Denzel Washington Reportedly Furious, ‘Blindsided’ by Warner Bros Putting New Film on HBO MAX

[Sterling Archer]

Lol yes he possibly could. Idk all the ends and outs but I gotta imagine there’s a lot of legal shyt the lawyers and agents are looking at right now.

You can’t just charge everything to the game when it’s your business. Denzel is a businessman and he, just like everyone else, needs to approach this in those terms.

You can sue for anything but whether or not they have an actual case is different. The fact that the movies are being released in theatres is what saves Warner. They as distributors have the right to sale their product in whatever media format they choose. Unless a contract states otherwise, which wouldnt be standard. The assumption as been that these movies were to release to theatre alone with no competitors. That assumption is not legally binding. Distribution, when to release a film to theatres and pull a film from theatres and what at-home format/streaming service to release or license their movies to lies solely with the production company and has always. So this is ultimately no different. The only money Warner would have to pay is whatever they think the bad PR and legal fees to have it dismissed will cost them. When they figure that math out, theyll do payouts based on that formula alone. If its less, they wont pay shyt.

 

[Ozymandeas]

So based on what you're saying, if they tell the actors and directors one thing, which at least two of them are on record saying, and then do something else, without telling them, shyt is cool?

I'm not sure case what they could, would, or wouldn't have. I'm spitballing. Someone else mentioned litigation and I took a guess. My main issue is the breach of trust and fukking over people you work with. Doesn't matter to me what ATT's bottomline is from that point on. If they tell them they're doing X only to do some other shyt, that's fukked up.

And to me, anyone contributing in the creative process is a partner. Whatever movie Warners funded with Denzel attached doesn't make the money or even get greenlit and get investors lined up if he isn't attached. He brings value to the project. He's the reason they're able to count their stacks. That makes him a partner in my eyes

They’re not a partner anymore than LeBron is a partner with the NBA. They’re highly paid talent. They don’t have to consult them when they work for AT&T, not the other way around and when the compensation they’re upset about is not (I repeat not) guaranteed. And I’m pretty sure there’s some sort of act of god/material adverse change clause in those contracts that provide enough legal cover to do what they did. I promise you AT&T’s legal game is on 1,000%. They will be fine The only group that will actually have a chance in court is Legendary Studios as they funded Dune and AT&T deebo’d the film for HBO Max like they owned it 100 percent. They should’ve been consulted. That’s about it.

 

[Atsym Sknyfs]

Why HBO Max Announced Theatrical Approach Before Telling Studios, Talent

WarnerMedia's decision to give all Warner Bros. movies in 2021 a simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max debut was not discussed with the talent or production companies behind those titles. Now, two figures at WarnerMedia have explained the reasoning behind this decision.

"I wish we could have had more time to speak to our partners and talent," Warner Bros. Chairman Ann Sarnoff said to THR, noting that discussions were avoided to make sure these plans did not leak prior to the announcement. "We are very conscious of paying a fair price for the HBO Max 31-day distribution of the movie, and we think they’ll be happy to see how much effort we will put behind successfully launching these movies."

"We’re not saying this is our strategy going forward; this is our strategy for 2021," Warner Bros. CEO Toby Emmerich said about this release plan. "We’re going to learn a lot as we go along, as the business rebounds and evolves in a post- COVID world."

This new release pattern will begin with Wonder Woman 1984 on Dec. 25. WarnerMedia films will be available for their first months on HBO Max while also screening in theaters. Following the first month, each film will only be available in domestic and international theaters. Responses from the industry have been widely negative, with Tenet director Christopher Nolan saying that this concept "makes no economic sense and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction".

 

[Atsym Sknyfs]

They’re not a partner anymore than LeBron is a partner with the NBA. They’re highly paid talent. They don’t have to consult them when they work for AT&T, not the other way around and when the compensation they’re upset about is not (I repeat not) guaranteed. And I’m pretty sure there’s some sort of act of god/material adverse change clause in those contracts that provide enough legal cover to do what they did. I promise you AT&T’s legal game is on 1,000%. They will be fine The only group that will actually have a chance in court is Legendary Studios as they funded Dune and AT&T deebo’d the film for HBO Max like they owned it 100 percent. They should’ve been consulted. That’s about it.

AT&T owns 100% distribution rights..

 

[MartyMcFly]

They’re not a partner anymore than LeBron is a partner with the NBA. They’re highly paid talent. They don’t have to consult them when they work for AT&T, not the other way around and when the compensation they’re upset about is not (I repeat not) guaranteed. And I’m pretty sure there’s some sort of act of god/material adverse change clause in those contracts that provide enough legal cover to do what they did. I promise you AT&T’s legal game is on 1,000%. They will be fine The only group that will actually have a chance in court is Legendary Studios as they funded Dune and AT&T deebo’d the film for HBO Max like they owned it 100 percent. They should’ve been consulted. That’s about it.

the tnt thing doesn’t work. In this case it would be the NBA and the players association. And the league often, but not always, makes sure the players are spoken to and treat them like business partners not people who just work for them. I get what you’re saying but the shyt doesn’t work like that for movies.

 

[Brandeezy]

Honestly the only reason these cats are complaining is that they signed contracts that have a BO% attached to them. Odds are WM will pay them what they owe like they did with WW84 and The Witches. No one wants to go to court because WM could easily drag out Dune for example beyond a year, to the point where no one cares anymore and the budget has ballooned. WM should be petty and move the release date next to some big MCU movies and tell Legendary "Well we put your movie in theaters exclusively right? Our job is done"

 

[Ozymandeas]

AT&T owns 100% distribution rights..

Didn’t know that. That settles it then

 

[Atsym Sknyfs]

Honestly the only reason these cats are complaining is that they signed contracts that have a BO% attached to them. Odds are WM will pay them what they owe like they did with WW84 and The Witches. No one wants to go to court because WM could easily drag out Dune for example beyond a year, to the point where no one cares anymore and the budget has ballooned. WM should be petty and move the release date next to some big MCU movies and tell Legendary "Well we put your movie in theaters exclusively right? Our job is done"

dune and tenent and legendery actually they control the release date. thats why tenet had to be released in theaters... they approve the release date..

WB just didnt want to postpone the releases another year.. it messes up every movie they have in production or have release dates for

 

[AnonymityX1000]

Legendary specifically has a case against Warner Media since there was a deal on the table for Kong vs Godzilla that they nixed. That's self dealing which is illegal, they were only looking out for the best interest of Warner not Legendary and Legendary put up most of the money.
If any other movie that was made in partnership with a production studio was also offered $ by an outside party they got grounds to sue as well. Shyt a lawyer could probably spin Warner's lack of due diligence in finding the best deal for every movie on the slate as self dealing.

 

[Rekkapryde]

Partners how much money did Denzel invest in this movie? Back end compensation is a bonus that's not guaranteed.

I guarantee no litigation will come from this. AT&T is worth hundreds of billions and had their lawyers looking everything over with a fine tooth comb before a decision was made.

this.

BUT, the Gal and Patty compensation should have never been leaked.

But all these cats gotta think about repercussions on their end as well. Unless they wanna finance and pay for the marketing on all of their movies.

Just go to AT&T and negotiate some kind of backend kicker compensation like Patty and Gal did.

 

[KillerB88]

Denzel had to know they was gonna release this shyt online al the movie theaters are closed and of course warner bros ain't gonna pay the black man for his work or shortchange him.. don't be mad just remember this shyt for next time..

Did you not read the article? He’s upset that gal gadot got paid additional compensation for having her movie streamed, in addition to proper marketing. He’s received neither.

 

[Paper Boi]

the problem is, if they don't do this, the studios stop making any money, the movies stop getting made.

i get why artists are pissed, but shyts gonna dry up if they just sit around and wait for people to start going to theaters again.

even with the vaccine, i think it's gonna be a while before a lot of people feel comfortable with doing certain things, especially at the level they were when these movies were breaking box office records.

 

[Jello Biafra]

It's not just about that. what most of these people are mad at, and some cats still don't understand for some reason, is the way Warners handled it. You can't blindside your partners in anything. Not in your family, not in kickball on the playground, and definitely not when millions of dollars are on the line for their bank accounts.

He and a lot of other actors and talent just wanted the same courtesy Warners showed Gal and Patty Jenkins. It's not about "next time" when the company obviously told talent one thing and did another. That's just bad business regardless of whatever side you're on

It really does look like the folks at WB studios did things the right way with Wonder Woman 84 and then their bosses at AT&T saw the good reaction that got and were like "fukk it! Release all that shyt on HBO Max!" without talking to anyone on the movie side about how to handle it.

 

[Atsym Sknyfs]

Did you not read the article? He’s upset that gal gadot got paid additional compensation for having her movie streamed, in addition to proper marketing. He’s received neither.

to be fair her movie comes out NOW... perhaps when his is to be released he and other actors might get a package too

 

[KillerB88]

to be fair her movie comes out NOW... perhaps when his is to be released he and other actors might get a package too

Once again. Did you not read the article? These things were negotiated with her group beforehand. They simply made a unilateral decision with Denzel and a few others’ films