Warner Taps Trio as Interim Leaders -- WSJ
March 20 2019 - 2:02AM
Dow Jones News
Shake-up follows departure of CEO after investigation into links
with actress
By Joe Flint and Ben Fritz
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (March 20, 2019).
Three senior Warner Bros. executives will oversee operations at
the studio in the wake of former Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara's
resignation after an investigation into a past relationship with an
actress, WarnerMedia head John Stankey said in a memo to staff
Tuesday.
Movie chief Toby Emmerich, television head Peter Roth and Chief
Financial Officer Kimberly Williams will serve as co-heads of the
studio and report directly to Mr. Stankey, who runs AT&T Inc.'s
entertainment business.
They said the moves are temporary while Mr. Stankey determines a
new leadership structure at Warner Bros., which had been led by Mr.
Tsujihara since 2013.
Mr. Tsujihara stepped down after revelations about a
relationship he had with actress Charlotte Kirk in which he
suggested in text messages that he would help to arrange meetings
for her that could lead to roles for her in Warner movies. She
eventually landed minor roles in two Warner Bros. films. The
Hollywood Reporter published an article earlier this month
detailing the relationship.
In a memo to Warner Bros. staff Monday, Mr. Tsujihara said his
"continued leadership could be a distraction and an obstacle to the
company's continued success." Ms. Kirk has said her relationship
with Mr. Tsujihara was consensual and that Mr. Tsujihara hadn't
promised her anything.
Mr. Stankey said in his memo that the company is searching for a
permanent successor.
Mr. Emmerich has been sole head of the motion-picture group for
just a year, but is a veteran movie executive at the studio and its
New Line Cinema label, where he worked on the Hobbit and Lord of
the Rings trilogies. Since taking over the entire film business,
his moves have included revamping the approach to DC Comics
superheroes like Batman and Aquaman.
Mr. Roth, president and chief content officer of Warner Bros.
Television, is seen as the dean of television studio chiefs. During
his tenure, Warner Bros. has remained one of the most prolific
producers of content for broadcast and cable. It has managed to
continue to make shows for the big broadcast networks despite not
owning an outlet. Much of that is because of the production talent
that calls Warner Bros. home, including Chuck Lorre and Greg
Berlanti, whose credits include "The Big Bang Theory" and
"Riverdale," respectively.
Mr. Roth joined Warner Bros. Television in 1999. Before that, he
headed both the Fox broadcast network and its television production
studio.
Ms. Williams is a relative newcomer to Warner Bros. She became
executive vice president and chief financial officer in 2015. Prior
to that, she was a chief operating officer of the NFL Network and
chief financial officer for the Core Media Group.
The shake-up at Warner Bros. is the latest tremor at
WarnerMedia, which restructured its Turner and HBO units, leading
to the resignations of David Levy and Richard Plepler who had
overseen those operations for several years.
Mr. Tsujihara himself came to power after serving as part of an
interim triumvirate that headed Warner Bros. after the exit of the
previous CEO, Barry Meyer. A relative newcomer to film production,
he had previously overseen the studio's home-video and
digital-media operations at a time when online video-streaming and
piracy had solidified themselves as serious threats to the future
of Hollywood's traditional power structure.
--R.T. Watson contributed to this article.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com and Ben Fritz at
ben.fritz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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