Warner Bros Pictures Production VP Peter Dodd Heads To Netflix As Film Team Director

Seven months after landing the highly coveted top jobs at Warner Bros. Motion Picture studios, Co-Chairpersons Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were bestowed with the PGA Milestone award tonight and paid respect for their mega industry mentors, remembered emotionally their cinematic NYC and New Jersey youths, and gave a huge shoutout to their new boss, Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. is suing Paramount Global, saying its competitor aired new episodes of the popular animated comedy series “South Park” after Warner paid for exclusive rights.

“Screw you guys, we’re going to sue,” a Cartman paraphrasing Warner Bros Discovery essentially said to Paramount Global and the series creators today in a scathing lawsuit over South Park streaming rights.

,” HBO Max said in a statement to TheWrap.Warner Bros. Discovery claims that Paramount’s priorities “changed drastically” upon the launch of Paramount+ in 2021, resulting in a “multi-year scheme to unfairly take advantage” of the former conglomerate by breaching its agreement and “stealing its content.”Per the 2019 agreement, where Warner/HBO outbid others in a competitive situation to garner the exclusive rights to the series, the company acquired the series’ entire catalog (23 seasons at the time) in addition to three new installments, totaling more than 300 episodes.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer HBO Max’s parent company has filed a lawsuit that accuses Paramount Global of reneging on parts of the $500 million licensing deal set in 2019 for the streaming rights to episodes of “South Park.” The suit, filed Friday in New York state Supreme Court, asserts that Paramount breached the contract by steering “South Park” specials and other content to its own Paramount+ platform. The suit alleges that Paramount “blatantly intended to prop up Paramount+ at the expense of Warner/HBO,” and that Paramount engaged in “multiple and flagrant duplicitous contortions of fact and breaches of contract.”

The Wrap.“But for all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex and dazzling universe dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien remains largely unexplored on film. The opportunity to invite fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor, and we are excited to partner with Middle-Earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure.”The cost of the deal made between Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and Embracer Group — the current rights holders to Tolkien’s novels — has yet to be released.

Middle Earth is returning to the big screen.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor David Zaslav sounds tired of taking lumps. After months of cost cutting, write-downs, and getting pilloried among Hollywood natives for killing projects, the Warner Bros. Discovery chief showed off some new truculence, making the case that while his newly-merged company has been having a tough time, so too were others. “‘Last year was a year of restructuring,” said Zaslav, during a call with investors Thursday. “This year will be a year of building.” Over the course of an hour, Zasalv and Gunnar Wiedenfels, Warner’s chief financial officer, made the case that their company was just as well-equipped as any of its rivals — perhaps even more so — to withstand a stormy era during which media companies are pressed to grow their streaming operations but maintain profitability. Zaslav elbowed Netflix for releasing all of the episodes for a program’s cycle all at once; suggested that a move to launch new “Lord of the Rings” movies would take away some of the momentum that Amazon had enjoyed from its launch of a series based on the novels; and told listeners Warner Bros. Discovery could launch an ad-supported streaming service without having to buy an outside asset, as Fox Corp. and Paramount Global had. “We can create a Tubi or a Pluto without having to buy anybody,” he boasted.

earnings call comments suggest that he is even more adamant in this direction. On Thursday, Zaslav spoke about Warner Bros.’ recent strategy to move films greenlit under previous CEO Jason Kilar’s leadership for exclusive release on HBO Max to an exclusive release in theaters before going to the streaming service.

Call “2023 will be a year of building,” Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav made a point today on the company’s latest earnings call to sing the praises of CNN’s “more inclusive range of voices and viewpoints.”

New Line Cinema and Warner Bros Pictures have hammered out a new multi-year agreement with Embracer Group AB’s Middle-Earth Enterprises to team on new The Lord of the Rings movies. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav dropped the news Thursday during the company’s call to discuss its Q4 2022 earnings results.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Warner Bros. Pictures is revamping the “Lord of the Rings” film franchise. On a Thursday earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced that newly-installed studio leaders Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy have brokered a deal to make “multiple” films based on the beloved J. R. R. Tolkien series. The films will be developed through WB label New Line Cinema. The first series of films, helmed by Peter Jackson, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide. Embracer Group AB made the deal with he studio for adaptations of “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.”

For those headed to CinemaCon in Las Vegas this April, take notice: Variety reports that Warner Bros. will screen its upcoming DCEU blockbuster “The Flash” at the event.

The incoming Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)/ BT Group UK sports streaming JV will be named TNT Sports, the U.S. media giant has revealed.

So many stars attended the BAFTA Film Awards 2023 Nominees Party ahead of the annual awards show.

EXCLUSIVE: Argentinian crime thriller A Singular Crime (Un Crimen Argentino), directed by Lucas Combina, has landed a series of international distribution deals on the third day of the EFM.

Paul Mescal, Letitia Wright, Gemma Chan and Taron Egerton were just a few of the stars to attend the 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival UK Honours on Thursday evening (February 16).

Believe it or not, M. Night Shyamalan had his seventh #1 opening weekend at the box office with “Knock At The Cabin” earlier this month.

Angelique Jackson M. Night Shyamalan has inked a new multi-year, first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures, with the Oscar-nominated filmmaker switching his allegiance from Universal. The announcement was made Thursday by Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy. News of the pact comes as the director celebrates his latest release “Knock at the Cabin,” which marks his seventh No. 1 opening at the box office — he has a No. 1 film in each of the last four decades — and further contributes to his more than $3 billion haul at the global box office, beginning with his breakout hit, “The Sixth Sense.” “Where I write and direct is my home,” Shyamalan said in a statement announcing the new deal. “Disney and Universal, where I’ve made most of my films, will always be home and family to me. Warner Bros. has a storied history of cinema. Through its recent experiences, the company has rediscovered its love and appreciation for filmmakers, and the impact of the theatrical experience. We all win when movies succeed in theaters. I believe David Zaslav, Michael De Luca, and Pam Abdy have dedicated themselves to unique filmmakers, and to filling theaters all around the world for years to come.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros. Discovery has extended its rights to show the U.S. Open in 45 markets across Europe, including exclusive access in 42 territories, after reaching a new five-year agreement with the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Territories excluded from the deal are Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K. and Ireland. The deal includes live and highlights rights with every match on every court available to stream on discovery+ and the Eurosport app in addition to live television coverage during the tournament on Eurosport 1 and 2. Markets including the Nordics will also have the option to showcase the best matches on Warner Bros. Discovery’s free-to-air channels.