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“To be, or not to be?” That is the question theatrical filmgoers have been asking themselves about the future of cinema over the last two weeks. The Cinematic Schematic dives into the big Netflix bid for WB before reviewing one of this season’s Oscar frontrunners, Hamnet.
It’s been over four years since writer/director Chloé Zhao won Best Director and Best Picture at the 2021 Oscars. In the years since, she’s taken an unexpected sidequest to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Eternals. She’s finally back to something more her typical fare with Hamnet, an adaptation of the novel by Maggie O’Farrell.
Hamnet tells a fictionalized version of the personal journeys of William and Agnes Shakespeare that led to the writing of Hamlet. The film stars Jessie Buckley as Agnes Shakespeare, Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare, Emily Watson as Mary Shakespeare, Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet Shakespeare, and Noah Jupe as Hamlet.
Hamnet has already achieved considerable critical acclaim and was a hit on the 2025 film festival circuit, winning the Toronto Film Festival’s coveted People’s Choice Award.
Is Hamnet one of the year’s best films and an Oscar frontrunner? Or is it simply another piece of bait meant to woo Academy voters?
This Week’s Troupe of Analysts
deadCenter Film Festival director of programming, Sunrise Tippeconnie, rejoins hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman to provide his review of Chloe Zhao’s latest ode to cinematic storytelling.
Top Left to Right: Sunrise Tippeconnie, Laron Chapman, and Caleb Masters
News Analysis
Netflix Bids on Warner Bros: The News that Shook Hollywood
When we recorded, rumors were circulating about a Warner Bros acquisition in the works, with Paramount being the frontrunner, followed by Netflix. You can listen to this discussion in our Wicked: For Good episode.
Since we recorded that episode, several major developments have occurred. Tippeconnie joins us break down each beat.
From The Wrap on Friday, Dec. 5th: Netflix Wins the Warner Bros. Discovery Bidding War With $82.7 Billion Offer, Enters Exclusive Deal Talks.
- WBD has selected Netflix after the streaming giant offered $27.75 a share for the studio and streaming assets, a mix of cash and stock worth $82.7 billion.
- “These exclusive talks clear the road for Netflix to acquire the Warner Bros. studios, HBO Max and a treasure trove of IP assets like “Harry Potter” and the DC Universe. Netflix, which once aspired to be like HBO when first embarking on original content, is on a course to become its next owner. Obtaining such assets could dramatically reshape the entertainment landscape and give Netflix even more power over Hollywood — concerns the streamer will have to assuage.”
- The willingness to include the unusually large breakup fee was likely critical with questions arising on how Netflix will get a deal with Warner Bros. through regulatory approval. It would face stiff antitrust scrutiny and opposition from the U.S. Department of Justice.
And then, the plot thickened even further…
From Variety on Monday, Dec. 8th: Paramount Launches Hostile Takeover Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Valued at $108 Billion, Seeking to Derail Netflix’s Deal
On Monday, Ellison’s Paramount Skydance announced it has commenced an all-cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of WBD for $30 per share — the same terms it offered in a Dec. 4 bid submitted to the Warner Bros. Discovery’s board.”
- “According to Paramount, its all-cash offer equates to an enterprise value of $108.4 billion (including assumption of debt) with an equity value of $77.9 billion. In contrast, the Netflix proposal entails “a volatile and complex structure” valued at $27.75/share in a mix of cash ($23.25) and stock ($4.50), subject to collar and the future performance of Netflix, equating to an enterprise value of $82.7 billion (excluding the TV biz), per Paramount.”
- “Our proposal is superior to Netflix in every dimension,” Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison said on a call Monday morning with analysts and investors. “Paramount’s strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders provides a superior alternative to the Netflix transaction, which offers inferior and uncertain value and exposes WBD shareholders to a protracted multi-jurisdictional regulatory clearance process with an uncertain outcome along with a complex and volatile mix of equity and cash,” Paramount said in announcing the hostile takeover maneuver.”
Episode Time Stamps
0:00 – Episode Teaser
0:46 – Introductions and housekeeping
4:49 – Netflix bids on Warner Bros: The news that shook Hollywood
32:55 – Paramount strikes back with an attempted hostile takeover
54:43 – Spoiler-free review of Hamnet
1:18:12 – Verdicts
123:07 – Alternate media recommendations
1:32:28 – SPOILERS BEGIN
1:32:36 – Life, death, grief, and how shared stories help us heal
1:50:11 – Does Hamnet qualify as “Oscar Bait?”
About Hamnet
According to the internet, Hamnet is described as:
A young William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and Agnes Hathaway (Jessie Buckley) fall in love and start a family until a personal tragedy drives them apart, compelling Shakespeare to pen his masterpiece Hamlet.
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