Refresh for updates: Big stuff is expected here this morning at CinemaCon in Las Vegas as Warner Bros. struts their stuff on their 2023 slate.
Warner Bros. Head of Domestic Casting Jeff Goldstein and Head of International Casting Andrew Cripps jogged on stage this morning, all dressed in pink suits, to celebrate the expected success of the end of the year. studio summer, Barbie.
“On a show of hands, who carried it better, Andrew or me?” » Goldstein beams
“As Barbie says, everyone looks better in pink!” the added distribution exec.
“I’m not sure, Jeff,” Cripps added.
“Hello, everyone, we’re both tickled pink,” Goldstein continued in a pun.
The two bragged about the success of the past weekend Evil Dead Rise, which pivoted from the Max streaming service to an exclusive theatrical window. They also took the time to reflect on the legacy of former cast colleague, MGM’s Erik Lomis. This led to a 100-year-old studio sizzle reel with flashes of Elvis, Inception, A Star is Born, Man of Steel, Mad Max Fury Road, Great Gatsby on the cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” in Baz Luhrmann’s film.
Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav took the stage this AM, in what is an abnormal appearance for a corporate CEO at the annual cast and love-in expo.
“We tell the stories and you bring the people in,” Zaslav told the exhibit in the hall.
Warner Bros. movie bosses Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy are also due this morning (“Who’s better than them two… I call them any time of the day and try to trap them on a movie that I’m watching on Turner Classics,” Zas said today) as well as DC co-boss Peter Safran (co-boss James Gunn is on a global press tour for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3).
“Mike, Pam and I were sitting in a room with James Gunn and he was writing the Superman script,” Zaslav said; the filmmaker telling the Boss how the DC Universe was his growing family.
“There’s one word we share (in this profession) and that’s courage,” Zaslav said, “It’s such a complicated and risky profession, but here we are with a shared love of cinema.”
Zaslav shared with the theater how he saw To sir, with love with his father, growing up in Brooklyn.
Zas reflected on the recent loss of Harry Belafonte. “I wanted to pay tribute to the one who, like Sidney (Poitier), inspired me.”
“I am convinced that there is no other place to see a film, to have an impact on all parts of the world… we believe in full corporate windowing, we don’t believe in streaming. We’re in no rush to bring movies to Max,” asserted Zas, who pointed out that movies perform significantly better on the service after they debut in theaters, even more so than direct-to-stream business.
Zas asked theater owners to help bring people back to make business stronger than ever. “We’re a storytelling company, we’re not in the broadband business, we’re not in the phone business,” he continued of Warner Bros. Discovery’s new era, as it leaves behind the era owned by AT&T.
Zas reflected on a moment 15 years ago, and that was meeting Oprah Winfrey and creating OWN. “We’ve been on this journey together…there’s no tougher fighter in the world than Oprah Winfrey. We created the #1 network in America for the black community. We have become close friends. When the deal was done (Warner Bros Discovery) then I called Oprah. How did it go ? This transaction…we shared this joy…halfway through the conversation, she said that Steven Spielberg and I were making a movie for you, The color purple, the musical for you… I thought to myself, growing up in Brooklyn, I don’t think it’s something that I would like here to have Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg make a movie for me.
Winfrey took the stage with cinematographer Blitz Bazawule and told the audience that it was her first time at CinemaCon. “It’s the first circle moment for me to be a part of this movie,” said Winfrey, who starred in Spielberg’s 1985 version of Alice Walker’s novel.
The color purpleopens on Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, Gunn let the world know what came out of this AM’s presentation:
Keep refreshing as we tell you more. Here we are crushed into the second level seats of the Caesars Palace Colosseum Theater, shoulder to shoulder.