Warner Bros. Pictures

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by Brittany Bart

Warner Bros. Entertainment

4000 Warner Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91522

(818) 954-3000

www.warnerbros.com

 

History (1)

Warner Bros. was founded by Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner and was formally incorporated on April 4, 1923. The film studio was a pioneer in creating movies with synchronized sound. Financial problems were rampant until the success of the film The Jazz Singer (1927), which was a huge hit. This success allowed them to move to their current studio location in Burbank, CA. During World War II, Warner Bros. put out films such as The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and Casablanca (1942). The attendance to films released during the war years made Warner Bros. incredible amounts of revenue. During the 1940s, Warner Bros. was a part of the United States vs. Paramount Pictures anti-trust case, the outcome of which caused Warner Bros. to separate production from exhibition. Throughout the years, Warner Bros. has since made distribution and/or co-production deals with a number of small companies. The studio also played a part in the discontinuation of the HD DVD format in favor of the new Blu-ray Disc technology. Recently, Warner Bros. has begun to release film scripts as e-books.

Popular Warner Bros. Films Include:

  • Casablanca
  • An American in Paris
  • A Streetcar Named Desire
  • Cool Hand Luke
  • A Clockwork Orange
  • The Harry Potter Series
  • The Dark Knight Series

Warner Bros. Pictures Key Executives

  • Barry M. Meyer – Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. (2)
  • Jeff Robinov – President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group and Office of the President (3)
  • Paul Brouchek – President, Music, Warner Bros. Pictures (4)
  • Dan Fellman – President, Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures (5)
  • Sue Kroll – President, Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures (6)
  • Verokina Kwan Vandenberg – President, Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures International (7)
  • Steve Papazian – President, Worldwide Physical Production, Warner Bros. Pictures (8)
  • Greg Silverman – President, Production, Warner Bros. Pictures (9)
  • Steven S. Spira – President, Worldwide Business Affairs, Warner Bros. Pictures (10)

Warner Bros. Pictures Holdings

The Warner Bros. Pictures Group consists of Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures International. (11)

Executive News

Alex Lewis Named Vice President and Director Of Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures International, UK

(January 30, 2012 – London, UK) – Alex Lewis has been named Vice President and Director of Marketing for Warner Bros. Pictures International. She is joining from NewsCorporation, and her tasks will include consumer and trade marketing for all Warner Bros. International film releases in the United Kingdom. (12)

Greg Silverman Re-Ups at Warner Bros. Pictures

(Nov 2, 2011 – Burbank, CA) – President of Production at Warner Bros. Pictures Greg Silverman has renewed his contract with the studio. Silverman reports to Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, and has full oversight of Warner Bros. Pictures’ development activities and budget. He also continues to find opportunities to build on and diversify Warner Bros. Pictures’ successes. Silverman has a Bachelor’s from Stanford University, and joined Warner Bros. Pictures in 1999 (13).

Movie News

Warner Bros. Pictures Unveils Never-Before-Seen Footage of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Showcasing Stunning High-Frame-Rate Results

(April 24, 2012 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Pictures screened about ten minutes of exclusive, never-before-seen footage of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which showcases the innovative 48 frames-per-second technology, a frame rate that is “closer to the way the human eye views the world.” The film is set to be released Dec 14th, 2012, and is directed by Peter Jackson.  This is the first movie that will use the new 48 fps feature (14).

Studio Daily’s article claims that the response to the new technology was “mixed”. Some said that the film looked like it was a “made-for-TV movie,” whilst others said that the movie looked “[so real] that it looked fake.” The hope is that future audiences become accustomed to the 48 fps technology, so that they will enjoy the film’s real-ness, rather than criticize it for looking fake (15).

You can view the trailer here:

 

Warner Bros. Pictures’ LEGO Film Set for Theatrical Debut February 28, 2014

(April 23, 2012 – Burbank, CA,) – The first-ever full length, theatrical LEGO movie will open nationwide on February 28, 2014. The movie will be animated and shown in 3D, incorporating some of LEGO’s most popular characters from the construction toy’s history. The movie will attract fans of both the toys and of the video games, and of all ages (16).

The Register also claims that Warner Bros. plans to mix some live action into the new LEGO film, making it a hybrid movie much like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (17).

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Put “42” on deck for April 12, 2012

(April 23, 2012 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are teaming up for “42,” which will tell the story of baseball legend Jackie Robinson. The film’s release date will coincide with the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson Day. Stars included in the film are Harrison Ford as the Dodgers general manager and Chadwick Boseman as Robinson (18).

 

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are Ready for Another “Hangover”

(March 22, 1011 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are reteaming with Todd Phillips for “The Hangover Part III,” the third installment in the record-breaking comedy franchise, which is slated for release on May 24, 2013. This will be the final installment in the “Hangover” series, and will star Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Bradley Cooper.  The success of the first two films led to the creation of the final installment. Production will begin in September 2012 (19).

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” Bests Its Predecessor, Nabbing Global Tally of $529 Million And Counting

(March 20, 2012 – Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” has hit the $529 million benchmark in global box office, with an estimated $186.7 million on the domestic side and $342.3 million internationally, surpassing its predecessor’s worldwide gross of $524.4 million.” The film enjoyed repeat business and gained momentum throughout the months after its December release. International releases also helped to fuel the momentum of the film. The film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes once again and Jude Law as Watson (20).

 

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” Surpasses $275 Million Worldwide and Ranks #1 Internationally for Fourth Consecutive Weekend

(March 8, 2012 – Burbank, CA) – Audience response to New Line Cinema’s “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” has already taken the new 3D family adventure to greater heights than the 2008 hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” with more than $276.5 million in worldwide box office gross and still counting. The film is also an IMAX hit, with a box office total exceeding $22.7 million. The film also holds the #1 spot internationally for the past four weekends consecutively. The film stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Hank (21).

 

Trailer for “The Dark Knight Rises” Shatters Record with More Than 12.5 Million Downloads on iTunes in First Day

(December 23, 2011 – Burbank, CA) – The new trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” went on the Apple store at 10:00 Monday morning, December 19, and was viewed more than 12.5 million times in its first 24 hours, breaking the previous record by well over two million. The film, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the last in the “Dark Knight” series. Joining Christian Bale, who plays Bruce Wayne/Batman, are Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake. Liam Neeson will be returning as Ra’s Al Ghul. The film is set to be released July 20th, 2012 (22).

According to NYDailyNews.com, the newest “Dark Knight Rises” trailer has been released ahead of its scheduled release before “The Avengers” this Friday, May 4th. The new trailer shows that Christopher Nolan has painted Batman into a much darker light. This installment will also show an older, aged Batman than most “Dark Knight” fans will not be used to. (23)

You can view the latest trailer here:

 


Other Studio News

  • April 30, 2012 – BBC News – Warner Bros. is launching its film scripts as e-books. Movies such as “An American in Paris,” “Casablanca,” and “Ben Hur,” will be released, including items such as production notes, shooting scripts, storyboards, and on set photographs. Some of these scripts also include special features, such as a reproduction of the tickets to the “An American in Paris” Hollywood premiere. (24)
  • April 30, 2012 – Deadline Hollywood – Warner Bros. buys script about rapidly evolving dinosaurs that attack Los Angeles. John Clisham is directing. (25)
  • April 1, 2012 – The New York Times – “Harry Potter” tours of Leavesden Studios open. The tours will include sets such as the Gryffindor Boy’s Dormitory, and many props seen in the famous Warner Bros. film franchise. (26)
  • (January 6, 2012 – Burbank, CA) – The Warner Bros. Pictures Group enjoyed another hugely successful year, with a combined worldwide box office gross of more than $4.7 billion, led by 2011’s top-grossing film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.”

  • Records Achieved for Warner Bros:

    Warner Bros. has exceeded $4 billion globally for three straight years, and has a domestic gross of $1.83 billion, making it the only studio to pass one billion dollars eleven years in a row. Warner Bros. also is the only studio with over $1.8 billion domestically for three years straight.

    Internationally, the studio has passed $1 billion 14 times, 4 of those times being over $2 billion, and earned $2.87 billion last year, making it the number one studio in Europe (27).

 

References

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros.

2. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/barry-meyer.html

3. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/operation-officers/jeff-robinov.html

4. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/paul-broucek.html

5. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/dan-fellman.html

6. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/sue-kroll.html

7. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/veronika-kwan-vandenberg.html

8. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/steve-papazian.html

9. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/greg-silverman.html

10. http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/steven-spira.html

11. http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=timewarner

12. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=AlexLewisVPWBPI01.30.12

13. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=GregSilvermanReUpsWBP11.02.11

14. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=WBPHobbitScreeningCinemaCon04.24.12

15. http://www.studiodaily.com/2012/04/the-hobbit-the-soap-opera-effect-and-the-48fps-and-faster-future-of-movies/

16. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=WBPLEGOFilm04.23.12

17. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/14/lego_movie_gets_green_light/

18. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=WCP42JackieRobinson04.23.12

19. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=WBPHangoverIII03.22.12

20. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=WBPSherlockHolmes03.20.12

21. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=NewLineJourney2_02.15.12

22. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=AnotherRecordBreakingYear01.06.12

23. http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=DarkKnightRisesShattersiTunesRecords1.23.11

24. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/dark-knight-rises-trailer-shows-christopher-nolan-darker-plans-batman-time-article-1.1070454

25. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17895665

26. http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/warner-bros-acquires-sci-fi-dinosaur-pitc/

27. http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/travel/studio-tour-casts-spells-like-harry-potter.html?ref=warnerbrosentertainmentinc

Picture References

1. Warner Bros. Logo – http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WarnerBros

2. The Warner Bros. – http://smfaanimation.blogspot.com/2011/04/brief-hiostory-of-warner-brothers-and.html

3. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – http://www.filmofilia.com/new-sherlock-holmes-2-poster-holmes-watson-75235/

4. Journey 2 The Mysterious Island – http://frozenclockwork.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/journey-2-the-mysterious-island/

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows_–_Part_2