Patton Oswalt took a shot at Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav during his opening monologue as host of the 71st Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards.
Oswalt kicked off the MPSE ceremony Sunday in Los Angeles by lamenting the challenges that Hollywood faced in 2023. Oswalt, who also hosted the event last year, went on to discuss the labor stoppages for both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.
“What better choice to entertain a room full of postproduction workers than a guy who is in both SAG and the WGA,” the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire actor quipped. “That’s right. I’m the asshole that forced you to take out a second mortgage on your home.”
Oswalt continued, “But despite the nightmare of last year’s basically living hell that we all went through, you guys, as always, did some amazing work. And I’m just talking about the movies that were locked in a vault for a tax break. Get it?”
The comedian went on to specifically call out Zaslav, whose company has scrapped multiple finished films amid cost-cutting measures, including Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt in 2022 and Coyote vs. Acme last year. “I joke, but it’s exciting to see our industry once again flourishing,” Oswalt said. “I hear that David Zaslav just gave a three-picture deal to H&R Block. Vive la cinéma!”
Oswalt’s mention of the tax preparation company follows Warner Bros. Discovery disclosing in an earnings filing last month that it took a $115 million tax write-off from jettisoning unspecified films in the third quarter of 2023, spurring speculation that Coyote vs. Acme will indeed never get a release. The Hollywood Reporter had previously reported that Warner Bros. agreed to shop the movie — a hybrid of live-action and CG animation featuring classic Looney Tunes characters — to interested parties, leading multiple distributors to unsuccessfully bid on the title.
Previously, THR reported that Zaslav opted to shelve Batgirl to take a write-down on the film that was intended to debut via streaming. At the time, the CEO explained that the company would focus its film efforts on bigger theatrical moments.
Among the winners at the 2024 Golden Reel Awards was Oppenheimer, which collected two prizes. Maestro, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Society of the Snow were also honored at the ceremony celebrating sound design.
