The past few months have been quite tumultuous in the WBD headquarters following the merger and the change in direction of where the studios will be heading. Although the studios are adamant about getting Christopher Nolan back in the mix, it appears, for now, they’re shifting their focus to Paul Thomas Anderson, who has found his distributors for his next project.
Although things haven’t been smooth between PTA and WBD, as Anderson has united with other industry veterans to urge WBD to leave TCM Programming alone, it seems Zaslav has won back PTA’s trust back.
Warner Bros. Discovery is set to back Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming project
With David Zaslav being pretty outspoken about their desire to make WBD the home for filmmakers, it appears they have taken the first step in that direction by collaborating with Paul Thomas Anderson. According to a recent column by IndieWire’s Eric Kohn, it seems that WBD will be distributing the There Will Be Blood director’s upcoming project, which will be led by Joaquin Phoenix and Regina Hall. The Column stated,
“I’m told that Anderson’s mysterious next movie, rumored to star Joaquin Phoenix, Viggo Mortensen, and Regina Hall, has been set up at Warner Bros. Zaslav probably wants to keep that emerging deal in place.”
Although WBD is fixated on making the studio home for the industry veterans, their recent actions haven’t quite helped them in winning those filmmakers into the fold. A few days back before PTA found the distributors for his next project, the Licorice Pizza director joined forces with Scorsese and Spielberg to protest against David Zaslav’s gutting of TCM Programming.
Industry giants joined forces to protest against WBD’s gutting of TCM Programming
With the departure of veteran executive and TCM general manager Pola Chagnon following ahead of the layoffs, fans were concerned that their beloved channel would cease to exist. However, the trio of some of the greatest names in filmmaking, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson, recently united to urge Zaslav to leave TCM “untouched and protected”. Their joint statement read,
“We have each spent time talking to David, separately and together, and it’s clear that TCM and classic cinema are very important to him. Our primary aim is to ensure that TCM’s programming is untouched and protected. We are heartened and encouraged by the conversations we’ve had thus far, and we are committed to working together to ensure the continuation of this cultural touchstone that we all treasure.”
With WBD joining forces with Paul Thomas Anderson, they’re also trying to rebuild their working bond with Christopher Nolan, as WBD recently offered a seven-figure check to him in good faith for his future project.
Source: IndieWire
