David Zaslav Tells Warner Bros. Discovery Staffers: ‘We Are Not for Sale’

Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema's highly-anticipated horror sequel The Nun 2 has brought back a familiar face with Taissa Farmiga set to return.The 28-year-old actress has signed on to reprise her role as Sister Irene in the sequel, according to Deadline.Warner Bros./New Line have also set a September 8, 2023 release date for the horror sequel, which is currently the only movie slated for release on that date.  Taissa: Warner Bros.

Michaela Zee editor Carl Samrock, former VP of publicity at Warner Bros. Pictures who started out as an entertainment photographer for the New York Times, died Saturday night of pancreatic cancer. He was 81. The news of his death was confirmed by his wife, Carol Andelman Samrock. Samrock served as Warner Bros. Pictures’ vice president of national publicity under chairmen Bob Daly and Terry Semel. He joined the company in 1982 as West Coast publicity director, in which he later oversaw a 16-member staff that handled the publicity on nearly 30 films in production or release annually.

Selome Hailu As part of their overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, Lena Waithe’s company Hillman Grad Productions will adapt “The Book of Mycah,” a novella written by Joshua Bennett. “The Book of Mycah” takes place in an alternate history America where Malcolm X came back from the dead in 1965. The television project is based on Bennett’s novella of the same name, which leads his most recent collection, “The Study of Human Life.” The book was published on Sept. 20 by Penguin Random House. Waithe and Hillman Grad CEO Rishi Rajani will serve as executive producers on the TV adaptation, while creative executive Sylvia Carrasco will oversee the production. Bennett is a professor of English and creative writing at Dartmouth College. Along with “The Study of Human Life,” he is the author of three books of poetry and literary criticism: “The Sobbing School” (Penguin, 2016), which was a National Poetry Series selection and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award; “Being Property Once Myself” (Harvard University Press, 2020); and “Owed” (Penguin, 2020). He is repped by Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman.

A trio of senior international execs are taking their new Asia content-focused company to Mipcom Cannes.

Nadia Sawalha has suggested Prince Harry's new life in America is damaging his relationship with Prince William.The Loose Women star, 57, said the two royal brothers "have" to reunite in the future as it's their duty to "protect" the royal family.But she reckoned that one "problem" for the siblings is the literal distance between them as Harry and Meghan now live in California.READ MORE: Loose Women's Nadia Sawalha floored by gift Victoria Beckham sent her after they metNadia offered her thoughts on Harry and William's future bond during an exclusive chat with Daily Star's Sam Huntley - after teaming up with Théa UK to promote eye health.Asked if she though the Queen's funeral will bring Harry and William together in the future, Nadia replied: "One hopes so, doesn’t one? But I think the problem is, they’re now back in America."Harry and William walked side by side at the Queen's funeral at Westminster Abbey, but the brothers are now on different sides of the globe as Harry is back in the States."Hopefully time will heal things. I hope," she added, before predicting that it will be their shared upbringing that eventually reunites them.The ITV presenter went on: "It’s just that upbringing that they have to push through and push on.

EJ Panaligan editor Warner Bros. Discovery has announced the finalists for its Warner Bros. Discovery Access Music Supervisor program, which gives creative voices from historically underrepresented communities the training and tools to gain experience in television and film music supervision. The six selected participants, Mjeema Pickett, Tiffany Gouché, A.D. Johnson, Matthew Wang, Nikki Marshall and Willy Rodriguez, will participate in a curriculum developed by an advisory board of music supervisors Paul Broucek, President of Music, Warner Bros. Pictures; Bronwyn Savasta, SVP, Music, Warner Bros. Television; and Evyen Klean, Founder, Neophonic. The cohort will learn about production, IP management, publishing, soundtracks, deal negotiation in addition to music masters, record labels, research, clearance and licensing. The program will also allow participants to gain hands-on training in an experience that will assist in their future career goals in entertainment. After completing a string of Masterclasses, the cohort will be able to shadow a WBD music supervisor on a show or feature, through a partnership with HBO, HBO Max, WBTV and Warner Bros. Pictures.

The Princess of Wales was all smiles as she met with sailors from the Royal Navy in her first solo royal engagement following the Queen's passing. Mum-of-three Kate, 40, dressed in a navy suit and white blouse, held an audience with the ship’s company of HMS Glasgow at Windsor Castle on Thursday. In 2021, she became the sponsor of the City Class Type 26 frigate, which is currently under construction in Govan, Scotland.

Naman Ramachandran Leading practitioners of the Asian theatrical business participated in a lively discussion on the future of the sector post-pandemic and the signs are encouraging. Speaking at the APOS conference in Singapore on Thursday, moderated by Variety Asia editor Patrick Frater, Stephen Laslocky, VP at leading research firm Media Partners Asia, provided a handy overview of the theatrical market in Southeast Asia. Laslocky said that Indonesia, the largest market in the region, would be back to 2019 levels of theatrical business by the end of 2022. “In Malaysia, the demand generally appears to be back, the issue was the pipeline just wasn’t so great, particularly this year. But next year, they think that’s going to improve for both local, which has done very well this year, and for foreign films next year,” Laslocky said.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Gerhard Zeiler, president of International at Warner Bros. Discovery, has moved to reassure the Asia-Pacific region that it is an integral part of the group’s post-merger strategy. “Don’t believe that we don’t know how important Asia is for our company, he said Thursday. Zeiler was speaking at the APOS Convention in Singapore on Thursday. He cited examples of theatrical success for “Batman” and “Fantastic Beasts” in the region and investment in local production in the region. The reassurance may have been necessary following post-merger announcements that proposed changes in North America, Latin America and Europe ahead of Asia – despite recent external data showing Asia-Pacific as one of the world’s fastest growth regions.

Refresh for more: The top brass at Warner Bros Discovery held a company-wide town hall Wednesday over Zoom in which they laid out the current state of the company and the industry, acknowledging the hard times amid a slew of cost-cutting and layoffs and emphatically addressing merger rumors with CEO David Zaslav exclaiming, “We are not for sale, absolutely, not for sale.”

Manori Ravindran International Editor As it continues to cement its European leadership structure, Warner Bros. Disccovery has set out the team working across France, Benelux and Africa under Pierre Branco, general manager for the region. Branco, who reports into EMEA boss Priya Dogra, was previously country manager for WarnerMedia in France, Benelux, Middle East and Africa and head of affiliates and ad sales for EMEA. The changes on his team take effect immediately. In the new layout, Romain Carbonne will manage the insights and research teams across the region, while Guillaume Coffin will lead affiliate sales, ad sales and content licensing for the region.

Warner Bros. Discovery has set out Pierre Branco’s leadership team for France, Benelux and Africa.

Prince William’s plans to go incognito don’t always work out.

Selome Hailu Warner Bros. Discovery is expansing its “Turn Up! Fight Hunger” campaign, a partnership with No Kid Hungry. The news comes timed to company’s participation in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health on Wednesday. After an initial pledge in 2018 to donate 1 billion meals to children in need in five years’ time and meeting that goal early in 2021, WBD has upped their promise to 2 billion meals. Including the number already donated, the 2 billion total is set to be reached by September 2023. The program began after Gloria Steinem advised CEO David Zaslav to promote some kind of social good upon hearing that Discovery brands (before the merger with Warner Bros.) reached 25% of American women each night. The company has since utilized that reach with easy-to-access action items, like encouraging viewers across platforms like the Food Network and HGTV to donate by texting the word “hungry” to 707070. The money raised allows for schools, food banks and other community groups to buy not only food, but essential resources such as delivery trucks and protective gear for workers.

Deadline.Zeiler specifically mentioned “Harry Potter,” as well as “Game of Thrones” and DC movies, to be part of the future endeavors that will bring the company success.While there were no specifics of what the “Harry Potter” franchise will look like in the future, there has long been talk of a TV series circulating — although Warner Bros. and HBO Max both have previously denied rumors.“There are no ‘Harry Potter’ series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform,” Warner Bros. and HBO Max said in a joint statement in January 2021.However, it is unclear whether or not that has changed, or if there are any updated developments to a “Potter”-verse, as Zeiler suggested.Later that year, Daniel Radcliffe expressed what role he would want to play in the event of a reboot.“I would probably want to go with like, Sirius [Black] or [Remus] Lupin,” he said at the time.Most recently, HBO Max released the “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” documentary in January to celebrate the franchise’s two decades of success.Late “Harry Potter” star Alan Rickman, who played professor Severus Snape, left behind memories from the original franchise before he died.

K.J. Yossman Warner Bros. Discovery Intl President Gerhard Zeiler has set out the company’s post-merger strategy, re-iterating his belief in cinema as well as his commitment to “local stories,” despite the fact that HBO Max recently halted local original programming across a number of European territories, including in the Nordics, Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey. “If you want to be a global player, you have to have relevant local stories,” Zeiler said at the Royal Television Society’s (RTS) annual convention in London on Tuesday morning. “I mean don’t misunderstand me, the big kids will always be the Batmans, the Elvises, the Black Adams, which premieres next month here in the U.K.” He also pointed out that WBD invests in local films, citing productions in Japan and Germany, as well as streaming content.

Gerhard Zeiler has talked up the “development of franchises” including Harry Potter, DC and Game of Thrones as the key priority for the merged entity six months after he was handed the top international role.

"Don't Worry Darling" did not disappoint at the box office, darling. Olivia Wilde's sophomore release earned $19.2 million domestically, nabbing the top spot across theatrical releases nationwide.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter In the end, there was no need to worry, darling. Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling,” a psychological thriller whose off-screen drama rivaled any antics in the actual movie, scored at the box office in its opening weekend, collecting a leading $19.2 million from 4,113 North American theaters. At the international box office, the movie added another $10.8 million for a global tally of $30 million. Those ticket sales indicate that behind-the-scenes scandals didn’t ding interest in the film, which co-stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. All the talk about Spitgate, awkward press conferences and a seemingly endless stream of tabloid fodder may have even boosted awareness. (Well, that, and the overwhelming desire to watch the world-famous pop star in his first major film role.) Whatever the reason that brought audiences to theaters, it’s an impressive debut for the $35 million-budgeted “Don’t Worry Darling.”