While I always condone piracy from large corporations, it should never be the only means of watching a movie or series, since it both limits the audience and hurts the careers of those involved, especially with the absence of physical media releases and the attempt to seemingly erase all evidence of them from the internet.
The important thing to do now is continue to spread awareness and support of those series so that they remain in the public consciousness. That includes sharing torrents, making your own copies (preferably physical ones) and creating fan content so that more people know about them.
We shouldn’t have to deal with an entire generation of lost media just because some penny-pinching cunts on a stick decided that they’re not worth supporting anymore.
Congrats to Velma in the latest movie for being a lesbian.
Also a reminder that the company who owns Scooby-Doo, Warner Bros. Discovery, recently:
Laid off countless staff
Is likely doing more layoffs we don’t even know about
Cancel completed projects to get tax breaks
Removed countless animated series with no warning and without telling the staff
Is being sued for inflating HBO Max user numbers by Tens-Of-Millions
Turned beloved IPs (The Matrix/Harley Quinn/etc) into NFTs
Is STILL making “Bad Wizard Lady” projects
AND SO MUCH MORE!
I wonder, really, if the staff who made the most recent Scooby-Doo movie where Velma is a lesbian were even paid properly or even still have their JOBS…
Holy shit. I genuinely did not think this would happen.
It’s worth noting that this does not mean the end of everything RT was making, WBD had been hoping to sell all of RT it seems but they’ve decided to just sell the shows themselves. RWBY can still continue, for example.
BUT. That doesn’t change the reality that so many people just lost their jobs, and that this is a seismic development. RT was a pioneer of online creation, much of the creator economy likely wouldn’t exist as it does without them. Rooster Teeth, for all its many many faults in recent years, was important. Mismanagement sadly robbed it of this but it had weight for creators, especially as a space that still made original and bold things in this over-saturated, brand obsessed, risk-averse media landscape.
The jobs lost, the creators hurt and the value RT had—and maybe could have had again— being scrapped are all causes for significant mourning.
I’ll talk about RWBY as news comes out, or if I see a bunch of RWBYdoomers telling everyone to give up again, but for now let’s just hold space for these losses.
If they can’t find a home for Coyote vs Acme by February 23rd, the day of Warner Bros Discovery’s fourth quarter earnings call, they’re just going to delete the film just like they did with Batgirl and get that $35-$40 million tax write off.
They did get offers from Netflix, Amazon and Paramount, and they were rejected without even opening the door for a counter offer.
Zaslav hasn’t even seen the film, and, if this article is true, neither will any of us.
Hey, hot take, but if a company decides they no longer want to distribute a piece of media they own the rights to, then they should be legally required to sign the rights back over to the creator.
They shouldn't be allowed to just sit on the IP for the rest of time, especially if they have no intention of ever releasing it again.
Here's my Holiday piece for the year, as comfortably well-off top executives warm by their Christmas eve fire and eat their bisque… but soon each one will be haunted by three spirits. In the case of the current leader of a teetering film studio, his is the haunting of The Ghosts of Christmas Write Offs. Past, present and future. Expect the first tomorrow when the bell strikes one.