Thompson on Hollywood

Variety Takes a Hatchet To Warner Bros. Movie Chief Jeff Robinov

News

It had to happen sooner or later. New Variety editor Claudia Eller has taken off the gloves and run a tough story about once rock-solid studio Warner Bros. which has been under management duress of late. Ex-L.A. Times staffer Eller is one of three editors in charge at the Penske-owned Variety; she runs film coverage, while Cynthia Littleton supervises TV and Andrew Wallenstein manages all things Digital.

By Anne Thompson
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May 17, 2013 10:07 PM
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WATCH: New 'Pacific Rim' Trailer Gives Us More Kaiju Monsters vs. Robots

Video

A new trailer for Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim" has arrived, with Charlie Hunnam grimly narrating the epic fight between the sea-emerging Kaiju monsters and the human-created Jaeger robots. "In order to fight monsters, we created monsters of our own," he says. Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Ron Pearlman also star in the Warner Bros. tentpole, due in theaters July 12. Watch below.

By Beth Hanna
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May 16, 2013 2:13 PM
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Watch: Michael Shannon's General Zod Wants Superman Back in 'Man of Steel' Viral Video

Video

A clever "Man of Steel" (June 14) viral campaign this weekend (which included the use of L.A. billboards) has culminated on the movie’s site with a static video message from General Zod (Michael Shannon) that begins: “You Are Not Alone.”

By Bill Desowitz
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April 15, 2013 11:52 AM
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Netflix Beware: Warner Archive Launches Instant Streaming Service -- Vintage, Obscure and B-Movies Galore

News

Film nerds rejoice! Innovative classic service Warner Archive, the Warner Bros. studio's top-notch repertory wing dedicated to restoring archival gems--via consumer demand-- and making little-seen titles available on DVD, has some exciting news: Warner Archive Instant. Like Netflix, the new service will let you stream films for a monthly fee (in this case, $10) but instead the flicks available are vintage, B-movie, obscure -- all the lost-and-refound greatness you've come to expect from Warner Archive.

By Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
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April 3, 2013 1:45 PM
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Latest Behemoth 'Godzilla' Starts Production, As Del Toro's 'Pacific Rim' Heads for July 12 Release

News

Principal photography began March 18 in Vancouver on Warner Bros./Legendary behemoth "Godzilla" with an all-star global cast: Brit Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars alongside Japanese Ken Watanabe, French Juliette Binoche and Americans David Strathairn and Bryan Cranston as well as indie darling Elizabeth Olsen in her first studio production. Of course the humans will be dwarfed by their super-size adversary.

By Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
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March 19, 2013 11:54 AM
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What's Next for Ang Lee, From FX's 'Tyrant' to Eyeing Moses and 'Cleopatra'

News

Fresh off his Oscar win as Best Director for "Life of Pi," Ang Lee is fielding a number of potential and solidified upcoming projects. News comes today that the Taiwanese-born director is being eyed to helm Warner Bros.' Moses biopic "Gods and Kings," now that Steven Spielberg has dropped out.

By Beth Hanna
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March 15, 2013 2:49 PM
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Warner Bros. to Release 20-Film Comedy Box Set for 90th Anniversary, Includes Cary Grant Classics, Marx Brothers, Mel Brooks

News

Warner Bros. celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2013, and to mark the occasion is releasing five box sets throughout the year, with 20 films each highlighting the best of the studio's output. First up: the Comedy Collection, including such unbeatable classics as Howard Hawks' "Bringing Up Baby," George Cukor's "The Philadelphia Story" and Frank Capra's "Arsenic and Old Lace." Alas, it also includes "The Hangover," but nothing's perfect. Full list of titles below.

By Beth Hanna
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March 12, 2013 11:54 AM
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Why 'Jack the Giant Slayer' Flopped

Features

The dwarfish $28 million domestic that Warner Bros.' “Jack the Giant Slayer” grossed over the weekend was what? A surprise? That the wheel-spinning Bryan Singer would make a soulless 3-D disaster film out of a timeless children’s story was hardly a shock. But the film’s anemic showing was indicative of something that has nothing to do with art and everything to do with commercial malpractice: No one – including audiences, ultimately -- knew who this big lumbering movie was for.

By John Anderson
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March 4, 2013 1:56 PM
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Warner Bros. Chooses Studio Chief from Digital Ranks: Meet the New Boss, Tsujihara

News

Hollywood's biggest film and television studio, Warner Bros., has a tradition of hanging onto its chairmen for a long time. For two decades after Ted Ashley left the studio in 1980, Terry Semel and Bob Daly ran the TV and move divisions. TV exec Barry Meyer took over as studio chairman in 1999, with Alan Horn and various production chiefs running the motion pictures group, most recently--and effectively--15-year Warners vet Jeff Robinov.

By Anne Thompson
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January 28, 2013 1:30 PM
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Warner Bros. Wants Ron Howard 'In the Heart of the Sea' with Chris Hemsworth

News

Warner Bros. is fishing for Ron Howard to direct 19th century drama "In the Heart of the Sea," based on National Book Award winner Nathaniel Philbrick's novel. Chris Hemsworth is already on board to star as a sailor on the Essex, the doomed sea vessel which inspired Herman Melville's "Moby Dick."