From ComingSoon.net:
"DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns answered fans' questions at Comic Book Resources and he was first asked about a possible DC movie slate announcement:
'I can't get into the exact DC slate right now, but we're all working heavily on what that is with Warner Bros. and there will be news forthcoming. But, you can bet there is going to be a lot more than there is right now.'
While he didn't reveal much there, Johns did talk more about his visits to the Green Lantern set in New Orleans:
'The movie looks fantastic. I'm heading back down to New Orleans in a few weeks, but I just watched the Abin Sur/Hal Jordan dailies, and it's amazing seeing that ring passed to Hal in live action. Abin Sur looks [great].
They did such a great job. They've got Grant [Major] as a production designer. He's from Lord of the Rings, and the visuals on this film are nothing like you could imagine. It's definitely a Green Lantern fan's dream. For me, it's kind of insane to see this stuff come to life.
And Ryan Reynolds is a perfect Hal Jordan. He brings a lot of humor to it, but he also has the humanity that Hal has. And a little bit of the arrogance, so it's a great match.'
Directed by Martin Campbell, Green Lantern hits 3D and 2D theaters on June 17, 2011."
Good to see they're not robbing Ryan Reynolds of what's he's good at.
Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Friday, April 16, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Nolans revolutionizing DC Comics movies?
From ComingSoon.net:
"IESB has posted some interesting [rum]ors about DC Entertainment's upcoming slate. The site says it's all still unconfirmed, but these items could potentially be part of the announcements that the studio is expected to make soon.
Yesterday, the site reported that Greg Berlanti, co-producer and co-writer of Martin Campbell's Green Lantern, is the frontrunner to direct Warner Bros.' The Flash.
Earlier this week, it was reported that David Goyer will be writing the new Superman movie, The Man of Steel. What we didn't catch then is that Jonah Nolan, who together with Goyer is writing the script for Christopher Nolan's next Batman movie, is also on board to co-write the Superman film. Of course, this follows the news from earlier this month that Chris Nolan will play a 'godfather' role in getting The Man of Steel going.
Which brings us to the really interesting parts. IESB is saying that Chris Nolan is mentoring the movie because his brother Jonah Nolan may make his directorial debut on The Man of Steel.
Adding to that, the site says that there's a possibility that Chris Nolan will direct the Justice League movie after The Man of Steel and next Batman movie are released."
Wow. This looks to be really interesting. Two brothers, one who has directed the (now)-third highest-grossing movie ever and one who hasn't directed anything, could be the only thing to save the two greatest heroes that DC Comics has.
"IESB has posted some interesting [rum]ors about DC Entertainment's upcoming slate. The site says it's all still unconfirmed, but these items could potentially be part of the announcements that the studio is expected to make soon.
Yesterday, the site reported that Greg Berlanti, co-producer and co-writer of Martin Campbell's Green Lantern, is the frontrunner to direct Warner Bros.' The Flash.
Earlier this week, it was reported that David Goyer will be writing the new Superman movie, The Man of Steel. What we didn't catch then is that Jonah Nolan, who together with Goyer is writing the script for Christopher Nolan's next Batman movie, is also on board to co-write the Superman film. Of course, this follows the news from earlier this month that Chris Nolan will play a 'godfather' role in getting The Man of Steel going.
Which brings us to the really interesting parts. IESB is saying that Chris Nolan is mentoring the movie because his brother Jonah Nolan may make his directorial debut on The Man of Steel.
Adding to that, the site says that there's a possibility that Chris Nolan will direct the Justice League movie after The Man of Steel and next Batman movie are released."
Wow. This looks to be really interesting. Two brothers, one who has directed the (now)-third highest-grossing movie ever and one who hasn't directed anything, could be the only thing to save the two greatest heroes that DC Comics has.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
From BATMAN to SUPERMAN?
From ComingSoon.net:
"In possibly one of the biggest superhero movie shockers since the last one--when was the Spider-Man reboot, three weeks ago?--Deadline Hollywood is now reporting that The Dark Knight and Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan has been assigned the potentially thankless task of being the latest filmmaker assigned by Warner Bros. to try to save the Superman franchise, in this case in a mentoring capacity to figure out the best way to proceed.
Director Bryan Singer helmed the last installment Superman Returns three and a half years ago, which grossed $391 million worldwide, but wasn't seen as a hit due to its reported $270 million production budget. (Remember that the studio doesn't get 100% of those theatrical grosses.)
Since then, various names have been mentioned as possible candidates to get Superman back to the screen, most vocally comic book creator Mark Millar (Wanted), but nothing had been confirmed or definite.
This latest news seems to come out of two recent developments, the restructuring of Warner's relationship with DC Comics into a new company called DC Entertainment, headed by Diane Nelson, and the looming deadline of the estates of Superman creators Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster gaining back the entire copyright for the character in 2013. During a court hearing about the rights to Superman, Warners chairman Alan Horn said that he hoped to make another film for 2012 at the earliest but that no script was currently in development.
Some may remember that before Bryan Singer came on board, various versions of the Man of Steel were floundering in development, including one version starring Nicolas Cage to be directed by Tim Burton based on a screenplay by Kevin Smith. Even J.J. Abrams took a crack at writing a Superman screenplay with both Brett Ratner and McG attached to direct his version at one point.
It's unclear how far Nolan's role as a mentor might stretch and whether he'll just be offering some suggestions on the direction, or will be actively involved in picking the director, writers and casting for the reboot, as it's still very early in what is already being labeled 'Superman 3.0.'
You can read a lot more about what led to Warner Bros.' decision over at Deadline Hollywood, and we'll keep you posted as things develop.
Knowing how many fans of The Dark Knight there are, need we even ask what you think about Nolan being actively involved in another movie about a DC Comics character?"
UPDATE:
From Slashfilm:
"I’m sure quite a few people have called for something like this in discussions about what Warner Bros. should do to make Superman work on the big screen: the studio is reportedly turning to Christopher Nolan to act as a 'godfather' to help shepherd development of a new Superman film. Before we go further, at this point Nolan is not writing, and is not directing. Rather, Nolan would play more of a mentor’s role to help the film get moving. In other words, WB wants him to communicate some of the methods he used to reinvent Batman on film to help Superman get off the ground in time for Warners to exploit the character before the rights go back to the Siegel and Shuster families.
Deadline Hollywood has the report, which doesn’t have many details on what we can actually expect to see. No surprise there, as Nolan has a movie to finish right now, and Deadline’s Finke and Fleming insist that a new Superman is in very early stages of development. The only sourced quote that will matter to most readers is, 'It would definitely not be a follow-up to Superman Returns'.
Finke and Fleming also reiterate that Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer are actively working on a Batman 3 script right now; they say that Christopher Nolan came up with a story idea and that they’ll write a draft while he finishes Inception."
"In possibly one of the biggest superhero movie shockers since the last one--when was the Spider-Man reboot, three weeks ago?--Deadline Hollywood is now reporting that The Dark Knight and Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan has been assigned the potentially thankless task of being the latest filmmaker assigned by Warner Bros. to try to save the Superman franchise, in this case in a mentoring capacity to figure out the best way to proceed.
Director Bryan Singer helmed the last installment Superman Returns three and a half years ago, which grossed $391 million worldwide, but wasn't seen as a hit due to its reported $270 million production budget. (Remember that the studio doesn't get 100% of those theatrical grosses.)
Since then, various names have been mentioned as possible candidates to get Superman back to the screen, most vocally comic book creator Mark Millar (Wanted), but nothing had been confirmed or definite.
This latest news seems to come out of two recent developments, the restructuring of Warner's relationship with DC Comics into a new company called DC Entertainment, headed by Diane Nelson, and the looming deadline of the estates of Superman creators Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster gaining back the entire copyright for the character in 2013. During a court hearing about the rights to Superman, Warners chairman Alan Horn said that he hoped to make another film for 2012 at the earliest but that no script was currently in development.
Some may remember that before Bryan Singer came on board, various versions of the Man of Steel were floundering in development, including one version starring Nicolas Cage to be directed by Tim Burton based on a screenplay by Kevin Smith. Even J.J. Abrams took a crack at writing a Superman screenplay with both Brett Ratner and McG attached to direct his version at one point.
It's unclear how far Nolan's role as a mentor might stretch and whether he'll just be offering some suggestions on the direction, or will be actively involved in picking the director, writers and casting for the reboot, as it's still very early in what is already being labeled 'Superman 3.0.'
You can read a lot more about what led to Warner Bros.' decision over at Deadline Hollywood, and we'll keep you posted as things develop.
Knowing how many fans of The Dark Knight there are, need we even ask what you think about Nolan being actively involved in another movie about a DC Comics character?"
UPDATE:
From Slashfilm:
"I’m sure quite a few people have called for something like this in discussions about what Warner Bros. should do to make Superman work on the big screen: the studio is reportedly turning to Christopher Nolan to act as a 'godfather' to help shepherd development of a new Superman film. Before we go further, at this point Nolan is not writing, and is not directing. Rather, Nolan would play more of a mentor’s role to help the film get moving. In other words, WB wants him to communicate some of the methods he used to reinvent Batman on film to help Superman get off the ground in time for Warners to exploit the character before the rights go back to the Siegel and Shuster families.
Deadline Hollywood has the report, which doesn’t have many details on what we can actually expect to see. No surprise there, as Nolan has a movie to finish right now, and Deadline’s Finke and Fleming insist that a new Superman is in very early stages of development. The only sourced quote that will matter to most readers is, 'It would definitely not be a follow-up to Superman Returns'.
Finke and Fleming also reiterate that Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer are actively working on a Batman 3 script right now; they say that Christopher Nolan came up with a story idea and that they’ll write a draft while he finishes Inception."
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
No New SUPERMAN?
From ComingSoon.net:
"With the formation of DC Entertainment, many thought a new film in the Superman franchise would be one of the big things the company would concentrate on. Not so, DC Entertainment Diane Nelson told MTV:
'We actually don't have any current plans for Superman,' said Nelson when asked if the new environment (and the recent legal decision regarding the character) made a 'Superman' movie more or less likely in the near future... We've obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it's a key part of the family, but we don't have current plans behind Superman,' she said.'"
Don't worry. One's gonna get made. If the United States legal system has to actually dissemble Warner Bros., DC Entertainment and DC Comics itself to do it!
"With the formation of DC Entertainment, many thought a new film in the Superman franchise would be one of the big things the company would concentrate on. Not so, DC Entertainment Diane Nelson told MTV:
'We actually don't have any current plans for Superman,' said Nelson when asked if the new environment (and the recent legal decision regarding the character) made a 'Superman' movie more or less likely in the near future... We've obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it's a key part of the family, but we don't have current plans behind Superman,' she said.'"
Don't worry. One's gonna get made. If the United States legal system has to actually dissemble Warner Bros., DC Entertainment and DC Comics itself to do it!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
DC Comics gets new life?
From ComingSoon.net:
"Deadline Hollywood is reporting that a lot of DC Comics film properties may get a new life as Warner Bros. is restructuring DC Comics. If an official announcement is made, we'll post that later, but here is an excerpt from Nikki Finki's report:
'I've learned that the announcement may be made as soon as later today. The restructuring of the stand-alone DC Comics business is being described to me as Warner Bros Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov's first priority since having his contract re-upped by Time Warner. I know what everybody is thinking: that this move is in response to the announcement August 31st that Disney is buying Marvel. You can think that, but you would be wrong. This change has been in the works quietly for two years ever since Robinov moved into the top slot. 'It was Jeff's idea to have DC Comics reporting to him, and DC will be his direct responsibility with Diane Nelson,' an insider confided to me. I've also learned that Robinov for months has quietly gone to producers like Chuck Roven and Joel Silver and Akiva Goldman 'call back' all their existing high profile DC titles in development like The Flash and Wonder Woman. Not only was that shocking to the producers, but even more so when they found out this was part of Robinov's strategy to severely limit the number of gross players on the projects. Producers were told that they may get the titles back to develop, but with far less rich deals. 'Jeff always wanted some kind of oversight of DC, and now he wants Warner's to hold onto ownership,' my insider explains. (My understanding is that Joel Silver, who is buddies with Robinov, was told he can continue to develop low profile The Losers under the Dark Castle banner. But his 10 years of developing Wonder Woman is history now.)"
Whatever happened to Green Lantern?
UPDATE:
In the words of Jason Lee from Clerks II, "Well, that was fast!"
"Warner Bros. has officially announced the restructuring of DC Comics into a new company:
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI) has created DC Entertainment Inc., a new company founded to fully realize the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms, to be run by Diane Nelson, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, and Alan Horn, President & COO, Warner Bros.
DC Entertainment, a separate division of WBEI, will be charged with strategically integrating the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. Entertainment and all its content and distribution businesses. DC Entertainment, which will work with each of the Warner Bros. divisions, will also tap into the tremendous expertise the Studio has in building and sustaining franchises and prioritize DC properties as key titles and growth drivers across all of the Studio, including feature films, television, interactive entertainment, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products. The DC Comics publishing business will remain the cornerstone of DC Entertainment, releasing approximately 90 comic books through its various imprints and 30 graphic novels a month and continuing to build on its creative leadership in the comic book industry.
In her new role, Nelson will report to Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, in order to best capitalize on DC Entertainment's theatrical development and production activities and their importance to drive its overall business with each of the divisions of Warner Bros.
Nelson will bring her expertise and more than 20 years' experience in creative brand management, strategic marketing and content development and production to ensuring DC Entertainment's dual mission of marshalling Warner Bros.' resources to maximize the potential of the DC brand while remaining respectful of and collaborative with creators, talent, fans and source material. Additionally, Nelson will continue to oversee the franchise management of the Harry Potter property, which she has done since 2000, and also continue to represent the Studio's interests with the author of the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling. Nelson will segue from her post as President, Warner Premiere but maintain oversight responsibilities of that division. (An executive succession plan for Warner Premiere will be announced shortly.)
Paul Levitz, who has served as President & Publisher of DC Comics since 2002, will segue from that role to return to his roots as a writer for DC and become a contributing editor and overall consultant to DCE. This transition will take place as expeditiously as possible without disrupting DC's business operations.
In his new role, Levitz will be called upon for his deep knowledge and more than three-decade history with DC Comics, both as a comic creator and an executive. Besides serving as a writer on a number of DC Comics titles, he will be a contributing editor and consultant to DC Entertainment on projects in various media. Additionally, he will consult as needed on the transition and integration of the DC Comics organization into DC Entertainment and will utilize his unique experience, knowledge and relationships with the comics industry's creative community to help achieve DC Entertainment's goal of maximizing the value of DC properties. Further, Levitz will advise DC Entertainment on creative and rights-holder relationships, in particular regarding the legacy relationships that have been a part of DC Comics for decades.
Widely recognized and respected for his support of writers, artists and creators in the comics industry, Levitz is best known creatively for his work with DC Comics, having written most of the classic DC characters, including Batman, Wonder Woman and the Superman newspaper strip. At Comicon International in 2008, Levitz was awarded the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award as part of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the only industry executive ever so honored.
'DC Comics and its super hero characters are truly touchstones of popular ure, and the formation of DC Entertainment is a major step in our company's efforts to realize the full potential of this incredible wellspring of creative properties,' said Meyer. 'Diane knows our studio as a creative executive, a marketer and a senior manager, and this varied background will help her effectively and creatively integrate the DC brand and properties across all our businesses. We're also thrilled that Paul will remain involved with DC and we'll be able to tap his expertise to help us reach our goals for this new business.'
'It's no secret that DC has myriad rich and untapped possibilities from its deep library of iconic and lesser-known characters,' said Horn. 'While we've had great success in films and television, the formation of DC Entertainment will help us to bring more DC properties across additional platforms to fans around the world, while maintaining brand integrity and authenticity. Diane is a terrific choice to lead DC Entertainment, and with Paul in his new role as a valued consultant and contributing editor, both our company and comic fans win.'
'Based on the great success we've had working with DC Comics to create some of the most popular and successful super hero films of all time, I've long believed that there was much more we could do across all of Warner Bros.' businesses with this great body of characters and stories' said Robinov. 'The prioritization of DC and the creation of DC Entertainment is a great opportunity that reaches far beyond the film group. There are endless creative possibilities to build upon the many significant successes already achieved by my colleagues Kevin Tsujihara and the Home Entertainment Group in the videogame, home video and direct-to-platform arenas and Bruce Rosenblum and the Television Group in live-action, animated and digital series. Collectively, we have the ability to grow a body of properties highlighting the iconic characters and the diversity of the creative output of DC Comics.'
'The founding of DC Entertainment fully recognizes our desire to provide both the DC properties and fans the type of content that is only possible through a concerted cross-company, multi-platform effort,' said Nelson. 'DC Entertainment will help us to formally take the great working relationships between DC Comics and various Warner Bros. businesses to the next level in order to maximize every opportunity to bring DC's unrivalled collection of titles and characters to life.'
'After so many roles at DC, it's exciting to look forward to focusing on my writing and being able to remain a part of the company I love as it grows into its next stage,' said Levitz. 'It's a new golden age for comics and DC's great characters, and I hope my new position will allow me to contribute to that magic time.'
DC Comics will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2010 (NEW FUN COMICS #1, the first DC comic, began publishing in 1935), at which time more explicit details regarding DC Entertainment's corporate and management structure, film and content release slate, creative roster and business objectives will be unveiled at a multi-faceted anniversary celebration and press conference in the first quarter of the year.
Current DC properties in development and/or production at Warner Bros. Entertainment include:
-- 'Human Target' is being produced by Warner Bros. Television for a mid-season debut on Fox.
-- 'Midnight Mass' is in series development at Warner Bros. Television for consideration for the 2010-11 season.
-- Jonah Hex, Warner Bros. Pictures' supernatural Western starring Josh Brolin, Megan Fox and John Malkovich, recently wrapped production in Louisiana.
-- The Losers, Dark Castle/Warner Bros. Pictures' action-adventure drama starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans, began principal photography mid-July in Puerto Rico.
-- Green Lantern, Warner Bros. Pictures' next big superhero tentpole release, recently cast Ryan Reynolds as the titular character. The film has a projected second quarter 2011 release date.
-- Lobo, based on the DC Comics anti-hero, has Guy Ritchie attached as a director; Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman and Andrew Rona are producing for Silver Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures.
-- Warner Premiere's direct-to-platform DVD animated release of Green Lantern: First Flight debuted July 28.
-- Warner Bros. Animation currently produces 'Batman: The Brave and the Bold,' which airs on Cartoon Network.
-- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released 'Batman: Arkham Asylum' on August 25, a dark, action packed videogame adventure for Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows.
Prior to being named President, DC Entertainment, Nelson most recently served as President, Warner Premiere since its founding in 2006. Warner Premiere is a Studio-based production company which develops and produces high-quality, direct-to-DVD and short-form digital content, including the highly successful line of DC Universe animated DVD titles, and also pioneered the development of the motion comics category. Under Nelson's leadership, Warner Premiere functions as a full-service production entity with its own resources and release schedule, furthering the Studio's mandate of being a destination for both established and up-and-coming talent to create stand-alone properties as well as experiment in new media.
Before that, Nelson served as Executive Vice President, Global Brand Management, Warner Bros. Entertainment, with the primary responsibility of working cross-divisionally and throughout Time Warner to maximize and optimize all the various windows and outlets available to the Studio's signature franchises, brands and event properties on a global basis. In this post, Nelson's primary focus was the management of the Harry Potter brand, which she has overseen since the brand's launch at the Studio in 1999. These efforts have helped drive the success of the brand to become the most successful film franchise of all time, as well as a respected consumer property that has generated billions of dollars for the Studio.
At Global Brand Management, Nelson and her team of more than 15 employees worked in all media and platforms to support a number of other key franchise properties, including The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Happy Feet, The Polar Express and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory among others.
Prior to overseeing Global Brand Management, Nelson had served as Executive Vice President, Domestic Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures. Nelson rose quickly through the ranks, having also served as Senior Vice President, Domestic Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures and prior to that, Senior Vice President, Family Entertainment, Warner Bros. Corporate Worldwide Marketing and Planning. She was also Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Promotions, a post to which she was promoted in March 1998, after joining the Studio in September 1996 as Director of Worldwide Corporate Promotions.
Nelson came to the Studio from Walt Disney Records, where she served as Director of National Promotions. She is a graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications."
"Deadline Hollywood is reporting that a lot of DC Comics film properties may get a new life as Warner Bros. is restructuring DC Comics. If an official announcement is made, we'll post that later, but here is an excerpt from Nikki Finki's report:
'I've learned that the announcement may be made as soon as later today. The restructuring of the stand-alone DC Comics business is being described to me as Warner Bros Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov's first priority since having his contract re-upped by Time Warner. I know what everybody is thinking: that this move is in response to the announcement August 31st that Disney is buying Marvel. You can think that, but you would be wrong. This change has been in the works quietly for two years ever since Robinov moved into the top slot. 'It was Jeff's idea to have DC Comics reporting to him, and DC will be his direct responsibility with Diane Nelson,' an insider confided to me. I've also learned that Robinov for months has quietly gone to producers like Chuck Roven and Joel Silver and Akiva Goldman 'call back' all their existing high profile DC titles in development like The Flash and Wonder Woman. Not only was that shocking to the producers, but even more so when they found out this was part of Robinov's strategy to severely limit the number of gross players on the projects. Producers were told that they may get the titles back to develop, but with far less rich deals. 'Jeff always wanted some kind of oversight of DC, and now he wants Warner's to hold onto ownership,' my insider explains. (My understanding is that Joel Silver, who is buddies with Robinov, was told he can continue to develop low profile The Losers under the Dark Castle banner. But his 10 years of developing Wonder Woman is history now.)"
Whatever happened to Green Lantern?
UPDATE:
In the words of Jason Lee from Clerks II, "Well, that was fast!"
"Warner Bros. has officially announced the restructuring of DC Comics into a new company:
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI) has created DC Entertainment Inc., a new company founded to fully realize the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms, to be run by Diane Nelson, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, and Alan Horn, President & COO, Warner Bros.
DC Entertainment, a separate division of WBEI, will be charged with strategically integrating the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. Entertainment and all its content and distribution businesses. DC Entertainment, which will work with each of the Warner Bros. divisions, will also tap into the tremendous expertise the Studio has in building and sustaining franchises and prioritize DC properties as key titles and growth drivers across all of the Studio, including feature films, television, interactive entertainment, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products. The DC Comics publishing business will remain the cornerstone of DC Entertainment, releasing approximately 90 comic books through its various imprints and 30 graphic novels a month and continuing to build on its creative leadership in the comic book industry.
In her new role, Nelson will report to Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, in order to best capitalize on DC Entertainment's theatrical development and production activities and their importance to drive its overall business with each of the divisions of Warner Bros.
Nelson will bring her expertise and more than 20 years' experience in creative brand management, strategic marketing and content development and production to ensuring DC Entertainment's dual mission of marshalling Warner Bros.' resources to maximize the potential of the DC brand while remaining respectful of and collaborative with creators, talent, fans and source material. Additionally, Nelson will continue to oversee the franchise management of the Harry Potter property, which she has done since 2000, and also continue to represent the Studio's interests with the author of the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling. Nelson will segue from her post as President, Warner Premiere but maintain oversight responsibilities of that division. (An executive succession plan for Warner Premiere will be announced shortly.)
Paul Levitz, who has served as President & Publisher of DC Comics since 2002, will segue from that role to return to his roots as a writer for DC and become a contributing editor and overall consultant to DCE. This transition will take place as expeditiously as possible without disrupting DC's business operations.
In his new role, Levitz will be called upon for his deep knowledge and more than three-decade history with DC Comics, both as a comic creator and an executive. Besides serving as a writer on a number of DC Comics titles, he will be a contributing editor and consultant to DC Entertainment on projects in various media. Additionally, he will consult as needed on the transition and integration of the DC Comics organization into DC Entertainment and will utilize his unique experience, knowledge and relationships with the comics industry's creative community to help achieve DC Entertainment's goal of maximizing the value of DC properties. Further, Levitz will advise DC Entertainment on creative and rights-holder relationships, in particular regarding the legacy relationships that have been a part of DC Comics for decades.
Widely recognized and respected for his support of writers, artists and creators in the comics industry, Levitz is best known creatively for his work with DC Comics, having written most of the classic DC characters, including Batman, Wonder Woman and the Superman newspaper strip. At Comicon International in 2008, Levitz was awarded the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award as part of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the only industry executive ever so honored.
'DC Comics and its super hero characters are truly touchstones of popular ure, and the formation of DC Entertainment is a major step in our company's efforts to realize the full potential of this incredible wellspring of creative properties,' said Meyer. 'Diane knows our studio as a creative executive, a marketer and a senior manager, and this varied background will help her effectively and creatively integrate the DC brand and properties across all our businesses. We're also thrilled that Paul will remain involved with DC and we'll be able to tap his expertise to help us reach our goals for this new business.'
'It's no secret that DC has myriad rich and untapped possibilities from its deep library of iconic and lesser-known characters,' said Horn. 'While we've had great success in films and television, the formation of DC Entertainment will help us to bring more DC properties across additional platforms to fans around the world, while maintaining brand integrity and authenticity. Diane is a terrific choice to lead DC Entertainment, and with Paul in his new role as a valued consultant and contributing editor, both our company and comic fans win.'
'Based on the great success we've had working with DC Comics to create some of the most popular and successful super hero films of all time, I've long believed that there was much more we could do across all of Warner Bros.' businesses with this great body of characters and stories' said Robinov. 'The prioritization of DC and the creation of DC Entertainment is a great opportunity that reaches far beyond the film group. There are endless creative possibilities to build upon the many significant successes already achieved by my colleagues Kevin Tsujihara and the Home Entertainment Group in the videogame, home video and direct-to-platform arenas and Bruce Rosenblum and the Television Group in live-action, animated and digital series. Collectively, we have the ability to grow a body of properties highlighting the iconic characters and the diversity of the creative output of DC Comics.'
'The founding of DC Entertainment fully recognizes our desire to provide both the DC properties and fans the type of content that is only possible through a concerted cross-company, multi-platform effort,' said Nelson. 'DC Entertainment will help us to formally take the great working relationships between DC Comics and various Warner Bros. businesses to the next level in order to maximize every opportunity to bring DC's unrivalled collection of titles and characters to life.'
'After so many roles at DC, it's exciting to look forward to focusing on my writing and being able to remain a part of the company I love as it grows into its next stage,' said Levitz. 'It's a new golden age for comics and DC's great characters, and I hope my new position will allow me to contribute to that magic time.'
DC Comics will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2010 (NEW FUN COMICS #1, the first DC comic, began publishing in 1935), at which time more explicit details regarding DC Entertainment's corporate and management structure, film and content release slate, creative roster and business objectives will be unveiled at a multi-faceted anniversary celebration and press conference in the first quarter of the year.
Current DC properties in development and/or production at Warner Bros. Entertainment include:
-- 'Human Target' is being produced by Warner Bros. Television for a mid-season debut on Fox.
-- 'Midnight Mass' is in series development at Warner Bros. Television for consideration for the 2010-11 season.
-- Jonah Hex, Warner Bros. Pictures' supernatural Western starring Josh Brolin, Megan Fox and John Malkovich, recently wrapped production in Louisiana.
-- The Losers, Dark Castle/Warner Bros. Pictures' action-adventure drama starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans, began principal photography mid-July in Puerto Rico.
-- Green Lantern, Warner Bros. Pictures' next big superhero tentpole release, recently cast Ryan Reynolds as the titular character. The film has a projected second quarter 2011 release date.
-- Lobo, based on the DC Comics anti-hero, has Guy Ritchie attached as a director; Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman and Andrew Rona are producing for Silver Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures.
-- Warner Premiere's direct-to-platform DVD animated release of Green Lantern: First Flight debuted July 28.
-- Warner Bros. Animation currently produces 'Batman: The Brave and the Bold,' which airs on Cartoon Network.
-- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released 'Batman: Arkham Asylum' on August 25, a dark, action packed videogame adventure for Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows.
Prior to being named President, DC Entertainment, Nelson most recently served as President, Warner Premiere since its founding in 2006. Warner Premiere is a Studio-based production company which develops and produces high-quality, direct-to-DVD and short-form digital content, including the highly successful line of DC Universe animated DVD titles, and also pioneered the development of the motion comics category. Under Nelson's leadership, Warner Premiere functions as a full-service production entity with its own resources and release schedule, furthering the Studio's mandate of being a destination for both established and up-and-coming talent to create stand-alone properties as well as experiment in new media.
Before that, Nelson served as Executive Vice President, Global Brand Management, Warner Bros. Entertainment, with the primary responsibility of working cross-divisionally and throughout Time Warner to maximize and optimize all the various windows and outlets available to the Studio's signature franchises, brands and event properties on a global basis. In this post, Nelson's primary focus was the management of the Harry Potter brand, which she has overseen since the brand's launch at the Studio in 1999. These efforts have helped drive the success of the brand to become the most successful film franchise of all time, as well as a respected consumer property that has generated billions of dollars for the Studio.
At Global Brand Management, Nelson and her team of more than 15 employees worked in all media and platforms to support a number of other key franchise properties, including The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Happy Feet, The Polar Express and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory among others.
Prior to overseeing Global Brand Management, Nelson had served as Executive Vice President, Domestic Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures. Nelson rose quickly through the ranks, having also served as Senior Vice President, Domestic Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures and prior to that, Senior Vice President, Family Entertainment, Warner Bros. Corporate Worldwide Marketing and Planning. She was also Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Promotions, a post to which she was promoted in March 1998, after joining the Studio in September 1996 as Director of Worldwide Corporate Promotions.
Nelson came to the Studio from Walt Disney Records, where she served as Director of National Promotions. She is a graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications."
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