Max: The Artist Formerly Known as HBO Max

[samsnee]

Warner Bros. Discovery pares losses, CEO Zaslav calls 2023 a 'year of building'


Apr 12. Mark your calendars

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

'South Park' Lawsuit: HBO Max Sues Paramount Over Licensing - Variety

 

[Lily Adler]

Warner Bros. Discovery pares losses, CEO Zaslav calls 2023 a 'year of building'


Apr 12. Mark your calendars View attachment 62549

Waiting for that sale.

 

[Sithborg]

**** Zaslav. He is about to make TCM AMC.

 

[Lily Adler]

**** Zaslav. He is about to make TCM AMC.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

‘Dune: The Sisterhood’ Director Johan Renck & Star Shirley Henderson Exit HBO Max Series – Deadline

HBO Max‘s Dune prequel TV series’ long journey to the screen is taking another turn. Dune: The Sisterhood (wt), which started production in late November, is undergoing a creative shift, a director change and a recasting.

Chernobyl executive producer Johan Renck, who had signed on to direct the first two episodes, has exited the project. Search is underway for his replacement as production has been put on hold. Shirley Henderson, who had been tapped as one of the leads, also is leaving. Her role as Tula Harkonnen will be recast. That is in addition to creator Diane Ademu-John, who had written the pilot script, stepping down as co-showrunner in the run-up to production, with veteran TV writer-producer Alison Schapker becoming sole showrunner of the Legendary-produced series.

“As Dune: The Sisterhood (wt) has entered a pre-scheduled hiatus, there are some creative changes being made to the production in an effort to create the best series possible and stay true to the source material,” an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement to Deadline. “Johan Renck has completed his work on the series and a new director will be brought on; through mutual agreement, Johan is moving on to pursue other projects. Additionally, Shirley Henderson will be exiting the series and will no longer be playing Tula Harkonnen.”

The streamer had no further comment. According to sources, the 11th hour showrunner change put pressure on Schapker and her team to make major rewrites on the fly as the series was beginning production in Budapest. Meanwhile, we hear Renck’s auteur approach did not jibe with the streamer’s vision for the series and was a departure from the look of Denis Villeneuve’s films, which led to his departure. (He has since deleted any Dune content from his Instagram account, including his Nov. 22 post announcing start of production.) It is unclear whether any of the footage he filmed will be used in the series; that would be largely up to the new director when they come on board.

We hear conflicting views on the current hiatus. While sources close to the production insist there had always been a plan to stop filming for the winter months, others indicate that production has been pushed by seven months to give Schapker and her team time to put their creative stamp by reworking the scripts as well as to find a new director.

‘The Idol’: How HBO’s Next ‘Euphoria’ Became Twisted ‘Torture Porn’ – Rolling Stone
Thirteen sources tell Rolling Stone that The Idol — Sam Levinson’s new show with The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp — has gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails

In interviews with 13 members of the show’s cast and crew, Rolling Stone has learned the drastic delay was caused by Levinson taking over as director and scrapping the nearly-finished $54-75 million project to rewrite and reshoot the entire thing.

With Seimetz out of the picture, HBO handed the reins to Levinson, only to have him weaken the show’s overarching message, many sources say, by dialing up the disturbing sexual content and nudity to match — and even surpass — that of his most successful show, Euphoria.

“What I signed up for was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century,” one production member explains. “The things that we subject our talent and stars to, the forces that put people in the spotlight and how that can be manipulated in the post-Trump world.” However, they add, “It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing.”

Four sources say that Levinson ultimately scrapped Seimetz’s approach to the story, making it less about a troubled starlet falling victim to a predatory industry figure and fighting to reclaim her own agency, and more of a degrading love story with a hollow message that some crew members describe as being offensive.

“It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one production member explains of Levinson’s version.

A report from April blamed the show’s overhaul on Tesfaye, who was reportedly unhappy that the story was focusing too much on Depp’s character, according to Deadline. A source with knowledge seconds that Tesfaye was the reason behind the shakeup, wanting to tone down the cult aspect of the storyline and pivot into something else entirely, dropping the “feminist lens” through which the show was being told as a result. “It was like the Weeknd wanted one show that was all about him — Sam was on board with that,” another source explains to Rolling Stone.

 

[antsman41]

Rough back-to-back production news days.

Especially those comments from The Weeknd.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Bloomberg News - New HBO Max to Offer Thousands of Extra Shows at No Added Cost

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. will add thousands of titles to its flagship streaming service HBO Max — pulling from its library of unscripted lifestyle shows — without raising the price.

The company plans to charge $10 a month for the advertising-supported tier of the new service, which is expected to be named Max, and either $15 or $16 a month for the ad-free version, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Those are the current prices for HBO Max.

Warner Bros. will also sell a new, higher-priced subscription for about $20 a month, offering better video quality and possibly other features, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations. The company is still working on the plans and it’s possible they’ll change.

Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav is betting the addition of Discovery’s reality programming will increase the number of people who want to pay for the service, which competes with Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon. Warner Bros. plans to rename the service, believing the HBO name turns off many potential subscribers.

Zaslav has been planning a new streaming service since he orchestrated the merger of WarnerMedia, parent of HBO and Warner Bros., with Discovery Communications, which owns several cable networks. Both companies had their own streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+. The Discovery service will continue to operate.

They’re adding ‘reality’ tv junk and could raise the price for 4k hdr streaming access.

 

[Arachnerd]

I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or both due to the sheer moronic reasoning here.

 

[samsnee]

And adding crappy reality shows will turn away others

 

[squeekness]

It certainly doesn't excite me. I hate reality TV with a passion. Most of it looks beyond stupid.

 

[Asr]

HBO Max Losing Nearly 200 Movies in April

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Are they adding any to replace them?

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Bloomberg News - Warner Bros. Nears Deal for a New Harry Potter Television Series

The author [JK Rowling] will be involved in the series to ensure it remains loyal to her original material but will not run the show day to day or serve as its primary creator, the people said. She has at times generated controversy with remarks viewed by some as trans-phobic.

Each season of the series will be based on one of JK Rowling’s seven books, said the people, who asked not to be identified since the deal hasn’t been announced, suggesting years of fresh fare from the popular stories.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Terrible idea. In every sense of the word.

 

[Asr]

Are they adding any to replace them?

No idea, but I know I'm going to watch as many of them as I can before they leave.

 

[Drizzle]

Terrible idea. In every sense of the word.

Yep. Even if you take away all of the controversy surrounding Rowling, the Harry Potter movies are still fresh in people's minds and while some of them omitted some important material from the books they're still beloved by many. I can't see this going over well.

 

[samsnee]

WB saw the reaction to the Moana live action remake news today and said “hold my beer”

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Gimzodo - Canceled HBO Originals Re-Emerge on Roku

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Lawmakers Want Justice Department To Investigate Warner Bros Discovery Merger – Deadline

 

[Arachnerd]

This is what happens when you unceremoniously scrap an entire movie that hundreds of people worked on and pointlessly cancel and remove content from your streaming service for tax write offs.

A domino effect was all but inevitable.

 

[Prison Mike]

Sounds like a waste of tax dollars to me

 

[Detective Conan]

 

[Prison Mike]

So I’m guessing if you already have an annual subscription to HBO Max, you’ll be grandfathered in the new service?

 

[Drizzle]

I thought they decided to keep HBO in the name? Stupid decisions are on tap over at WBD.