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Warner Discovery Boss David Zaslav has a new head of DC studios; not one but two and it’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad filmmaker James Gunn and DC films producer Peter Safran. They both have the new titles of Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of DC Studios, overseeing the overall creative direction of the DC Universe across film, TV, and animation. PLAYLIST 62 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Warner Discovery Boss David Zaslav has a new head of DC studios; not one but two and it’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad filmmaker James Gunn and DC films producer Peter Safran. They both have the new titles of Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of DC Studios, overseeing the overall creative direction of the DC Universe across film, TV, and animation under a single banner. The duo will report to Zaslav, but will also be in close correspondence with Warner Bros Film Group Co-Chairs and CEOs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, on such matters as marketing, distribution, capital spend — just so that everyone is on the same page. Gunn and Safran start effective Nov. 1. RELATED STORY Warner Bros Discovery Will Take Up To $4.3 Billion In Restructuring Charges From Merger What happened here? Buzz was intense that Safran was going to get the job last week in the wake of former DC Films President Walter Hamada departing the studio. Then insiders told us that wasn’t true; that the first look deal for the Safran company was just re-upped. Turns out that Safran didn’t want to run DC alone unless there was a creative face, that being his Peacemaker and Suicide Squad partner Gunn. Apparently, the twosome became even more serious contenders for the job as they were advising Zaslav on candidates; one of those previously being Warner Bros. vet and Lego Movie producer Dan Lin. In his new role, Gunn is exclusive to Warner Bros Discovery/DC. No more Marvel. He can only direct TV series and movies for Warner Discovery/DC. Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 comes out via Disney/Marvel on May 5, 2023. There’s also a Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special hitting Disney+. The model that Zaslav and De Luca were eyeing here in Gunn-Safran was one akin to Disney’s Pixar where there is a creative and business face to the new DC label. Meanwhile the Safran Company will continue to be run by its President of Production, John Rickard. They have several projects in the mix inside and outside Warner’s DC, i.e. the Idris Elba-John Cena action feature Heads of State in the works at Amazon Studios. While Lin was a serious candidate, we hear he asked Zaslav for too much. Furthermore untangling Lin from his deal at Universal would have been a headache for Warner Discovery as the former Warner Bros development had a financing component to this deal. Safran was an easier get for Zas given that he only had a first look deal already in place at Warner Bros. Gunn and Safran will work closely with Bloys as well as Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group; Kathleen Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer, US Networks Group; Pam Lifford, President, Warner Bros. Discovery Consumer Products; and David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Zaslav is still looking for a new head of Warner Bros. Animation, the third feature bucket he outlined when taking on the new conglom next to Warner Bros. Motion Pictures and DC. Development insiders at the studio are excited: The prospect of gearing up writers’ room under Gunn is a luring prospect for talent and scribes to flock to the studio. In their new roles, Gunn and Safran will spearhead the development and execution of a long-term plan for the many properties licensed from DC Comics, focused on continuing the tradition of DC storytelling across all mediums, while building a sustainable growth business out of the franchise. Safran has been a lynchpin for Warner/New Line theatrical between building Conjuring to the biggest horror franchise ever at $2 billion WW, and shepherding DC’s highest grossing movie ever, Aquaman at $1.1 billion as well as Shazam!; Gunn’s The Suicide Squad; and the filmmaker’s HBO Max original, live-action series Peacemaker. Also on the horizon from Safran’s DC is Shazam: Fury of the Gods (March 17), Blue Beetle (due August 18, 2023) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on Christmas 2023. Not produced by Safran, but definitely DC, is the Ezra Miller starring The Flash on June 23, 2023.

In a continuation of Warner Bros. Discovery’ particularly rough year, their last tentpole release of 2022, DC’s Black Adam, has been met with near-universal panning from legacy media critics – and curiously, none of them have been decried as ‘racist’ or had their actions described as ‘review-bombing’ for disliking a film with a non-white lead. PLAYLIST 62 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Legacy Media Critics Trash ‘Black Adam’, Face No Accusations Of Being Racist Or Review-Bombing https://boundingintocomics.com/2022/10/24/legacy-media-critics-trash-black-adam-face-no-accusations-of-being-racist-or-review-bombing/ WOKE Critics DESTROY ‘Black Adam’, Face No Accusations Of Being Racist! Since awakening from his slumber on October 21st, the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson passion project has, as of writing, amassed one of the worst critic scores of the year, as calculated by twin review aggregate sites Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Source: Black Adam (2022), Warner Bros. Pictures On the former, the Justice Society of America-starring feature currently holds a 41/100 score based on 50 reviews: Source: Black Adam Review Scores, Metacritic RELATED: ‘Black Adam’ Producer Hiram Garcia Declares Long-Term Plans For Superman Are About More Than A Fight Between The Two Characters: “That Does Not Reward The Fans” While on the latter, the thoughts of 223 critics have left the film with an equivalent rating of 39%, thus officially bestowing Black Adam with the not-so-coveted title of ‘certified Rotten’: Source: Black Adam Review Scores, Rotten Tomatoes Yet, upon reading the actual reviews themselves, it seems that that critics held far less of a favorable opinion of the film than the above averages could even suggest. “Dwayne Johnson is at his most uninteresting (muscles in spandex) as an ancient Egyptian bodybuilder who must learn (like Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy) that sarcasm is cool and that (like Arnie in Terminator 2) torture and murder is not,” dismissed The Times’ Kevin Maher. “Pierce Brosnan appears as a Doctor Strange knock-off called Doctor Fatek and the whole thing is buttressed by some ugly political revisionism.” Source: Black Adam (2022), Warner Bros. Pictures RELATED: Henry Cavill Cameo In ‘Black Adam’ As Superman Spoiled, Warner Bros. Still Trying To Keep Lid On It Echoing a particularly common criticism echoed among tired comic book movie fans, Glen Weldon wrote for NPR, “It seems both obvious and inevitable to note that, this many years into superhero cinema’s ascendancy, novelty comes at a premium. Even so, Black Adam seems perfectly content to pick over the wilted remains of the superhero-movie salad bar.” “It seems both obvious and inevitable to note that, this many years into superhero cinema’s ascendancy, novelty comes at a premium,” he further discussed the film’s tired formula. “Even so, Black Adam seems perfectly content to pick over the wilted remains of the superhero-movie salad bar.” Source: Black Adam (2022), Warner Bros. Pictures The New York Times’ Maya Phillips similarly wrote the film off as “a dull, listless superhero movie that hits all the expected touchstones of the genre under the guise of a transgressive new antihero story.” “If, as the credits roll for Black Adam, you’re still stuck wondering what defines a bad hero or a good antihero, know that at least the film clarifies one thing: What makes a bad hero movie,” she savagely concluded. Source: Black Adam (2022), Warner Bros. Pictures RELATED: Warner Bros. “Corrects” Latest TV Spot For ‘Black Adam’ And Eliminates Clip Of Steppenwolf From Joss Whedon’s Cut Of ‘Justice League’ Continuing this line of ‘soullessness’-based criticism, The AV Club‘s Phil Pirrello admitted, “Black Adam unfortunately resembles large chunks of what came before: A brooding, weightless CG punch-a-thon, shot with the same grimy visual style of previous Snyderverse entries in the DCEU.” “A movie full of under-cranked, slow-mo action (it’s really okay to let this aesthetic go, Warner Bros.) and over-plotted world-building that delivers more information than emotion because the movie struggles to ground this world on the backs of characters worth emotionally investing in,” he added.

Forbes claims Warner Brothers Discovery won't be successful by making superhero films for the fans. They supposedly must be more like Marvel to be more inclusive. With Walter Hamada gone, and David Zaslav in charge, they will never do this. WBD Can’t Succeed By Making Superhero Movies Just ‘For The Fans’ https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2022/10/24/wbd-cant-succeed-by-making-superhero-movies-just-for-the-fans/ PLAYLIST 57 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Woke Media PANICS Over DC FILMS Made For The Fans! With Warner Bros. Discovery’s superhero release Black Adam grossing $67 million domestic and $70 million international at the box office this weekend, the marketing — led by the film’s superstar Dwayne Johnson — has focused on the message “we’re listening to the fans.” But fandom is divided on what they want, and these films have to be made for the mainstream global audiences if they are going to achieve blockbuster success needed to compete with Marvel Studios. WBD simply cannot succeed in the longterm by making and marketing these movies as just “for the fans.” Dwayne Johnson stars in ″Black Adam″ Dwayne Johnson stars in "Black Adam"SOURCE: WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY WBD’s new leadership is attempting the upteenth “course correction” for their DCEU properties, and many of their decisions thus far have been controversial if not downright shocking and perplexing. This has caused further division in a fandom already split into multiple factions that are often hostile to one another (too often, and usually for too simplistic and too selfish of reasons). (Spoiler Warning: From here, I’ll be mentioning various things about DCEU projects that you may or may not be aware of, including some things about Black Adam that I’d normally not mention on opening weekend, but the marketing and Johnson himself have been so constantly hinting and winking about it that it’s a bit silly to treat it as a secret or spoiler at this point — but still, here’s your spoiler warning!) Black Adam wound up an amalgamation of elements intended to appeal in nominal ways to multiple of these factions, yet in ways that also seem likely to alienate many of those same fandoms in other ways. And regardless of what any one of us personally thinks or prefers about this movie or others in the DC stable, they need to focus less on selling their films as “for the fans” and more toward appealing to what mainstream audiences want and respond to most from DCEU movies. Black Adam’s opening weekend numbers are healthy, despite mostly negative reviews (it’s at 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, with just 29% from Top Critics) and a modest B+ Cinemascore from audiences. The film has a mostly open field ahead for three weeks, allowing it time to boost its grosses before the Marvel superhero sequel Wakanda Forever arrives to rule the box office for the rest of November and into mid-December, when Avatar: The Way of Water will defy all naysayers by becoming another of the highest-grossing films of all time and probably setting endless box office records. The point is, Black Adam has a decent chance to top $500+ million if it has high-end weekly holds and bigger-than-expected weekday performances, before the competition sucks all of the oxygen out of the box office for everybody else. But if the hardcore fanbase showed up en mass for opening weekend and if the modest word of mouth doesn’t help drive higher attendance and repeat business for the next few weeks, then Black Adam might wind up closer to the $400+ million range. Aldis Hodge stars in ″Black Adam″ Aldis Hodge stars in "Black Adam"SOURCE: WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY And the fact is, with a nearly $200 million budget and $100+ million in marketing, this film needs to reach at least $650+ million to cover its costs (studios only get about 40% of global ticket sales, sometimes less). While a $400-500 million result would look like a respectable result for an unknown superhero origin story released in October, it might’ve had a better chance at higher box office returns if it were marketed less as “for the fans” and more as “for everybody” (especially with such a relatively diverse cast compared to many other superhero movies).

Black Panther 2 will be release to theaters in a few weeks. Upon the death of actor Chadwick Boseman, Marvel decided not to recast the character and instead is focusing on female characters in the world of Wakanda. The character Black Panther is not the focus of his own film. How will fans of the Black Panther character react to Marvel breaking another brand promise to their fans? Why do they always need to create a mess of their properties when they know very well what fans want from them? PLAYLIST 60 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Rumor: Marvel Scaling Back ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Merch BLACK PANTHER 2 Is A BROKEN PROMISE By Marvel Studios! Also BLACK ADAM Does $140 Million! Plans Out Of Concern That Sequel’s Lack Of T’Challa May Alienate Black Male Audiences https://boundingintocomics.com/2022/10/21/rumor-marvel-scaling-back-black-panther-wakanda-forever-merch-plans-out-of-concern-that-sequels-lack-of-tchalla-may-alienate-black-male-audiences/ Though titular African super hero’s ‘brand’ has done gangbusters for Marvel’s financial back end ever since his debut, a new rumor suggests that the studio is scaling back its merchandising plans for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever out of concern that the sequel’s focus on the franchise’s female characters could partially alienate the character’s key consumer demographic of black men. Source: Black Panther (2019), Marvel Entertainment RELATED: Marvel Studios Boss Kevin Feige Says T’Challa Was Not Recast For ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ In Order To “Continue The Legacy Of Chadwick Boseman” Following the untimely passing of original Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, a major topic of discussion among both fans and analysts was just how Disney and Marvel would tackle the future of Wakanda’s resident hero without the franchise’s star. Source: Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Marvel Entertainment Yet, with the slow trickling out of the film’s promotional material, it soon became evident that the sequel would center around T’challa’s female allies, including his sister Shuri (Letita Wright), Dora Milaje leader Okoye (Danai Gurira), his former love interest Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), and their newfound companion Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne). However, despite the Black Panther ‘brand’ having become one of Marvel’s biggest, particularly among black audiences, it appears that Wakanda Forever’s lack of a male lead – and to a certain extent Boseman’s performance specifically – has the studio taking a far more cautious approach to the film’s merchandising. Source: Black Panther (2019), Marvel Entertainment RELATED: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Actor Tenoch Huerta Attempts To Justify Removal Of Atlantis According to alleged insider sources whose insights were relayed directly to Bounding Into Comics by entertainment reporter and insider Valliant Renegade, “many licensed product manufacturers have cut back on their Black Panther products vs their more standard mapping for their categories with respect to what they would usually do with a property with an upcoming “over a billion dollar” exposure push.” “This means either limiting [Wakanda Forever’s] line depth (less skus) and/or smaller production runs (which entail higher per unit costs, but reduces inventory exposure),” he added. Black Panther Panic? | "Extremely Concerned" Industry Insiders Leak Wild Marvel Spoilers Share Watch on Surprisingly, though he admitted that “those with the colder feet are those who bring the most value-added to the product category [such as action figure manufacturers,” Valliant Renegade then revealed that this fear even extends to “categories that rely on printed visuals to deliver the license (generally cheaper, with less upfront cost loading)”. “Recent projects have shown lowered returns, so the lower volume business case will likely be the most profitable once costs are all in,” he said. “In other words, should there be a huge merch breakthrough (which can vary significantly by category), well, manufacturers will just chase it”

Black Adam is a high-energy, testosterone filled action movie, with an anti-hero character. Tremendous non-stop action with exactly the super hero battles you would expect in a comic book superhero movie. There is no way woke representation movies can compete with this DC Films on-brand approach to filmmaking. The management of Warner Brothers Discovery will change superhero films back to what any comics fan would expect them to be and while it will take potentially years for them to catch up, Marvel will have no choice but to follow them. This is the END OF WOKE SUPERHEROES. PLAYLIST 57 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ END OF WOKE SUPERHEROES Arrives With The Success Of WARNER BROS Black Adam! MARVEL Cannot Compete! The Black Adam sequel is ready to go and will certainly continue to take the DCEU by storm as the producers are ready to get it off the ground flying. In conjunction with yesterday’s Thursday previews that brought in a Dwayne Johnson best $7.6 million, the producers of the film made it known the sequel won’t take anywhere near the 15 years it took them to get Black Adam made on the big screen. “Don’t worry,” producer Beau Flynn told CB.com. “This one will be fast.” “It’s not going to take that long. I can promise you that,” Producer Hiram Garcia said. “We always hope the first domino’s the easy one. We’ll get cooking on it fast, that’s for sure.” Flynn added, “We will open up the magic wagon, we’ll have the script ready, pretty fast.” Black Adam is currently on track for around a $60 million opener and the fan response has been electrifying, so a sequel seems likely especially considering Dwayne Johnson and his production team want to continue to build out Black Adam and the DC universe. Dwayne Johnson and producer Hiram Garcia at Toronto Fan Event Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and producer Hiram Garcia at Toronto Fan Event Dwayne Johnson making big Black Adam and DC moves Johnson has made big moves as The Rock went above then-head of DC films, Walter Hamada, to Warner Bros. Discovery to get that big Henry Cavill Superman mid-credit scene included. “Well, here is what I can tell you. I can tell you the whole goal and initiative of Black Adam was to build out the DC Universe by building out not only Black Adam, but the entire JSA, five new superhero characters in one movie, and also as I have been saying all along, there’s an ethos that we at Seven Bucks Productions have, myself, my co-founder Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia,” Johnson recently told Entertainment Tonight. Johnson continued, “That is we always put the fans first. Audience comes first. So for years, audiences have been so passionate and vocal. We’ve established Black Adam as the most powerful and unstoppable force on our planet but the fans have been so passionate about, as we have been, where is the most unstoppable force in the universe. Where is he?” Johnson welcomed back Henry Cavill. “Well, just like I fought hard for Black Adam for fifteen years, Dany has been fighting for six years, Hiram has been fighting for six years, fifteen years, we’ve all been fighting for this moment. So I will say this: Welcome home,” he said. There has also been talk of Dwayne Johnson possibly taking over DC in the “Kevin Feige” role but Johnson said he would rather take on more of an advisory role. “I think the best position I could be for DC is one as an advisor, where I can help… and I can help greatly,” Johnson filled in Variety.

A number of sources claimed in mid-September that She-Hulk was the #1 original streaming show. Now Nielsen is providing those numbers and it’s the total opposite. PLAYLIST 58 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove SHE-HULK WAS NEVER #1, It Didn't Beat Andor, It Wasn't In The Top Ten! A number of sources claimed in mid-September that She-Hulk was the #1 original streaming show. Now Nielsen is providing those numbers and it’s the total opposite. Before we get into the topic of this article, we need to take a stroll down memory lane. Please read carefully the following quote and tweet that drove dozens of articles and coverage of She-Hulk back in late September. As you read them, remember how these two things were supposed to have been the ultimate defeat of the “trolls,” the complete package of pwnage for She-Hulk critics who were all the scourge of the Earth: Disney+’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” topped the Whip Media chart of streaming originals among U.S. consumers the week ended Sept. 25. The Marvel Comics-based series, which began streaming on Disney+ in weekly episodes Aug. 18, rose from No. 2. The series follows a lawyer specializing in cases involving superhumans who also becomes a superhero. Hit series “House of the Dragon” was not included in the streaming chart because it also airs on HBO linear TV in addition to streaming on HBO Max. On the linear TV plus streaming chart it would rank No. 2. Debuting at No. 2 on the streaming originals chart was Disney+’s “Andor,” the latest series from the “Star Wars” universe. A prequel to the “Star Wars” spin-off movie Rogue One, the series follows thief-turned-Rebel spy Cassian Andor during the five years leading up to the events of the film. — Stephanie Prange, Media Play News Now, take a deep breath. Everything from Whip Media and from Jameela Jamil were complete lies. There was zero truth to them at all. And they almost certainly had to have known it. Not only that, but Jessica Gao and all the rest of the She-Hulk crew almost certainly knew their show was a meteoric failure in the ratings. That’s why they went after fans, that’s why they used identity politics and cheap gender divisions to spit at those who didn’t watch them. It’s also why there isn’t a second season, there won’t be a second season and they threw Kevin Feige under the bus on the way out. Like G4 and the Froskbite situation, Jessica Gao and her brood of toxic idealogues are failures. And why do I say all of this with such certainty? Because the ratings are out for the exact same week where Whip Media, Jameela Jamil and the others were claiming they were number one. Guess what? They didn’t make the Top Ten Overall list and they didn’t make the Top Ten list for original shows. By the sixth episode of the series, they had fallen completely off the charts and were obliterated by Dahmer, Cobra Kai, House of the Dragon and Rings of Power. They were even beaten — again — by Stranger Things, a show that ended its last episode in July and which never lost to She-Hulk a single time even months after it stopped airing new material. Pos, Platform, Title, Minutes Watched (in millions) 1 Netflix Dahmer (2022) 3,658 2 Netflix Cobra Kai 1,110 3 Prime Video The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 977 4 Netflix Fate: The Winx Saga 675 5 Netflix El rey, Vicente Fernández 648 6 Disney+ Andor 624 7 Netflix The Crown 585 8 Hulu The Handmaid’s Tale 535 9 Netflix The Great British Bake Off 442 10 Netflix Stranger Things 416 — Nielsen It was a lie. It was always a lie. They’ve always known this show was a fabulous bomb, a tremendous snot rocket into the depths of an MCU septic tank of failure. Even Ms. Marvel was making the Top Ten Original Shows list at this point. And yet they all lied and threw feces everywhere right before they knew they’d be outed as the bomb they are. They didn’t warrant the thought given to them but they made as big of a mess as they could on the way out just to stir the pot. What sources like Whip Media and Jameela Jamil did is akin to claiming your garage band has a #1 chart-topping single on the pop music playlist. Then you find out it’s not even listed on the charts at all. Call them out for what they are: charlatans. #shehulk #shehulkattorneyatlaw

Facing up to 26 years behind bars doesn’t help his chances but, no matter which way a jury or judge rules, troubled actor Ezra Miller is likely done altogether as Barry Allen after The Flash reaches theaters. PLAYLIST 57 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Rumor: Ezra Miller Reportedly Being Replaced As The Flash “No Matter What” https://boundingintocomics.com/2022/10/20/rumor-ezra-miller-reportedly-being-replaced-as-the-flash-no-matter-what/ Rumor: EZARA MILLER OUT As The Flash “No Matter What” After THE FLASH Hits Movie Theaters! Facing up to 26 years behind bars doesn’t help his chances but, no matter which way a jury or judge rules, troubled actor Ezra Miller is likely done altogether as Barry Allen after The Flash reaches theaters. Source: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), Warner Bros. Pictures RELATED: ‘The Flash’ Star Ezra Miller Pleads Not Guilty To Vermont Felony Burglary Charges, Faces Possible Sentence Of Up To 26 Years Behind Bars That is what Twitter user and scooper MyTimeToShineHello, among others, has been saying consistently based on inside information. The account’s latest tweet on the matter claims, “Ezra is getting replaced post-Flash movie no matter what. It’s just the way it is.” Source: @MyTimeToShineH, Twitter A month ago, a tweet making a declaration along similar lines was sent by the scooper, which read, “Not sure if good news or bad news that’s up to you but I hear Ezra Miller is done as The Flash no matter what happens. Not coming back.” Source: @MyTimeToShineH, Twitter RELATED: Rumor: Elliot Page Being Considered To Replace Ezra Miller As The Flash These aren’t claims coming from out of nowhere or being made in a vacuum. They are presaged by frequent rumors and industry reports that Miller is too much of a headache for Warner Bros. to handle. Allegedly after David Zaslav and Discovery took over, there was a shouting match at a board meeting where the Directors present wanted to shelve The Flash and figure out what to do about the Miller crisis. The scoop was first shared by @UndercoverCine, who claimed, “Zaslav got outvoted on Tuesday with regards to the Ezra situation. Majority of the WB Discovery board wanted to indefinitely shelve #TheFlash, but Zaslav was against it. So he called in another meeting today, and sounds like there’s a shouting match happening rn at WB!” YouTuber and film scooper Grace Randolph backed up the claim, declaring, “I’m not sure how true this is re specific drama details. But I AM hearing that indeed, this is IT man, the moment of truth for #TheFlash Developing story, hopefully we get an answer re its fate soon!! Source: Grace Randolph, Twitter Zaslav, however, reportedly likes the film and is a big believer that it can be a win for the studio so he nixed their proposal. He also is a reported believer in the idea Miller will seek help. The actor issued an apology but it was taken as disingenuous when it looked like all Miller cared about was losing the role of Barry. Source: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), HBO Max RELATED: ‘The Flash’ Actress Saoirse-Monica Jackson Has Nothing But Compliments For Co-Star Ezra Miller: “It’s Just The Perfect Casting For The Flash” YouTuber Orange Hat Reviews put it this way at the time the apology was given: “He doesn’t care that he’s been running amok for two years, menacing women across four different countries, but the second his movie is threatened…time to buck up and make some apologies.” A reputed insider who agrees told Deadline, “There is no winning in this for Warner Bros. This is an inherited problem for Zaslav. The hope is that the scandal will remain at a low level before the movie is released, and hope for the best to turn out.” Well, between Miller going to jail and The Flash at risk of flopping thanks to bad publicity, smooth sailing appears out of reach in this case.

The development of the X-Men franchise is putting things into focus and is the first major change we've heard about regarding Kevin Feige's power at the studio. Things are changing because it's clear things have not been working. Kevin Feige finds himself in a new place. The X-Men will not simply be put out into the market under the direction of himself and his directors and his writers. They are getting focus grouped,. This is an all hands on deck situation to fix the situation at the MCU. PLAYLIST 58 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove TOTAL PANIC AT MARVEL STUDIOS They Know WOKE Is Not Working! Kevin Feige Starting To Lose Influence! Marvel Studios Rumored To “Reshape” The X-Men For “This New Era,” Want Halle Berry To Reprise Role As Storm https://boundingintocomics.com/2022/10/19/marvel-studios-rumored-to-reshape-the-x-men-for-this-new-era-want-halle-berry-to-reprise-role-as-storm/ Hollywood Is Shifting Away from Woke Before It Kills Them https://thatparkplace.com/hollywood-is-shifting-away-from-woke-before-it-kills-them/ A new rumor claims that Marvel Studios plans to put the focus on the X-Men, but it might not be the X-Men most of us know and love, rather the rumor claims Marvel Studios plans to reshape the franchise for a new era. The rumor comes from scooper WDW Pro by way of YouTuber Overlord DVD. Overlord DVD details the rumor, “According to my sources Marvel’s delay of Blade was necessary due to the now public issues heading for the production. However, the delay was also an opportunity to delay other opportunities that needed more time due to contractual issues and without having to provide any other reason beyond a reshuffling.” “I received this several days ago and this is what I was told. I am told the Disney partners in merchandising have all been given notice that X-Men is the next big thing for the MCU,” he details. “Teams of researchers, focus groups, etc… are all determining how the X-Men should be reshaped for this new era.” Overlord DVD then provided some examples, “Does Wolverine smoke? Does Gambit? How do other characters’ vices or orientations come into play with audiences?” James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr in X-Men: First Class RELATED: Marvel Studios Appears To Retcon Korg’s Race To Make Them All Male, Reveals Korg Is Gay in Thor: Love And Thunder A little later in the video he continues the scoop he received from WDW Pro, “Marvel knows that audience participation is down. That’s the key stat to know about. It doesn’t matter if they have equal or higher revenues during a time of heavy inflation. It matters if people are going to Marvel movies and if they’re buying Marvel merchandise. The answer to both of those, according to multiple sources, is that they are diminishing. That’s not even to touch on the situation with Disney+ MCU live action problems.” “So Feige finds himself in a new place. The X-Men will not simply be put out into the market under the direction of himself and his directors and his writers. They are getting focus grouped,” he continues. “This is an all hands on deck situation to repopularize the MCU.” “Disney and Bob Chapek do not want Marvel becoming Star Wars, a franchise that is theatrically dead and commercially no longer evergreen,” he concluded. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in Lucasfilm’s OBI-WAN KENOBI, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved. After providing some brief commentary he continued the scoop saying, “The delay in some of these films especially Secret Wars is convenient for Marvel and Disney because it buys them time on the research side, but also in acquiring the talent they want.” “I am told that they desired the Hugh Jackman announcement for D23, but were unable to finalize details in time,” he went on. “There are other big actors I’m told that are related to X-Men that they don’t have yet and they want to acquire prior to the script. Specifically, I do not believe they have Halle Berry signed on yet to reprise Storm. And multiple sources tell me they’re hearing they’re working on that at this time. They also want Famke Janssen because they want Dark Phoenix to be a plot device in the multiverse.” “Finally, I’m told they may already have Patrick Stewart signed on for multiple movies as Professor X, but they also want his likeness in the same way they have Mark Hamill and James Earle Jones’ voice. You can imagine why they would want Stewart’s version of Professor X for perpetuity,” he detailed.

After 15 years at Warner Bros and four as the president of DC Films, Walter Hamada has finally left the Burbank, CA lot. Sources tell Deadline the exec is waiting for the senior Warner Bros Discovery brass to finalize his exit payout. Hamada has run DC since 2018, and re-upped in January 2021 with a contract that was supposed to take him through 2023. PLAYLIST 57 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ DC Films Boss Walter Hamada Has Departed Studio As Warner Bros Discovery Finalizes Exit: The Dish https://deadline.com/2022/10/dc-films-boss-walter-hamada-warner-discovery-david-zaslav-1235149111/ After 15 years at Warner Bros and four as the president of DC Films, Walter Hamada has finally left the Burbank, CA lot. Sources tell Deadline the exec is waiting for the senior Warner Bros Discovery brass to finalize his exit payout. Hamada has run DC since 2018, and re-upped in January 2021 with a contract that was supposed to take him through 2023. RELATED STORY Global Box Office Needs A Hero: ‘Black Adam’ Raging To $135M Worldwide Opening All of this occurs as New Line’s DC movie Black Adam — on which Hamada is an EP — is tracking to open to a projected $135 million at the global box office this weekend despite some harsh reviews. The writing has been on the wall for Hamada’s DC exit for quite some time, and sources said he has packed up his office and hasn’t been part of recent creative meetings. Hamada will be the fifth Warner Bros motion picture studio executive to leave since David Zaslav took the reins of the newly merged Warner Bros Discovery, following Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chairman Toby Emmerich, President of Production and Development Courtenay Valenti, Motion Picture Group COO Carolyn Blackwood, and Animation Group EVP Allison Abbate. We hear Hamada knew his days were numbered and that this would be the outcome even before he ever met Zaslav, who has been transparent in his desire to bring an exec like Marvel chief Kevin Feige to run DC across all mediums. Zaslav recently courted former Warners development exec and Lego Movie producer Dan Lin for the post, and former Fox chief Emma Watts has long loomed as a possible head. Hamada is not Feige; the low-key executive is said to not be a gifted talent schmoozer, for instance. But this is not to discount his efforts since moving over from New Line. Among his accomplishments was creating crossover between DC’s films and the HBO Max streaming service. That resulted in series spinoffs of James Gunn’s Suicide Squad — The Peacemaker (one of the OTT service’s most watched series) and the Viola Davis Amanda Waller series — as well as the Matt Reeves-produced Colin Farrell Penguin series that was borne from the director’s The Batman. Hamada shepherded that Robert Pattinson movie during a Covid shoot, and the reboot grossed $771 million worldwide. That was a solid first outing for Reeves and Pattinson, and also became a highly watched movie on HBO Max after its 45-day theatrical run. A sequel is in the works. Hamada also was an EP and had his hands on two of DC’s highest-grossing movies, James Wan’s Aquaman ($1.1 billion) and Todd Phillips’ Joker, which won two Oscars and became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time at $1.07 billion. Despite this, Zaslav had his mind made up and said as much in earnings calls. He wants his Feige, and who wouldn’t? Feige is among the most successful at building billion-dollar film franchises Hollywood has seen in decades. Unless you clone him, there is no one else like him. Many feel Zaslav already has perhaps the closest thing in Michael De Luca, who with Warner Bros Motion Pictures co-chief Pam Abdy are overseeing DC until Zaslav makes a permanent hire. The genre-smart De Luca recently set up a new Constantine film with Keanu Reeves and director Francis Lawrence, for instance. But Zaslav wants something else, and De Luca and Abdy are plenty busy overhauling WB. Hamada was offered but has turned down a producing deal. He was ready to bolt after WBD killed Batgirl in postproduction as part of a pivot from the last regime’s plan to make moderately budgeted films for HBO Max. Zaslav is instead focused on big theatrical swings that find their way to the streamer after primo theatrical runs. After the Batgirl debacle, De Luca and Abdy persuaded Hamada to stay and see through Black Adam, which opens Friday.

The merger between DISCOVERY and WARNER BROTHERS took place in April of 2022. By July 2022 they had a new Diversity, Equity And Inclusion chief in place, replacing someone who left the company after the merger and had quickly restructured the department to have much less influence over the merged company. By September they announced publicly they had completely changed up the department and by October they closed the 40 year old pipeline program sending (in recent years) program members on lavishly paid for writing jobs at the expense of the company. Hollywood went berserk immediately and Warner Brothers very cleverly fooled all of them by claiming to 'move' the now diversity programs to their corporate DEI department. Finally, days later the Hollywood Reporter is starting to figure out what happened but it's too late now. PLAYLIST 57 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Warner Bros. Discovery Grapples With the Cost of Cutting Pipeline Programs https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-cutting-pipeline-programs-writers-directors-workshop-1235244236/ How WARNER BROS SOLVED Their Diversity, Equity And Inclusion PROBLEMS And Fooled Hollywood Reporter! As Warner Bros. TV Group underwent a round of layoffs in October, the news that garnered the most attention seemed to catch the leadership of the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery off guard: the shuttering of WBTVG’s long-running writer and director workshops. The employees laid off as a result of the closures — workshop head Rebecca Windsor and administrator Elly Lachman — represented just two of the 125 positions eliminated Oct. 11 across the TV group, but the decision sparked backlash among the vocal community of writers on social media, followed by a swift rejoinder the following day from the DGA. Related Stories Side-by-side headshots of Billy Davis, a Black man in glasses, and Rhyan Lewis, a Black woman with chin-length natural hair, both smiling and wearing business suits. BUSINESS Paramount, Sony Join MPA and EICOP's Entertainment Law and Policy Fellowship (Exclusive) Headshots of three Asian men with short haircuts (David Loong, Kevin Luu, Kelly Luu) and an Asian woman with long dark hair (Manivone Nonthaveth) TV Universal Content Productions, 'Pachinko' Boss Announce Finalists for Asian Pacific Islander Storytelling Lab (Exclusive) The guild claimed in a statement that the workshops’ cancellation violated the terms of its 2014 collective bargaining agreement mandating that each studio operate a development program for emerging writers, with a focus on improving diversity in TV. Half an hour later, WBD announced that its own report of the workshops’ death was greatly exaggerated; they were in fact moving under the jurisdiction of the company’s DEI unit. Whether or not the move was planned, the financial motivations are clear: The TV group had a cost-cutting target to hit, and as a non-revenue-generating line item, the workshops were easy prey, even though their costs were relatively light compared to the production budget of any given TV show: two employee salaries, plus the staff writer salaries and episodic directing fees for workshop participants. Still, that was roughly $2 million that WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels could slash from WBTV’s content-focused ledgers — and easily offload as a corporate DEI priority when the need arose. Opinions are split as to which approach — program-paid or show-paid — is more effective in accomplishing the expressed goal of creating lasting, ascendant careers for participants. The argument behind having program writers and directors paid no differently from the rest of the writers room or other episodic helmers is to help erase the perception that they are token or affirmative action hires. In addition, alumni of the various network and studio pipeline programs have over the years reported having trouble being rehired on shows once they were no longer “free.” And the stigma often is exacerbated with programs branded under the DEI umbrella, which the WBD workshops now are. On the other hand, advocates of the program-subsidized model argue that in practice, shows simply won’t take on workshop participants if they have to pay for them, especially with ever-stingier budgets. Many working writers are reporting a trend of smaller, top-heavy rooms with little vacancy for entry-level writers. But the bottom line, as The Black List founder Franklin Leonard sees it, is, “If people are debating about who’s responsible for paying for the diverse writer, everyone’s already failed.”

According to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law director Kat Coiro, in addition to “trolling the trolls”, a secondary goal of Marvel’s latest Disney Plus series was to present a story “about a woman navigating sex, but also make it something that everybody can enjoy, including children.” SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ WOKE She-Hulk DESTROYED! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdJu2XpldnU&t=1s&ab_channel=AdamPost ‘She-Hulk’ Director Kat Coiro Says Production Team Wanted To Make The Series “About A Woman Navigating Sex But Also Something That Everybody Can Enjoy, Including Children” https://boundingintocomics.com/2022/10/17/she-hulk-director-kat-coiro-says-production-team-wanted-to-make-the-series-about-a-woman-navigating-sex-but-also-something-that-everybody-can-enjoy-including-children/ SHE-HULK IS SEX POSITIVE? According to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law director Kat Coiro, in addition to “trolling the trolls”, a secondary goal of Marvel’s latest Disney Plus series was to present a story “about a woman navigating sex, but also make it something that everybody can enjoy, including children.” Source: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 8 “Ribbit and Rip It” (2022), Marvel Entertainment RELATED: ‘She-Hulk’ Star Says Series Exists As “A F–k You” To Critics, Head Writer Boasts “Part Of Me Really Loves Trolling The Trolls” Coiro provided this insight into her and her team’s intent with the Jade Giantess during a ‘post-game’ interview given to Polygon following the airing of She-Hulk‘s first season finale. Source: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 9 “Whose Show Is This?” (2022), Marvel Entertainment Therein the director explained that not only did the series’ production team set out to, as previously affirmed by series head writer Jessica Gao’s, focus their story on the “smaller moments [of a superhero’s life] and being able to see a superhero coming home and kicking her shoes off after a long day at work,” but to also address what they perceived as a societal “fear around sex and around the idea of sex positivity.” Source: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 4 “Is This Not Real Magic?” (2022), Marvel Entertainment RELATED: ‘She-Hulk’ Head Writer Jessica Gao Admits She Almost Quit Series Over Disagreement With Kevin Feige About Single Joke In Season Finale “So it was our job to keep having the conversation,” she said. “We wanted to say, Look, she’s a woman in her 30s navigating modern life; sex is a part of that story, and [ask] how far could we go.” Source: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 8 “Ribbit and Rip It” (2022), Marvel Entertainment “I know it’s something that’s very important to [star Tatiana Maslany], this idea of sex positivity and kind of smashing the rules when it comes to women and the way that they’re perceived,” Coiro added. “A lot of the conversations about sexualization in the show came from Tatiana, and were with Tatiana.” Source: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 8 “Ribbit and Rip It” (2022), Marvel Entertainment RELATED: ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Episode 9 Review – A Pointless Conclusion To History’s Most Pointless Show To this end, the director concluded that the team “wanted to make it realistic, and about a woman navigating sex, but also make it something that everybody can enjoy, including children, because there is an element of the show that is really fun for young people.” Source: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 8 “Ribbit and Rip It” (2022), Marvel Entertainment Though Coiro offered no further insight into the series’ direction, she did end her time with Polygon by speculating to the Jennifer Walters’ larger MCU future. “Two of the things that really stood out to me from this season were Jennifer and Bruce’s chemistry and Jennifer and Matt Murdock’s chemistry,” she teased. “I know that Daredevil has an 18-episode show coming out, so I could definitely see our She-Hulk appearing there.” Source: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 9 “Whose Show Is This?” (2022), Marvel Entertainment RELATED: ‘She-Hulk’ Appears To Model Members Of Misogynist Antagonist Group Intelligencia After YouTuber Doomcock “And then there seem to be hints that there might be some Hulk movies, and I could definitely see She-Hulk joining Hulk and in whatever adventures he’s gonna go on next,” she said. “But you know that that really is a mystery. And only KEVIN has the answer.”

With the change in management at WARNER BROS, Walter Hamada had to go. He's out, and the new bosses want Henry Cavill back as Superman in MAN OF STEEL 2. This is the revival of the DCEU! PLAYLIST 54 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Walter Hamada Tried Stopping Henry Cavill’s Return As Superman https://cosmicbook.news/walter-hamada-blocking-henry-cavill-superman-zack-snyder MAN OF STEEL 2 COMING! WARNER BROS Wants Henry Cavill, Hamada Was Blocking Him From Returning! 'Man of Steel 2' Is Reportedly in Development With Henry Cavill https://collider.com/man-of-steel-2-henry-cavill-dceu/ The future of DC Films has been rocky due to Warner Brothers’ recent Merger with Discovery and David Zaslav taking over the famous studio. However, in the last decade, there have been a couple of gems in DC’s catalog that fans have held on tight to. One of those films is Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel starring Henry Cavill as Superman. It’s the film that kicked off the DCEU as we know it, but since its release in 2013, Man of Steel never received a sequel. However, that now looks to be changing. Reported exclusively by The Hollywood Reporter, DC is developing a Man of Steel 2 with Cavill set to return. The studio is currently in the process of looking for a writer. This news is a part of a larger DC piece detailing the franchise's future, but longtime DC producer Charles Roven is on the project and apparently, WB has a director wishlist. THR highlights that Mission: Impossible’s Christopher McQuarrie is on that list. That’s all we know as of now. It makes sense that McQuarrie would be desired as he worked with Cavill on Mission: Impossible - Fallout. While McQuarrie is currently hard at work on the last two M:I films Dead Reckoning Part One and Two, Man of Steel 2 is still in the very early stages of development. McQuarrie has already shown he can handle an action-heavy blockbuster with M:I which makes him the perfect choice to tackle a character like Superman. When Man of Steel was released, it was a film that was divisive among both fans and critics alike. It was very much a Snyder film that posed the question, what if Superman landed in our real world? Because of that, it was a much darker Superman story than mainstream audiences were used to at that time. Thankfully in the decade since the film has gotten a reappraisal. Cavill’s wonderful performance alone made that film one of the most complex character studies found in any modern superhero blockbuster. From its brilliant action to its epic musical score from Hans Zimmer to the great villains, Man of Steel is a top 10 comic book film of all time. That’s why this news is going to make a lot of fans happy. It feels like DC fans have been waiting for ages for some good news after the countless delays, cancelations, and conflicting bleak reports. This is not only the good news we’ve been waiting for, it might be the best DC news a fan could ask for. While nothing is set in stone at this point, it's just nice knowing that the ball has started to roll on a follow-up to Man of Steel. It sounds like Cavill’s Superman is going to be a major part of DC’s future under Zaslav. The next film in the DCEU, Black Adam, is coming out this weekend. Star Dwayne Johnson has been teasing his potential fight with Superman ever since San Diego Comic-Con this past summer. While we wait to hear more news on Man of Steel 2, you can read THR’s full DC article on their website.

With the release of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam this Friday, and DC Films head Walter Hamada quietly ending his tenure in the coming days, DC is charting into truly unknown territory. Many new projects coming, many troublemakers already out of the company forever! PLAYLIST 54 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ DC at a Turning Point: James Gunn Pitches Secret Movie, Dwayne Johnson Flexes His Superman Power (Exclusive) https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dc-movies-james-gunn-pithces-dwayne-johnson-1235243030/ WARNER BROS Massive DC MOVIE Update! Major TURNING POINT! PLUS Hamada OUT! With the release of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam this Friday, and DC Films head Walter Hamada quietly ending his tenure in the coming days, DC is charting into truly unknown territory. In fact, without a permanent leader to guide the stable of some of the biggest and best known pop culture characters in the world, DC is seeing a secret, but dramatic land grab amongst some of the biggest players in Hollywood. Johnson is publicly touting his vision for a future Black Adam versus Superman movie, with his words stoking fan desires to see Henry Cavill return as the red-caped hero. Matt Reeves is plotting an expansion of his The Batman universe, while J.J. Abrams remains in the mix as well with his own plans. And The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively report that James Gunn, the filmmaker behind Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies as well as Warners’ DC-based The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, is angling for his own new DC project (or two). Sources tell THR that Gunn and producer Peter Safran are in talks with Warners for a mystery movie, possibly more, that Gunn would tackle. (Safran is already in the DC business, being a producer on Shazam! and its upcoming sequel, as well as Aquaman and that movie’s sequel.) Warners had no comment, but as one insider observes, a carving of the comic company’s intellectual assets is happening. “DC is definitely in play,” says this person. How much play may depend on your perspective from inside or outside the studio. While it isn’t clear what hero or teams Gunn is targeting, and the writer-director would focus on a second season of Peacemaker first, the studio’s eyes are very much on Superman. Under Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Warner Bros. Pictures heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, Warners has an intense desire to reprise the Cavill iteration of the hero. The project that would essentially be Man of Steel 2 is being produced by Charles Roven and is currently in a search for writers. (There is a wishlist, of course. And Christopher McQuarrie, the hand that guides the Mission: Impossible movies was on it. McQuarrie worked with Cavill on the 2018 installment, Fallout, but sources say no official outreach has been made nor may it be feasible, as the director is working on the next back-to-back Impossible installments.) Johnson, however, has Superman plans of his own, and has been very vocal about his desire to make a Black Adam versus Superman movie, a desire he has only reiterated more frequently in the lead up to Adam. This comes as he talks up his “surprise” cameo at the end of Adam, with the actor all but stating that Cavill will appear. Insiders are wondering if those calls are intended to goose the movie’s opening weekend box office numbers or to maneuver Superman onto his own chess square, or perhaps both. Whatever the case, Johnson is definitely at the center of Cavill’s return to DC, which was not without some drama of its own. Johnson’s manager is Dany Garcia, his former wife who is also his producing partner at Seven Bucks Entertainment. Garcia also happens to represent Cavill. Superman, as well as Cavill, were not in the initial plans for Black Adam. The idea was hatched during a round of reshoots for the movie earlier this year, but the cameo was nixed by Hamada, the executive who for the last four years had tried hard to move DC beyond the era where one filmmaker, in this case Zack Snyder, had an inordinate amount of influence and could command an entire slate for years. Hamada had his own Superman plans, one of them involving introducing a Black Superman with a multi-decade-spanning story by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. After Hamada said no, Johnson went around the executive, turning to De Luca and Abdy, who gave it the thumbs up. A furious round of negotiating occurred before Labor Day, a deadline insisted by Warners, with the scene shot in mid-September. #dccomics #dceu #dceu

WBTV workshops not only "developed emerging talent," but also helped ease their path to paid work in Hollywood. WBTV covered up to 28 weeks’ salary for each graduate writer who got staff on a show (about $150,000 per writer) and covered graduate directors’ first two episode pay. Eliminating director and writer workshops will save WBD about $2 million in workshop graduate salaries alone. PLAYLIST 54 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Insiders Cast Doubt on Warner Bros.’ Plans for TV Writers’ Workshop https://missthinkup.com/tv/insiders-cast-doubt-on-warner-bros-plans-for-tv-writers-workshop/ TOTAL PANIC Warner Brothers DID NOT Reopen The Woke TV Writers' Workshops! It's All Gone! Insiders Cast Doubt on Warner Bros.’ Plans for TV Writers’ Workshop October 17, 2022 by Miss Think Up Warner Bros. Discovery abruptly eliminated, then reinstated, its long-standing training program for television writers. WBD said the plan “from the beginning” was to move the workshop and its sister program for directors into the DEI division. But insiders said the timing and tone of WBD’s announcements point to a hasty reversal fueled by backlash. Talk about a week of whiplash. The entertainment industry was in an uproar last Tuesday over the sudden closing of Warner Bros.’ Television Writers Workshop, a respected 40-year institution that has launched the careers of hundreds of Hollywood writers, as well as its sister program for emerging television directors. Outcry from the creative community following the announcement by WBTV parent Warner Bros. Discovery was followed Wednesday by a fierce pushback from the Directors Guild of America, which claimed the “important” director’s workshop was “contract-bound.” work group of the DGA”. (There is no such agreement with the Writers Guild.) Within half an hour, WBD reversed its public statement: The workshops would continue, but would be moved from the television studio, where they have been housed for decades, to the company’s diversity and inclusion unit. Additionally, WBD Senior Vice President Karen Horne, who heads DEI in the US, told the Hollywood Reporter: “This was always our plan.” But multiple WBD insiders, industry insiders, and workshop alumni told Insider that they believe, and the timing of the decisions and tone of communications demonstrate, that there was no immediate intention to relocate the shows. The company’s change in attitude, the sources said, came only after backlash and concerns from unions pushed WBD to cut costs. A source close to WBD thought attributed the sequence of events to a communication error. “I felt like a family member died, when I found out” about the plan to shut down the shows, said a writer’s workshop alumnus, who now works on a broadcast network series and whose wife also graduated from the show. “It was a real punch in the stomach.” A shocking announcement, an instant reaction and a quick reversal. The sequence of events that followed the WBD announcements generated skepticism in Hollywood. On Tuesday, WBTV Group Chairman Channing Dungey sent a memo to employees sharing news of some 82 layoffs in the division, as well as shop closures, surprising even company insiders by announcing that WBTV “will be closing “both without a comparable replacement. “While we will no longer have these formalized programs, we remain committed to developing and mentoring emerging talent and preparing them for television careers,” Dungey said. The memo from him also announced the closure of the Stage 13 short-form production unit. In his interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Horne said he “made it clear to leadership that his goal was always to unify the company’s pipeline programs under the DEI division.” But if that was the ultimate goal, there was no indication that was the initial plan, regardless of WBD’s official position, industry insiders familiar with the chain of events said. WBD had not communicated any of its moves, neither the closing of the shows nor any plans to keep them operating in a different way, to the writers’ and directors’ guilds. The DGA first contacted the studio only after news of the cancellation broke, according to a source familiar with the industry’s thinking. “We have been in contact with WB,” the DGA statement said in part, “and have received their commitment to work with us to remedy this important matter.” WGA West had also not heard from WBTV prior to the announcement, a separate source said.

Tatiana Maslany and showrunner Jessica Gao admitted that many of the storylines were deliberately designed to be a “f*ck you” to the “tired and unoriginal” trolls who made their opinions known throughout the nine-episode run, with Maslany now casting doubt on a sophomore run in an interview with Extra after saying it “doesn’t seem likely”. SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ WOKE She-Hulk DESTROYED! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdJu2XpldnU&t=1s&ab_channel=AdamPost Rumor: SHE-HULK CANCELLED Already! ‘She-Hulk’ star casts doubt on season 2, no doubt to the delight of trolls everywhere https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/she-hulk-star-casts-doubt-on-season-2-no-doubt-to-the-delight-of-trolls-everywhere/ Phase Four has proven to be the most polarizing stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by far, but the ongoing battle between critics, fans, and the key creatives involved in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law certainly takes some beating. The half-hour legal comedy was the subject of a review-bombing campaign before it even began, and while the show has since been officially Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 87 percent score, a 35 percent user rating makes it the worst-rated film or television project in the entire history of Marvel Studios – official canon or not. To add more fuel to the fire, star Tatiana Maslany and showrunner Jessica Gao admitted that many of the storylines were deliberately designed to be a “f*ck you” to the “tired and unoriginal” trolls who made their opinions known throughout the nine-episode run, with Maslany now casting doubt on a sophomore run in an interview with Extra after saying it “doesn’t seem likely”. “I mean, I don’t think so, yet. Kevin in the scene seems to be very dismissive of this idea, so, if we’re basing this off of the real Kevin, it doesn’t seem likely. But he was also, I think, just trying to get rid of Jen, because she was asking too many questions… I don’t know. If I could be coy, and have some little secret, I would do that. But, I really don’t. I don’t know anything.” 'She-Hulk: Attorney at Law' Abomination and She-Hulk Gallery1 of 8 Loki remains the first and only live-action MCU series so far to be given the okay for a second season, and we’ve got no clue as to how the top brass at Marvel decide which streaming exclusives are worthy of another batch of adventures. Fans would be thrilled were Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye to be renewed, but a cursory glance at the internet makes it clear that She-Hulk may not be greeted with similar levels of enthusiasm. #shehulk #shehulkattorneyatlaw

WARNER BROS is under attack again for cancelling shows that don't fit the current strategy for their streaming services. The Daily Beast does a lengthy article accusing the company of deliberately eliminating shows unfairly affecting latino representation. PLAYLIST 53 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ How Warner Bros. Discovery Is Screwing Over Latinos https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-warner-bros-discovery-is-screwing-over-latinos?ref=scroll WARNER BROS ACCUSED Of "Screwing Over Latinos" By Cancelling Their Shows In Another Hit Piece! When the team behind The Gordita Chronicles first found out that their show’s corporate overlord was headed for a merger, all hands were on deck. Eva Longoria—an executive producer on the series alongside Zoe Saldaña—allegedly went straight to the top and called HBO exec Casey Bloys. “She really hunted him down,” showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz recalled with a laugh during a recent interview with The Daily Beast. The chief content officer seemed reluctant to give a straight answer, the showrunner said, but Longoria wasn’t having it. “He hemmed and hawed a little bit, and then he said, ‘Yeah, I don’t think we’re gonna be able to make it work.’” The reason? HBO Max would no longer be producing “family content.” That explanation never made much sense to Muñoz-Liebowitz, who noted during our interview that the Gordita creators always saw the series as a straight sitcom. And besides, the showrunner said, Gordita Chronicles was never discoverable under the streamer’s “Family” or “Comedy” categories; it only appeared under “Latino.” As questionable as the Gordita team found Bloys’ “family content” explanation for the show’s cancellation, another detail he allegedly shared might be even more telling. As part of Warner Bros. merger with Discovery, Inc., the team learned, “premium” HBO Max shows would migrate to HBO proper. Gordita Chronicles just wasn’t one of them. A bitter irony tinged the showrunner’s voice as she looked back on the moment. “So we’re not premium? Okay.” This was, after all, the same company that was more than happy to trot out the show’s creator for its market diversity pamphlets. To unceremoniously boot the show after just one season, Muñoz-Liebowitz said, was “egregious.” Laid-Off HBO Max Execs: They’re Killing Off Diversity ‘THEY JUST DON’T CARE’ Adam Manno As frustrating as the situation might have been, what happened to The Gordita Chronicles was not an anomaly within the industry. Frances Negrón-Muntaner—a Puerto Rican filmmaker, writer, and scholar whose 2016 study The Latino Disconnect examined the effect of mergers on Latinx representation—has found that generally, as she told The Daily Beast, the word “‘merger,’ for Latinos, equals ‘disempowerment.’” Combine media consolidation with often lazy or misguided marketing for Latinx shows and an apparent lack of support for Latinx programs, and the abysmal statistics we see each year regarding the community’s representation in Hollywood start to make sense. Advocates for mergers will often argue that these moves not only reduce costs and increase consumer choice, but also that they’re good for diversity. Negrón-Muntaner’s study, which focused primarily on the merger between Comcast and NBCUniversal in 2011, indicated otherwise. “What we found is that, no—there’s less diversity in some cases [but] definitely not more diversity,” Negrón-Muntaner said. “And people that manage to hang on to the boat have less power.” In the case of Comcast and NBCUniversal, this played out as Telemundo executives who once ruled the roost at the network found themselves subordinate to their (white, non-Latinx) corporate overlords from NBC. #warnerbros #davidzaslav #zaslav #hbomax

WARNER BROS management cut 26% of all WBTV staff a few days ago and many expected layoffs (I know I did) at DC Comics but there were none! We don't know exactly what will happen, but here is what I think will happen! PLAYLIST 50 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ DC COMICS AT RISK! Layoffs Were Expected But Nothing Happened! What Happens NEXT? Another round of post-merger layoffs has begun at Warner Bros. this week, with DC Entertainment among the divisions reported to be at risk. The layoffs Tuesday were at Warner Bros. TV, which cut 82 current positions and eliminated 43 open positions for a total of 26% of the workforce, according to Deadline. The cuts affected staff in scripted, unscripted, and animation, according to the report. The move comes as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav continues on the path to find the promised $3 billion in post-merger cost savings. DC is one of the divisions that may be cut in this new round of layoffs, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Zaslav has not yet implemented a new strategy for DC and DC-based content at the company. As long ago as April, shortly after the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger closed, Zasalav was reported to considering a reorganization that would make DC its own content vertical (see "DC Re-Org in the Works"). In August, producer Dan Lin was reported to be in the running to become the head of the new vertical (see "New DC Head"), but the deal fell apart last month (see "Lin Won’t Be DC Head"). Regardless of the new organization, it’s hard to see how DC could take more staff cuts; it lost a third of its editorial staff and many others, including sales and marketing staff, in multiple rounds of brutal cuts under then-owner AT&T in 2020 (see "WarnerMedia Layoffs Hit DC"). The Daily Aztec says the Big Two, among others, have been adapting their comics into Webtoon, in what appears to be a hybrid of comic strips and animated fare: At San Diego State University, comic books have made their way into the curriculum. Taught under the College of Arts and Letters, these offered courses highlight a movement toward examining visual storytelling. What was once seen as elementary writing, is now seen as well-respected literature. On this, I’ll have to take issue – despite what they say, the whole notion comics are genuinely respected is laughable, and hugely exaggerated. When comics are exploited for the sake of far-left propaganda, as has been the sad case for years already, you can’t say they’re respected so much as they are considered a perfect tool for spreading propaganda, for all the wrong reasons. While printed books may not be as popular as they used to be, comic book stories are continually growing every day with the help of digital media. WEBTOON is a great example of this. Unlike other comic reading platforms such as DC Comics Infinite, Marvel Unlimited or Comixology, this South Korean digital platform features original vertical-scrolling content from creators all over the world. Since its founding in 2004 and its U.S. debut in 2014, WEBTOON has become a global phenomenon, averaging over 82 million monthly active users. They even have joint projects with the big two comic publishers, DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Big corporations are known to collaborate with other brands through strategic advertising to reach audiences that they normally may not have. Just a little over a year ago on Sep. 8, 2021, the first WEBTOON episode of “Batman: Wayne Family Adventures” was released as DC’s first title on the distributing site. And what are those projects like? What if they build on the new Tim Drake-as-gay status quo DC’s set up of recent, all at the expense of Chuck Dixon’s hard work of the past, and come to think of it, all at the expense of Marv Wolfman to boot (one can only wonder what a guy like him, who is, alas, a liberal, thinks of this mess, which was surely done under the confidence he’d never speak out against it for fear of losing all residuals). Bounding Into Comics posted a reminder of what Bill Willingham recently said about the abrupt retcon to the civilian co-star he conceived named Bernard Dowd too. With that kind of PC insanity now running the asylum, why should anyone feel encouraged to watch these webtoons any more than read the newer comics?

THE ROCK: “That is we always put the fans first. Audience comes first. So for years, audiences have been so passionate and vocal. We’ve established Black Adam as the most powerful and unstoppable force on our planet but the fans have been so passionate about, as we have been, where is the most unstoppable force in the universe. Where is he?” PLAYLIST 50 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Dwayne Johnson Welcomes Home Superman Henry Cavill https://cosmicbook.news/dwayne-johnson-welcomes-home-superman-henry-cavill THE ROCK SAYS, "We Always Put The Fans First. Audience comes first" Also Henry Cavill Picture Leaks! As has been rumored and speculated by many, Henry Cavill makes his return as Superman in Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam movie. Now before you complain about spoilers, Henry Cavill back as Superman is actually being marketed for Black Adam as, following the official premiere, Dwayne Johnson is talking about it in interviews. Entertainment Tonight caught up with The Rock and mentioned that the cat is out of the bag when it comes to Henry Cavill coming into the mix and asks Johnson how much he had to do with it and what does he know about Man of Steel 2? “Well, here is what I can tell you. I can tell you the whole goal and initiative of Black Adam was to build out the DC Universe by building out not only Black Adam, but the entire JSA, five new superhero characters in one movie, and also as I have been saying all along, there’s an ethos that we at Seven Bucks Productions have, myself, my co-founder Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia,” says Johnson. Johnson continues, “That is we always put the fans first. Audience comes first. So for years, audiences have been so passionate and vocal. We’ve established Black Adam as the most powerful and unstoppable force on our planet but the fans have been so passionate about, as we have been, where is the most unstoppable force in the universe. Where is he?” Johnson adds, “Well, just like I fought hard for Black Adam for fifteen years, Dany has been fighting for six years, Hiram has been fighting for six years, fifteen years, we’ve all been fighting for this moment. So I will say this: Welcome home.” Black Adam Dwayne Johnson DWAYNE JOHNSON on the set of New Line Cinema’s action adventure “BLACK ADAM,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release Black Adam vs Superman is about building a story Producer Hiram Garcia also spoke with Variety about a potential Black Adam vs Superman movie. “If those guys cross paths, it’s really not just about a showdown, of course that is probably going to happen, but there’s much more we would want to do,” he says. “We like to really think about the long game and we like to think of some interesting long-form storytelling with two characters that are so polar opposite but kind of from the same place in terms of power and approach. If we are able to pull that off some way someday those guys cross path it’s not going to be a quick thing. We have some big ambitions for that.” Black Adam opens Oct. 21 with tickets now on sale. The film is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and also stars Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi as Adrianna, Marwan Kenzari as Ishmael, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, Bodhi Sabongui as Amon, and Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate. It was bound to happen but it happened even sooner than I thought as the premiere only took place yesterday, but a first look at Henry Cavill as Superman in Black Adam has leaked online. The image is really blurry but seems to offer Henry Cavill gets a new Superman suit in the film. The pic which has taken social media by storm shows Henry Cavill as Superman where I am guessing he confronts Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam at the end of the movie (I haven’t seen it yet). Apparently, Superman doesn’t bust in or fly in, but the scene shows Superman confronting Black Adam. Regarding the new suit, according to the leaked image, the Superman suit looks a lot more saturated in color, a bit darker, where worth a note, it could be because of the phone used to take the picture. The suit looks dark blue, the cape a lot darker and maroon, and the shield symbol has a lot of stand-out goldish color behind the “S.” The scene also looks to take place in the dark (possibly at night?) so that could explain why the suit isn’t as bright or what have you and there is a light shining on Henry Cavill as he is facing toward the right, so that could explain all the gold in the chest symbol.

After shutting down their paid internship writing and directing pipeline programs, some of their functions will be picked up by their company-wide DEI program, but not all. Staff isn't being rehired, and the programs are completely cut out of the WBTV division. "Stage 13" is completely shutdown and is not being restarted. PLAYLIST 50 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Warner Bros. Discovery’s Karen Horne on Workshop Reversal: “This Was Always Our Plan” https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/warner-bros-discovery-workshops-return-1235240345/ WOKE WAR WIN: Warner Bros Gets DEI Recruiting Program Under Control! Fewer than 24 hours after the shuttering of Warner Bros. Television Group’s long-running writers and directors workshops prompted outcry and lament from industry creatives — and a challenge from the Directors Guild of America — Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the workshops weren’t dead after all: They were simply being relocated from the TV division to the company’s corporate DEI team. WBD senior vp Karen Horne, now U.S. lead for DEI under the team’s recent restructuring, says that she had made clear to leadership that her goal always was to unify the company’s pipeline programs under the DEI division (the WBD Access portfolio already includes development programs across categories including animation, comedy, games, news and sports, postproduction and unscripted) and that she would ensure there was a home for any entry-level TV writing and directing workshops as well. Horne joined then-WarnerMedia in 2020 to oversee pipeline programs, having done the same during a longtime stint at NBCUniversal and, before that, at Nickelodeon and Disney. At NBCU, she launched such programs as Female Forward and Emerging Directors, which set new standards for industry pipeline programs by guaranteeing participants an episodic job. She spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about what the former WBTV workshops will look like under new management. When can we expect the workshops to come back? We’re going to try to stick as close as possible with the schedule the current workshops have, but I’m not going to commit to saying it’s the exact same schedule. Productions now go year-round, and while the current schedule benefited broadcast, we don’t have to make sure on the writing or directing side that that’s the case. Additionally, the program will expand under our supervision. It will be equally as robust but arguably broader because we will also work with our TNet partners, HBO Max — for which a lot of the Warner Bros. Television Group produces programming anyway. I want to make sure that we are not fighting a timeline just to get it done but really building a platform that is bigger and more robust. Will the workshop changes potentially include expanding beyond episodic scripted? For the directing program, absolutely. My team was already looking to develop an unscripted directing program. We also had been talking with the Discovery teams for a showrunner program on the scripted side [Editor’s note: WBD Access launched a showrunner program for mid- to senior-level writers in April] and we’d like to build something like that in unscripted as well. We really want to work with Discovery to expand even better. Are you retaining the staff from the workshops? The WBTV team was two people and they will not join my team, I don’t have the head count to have them, but in addition to myself, Grace Moss now leads Pipeline Programs — she worked with me at NBC on Female Forward. We have now at Pipeline a bigger team. We have more programs but in the restructure we will make sure we have more people. Does the new “specific DEI focus” mean that the workshops will now be open only to applicants from historically excluded backgrounds? We look at submissions blindly. When we read a script, no one knows whose material we’re reading — same thing when we’re viewing material. We always open submissions to everyone. We do cast our nets wide enough to make sure we are really targeting those historically underrepresented groups. We also like to partner with diverse organizations like NALIP and NAACP to help champion the talent they have. We will put notices out to them specifically, but they are open to everyone. Now that the corporate DEI team, instead of WBTV, is assuming the costs of the workshops, will there be any change to their budget? I don’t know what their costs were. I don’t know if they’ll be the same. As we redevelop these programs to be bigger and broader, they may be more expensive — but because I have a great knowledge of running these programs, they may be cheaper.

In a company-wide memo, chairman Channing Dungey told staff that the company plans to fully consolidate its tv animation divisions, merging Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network Studios (CNS). PLAYLIST 47 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Cartoon Network Studios, As You Know It, Is Gone Thanks To David Zaslav https://www.cartoonbrew.com/studios/wbd-merge-cartoon-network-studios-warner-bros-animation-222123.html MASSIVE Changes At CARTOON NETWORK! Cartoon Network Studios, As You Know It, Is Gone! Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) laid off 82 scripted, unscripted, and animation employees on Tuesday, and will not fill 43 more vacant positions. The 125 positions represented 26% of the companies workforce across those units. However, the layoffs, which were generally expected, don’t tell the whole story of what’s going on at Warner Bros. Discovery’s animation units. In fact, there was an even more consequential announcement yesterday that fundamentally alters the structure of Cartoon Network Studios going forward and will have a far-reaching impact on the projects that it produces. The company calls it part of its “strategic realignment.” In a company-wide memo, chairman Channing Dungey told staff that the company plans to fully consolidate its tv animation divisions, merging Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network Studios (CNS). Going forward, Sam Register will continue as head of WBA and CNS, as well as Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, the latter of which will continue to operate independently from the other two. According to the memo, all three labels will continue to exist, but perhaps more in name than in action. Both development and production at WBA and CNS will now be merged, extending on the cross-studio teams that were already in place for programming, casting, legal, and business affairs, and artist relations. This means that Cartoon Network Studios no longer has any independent say on either creative or operational matters, something that has never happened before in its existence. This also seems an ominous sign for the future of new, original Cartoon Network animation. WBA has traditionally been a much more catalog/IP-driven studio, while CNS has been the studio that puts out original series and specials that occasionally become touchstones for generations of viewers. Over the last decade, CNS produced shows such as Uncle Grandpa, Steven Universe, Clarence, Over the Garden Wall, We Bare Bears, Craig of the Creek, Summer Camp Island, Infinity Train, and Primal, to name just a few. Conversely, WBA’s lineup has been focused on catalog characters, including titles such as Batwheels, Bugs Bunny Builders, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Teen Titans Go!, Jellystone!, Animaniacs, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Harley Quinn, Justice League Action, and The Tom and Jerry Show. Under boss David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery has expressed a desire to focus more heavily on IP across all its businesses, so now that CNS has to share development and production resources with WBA, it’s difficult to imagine a future in which the studio’s original animation output can match what it has been in the past. As long as Zaslav is king, Cartoon Network Studios is likely to shift more strongly towards reboots of its existing catalog, as it is currently doing with The Powerpuff Girls, than launching new IP. The significance of yesterday’s news may have not fully sunk in for a lot of animation fans, but those in the business immediately understood the magnitude of the news and its impact on Cartoon Network Studio’s – and by extension, Cartoon Network’s – future. Brian Miller, former general manager of Cartoon Network Studios and a key figurehead at the company for 21 years, tweeted a quote from the Variety report and a grim two-word summary of what he thinks it means for the future of Cartoon Network Studios: “RIP CNS.” Under the new setup, kids and family series development at both WBA and CNS will be led by Audrey Diehl, adult animation development by Peter Girardi, and animated longform series development by Sammy Perlmutter, with Bobbie Page leading main production. Ed Adams will continue as executive vp and general manager.

Massive layoffs continue at Warner Brothers Discovery as the consolidate, cut and remake the mess at Warner Media into a great company. After huge backlash from the industry the woke pipeline program was reinstated after being cancelled yesterday. It proves the Zaslav team are doing everything possible to cut all the people, projects and business units that make no financial sense! PLAYLIST 47 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ WARNER BROS EPIC PURGE Of Employees And Departments HEATS UP! One Woke Program Reinstated! Warner Bros. Discovery has backed off of a plan to shutter workshops for ascendant writers and directors after industry backlash. The company said in a statement Wednesday that it was transferring the Directors’ Workshop and Writers’ Workshop programs from a previous home at Warner Bros. Television to its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion division after the end of the 2022-2023 writers’ workshop. Warner Bros. added that the DEI unit will “grow the Workshop programs through its existing Pipeline Programs division.” According Warner Bros. Discovery, under the DEI unit the workshops will specifically focus on bringing more creatives from marginalized identities into the industry. Right now, according to a Warner Bros. Discover spokesperson, there are no plans to change the number of participants in the workshops in future years. Related Stories Kathleen Finch, Chief Lifestyles Brand Officer, Discovery, Inc. TV Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group Boss Looks to Sports for Scripted Future at TNT and TBS Warner Brothers Water Tower TV Warner Bros. TV Workshop Alumni React to Program's Shutdown: "It Is the Gold Standard" Sources say that the current class of writers in the WBTV workshop will be supported in the workshop’s current home until March 2023. The new workshops will be managed at the corporate level and will operate company-wide, with some practices from the WBTV workshops carrying over to the new ones, which will nevertheless make changes to the programs. On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter reported on a previous plan to shut down these programs, which were often regarded as a key entry way for diverse talent to receive important industry opportunities in the directing and writing space, though they didn’t have a diversity mandate per se. The announcement came about a half hour after the Directors Guild of America declared its intention to “fight” the shutdown of the Warner Bros. Television Workshop and its directing program, which the union says is mandated by its collective bargaining agreement, in its own statement. “The DGA announced today its commitment to fight against Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to dismantle its TV directors’ development program,” the union said in a statement on Wednesday. “The DGA will not stand idly by while WB/Discovery seeks to roll back decades of advancement for women and directors of color.” THR has asked the DGA for comment on the latest development.

Warner Bros. Discovery to Shut Down Pipeline Programs for Writers, Directors The company is also shuttering Stage 13, its short-form digital content studio that was dedicated to amplifying up-and-coming storytellers. While they were not specifically diversity programs exclusively for participants from historically excluded backgrounds, the Warner Bros. Television Workshop was regarded as an important pipeline of opportunity for such artists looking to break into the business. PLAYLIST 47 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Warner Bros. Discovery to Shut Down Pipeline Programs for Writers, Directors https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/warner-bros-writers-directors-pipeline-programs-shut-down-1235239387/ WOKE Diversity Program SHUTDOWN At WARNER BROS DISCOVERY! Programs for Writers, Directors Ended! Warner Bros. Discovery will be shutting down its long-running writers’ and directors’ television workshops at the end of the current 2022-23 season, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. While they were not specifically diversity programs exclusively for participants from historically excluded backgrounds, the Warner Bros. Television Workshop was regarded as an important pipeline of opportunity for such artists looking to break into the business. The writers’ workshop had been in existence for more than 40 years, with more recent notable alumni including Akela Cooper (Luke Cage, Blumhouse’s upcoming M3GAN), Zak Schwartz (Wu-Tang: An American Saga, TNT’s Snowpiercer) and LaToya Morgan (The Walking Dead, Into the Badlands). Alumni of the directors’ workshop include Jude Weng (Only Murders in the Building, Finding ‘Ohana), Jaffar Mahmood (Reboot, Young Sheldon) and Regina King. Related Stories Warner Brothers Lot TV Warner Bros. TV Group Cuts 82 Staffers in Latest Round of WBD Layoffs Channing Dungey TV More Layoffs Coming Tuesday at Warner Bros. Discovery Last month, WBD restructured its diversity, equity and inclusion group, with senior vice president Karen Horne, who formerly oversaw pipeline programs under WarnerMedia, promoted to oversee DEI for the North America region. In her place, Grace Anne Moss was appointed to oversee pipeline programs at the vp level. The company also is shuttering Stage 13, its shortform digital content studio, with existing projects in the works to be absorbed into Warner Bros. Television, which has been overseeing Stage 13 development and programming since 2020. Stage 13 was founded in 2017 as part of the then-Warner Bros. Digital Networks division and has produced such series as Netflix’s Special, created by and starring Ryan O’Connell about his experiences as a young gay man with cerebral palsy, and The CW/Netflix’s anthology Two Sentence Horror Stories, which was created by Vera Miao and served as a showcase for directors from a diverse range of backgrounds. The decision to shutter Stage 13 and the WBTV writers’ and directors’ workshops are part of a larger round of layoffs taking place today at the Channing Dungey-led Warner Bros. TV Group. Additional layoffs are expected to come as part of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s larger effort to find an estimated $3 billion in cost savings from the newly merged company. Casey Bloys’ HBO and HBO Max division went through a similar round of layoffs in August. Staff cuts are expected to come at other WBD divisions as Zaslav and his top lieutenants look to eliminate staff redundancies and right-size its various divisions. As part of the larger effort, HBO Max and Discovery+ will be merged next year as execs continue to debate a new name for the service.

DC Comics made a major announcement about their total commitment to digital comics publishing. Their new digital app "DC Universe Infinite Ultra" allows fans to get comics a month after they are first in print rather than waiting six months as per the usual deal. This has upset comic book stores that now have to almost directly compete with DC with their digital versions of comic books. PLAYLIST 46 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ DC Universe Infinite Ultra Will Now Have Comics 30 Days After Print https://bleedingcool.com/comics/dc-to-launch-dc-universe-ultra-with-comics-added-30-days-after-print/ MASSIVE DC COMICS Digital Sales Push! Now We Know They Won't Be Licensing Out Comics Publishing! Five minutes before noon, ET, Bleeding Cool ran the news about the new DC Universe Infinite Ultra subscription level which allows readers to pay a premium to get all of DC Comics print-released titles included in the DC Universe Infinite app a month after print rather than six months. Ten minutes later, DC Comics hurriedly confirmed the news ahead of their originally planned announcement and sent letters to comic shop owners, those likely to be most affected by the news, as DC Comics becomes far more of a direct competitor with comic shops than previously. In the letter, DC Comics states that all the comic books published between this Wednesday and the end of the year, will be made returnable. That is a massive financial impact to DC, and one that they have been clearly planning for some time. Here is the letter in full. Earlier today we announced the launch of an additional subscription membership  tier  for DC UNIVERSE INFINITE called Ultra. It's an annual membership that provides subscribers with benefits  including digital access to comics released one month after physical on-sale date. Physical comics remain the backbone of our industry and we are excited to see digital continue to drive readership  to  benefit our entire ecosystem. During the initial launch of this additional subscription, DC will make all periodicals with in-store dates between 10/11/22 and 12/31/22—except those with an associated 1:50 ratio  variant cover  or higher—returnable within 60 days of their initial on sale date. Please contact the DC  sales and marketing  team with any questions. Frequently Asked Questions Q: Why did you shift the release window on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE from six months to one month? A: The one-month release window on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE is for a premium level of service, DC UNIVERSE INFINITE Ultra. The standard DC UNIVERSE INFINITE release window is 6 months after print release. In addition to fans building their print collections, the vast majority of print comics are sold within the first 30 days of release. DC UNIVERSE INFINITE Ultra is intended for the DC Fan who seeks to have faster access to comics that they already love and to discover new ones. Q: Will all comics be released 30 days after print release or will there be exceptions? A: Nearly all comics will be available to DC UNIVERSE INFINITE Ultra subscribers approximately 30 days after release. However, as has previously been the case, there will be limited exceptions for titles that are tied to releases of movies, television shows or video games which are occasionally posted day-and-date with print release, or released with an early digital exclusive window (such as Young Justice: Targets). Additionally, DC's All-Ages comics and Middle Grade original graphic novels are not available on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE. Q: Which comics are returnable? A: All DC periodicals with on-sale dates between 10/11/22 and 12/31/22 will be returnable within 60 days, except periodicals with an associated 1:50 or higher ratio variant cover. Q: Will comics shops be able to order the DC UNIVERSE INFINITE exclusive SC edition of DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30th Anniversary with the variant cover? A: No. That edition is only available for DC UNIVERSE INFINITE Ultra subscribers. It may not actually help any retailers who feel the DC Universe Infinite Ultra update will harm their business, but at least they won't be on the hook for any overordered comics, now that DC Universe Infinite is a much greater competitor than before. Funny how the variant cover that shops won't be getting features Doomsday. I get the feeling that many of them will see this moment as their own personal doomsday…

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that, as part of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s effort to find $3 billion in post-merger cost savings, that layoffs will impact several departments in the merged companies. Among those expected to be impacted are Channing Dungey’s Warner Bros. Television Group (which includes scripted, unscripted and alternative studios); possibly DC Comics, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and other units. PLAYLIST 45 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ More Layoffs Coming Tuesday at Warner Bros. Discovery https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/more-layoffs-coming-tuesday-at-warner-bros-discovery-1235238334/ LAYOFFS Coming TODAY at Warner Bros! Possibly DC Comics, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim! Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that, as part of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s effort to find $3 billion in post-merger cost savings, that layoffs will impact several departments in the merged companies. Among those expected to be impacted are Channing Dungey’s Warner Bros. Television Group (which includes scripted, unscripted and alternative studios); possibly DC Comics, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and other units. Reps for Warner Bros. Discovery and WBTV declined comment. Showrunner Julie Plec Reveals Cancer Scare Led to Having Kidney Removed: "The Point Is Early Detection" News that additional layoffs are coming is not necessarily new information, though the Tuesday timing is. A wave of layoffs hit Casey Bloys’ HBO Max and HBO teams in August with an estimated 70 staffers let go as part of a larger restructuring. All facets of the merged WBD are being examined as Zaslav looks to save billions in staff redundancies and other areas. Sources tell THR that lower-level executives may be the focus of the layoffs at WBTV. Other departments, like ad sales, are rumored to be looking to cut costs by 20 percent-30 percent through a combination of layoffs, travel and expense savings and supplier cuts. The Warner Bros. film group is likely not going to be impacted as part of Tuesday’s layoffs as its new executive regime needs time to acclimate. Additional layoffs at other WBD divisions are expected. HBO Max and Discovery+ will be merged into one service next year. Executives are currently debating a new name for the service as sources say much of the discussion is if the HBO name remains part of it or if a more broad name for the service would work better. THR will have more details on the cutbacks Tuesday.

AT&T gave it's shareholders 71% of Warner Brothers Discovery for free like an inheritance when the merger with Discovery was completed. It was necessary to do it this way to save billons taxes for AT&T and while Zaslav and his team were well aware this was going to happen (so they are at least partially responsible too) this is absolutely the main reason the stock has tanked by 50% since the merger. PLAYLIST 45 VIDEOS: WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY & DAVID ZASLAV https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUPkiRW84R1gxDL-u2P1Ac4bE5bONlHix SUBSCRIBE TO ADAM POST SPEAKS: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamPostSpeaks Follow ADAM POST on Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicswelove Buy My Graphic Novel: THE MERMAIDS https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mermaids-comic-book/x/2851886#/ Warner Bros. Discovery: Negative Sentiment Is Overblown https://archive.ph/5l6Wm#selection-1140.0-1191.10 WARNER BROS Why The Stock Is So LOW PRICED (down 50% from merger) How AT&T Killed The Price! Two of the biggest concerns about WBD aren’t really that serious. The declining cable business is not as bad as it seems. The huge debt load is actually manageable. Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:WBD) stock price currently trades at $13.20, down 83% from its all-time highs in March 2021. Some reasons for this massive decline include: Reason 1: Dividend-seeking AT&T (T) shareholders selling WBD stock Reason 2: Netflix (NFLX) losing of 200,000 subscribers in Q1Y22 Reason 3: Strong competition in the streaming space Reason 4: High level of debt compared to peers Reason 5: Messy post-merger operations Reason 6: Lousy macroeconomic outlook Investment Thesis In this article, I analyze two main contributing factors to WBD’s depressed price to see if WBD’s price is justified. The two factors are WBD’s declining cable business and its huge debt load. Declining cable business It is no surprise that cable subscriptions have been declining fast. Here are some stats: 1.According to Nielsen ratings, TV viewing has been dropping about 10% per quarter. 2.In total, major US cable TV and satellite TV have lost 25 million subscribers since 2012, and are projected to lose another 25 million by 2025. 3.Adults ages 18 through 29 are the largest age group without cable, with 34% of them not having subscriptions to satellite or cable TV services. It seems that the younger generation defaults straight to streaming and do not even consider cable TV as an option for content consumption. However, not many know that streaming revenues are growing faster than declining cable revenues. Based on the projections by Statista in the figure below, a company that engages in both cable TV and streaming would experience net revenue growth. This is because revenue growth from Streaming would outpace declining revenue from Cable TV. This may mean that companies like WBD, Disney (DIS) and Paramount (PARA) would experience a 36% revenue growth from 2016 to 2026, a CAGR of 3.2%. It is important to note that the projections above only take account of revenues from subscription costs and not revenues gained from ads. Since ads will become more personalized in the streaming world, we can assume that ad revenue generated from streaming services will be greater than from cable tv services. For example, Discovery+ makes $11 a US subscriber from a $5 monthly fee and over $6 in advertising for only 3 minutes of ad time vs. $7 from their Cable TV services. This is 57% higher. It was no surprise therefore that WBD CEO stated, “If we lost a million [cable] subs…all we need to do is pick up 650,000 [streaming] subs in order to be making more money.” Additionally, traditional cable TV companies that are moving into streaming can use the same content and earn from multiple channels. Distribution of cord cutters in the United States in 2020 and 2021, by age group Distribution of cord cutters in the United States in 2020 and 2021, by age group Statista As can be seen from the graph, younger generations embrace streaming services faster than older generations do. Because of this lag in the adoption of streaming between the various age groups, there will be a period where households subscribe to both streaming services as well as cable services. This means companies like WBD, DIS and PARA can earn “double” the revenues for each show that it creates. WBD is producing Game of Thrones, and it can air it on both HBO Max and Linear TV, while NFLX can only air it on one platform. By “double” I do not mean exactly two times the revenues, but rather more than 1 time.