Interviews with dozens of actors, producers and camera crews reveal an industry attempting to weigh the lesser of two horrible choices.

Earlier this month, Affinity emerged as a participant in Paramount's hostile bid for Warner Bros, a proposal that valued the Hollywood studio at approximately $108.4 billion

Warner Bros. has a history of disastrous mergers and acquisitions. Can they avoid another bad sequel as Netflix and Paramount battle to buy it?

Netflix would also gain access to a trove of lucrative intellectual property, from Bugs Bunny and Superman to “Friends” and “Game of Thrones.” The closest modern parallel might be Amazon’s acquisition of the former Hollywood power player Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 2023.

As the war over Warners intensifies, Ted Sarandos and David Ellison are both vying to become the last monarch of a fading Hollywood. But the real kingmaker may turn out to be the Don in the White House.