The Warner Bros. Thread | Will NOT merge with Paramount...capitalism is still terrible

[Kon]

2 hours ago, ChipDerby said:

 

Could've written it off on their taxes

I mean, we don't know the requirements for a tax write off. I don't think it's a so easy decision (otherwise, it would more common).

 

If writing Velma season 2 off on their taxes was a viable option, I guess showing Velma season 2 in Max has more benefits than showing Batgirl or Coyote vs Acme.

Edited May 1 by Kon

[MightyDargon]

Velma got an s2 because Zaslav only cares about animation for hatewatching/cheap pops on streaming.

 

Velma s2 is already down to #10 on Max US, I very much doubt it gets an s3. It's not exactly Bojack in durability terms.

[dudalb]

19 hours ago, Kon said:

I mean, we don't know the requirements for a tax write off. I don't think it's a so easy decision (otherwise, it would more common).

 

If writing Velma season 2 off on their taxes was a viable option, I guess showing Velma season 2 in Max has more benefits than showing Batgirl or Coyote vs Acme.

It could just be "we paid for it, we have to have something to fill the slot on Max so why not show it" type of thing.

 

[JWR]

22 hours ago, MightyDargon said:

Velma got an s2 because Zaslav only cares about animation for hatewatching/cheap pops on streaming.

 

Velma s2 is already down to #10 on Max US, I very much doubt it gets an s3. It's not exactly Bojack in durability terms.

 

It was originally greenlit with a 20 episode order. It was getting a second season no matter what. 

[ChipDerby]

3 hours ago, JWR said:

 

It was originally greenlit with a 20 episode order. It was getting a second season no matter what. 

 

Again, they shot entire movies that they didn't release. Amazon cancelled the already ordered 2nd season of A League of Their Own

[Kon]

26 minutes ago, ChipDerby said:

 

Again, they shot entire movies that they didn't release. Amazon cancelled the already ordered 2nd season of A League of Their Own

 

A League of Their Own is a different situation. A second season was announced (months after the first season), but these plans were likely canceled before any money was spent on this second season. In the case of Velma, the 20 episodes were ordered from the beginning, so a good amount of money for the second season (if not all) was likely already spend when the first season was released.

 

Now, you have a good point about complete movies. As I said, if write Velma as tax off was viable, it seems WB think releasing Velma second season would be more profitable than Batgirl or Coyote vs Acme.

Edited May 2 by Kon

[Potiki]

Revenue is still trending down and debt ($43.2B down $1.1B from last quarter) is still high at WBD

 

 

DTC Revenue was up $5m YoY from $2.455B to $2.460B, while both the studio and networks segments were down 12% and 8% respectively. 

 

 

Studio Highlights show theatrical revenue was at least up but comps to the game division last year meant a hefty fall on YoY revenue. 

 

 

 

Edited May 9 by Potiki

[Potiki]

New LoTR with Peter Jackson producing coming in 2026.

[PlatnumRoyce]

1 hour ago, Potiki said:

New LoTR with Peter Jackson producing coming in 2026.

 

Edited May 9 by PlatnumRoyce
I goofed and included a quote from 2023

[Potiki]

7 minutes ago, PlatnumRoyce said:

 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/lord-of-the-rings-new-movies-warner-bros-1235533672/

 

So Jackson, et. al aren't the lead creatives on the project and I'm not seeing an announcement with Tolkien estate for the more plausible adaptation candidates.

Likely incorrect but in case it isn't Deadline lists Peter Jackson as the director. 

 

Quote

Zaslav revealed last year that Warner. Bros. Pictures, led by Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca, will be revisiting the Lord of the Rings with new films based on the beloved books by J.R.R. Tolkien that became a highly lucrative cinematic franchise helmed by Peter Jackson. He will be directing the new films with longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

https://deadline.com/2024/05/first-film-new-lotr-series-to-be-released-in-2026-warner-bros-1235909812/

[PlatnumRoyce]

34 minutes ago, Potiki said:

Likely incorrect but in case it isn't Deadline lists Peter Jackson as the director. 

 

https://deadline.com/2024/05/first-film-new-lotr-series-to-be-released-in-2026-warner-bros-1235909812/

My assumption is Zaslov is leaning on the name "Peter Jackson" to sell the films on this earnings call (which deadline is misinterpreting) but it probably would have made sense for me to wait until we actually get a transcript of the call in an half hour or so which would resolve this game of telephone. We'll be able to see the actual quote.

[Potiki]

Just now, PlatnumRoyce said:

My assumption is Zaslov is leaning on the name "Peter Jackson" to sell the films on this earnings call (which deadline is misinterpreting) but it probably would have made sense for me to wait until we actually get a transcript of the call in an half hour or so which would resolve this game of telephone. We'll be able to see the actual quote.

He said producing for sure on the call but with the quotes from Peter Jackson and team to the trades maybe they got additional info, that said I would assume the info is just wrong and someone wrote directing instead of producing by mistake as no one else seems to be running with Peter Jackson is the director of this film.  

[PlatnumRoyce]

54 minutes ago, Potiki said:

He said producing for sure on the call but with the quotes from Peter Jackson and team to the trades maybe they got additional info, that said I would assume the info is just wrong and someone wrote directing instead of producing by mistake as no one else seems to be running with Peter Jackson is the director of this film.  

I also just goofed and pulled a quote from Jackson in 2023 which can't reflect what they did or didn't do over the last year

[WittyUsername]

Ugh, I completely forgot that WBD were trying to get some new Lord of the Rings movies off the ground. Between that, the Harry Potter show they’re trying to get off the ground and that Matrix thing with Drew Goddard, Zaslav must be desperate. If he’s not trying to juice up WB’s assets for a potential sale, then he must really believe he can replicate Disney’s run in the 2010s. 

[Scubasteve716]

Not sure how companies making movies about their most popular characters / franchises / properties is desperate. All studios do that and have done that since forever. 

[WittyUsername]

11 minutes ago, Scubasteve716 said:

Not sure how companies making movies about their most popular characters / franchises / properties is desperate. All studios do that and have done that since forever. 

A Harry Potter reboot show and a Gollum solo movie seem pretty desperate to me. 

[Belakor]

What a shame, these studios are going to destroy their legacy with all those shitty tv adaptations (Rings of Power is an example) and bad scripted movies.  

Edited May 9 by Belakor

[filmlover]

The fact Andy Serkis is playing such a major creative part of this indicates it's probably just as much his idea as it is the studio's. Definitely a bit of a gamble considering the prequel nature probably means none of the original actors will be involved (Wood, in his early 20s when the OG trilogy was released, is now well into his 40s so wouldn't bet on Frodo's return).

[PlatnumRoyce]

12 hours ago, Potiki said:

He said producing for sure on the call but with the quotes from Peter Jackson and team to the trades maybe they got additional info, that said I would assume the info is just wrong and someone wrote directing instead of producing by mistake as no one else seems to be running with Peter Jackson is the director of this film.  

On this point, did WB report off the call that Walsh/Boyens are writing the film? I just don't see it in the transcript. It seems like that must be the case given how some people ran with it.

 

Quote

This morning I'm excited to announce that the team is now in the early stages of script development for the first of the new Lord of the Rings movies which we anticipate releasing in 2026 and will explore story lines yet to be told. Peter Jackson and his long-time writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing and will be involved every step of the way. Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful and revered franchises in history and presents a significant opportunity for our theatrical business....We have the characters and stories people love and yearn for everywhere in the world in every language.

 

[Potiki]

1 hour ago, PlatnumRoyce said:

On this point, did WB report off the call that Walsh/Boyens are writing the film? I just don't see it in the transcript. It seems like that must be the case given how some people ran with it.

 

 

They must have announced this after the call, withe the Andy Serkis news. 

 

Edit: Misread originally what you were saying. 

Edited May 10 by Potiki