Hollywood Week: Skydance Era Begins, Netflix Plateaus, Eva Marie Saint, Mike Ditka

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Category: Haute This Issue

Published on Saturday, 10 October 2026 08:32

Written by Janet Walker

The era of Skydance has begun and with mounting debt, higher interest rates, and a shaky economy, CEO David Ellison may be sitting atop a fractured kingdom, with promises of cutting $6 billion in debt and promises to spare jobs.

Ellison and new Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz former CEO of Mattel were in New York this week to ring in Skydance trading bell and while it was a celebratory day for Ellison and company, Wall Street investors remain cautious and still consider Skydance stock a high risk investment, primarily due to its heavy debt and is willing to take the wait-and-see approach before it fully embraces the entertainment company. Skydance stock closed Friday's trading at $9.16 per share.

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In the emerging Skydance company structure, "Ellison will focus on "the company's long-term strategy, creative vision and direction, including its talent relationships, strategic partnerships, technology and capital allocation," the company said, while Kreiz will focus on day-to-day management and integration of the combined businesses," reported The Hollywood Reporter.

With promises to cut $6 billion annually, Ellison and Kreiz will need to make the tough decisions sometime in the future, as to how this will be achieved. While selling off assets was never announced, to raise the funds to make the colossal debt payments, calm skittish investors, and slash $6 billion annually, the only natural move would be to offer a fire sale, of sorts, for a group of properties.

Hollywood heavyweights, however, still seething from the brashness of the technology billionaire, and the unlimited resource available to him, may be less willing to pick up those assets, without a crown jewel or two thrown into the mix. And Ellison is not without a few shiny enticements to bring even his enemies to the table. Granted he could offer the properties ala carte and hope to achieve his annual goals. The more lucrative option would be to offer a nicely bundled package of subsidiaries from both Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount, and with the potential of HBO or New Line Cinema or Miramax thrown into the mix, those long term goals would not be so far out of reach.

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The settlement agreement included an output of 30 to 32 theatrically released films per year, and a hefty $30 million dollar fine per film if they fail to meet the production goals. However, with the expansive libraries available, the settlement did not place restrictions on re-releases of blockbuster films to meet these goals just that they are theatrical releases and maintain a 45-day window.

As Skydance now owns the distribution rights to many lucrative franchise films including Harry Potter, The Lord of The Rings, Transformers and the DC Comics films, many of these films could be released into the box office to aid Ellison and company reach its court mandated goals.

The dawn of the Ellison era may in fact be the axis moment, the time when the technology companies with unlimited resources move in and pick up any properties and build brands around the fire sale.

Hollywood's Titans are no longer limited to the Disney, Netflix, and Universal, and the possibility of Meta, Apple, or Amazon enlarging their portfolios and creating an even bigger ownership share of the entertainment industry is a very real possibility.

With a host of Reality, Lifestyle, and Documentary Networks, in addition to its other properties, a fire sale would be the simplest cost cutting venture for Ellison to begin addressing the long-term debt and create a more streamlined, siloed company.

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Netflix Plateaus, Kind-Of

Streaming giant Netflix has announced the company that revolutionized the living room entertainment experience, has reached a plateau, of sorts. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently stated the company was not growing as quickly as they had hoped.

For a company that managed to be ahead of every curve that changed the way the world enjoys movies, the leveling off, like with weight-loss, may simply be a global adjustment, and the next growth, especially in areas outside the United States, should readjust to meet the company's expectations.

To combat the slowed or stalled progress, Netflix has announced the company will be announcing lay-offs. "The cuts are expected to affect 5% of the company's workforce, which could be 800 employees, according to one of the sources who was not authorized to comment. The job losses will affect the creative team including those working on features, the source said," reported The Los Angeles Times.

The company has continued to evolve to attract more consumers, introducing ad-supported tier pricing, ($8.99, $19.99, and top tier $26.99) and moving into live broadcasts and sports programming.

Netflix stock closed Friday trading at $70.30.

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Eva Marie Saint, Oscar and Emmy Winning Actress, Dies

Eva Marie Saint, the Primetime Emmy and Academy Award winning actress, who won the Oscar for her portrayal in "On the Waterfront," died this week. She was 102.

"Eva Marie Saint, who won an Academy Award in 1955 for her gripping movie debut as the shy love interest of Marlon Brando's longshoreman in "On the Waterfront," and who proved equally convincing as a stylish siren opposite Cary Grant in the romantic Hitchcock thriller "North by Northwest," died on Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles," The New York Times reported.

Over the course of her seven decade plus career, Marie-Saint transited well from television to film and then when the roles for women of a certain age dwindled, she transition back to television again guest starring in many Made-for-TV movies such as "Kiss of a Killer," "Time to Say Goodbye," and "Papa Angels," and television series including "The Love Boat," "Moonlighting" and "Frasier." And as the pendulum swings in Hollywood, when women of a certain age were needed to play the older roles of mothers, spinsters, librarians and nuns, Ms. Saint Marie was again cast and in the early 2000 played Martha Kent the aunt of Clark Kent, in Superman Returns, and the wise Miss Franny in Because of Winn-Dixie, and the Mother Superior, Mariette in Ecstasy.

She was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special for her 1990 performance in "People Like Us."

Raised as a Catholic, her faith, which was often commented on, even in the early days of her career when On the Waterfront director Eli Kazan's explained he cast Ms. Marie-Saint because she exuded a parochial girl look, innocence, beauty, and faith. Throughout her career the same magnetic combination seemed to have her at the top of the list for faith-based family programming.

Eva Marie Saint is survived by her two children, Darrell and Laurette, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

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Mike Ditka, Hall of Famer, Superbowl Winning Football Coach, Dies

Mike Ditka, the flamboyant former Chicago Bears coach who lead his team to the championship over the New England Patriots in 1986, has died, He was 86.

Ditka, who many remember only as the scowling, passionate sideline coach, was also a highly decorated Hall of Fame professional football player who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1961 and played six seasons with the team before moving to Philadelphia where he played two seasons, and ending his career with the Dallas Cowboys, in 1972. Over the course of his player/coaching career he won three Superbowl championships.

After his final season as a player with the Dallas Cowboys, Ditka transitioned into coaching when Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry hired him and spent the next ten years as a sideline coach. This was the beginning of the Dallas Cowboys most successful years and became the team to beat. After nine seasons coaching with the Cowboys, Ditka reached out to then Chicago Bears owner, George Halas, and explained when the time was right, he would like to be hired as the head coach. He was hired in 1982 and spent the next decade with the team.

"When the Bears fired Ditka, The Washington Post's Michael Wilbon eulogized his time there thus: "The NFL once had characters, all the Artie Donovans and Dick The Bruisers you could muster. But they're virtually extinct now. Ditka was the tyrannosaurus rex, smoking his cigar, wearing his wide-brimmed hats and pin-striped suits, cussing and threatening, winking and charming. Who's left now? Who's worth watching on the sideline on the off chance that he'll kill somebody during the game?,"' The Washington Post reported.

Ditka transitioned again and began his third act as an NFL Sports commentator. He worked for NBC, CBS, and ESPN until 2016.

Mike Ditka is survived by his wife, Diana, and four children, Mike, Mark, Megan, and Matt.

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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five award-winning screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," a non-fiction narrative, "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," and "Songs of Freedom: A Collection of Biblical Teachings," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Authors Guild, the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.