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Studios Translate Local Language Movies Into Lucrative Global Business

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Sunday May 5, 2013 @ 2:47pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Fox International Productions, Universal International, Warner Bros Pictures

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, goes the old saying. While the studios continue trying to crack the nut of getting Hollywood films into China, many of the majors also have a wider global strategy that’s proving lucrative both there and elsewhere: Local-language production. Hollywood’s involvement in the area is not new. But, increasingly, movies that are co-produced or distributed by the majors in such places as China, India, Germany, Italy, Spain, Korea and Latin America are finding themselves reaping strong returns.

The markets “are huge,” especially where local box office rivals that of Hollywood pictures. Homegrown films in China, for example, generally snag about 50% of the annual market share and are currently widely outperforming Hollywood films – this week’s Iron Man 3 notwithstanding. In India, the indigenous share of a $2B market can be as much as 90%. There’s an argument to be made that Chinese or Indian films don’t cross cultural borders, but with those kinds of numbers, “Why would the film need to travel?” posits an exec.

Richard Fox, EVP International for Warner Bros., says the studio is looking to develop relationships to make Chinese-language films. “There are a lot of moving pieces in assessing which countries to focus on,” but, “if it doesn’t recoup in the country of origin, we don’t get involved,” he says. Warner recently bet well in Mexico where its comedy Nosotros Los Nobles smashed records with the second biggest opening ever for a non-animated local film.

Another studio exec says local language production “is all relatively opportunistic.” It can be a distraction to try and stay abreast of local material, but “paying attention to local markets, filmmakers and stories around the world gets you more educated in terms of worldwide taste and emerging filmmakers.” Plus, “the minute you have a hit, it’s ‘How much money are we making? Why don’t we up this business?’” Here’s a look at how the studios are speaking in various tongues: READ MORE »

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Hot TV Spot: ‘Pacific Rim’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday April 15, 2013 @ 8:21am PDTTags: Guillermo Del Toro, Legendary Pictures, Pacific Rim, Warner Bros Pictures

It’s been a couple of months since the last trailer dropped for Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim. Warner Bros. India today posted the first international TV spot that features Idris Elba’s Lieutenant-Commander Stacker Pentecost who’s “cancelling the apocalypse” as Earth battles evil aliens risen from the … Read More »

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Berlin: Studio-Produced Local-Language Comedies Tickle Germany’s Funny Bone; Fox Eyes Remake Of ‘The Break-Up Man’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday February 14, 2013 @ 3:21am PSTTags: 20th Century Fox, Berlin Film Festival, Warner Bros Pictures

The Berlin Film Festival may be heavy on art-house fare this year, but over at the multiplex, two German-language comedies are burning up the box office. And, they’re both produced by the local arms of a pair of … Read More »

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UPDATE: N.Z. Journalist Not Disinvited From ‘Hobbit’ Premiere; There Is “No Media Blacklist”

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday November 21, 2012 @ 9:23am PSTTags: Peter Jackson, The Hobbit, Warner Bros Pictures

UPDATE: Deadline has learned that Radio New Zealand journalist Cushla Norman is in fact invited to the red carpet and press conference for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. While we understand a mistake was made in uninviting the reporter, it has been rectified and her credentials have not been revoked. People close to the situation have assured Deadline that there is no media blacklist.

Norman said earlier today that her premiere and press conference credentials had been revoked because of her negative coverage. Separately, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit production company Wingnut Films told New Zealand’s TV3 “We don’t have — and have never had — any form of media blacklist. That’s not who we are or how we operate.” Read More »

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Warner Bros & New Line Cinema Deny ‘Hobbit’ Animal Abuse Allegations

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday November 20, 2012 @ 6:32pm PSTTags: New Line Cinema, The Hobbit, Warner Bros Pictures

Warner Bros and New Line Cinema are fully supporting Peter Jackson and The Hobbit producers regarding the recent allegations of animal abuse. You can read their statement below:

Related:
Peter Jackson Posts on Facebook Page Defense by ‘The Hobbit’ Production Team Against Animal Cruelty Allegations
‘Hobbit’ Filmmakers Slam PETA … Read More »

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Warner Bros Agrees To Release Up To 20 More Films On IMAX Over Next 3 Years

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday November 15, 2012 @ 4:45am PSTTags: Big Deals Film, IMAX, Warner Bros Pictures

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15, 2012  – IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and Warner Bros. Pictures, a division of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), today announced that they have agreed to release up to 20 Warner Bros. films in the immersive IMAX Experience® over the next three years, in an extension of the core partnership that began in 2003. The arrangement will continue to align the worldwide box office power of Warner Bros.’ tent-pole film business with the fast-growing global popularity of The IMAX Experience, providing the studio with an additional, differentiated platform that consistently delivers the best experience in cinema and strong returns for studios and exhibitors.

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Warner Bros Pictures Group Appoints Jack Horner EVP Theatrical Communications

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday September 5, 2012 @ 10:23am PDTTags: Jack Horner, Warner Bros Pictures

(September 5, 2012 — Burbank, CA) – Jack Horner has been named Executive Vice President, Theatrical Communications, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. The announcement was made today by Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures, to whom Horner will report.

In this newly created position at the studio, Horner will handle corporate PR issues specifically for the film division, working closely with Kroll as well as Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov; Susan Fleishman, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Communications & Public Affairs; and the film division’s domestic and international publicity units. Horner will join the studio in September.

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Village Roadshow Profits Up 20.2% In Oz; Distribution Pact With Warner Bros. Extended

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday August 23, 2012 @ 2:52am PDTTags: Big Deals Film, The Great Gatsby, Village Roadshow, Warner Bros Pictures

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

Village Roadshow LimitedCo-producing the box office under-achievers Happy Feet Two, The Lucky One and Dark Shadows with Warner Bros. doesn’t seem to have hurt Australia’s Village Roadshow Ltd, which today announced a net profit of $A33.8M ($33.5M) for the year to June 30. That’s a 20.2% rise on the previous year. The company didn’t break out the results of its 47.6%-owned Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, which consists of Village Roadshow Pictures and the Concord Music Group. But managing director Graham Burke tells Deadline he’s happy with Village Roadshow Pictures’ performance, “We take a long-term perspective on our relationship with Warner. We put our money as a chip on the table with them.”

Burke highlighted the success of VRP’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which grossed $544M worldwide, and prospects for upcoming releases including Gangster Squad, The Great Gatsby, All You Need Is Kill, Lego and Fury Road. Burke says the 20 minutes of Great Gatsby he’s seen are “breathtaking” and he fully supports the decision to delay the release till summer 2013 to give Baz Luhrmann more time. In Oz, Roadshow Films continued as the top theatrical Read More »

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Netflix Appoints Warner Bros’ Kelly Bennett As Chief Marketing Officer

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday July 23, 2012 @ 6:31am PDTTags: Netflix, Warner Bros Pictures

Former Warner Bros digital marketing executive Kelly Bennett joins Netflix as chief marketing officer at a time when the focus is intensifying on commissioning original programming, the company said. A nine-year Warner Bros veteran, Bennett led … Read More »

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‘Dark Knight Rises’ Reveals Production Notes: Synopsis, Dialogue, Interviews

By NIKKI FINKE AND DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday July 5, 2012 @ 6:30pm PDTTags: Chris Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros Pictures

Warner Bros has done everything possible to keep a lid on the details of the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises. So it’s a shocker that today the studio posted a 49-page document filled with production notes – including a synopsis a well as some … Read More »

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Warner Bros Announces `Cloud Atlas’ Release Date

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday June 19, 2012 @ 4:47pm PDTTags: Cloud Atlas, Tom Hanks, Warner Bros Pictures

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced a domestic release date of October 26 for Cloud Atlas. The film is directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer and stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and Hugh Grant. It’s based on David Mitchell’s book that consists of six interconnected stories. The studio also announced it has acquired rights for the film in the major markets of the UK, France, Spain, Australia, and Japan, with plans to release it in those territories in early 2013.
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Warner Bros Officially Opens U.K. Studios At ‘Harry Potter’ Home In Leavesden

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Monday June 11, 2012 @ 1:22am PDTTags: The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour, Warner Bros Pictures

In November 2010, Warner Bros acquired the Leavesden studios where all of its Harry Potter films had been shot. At the time, the studio said it would invest more than £100 million to rebuild and expand the London-adjacent facility to serve as its UK base. When I visited this winter, it was basically still a 200-acre construction site, but today the facility has officially opened. I’m told the studio is in discussions on a “major feature film” and a TV series as the first projects out of the gate to shoot at the new site. Scenes from Warner’s The Dark Knight Rises were shot there ahead of the revamp, but the studios will be open to all comers, not just in-house productions. Leavesden has already been attracting tourist attention with The Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making Of Harry Potter, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movies that’s housed just next to the main lot. A press release detailing the Leavesden studios follows: Read More »

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Warner Bros.’ ‘Bullet To The Head’ Gets A New Release Date: Feb. 1, 2013

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 8, 2012 @ 6:24pm PDTTags: Bullet To The Head, Sylvester Stallone, Warner Bros Pictures

Warner Bros has given a new release date, Feb. 1, 2013, to Bullet To The Head, the Sylvester Stallone-starrer from Joel Silver’s Dark Castle Entertainment and IM Global. Earlier this year, the studio yanked it from … Read More »

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Warner Bros Int’l Promotes Publicity Pair

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 3, 2012 @ 1:05pm PDTTags: Warner Bros Pictures

Burbank, CA, May 2, 2012 – Having led the Studio’s international publicity operations over the past five years, Lance Volland has been promoted to Executive Vice President, International Publicity, at Warner Bros. Pictures.  Désirée Finnegan was also promoted to the title of Senior Vice President, International Publicity.  The announcement was made today by Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures.

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IMAX Sets Feb. 10 Release For ‘Journey 2′

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday February 3, 2012 @ 2:00pm PSTTags: Dwayne Johnson, IMAX, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Warner Bros Pictures

Los Angeles, CA – Feb. 3, 2011 – IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX) and Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that the 3D family adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, starring Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán

… Read More »

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Alex Lewis Named VP, Director Of Marketing At Warner Bros. Pictures International, U.K.

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Monday January 30, 2012 @ 6:57am PSTTags: News Corp, The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros Pictures

London, 30th January 2012: Alex Lewis has been named Vice President and Director of Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures International, UK it was announced today by Polly Cochrane, Senior Vice President and Group Marketing Director, Warner Bros. UK (WBUK). She will take up her role in March 2012.

Joining from News Corporation, where she is currently Director of Strategy and Marketing Initiatives, Europe and Asia, Lewis will be responsible for the consumer and trade marketing for all Warner Bros. Pictures International’s film releases in the UK, including 2012’s highly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. She will also direct the theatrical trade marketing team and work closely with Neil Marshall, VP and Deputy MD Warner Bros. Pictures International UK and the UK Theatrical Sales and Distribution team.

As a key member of the theatrical management team and the WBUK marketing directors group, Lewis will provide insight and marketing perspective to all aspects of the UK operation, and champion cross-divisional collaboration as part the company’s best-in-class lifecycle marketing function. She will report to Polly Cochrane, SVP and Group Marketing Director, Warner Bros. UK.

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Warner Bros Buys Spec ‘Murders & Acquisitions’ For KatzSmith Productions

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday September 23, 2011 @ 6:54pm PDTTags: David Katzenberg, Joel Silver, Jonathan Stokes, Warner Bros Pictures
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros has bought writer Jonathan Stokes’ spec script Murders & Acquisitions for a low six figures. The purchase marks the first acquisition by Warners for producers Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg’s KatzSmith Productions, which recently closed an overall … Read More »

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Ben Affleck’s Next Directorial Effort Tells Tale Of Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday September 3, 2011 @ 4:40pm PDTTags: Alan Arkin, Argo, Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Warner Bros Pictures

Ben AffleckWarner Bros has revealed details about Ben Affleck’s next feature directing effort. Argo, which has just begun principal photography, sheds light on the real-life covert operation to rescue a group of Americans during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Six … Read More »

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Ed Zwick To Direct Legendary East’s First Film ‘The Great Wall’; Marshall Herskovitz & Chuck Roven Also Attached

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday August 23, 2011 @ 5:09pm PDTTags: Chuck Roven, Ed Zwick, Huayi Brothers, Jon Jashni, Legendary East, Legendary Entertainment, Marshall Herskovitz, Max Brooks, Thomas Tull, Warner Bros Pictures
Mike Fleming

Legendary East To Raise $220.5M Through Hong Kong For Film Studio From China
BREAKING: Ed Zwick will direct The Great Wall, the first project for Legendary East, that Hong Kong-based stand-alone entertainment company that was started by Legendary Entertainment’s Thomas Tull with Asian partners. Zwick and his longtime partner Marshall Herskovitz will write the script based on a story about the mystery behind China’s greatest manmade structure as imagined by Legendary chairman Tull and World War Z author Max Brooks. Based in Hong Kong with Chinese management and international investors besides Tull, the new company wants to be positioned to produce content that is as commercially viable within China and the rest of the world. The Great Wall will be produced by Legendary’s Tull and Jon Jashni, as well as Atlas Entertainment’s Alex Gartner and Chuck Roven, who is a frequent producer on Legendary/Warner Bros films (currently in production on The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel), and Zwick and Herskovitz. The project will be distributed in China by Legendary East’s co-production partner, Huayi Brothers, while distribution in all other parts of the globe is anticipated to be handled by Warner Bros Pictures, which is Legendary Entertainment’s longtime partner on films. Read More »

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