Warner Bros. at 100: Big Bets on Film Talent are Part of WB Pictures’ DNA
From pre-Code gangster films to Bette Davis blazing a trail for female protagonists to blockbuster super- hero sagas, Warner Bros. Pictures’ output has been synonymous with the most popular stories of the day — and the iconic filmmakers who brought them to life.
Since being installed in June 2022, Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy have steadily built upon this legacy that has been the foundation of the studio since its earliest days.
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“The history of the studio and their approach to filmmaking over the years really lines up with our belief in marrying the right filmmakers with the right IP and the right stories,” Abdy tells Variety. Adds De Luca, “We just wanted to continue that practice of trying to be a good home for the preeminent filmmakers of the day — and then try and find that next generation as well.”
Clint Eastwood, who’s been a Warners mainstay since he was invited in 1971 to set up his production company Malpaso Prods. on the studio lot, credits the longevity of his partnership with the studio to two things: trust and freedom. “A few times they probably thought I was crazy, like with ‘Every Which Way but Loose,’” Eastwood remembers. “The consensus was that it was a risk after ‘Dirty Harry,’ but I enjoyed the read and thought it was fun.”
All these years later, Eastwood is still grateful that the leadership of Warners in that era took a chance on an offbeat concept — he famously stars with an orangutan — that wound up per- forming well at the box office.
“They weren’t afraid to do something a little different,” Eastwood says. “Maybe some of the stories didn’t resonate with them, but they always said, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
In addition to extending a relationship with “Elvis” director Baz Luhrmann that began in 2013 on “The Great Gatsby” and helping George Miller through post-production of his upcoming “Mad Max Fury Road” prequel “Furiosa,” Abdy and De Luca have assembled a murderer’s row of filmmakers whose work delivers both distinctive artistic visions and record-breaking box office numbers. “After success with ‘The Batman,’ we thought Matt Reeves was an important filmmaker to formalize our relationship with for more things outside the DC universe,” says De Luca.
“Mike and I have always loved to work with filmmakers over and over again,” Abdy says. “Todd Phillips, we’re currently working on ‘Joker 2’ with him and see a long future ahead of us. Bringing over M. Night [Shyamalan], we’re so excited about that new relationship. … We had both been speaking to him before we came to Warner Bros. about how we could potentially work together.”
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The combination of good stories and great filmmakers has crystallized the idea for Abdy and De Luca of championing filmmakers as intellectual property unto themselves. “If you look at some of the great directors of all time, whether it’s Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson, Todd Phillips, Clint Eastwood or Nancy Meyers, there’s a relationship the audience has with those filmmakers,” Abdy says. “And the filmmakers become a brand that engages the audience to go out and go see their movies in the same way as movie stars.”
De Luca sees a sea change happening in the content business that plays to WB’s strengths.
“The era of volume is over, and the era of curation and quality control is beginning,” he observes. “Being good isn’t good enough anymore. You have to be excellent. And the only way to hedge that bet is to try and be in business with the best storytellers.”
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