Alan Horn Rejoins Warner Bros. Discovery As Consultant

Tom Tapp
·2 min read
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While a number of executives have left Warner Bros. as the integration with Discovery continues, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav shored up the studio’s transition team today with a veteran who knows the studio maybe better than anyone: former president and chief operating officer Alan Horn.

“I am thrilled to share with you that Alan Horn, one of the most respected studio executives in the industry, has agreed to assist me in a consultant role during this transition period, starting August 1. No one knows this business better than Alan does. He has had an extraordinary career spanning nearly half a century,” Zaslav announced in a memo today. “Most recently, he served as chairman and later co-chairman and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Studios, where for a period of nearly 10 years, he oversaw the production of all motion pictures and the integration of Lucasfilm and the Fox film studios, as well as the expansion into producing content for Disney’s streaming services.”

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Horn had a great run at Warner Bros. where he and then-Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer oversaw the Harry Potter franchise and Christopher Nolan’s epic The Dark Knight trilogy. Horn was also the executive producer on all three films in The Hobbit trilogy. The duo was forced out in 2013.

It’s a savvy move for Zaslav, who is getting to know the town and who, in current studio chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, has new executives with deep talent relationships and some sense of managing a big franchise — as they did with James Bond at MGM — but nowhere near the depth of knowledge that Horn has. Ditto his sense of the studio historically.

Zaslav:

Over the past six months, I have been fortunate to spend time with Alan. He has been generous and hugely helpful to me, and I’ve learned a ton about the business from our conversations. I could not be more excited to be able to continue to tap into his thinking, expertise and stellar instincts as we transition our film business and hone our motion picture strategy for the future. And I know Mike and Pam are equally excited to have Alan’s ear and to be able to benefit from his wealth of experience gained from such an illustrious track record.

Here is the Warner Bros. Discovery chief’s memo in full:

All, 

I am thrilled to share with you that Alan Horn, one of the most respected studio executives in the industry, has agreed to assist me in a consultant role during this transition period, starting August 1.

No one knows this business better than Alan does. He has had an extraordinary career spanning nearly half a century. Most recently, he served as chairman and later co-chairman and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Studios, where for a period of nearly 10 years, he oversaw the production of all motion pictures and the integration of Lucasfilm and the Fox film studios, as well as the expansion into producing content for Disney’s streaming services.

Over the past six months, I have been fortunate to spend time with Alan. He has been generous and hugely helpful to me, and I’ve learned a ton about the business from our conversations. I could not be more excited to be able to continue to tap into his thinking, expertise and stellar instincts as we transition our film business and hone our motion picture strategy for the future. And I know Mike and Pam are equally excited to have Alan’s ear and to be able to benefit from his wealth of experience gained from such an illustrious track record.

In many ways this is a homecoming. Alan began his career with the legendary Norman Lear and partners Jerry Perenchio and Bud Yorkin, and later co-founded and led Castle Rock Entertainment before serving as president and COO of Warner Bros. for 12 years. He knows the ins and outs of this studio and helped build it into the powerhouse it is today. He also has wide-spread talent relations and great respect and appreciation for our unparalleled collection of IP, and will be able to provide a unique and valued perspective to the overall creative process. We’re so glad to have him join us.

David

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