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Tag: Toby Emmerich

  • Michael De Luca, Pam Abdy to head Warner Bros. Pictures Group; Toby Emmerich steps down

    Michael De Luca, Pam Abdy to head Warner Bros. Pictures Group; Toby Emmerich steps down

    Mumbai: Former MGM film executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy have been appointed co-chairpersons and CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. They replaced longtime studio executive Toby Emmerich who has announced that he is stepping down as Warner Bros. head.

    Each of the divisions including Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, DC-Based Film Production, and Warner Bros. Feature Animation will break into three distinct segments – Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Feature Animation, and DC-Based Film Production. Each will have its own separate leadership. 

    The decision is part of the company’s new long-term strategy. In the meanwhile, the segments are still managed by the film group, with De Luca and Abdy in charge of day-to-day operations. De Luca and Abdy were MGM Studios’ motion picture group chairman and president, respectively. They decided to leave after Amazon acquired MGM.

    Simultaneously, Toby Emmerich will launch his own production company at Warner Bros. studio, focused on film, television and streaming. Warner Bros. Discovery will finance Emmerich’s ventures and hold distribution rights to films & series as part of an exclusive five-year deal.

    Screenwriter and producer Emmerich has been president and chief content officer of Warner Bros. Pictures Group since 2017. Previously, he served as president and chief operating officer of New Line Cinema. He joined Warner Bros. in 1992 as a dual development and music executive and has worked there for the past 30 years.

    In a statement, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said, “I have known Toby for many years and have tremendous respect for his vision and ability to create extraordinary cinematic experiences. He has led a best-in-class studio team and was the driving force behind an incredible, diverse collection of films and series. Toby is also an exceptional person and longtime friend to me and to many and I am personally very happy to continue our working relationship. I am thrilled that he’s chosen to remain a part of our Warner Bros. Discovery family with this long-term production deal and look forward to seeing the fantastic stories that he and his team will create for us in the years ahead.” 

    Speaking about his venture, Emmerich said, “It has been an honour and a pleasure to be part of this storied company these last three decades and to lead the world-class Warner Bros. film studio team, and I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. This seemed like the perfect time to transition to something new and I am excited to be pursuing my passion for storytelling in a more hands-on way with my own production company.” 

    Further, on the newly appointed co-chairpersons and CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Zaslav said, “Michael and Pam are supremely talented creative leaders with a proven track record of success. We are thrilled to welcome them both to our Warner Bros. Discovery family, and look forward to seeing them take this nearly century-old iconic studio to even greater heights of excellence in film.”

    With a global box office collection of $5.57 billion in 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures Group achieved its most successful year ever under Emmerich’s leadership.

    Films such as “Aquaman” – the most popular DC Superhero film ever and Warner Bros’. second-biggest title of all time – “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Ready Player One,” “The Meg,” “Rampage,” “A Star is Born,” “The Nun,” and “Crazy Rich Asians,” helped Emmerich fuel this success. Also, the studio in 2019 delivered the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, DC’s “Joker,” which grossed $1.08 billion worldwide and won two Academy Awards, as well as the horror sequel “IT Chapter Two.”

  • Josh Goldstine is new Warner Bros worldwide marketing president

    Josh Goldstine is new Warner Bros worldwide marketing president

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros has named Josh Goldstine president of worldwide marketing, replacing Blair Rich, who vacated the position in December.

    Goldstine will officially join the California-based studio later this month. He will report directly to Warner Bros Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich, and work with the division’s senior management team.

    Previously president of worldwide marketing for Universal, Goldstine will oversee the studio’s global theatrical release slate including all Warner Bros, New Line, DC, Warner Animation group and HBO Max original features. His oversight will include Warner Bros Pictures’ worldwide creative advertising, publicity, media, global digital, global promotions, worldwide research and multi-cultural groups.

    Emmerich lauded Goldstine as an “outstanding marketer” who led a broad range of movies to great success in both theatres and on streaming platforms.

    “He loves cinema, is a believer in the continued importance of the theatrical experience, and is incredibly deft at understanding and distilling filmmaker’s visions and intentions into attention-grabbing and results-delivering marketing campaigns,” said Emmerich. “He has a future-focused skill set that will help us strategically navigate our evolving business, launching both our theatrical films and HBO Max original movies. He is a great addition to the Pictures Group, and we can’t wait for him to get started.”

    Goldstine is a widely known marketer, who launched campaigns for Despicable Me, Jurassic World, and the Fast and Furious franchises. During his time seven-year stint at Universal, his team had more than 30 films reach No.1 at the US box office, including Snow White and the Huntsman, Ted, The Bourne Legacy, Mama, Oblivion, Fast & Furious 6, The Purge, Ride Along, Neighbors, Dumb and Dumber To and the Academy Award-winning Les Misérables.

  • ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ crosses US$ 350 million

    ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ crosses US$ 350 million

    BENGALURU:  Earning more than US$350 million, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has bagged the top position at the international box office.  The announcement was made today by New Line Cinema president and chief operating officer Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. Pictures president of worldwide marketing and international distribution Sue Kroll, Warner Bros. Pictures president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman and Warner Bros. Pictures president of international distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg.

     

    Emmerich stated, “For Peter Jackson, the adventure that began with his benchmark The Lord of the Rings trilogy has reached a high water mark with this incredible response to the epic finale of The Hobbit Trilogy.  Along with our colleagues at Warner Bros. and MGM, we congratulate Peter on this exciting conclusion to his 16-year endeavor to bring this enduring saga to life for millions of moviegoers all over the world.”

     

    Jointly produced by New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), the film is the conclusion to Peter Jackson’s acclaimed “The Hobbit” Trilogy based on the timeless classic by J.R.R. Tolkien. 

     

    The film has earned US$90.63 million domestically and has also expanded across the majority of international markets, taking in US$105.5 million over the weekend.  The international total stands at US$265 million and counting. 

     

    With maximum shows sold out internationally on the first day, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies enjoyed the biggest opening day of year in a number of key markets, including Germany, Scandinavia and the director’s home country of New Zealand, where it had the widest release ever in that country.

     

    The film also shot to #1 in Brazil and Mexico, where it went up against the final match of the Mexican Soccer League. It also broke records for the biggest opening of all time in Sweden, Finland, Croatia and Czech Republic; and the biggest opening of the year in Spain, Germany, Russia, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

     

     Commenting on the positive response for the film, Kroll stated, “We are very proud to have accompanied Peter Jackson and his remarkable team of collaborators on his hugely successful cinematic journey.  The positive response of both critics and audiences to this final film in ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy is a tribute to the talents of everyone who dedicated years to bringing these ambitious films to fruition, and we applaud them all on this tremendous success.”

     

    Fellman said, “This is an extraordinary start for our final adventure in Middle-earth.  We are excited by the enthusiasm of moviegoers, who have already made ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ a blockbuster, and this is just the beginning.  We expect word of mouth to continue to drive the box office through the holiday season and well into the new year.”

     

    Kwan Vandenberg noted, “This is a timeless story that speaks to audiences all over the world, and the anticipation for the Trilogy’s electrifying finale has yielded tremendous results.  Everywhere it’s opened, the film has seen huge debuts, strong holds and amazing buzz, and the momentum will only build as we move into 2015.” 

     

    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies stars Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, with Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. 

     

    The film also stars Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Graham McTavish, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Adam Brown, John Bell, Manu Bennett and John Tui.