Rachel Kaplan Launches Absecon Entertainment, Strikes Overall Deal With Warner Bros. Television

EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan I. Kidd and Sonya Winton-Odamtten, co-executive producers and writers of HBO’s critically acclaimed woke sci-fi horror Lovecraft Country, have extended their overall deal with the premium cable network for four years. Under their re-upped eight-figure deal, the pair will develop the limited series Say Their Names.

The Keepers of the Keys will continue as Netflix has handed supernatural thriller Locke & Key a third season.

EXCLUSIVE: DreamWorks Animation has extended its relationship with Joel Crawford, director of The Croods: A New Age. The studio has made a first-look development and directing deal with Crawford, an animation vet, in a deal made by Margie Cohn, President, DreamWorks Animation. This comes after the Croods sequel was released in theaters and will be premiering on Premium VOD on Friday.

Will Thorne Staff WriterBruce W.

EXCLUSIVE: Liza Koshy, co-creator, executive producer, and star of YouTube series, Liza on Demand, has signed an overall deal with Westbrook Inc., the recently launched media company founded by Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Miguel Melendez, and Ko Yada.

EXCLUSIVE: Prolific TV creator Matt Miller is extending his long relationship with Warner Bros. TV by renewing his exclusive overall deal with the studio. As part of the new pact, Miller will executive produce Peacemaker, HBO Max’s TV spin-off of James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad movie, starring John Cena. The eight-episode series hails from Gunn, producer Peter Safran and Warner Bros. TV.

Eli Countryman Warner Bros. drew attention in early December when it announced plans to simultaneously release all of its films in theaters and on HBO Max throughout 2021.The decision, affecting 17 major films from “The Matrix 4″ to “Dune,” highlights just how important streaming services have become in the past year.

Denis Villeneuve, the director of the upcoming Dune remake, is not happy that Warner Bros. plans on releasing his movie on HBO Max on the same day as the theatrical release.

industry-shaking move to put its 2021 slate on HBO Max day-and-date with theaters.Villeneuve, in an op-ed written for Variety, said he only learned about the fate of his film by reading the news, and that he had agreed to push “Dune” back almost a year, from winter 2020 to October 2021. He says a movie of this scope can’t hope to be financially viable and will succumb to piracy.“With this decision, AT&T has hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history.

EXCLUSIVE: The DGA has told WarnerMedia’s that its decision to release Warner Bros full 2021 movie slate on HBO Max at the same time the films will be released in theaters is “unacceptable” and “is contrary to both the long-standing relationship between the DGA and Warner Bros. and explicit representations made by senior executives to the DGA on this very issue.” Warner Bros. and HBO Max are both subsidiaries of WarnerMedia, the giant media conglomerate.

EXCLUSIVE: The L Word creator Ilene Chaiken has signed a big overall deal with Universal Television to develop and produce scripted content. As part of the pact, Chaiken will serve as executive producer/showrunner on the first season of NBC’s upcoming Law & Order: SVU spinoff series, Law & Order: Organized Crime, starring Chris Meloni, from Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Dave McNary Film ReporterThe Directors Guild of America has criticized Warner Bros. over the studio’s decision to release its entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously on the HBO Max streaming service, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.DGA National Executive Director Russell Hollander sent a letter to Warner Bros.

Ellise Shafer editorThe Independent Cinema Alliance has expressed disappointment over Warner Bros.’ decision to release the rest of its 2021 film state simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max.In a statement released Monday, the volunteer alliance called for a return to theatrical exclusivity, writing that releasing movies solely in theaters for a period of time is “what drives that value – not streaming.” ICA pointed out that with the COVID-19 vaccine set to be distributed soon, a

Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind movies like Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong, reportedly is considering filing a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over the studio’s new release plans for the movies.

Dave McNary Film ReporterChristopher Nolan, who has supplied Warner Bros. with multiple blockbusters, has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the studio’s decision to release its entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously on the HBO Max streaming service“There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone,” said Nolan in an ET Online interview released Monday.

etonline. “In 2021, they’ve got some of the top filmmakers in the world, they’ve got some of the biggest stars in the world who worked for years in some cases on these projects very close to their hearts that are meant to be big-screen experiences.”“What you have right now in our business is a lot of the use of the pandemic as an excuse for sort of grappling for short-term advantage.

“Dune” and “Godzilla vs Kong” producer Legendary is considering its options, including legal ones, against Warner Bros.

Legendary Entertainment, the production company that co-financed “Dune” and “Godzilla vs. Kong,” may take legal action against Warner Bros.