DreamWorks Studios

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Sophia Hoeke

by SOPHIA HOEKE

DreamWorks Studios is a production company based in Universal City, California, and they are most widely known for producing feature films, however, they also produce television programming, music, and video games. The founders of DreamWorks studios are Jeffery Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen. They founded the company in 1994 and the current CEO is Stacey Snider. DreamWorks has produced films such as Shrek (2001), American Beauty (1999), Meet the Fockers (2004), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Cast Away (2000).

When DreamWorks was founded in 1994, all three male founders, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, were already industry royalty and paired together knowing they were about to create something great. Geffen confidently stated that it was the first time in his career that he actually wanted to work with partners.

Shrek was the first franchise that really turned DreamWorks Studios into the booming company the Katzenberg always wanted, but not in the way he intended. The film incorporated a celebrity cast, a boy-friendly narrative, obnoxious pop-culture references, and more, and eventually lead to the company producing all of the recognizable crazy-funny, talking-animal type films, but this was not the artistic direction in which the founders had wished the company would pursue.

As of Fall 2004, DreamWorks Studios is no longer affiliated with DreamWorks Animation. Dream Works Animation spun off into a publicly traded company that solely produced animated feature films and TV programs. DreamWorks Studios’ founder, Jeffrey Katzenberg, moved with DWA and currently holds their position of CEO.

Here is a video by Ethan Jones of Movie Munchies of the variation of the DreamWorks logo as it progressed and the turned into the DreamWorks Animation logo after the separation in 2004.

In late March, it was announced that Steven Spielberg is signed to direct “Ready Player One”, a screenplay of the original Science Fiction novel written by Ernest Cline, the only catch is, this film is being produced by Warner Bros., not Dreamworks Studios. So the question is why did Spielberg make this temporary move and what effect will it have on Dreamworks?

According to this news clip by Jeff Sneider, a film reporter for The Wrap, Spielberg may be the perfect fit to head this project because he was raised as a gamer and the plot of the movie is based around ‘80’s pop culture. Although Spielberg did not grow up in the ‘80’s, he certainly had a hand in creating the pop culture of the time. So those reason may have to do with Spielberg’s choice to take a leave of absence from his own studio, leaving it temporarily in the hands of Michael Wright and Halle Berry.

Bloomberg Business also fills us in on Spielberg’s collaboration with Walt Disney Co. to produce Roald Dahl’s The BFG. Walden Media is a principle investor in the Vancouver-based production of this film about everyone’s favorite big friendly giant. One of the reasons that Spielberg is helping Disney out with this project is that Disney is currently taking care of all DreamWorks Studios distribution deals, and has lent DreamWorks $156 million with another $90 million coming this September to help with their company debt. Michael Wright, DreamWorks Studios’ CEO says,

“Over the years, we have enjoyed a fruitful collaboration, and we couldn’t be more excited to be working with Disney in this expanded capacity on ‘The BFG,’”

As of last year, Disney had distributed 11 DreamWorks Studios films, and this collaboration will only lead to continuing future endeavors between the two companies.

So with DreamWorks Studios going through these tough times with little to no feature films in production over the past few months and temporarily losing their founder and top director, Steven Spielberg, what have they been doing?

DreamWorks has been very busy negotiating and making plans with The Foundation for Investment in the Riviera Maya to build an amusement park in the popular tourist city of Cancun in Punta Maroma. The new park will be modeled similarly to the other DreamWorks Studios amusement park located just outside of New York. There will be restaurants, commercial spaces, theaters, and aquatic attractions themed around Madagascar, Antz, Shark Tale, Puss in Boots, and of course, Shrek.

This is not the only amusement park endeavor that DreamWorks Studios has been working on recently. In Singapore, DreamWorks is launching it’s first ever suspended roller coasted themed around one of their famous characters, Puss in Boots.

Hollywood Reporter also tells us that there are also plans being made by DreamWorks executives to collaborate with the same trio of Chinese production companies that developed Transformers: Age of Extinction in conjunction with Paramount. Jiaflix, China Movie Channel, and 1905 Pictures are all joining with DreamWorks Studios to put into action their plans for the Need For Speed sequel. Jiaflix president, Marc Ganis, confidently stated,

“We expect this partnership, which brings together a winning brand like Need For Speed with the team that propelled Transformers 4 to unprecedented success, will create one of the next great franchises for movie fans around the world.”

The film does not have a cast, writer, or director yet, but the proposal from these three companies has been made to DreamWorks, and they are eagerly awaiting a response.

Another production deal that is underway but being kept a very big secret is a Netflix original series produced by DreamWorks called Dinotrux. Rotoscopers tells us that this project has been in production for some time now and is set to be released in Summer 2015. Other than the projected release date, and a promotional Facebook page containing only graphic images, no more information has been released.

DreamWorks has been having a seemingly quiet year, however that has not been the case. There have not been many feature films released in the last few months nor have many been put into production, but the efforts of the studio to stay afloat despite their recent downward spiral are prevalent. The company has invested in various projects as stated above and is making sacrifices where necessary. In example, temporarily carrying on without their founder and primary director, Steven Spielberg, while he partners with companies that will help DreamWorks with their debt. All of these smaller projects and partnerships will hopefully help DreamWorks Studios find it’s way back to producing feature films.

CBS Films

Posted on November 20, 2013 by eamoomey

By Michael Sunderlin

CBS FILMS

– The CBS Films Company Logo
Image coutesy of ramascreen.com

Contact:

100 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

(310)575-7000

http://www.cbsfilms.com

A Brief Overview

A division of CBS corporation, CBS films is a studio based in Los Angeles, California, that handles all stages of the creation of a film including production, development, marketing, and distribution. Established in 2007, CBS films has become famous for the release of nine total nine motion pictures spanning across all genres. Popular titles credited to the studio include “Extraordinary Measures”, “The Back-up Plan”, and “The Women in Black”. [1]

Key Executives

Wolfgang Hammer Co – President

-Wolfgang Hammer
Image courtesy of cbspressexpress.com

Wolfgang Hammer’s prior experience involves serving as the executive Vice President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. Hammer’s career at CBS Films began as the COO during which period he oversaw the attainment of “Salmon Fishing in Yemen”, as well as handling several financial deals for films such as “Seven Psychopaths”. Currently, he handles much of the company’s logistical affairs, such as business, finance, law, and acquiring new films. [1]

Terry Press – Co-President

– Terry Press
Image courtesy of cbspressexpress.com

Terry Press, before involved with CBS films, was responsible for the campaigns of “Shrek”, “Gladiator”, and “Saving Private Ryan” as the Head of Marketing for DreamWorks Studios. Accordingly, her responsibilities now, as the Co-President of CBS films, include supervising the distribution and marketing of the company’s current films, as well as overseeing the company’s creative affairs and physical production. [1]

Financials

CBS Films is currently ranked 15th overall in total market share, holding approximately .7%. Through three quarters of 2013, CBS films has grossed a total of 66.5 million dollars. This value is already 34.2% higher than the total gross of 2010, and 15.8% higher than that of 2011. However, this value is 25.5% less than the total gross of 2012. Still, the total gross of the fourth quarter, including the money collected through the release of “Last Vegas”, has yet to be counted. In addition, the studio is predicted to gross more through the anticipated release of “Inside Llewyn Davis”, set to release of December 6th of this year. The profits from these films could raise the total yearly gross higher than its ever been since the company’s origination. [2] [3]

Recent and Upcoming Film Releases (September – December 2013)

“Last Vegas”

– (Left to Right) The stars of “Last Vegas”: Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, and Michael Douglas as Sam, Archie, Paddy, and Billy respectively
Image courtesy of static.rogerebert.com

On November 1st, CBS Films released the comedy “Last Vegas”, a film they themselves produced and distributed. Directed by Jon Turtletaub, the film boasts an all-star cast of Michael Douglas, Morgan Freedman, Robert De Niro, and Kevin Kline – all of whom are Oscar Winners. The story follows of four elderly men who have been friends since their childhoods. Billy, played by Michael Douglas, announces to his friends that he, in his 60’s, is marrying his girlfriend who is only 32 years old. Consequentially, the group travels to Las Vegas to attend Billy’s Bachelor party, excited to relive the olden days the group once spent in the city. [4] [5] [6]

During its time in the box office, the film has gained much media attention for its appeal to older audiences, a demographic largely neglected by Hollywood. As such, many sources mark this movie’s release as an admittance to the fact that the boomer generation still watches movies. As reported by the Huffington Post, the older generations currently make up a quarter of all movie-goers. Concurrently, the film is said to appeal to younger generations as well, doing so through its universal theme of friendship. [4] [5] [7]

The film has shown mostly positive signs in the box office, grossing over 16 million in its first weekend and over 46 million by its third weekend. If the box office success continues, “Last Vegas” may overtake “The Women in Black”, which grossed 54.3 million, as the number one grosser for CBS Films – either way, CBS films will have had its two largest grossers in the past two years. [8] [9]

“Inside Llewyn Davis”

– Oscar Isaac (Left) and Justin Timberlake (Right) as Llewyn Davis and Jim in “Inside Llywyn Davis”
Image courtesy of collider.com

Upcoming December 6th of this year, CBS films is scheduled to release “Inside Llewyn Davis”, a film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (Academy Award Winners) and produced by T. Bone Burnett (Grammy and Academy Award Winner) – the same team responsible films such as “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”. Set in the 1960’s, the film captures the story of Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac), a wayward folk musician struggling to overcome financial and personal hardships. As with “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, the music was produced specifically for the purpose of the film. With each song tailored to fit the point of the story in which it appears, the film’s soundtrack takes on an imitative style of folk music featuring popular artists such as Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan, who both star in the film as well, in addition to artists such as Marcus Mumford and The Punch Brothers. Receiving the Grand Prix at its premiere during the Cannes Film Festival, this film looks to award CBS with its first Oscar relative to the studio’s services. [10] [11] [12] [13]

– Marcus Mumford (Left) and Oscar Isaac (Right) play together at the “Another Time, Another Place” concert in NYC
Image courtesy of The Daily News

The promotion of the film was invested most notably within the concert entitled “Another Place, Another Time”, held in New York City. This charity concert featured the music of the film, sung by performers from the film such as Macus Mumford, as well as outside acts such as The Avett Brothers and Elvis Costello. Tickets for the concert sold out in 12 minutes. Such success prompted CBS Films to repeat the concert in Los Angeles, where an equally excited crowd was attracted and celebrities such as Steve Martin, Ed Helms, and Barbra Streisand all came to celebrate along with the rest of those in attendance. [12] [14]

Future Films (2014 and Beyond)

– Director Derek Lee as Derek in “Afflicted”
Image courtesy of Hollywood Reporter

Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan as Wallace and Chantry in “The F Word”
– Image courtesy of Hollywood Reporter

Films such as “Afflicted” and “The F Word”, both of which acquired by CBS films, have shown positive signs in their reception at the Toronto International Film Festival. “Afflicted” takes on the format of found-footage format, telling the story of two friends who travel through Europe, one of whom becomes sick after being bitten by a vampire. Directed by Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, the film looks to attract crowds of similar films such as “Paranormal Activity” and “Chronicle”. [15] [16]

CBS Films acquired he distribution rights for “The F Word” for approximately 3 million dollars. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan who play two tentative young lovers – Kazan’s character has a boyfriend. The film tracks how the two characters deal with their relationship merely as a friendship. The film is directed by Michael Dowse. [17]

Sources

[1] About CBS Films

[2] Box Office Mojo – Total Market Share

[3] Box Office Mojo – Box Office by the Studio – CBS Films

[4] The Hollywood Reporter – ‘Last Vegas’ Premiere: Director, CBS Execs Say Elderly Comedy Is For Everyone

[5] AARP – The Stars of ‘Last Vegas’ Have Fun – Lots of Fun

[6] IMDb – Last Vegas

[7] Huffington Post – 7 of the Best Movies for Grownups

[8] Box Office Mojo – Last Vegas

[9] IndieWire – Weekend Top Ten: ‘Thor Bashes Box Office, ‘Ender’s game’ Collapses

[10] NPR – First Listen: Soundtrack, ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’

[11] Inside Llewyn Davis Website – Story

[12] The Hollywood Reporter – New York Film Fest: Weekend Highlighted by ‘Inside Llewyn Davis Primiere’, Star-Studded Charity Concert

[13] L.A. Times – An early look at Oscar best picture contenders

[14] The Hollywood Reporter – ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Caberet in Santa Monica Draws A-Listers and Oscar Voters

[15]Firstshowing.net – Favorite Films of the 2013 Toronto Film Festival + One Final Recap

[16] The Hollywood Reporter – Toronto: Audience Member Becomes ‘Afflicted’ at Midnight Madness Screening

[17] The Hollywood Reporter – Toronto: CBS Films’ Deal to Acquire ‘The F Word’ Nearing $3 Million

Paramount Pictures

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Shaugnessy Elsroth

By Shaugnessy Elsroth

Paramount Pictures Logo [19]

Paramount Pictures Corporation

5555 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90038
323.956.5000
www.paramount.com

A Brief Overview

Adolph Zukor – Founder [20]

Paramount Pictures Corporation is a subsidiary of the top ranked media firm Viacom. It globally produces and distributes filmed entertainment. The corporation was founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor and was originally known as the Famous Players Film Company. In 1994, Viacom acquired Famous Players and renamed it to Paramount Pictures. The company annually releases twelve different movies and distributes them through its Paramount Home Entertainment. 2012 marked Paramount’s 100th year anniversary and despite being one of the oldest motion picture companies in America, they show no signs of slowing down any time soon. [1] [2]

Key Executives

Brad Grey – CEO [21]

Brad Grey

Grey is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Paramount Pictures Corporation and has held the position since 2005. He is in charge of all development and production generated by Paramount Motion Picture Group. Aside from Paramount Pictures, the Group includes Paramount Vantage and Insurge Pictures. [3]

Mark Badagliacca – CFO [22]

Mark Badagliacca

Since 2000, Badagliacca has served as Paramount Pictures Corporation‘s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He is in control of the finances, treasury, accounting and financial planning for the corporate company. [4]

Fredrick Huntsberry – COO [23]

Fredrick Huntsberry

Huntsberry started his position as the Chief Operating Officer for Paramount Pictures Corporation in 2006. As the C.O.O, he manages the planning and operations for the studio, including their financial department, IT department, and human resources. [5]

In Memory Of

A. C. Lyles

A. C. Lyles [24]

On September 27, 2013, Paramount‘s well-known producer and employee of over eighty-five years, Andrew Craddock Lyles, passed away at the age of 95. Lyles’ affiliation with the company began when he was only 10 years old, as he handed out fliers for a local theatre owned by Paramount in his hometown in Florida. His career in Hollywood began when he started working in the mail room at Paramount. He later moved up to become a studio publicist and further onto a producer. His wife, Martha Vickers, survives him and has asked for donations in honor of her husband to be sent to the Motion Picture Fund. [6]

In the News

End of Summer Double Feature Special

Double Feature Special Promo [25]

From August 30^th to September 5^th, Paramount Pictures Corporation offered moviegoers a special double feature experience to see two of its big summer blockbuster hits, Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z for the price of one ticket. Select theaters offered this limited opportunity in both 2D and RealD 3D; AMC Theatres, Carmike Cinemas, Marcus Theatres, and Regal Cinemas. [7] [8] [9]

For an external link to view this trailer, click here. [26]

Star Trek Into Darkness originally came out May 16 and during its opening weekend it generated $70,165,559 in the domestic box office. From opening weekend to August 25 it brought in $227,377,844. The weekend before this special double feature only added $106,356 to the total revenue, but with the introduction of the two for one deal, the weekend from August 30 to September 2 added $1,056,014 to their overall gross, increasing the total profits to reach $228,756,232. [10]

For an external link to view this trailer, click here. [27]

World War Z was released on June 21 and brought $66,411,834 in sales during its first weekend at the domestic box office. Up until August 30, $198,854,941 was generated for its revenue. The weekend before the special feature produced a small profit of only $314,920. With the introduction of the two for one deal however, the weekend of September 3 increased the gross income with an additional $1,650,374. Ultimately, after October 6, World War Z’s overall revenue totaled to $202, 349,504. [11]

Bad Grandpa

Bad Grandpa Advertisement [28]

Paramount Pictures Corporation‘s most recent comedy, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa was released on October 25. The movie is the fourth installment in the Jackass movie series, which is based off of the hit MTV reality series produced by DickhouseTV, where the cast is known for their self-injuring stunts and pranks. Johnny Knoxville stars as the lead character, Irving Zisman, who takes a road trip with his grandson and ridiculousness ensues.

For an external link to view this trailer, click here. [29]

The film collected $32,055,177 in its opening weekend, toppling Warner Bros.‘s drama Gravity, which only raked in $20,135,387 that weekend. [12] [13] Analysts were waiting for something to take out Gravity, since it had stayed at the top of the movie charts for its first three weeks, and Bad Grandpa did the job. After four weeks in theaters, Bad Grandpa has thus far accumulated $90,202,000, which is just shy of its $100 million goal. [12] [14]

Trimming Positions

Paramount Pictures California Headquarters [30]

In the beginning of October, Paramount Pictures stated that 110 job cuts will be made spanning its worldwide offices. In a recent statement, Chief Operating Officer Fredrick Hunstberry announced that reductions are being made to five percent of the company’s 2,200-person workforce. [15] The departments impacted are finance, human resources, and information technology, international home-media distribution, legal and marketing. [16] The company’s intent is to reorganize the corporation in order to better adapt themselves to the film industry’s increasing competition. [15]

What’s Coming Up?

Release Date Change

The Wolf of Wall Street Promo [31]

The Wolf of Wall Street is Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest movie where he plays the wealthy stockbroker, Jordan Belfort. Over Belfort’s years as a swindler, he developed a serious drug addiction, getting wrapped up in the rich party lifestyle and refused to cooperate in a large fraud case pertaining to corruption on Wall Street. Martin Scorsese is the director of this black comedy, which is based on Belfort’s self-titled memoir. Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey are among other cast members. [17]

For an external link to view this trailer, click here. [32]

The film was originally set to be released November 15, and has since been changed to come out in theaters on Christmas day, December 25. [18] The purpose of the set back is due to issues surrounding the movies long length of three hours, as well as a debate pertaining to its potential NC-17 rating. As a result of the setback, other studios are left scrambling to refigure their movie schedules. Sony has pushed back its release date for The Monuments Men from December 18 to February 7^th of next year. The RoboCop remake has thus been postponed and will now be coming out in theaters on February 12^th. For Paramount, their initial holiday movie Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, is now set to come out January 7, 2014. Ultimately, the process of changing one release date shows how problematic and chaotic the procedure for movie scheduling is during “Oscar season”. [18]

Sources

1) http://www.paramount.com/100-years-paramount/paramount-story
Retrieved September 8, 2013

2) http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Paramount_Pictures_Corporation.454f21dcb6c08c2b.html
Retrieved September 8, 2013

3) http://www.paramount.com/inside-studio/studio/executives/meet-executives/brad-grey
Retrieved September 8, 2013

4) http://www.paramount.com/inside-studio/studio/executives/division-executives/mark-badagilacca
Retrieved September 8, 2013

5) http://www.paramount.com/inside-studio/studio/executives/meet-executives/fedrick-huntsberry
Retrieved September 8, 2013

6) http://variety.com/2013/film/news/paramounts-longest-employee-a-c-lyles-dies-at-95-1200682146/
Retrieved October 10, 2013

7) http://www.marketwatch.com/story/paramount-pictures-and-leading-exhibitors-announce-star-trek-into-darkness-and-world-war-z-double-feature-2013-08-27
Retrieved September 8, 2013

8) http://www.paramount.com/news-and-social-media/news-and-press-releases/paramount-pictures-and-leading-exhibitors-announce
Retrieved September 8, 2013

9) http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/08/27/star-trek-world-war-z-bring-back-double-feature/
Retrieved September 8, 2013

10) http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=startrek12.htm
Retrieved November 15, 2013

11) http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=worldwarz.htm
Retrieved November 15, 2013

12) http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=badgrandpa.htm
Retrieved November 18, 2013

13) http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=gravity.htm
Retrieved November 15, 2013

14) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-27/-jackass-presents-bad-grandpa-unseats-gravity-at-box-office.html
Retrieved November 9, 2013

15) http://ca.news.yahoo.com/viacoms-paramount-pictures-trim-110-positions-5-per-231256454–finance.html
Retrieved October 10, 2013

16) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-01/viacom-s-paramount-film-unit-cites-competition-for-110-job-cuts.html
Retrieved October 10, 2013

17) http://www.thewolfofwallstreet.com
Retrieved November 15, 2013

18) http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/10/28/leonardo-dicaprios-the-wolf-of-wall-street-causes-release-date-musical-chairs/
Retrieved November 9, 2013

19) http://www.jennielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Paramount-Pictures-Logo.jpg
Retrieved November 17, 2013

20) http://paramount.com-beta.com/admin/uploads/General_Info/Adolph_Zukor_2.jpg
Retrieved November 17, 2013

21) http://www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Brad+Grey+Paramount+Vantage+Premiere+Mighty+jJ5m5KVsU9xl.jpg
Retrieved November 17, 2013

22) http://www.paramount.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/mark-badagliacca.jpg?itok=jWtDpIeh
Retrieved November 17, 2013

23) http://www.planningreport.com/files/styles/article_thumbnail/public/field/image/Huntsberry,%20Frederick.jpg?itok=tnyFF0Or
Retrieved November 17, 2013

24) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog_post_349_width/2012/04/lyles_a.jpg
Retrieved November 17, 2013

25) http://wpc.556e.edgecastcdn.net/80556E/img.news/NEhkyiViSKxhlh_1_3.jpg
Retrieved November 17, 2013

26) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gdbUC9mWU
Retrieved November 17, 2013

27) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6Dvxdr0AQ
Retrieved November 17, 2013

28) http://static.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/52376e8de4b072186ca877ea/1379364496981/hr_Jackass_Presents-_Bad_Grandpa_6.jpg
Retrieved November 17, 2013

29) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tctgUr147zA
Retrieved November 17, 2013

30) http://cdn.videogum.com/files/2011/09/paramount_pictures.jpg
Retrieved November 17, 2013

31) http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news/38097/_1371450399.jpg
Retrieved November 17, 2013

32) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A
Retrieved November 17, 2013

Warner Bros. Pictures

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Jacob Fleischman

by Jacob Everest Fleischman

Warner Bros. Pictures

Courtesy of thefilmstage.com

Warner Bros Pictures has produced and distributed thousands of titles since 1923 when it was founded by Albert, Sam, Harry and Jack Warner. WB is responsible for many iconic moments and accomplishments in the entertainment industry. To start, they are responsible for the first film with sound, The Jazz Singer. Following this Warner Bros had decades of success, even producing up to 40 movies a year during the 1940s. Jumping forward to the 1990s, Time Inc. and Warner Bros intertwined and became Time Warner, one of the powerhouses of todays entertainment industry. Warner Bros Pictures, as a subsidiary of Time Warner, produces between 18 and 22 movies a year and currently grosses over $4 billion a year. That brings us to our current place in time, post “The Dark Knight” and “Harry Potter” era, when Warner Bros Pictures was in charge of two of the most successful movie series of all time. [1] [2]

Conglomerate: Time Warner Inc.

Courtesy of financial-report.info

Parent Company: Warner Bros. Entertainment

CEO: Kevin Tsujihara

Chairman of the Board: Barry Meyer

Warner Bros Pictures Officers

President: Jeff Robinov

Courtesy of http://www.aceshowbiz.com/

Mr. Robinov is in charge of it all. He oversees actual filming and production, distribution and the post-production. All of the other presidents report to him and he has the final say before it is passed to the Warner Bros Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara and Chairman of the Board Barry Meyer. [3]

President, Domestic Distribution- Dan Fellman

Courtesy of http://ia.media-imdb.com/

Mr. Fellman has been in his position at Warner Bros Pictures since 1999 and worked there for 21 years before that. Fellman is widely known for his success with movies such as The Dark Knight, Superman Returns, The Hangover and The Blind Side. Among these, he has produced 57 movies that have grossed over $100 million. [4]

President, Worldwide Marketing- Sue Kroll

Courtesy of Variety.com

Ms. Kroll has been in her position since 2008. She oversees all marketing worldwide, both creative and business aspects of the job. She is in-charge of advertising, research, finding target audiences and bringing attention to the film. She most famously ran the marketing division for The Dark Knight which grossed over $1 billion worldwide. [5]

Most Recent Time Warner Inc. Quarterly Report

In Time Warner’s final quarterly report of 2012, it explains Warner Bros Pictures grossed $4.3 billion worldwide; this was predominantly led by The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Warner Bros Pictures also received two Golden Globes this year, which included Best Motion Picture- Drama for Argo. Along with the Golden Globe achievements, Warner Bros. Picture’s movies were nominated for 10 Academy Awards this year. [6]

Courtesy of imdb.com

“Right Here, Right Now” Semester News From the Studio

New Commander-in-Chief

Courtesy of www.trbimg.com/

The biggest thing to happen during this Spring to affect Warner Bros. Pictures actually was not a change made in the company. Warner Bros Entertainment, WB Pictures parent company, appointed a new CEO. Kevin Tsujihara announced he would be taking control of the mega-entertainment company as of March on January 28^th, 2013. [7]

The Hobbit is not really that short!

Courtesy of www.dezineguide.com

It is announced that the first Hobbit movie hit its $1 billion mark and the rest of the trilogy has already been planned out. The final Hobbit Movie will be released in December of 2014, after the second installment of the series is released in December of 2013. Tacking on to the end of the Lord of the Rings series this spin-off proved to be just what the world wanted to see grossing $301.4 domestically and over $700 million internationally to date. [8]

The man with the Billion Dollar Brain is Preparing for his Next Epic

Courtesy of http://www.comicbookmovie.com/

On March 8^th, Warner Bros Pictures and Paramount announced that together they would co-produce and distribute, Academy Award nominee and billion-dollar movie maker Christopher Nolan’s next film. The Film, titled “Interstellar”, is sci-fi and will entail Nolan’s customary heroic story line. The fact that these two powerhouse studios are teaming up to produce and distribute this film together is extremely rare because the two do not normally work together on major releases. [9]

“RUN ITS GODZILLA”

Courtesy of www.badassoftheweek.com

While not much has been released yet, it is now public knowledge that a new Godzilla is in the works and will be released and distributed in 3D by Warner Bros. on May 16^th, 2014. The film has Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen and Juliette Binoche starring in the film. [10]

Recent Marketing

Courtesy of themovieblog.com/

Warner Bros Pictures is currently ramping up for a very busy spring and early summer with summer blockbusters that many people are looking forward to and could possibly define a top box office summer. Starting in early April we see the true life story of Jackie Robinson in 42 and following this we see our first summer blockbuster the re-make of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless classic The Great Gatsby. Then directly following this, just two weeks later we see the next installment of our favorite party-crazed drunks in The Hangover 3. Finally, most likely the most anticipated superhero movie of the summer, Man of Steel, the next Superman movie is released in June.

See the Man of Steel trailer here

Most Recently Warner Bros Pictures shined as a main attraction at WonderCon

With the upcoming release of Pacific Rim, Warner Bros decided to use this time with a huge collection of its target audience (at WonderCon) to debut a clip from the scene and hear from director, Guillermo del Toro. The scene creates enough suspense and confusion to make every nerd and non-nerd alike in the room anxious to run to the theaters on its opening weekend (July 12, 2013) to see the film. [11]

This has been a very busy late-winter and spring for Warner Bros Pictures with a number of huge films debuting at the beginning of this summer and a lot of films released during this time period. With all this in mind, it makes sense that there are so many presidents under Jeff Robinov to break up all of the executive work that keeps this studio at the top of its game.

Sources:

[1] Warner Bros. History http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about/company-history.html

[2] Warner Bros. Overview http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about/company-overview.html

[3] Jeff Robinov Bio http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/operation-officers/jeff-robinov.html

[4] Dan Fellman Bio http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/dan-fellman.html

[5] Sue Kroll Bio http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/divisional-executives/sue-kroll.html

[6] Time Warner Quarterly Report http://ir.timewarner.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=70972&p=quarterlyearnings

[7] Kevin Tsujihara Bio http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/kevin-tsujihara.html

[8] The Hobbit Press Release http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=WBPTheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney1BillionDollarRev_03.03.13

[9] Christopher Nolan New Movie http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=WBPInterstellarNov7ReleaseDate_03.08.13

[10] Godzilla Press Release http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/corpcomm/portal/press_release.jsp?id=WBPLegendaryPicturesGodzillaStartofProduction_03.18.13

[11] Pacific Rim Publicity http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/wondercon-pacific-rim-mortal-instruments-431926

20th Century Fox

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Bria Holness

by Bria Holness

Photo courtesy of fanpop.com

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp

10201 West Pico Boulevard,

Los Angeles, California 90035

www.foxmovies.com

A Brief History

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, also known as 20th Century Fox, was established on May 31, 1935 when the founders of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures decided to merge into one. It is now one of the major American film studios that produces, acquires, and distributes motion pictures. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates as a subsidiary of Fox Entertainment Group Inc. and is responsible for some of the top grossing movies, including Avatar and Titanic. [1] [2]

Quick Financials

During the first quarter, which encompasses the months of January, February, and March, 20th Century Fox brought in a gross income of $256.9 million, a 13.7% decrease in comparison to the first quarter of 2012; however, this is also an 123.7% increase in comparison to 2011. [19]

Key Executives

Keith Rupert Murdoch

Photo courtesy of biography.com

Murdoch is the founder of News Corporation, in which 20th Century Fox is a subsidiary of, and has been its Chairman since 1991. Since 1992, Murdoch has been the Chairman of Fox Entertainment Group Inc. and its Chief Executive Officer since 1995. He operates as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. [2]

Eduardo Echeverria

Photo courtesy of variety.com

Echeverria is Senior Vice President of Latin America at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and has served as so since 2001. [2] Echeverria manages the sales and marketing operations and theatrical distribution for all Fox Filmed Entertainment product in Latin America. [2]

Michael Peikoff

Since July 1, 2007, Peikoff has been Senior Vice President of Licensing and Merchandising of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. His duties include managing internal and external communication for the licensing division and managing retail marketing and licensed promotion initiatives in the U.S. [2]

Robert Marick

Photo courtesy of licensing.biz

As Executive Vice President since July of 2010, Marick manages the global licensing of Fox’s television and film assets across different platforms including television promotions, interactive gaming, literary publishing, themed entertainment, and consumer products. [2]

Ricardo Crespo

Photo courtesy of centralpa.aiga.org

Crespo has served as Senior Vice President of Global Creative at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation since July 2010. [2] Prior to joining the 20th Century Fox team, Crespo held several leadership positions at Saatchi & Saatchi, Mattel Inc., Bozell Worldwide, and McCANN ERICKSON. [4]

In The News

Broken City

Photo courtesy of radionowindy.com

20th Century Fox Films released its first film of the year, Broken City, starring Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta Jones, on January 18th. The film told the story of a New York City cop, who one night gets involved in a scandalous shooting. He’s stripped of his badge but kept out of jail by the works of New York’s Mayor, who offers him a lump sum of money to investigate his wife. While doing so he finds himself in the middle of a much larger scandal as he realizes that the Mayor isn’t who he seems to be.

During its opening weekend, the film made about $9 million and $4 million the weekend after. With an estimated budget of $55 million, it has made an overall gross of $19,667,601 up to date. It has received mixed reviews ranging from being called a complete mess to being considered an entertaining thriller. Nonetheless, there seems to be a majority consensus—the cast and the numerous twists are great but can only keep the “weak” storyline going but so far, causing it to receive a B- from Entertainment Weekly. [5] [6]

20th Century Fox employed an interesting marketing strategy for the movie. Instead of featuring promotional quotes from legitimate movie critics, they chose to use tweets from the hashtag, #BrokenCity, in which basically anyone could be a critic.

Photo courtesy of cultureblues.com

The studio believed it was a way to be more personable and interactive and to get fans more excited for the upcoming film. However, the tactic raised many questions about the weight of movie critics’ opinions and whether or not they carry the same weight as the opinions of the fans. [7]

Wahlberg also held a special, early screening of the film as a fundraiser for the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation . He offered a chance to win tickets at Celebrities for Charity. [8]

A Good Day to Die Hard

Photo courtesy of movies.wikia.com

20th Century Fox released the fifth movie of the Die Hard franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney, on February 14^th. This is the first of the franchise to not be released during the blockbuster summer months and instead in the cold month of February. [9] The film tells the story of a cop, John McClane, who travels to Moscow to help his unruly son Jack, unaware that Jack is really a CIA agent attempting to stop a nuclear weapons robbery. Despite their differences, they are forced to work together to keep each other and the world safe. [5]

The film was produced for about $92 million. During its opening weekend, it made $24,834,845 domestically and $45,301,894 oversees, giving it the number one spot of films newly released that weekend. [10] However, this is over $70 million less than what the last movie of the Die Hard franchise made in the summer of 2007. With this comparison, it could be considered disappointing. [11]

Very unlike the previous films of the series, the film has been largely slated by various critics. Based on 40 “generally unfavorable” reviews, Metacritic has given the movie a 28 out of 100 and based on 184 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes has given it a score of 4 out of 10. On both sites, several reasons for such low scores have been cited but the majority seems to agree on a muddling plotline with too many holes and twists as the movie’s downfall. [12] [13]

The Croods

Photo courtesy of filmofilia.com

20th Century Fox teamed up with DreamWorks Animation for the first time in the production and release of The Croods, a prehistoric comedy for the family, starring Nicholas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, and Catherine Keener. It officially premiered worldwide on March 22nd and brought in $43,639,736 during its opening weekend. [18]

The film follows the story of a caveman, Crug, who must lead his family across an unstable and dangerous landscape after an earthquake destroys their home. While doing so they come across a nomad who charms everyone but Crug with his revolutionary modern ways. [14] As of April 1st, with a budget of about $135 million, the film has made $93,893,394 domestically and $148,802,379 from foreign theaters, amounting to $242,695,773 worldwide. [18]

To build up anticipation of the release of the movie, DreamWorks made a deal with Rovio to create a mobile game based on The Croods, an impressive marketing strategy. In the game, the Croods, a family of cave men, find their way out of the Stone Age through the use of a new tool, the idea. They hunt and gather their way through new landscapes as they tame creatures they’ve never seen before.

Rovio released the game for Apple and Android devices on March 14, just about a week before the official release of the film. [15]

What’s Next for 20th Century Fox?

20th Century Fox plans to release another 3-D animated family film, Epic, which is based on the children’s book, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. From the creators of Ice Age and Rio, Epic follows the story of a teenage girl, who finds herself magically transported into a secret universe. While there, she must team up with a group of capricious characters in order to save their world and her own from Queen Tara, the evil spider. [16]