THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 18 FEBRUA RY 12, 2020
SARNOFF: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES. GREENBLATT: GREGG DEGUIRE/FILMMAGIC.Illustration by Daniel DowneyBehind the HeadlinesThe Report
I
t says something about the state of the
industry that the announcement of
Warner Max, a “unique joint venture” that
will produce up to 10 movies a year for the
HBO Max streaming service, was not greeted
with joy in the town.
A customer for up to 10 movies a year
would seem like a blessing at a time when
it’s harder than ever to get a green light for
anything other than a comic book movie
or sequel, but instead executives, agents
and producers reacted to what
appears to be an opaque struc-
ture and possibly an exercise
in misdirection. “It does seem
like too many people on a press
release screwing in a light bulb,”
says one executive with long-standing ties to
the Warners film studio.
The Warner Max announcement Feb. 5
mentioned six top executives who, with their
teams, will create “dynamic and compelling
films that draw on the depth and scope of
the creative resources across WarnerMedia,”
in the words of Toby Emmerich, chairman of
Warner Bros. Picture Group. That reflects an
intention to break down the long-siloed cul-
ture of the studio and its parent company.
To be fair, Hollywood is in such a state of
anxiety that possibly nothing can make insid-
ers feel optimistic. The industry is facing
existential questions with the disappearance
of legacy studio Fox after the Disney acquisi-
tion. Then there’s the massive disruption of the
streaming revolution, the long-running fightBirds of Prey’s disappointing performance
setting off a noisy round of internal finger-
pointing. (Warners sold off 50 percent of
its 2019 blockbuster, Joker.) The studio does
have some potential hits coming, including
the Won d er Wom an sequel and Lin-Manuel
Miranda’s In the Heights.
Perhaps ironically, the Warner Max reveal
seemed designed to quell fears that Warners
will be dominated by HBO Max. Warner
Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff’s name went first,
before that of Robert Greenblatt, chair-
man of WarnerMedia Entertainment and
direct-to-consumer. But that doesn’t alter
the consensus of the town. “HBO Max is the
locomotive there,” says one veteran producer.
“That’s what matters to AT&T. Everything is
dictated by the needs of HBO Max.”
So how will Warner Max operate in terms of
management? Pay close attention:
HBO Max’s Kevin Reilly will share green-
light authority with film studio chief
Emmerich, who reports to Sarnoff. Reilly
would already seem to have plenty to do: His
full title is chief content officer, HBO Max
and president, TNT, TBS and truTV. He’s also
a TV veteran who lacks film experience. The
person on the HBO Max side who has been
designated the liaison between
HBO Max and the Warners film
studio is Jessie Henderson,
executive vp original feature
films. She will jointly report to
Sarah Aubrey, HBO Max’s head
of original content, and Warner Bros. COO
Carolyn Blackwood.
The announcement of the Warner Max
structure is not clear regarding the roles
of Aubrey and Blackwood; it simply says
Emmerich and Reilly “will work in close
collaboration” with them. Sources say
Blackwood has been named Warners’ liaison
with the HBO Max side, so presumably she’ll
be liaising with Henderson, who — remember
— reports to her and Aubrey.
Got all that?
There are many fundamental questions
raised by the joint venture: What is an HBO
Max movie? Will HBO Max make movies
outside the Warner Max joint venture? Will
Warner Bros. attempt to shorten theatri-
cal windows in service of the streamer? And
who’s running this show?
Despite the Hollywood angst, a Warner Media
insider says the hand-wringing over Warner
Max is misplaced; the initiative will offer life to
10 movies a year that otherwise might not find
a home. “Given these days of the big blockbust-
ers,” he says, “this seems to present a great
opportunity for storytellers.”As WarnerMedia’s streamer HBO Max preps for a May launch, a new film division
will become a direct pipeline — and spark awkward internal politics BY KIM MASTERSIs AT&T Setting Up a Sibling
Rivalry at Warners?
between agents and writers, and the looming
threat of a writers strike this summer.
And now industry veterans fear that
another legacy studio — Warner Bros. — is
being ever so slowly metabolized by HBO Max.
Not that Warners will stop making movies,
but many believe it will make fewer, in a much
narrower range. “Is the new corporate owner
[AT&T] going to give Warners the proper
resources they need?” asks an executive with
significant ties to the studio. “Warner Bros.
has long been the gold standard of the indus-
try on a lot of levels. If this were [a lesser
studio], you’d be like, ‘Oh, well.’ ”
Adding to the concern is the fact that the
film studio has been on a cold streak, withHBO Max’s Forecast
The $14.99 service aims to top
50 million subs by 202534M2019Incremental DTC
subscribers
Existing HBO
subscriber baseSource: WarnerMedia investor day presentation (Oct. 29, 2019)50M202547M202444M202341M202238M202136M2020WarnerMedia expects the
service to bring $5 billion
in annual domestic revenue
by 2025 as an addition
to its current HBO business.$2 billion will be invested
in customer acquisition and
programming in 2020.SarnoffGreenblatt