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Warner Bros. Discovery has officially laid out its senior EMEA leadership team under President and Managing Director for the region (excl Poland) Priya Dogra . She unveiled the new-look structure today, revealing how local territory chiefs will feed into her centralized EMEA operation. Five senior execs — including former Country Managers Sylvia Rothblum, Susanne Aigner and Thomas Ciampa — are stepping down at the same time. Each territory manager will be responsible for Warner Bros. Discovery’s combined businesses in their respective territories, working closely with the company’s global functions across streaming, sport, US programming and the Warner Bros Discovery studio. The team is as follows, in alphabetical order: Alessandro Araimo becomes General Manager, Italy, Spain and Portugal. He was previously EVP and General Manager for Discovery in Italy. Pierre Branco becomes General Manager, France, Benelux and Africa. He was previously Country Manager for … [Read more...] about Warner Bros Discovery Sets Priya Dogra’s EMEA Team; Five Departing, Local Managers Are Confirmed

The day after the David Zaslav -run Warner Bros Discovery completely shelved the HBO Max DC movie Batgirl which is in post production, the pic’s directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have responded with a statement. “We are saddened and shocked by the news. We still can’t believe it. As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves,” said the duo in an Instagram post which you can read below. Both directors Deadline were in Morocco for El Arbi’s wedding when they first learned about Batgirl ‘s bad news. Again a big upset here to all those involved in making this movie. “Our amazing cast and crew did a tremendous job and worked so hard to bring Batgirl to life. We are forever grateful to have been part of that team. It was a dream to work with such fantastic actors like Michael … [Read more...] about ‘Batgirl’ Filmmakers On Warner Bros Discovery Discarding Movie: “It Is Critical That Our Work Be Shown To Audiences”

Another day, another DC drama. Warner Bros. Discovery has killed its $78 million Batgirl movie six months after it wrapped production. Adding insult to injury, the film’s cast members didn’t receive a heads up and were “blindsided,” sources say. The DC Extended Universe film that stars In the Heights ’ Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl, was poised to stream on HBO Max or receive a theatrical release. In a shocking turn of events, it will get neither and is being shelved altogether. But why the abrupt move? Sources say the film began testing with audiences on July 14, and while Grace’s performance was embraced, the overall feedback was harsh. One source familiar with audience testing for the film likened it to “a bad episode of TV,” while another said “it’s definitely not theatrical.” The new regime at WBD, headed up by David Zaslav, has handed down a mandate that DC films should be released theatrically or not at all. With Batgirl , … [Read more...] about ‘Batgirl’ Blindside: Why Warner Bros. Decided to Pull the Plug

Batgirl star Leslie Grace has responded on social media to Warner Bros. shelving the DC film, but hers weren’t words of bitterness, just gratitude to be on the journey. “Querida familia! On the heels of the recent news about our movie ‘Batgirl,’ I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland. I feel blessed to have worked among absolute greats and forged relationships for a lifetime in the process! To every Batgirl fan – THANK YOU for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, “my own damn hero!” Batgirl for life!” wrote the CAA-repped actress. The post also contains a gallery of images and videos from the film’s shoot. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Leslie Grace (@lesliegrace) Grace won the part of Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl after a final round that … [Read more...] about ‘Batgirl’ Leslie Grace Responds To Warner Bros Discovery Scrapping DC Pic: “I Feel Blessed To Have Worked Among Absolute Greats”

Warner Bros. Discovery expects to launch its combined HBO Max /Discovery+ streaming service in the U.S. next summer. JB Perrette, CEO and President, Global Streaming and Interactive at WBD , revealed the news on the company’s earnings call Thursday. “Our primary focus for the rollout will be in the markets where HBO Max has already launched,” he said. “We plan to launch the service sequentially starting in the U.S. next summer. Latin America will follow later in the year. European markets with HBO Max will follow in early ‘24, with additional launches and key Asia Pacific territories and some new European markets coming later in 2024.” Perrette added that as it gets more of the development work and testing done, it also will explore ways to accelerate this rollout. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav: “We Will Fully Embrace Theatrical” “There’s much work to be done over the coming months,” he said, pointing to retooling the tech platform and migrating … [Read more...] about Warner Bros. Discovery: HBO Max & Discovery+ Combined Streamer To Launch In U.S. In Summer 2023

Kids and animated content are set for a broad swath of cuts across Warner Bros. Discovery . Yesterday, Deadline revealed that HBO Max had canceled Ellen DeGeneres’ preschool series L ittle Ellen and it’s emerged that this was part of a much wider strategy shift in kids animation. Warner Bros. Discovery operates kids channels such as Cartoon Network and Boomerang and has had a pipeline of kids shows on HBO Max. The animation pullback followed Deadline’s exclusive story on Friday on HBO Max and the cancellation of Gordita Chronicles, in which the streamer said via a spokesperson that “live-action kids and family programming will not be part of our programming focus in the immediate future.” Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, on the company’s earnings call, confirmed that kids and animation content, across both streaming and linear networks, would be cut “without an adequate investment case against them.” ‘Little Ellen’ Scrapped At HBO Max Ahead … [Read more...] about Warner Bros. Discovery Confirms Kids’ Content Cuts

Warner Bros. Discovery is doubling down on HBO and HBO Max . Speaking of HBO & HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys and his team, WBD President and CEO David Zaslav revealed that “we’re going to spend dramatically more this year and next year than we spent last year in the year before.. Execs, however, declined to give out any numbers, and a rep for HBO declined to elaborate on Zaslav’s comments. He added that the majority of Bloys’ top team has been “locked up”, although he declined to name any execs. The list is believed to include the key senior executives under Bloys. “Quality is what matters. Quality is what Casey and that team is delivering. It’s the best team in the business. We’re doubling down on that HBO team. They’re all committed under contract and we’re going to spend dramatically more this year and next year than we spent last year in the year before,” he said. He called Chief Content Officer Bloys a “unicorn.” “The majority of the … [Read more...] about Warner Bros. Discovery To “Spend Dramatically More” On HBO/HBO Max & “Lock Up” Majority Of Casey Bloys’ Top Team

California rock outfit Avenged Sevenfold have been sued by their label, Warner Bros. Records, after attempting to break their as-yet-unfulfilled contract by citing California’s “seven-year rule,” Billboard reports. Avenged Sevenfold have released four out of the five albums mandated by their deal, which was signed in 2004. Since then, according to a statement by the band’s lawyer, Howard E. King, the label has undergone “multiple regime changes that led to dramatic turnover at every level of the company, to the point where no one on the current A&R staff has even a nodding relationship with the band.” The “seven-year rule” the band has invoked is a section of the California labor code that stipulates a court cannot enforce a personal service contract after seven calendar years from when the deal began. But Warner Bros., in their breach-of-contract suit, dismissed Avenged Sevenfold’s invocation of the rule as unlawful and have demanded a trial in order to rule it … [Read more...] about Avenged Sevenfold Sued After Trying to Split From Warner Bros

In the wake of the summer’s mass shootings, there’s plenty of concern surrounding the opening of Warner Bros ’ The Joker on October 4, particularly as it’s poised to bring in a record amount of moviegoers for an October release. Despite the Gilroy-Dayton-El Paso shootings, some sources in distribution and exhibition believe fears surrounding The Joker are over-heightened, especially with the LAPD issuing a statement Thursday night that it does not see any credible threats in the Los Angeles area regarding the pic’s opening. Industry sources also tell us that the FBI and Homeland Security do not currently foresee looming threats related to the Todd Phillips-directed DC origin movie that centers on the crazed Batman villain . Said the LAPD tonight in a statement received by Deadline, “The Los Angeles Police Department is aware of public concerns and the historical significance associated with the premiere of the Joker. While there are no credible … [Read more...] about ‘Joker’ Opening: LAPD Says “No Credible Threats” While Exhibitors Remain Vigilant As Theatrical Release Nears

No huge shocker here, but Warner Bros / Village Roadshow / Bron Studios ’ Joker is going to churn a profit on its way to becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time . How much profit, you ask? Well, we’ll actually tell you. Our sources say the Joaquin Phoenix pic is poised to make at least $464 million after global theatrical, TV and home entertainment windows, and it could be more if the worldwide box office for the Todd Phillips-directed movie exceeds $900M. That amount of profit isn’t that far from what Avengers: Infinity War racked up last year in black ink: that pic made a half-billion dollars but was more expensive, with a production cost and global P&A of … a half-billion dollars. Joker ‘s profit is also not that far from Black Panther ‘s $476.8M , and way ahead of Aquaman ‘s $260.5M (which at combined budget and P&A of $348M was 83% more expensive than Joker ), Venom’s near $247M and Deadpool 2’s … [Read more...] about ‘Joker’ Set To Bank Near Half-Billion In Profit, On Par With ‘Avengers: Infinity War’: The Breakdown