WB prepares next film slate under cloud of uncertainty

[Batman1980]

As parent Time Warner waits to see if it will be allowed to merge with AT&T, studio chief Toby Emmerich fills out the 2019 schedule with Mark Wahlberg's 'Six Billion Dollar Man,' Edward Norton's passion project 'Motherless Brooklyn,' a Clint Eastwood movie and the superhero pic 'Shazam.'
If all had gone as planned, Warner Bros. Pictures president and chief content officer Toby Emmerich was expecting to ring in the new year by celebrating two key developments at the film studio: a box-office recovery in 2017 and AT&T's $85.4 billion acquisition of parent company Time Warner.

Instead, on Nov. 20, executives across all divisions of the empire were jolted when the Trump administration sued to block the merger on anti-trust grounds. Now, with the cloud of uncertainty over the studio's future, Emmerich, who is approaching his one-year anniversary in the job, is aggressively filling out its 2019 slate — 2018 releases are already set — with the aim of releasing 17 to 20 movies.

To reach that goal, Warners will take over The Six Billion Dollar Man, starring Mark Wahlberg, from The Weinstein Co., and it has also recently acquired Edward Norton's passion project, Motherless Brooklyn, an adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's detective novel that Norton will direct, write and star in, according to sources. There will also be a Clint Eastwood movie, the superhero pic Shazam and Lights Out 2. And Warners is a fronrtunner in the race to distribute the next James Bond film internationally in November 2019.

"A month ago, nobody at Time Warner or WB expected this to be delayed," says BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield. "I'm sure it is causing consternation at the studio, but is it actually impacting what movies are being greenlighted? I haven't heard of any slate chaos."

Currently, the studio has 11 titles officially dated for 2019, on par with Disney, Paramount and Sony. But that number shoots up with the latest additions to its production schedule. Films that were already set for 2019 include The Lego Movie 2 (Feb. 8), Isn't It Romantic (Feb. 14), Godzilla 2 (March 22), Wonder Woman 2 (Nov. 1) and the Melissa McCarthy comedy Margie Claus (Nov. 15). The studio also has set a Sept. 6 date for New Line's It: Chapter 2, the follow-up to this year's horror hit, which grossed $694 million worldwide on a $34 million budget. The sequel's challenge is to keep the new budget from ballooning as the studio goes about casting older actors who'll play adult versions of the kids in the original.

On Nov. 29, Emmerich's team also announced that Shaft, a reboot starring Jessie T. Usher and Samuel L. Jackson, will bow June 14, 2019, and The Goldfinch, an adaptation of the best-selling novel, on Oct. 11. All but Lego and Godzilla are among the dozen movies that Emmerich has greenlighted along with Warner Bros. chairman-CEO Kevin Tsujihara since stepping into the top job.

Uncharacteristically for big-spending Warners, Emmerich is also focusing on smaller titles like Just Mercy, a legal drama starring Michael B. Jordan that will be released in 2019.

Among event films, The Six Billion Dollar Man could prove a key addition to Emmerich's slate. Argentinean filmmaker Damian Szifron (Wild Things) is directing the adaptation of the classic 1970s television show. Wahlberg has long been keen to star as Steve Austin, who suffers a horrible accident only to be saved by cutting-edge technology that makes him half machine. (Last month, Warners struck a deal with TWC to buy North American rights to Paddington 2, which hits theaters in early 2018).

Emmerich, who formerly ran New Line, was named to his current job in December 2016, not long after the AT&T-Time Warner merger was first announced. Thanks in large part to It, which Emmerich made when running New Line, the studio has made a notable comeback at the box office this year. On Dec. 6, Warners announced that its 2017 movies have rung up $5 billion in global ticket sales for only the second time since 2013. The studio is now guaranteed of a record year.

"It's never good to be in limbo," says MKM analyst Eric Handler of the merger hitch. "But there's nothing they can do about that, and [Time Warner chief Jeff] Bewkes still has to operate the business divisions as if the deal might fall apart."

Borys Kit contributed to this report.

This story first appeared in the Dec. 6 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

Source - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...tainty-1064633

[CyberpunkCentral]

All of this company merging is giving me a migraine.

[mwynn]

Originally Posted by CyberpunkCentral

All of this company merging is giving me a migraine.

They really have no choice. Anyone on the outside of the digital age is going to suffer.

[CyberpunkCentral]

Originally Posted by mwynn

They really have no choice. Anyone on the outside of the digital age is going to suffer.

It's just scary because it feels like we are entering into a new unknown era. Especially with all of the Net Neutrality controversy. Companies are becoming way too corporate.

[Batman1980]

I wonder why Aquaman and Flash aren't in the article.

[buck135]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

I wonder why Aquaman and Flash aren't in the article.

Aquaman is already in post production. Flash may be in limbo.

[JMDiaz718]

Is anyone else sick of Mark Wahlberg? He's not that great an actor and most of his movies are crap. Six Billion Dollar Man? Really?

[Poya]

Despite the DCEU drama, they’re still my favorite major studio. What other studio can claim to have classics as good as A Clockwork Orange and Goodfellas? I sincerely hope they get their acts together.

Originally Posted by JMDiaz718

Is anyone else sick of Mark Wahlberg? He's not that great an actor and most of his movies are crap. Six Billion Dollar Man? Really?

Sick of him, sure, but he’s not too bad. He really excels at playing idiots and/or a-holes, especially in The Departed.

[drush9999]

Originally Posted by Poya

Sick of him, sure, but he’s not too bad. He really excels at playing idiots and/or a-holes, especially in The Departed.

He was great in the Departed, but yeah he's mostly annoying in other movies.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by JMDiaz718

Is anyone else sick of Mark Wahlberg? He's not that great an actor and most of his movies are crap. Six Billion Dollar Man? Really?

The Six Billion Dollar Man was supposed to be done at Dimension Films but we all know their situation right now.
As for Wahlberg, sure he's been in a lot of movies lately but he's gotten better over the years and the his recent films were decent to good.
But then again, many actors and actresses are not as good, if not worse but many people don't tire of them.

[DarkEco910]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

I wonder why Aquaman and Flash aren't in the article.

Aquaman comes out in December 2018, too. This article is talking about 2019 releases.

Now, with the cloud of uncertainty over the studio's future, Emmerich, who is approaching his one-year anniversary in the job, is aggressively filling out its 2019 slate — 2018 releases are already set — with the aim of releasing 17 to 20 movies.

[spanky87]

I think WB is put too high on a pedestal around here.

I look at their output from this decade and they seem no better than the other studios. Especially the last few years. Aside from a few exceptions it’s the usual dopey comedies, sequels, prequels, reboots/remakes etc

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...er_Bros._films
(Click on the 2010s tab)

What they released 30-40+ years ago isn’t relevant to how they are now.

[drush9999]

Originally Posted by spanky87

I think WB is put too high on a pedestal around here.

I look at their output from this decade and they seem no better than the other studios. Especially the last few years. Aside from a few exceptions it’s the usual dopey comedies, sequels, prequels, reboots/remakes etc

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...er_Bros._films
(Click on the 2010s tab)

What they released 30-40+ years ago isn’t relevant to how they are now.

I agree to a certain extent, but they have such a good back catalog that gets treated with respect. You wouldn't want it to end up in the wrong hands.

[imsounoriginal]

WB has been making some fairly good movies in recent years -- Pacific Rim, Edge of Tomorrow, Man from UNCLE, etc. -- they just haven't been making financially successful movies outside of their established franchises like DC and Harry Potter (and obviously the former has underperformed substantially relative to expectations).

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

WB has been making some fairly good movies in recent years -- Pacific Rim, Edge of Tomorrow, Man from UNCLE, etc. -- they just haven't been making financially successful movies outside of their established franchises like DC and Harry Potter (and obviously the former has underperformed substantially relative to expectations).

I think they still turned in a record box office performance this year, despite the clunker Justice League. They'll be fine, they just need to re-examine the way they handle CBMs.

[Mothravka]

Originally Posted by spanky87

I think WB is put too high on a pedestal around here.

I would say that it's the same for all of the big major Hollywood studios when it comes to this place.

[Poya]

Originally Posted by Mothravka

I would say that it's the same for all of the big major Hollywood studios when it comes to this place.

How did it come to this, when studios have their own stans? It’s usually a genre or an actor, but studios?

[levcore]

WB have put out some of my favourite movies in the last few years. Mad Max Fury Road, King Arthur Legend of the Sword, Edge of Tomorrow, Kong Skull Island to name a few

[mpstjohn]

Originally Posted by levcore

WB have put out some of my favourite movies in the last few years. Mad Max Fury Road, King Arthur Legend of the Sword, Edge of Tomorrow, Kong Skull Island to name a few

Serious, just this year alone they've released some of my favorite movies, Wonder Woman, Kong: Skull Island, Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, It, Annabelle: Creation, Lego Batman and I can't wait to see The Disaster Artist. None of the other studios come close (Fox had 2 with Logan and War of the Planet of the Apes, Disney had 2 with Beauty & the Beast and Pirates 5 and Universal had 1 with Get Out) and that's been the trend for the last couple years for me.

[Blaze_Chamberlin]

Originally Posted by CyberpunkCentral

It's just scary because it feels like we are entering into a new unknown era. Especially with all of the Net Neutrality controversy. Companies are becoming way too corporate.

Companies just now becoming way too corporate?