Hollywood’s Creative Crisis: David Chase Warns Industry Is ‘Going Back to Greed and Fear’

By Zoe Papadakis | Wednesday, 08 July 2026 11:56 AM EDT

Hollywood is “going back to greed and fear,” David Chase, creator of “The Sopranos,” warned during his keynote address at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic.

Chase questioned why film executives are willing to settle for such tiny profit margins. “I’ve never really understood the film business,” he said. “I think the profit margins are like 6%. Why do you want to be in that business, especially if you’re afraid you’re going to lose money? Wouldn’t you be better off selling running shoes?”

He backed up his view by quoting “The Usual Suspects” writer Christopher McQuarrie. “He left Hollywood, and he said the whole thing is run by only two things: greed and fear, and he’s absolutely right,” Chase stated.

Chase described the industry’s advertising practices as an authoritarian system. “Their business was the selling of advertising time, and so they had these shows that came second to the advertising. All there was very, very strict. It was like working for the politburo,” he said.

When asked about creative restrictions from modern networks or streamers, Chase added: “All you can do is just do what you want and not listen to them.”

Chase’s remarks followed a session with reporters the previous day where he discussed his upcoming HBO limited series project, “Project: MKUltra.” He also reflected on his time writing for network TV shows like “The Rockford Files” and “Northern Exposure,” stating that after years of taking “network notes and eating network st,” he had been “done with it.”