LOS ANGELES — Warner Brothers on Monday announced a new leadership team for its film division while informing the staff that Jeff Robinov was leaving as the motion picture group’s president. Combined with a shake-up at its television unit, the moves greatly concentrate power at Hollywood’s largest studio in the hands of one executive.
Rather than relying on formidable movie and television presidents to run their respective businesses, which has long been Warner’s practice, Kevin Tsujihara, the studio’s recently appointed chief executive, has shifted to lines of reporting that promise a more hands-on approach — by him. Less than four months after taking over for Barry Meyer, Mr. Tsujihara, 48, will now have a half dozen TV and movie executives reporting directly to him.
Warner said in an e-mail to employees on Monday that Mr. Robinov, who has been president of the studio’s movie operation, would “no longer serve” in that role. Four of Mr. Robinov’s lieutenants — Toby Emmerich, Dan Fellman, Sue Kroll and Greg Silverman — will instead begin reporting to Mr. Tsujihara.
The new alignment promises to be more than just a stopgap measure, but it was hastily designed in recent days after Mr. Robinov signaled that his reign was coming to an end. The circumstances of Mr. Robinov’s exit are still unclear; in the e-mail sent to employees, Warner stopped short of saying that he would depart.
A Warner spokesman declined to comment. Mr. Robinov, whose contract stretches into next year, did not return a call left at his office. His lawyer, Harry M. Brittenham, declined to comment.
Associates of Mr. Robinov said last week that he might surface at another studio, if he managed to discontinue contractual arrangements that tie him to Warner.
Mr. Robinov, a volatile executive who maintained strong relationships with filmmakers, was publicly passed over for the chief executive job that Mr. Tsujihara received in January. Another candidate who lost out, Bruce Rosenblum, formerly Warner’s television president, left the studio in May after 25 years.
Instead of replacing Mr. Rosenblum, whose amicable departure came as his contract ended, Warner opted to have three of his deputies — Craig Hunegs, Peter Roth and Jeffrey Schlesinger — run the business and report to Mr. Tsujihara, who started as chief executive on March 1. Warner insiders positioned the combined movie and TV management changes as an effort to create a flatter and faster operation.
Mr. Tsujihara and his new movie team have a certain comfort in knowing that Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” franchise — stretched to three films — will fill screens through the end of next year, with the release of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again.” The “Hobbit” series has already been overseen by Mr. Emmerich, who will continue as president of New Line Cinema, a Warner subsidiary.
Mr. Emmerich will add responsibility for Warner’s live theater business, which adapts its movies for the stage. A musical adaptation of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is under way in London, for instance.
Mr. Fellman will continue to run Warner’s movie distribution in North America, while Ms. Kroll, president of worldwide movie marketing, will add oversight of international distribution. Mr. Silverman will now serve as president of creative development and production.
Until recently, Warner had been the industry’s most stable studio. Mr. Meyer served as Warner’s chief executive for 14 years before turning over the wheel to Mr. Tsujihara; a single management team oversaw the studio for the previous 18 years.
In film production, Mr. Robinov’s departure sweeps away a management structure that had been in place since 2002. In September of that year, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, a highly regarded production executive, resigned to become a producer, allowing Mr. Robinov to consolidate his position as the executive in charge of key moviemaking decisions.
The new appointments give little clue as to the future plans of Time Warner, the studio’s parent company. Time Warner’s chief executive, Jeffrey L. Bewkes, recently initiated plans to spin off the company’s magazine holdings, which will concentrate the conglomerate more around its entertainment holdings.
As Hollywood’s largest studios focus on fewer and more expensive films, some executives and analysts have speculated that industry consolidation is inevitable. But whether Time Warner would figure as a buyer, seller, merger partner or bystander in any next round of transactions remained unclear.
In recent years, Mr. Tsujihara, who formerly ran the studio’s home entertainment division, has had a role in deciding what movies would be made, even routinely reading scripts. Last year Warner movies took in about $4.3 billion at the global box office, with hits like “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Magic Mike” and “Argo,” which won the Oscar for best picture of 2012.
Still, the studio faces significant competition in television production from 20th Century Fox and has struggled to bring its DC Comics superheroes like Wonder Woman and Green Lantern to movie audiences while Disney’s Marvel Studios has had one superhero hit after another.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/business/media/warner-brothers-announces-new-studio-leadership.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.