Warner Bros. President of Production and Development Courtenay Valenti to Exit After 33 Years

Marc Graboff is leaving Warner Bros. Discovery after almost eight years at the company and its predecessor, Discovery. Inc.  Graboff, a respected veteran television business executive, just notified the company staff of his decision. A key member of the senior executive team of David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery — and now WBD —  Graboff made the transition to the combined company following the merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia. Most recently reporting to Kathleen Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer, US Networks Group, Graboff will leave in December after assisting with the transition.

Keanu Reeves returning to the Constantine franchise, as revealed by Deadline earlier this afternoon, has thrown up some dust in the TV business.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery enacted 100 layoffs Tuesday as part of a planned downsizing of the company’s ad sales departments that had been in the works since Discovery closed its merger with WarnerMedia in April, Variety has confirmed. These cuts are part of a previously reported and expected 30% reduction overall across the ad sales division, a sector of the merged company with many redundancies, in the coming weeks. However, not all of the exits will be layoffs, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation. An undisclosed number of those departures will be negotiated deals, while others will be retirements. The layoffs set in motion Tuesday are the latest in a string of moves made by Warner Bros. Discovery in an attempt to fulfill the promise made by CEO David Zaslav and his exec team to find $3 billion in cost-saving synergies in the first two years after the merger. The most high profile so far, aside from other layoffs within Warner Bros. Discovery, was the decision that “Batgirl,” the $90 million Warner Bros./DC movie starring Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, would not be released theatrically, on HBO Max, or anywhere else. 

Axios.Up to 30% of the combined sales teams of the merged company are expected to be cut. The move comes as Warner Bros. Discovery cleaned up Monday night at the Emmys and bested all other companies with the most Emmy wins.

Warner Bros. Discovery‘s surprising decision to shelve “Batgirl” early last month sparked controversy around the industry.

The surprising decision last month to shelve completed DC movie Batgirl was “blown out of proportion” by the press, according to Warner Bros Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.

It was a “bittersweet” night for the team behind Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.

Ethan Shanfeld Courtenay Valenti, president of production and development for Warner Bros. Pictures, will depart from the studio after 33 years. Valenti will carry out her role until the end of October. “We’ve known Courtenay and been admirers of her work for many years,” said Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, in a joint statement provided to Variety. “She’s been an integral part of Warner Bros. Pictures’ success for over three decades and has had a hand in guiding some of the studio’s most popular and successful films. She’s well-respected across the creative community, she’s beloved here on the lot, and she will be greatly missed. We know that she’ll be hugely successful in her next endeavor and join all of her colleagues in wishing her the very best.”  

EXCLUSIVE: After a 33-year run at Warner Bros Pictures, and lots of hits including the Lego franchise, the last four Harry Potter films, multi-Oscar winner Mad Max: Fury Road and this summer’s hit Elvis, Courtenay Valenti, the studio’s President, Production and Development, has decided to leave.

The transaction for Warner Bros Discovery and BT Sport’s joint UK and Ireland sports venture has closed successfully.

With all the drama surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery in recent months, particularly after CEO David Zaslav took over the company after its recent merger, it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t that long ago WarnerMedia (without Discovery) was battling plenty of controversy all on its own.

Legendary Entertainment is said to be eyeing a move from its on-again, off-again home at Warner Bros. as its deal with that studio expired recently, Deadline has confirmed.

shelved a slew of animated projects amid steep cost-cutting at the company. Media giants like Netflix, Apple and Hulu are looking to scoop up the Bruce Timm and JJ Abrams-directed flick, which draws inspiration from DC Comic’s Batman franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Entertainment site the Direct floated Disney as a possible bidder, too.

actress Ivory Aquino isn't giving up on the DC Comics hero. Following a  article that revealed Warner Bros.

In the course of 12 tweets, Batgirl actress Ivory Aquino, who plays Alysia Yeoh, Barbara Gordon’s roommate and the first major trans character in the axed HBO Max DC film, expressed her grief to Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav over the studio’s cancelation of the film, and pleased with him to “Consider releasing Batgirl“.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Batgirl” actor Ivory Aquino is speaking out about Warner Bros.’ decision to indefinitely shelve the DC film. In an emotional letter addressed to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslov, Aquino — who played the best friend of Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl) — pleaded for the studio executive to rethink the alleged plan to permanently destroy the movie’s footage. “As one of many who poured our hearts into the making of this movie, I ask that this measure be reconsidered,” Aquino wrote Wednesday night on Twitter. “As much as I’ve tried my best to be strong these past few weeks, I’d find myself crying, for lack of a better term, from grief, and tonight was one of those nights.”

media reports. Jonathan Young, VP of original programming and production at HBO Max for Europe, Middle East and Africa; Christian Wikander, VP of original programming for the Nordic region; and Annelies Sitvast, who oversees unscripted original programming were all let go as part of the conglomerate’s latest consolidation move.

While a majority of people will never get a chance to see the  movie Warner Bros shelved earlier this month, multiple sources confirmed to Deadline that screenings are being held on the Warners lot this week for a select few. It is believed that cast and crew who worked on the film along with reps and studio execs were given invites to the screenings that began Wednesday and will go throughout the week.

Warner Bros. also announced that “House Party” and “Evil Dead Rise,” initially greenlit as HBO Max releases, will now be theatrical releases that hits the big screen in December 9, 2022 and April 21, 2023 respectively.