Longtime Warner Bros. Exec Scott Rowe Launches Strategic Communications Firm SRowe2000 Media

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. International Television Production has revealed the lineup for its annual WBITVP Formats Showcase, taking place March 3 at the BAFTA headquarters in London, featuring in-person and live streamed interviews with creatives, broadcasters and talent.

EXCLUSIVE: America Ferrera is set to co-star opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Warner Bros. Barbie, the studio’s new movie centered on the classic doll line. Greta Gerwig is directing the pic, with Robbie playing the titular role and Gosling playing Ken. It is unknown who Ferrera will play in the new film. Gerwig also co-wrote script with Noah Baumbach.

The Matrix Resurrections‘ production company Village Roadshow is suing Warner Bros. over the hybrid release of the film.Lana Wachowski’s long-awaited sequel was released in both cinemas and on streaming service HBO Max, as with all of Warner Bros’ other 2021 titles.However, Village Roadshow have now claimed the decision “destroyed any box office chances”, according to The Guardian.“WB’s strategy not only ensured that The Matrix Resurrections would be a bust at the box office, but it also inflicted serious harm to the entire Matrix franchise,” the Village Roadshow lawsuit claims.“There can be no doubt that the abysmal theatrical box office sales figures from The Matrix Resurrections dilute the value of this tent pole franchise as a film’s lack of profitability generally prevents studios from investing in additional sequels and derivative films in the near term.”The film made $37million at the US box office and $153million worldwide, though the budget was around $190million.

reported was filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court Monday. In fact, Warner Media ordered its entire 2021 roster to be released on their sister platform HBO Max, while moving up the release date for “The Matrix Resurrections” from its originally scheduled 2022 premiere to December 2021, attorneys for Village Roadshow claimed in the filing.“WB’s sole purpose in moving the release date of ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ forward was to create a desperately needed wave of year-end HBO Max premium subscriptions from what it knew would be a blockbuster film, despite knowing full well that it would decimate the film’s box office revenue and deprive Village Roadshow of any economic upside that WB and its affiliates would enjoy,” the suit stated.Village Roadshow also claims to be the victim of “rampant piracy” facilitated by the streaming release, adding that Warner Bros.

Last year, after the announcement that all of Warner Bros.’ 2021 films would get theatrical and simultaneous HBO Max releases, there was a flurry of filmmakers and other industry types upset over the news. We even had reports that filmmakers and producers were thinking about fighting WB over the decision.

all earnings from the exploitation of the films’ copyrights, not just those it can’t hide through sweetheart deals to benefit HBO Max.”Representatives for Warner Bros. did not respond to a request for comment. Among the claims, Village Roadshow is saying Warner Bros.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterVillage Roadshow sued Warner Bros. on Monday, alleging that the studio sabotaged the theatrical release of “The Matrix Resurrections” in order to drive subscribers to HBO Max.Village Roadshow has a longstanding co-financing arrangement with the studio, which has included films like the “Matrix” trilogy, “Joker,” and the “Oceans” series.

Warner Bros, which managed to evade litigation in 2021 despite a hail of protests over parent WarnerMedia’s aggressive tactics with streaming service HBO Max, has been hit with a lawsuit by key supplier Village Roadshow.

Fantasia Taylor will star as Celie and Danielle Brooks will play Sofia in Warner Bros’ film adaptation of the musical The Color Purple, with both reprising their respective roles on Broadway. The news was revealed Thursday during ABC’s Soul of a Nation: Screen Queens Rising special.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla Janine Sherman Barrois remembers being one of the only Black people in the writers’ room — or on set — when she began in television more than 20 years ago. At the time, she was grateful to get a seat at the table, given how few opportunities there were for Black women in Hollywood.Fast-forward to 2022, and Sherman Barrois acknowledges there are more powerful Black women on camera and off (like her idols Shonda Rhimes and Oprah Winfrey).

Carlos Saldanha, director of “Ice Age” and “Rio” franchise movies and creator of Netflix series “Invisible City,” is joining forces with Brazil’s outfit Ventre Studio and Warner Bros. Pictures to co-create and direct superhero feature project “Iemanjá – Ocean’s Goddess.”“Iemanjá” is planned as the first movie in a series that transports the Brazil’s Candomblé gods to a superhero universe, being a pioneering Brazilian production of this genre.Following a crucial theme in Brazilian culture, “Iemanjá – Ocean’s Goddess” will tell the story of Iemanjá, an Orixá or goddess adored by the Brazilian people and also known as the Queen of the Sea.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeThe Television Academy just added two more heavy hitters to its executive committee. Channing Dungey, the chairman of Warner Bros.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterWarner Bros. and HBO Max has nabbed “Am I OK?,” a romantic comedy starring Dakota Johnson as a woman grappling with her sexuality.

The deals keep coming at the 2022 Virtual Sundance Film Festival. MUBI closed the docu Free Chol Soo Lee, including North America, and Warner Bros is negotiating a near $7 million WW rights deal for the Tig Notaro/Stephanie Allynne film Am I Ok? to place the film on HBO Max. The Lauren Pomerantz-scripted film stars Dakota Johnson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jermaine Fowler, Molly Gordon, June Diane Raphael, and Sean Hayes.

Drew and Johnathan Scott poked fun at Kim Kardashian while filming their popular HGTV series "Property Brothers." On Monday, Drew, whose long list of celebrity clients include the former "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star, took to TikTok and Instagram to share a video montage of him and Johnathan dancing. In the clip, an audio voiceover of Kardashian speaks to how immensely dedicated she is to her career after "KUWTK" had drawn to a close following 14 years and 20 seasons.

It’s hard to see him with any other name, but Meat Loaf‘s real name and the story behind it is almost as fascinating as how he came to be known as one of America’s classic dinner dishes.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeFormer Warner Bros. marketing and communication exec Scott Rowe is unveiling his own shingle. Rowe has launched SRowe2000 Media, which will focus on strategic communication, public relations, crisis communications, and social media counsel and execution.Initial clients include Premiere Digital, NATPE and a technology start-up set to be announced at a later date.

official Facebook page. He was 74.“Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side,” the post said.