; many signed independently despite potential blacklist consequences.
ButtonGate Showed Studios' Leverage Over Trades
- Richard Rushfield of The Ankler distributed Block the Merger buttons at CinemaCon and was effectively punished when Paramount pulled advertising, illustrating corporate pressure on independent trades.
- Jane Fonda relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment to combat blacklisting echoes from the McCarthy era.
Consolidation Starves Documentary Distribution
- Documentary distribution is collapsing because consolidation and vertical integration deny P&A and global marketing, leaving award‑winning films without deals.
- Historic protections (Paramount decrees) didn't cover streaming, and undoing them enabled today's vertical capture.