Warner Bros. Discovery Layoffs Hit Domestic Cable Group; TCM Sees Leadership Shuffle

Following months of audition tapes and in-person screen tests, Warner Bros and DC Studios have their new Clark Kent and Lois Lane. David Corenswet has been set to play Superman while Rachel Brosnahan are on board to play Lois Lane in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Warner Bros. Discovery has announced the greenlight and start of production of its first new Spanish series for Max, crime thriller  “When Nobody Sees Us,” whose eight episodes will be directed by Spain’s Enrique Urbizu (“No Rest for the Wicked”). The produced by “Elite” producer Zeta Studios.   Based on the same title novel by Sergio Sarria, “When Nobody Sees Us” has been written by lead writer Daniel Corpas (“The Ministry of Time,” “Malaka”) heading a writing team with the collaboration of Arturo Ruiz and Isa Sánchez. Set against Spain’s 2023 Holy Week celebrations, “When Nobody Sees Us,” is set in Morón de la Frontera, south east of Seville in Andalusia’s deep Spain, next to a U.S. Army Air Force base. There, Lucía Gutiérrez,  a Spanish Civil Guard sergeant, investigates the bizarre suicide of a neighbour and strange events at the first Holy Week float processions.

Max has made its first series order in Spain.

Forza Horizon 5 is getting Barbie’s iconic pink Corvette from the upcoming Barbie movie.Microsoft has revealed that Barbie will be racing into its flagship Forza game with the addition of the classic 1956 Chevrolet Corvette EV Corvette.“Bringing Barbie’s signature flair to our gaming platform, we’re honoring all that there is to love about this iconic role model,” said Kirsten Ward, the vice president of Xbox integrated marketing, in an official statement. “Her persevering optimism, wide-ranging career journey and never-ending capacity for self-discovery.However, that’s not all – you can cruise around Mexico in Ken’s 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup, too.Barbie… in Forza?? Check your Message Center today to receive the very special 1956 Chevrolet ‘Barbie Movie’ Corvette EV and Ken’s 2022 GMC ‘Barbie Movie’ HUMMER EV Pickup, now available for download! And see @BarbieTheMovie only in theaters July 21.

News kept on churning this week — from Sunday morning until end of Friday — on the Warner Bros. Discovery front.

Variety, in wake of the exit of network head Pola Changnon this week. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav had been considering bringing in De Luca and Abdy for some time, insiders said, to rely on their cinephile instincts and shape the best possible programming slate for the channel — one beloved by Hollywood titans and film fans for its showcase of film history. TCM will still exist with the US Networks Group run by Kathleen Finch. While De Luca and Abdy will advise, a senior executive in charge of operations is expected to be named in the future. Warner Bros. Discovery had no comment on the matter.

Amidst mounting concern for the future of Turner Classic Movies following the latest in restructuring at Warner Bros Discovery, CEO David Zaslav has looked to assuage fears by placing the channel under the control of Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, the Co-Chairpersons and CEOs of Warner Bros Film Group, Deadline can confirm.

Sony’s mission to return comedy to the big screen with the R-rated Jennifer Lawrence movie No Hard Feelings began Thursday, when the film grossed $2.15 million from showtimes that began at 4 p.m. at 2,745 locations. The pic hopes to do around $12M this weekend in what will be second session where Warner Bros’ misfire The Flash hopes not take a -70% tumble. At the low end that’s $16.5M. A good hold will be off 55% to north of $24M.

HBO’s potential deal to license a slew of library titles to rival Netflix, as revealed by Deadline, was met with derision by some, another example of Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav selling off the crown jewels to hit his savings targets.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Warner Bros. Discovery is negotiating to sell around half of the storied Warner studio’s film and TV music-publishing assets for approximately $500 million, three sources confirm to Variety. The news was first reported by Hits. While it is unclear exactly which assets are on the table, one source says that the rights to “slightly less than half” of the catalog, with a price of around $500 million, are likely to go to a major label, with Sony said to be in the lead. The catalog is believed to include music from such films as “Purple Rain,” “Evita,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Rent” several “Batman” films and many more titles, as well as songs included in iconic films such as “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca” — iconic titles to be sure, but again, it is unclear exactly which rights are in play. Top attorney Allen Grubman is said to be overseeing the deal for Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) insiders in Poland have reacted with alarm after a group of European regulators said they plan to meet to discuss what the insiders believe could lead to the closure of the U.S. media giant’s operation in the nation.

Angelique Jackson After Warner Bros. Discovery announced layoffs at Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on Tuesday, filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson conferred with WBD chief David Zaslav about the future of the cinema network. Variety has learned that the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO convened a call with the trio of top filmmakers on Wednesday for guidance following the departure of top TCM execs, including general manager Pola Changnon, who stepped down after more than 25 years with the network and Turner. Spielberg, Scorsese and Anderson are key parties of the Film Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of classic cinema. The Film Foundation was founded in 1990 by Scorsese, with Spielberg serving on its original board of directors and Anderson joining in 2006. In 2022, TCM expanded its partnership with the nonprofit, announcing a multi-year financial commitment to fund education and restoration of classic movies. The expansion was commemorated at this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival, where Spielberg made a special appearance to debut a 4K restoration of the Warner Bros.’ classic “Giant.” In April, Spielberg, Anderson and Zaslav also sat for a Q&A at the festival following a special screening of the 4K restoration of “Rio Bravo,” moderated by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz.

Filmmaking titans Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson will convene with Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav today for an “emergency call” concerning the future of Turner Classic Movies following a recently announced set of layoffs at the beloved pay-TV network, according to a report from Deadline’s sister site Indiewire.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Jim Osborne is a product of the mailroom. The veteran talent agent, who has been named CEO of the newly christened Independent Artist Group, got his start in the representation field the old-fashioned way — by working his way of out of the ICM mailroom and assistant pool. Osborne has spent the past dozen years at APA, rising to partner in 2015 and to president in 2020. As of today, he advances to the top post, as APA combines into a new entity with Dennis Arfa’s music touring powerhouse Artist Group International. The deal brings such superstars into the fold as Billy Joel, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Linkin Park and the Strokes, and was orchestrated in part by investor Ron Burkle and his Yucaipa Co. (which owned Artist Intl. and invested in APA in 2020).

Warner Bros’ CineEurope show here in Barcelona was a starry, jam-packed affair featuring Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet who talked up Dune: Part Two, as well as their respective upcoming titles Challengers and Wonka. The proceedings kicked off with a pre-taped intro video featuring President of International Theatrical Distribution Andrew Cripps zipping along the 405 in the Barbie car, and with Margot Robbie putting in an appearance. Helen Mirren, who narrates Barbie, also narrated the presentation in a voice over.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a CEO in the film and TV industry to have such an immediate impact as David Zaslav over at Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Batman spinoff series The Penguin has been given an adult rating.The Max crime drama series, which is expected to premiere in 2024, stars Colin Farrell as the titular character (aka Oswald Cobblepot), Gotham City’s crime kingpin and one of Batman’s key enemies. The series will pick up after the events of The Batman.According to LADbible, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given the upcoming DC miniseries an R-rating.

Jordan Moreau In a turnaround for the streaming wars, Warner Bros. Discovery is in negotiations to license a package of library HBO titles to Netflix. If a deal were to go through, it would cement the sea-change in content distribution strategy afoot at Warner Bros. Discovery under the David Zaslav regime. HBO has licensed library content in the past — a deal with Netflix would not be groundbreaking per se, but it is notable in the era of pitched competition among the largest media companies to build direct-to-consumer streaming platforms. Netflix, the upstart outsider from Los Gatos, has been the pace car for television’s transition over the past decade.

EXCLUSIVE: HBO’s streaming walled garden is coming down, it seems.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer SPOILER ALERT: This story mentions a few significant plot developments in “The Flash,” currently playing in theaters. In the climax of “The Flash,” Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) watches helplessly as his timeline-hopping escapades cause several other superhero universes to careen into each other and become obliterated in the process. Ironically, Warner Bros. is facing almost an identical dilemma — and the stakes could be nearly as existential. “The Flash” is the second of four mega-budgeted DC adaptations the studio is set to release this year, starting with “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” in March, and followed by “Blue Beetle” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” in August and December. Yet these movies were conceived and greenlit by an executive team that all have departed the studio; in their place, new DC Studios chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran have announced they will reboot the DC franchise in 2025, starting with Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy.”

Pola Changnon, who runs Turner Classic Movies (TCM), is the latest executive to leave as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery shakeup.