To understand the current landscape, one must briefly revisit the "Studio System" of the 1920s through the 1940s. During this Golden Age, major studios such as MGM, Paramount, and Warner Bros. operated as vertical monopolies. They controlled every aspect of the supply chain: production (the creation of content), distribution (the marketing and shipping of films), and exhibition (the movie theaters).
These historic conglomerates possess the most extensive distribution networks and financing capabilities in the industry.
. They wanted spectacle, but Elias was pitching a character-driven epic—the kind of risky bet that usually sent major studios running toward the safety of established franchises. By noon, he was sitting in a sun-drenched office at