Mike Darnell Departs As President Of Unscripted Television At Warner Bros.

BreAnna Bell Longtime Sony Pictures Entertainment executive Jason Clodfelter has been appointed president of television at Legendary Entertainment. The announcement was made on Wednesday by Legendary CEO, Josh Grode. In the new role, Clodfelter will work to develop new scripted series and limited series for exploitation across all platforms.

Legendary Entertainment has a new President of Television.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery streaming comms senior vice president Chris Willard is exiting the company to pursue other interests after 14 years working with the HBO team, Variety has learned.

Warner Bros. Film Group is apologizing for their support of some insensitive “Barbenheimer” content.

The U.S. branch of Warner Bros. issued an apology after being called out by the Japan division for engaging with “insensitive” Barbenheimer tweets.

Warner Bros. U.S. has deleted “Barbenheimer” tweets after being criticized by Warner Bros. Japan.

Barbenheimer memes that feature atom bomb images.The apology follows Warner Bros. Japan calling its US counterpart’s behaviour “extremely regrettable”, and also said sorry to fans on its behalf.The Barbenheimer craze, which has resulted in millions around the world watching the two blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer back-to-back in an ironic double bill dubbed “Barbenheimer”, has drawn criticism in Japan for making light of the mass destruction caused by the atomic Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.The Barbie US Twitter account (@barbiethemovie) responded to one Barbenheimer fan art poster that depicts Margot Robbie’s Barbie sitting on the shoulders of Cillian Murphy’s J.

The Barbenheimer hype is drawing moviegoers into theaters in droves, but it is not without controversy.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Warner Bros. Japan released a statement on the country’s official “Barbie” Twitter account criticizing the studio’s U.S. branch for feeding into the “Barbenheimer” craze on social media.

Warner Bros. Japan has issued a statement in which it criticizes what it describes as “extremely regrettable” Barbenheimer tweets shared from the official Barbie Twitter account in the U.S. 

“Barbie” continues to heat up the box office after a blockbuster opening weekend that soared far beyond initial predictions.

EXCLUSIVE: Lisa Collins is Warner Bros. Discovery’s new Group Vice President, overseeing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion employee initiatives across North America. She will report to Chief DEI Officer Asif Sadiq.

Everyone didn’t stop going to the movies on Monday with Barbenheimer in full force: Warner Bros posted the best Monday at the domestic box office with Barbie grossing $26.1M while Universal’s Christopher Nolan pic Oppenheimer wasn’t shabby with $12.6M.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Warner Bros. Discovery has appointed Lisa Collins as vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, overseeing employee-initiatives across North America. She will report to chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer Asif Sadiq.

Mattel is renewed its licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, continuing as the studio’s toy licensee in preschool, plush, dolls, vehicles, games, and novelty toy categories.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Come on, Barbie, let’s go make (more) box office history. Greta Gerwig’s plastic, fantastic “Barbie” added $26 million on Monday, resulting in the best Monday gross in Warner Bros. history.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor “Barbie” is a box office smash, along with its acclaim from critics and audiences alike. If you follow the social media chatter and the general feeling from most pundits, it could be a viable awards contender for Warner Bros. One category being debated is where the screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach would be able to compete — whether in original or adapted screenplay. The answer lies in how the WGA classifies it and whether the Academy could or would overrule that choice. Variety confirms there are ongoing conversations with strategists and Warner Bros regarding where “Barbie” would compete at next year’s ceremony. On the title cards, it reads “Based on ‘Barbie’ by Mattel,” which is, of course, a toy company. At the same time, there have been multiple CGI films and TV series featuring the fashion doll since its debut in the late 1980s (42 to be precise). This would point to an “adapted” run. However, take the case of Pixar’s inaugural feature “Toy Story” (1995), which picked up an original screenplay nom (Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Joe Ranft). In that case, it offers a pathway for original. The CGI classic features characters such as Mr. Potato Head, a Hasbro product, and other toys such as Etch A Sketch, Magic 8 Ball and even parts of Barbie herself. Part of the Mutant Toys, which are creations of Andy’s sadistic kid neighbor Sid, he has one called “Legs” — which are a pair of Barbie doll legs attached to a green toy fishing rod.

David McGuire, EVP of Programming & Development for Telepictures, subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television Group, is exiting after more than 30 years with the company.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Telepictures exec VP of programming and development David McGuire, one of the architects behind the success of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” is exiting the Warner Bros. TV Group division after more than 30 years with the company. McGuire’s exit comes following the departure of Warner Bros. Unscripted TV president Mike Darnell, and a restructuring inside the company. As part of the changes, Telepictures current programming senior VP Lauren Blincoe will now solely oversee the division and report directly to Warner Bros. TV Group chairman and CEO Channing Dungey. McGuire most recently was in charge of the launch of “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” His oversight included all aspects of creative affairs for first-run syndicated series, unscripted series and digital content developed and produced at Telepictures, as well as working with advertisers on partnerships through its integration business. Annually, Telepictures handles more than 1,000 hours of TV across multiple genres.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Discovery’s Shark Week has been a TV institution for 35 years, a summertime staple that has never changed its core purpose: Celebrating the great white and its brethren. But a lot has changed around Shark Week in the decades since, including an explosion of popularity (as “30 Rock” once put it, we all now strive to “live every week like it’s Shark Week”), more competition, a few controversies and one giant corporate acquisition. In 2023, the Warner Bros. Discovery-produced TV event now has a few more boxes to check: From keeping its linear ratings (which grew 10% year-over-year in 2022) up to driving customers to two streaming platforms, Max and Discovery+. Shark Week has also been enlisted to help promote other TV shows and movies in the WBD family. But it also faces lingering concerns over the makeup of its programming (often criticized for lacking enough scientific research or proper experts), while simultaneously competing with younger copycat programming from rival companies Nat Geo’s Sharkfest.