Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. and also referred to as Warner Bros. Pictures , Warner Bros. , or abbreviated < b> WB ) is an American entertainment company that is a Time Warner division and headquartered in Burbank, California. This is one of America's big movie studios "Six Great".
Warner Bros. is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
Video Warner Bros.
History
Establishment
The name of the company comes from the four founders of the Warner brothers (born Wonskolaser or Wonsal before Anglicization): Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner. They emigrated from childhood with their parents to Canada from Krasnosielc, Poland.
Jack, the youngest, was born in London, Ontario. The three older brothers started in the cinema business, having acquired a film projector featuring films in the mining cities of Pennsylvania and Ohio. At first, Sam and Albert Warner invested $ 150 to present the Life of the American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery . They opened their first theater, Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1903.
When the original building is threatened to be destroyed, Warner Bros modern calls the current owner of the building, and arranges to save it. The owner notes people across the country have asked them to protect it because of its historical significance.
In 1904, Warner founded Duquesne Amusement & amp; based in Pittsburgh; Supply Company, to distribute the film. In 1912, Harry Warner hired an auditor named Paul Ashley Chase. During World War I they started producing films. In 1918 they opened the first Warner Brothers Studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Sam and Jack produce images, while Harry and Albert, along with their auditors and now Chase's controllers, handle finance and distribution in New York City. During the First World War, their first national syndication film, My Four Years in Germany, based on a popular book by former ambassador James W. Gerard, was released. On April 4, 1923, with the help of money lent to Harry by his banker, Motley Flint, they were officially included as Warner Brothers Pictures, Incorporated . (Until the late 1960s, Warner Bros. claimed 1905 as the date of its founding.)
The first important deal was the acquisition of the rights to Avery Hopwood's drama on 1919 Broadway, The Gold Diggers, from the David Belasco theater impresario. However, Rin Tin Tin, a dog brought from France after World War I by an American soldier, built their reputation. Rin Tin Tin debuted at the feature Where the North Begins . The film was so successful that Jack signed a dog to star in more movies for $ 1,000 per week. Rin Tin Tin became the studio's main star. Jack called him "The Mortgage Lifter" and his success enhanced Darryl F. Zanuck's career. Zanuck eventually became a top producer and between 1928 and 1933 served as Jack's right-hand man and executive producer, with responsibilities including daily film production. More success came after Ernst Lubitsch was hired as chief director; Harry Rapf left the studio to join Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The Lubitsch Movie The Marriage Circle was the most successful film in the studio in 1924, and was on the best list for that year. The New York Times .
Despite the success of Rin Tin Tin and Lubitsch, Warner remains a lower studio. Sam and Jack decide to offer Broadway actor John Barrymore a leading role in Beau Brummel . The film was so successful that Harry signed Barrymore for a long-term contract; such as The Marriage Circle , Beau Brummell was named one of the top ten films of the year by the Times . At the end of 1924, Warner Bros. arguably Hollywood's most successful independent studio, where he competed with "The Big Three" Studios (First National, Paramount Pictures, and MGM). As a result, Harry Warner - while speaking at a convention of 1,500 independent exhibitors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - was able to convince filmmakers to spend $ 500,000 in newspaper advertisements, and Harry saw this as an opportunity to set up cinemas in cities like New York and Los Angeles.
As a prosperous studio, he got support from Wall Street, and in 1924 Goldman Sachs arranged a large loan. With this new money, The WARNER bought the pioneer Company Vitagraph which has a national distribution system. In 1925, Warners also experimented on radio, setting up a successful radio station, KFWB, in Los Angeles.
1920-1935: _Sound, _color, _style "> 1925-1935: Sound, color, style
Warner Bros. is a movie pioneer with synced sounds (later known as "talking pictures" or "talkies"). In 1925, at Sam's insistence, WARNER agreed to add this feature into their production. In February 1926, the studio reported a net loss of $ 333,413.
After some time rejecting Sam's request for a vote, Harry agrees to change, as long as the studio's synchronized voice is for background music purposes only. The Warners signed with Western Sound engineer and founded Vitaphone. In 1926, Vitaphone began filming with music and effects songs, most notably, in the Don Juan feature, starring John Barrymore. The film is silent, but displays a large number of Vitaphone shorts at the beginning. To reflect on Don Juan's release, Harry acquired the great Piccadilly Theater in Manhattan, New York City, and named it Theater Warners.
Don Juan premiered at Warners' Theater in New York on August 6, 1926. Throughout the early history of film distribution, theater owners hired orchestras to attend a movie show, where they provided the soundtrack. Through Vitaphone, Warner Bros. produced eight shorts (played at the beginning of every Don Juan show across the country) in 1926. Many film production companies questioned the need. Don Juan did not cover its production costs and Lubitsch went to MGM. In April 1927 the Big Five studios (First National, Paramount, MGM, Universal, and Producers Distributing) destroyed Warner, and Western Electric renewed the Vitaphone Warner contract on terms that allowed other film companies to test the vote.
As a result of their financial problems, Warner Bros took the next step and released the Jazz Singer The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson. This film, which has a little voice dialogue, but includes a little voice dialogue but featuring the sound segment of Jolson's song, is a sensation. This marks the beginning of the era of "talking pictures" and the dusk of the silent era. However, Sam died the night before the opening, preventing the brothers from attending the premiere. Jack became the only production leader. Sam's death also greatly affects Jack's emotional state, since Sam can be regarded as the inspiration of Jack and his beloved sister. In the coming years, Jack keeps the studio under tight control. Firing employees is common. Among those who fired Jack were Rin Tin Tin (in 1929) and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (in 1933), the latter having served as the first major National star since the brothers acquired the studio in 1928.
Thanks to the success of The Jazz Singer , the studio is rich in money. The next Jolson film for the company, The Singing Fool was also successful. With the success of this first talkie ( The Jazz Singer , Lights of New York , The Singing Fool and The Terror >), Warner Bros. being the top studio and the brothers can now move from the Poverty Line section of Hollywood, and acquire many larger studios in Burbank. They thrive by acquiring Stanley Corporation, a major theater chain. This gave them a part in the First National Pictures movie, owned by Stanley one-third. In a bidding war with William Fox, Warner Bros bought more First National stocks on September 13, 1928; Jack also pointed Zanuck as the First National Image manager.
In 1928, Warner Bros. released Lights of New York , the first all-talk feature. Due to its success, the film industry completely changed to sound almost overnight. At the end of 1929, all major studios exclusively made sound films. In 1929, First National Pictures released their first film with Warner Bros, Noah's Ark . Although the budget is expensive, Noah's Ark is profitable. In 1929, Warner Bros. releasing On with the Show! , the first all-talk all-color feature. This was followed by Gold Diggers of Broadway which will be screened in theaters until 1939. The success of these photos led to a color revolution. Warner Bros color films from 1929 to 1931 included The Show of Shows (1929), Sally (1929), Light Light (1930), < i> Golden Dawn (1930), Hold Everything (1930), Song of the Flame (1930), Song of the West (1930), Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1930), Under the Moon of Texas (1930 ), 1950), Vienna Night (1931), Woman Hungry (1931), Bride of the Resiment /i> (1931), 50 Million Frenchmen (1931) and Manhattan Parade (1932). In addition to this, a number of features are released with Technicolor sequences, as well as many special Technicolor Special subjects. The majority of these colored films are musical.
In 1929, Warner Bros purchased St. Anne's theater network. Louis, Skouras Brothers Enterprises. After this takeover, Spyros Skouras, the driving force of the chain, became general manager of the Warner Brothers Theater Circuit in America. He managed to work at the post for two years and turned his losses into profits. Harry produced an adaptation of Cole Porter's musical entitled Fifty Million Frenchmen . Through First National, studio profits are increasing substantially. After the success of the 1929 First National Movie Noah's Ark film, Harry agreed to make Michael Curtiz the president director of Burbank's studio. Mort Blumenstock, the first national scriptwriter, became a famous writer at the New York headquarters. In the third quarter, Warner Bros gained full control of First National, when Harry bought the remaining shares of a third of the company from Fox. The Justice Department agrees to allow the purchase if First National is managed as a separate company. When the Great Depression struck, Warner requested and got permission to merge the two studios. Soon after that Warner Bros. move to the First National lot in Burbank. Although the company joins, the Justice Department requires Warner to release several films annually under the First National name until 1938. For thirty years, certain Warner productions are identified (mainly for tax purposes) as' A Warner Bros.-First National Picture. '
In the later part of 1929, Jack Warner hired George Arliss to star in Disraeli , which was a success. Arliss won an Academy Award for Best Actor and later starred in nine more films for the studio. In 1930, Harry acquired more theaters in Atlantic City, despite the start of the Great Depression. In July 1930, studio banker Motley Flint was killed by unsatisfied investors at another company.
Harry obtained a series of music publishers (including M. Witmark & ​​Sons, Remick Music Corp, and T.B. Harms, Inc.) to form Warner Bros.. Music. In April 1930, Warner Bros. acquired Brunswick Records. Harry acquired radio companies, foreign voice patents, and lithographic companies. After setting up Warner Bros. Music, Harry appoints his son, Lewis, to manage the company.
In 1931, the studio began to feel the effects of the Great Depression, reportedly lost $ 8 million, and an additional $ 14 million the following year. In 1931, the head of Warner Bros. Music Lewis Warner died of infected wisdom teeth. Around that time, Zanuck hired screenwriter Wilson Mizner, who had little respect for authority and found it difficult to work with Jack, but became an asset. As time passed, Warner became more tolerant of Mizner and helped invest in the Brown Derby Mizner restaurant. Mizner died of a heart attack on April 3, 1933.
In 1932, the musicals declined in popularity, and the studio was forced to cut music numbers from many productions and advertise them as a live comedy. The public begins to associate the musical with color, and thus the studio begins to abandon its use. Warner Bros has a contract with Technicolor to produce two more photos in the process. As a result, the first horror film in color was produced and released by the studio: Doctor X (1932) and Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). In the later part of 1931, Harry Warner hired Teddington Studios in London, England. The studio focused on making "quota quickies" for the UK domestic market and Irving Asher was appointed head of studio producer. In 1934, Harry officially bought Teddington Studios.
In February 1933, Warner Bros. producing 42nd Street , a very successful musical under the direction of Lloyd Bacon. Warner commissioned Bacon for "more expensive production including the Parade Foot Walls, 1930-1935: _Pre-code_realistic_period "> 1930-1935: pre-coded realistic period
With the fall of the musical market, Warner Bros., under Zanuck switch to a more socially realistic storyline. For many movies about gangsters; Warner Bros. soon became known as "gangster studio". The studio's first gangster movie, Little Caesar, was a remarkable box office success and Edward G. Robinson starred in many of Warner's next gangster movies. The subsequent studio effort, The Public Enemy , made James Cagney practically a new star in the studio, and Warner Bros. made more gangster movies.
Another gangster film produced by the studio is a critically acclaimed I Am a Fugitive from Chain Gang, based on a true story and starring Paul Muni, joining Cagney and Robinson as one of the gangster stars in the studio after performing at a successful film, which convinced the audience to question the American legal system. In January 1933, film protagonist Robert Elliot Burns - still in jail in New Jersey - and other chain gang prisoners around the world appealed and released. In January 1933 Georgian chain gang keeper J. Harold Hardy - also a feature film - sued the studio for displaying "cruel, untrue and false" attacks on it in the film. After appearing in the movie Warner The Man Who Played God , Bette Davis became the top star.
In 1933, help for the studio came after Franklin D. Roosevelt became president and started the New Deal. This economic recovery allows Warner Bros. to return to being profitable. That same year Zanuck quit. Harry Warner's relationship with Zanuck has become tense after Harry is so opposed to letting the Zanuck Movie Baby Face step out of the Hays Code limits. The studio reduced her salary as a result of the Great Depression's loss, and Harry refused to return it when the company recovered. Zanuck founded his own company. Harry then raised salaries for the studio employees.
In 1933, Warner was able to connect with William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Films tycoon tycoon. Hearst previously worked with MGM but ended the relationship after a dispute with chief producer Irving Thalberg over the treatment of Hearst's long-time savings, actress Marion Davies, who fought for box office success. Through his partnership with Hearst, Warner signed Davies to a studio contract. The Hearst and Davies films, however, did not increase studio profits.
In 1934, the studio lost more than $ 2.5 million, of which $ 500,000 was the result of a 1934 fire in Burbank's studio, destroying the early 20 years of Vitagraph, Warner Bros, and First National movies. The following year, Hearst's adaptation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) failed at the box office and the studio's net loss increased. During this time, Harry and six other movie studio leaders were indicted for conspiracy to violate the Antitrust Sherman Act, through attempts to obtain a monopoly over St. Louis theaters. In 1935, Harry was tried; after the cancellation of the trial, Harry sold the company's cinema and his case was never reopened. 1935 also saw the studio generate a net profit of $ 674,158.00.
In 1936, music contracts and silent stars were not renewed, rather than being replaced by a tough working class type that fitted better with these photos. Dorothy Mackaill, Dolores del RÃÆ'o, Bebe Daniels, Frank Fay, Winnie Lightner, Bernice Claire, Alexander Gray, Alice White, and Jack Mulhall who characterized the urban, modern and sophisticated attitude of the 1920s gave way to James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Edward G. Robinson, Warren William and Barbara Stanwyck, who would be more accepted by ordinary people. This studio is one of the most productive producers of Pre-Code drawings and has many problems with sensors as they begin to monitor what they consider obscene (around 1934). As a result, Warner Bros. turned to historical photographs from around 1935 to avoid a confrontation with Breen's office. In 1936, after the success of The Petrified Forest , Jack signed Humphrey Bogart to a studio contract. Warner, however, does not think Bogart is a material star, and plays a poor role in the rare role as a criminal opposite either James Cagney or Edward Robinson over the next five years.
After Hal B. Wallis replaced Zanuck in 1933, and Hays Code came into force in 1935, the studio was forced to abandon this realistic approach to producing a more moralistic and ideal image. History dramas in the studio, melodrama (or "women's drawing"), whizers, and adaptations from the best sellers, with stars like Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Paul Muni, and Errol Flynn avoiding censorship. In 1936, Bette Davis, now practically a top studio star, was not happy with her role. He went to England and tried to break his contract. Davis lost the lawsuit and returned to America. Although many studio employees have problems with Jack Warner, they consider Albert and Harry fair.
Code period
In the 1930s many actors and actresses disappeared that had characterized the realistic, pre-Code era that did not fit the new trend into the ideal and moral picture. Warner Bros. remains the top studio in Hollywood, but this changed after 1935 because other studios, notably MGM, quickly covered the glamor and glamor that Warner Bros. had previously characterized. However, in the late 1930s, Bette Davis became the main draw in the studio and was even dubbed the "Fifth Brother Warner."
In 1935, Cagney sued Jack Warner for breaking the contract. Cagney claims that Warner forced him to star in more movies than his contract required. Cagney finally canceled his lawsuit after completing the cash payment. However, Cagney left the studio to set up an independent film company with his brother, Bill. The Cagneys released their movie despite the Grand National Films, but they were not able to get good financing and ran out of money after their third movie. Cagney then agrees to return to Warner Bros., after Jack agrees to a contract that ensures Cagney will be treated in accordance with his own terms. After the success of Yankee Doodle Dandy at the box office, Cagney again questioned whether the studio would meet his paycheck and once again quit to form his own film production and distribution company with Bill.
Another employee who has problems with Warner is studio producer Bryan Foy. In 1936, Wallis hired Foy as a producer for a low-budget B studio movie that led to his nickname "B's guard". Foy was able to generate more profit than any other B-movie producer at the time. During Foy's time in the studio, however, Warner fired him seven different times.
During 1936, The Story of Louis Pasteur proved box office success and star Paul Muni won an Oscar for Best Actor in March 1937. The 1937 studio movie The Life of Emile Zola gave the studio Best Picture Oscar first.
In 1937, the studio hired a Midwestern radio broadcaster, Ronald Reagan. Although Reagan was originally a B-movie actor, Warner Bros was impressed by his performance in the last scene of Knute Rockne, All American, and agreed to pair it with Flynn on the Santa Fe Trail (1940) ). Reagan then returned to B-movie. After his appearance in 1942's Kings Row studio, Warner decided to make Reagan a top star and sign a new contract, tripling his salary.
In 1936, Harry's daughter, Doris, read a copy of Margaret Mitchell Gone with the Wind and was interested in making film adaptations. Doris offered Mitchell $ 50,000 for screen rights. Jack vetoed the deal, realizing it would be an expensive production.
Paramount Main star George Raft also proved to be a problem for Jack. Warner had contracted him in 1939, finally taking the third gangster actor in the 1930s into Warners coverage, knowing that he could bring a gangster image when Robinson or Cagney was in suspension. Raft had trouble working with Bogart and refused to star in. Finally, Warner agreed to release Raft from his contract in 1943. After Raft changed its role, the studio gave Bogart the role of "Mad Dog" Roy Earle in the 1941 High Sierra movie, which helped establish him as a top star. Following High Sierra and after Raft once again reversed his part, Bogart was given a lead role in the successful 1941 remake of John Huston in the 1931 pre-Code movie in the studio, The Maltese Falcon based on Dashiell Hammett's novel.
Warner Cartoon
The Warner cartoon unit is rooted in the independent Harman and Ising studio. From 1930 to 1933, the Disney alumni, Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising produced a musical cartoon for Leon Schlesinger, who sold it to Warner. Harman and Ising introduced their Bosko characters in the first Looney Tunes cartoon, Sinkin 'in Bathtub , and made a sister series, Merrie Melodies , in 1931.
Harman and Ising broke away from Schlesinger in 1933 due to a contract dispute, taking Bosko with them to MGM. As a result, Schlesinger started his own studio, Leon Schlesinger Productions, followed by Merrie Melodies when he started production at Looney Tunes starring Buddy, a Bosko clone. At the end of World War II, the new Schlesinger production team, including director Friz Freleng (started in 1934), Tex Avery (started in 1935), Frank Tashlin (started in 1936), Bob Clampett (started in 1937), Chuck Jones (Begun in 1938), and Bob McKimson (started in 1945), was formed. Schlesinger's staff developed a fast and irreverent style that made their cartoons globally popular.
In 1935, Avery directed the Porky Pig cartoon which formed the character as the first animated star in the studio. In addition to Porky, Daffy Duck (who debuted in 1937 Porky's Duck Hunt), Elmer Fudd ( Elmer's Candid Camera , 1940), Bugs Bunny ( A Wild Hare , 1940), and Tweety ( A Tale of Two Kitties , 1942) will gain star power. In 1942, Schlesinger's studio has surpassed Walt Disney Studios as the most successful animated producer.
Warner Bros bought a Schlesinger cartoon unit in 1944 and named it Warner Bros.. Cartoon. However, this unit is treated indifferently by senior management, beginning with the installation of Edward Selzer as a senior producer, deemed by incompetent creative staff. Jack Warner does not care much about the company's short film product and is said to be very unconcerned about the studio animation division he mistakenly believes that the unit produces the Mickey Mouse cartoon, the main character of Walt Disney Productions. He sold the pre-August 1948 libraries for $ 3,000 each, which proved a vague transaction given its final value.
Warner Bros. Cartoons continued, with intermittent intermittent, until 1969 when it was dissolved when the parent company ceased completely. Characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, and Porky Pig became the center of corporate image in the next few decades. Bugs in particular remain the mascots for Warner Bros, divisions and Six Flags (once owned by Time Warner). The success of the compilation film, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie in 1980, featuring archive films of these characters prompted Warner Brothers to set Warner Bros.. Animation as a new production division to restart original production of materials.
World War II
According to Warner's autobiography, before the entry of the United States in World War II, Philip Kauffman, head of Warner Bros. German sales, was murdered by the Nazis in Berlin in 1936. Harry produced the successful anti-German film The Life of Emile Zola (1937). After that, Harry oversaw the production of more anti-German films, including the Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940), which made King Philip II equivalent with Hitler, Sergeant York , and You're in the Army Now (1941). Harry then decided to focus on producing war movies. Warner cut his film production to half during the war, eliminating the B Pictures unit in 1941. Bryan Foy joined Twentieth Century Fox.
During the war era, the studio made Casablanca , Now, Voyager , Yankee Doodle Dandy (all 1942), Here's the Army , and Mission to Moscow (both 1943); the latter became controversial a few years later. At the premiere of Yankee Doodle Dandy (in Los Angeles, New York and London), the audience buys $ 15.6 million in war bonds for the British and US governments. By mid-1943, the audience was tired of the war movie, but Warner continued to produce, lost money. In honor of the studio's contribution to the cause, the Navy named the Liberty ship after the father of his brother, Benjamin Warner. Harry baptized the ship. By the time the war ended, $ 20 million in war bonds were purchased through the studio, the Red Cross collected 5,200 liters of blood plasma from studio employees and 763 of the studio employees serving in the armed forces, including Harry Warner's law boy Milton Sperling and Jack Jack Warner's son Jr.. Following a dispute over Oscar ownership Casablanca for Best Movie, Wallis resigned. After Casablanca making Bogart a top star, Bogart's relationship with Jack worsened.
In 1943, Olivia de Havilland (who was often borrowed by Warner to other studios) sued Warner for breaking the contract. De Haviland has refused to portray the famous Elizabeth Blackwell as abolitionist in the upcoming film for Columbia Pictures. Warner responded by sending 150 telegrams to various film production companies, warning them not to hire him for any role. After that, de Haviland found work contracts in the United States to last only seven years; de Haviland has been contracted with the studio since 1935. The court decides to support de Haviland and he leaves the studio. Through de Haviland's victory, many of the studio's old actors are now exempt from their contract, and Harry decides to end the studio suspension policy.
That same year, Jack signed MGM actress Joan Crawford's newly released, former top star who found her career faded. Crawford's first role with the studio was the 1944's Hollywood Canteen. Her first major role in the studio, in the title role as Mildred Pierce (1945), revived her career and earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.
After World War II: changing hands
In the postwar years, Warner Bros. continues to create new stars, including Lauren Bacall and Doris Day. The studio was very prosperous after the war. In 1946, company payments reached $ 600,000 per week and net income reached $ 19.4 million. Jack Warner continues to refuse to comply with the Screen Actors Guild salary demands. In September 1946, employees went on strike for a month. In return, Warner - during his testimony in 1947 before the Congress on Mission to Moscow - accused some employees of having a relationship with the Communists. At the end of 1947, the studio achieved a record net profit of $ 22 million.
On January 5, 1948, Warner offered the first color colorreel, which included the Roses Tournament and Rose Rose Game. In 1948, Bette Davis, still their top actress and now hostile to Jack, was a big deal for Harry after he and the others left the studio after completing the movie Beyond the Forest.
Warner is a party to US anti-trust case v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. the 1940s. This action, brought by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, claims five integrated studio-theater chain combinations withstand competition. The Supreme Court heard the case in 1948, and ruled for the government. As a result, Warner and four other large studios were forced to separate production from the exhibition. In 1949, the studio's net profit was only $ 10 million.
Warner Bros has two semi-independent production companies that release films through the studio. One of them is Sperling's United States Pictures.
In the early 1950s, television threats emerged. In 1953, Jack decided to copy the successful 3D movie United Artists Bwana Devil , releasing his own 3D movie beginning with House of Wax . However, 3D movies soon lost their appeal among movie audiences.
3D almost led to the death of Warner Bros. cartoon studio. After completing the Bugs Bunny 3D cartoon, Lumber Jack-Rabbit , Jack Warner ordered the animation unit to close, mistakenly believing that all cartoons would be produced in 3D. A few months later, Warner relented and reopened the cartoon studio. Fortunately, Warner Bros. has enough backlogs of cartoons and a healthy re-program so there is no glaring disturbance in the release schedule.
In 1952, Warner Bros made their first film ( Carson City ) in "Warnercolor", the studio name for Eastmancolor.
After the fall of 3D movies, Harry Warner decided to use CinemaScope in the future of Warner Bros. movie. One of CinemaScope's first studio movies, The High and the Mighty (owned by John Wayne company, Batjac Productions), allowed the studio to show a profit.
Early in 1953, Warner's theater ownership was screened as Stanley Warner Theaters; Stanley Warner's non-theater ownership was sold to Simon Fabian Enterprises, and his theaters joined RKO Theaters to become RKO-Stanley Warner Theaters.
In 1956, the studio lost money, declining from a 1953 net profit of $ 2.9 million and the next two years between $ 2 and $ 4 million. On February 13, 1956, Jack Warner sold the rights to all his pre-1950 films to Associated Artists Productions (who joined United Artists Television in 1958, and was later acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in early 1986 as part of a failed takeover MGM/UA by Ted Turner).
In May 1956, the brothers announced that they put Warner Bros on the market. Jack secretly arranged the syndicate - led by Boston banker Serge Semenenko - to buy 90% of the shares. After the three brothers were sold, Jack - through a deal under the table - joined the Semenenko syndicate and bought back all his shares. Shortly after the deal was completed in July, Jack - now the company's largest shareholder - designates him as the new president. Shortly after the deal was closed, Jack announced the company and its subsidiaries would be "geared more diligently to acquire the best possible story, talent, and film film property."
Warner Bros. Television and Warner Bros. Records
In 1949, with the success of television threatening the film industry more and more, Harry Warner decided to emphasize television production. However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will not allow it. After a failed attempt to convince other movie studio bosses to switch, Harry abandoned his television efforts.
Jack had a problem with the failed film Milton Berle Always Leave Them Laughing during the peak of Berle television's popularity. Warner feels that Berle is not strong enough to carry a movie and people will not pay to see the people they can see on television for free. However, Jack is pressured to use Berle, replacing Danny Kaye with him. Berle's berle's behavior on set and the big failure of the film caused Jack to ban television from movie sets.
On March 21, 1955, the studio was finally able to engage in television through the Warner Bros. unit. A successful television run by William T. Orr, Jack Warner's son-in-law. Warner Bros. Television provides ABC with a weekly show, Warner Bros. Presents. This show features rotating events based on three successful films, Kings Row , Casablanca and Cheyenne and followed by promotions for new movies. It did not work. The next studio effort is to create a weekly series of Cheyenne . Cheyenne is the first television in the West. Two episodes were placed together for feature film release outside the United States. In his B movie tradition, the studio is followed up with a popular series of popular Westerners, such as writer/producer Roy Huggins' critically acclaimed Maverick and Sugarfoot ,
Within a few years, the studio provoked animosity amongst their TV stars such as Clint Walker and James Garner, who sued over a contract dispute and won. Edd Byrnes was not that lucky and bought himself from his contract. Jack is angered by their perceived gratitude, which turns out to show more independence than movie actors, deepening insults for new media. Many of Warner's television stars appear in the casting of Warner movie theaters. In 1963, court decisions forced Warner to terminate a contract with their television star, involving them for a particular series or film role. In 1963, Jack Webb was head of Warner's TV division.
Warner Bros is already the owner of many music publishers, whose songs appear in countless cartoons (composed by Carl Stalling) and television shows (arranged by Max Steiner).
In 1958, the studio launched Warner Bros.. Records. Originally the label released a recording made by their television star - whether they can sing or not - and a recording based on a television soundtrack.
In 1963, Warner agreed to Frank Sinatra's "takeover rescue". The deal gave Sinatra US $ 1.5 million and partial ownership of Warner Bros. Records, making Reprise a sub-label. The most significant deal was bringing Reprise manager Morris "Mo" Ostin into the company. In 1964, after seeing a profit recording company made from Warner movie music, Warner decided to claim ownership of the studio movie soundtrack. In the first eighteen months, Warner Bros. Records lost about $ 2 million.
New owner
Warner Bros. rebounds in the late 1950s, specializing in popular drama adaptations such as The Bad Seed (1956), No Time for Sergeant (1958), and Gypsy (1962).
While he was slowly recovering from a car accident that occurred while on holiday in France in 1958, Jack returned to the studio and made sure his name was featured in a studio press release. From 1961-63, the studio's annual net income was just over $ 7 million. Warner paid an unprecedented $ 5.5 million for the rights to the Broadway movie My Fair Lady in February 1962. The previous owner, CBS director William S. Paley, stipulates that the provision includes half of the distributor's "gross profit" plus negative ownership at the end of the contract. "In 1963, the studio's net profit fell to $ 3.7 million. In the mid-1960s, film production declined, as the industry was in the midst of a painful transition from the Golden Age of Hollywood to the present-day New Hollywood era. Some studio films are created to support co-production (which Warner provides facilities, money and distribution), and independent image pickups.
With the success of the 1964 movie in Broadway's My Fair Lady drama studio, as well as the soundtrack, Warner Bros. Records becomes a profitable subsidiary. Film of 1966 Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? is a great success.
In November 1966, Jack surrendered to age and time-changing, selling studio and musical business controls to Seven Arts Productions, run by Canadian investors Elliot and Kenneth Hyman, for $ 32 million. Companies, including studios, are named Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. Warner remained president until the summer of 1967, when Camelot failed at the box office and Warner submitted his position to Ben Kalmenson's old publicity director; Warner remains on board as an independent producer and vice president. With the success of 1967 Bonnie and Clyde , Warner Bros. return favorable.
Two years later Hymans was tired and bored with Jack Warner and his actions. They received cash and stock offers from Kinney National Company for more than $ 64 million. Kinney has a Hollywood talent agency, Ashley-Famous, whose founder Ted Ashley leads Kinney, Steve Ross, to buy Warner Bros.. Ashley became the head of the studio and changed its name to Warner Bros., Inc. once again. Jack Warner was angry with Hymans sales, and decided to retire, until his death due to a serious health complication of heart inflammation in August 1978.
Although the film's audience has shrunk, the new management of Warner believes in the power of the stellar image, signed a production agreement along with some of the greatest names of the day, including Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, and Clint Eastwood, brought the studio successfully into the 1970s and 1980s. an. Warner Bros. also made great gains on movies and television shows built around Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman characters owned by Warner Bros. DC Comics.
Leaving the parking lot and funeral home, Kinney refocused on naming herself in honor of its most famous holding, Warner Communications. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Warner Communications branched out to other businesses, such as Atari, Inc., a video game company. in 1976, and then the theme park of Six Flags.
From 1971 to late 1987, Warner's international distribution operations were a joint venture with Columbia Pictures. In some countries, these joint ventures distribute films from other companies (such as EMI Films and Cannon Films in the UK). Warner ended the business in 1988 and partnered with Walt Disney Pictures. This joint venture lasted until 1993, when Disney created Buena Vista International.
In 1972, in a cost-cutting move, Warner and Columbia formed a third company called The Burbank Studios (TBS). They will share the Warner lot in Burbank. Both studios are technically a production entity, providing daily TBS responsibilities for studio land and care. The Columbia ranch (about a mile north of Warner) is part of the deal. The Warner-Columbia relationship is fierce, but the reluctance of both studios to approve or spend money on capital raises that may only help others has no undesirable consequences from preserving Warner lot's major function as a filmmaking facility while it was produced relatively little during the 1970s. 1980s and 1980s. (Most of the films produced after 1968 were filmed on site after Camelot's failure was partially attributed to the facts set in the UK but clearly filmed in Burbank.) With control of its own lotup tied to TBS, Warner eventually defended most of his backlot, while Fox sold his backlot to make Century City, Universal turn parts of his backlot into parks and shopping centers, and Disney replaced his backlot with office buildings and alienated his animation department to an industrial park in Glendale.
In 1989, the solution to the situation became clear when Warner Bros. acquired Lorimar-Telepictures and took control of MGM's former studio premises in Culver City, and in the same year, Sony bought Columbia Pictures. Sony is dousing with cash and Warner Bros. now has two studios. In 1990, TBS ended when Sony bought MGM from Warner and moved Columbia to Culver City. However, Warner continues the Columbia Ranch, now known as Warner Bros Ranch.
Robert A. Daly joined Warner Brothers on 1 December 1980 taking over from Ted Ashley. The title is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. One year later, he was appointed Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and appointed Terry Semel President and Chief Operating Officer.
Warner Communications merged in 1989 with white shoe publishing company Time Inc. Time claims a higher level of prestige, while Warner Bros provides benefits. The Time Warner merger almost slipped when Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf Western, later sold to Viacom), launched a $ 12.2 billion hostile takeover bid for Time Inc., forcing Time to acquire Warner with a $ 14.9 billion cash/stock offering. Paramount responded with a lawsuit filed in Delaware court to break the merger. Paramount is missing and merger takes place.
In 1992, Warner Bros. Family Entertainment was founded to produce various family oriented films.
In 1998, Time Warner sold Six Flags to Premier Parks. The takeover of Time Warner in 2000 by AOL while flying high did not prove a good match, and following the fall of the "dot-com" stock, the AOL element was removed from the company's name.
Since 1995
In 1995, Warner and the owner of the Tribune Company of Chicago station launched The WB Television Network, looking for a niche market among teenagers. WB's early programs include an abundance of adolescent tariffs, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, Dawson's Creek, and One Tree Hill >. Two dramas produced by Spelling Television, 7th Heaven and Charmed, helped bring The WB into the spotlight. Charmed lasts for eight seasons, becoming the longest drama with female cast. 7th Heaven ran for eleven seasons and was the longest family drama and longest show for the network. In 2006, Warner and CBS Paramount Television decided to close The WB and CBS's UPN and jointly launched The CW Television Network.
In 1998, Warner Bros. celebrated its 75th anniversary.
In 1999, Terry Semel and Robert Daly resigned as studio chief after a career with 13 Oscar-nominated films. Daly and Semel are said to have popularized the modern partner financing model and profit sharing for film production. In mid-1999, Alan F. Horn and Barry Meyer replaced Daly and Semel as heads of the new studios, where the studio continued to succeed in movies, television shows, cartoons, owned by the studio's previous studio head.
In the late 1990s, Warner acquired rights to the Harry Potter novel and released the first feature film adaptation in 2001. Subsequently, they released their second film in 2002, third in June 2004, the fourth in November 2005, the fifth in July 2007, and the sixth in July 2009. The seventh book (and at that time, the final) was released as two films; Deathly Hallows - Part 1 in November 2010 and Deathly Hallows - Part 2 in July 2011.
In 2004, Warner Bros. became the first studio in history to print more than $ 2 billion internationally within a year.
Beginning in 2006, Warner Bros. operates a joint venture with China Film Group Corporation and HG to set up Warner China Film HG to produce films in Hong Kong and China, including Connected , a remake of thriller film in 2004 > Mobile .
Warner Bros. plays a big role in discontinuing HD DVD formats. On January 4, 2008, Warner Bros. announced that they will reject HD DVD support for the sake of Blu-ray Disc. HD DVD continues to be released until May 2008, but only follows the release of Blu-ray and DVD.
In 2009, Warner Bros. set studio and industry records, earned $ 2.13 billion in domestic receipts and $ 4.01 billion worldwide.
Warner Bros. ' Harry Potter series movie is the world's best-selling series film of all time without adjustment for inflation. Its Batman series movie is one of only two series to have two entries producing over $ 1 billion worldwide. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is Warner Bros. 'the highest-grossing film of all time (more than The Dark Knight ). However, the Harry Potter film has resulted in a net loss due to Hollywood accounting. IMAX Corp. signed a contract with Warner Bros. Pictures in April 2010 to release as many as 20 giant format movies up to 2013.
On February 6, 2014, Columbia TriStar Warner Filmes de Portugal Ltda., A joint venture with Sony Pictures that distributes the films of both companies in Portugal, announces that it will close its doors on March 31, 2014. NOS Audiovisuais now handles the distribution of Warner Films Bros. in Portugal since that.
On October 21, 2014, Warner Bros. created a short-form digital unit, Blue Ribbon Content, under the leadership of Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series Sam Register.
In 2015, Warner Bros. is one of three studios that have released a billion dollar films in the same year (along with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Universal Studios); this difference was reached in 2012 with The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In 2016, only studios are able to break through $ 1 billion in domestic box-office every year since 2000.
On November 17, 2016, Time Warner (via Warner Bros.) announced that it purchased Machinima, Inc., making it a subsidiary of Warner Bros.. Digital Networks.
Maps Warner Bros.
Production offer
- Offer active production and distribution
- Formerly a distribution transaction
- Former production offer
Movie library
Acquired libraries
Mergers and acquisitions have helped Warner Bros. collect a diverse collection of movies, cartoons and television programs.
In the aftermath of the 1948 antitrust lawsuit, an uncertain time led Warner Bros. in 1956 to sell most of the pre-1950 movies and cartoons for Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.). In addition, a.a.p. also acquired the Fleischer Studios cartoon and Famous Studios Popeye , originally from Paramount Pictures. Two years later, a.a.p. were sold to United Artists, who held them until 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired United Artists.
In 1982, during their independent years, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Brut Productions, a film production group from Faberge Inc.'s personal care company. who was struggling at the moment.
In 1986, the Turner Broadcasting System, at that time failed to get Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, settled for library ownership Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists. These included the MGM film and the pre-May 1986 television library and a small library of United Artists (including the a.a.p. library and the RKO distribution of North American Radio Pictures).
In 1989, Warner Communications acquired Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation. This acquisition includes the post-1973 Rankin/Bass Production library, as well as the post-1947 Monogram Pictures/Allied Artists Pictures Corporation library, which includes the Lorimar library.
In 1991, Turner Broadcasting Systems acquired Hanna-Barbera animation studio and Ruby-Spears library from Great American Broadcasting, and years later, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Castle Rock Entertainment on December 22, 1993 and New Line Cinema on January 28, 1994. On October 10, 1996, Time Warner acquired Turner Broadcasting System, thus bringing pre-1950 silent/sound films and a pre-August 1948 cartoon library back home. However, most of Castle Rock Entertainment's pre-1994 libraries are currently owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer through PolyGram Entertainment (except for A Few Good Men, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment), and as such, Warner Bros has the post-1994 library of Castle Rock Entertainment.
On October 4, 2007, Warner Bros. added the Peanuts library under license from Peanuts Worldwide, LLC, the licensor and owner of Peanuts material; this includes all the television libraries outside the theater library, which continues to be a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Paramount Pictures, both companies part of the National Amusements.
In 2008, Warner Bros. closing New Line Cinema as an independent mini-major studio, and integrating New Line into its library. The following year, on October 15, 2009, Warner Bros. acquired home video distribution rights to the Sesame Street library, along with Sesame Workshop. In June 2016, he created the Harry Potter Global Franchise Development Team to oversee its ownership of the worldwide Harry Potter franchise (including the Wizarding World trademark).
Movies with best-selling revenue
The Warner Bros. Archives
The University of Southern California The Warner Bros Archives is the largest single studio collection in the world. Donated in 1977 to USC School of Cinema-Television by Warner Communications, the WBA kept a departmental record detailing Warner Bros. activities of the first major studio feature, My Four Year in Germany (1918), sold to Seven Arts in 1968. It presents a complete view of the production process during the Golden Age of Hollywood. UA donated a pre-1950 Warner Bros. nitrate negative to the Library of Congress and post-1951 negative to the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Most corporate legal files, scripts, and production materials are donated to the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
See also
- Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
- Warner Bros. Television
- References belong to Warner Bros.
- Warner Bros. movie list.
- List of short subjects Warner Bros.
- Warner Bros. Animation
Note
References
The work cited
External links
- Official website
- TV Warner Bros.
- Warner Brothers Records c. 1926-1950 is part of United Artists Corporation Records at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
- Warner Bros. in IMDbPro (subscription required)
- Warner Bros. in The Big Cartoon DataBase
- Search for help authors: James V. D'ArcÃ, (2013). "Warner Bros. Collection". Prepared for Special Collection L. Tom Perry, Provo, Utah.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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