Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. (the often-used Warner Brothers is incorrect, despite the fact that "bros." is an abbreviation of "brothers"[2]) is an American producer of film and television entertainment.

One of the major film studios A major film studio is a movie production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box-office revenues in a given market. In the North American, Western, and global markets, the major film studios, often simply known as the majors, are commonly regarded as the, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is the world's second largest entertainment conglomerate in terms of revenue (behind Disney and ahead of News Corporation and Viacom), as well as the world's largest media conglomerate, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc. and Time Inc., (, with its headquarters in Burbank, California Burbank is located in two distinct areas, with its downtown, civic center and key neighborhoods nestled on the slopes and foothills that rise to the Verdugo Mountains, and other areas located in flatlands at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, 12 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles and New York City. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Inc. (also called Warner Bros. Games) is the video game division of Warner Bros., part of the entertainment conglomerate Time Warner. Currently, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has a five year plan to expand in the video game industry, which includes the acquisition of studios for internal development, Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television is the television production and distribution arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Chuck on NBC and Fringe on FOX, Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others, Warner Home Video Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . It was re-named Warner Home Video in 1980. Though some other Hollywood movie studios changed their "Home Video" units' names to "Home Entertainment" with the advent of DVD in the, New Line Cinema New Line Cinema, often simply known as New Line, was founded in 1967, and is one of the major American film studios. Though it initially began as an independent film studio, it became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996, and was merged with larger sister studio Warner Bros. in 2008, TheWB.com The WB Television Network was a television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced plans to shut down The WB and launch The CW Television Network later that same year. The WB, and DC Comics DC Comics is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner. DC Comics produces material featuring a large number of well-known. Warner owns half of The CW Television Network The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network (UPN), and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB Television Network. The "CW" name is.

Contents

History

1903–25: founding

The corporate name honors the four founding Warner brothers (born Wonskolaser)[3][4]—Harry Harry Morris Warner was an American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry. Along with his three brothers (Albert, Sam and Jack) Warner played a crucial role in the film business and played a key role in establishing Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc, serving as the company (born Hirsz), Albert Albert Warner (July 23, 1884 – November 26, 1967), was one of the founders of Warner Bros. Studios. He established the production studio with his brothers Harry, Sam, and Jack Warner. He served as the studio's treasurer, until he sold his stock in 1956 (born Aaron), Sam Samuel Louis Warner was a co-founder and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. Studios. He established the studio along with his brothers Harry, Albert, and Jack Warner. Sam Warner is credited with procuring the technology that enabled Warner Bros. to produce the film industry's first feature-length talking picture, The Jazz Singer. He died in 19 (born Szmul), and Jack Jack Leonard "J.L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, Canada, was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Warner's 45-year career was longer than that of any other traditional Hollywood studio mogul (born Itzhak), Jews who emigrated from Poland, which was at that time part of the Russian Empire The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union. It was the second largest contiguous empire in world history, surpassed only by the Mongol Empire, and the third largest empire behind the British Empire and the Mongol, to Ontario Ontario is bordered by Manitoba on its west, Hudson Bay on its north, and Quebec on its east, and by five States of the United States to its south : Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania (Lake Erie) and New York. All but a small portion of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,677 mi) border with the United States follow inland waterways: from the west at Lake, Canada. The three elder brothers began in the movie theatre business, having acquired a movie projector A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras with which they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania and Ohio. They opened their first theater, the Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just 18 miles (30 km) east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the 2000 census.. It is the in 1903. (The site of the Cascade is now the Cascade Center, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex honoring its Warner Bros. heritage.)[5]

When this original theatre building in New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just 18 miles (30 km) east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the 2000 census.. It is the was in danger of being demolished, the modern Warner Bros. called the modern building owners, and arranged a 3 way even splitting of the cost of saving it, between the state, Warner Bros, and the modern owners. The owners noted the fact that they were taking phone calls fom all over the country in reference to the historical significance of the humble building that should be saved historically.[6]

In 1904, the Warners founded the Pittsburgh Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, located in the United States, is the second-largest city in the state and is the county seat of Allegheny County. Its population was 334,563 at the 2000 census; by 2009, it was estimated to have fallen to 311,647. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area was 2,354,957 in 2009. Downtown Pittsburgh retains-based Duquesne Amusement & Supply Company,[5] to distribute films.

Within a few years this led to the distribution of pictures across a four-state area. In 1912, Harry Warner hired an auditor named Paul Ashley Chase Paul Ashley Chase was one of the founding executives, first auditor, Assistant Secretary of the corporation, and comptroller for Warner Brothers Pictures. He was previously the traveling auditor for the Erie Railroad. In 1912 Harry Warner and Paul Chase were staying at the same boarding house in New York City. Harry Warner told Chase he was. By the time of World War I they had begun producing films, and in 1918 the brothers opened the Warner Bros. studio on Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades. The street is an icon of Hollywood celebrity culture and the phrase "Sunset Boulevard" is an enduring shorthand for the in Hollywood. Sam and Jack Warner produced the pictures, while Harry and Albert Warner and their auditor and now controller Chase handled finance and distribution in New York City. It was during World War I and their first nationally syndicated film was My Four Years in Germany based on a popular book by former American Ambassador James W. Gerard. On April 4, 1923, with help from a loan given to Harry Warner by his banker Motley Flint,[7] they formally incorporated as Warner Brothers Pictures, Incorporated. However, as late as the 1960s, Warner Bros. claimed 1905 as its founding date.[8]

The first important deal for the company was the acquisition of the rights to Avery Hopwood Avery Hopwood , who was born in Cleveland and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan (1905), was one of the most successful playwrights of the Jazz Age, having four plays running simultaneously on Broadway in 1920's 1919 Broadway play, The Gold Diggers, from theatrical impresario David Belasco David Belasco was an American playwright, impresario, director and theatrical producer. However, what really put Warner Bros. on the Hollywood map was a dog, Rin Tin Tin Rin Tin Tin was the name given to several related German Shepherd dogs featured in fictional stories on film, radio, and television,[9] brought from France after World War I by an American soldier.[10] Rin Tin Tin debuted in the short Where the North Begins. The short was so successful Jack Warner agreed to sign the dog to star in more short films for $1,000 per week.[9] Rin Tin Tin became the top star at the studio.[9] Jack Warner nicknamed him "The Mortgage Lifter"[9] and the success boosted Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director, and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors (the length of his career being rivalled only by that of Adolph Zukor)'s career.[11] Zanuck eventually became a top producer for the studio[12] and between 1928 and 1933 served as Jack Warner's right-hand man and executive producer, with responsibilities including the day-to-day production of films.[13] More success came after Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch , was a German-born Jewish film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch" was hired as head director;[11] Harry Rapf Harry Rapf was a Jewish American producer. He began his career in 1917, and during a 20 year career became a well-known producer of films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He created the comedic duo Dane & Arthur featuring Karl Dane and George K. Arthur in the late 1920s left the studio and accepted an offer to work at MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or MGM, is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures.[14] Lubitsch's film The Marriage Circle The Marriage Circle is a 1924 film by Ernst Lubitsch. It is based on the play Only a Dream by Lothar Schmidt. It was also remade in 1932 by Lubitsch and George Cukor as One Hour With You set in Paris was the studio's most successful film of 1924, and was on The New York Times best list for the year.[11]

Despite the success of Rin Tin Tin and Lubitsch, Warners was still unable to achieve star power.[15] As a result, Sam and Jack decided to offer Broadway actor John Barrymore John Sidney Blyth Barrymore was an American actor, frequently called the greatest of his generation. He first gained fame as a stage actor, lauded for his portrayals of Hamlet and Richard III. His success continued with motion pictures in both the silent and sound eras the lead role in Beau Brummell.[15] The film was so successful, Harry Warner agreed to sign Barrymore to a generous long-term contract;[16] like The Marriage Circle, Beau Brummell was named one of the ten best films of the year by The New York Times.[16] By the end of 1924, Warner Bros. was arguably the most successful independent studio in Hollywood,[16] but it still competed with "The Big Three" Studios (First National First National was an association of independent theater owners in the United States that expanded from exhibiting movies to distributing them, and eventually to producing them as a movie studio. It later merged with Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still headquartered in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Paramount is, and MGM).[17] As a result, Harry Warner — while speaking at a convention of 1,500 independent exhibitors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — was able to convince the filmmakers to spend $500,000 in newspaper advertising,[18] and Harry saw this as an opportunity to finally be able to establish theaters in big cities like New York and Los Angeles.[18]

As the studio prospered, it gained backing from Wall Street Wall Street is a street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. It runs east from Broadway to South Street on the East River, through the historical center of the Financial District. It is the first permanent home of the New York Stock Exchange; over time Wall Street became the name of the surrounding geographic neighborhood. Wall Street, and in 1924 Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a global investment banking and securities firm which engages in investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 and is headquartered at 200 West Street in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City, with arranged a major loan. With this new money, the Warners bought the pioneer Vitagraph Company American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 and bought by Warner Brothers in 1925 which had a nation-wide distribution system.[18] In 1925, Warners also experimented in radio, establishing a successful radio station, KFWB KFWB is a Los Angeles, California AM radio station operating on 980 kHz with 5,000 watts of power from a transmitter site near Lincoln Park . The station had a mostly all-news format from 1968 until September 8, 2009, after which it converted to a news-talk format. It is currently under the ownership of KFWB Trust, which former parent company CBS, in Los Angeles.[19]

1925–35: sound, color, style

Warner Bros. was a pioneer of films with synchronized sound Synchronization or synchronisation is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time. Systems operating with all their parts in synchrony are said to be synchronous or in sync. Some systems may be only approximately synchronized, or (then known as "talking pictures" A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially practical. Reliable synchronization was difficult to or "talkies"). In 1925, at the urging of Sam, the Warners agreed to expand their operations by adding this feature to their productions.[20] Harry, however, opposed it,[21] famously wondering, "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" By February 1926, the studio suffered a reported net loss of $333,413.[22]

After a long period of denying Sam's request for sound, Harry now agreed to accept Sam's demands, as long as the studio's use of synchronized sound was for background music purposes only.[20] The Warners then signed a contract with the sound engineer company Western Electric Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management. It also served as the purchasing agent for the member companies of the Bell System and established Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film process used on features and nearly 2,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes. The soundtrack was not printed on the actual film, but was issued separately on 16-inch phonograph records.[23] In 1926, Vitaphone began making films with music and effects tracks, most notably, in the feature Don Juan starring John Barrymore. The film was silent, but it featured a large number of Vitaphone shorts at the beginning. To hype Don Juan's release, Harry Warner also acquired the large Piccadilly Theater in Manhattan, New York and renamed it the Warner Theater.[24]

Don Juan premiered at the Warner Theater in New York on August 6, 1926.[24] Throughout the early history of film distribution, theater owners hired orchestras to attend film showings and provide soundtracks. Through Vitaphone, however, Warner Bros. produced eight Vitaphone shorts (which aired at the beginning of every showing of Don Juan across the country) in 1926, and got many film production companies to question the necessity.[25] While Don Juan was a success at the box office,[26] it did not earn back its production cost[26] and Lubsitch left Warner for MGM.[15] By April 1927, the Big Five studios (First National, Paramount, MGM, Universal Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major movie studios, and Producers Distributing) had put the Warner brothers in financial ruin,[27] and Western Electric renewed Warner's Vitaphone contract with terms that allowed other film companies to test sound.[27]

As a result of the financial problems the studio was having, Warner Bros. took the next step and released The Jazz Singer The Jazz Singer is an American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, the movie stars Al Jolson, who performs six starring Al Jolson Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian, and actor. According to PBS, he is considered the "first openly Jewish man to become an entertainment star in America". His career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950, during which time he was commonly dubbed "the world's greatest entertainer”. This movie, which has very little sound dialog but does feature sound segments of Jolson singing, was a sensation. It signaled the beginning of the era of "talking pictures" and the twilight of the silent A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. In entertainment silent films the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, era. However, as Sam died, the brothers were at his funeral and could not attend the premiere. Jack became sole head of production.[28] Sam's death also had a great effect on Jack's emotional state,[29] as Sam was arguably Jack's inspiration and favorite brother.[30] In the years to come, Jack ran the studio with an iron fist.[29] Firing of studio employees soon became his trademark.[31] Among those whom Jack fired were Rin Tin Tin (in 1929) and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr. KBE was an American actor and a highly decorated naval officer of World War II – who had served as First National's top star since the brothers acquired the studio in 1928—in 1933.[31]

Thanks to the success of The Jazz Singer, the studio was suddenly flush with cash. Jolson's next film for the company, The Singing Fool was also a success.[32] With the success of these first talkies (The Jazz Singer, Lights of New York, The Singing Fool, and The Terror), Warner Bros. became one of the top studios in Hollywood and the brothers were now able to move out from the Poverty Row Poverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of small and mostly short-lived B movie studios. While many of them were on or near today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did not necessarily refer to any specific physical location but was instead a kind of figurative section of Hollywood and acquire a big studio in Burbank, California Burbank is located in two distinct areas, with its downtown, civic center and key neighborhoods nestled on the slopes and foothills that rise to the Verdugo Mountains, and other areas located in flatlands at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, 12 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles.[33] They were also able to expand studio operations by acquiring the Stanley Corporation, a major theater chain.[34] This gave them a share in rival First National Pictures First National was an association of independent theater owners in the United States that expanded from exhibiting movies to distributing them, and eventually to producing them as a movie studio. It later merged with Warner Bros, of which Stanley owned one-third.[35] In a bidding war with William Fox, Warner Bros. bought more First National shares on September 13, 1928;[36][36] Jack Warner also appointed producer Darryl Zanuck as the studio's manager of First National Pictures.[36]

In 1929, Warner Bros. also bought the St. Louis-based theater chain Skouras Brothers. Following this take-over, Spyros Skouras, the driving force of the chain, became general manager of the Warner Brothers Theater Circuit in America. He worked successfully in that post for two years and managed to eliminate the losses and eventually even increase the profits. This was a welcome gain given the financial hardships occasioned by the Great Depression.

In addition, Harry Warner was also able to acquire a string of music publishers and form Warner Bros. Music. In April 1930, the Warner Bros. acquired Brunswick Records. Harry also obtained a string of radio companies, foreign sound patents, and even a lithograph company.[36] After establishing Warner Bros. Music, Harry appointed his son, Lewis, to serve as the company's head manager.[37]

In 1929, Harry was also able to produce an adaptation of a Cole Porter musical titled Fifty Million Frenchmen.[38] Through First National, the studio's profit increased substantially.[39] After the success of the studio's 1929 First National film Noah's Ark, Harry also agreed to make Michael Curtiz a major director at the Burbank studio.[40] Mort Blumenstock, a First National screenwriter, became a top writer at the brothers' New York headquarters.[41]

In the third quarter of 1929, Warner Bros. gained complete control of First National, when Harry purchased the company's remaining one-third share from Fox.[36] The Justice Department agreed to allow the purchase if First National was maintained as a separate company.[42] When the Great Depression hit, Warner asked for and got permission to merge the two studios; soon afterward Warner Bros. moved to the First National lot in Burbank. Though the companies merged, the Justice Department required Warner to produce and release a few films each year under the First National name until 1938. For 30 years, certain Warner productions were identified (mainly for tax purposes) as 'A Warner Bros. – First National Picture.'

In the latter part of 1929, Jack Warner hired sixty-one year old actor George Arliss to star in Disraeli,[43] which was a surprise success.[43] Arliss won an Academy Award for Best Actor and went on to star in nine more movies with the studio.[43] In 1930, Harry acquired more theaters in Atlantic City, despite the beginning of the Great Depression.[44] In July 1930, the studio's banker, Motley Flint, was murdered by a disgruntled investor in another company.[45]

By 1931, however, the studio began to feel the effects of the Depression as the general public became unable to afford the price of a movie ticket.[46] In 1931, the studio reportedly suffered a net loss of $8 million,[46] and an additional $14 million the following year.[46] In 1931, Warner Bros. Music head Lewis Warner died from an infection.[45]

Around that time, Warner Bros. head producer Darryl Zanuck hired screenwriter Wilson Mizner.[47] While at the studio, Mizner had hardly any respect for authority and found it difficult to work with studio boss Jack Warner,[47] but nevertheless became a valuable asset.[47] As time went by, Warner became more tolerant of Mizner and helped invest in Mizner's Brown Derby restaurant.[47] On April 3, 1933, Mizner died from a heart attack.[48]

In 1928, Warner Bros. released Lights of New York, the first all-talking feature. Due to its success, the movie industry converted entirely to sound almost overnight. By the end of 1929, all the major studios were exclusively making sound films. In 1929, National Pictures released their first film with Warner Bros., Noah's Ark.[49] Despite its expensive budget, Noah's Ark was profitable.[50] In 1929, Warner Bros. released On with the Show, the first all-color all-talking feature. This was followed by Gold Diggers of Broadway which was so popular it played in theatres until 1939. The success of these two color pictures caused a color revolution (just as the first all-talkie had created one for talkies). Warner Bros. released a large number of color films from 1929 to 1931, including The Show of Shows (1929), Sally (1929), Bright Lights (1930), Golden Dawn (1930), Hold Everything (1930), Song of the Flame (1930), Song of the West (1930), The Life of the Party (1930), Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1930), Under A Texas Moon (1930), Bride of the Regiment (1930), Viennese Nights (1931), Woman Hungry (1931), Kiss Me Again (1931), Fifty Million Frenchmen (1931), and Manhattan Parade (1932). In addition to these, scores of features were released with Technicolor sequences as well as a numerous variety of short subjects. The majority of these color films were musicals.

Three years later, the audience had grown so tired of musicals, the studio was forced to cut the musical numbers of many of the productions and advertise them as straight comedies. The public had begun to associate musicals with color and thus the movie studios began to abandon its use. Warner Bros. had a contract with Technicolor to produce two more pictures in that process. As a result, the first mysteries in color were produced and released by the studio: Doctor X (1932) and Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). In the latter part of 1931, Harry Warner rented the Teddington Studios in London, England.[51] The studio focused on making films for the London market,[51] and Irving Asher was appointed as the studio's head producer.[51] In 1934, Harry Warner officially purchased the Teddington Studios.[51]

In February 1933, however, Warner Bros. produced 42nd Street, a very successful musical[52] that saved the company from bankruptcy.[53] In the wake of 42nd Street's success, the studio produced further profitable musicals.[54] These starred Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and were mostly directed by Busby Berkeley.[55] In 1935, the revival suffered a major blow when Berkeley was arrested after killing three people while driving drunk.[56] By the end of the year, people again tired of Warner Bros. musicals,[54] and the studio — after the huge profits made by the 1935 film Captain Blood — shifted its focus on producing Errol Flynn swashbucklers.[57]

1931–1935: Pre-code realistic period

The studio as seen in the trailer for The Petrified Forest (1936)

With the collapse of the market for musicals, Warner Bros., under production head Darryl F. Zanuck, turned to more socially realistic storylines, "torn from the headlines" pictures some[who?] said glorified gangsters; Warner Bros. soon became known as a "gangster studio".[58] The studio's first gangster film, Little Caesar, was a great box office success[59] and Edward G. Robinson was a star in many of the subsequent wave of Warner gangster films.[60] The studio's next gangster film, The Public Enemy,[61] made James Cagney arguably the studio's new top star,[62] and Warner Bros. was now convinced to make more gangster films.[61]

Another gangster film the studio produced was the critically acclaimed I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, based on a true story and starring Paul Muni.[63] In addition to Cagney and Robinson, Muni was also given a big push as one the studio's top gangster stars[64] after appearing in the successful film,[61] which got audiences to question the legal system in the United States.[65] By January 1933, the film's protagonist Robert Elliot Burns — who was still imprisoned in New Jersey — and a number of different chain gang prisoners nationwide in the United States were able to appeal and were released.[66] In January 1933, Georgia chain gang warden J. Harold Hardy — who was also made into a character in the film — sued the studio for displaying "vicious, untrue and false attacks" against him in the film.[67] After appearing in the film The Man Who Played God, Bette Davis became a top star for the studio.[68]

In 1933, relief for the studio came after Franklin D. Roosevelt became president and was able to stimulate the economy with the New Deal;[69] because of this economic rebound, Warner Bros. again became profitable.[69] The same year, long time head producer Darryl F. Zanuck quit. One reason was Harry Warner's relationship with Zanuck had become strained after Harry strongly opposed allowing Zanuck's film Baby Face to step outside Hays Code boundaries.[70] Also, the studio reduced Zanuck's salary as a result of the losses as a result of the Great Depression,[71] and Harry continued to refuse to restore it in the wake of the New Deal's rebound.[72] Zanuck resigned[73] and established his own company.[72] In the wake of Zanuck's resignation, Harry Warner agreed to again raise the salary for studio employees.[72]

In 1933, Warner was able to bring newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan films into the Warner Bros. fold.[74] Hearst had previously been signed with MGM,[75] but ended the relationship after a dispute with the company's head producer Irving Thalberg over the treatment of Marion Davies;[76] Davies was a longtime mistress of Hearst[76] and was struggling for box office success.[76] Through his partnership with Hearst, Warner was able to sign Davies to a studio contract.[74] Hearst's company and Davies' films, however, could not increase the studio's profits.[75] In The 1998 Warner Bros Pictures logo The Warner Bros Studios In Burbank CA is tinted gold and then the WB shield appears on the sky background.

In 1934, the studio lost over $2.5 million,[77] of which $500,000 was the result of a fire at the Burbank studio at the end of 1934, destroying 20 years worth of early Vitagraph, Warner Bros., and First National films.[78] The following year, Hearst's film adaption of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream failed at the box office and the studio's net loss increased.[79] During this time, Warner Bros. President Harry Warner and six other movie studio figures were indicted of conspiracy to violate the Sherman Antitrust Act,[78] through an attempt to gain a monopoly over theaters in the St Louis area.[80] In 1935, Harry was put on trial;[78] after a mistrial, Harry sold the company's movie theaters, at least for a short time, and the case was never reopened.[81] 1935 also saw the studio rebound with a net profit of $674,158.00.[81]

By 1936, contracts of musical and silent stars were not renewed and new talent, tough-talking, working-class types, were hired who more suitably fit in with these sort of pictures. Stars such as Dorothy Mackaill, Bebe Daniels, Frank Fay, Winnie Lightner, Bernice Claire, Alexander Gray, Alice White, and Jack Mulhall that had characterized the urban, modern, and sophisticated attitude of the 1920s gave way to stars such James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Edward G. Robinson, Warren William, and Barbara Stanwyck who would be more acceptable to the common man. The studio was one of the most prolific producers of Pre-Code pictures and had a lot of trouble with the censors once they started clamping down on what they considered indecency (around 1934).[82] As a result, Warner Bros. turned out a number of historical pictures from around 1935 in order to avoid confrontations with the Breen office. In 1936, following the success of The Petrified Forest, Jack Warner also signed Humphrey Bogart to a studio contract.[83] Warner, however, did not think Bogart was star material,[84] and decided to only cast Bogart in infrequent roles as a villain opposite either James Cagney or Edward Robinson over the next five years.[83]

After Hal B. Wallis succeeded Zanuck in 1933[85] and the Hays Code began to be enforced in 1935, the studio was forced to abandon this realistic approach in order to produce more moralistic, idealized pictures. The studio naturally turned to historical dramas which would not cause any problems with the censors. Other offerings included melodramas (or "women's pictures"), swashbucklers, and adaptations of best-sellers, with stars like Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Paul Muni, and Errol Flynn. In 1936, Bette Davis, by now arguably the studio's top star,[86] was unhappy with the roles Warner was giving her. She fled to England and tried to break her contract with Warner Bros.[86] Davis lost the lawsuit and soon returned to America.[87] Although many of the studio's employees had problems with Jack Warner, they considered Albert and Harry fair.[88]

Code era

This period also saw the disappearance of a large number of actors and actresses who had characterized the realistic pre-Code era but who were not suited to the new trend into moral and idealized pictures. Warner Bros. remained a top studio in Hollywood since the dawn of talkies, but this changed after 1935 as other studios, notably MGM, quickly overshadowed the prestige and glamor that previously characterized Warner Bros. However, in the late 1930s, Bette Davis became the studio's top draw and was even dubbed as "The Fifth Warner Brother."[89]

In 1935, Cagney sued Jack Warner for breach of contract.[90] Cagney claimed Warner had forced him to star in more films than his contract required.[90] Cagney eventually dropped his lawsuit after a cash settlement.[91] Nevertheless, Cagney left the studio to establish an independent film company with his brother Bill.[92] The Cagneys released their films though Grand National Films, however they were not able to get good financing for their productions[92] and ran out of money after their third film.[92] Cagney then agreed to return to Warner Bros., after Jack Warner agreed to a contract guaranteeing Cagney would be treated to his own terms.[92] After the success of Yankee Doodle Dandy at the box office, Cagney again questioned if the studio would meet his salary demand[93] and again quit to form his own film production and distribution company with his brother Bill.[93]

Another employee with whom Warner had troubles was studio producer Bryan Foy.[94] In 1936, Wallis hired Foy as a producer for the studio's low budget B-films leading to his nickname "the keeper of the B's".[88] Foy was able to garnish arguably more profits than any other B-film producer at the time.[88] During Foy's time at the studio, however, Warner fired him seven different times.[94]

During 1936, the studio's film The Story of Louis Pasteur proved a box office success[95] and Paul Muni, the film's star, won the Oscar for Best Actor in March 1937.[95] The studio's 1937 film The Life of Emile Zola gave the studio its first Best Picture Oscar.[95]

In 1937, the studio hired Midwestern radio announcer Ronald Reagan.[96] Although Reagan was initially a small-time B-film actor,[96] Warner Bros. was impressed by his performance in the final scene of Knute Rockne, All American,[96] and agreed to pair him with Errol Flynn in their film Santa Fe Trail (1940). Reagan then returned to B-films.[96] After his performance in the studio's 1942 Kings Row, Warner decided to make Reagan a top star and signed him to a new contract, tripling his salary.[97]

In 1936, Harry Warner's daughter Doris read a copy of Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind and was interested in making a film adaptation.[98] Doris then offered Mitchell $50,000 for the book's screen rights.[98] Jack, however, refused to allow the deal to take place, realizing it would be an expensive production.[98]

Another studio actor who proved to be a problem for Jack Warner was George Raft.[99] Warner had signed Raft in 1939, hoping he could substitute in gangster pictures when either Robinson or Cagney were on suspension.[99] Raft had difficulty working with Bogart and refused to co-star in any film with him.[100] Eventually, Jack Warner agreed to release Raft from his contract.[101] Following Raft's depature, the studio gave Bogart the role of Roy Earl in the 1941 film High Sierra,[101] which helped establish him as one of the studio's top stars;[102] following High Sierra, Bogart was also given a role in John Huston's successful 1941 remake of the studio's 1931 failure, The Maltese Falcon.[103]

1930: birth of Warner's cartoons

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are some of the characters that became central to the company's image.

Warner's cartoon unit had its roots in the independent Harman and Ising studio. From 1930 to 1933, Disney alumni Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising produced a series of musical cartoons for Leon Schlesinger, who sold the shorts to Warner. Harman and Ising introduced their character Bosko in the first Looney Tunes cartoon, Sinkin' in the Bathtub, and created a sister series, Merrie Melodies, in 1931.[104]

Harman and Ising broke away from Schlesinger in 1933 due to a contractual dispute, taking Bosko with them to MGM. As a result, Schlesinger started his own studio, Leon Schlesinger Productions, which continued with Merrie Melodies while starting production on Looney Tunes starring Buddy, a Bosko clone. By the end of the decade, a new Schlesinger production team, including directors Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Robert Clampett, and Chuck Jones was formed. Schlesinger's staff developed a fast-paced, irreverent style that made their cartoons immensely popular worldwide.

In 1936, Avery directed a string of cartoons, starring Porky Pig, which established the character as the studio's first bona fide star.[105] In addition to Porky Pig, Warner Bros. cartoon characters Daffy Duck (who debuted in the 1937 short Porky's Duck Hunt) and Bugs Bunny (who debuted in the 1940 short A Wild Hare) also achieved star power.[106] By 1942, the Schlesinger studio had surpassed Walt Disney Studios as the most successful producer of animated shorts in the United States.[107]

Warner Bros eventually bought Schlesinger's cartoon unit in 1944, and in subsequent decades characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, and Porky Pig became central to the company's image. Bugs in particular remains a mascot to Warner Bros.' various divisions and Six Flags (which Time Warner previously owned). The studio's 1947 cartoon Tweetie Pie, the first pairing of Sylvester and Tweety, was a phenomenal success, and Tweety would always be paired with Sylvester from that point as a result, because the duo carried a high amount of star power.[108]

World War II

Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

According to Jack Warner in his autobiography, prior to the United States entering World War II, the head of Warner Bros. sales in Germany, Joe Kauffman, was supposedly murdered by Nazis in Berlin in 1936[109] though there is strong doubt that this event actually happened.[110][111]Harry Warner produced the successful anti-German film The Life of Emile Zola (1937).[112] After that, Harry supervised the production of several more anti-German films, including Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939),[113] The Sea Hawk (1940), which made King Phillip II an equivalent of Hitler,[114] Sergeant York,[114] and You're In The Army Now (1941).[114] After the United States officially entered World War II, Harry Warner decided to focus on producing war films.[115] Also, one-fourth of the studio's employees, including Jack Warner and his son Jack Jr., were drafted or enlisted.[115]

Among the films the studio made during the war were Casablanca, Now, Voyager, Yankee Doodle Dandy (all 1942), This Is the Army, and Mission to Moscow (both 1943),[116] the latter became controversial a few years afterwards. At the premieres of Yankee Doodle Dandy (in Los Angeles, New York, and London), audiences purchased $15.6 million in war bonds for the governments of England and the United States.[116] By the middle of 1943, however, it became clear audiences were tired of war films.[116] Despite the growing pressure to abandon production of war films, Warner continued to produce them, losing money in the process.[116] Eventually, in honor of the studio's contributions to the war cause, the United States Government named a Liberty ship after the brothers' father, Benjamin Warner, and Harry Warner was given the honor of christening the ship.[116] By the time the war ended, $20 million in war bonds were purchased through the studio,[116] the Red Cross collected 5,200 pints of plasma from studio employees,[116] and 763 of the studio's employees served in the armed forces, including Harry Warner's son-in-law Milton Sperling and Jack's son Jack Warner Jr.[116]

Following a dispute over ownership of Casablanca's Oscar for Best Picture, head producer Hal B. Wallis broke with Warner and resigned.[117] After Casablanca made Bogart one of the studio's top stars,[118] Bogart found his relationship with Jack Warner deteriorating.[118] In 1943, Olivia de Haviland (whom Warner was now loaning to different companies) sued Warner for breach of contract.[119]

Warners cut its film production in half during the war, eliminating its B Picture unit in 1941. Bryan Foy was quickly snapped up by 20th Century Fox.[120]

De Haviland had refused to accept an offer to portray famed abolitionist Elizabeth Blackwell in an upcoming film for Columbia Pictures.[119] Warner responded by sending 150 telegrams to different film production companies, warning them not to hire her for any role.[119] Afterwards, de Haviland discovered employment contracts in the United States could only serve a duration of seven years; de Haviland had been under contract with the studio since 1935.[121] The court ruled in de Haviland's favor[119] and she left the studio.[119] Through de Haviland's victory, many of the studio's longtime actors were now freed from their contracts,[119] and Harry Warner decided to terminate the studio's suspension policy.[122]

The same year, Jack Warner also signed newly-released MGM actress Joan Crawford, a former top star who found her career fading.[123] Crawford's first role with the studio was 1944's Hollywood Canteen.[124] Her first starring role at the studio, in the title role as Mildred Pierce (1945), revived her career[124] and earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.[125]

After World War II: changing hands

The record attendance figures of the World War II years made the Warner brothers rich. The gritty Warner image of the 1930s gave way to a glossier look, especially in women's pictures starring Davis, de Havilland, and Crawford. The 1940s also saw the rise of Bogart. In the post-war years, Warner Bros. continued to create new stars, like Lauren Bacall and Doris Day. The studio prospered greatly after the war.[126] By 1946, company payroll reached $600,000 a week[127] and net profit $19.4 million.

One problem for Warner Bros., however, was Jack Warner's refusal to meet Screen Actors Guild salary demands.[128] In September 1946, the employees engaged in a month-long strike.[128] In retaliation, Warner-during his 1947 testmony before Congress, for making the 1942 Russian propaganda film Mission to Moscow – accused a number of studio employees of having ties to Communists.[129] By the end of 1947, the studio reached a record net profit of $22 million.[130] This dropped 50% the following year.[130]

On January 5, 1948, Warner offered the first color newsreel, covering the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl Game. In 1948, Bette Davis, still the studio's top actress and now fed up with Jack Warner, was a big problem for Harry after she and a number of her fellow colleagues left the studio after completing the film Beyond the Forest.[131]

Warner was a party to the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. anti-trust case of the 1940s. This action, brought by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, claimed the five integrated studio-theater chain combinations restrained competition. The Supreme Court heard the case in 1948, and ruled in favor of the government. As a result, Warner and four other major studios were forced to separate production from exhibition. In 1949, the studio's net profit was only $10 million.[130]

Warner Bros. set up two semi-independent production units that made films for the studio. One of these was Harry Warner's son-in-law Milton Sperling's United States Pictures.

In the early 1950s, the threat of television had grown greatly, and in 1953, Jack Warner decided to take a new approach to compete with the rising threat.[132] In the wake of United Artists successful 3D film Bwana Devil, Jack decided to expand into 3D films with the studio's 1953 film House of Wax.[133] Unfortunately, despite the success of House of Wax, 3-D films soon lost their appeal among moviegoers.[134]

In 1952 Warner Bros. made their first film (Carson City) in "Warnercolor" the studio's name for Eastman Color.

3-D almost caused the demise of the Warner Bros. cartoon studio. Having completed a 3D Bugs Bunny cartoon, Lumber Jack-Rabbit, Jack Warner ordered the animation unit to be shut down, erroneously believing that all cartoons hence would be produced in the 3D process. Several months later, Warner relented and reopened the cartoon studio. Fortunately, Warner Bros. had enough of a backlog of cartoons and a healthy reissue program so that there was no noticeable interruption in the release schedule.

After the downfall of 3D films, Harry Warner decided to use CinemaScope in future Warner Bros. films.[135] One of the studio's first CinemaScope films, The High and the Mighty (now owned by John Wayne's company Batjac), enabled the studio to show a profit.[136]

Early in 1953, the Warner theater holdings were spun off as Stanley Warner Theaters; Stanley Warner's non-theater holdings were sold to Simon Fabian Enterprises,[137] and its theaters merged with RKO Theatres to become RKO-Stanley Warner Theatres.[138] By 1956, however, the studio was losing money.[139] By the end of 1953, the studio's net profit was $2.9 million[140] and ranged between $2 and $4 million for the next two years.[141] In February 1956, Jack Warner sold the rights to all of the studio's pre-1950 films to Associated Artists Productions (which merged with United Artists Television in 1958).[142][143]

In May 1956, the brothers announced they were putting Warner Bros. on the market.[144] Jack, however, secretly organized a syndicate – headed by Boston banker Serge Semenenko[139]– to purchase 800,000 shares, 90% of the company's stock.[139] After the three brothers sold, Jack — through his under-the-table deal — joined Semenenko's syndicate[145] and bought back all his stock, 200,000 shares.[145] Shortly after the deal was completed in July,[146] Jack — now the company's largest stockholder — appointed himself new president.[147] By the time Harry and Albert learned of their brother's dealings, it was too late.[146] Shortly after the deal was closed, Jack Warner announced the company and its subsidiaries would be "directed more vigorously to the acquisition of the most important story properties, talents, and to the production of the finest motion pictures possible."[148]

Warner Bros. Television

By 1949, with the success of television threatening the film industry more and more, Harry Warner decided to shift his focus towards television production.[132] However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would not permit it.[132] After an unsuccessful attempt to convince other movie studio bosses to switch their focus to television, Harry abandoned his television efforts.[132]

The other Warner brother, Jack, began his hatred of television with problems with Milton Berle being hired by the studio to make an unsuccessful film Always Leave Them Laughing during the peak of his television popularity. Warner felt that Berle wasn't strong enough as a lead to carry a film and that people wouldn't pay to see the man they could see on television for free. However Jack Warner was pressured into using Berle, even replacing Danny Kaye with him.[149] Berle's outrageous behaviour on the set and the film's massive failure proving Jack Warner right led to Jack Warner forbidding television sets appearing in the studio's film sets.[150]

In 1954, the studio was finally able engage in television through the successful Warner Bros. Television unit run by William T. Orr, Jack Warner's son-in-law. Warner Bros. Television provided the ABC with a weekly show, Warner Bros. Presents; the show featured a rotating series of shows based on three of the studio's film successes, Kings Row, Casablanca and Cheyenne, followed by a promotion for one of Warner's big screen films. [151] It was not a success.[152] The studio's next effort, making a weekly series out of Cheyenne, would be.[153] Cheyenne was television's first one hour Western with two episodes placed together for feature film release outside the United States. In the tradition of their B Pictures, the studio followed up with a series of rapidly produced popular Westerns, such as Maverick, Bronco, and Colt .45.[153] The success of these series helped to make up for the losses on the film side.[153] As a result, Jack Warner decided to emphasize television production.[154] Warners then produced a series of popular private detective shows beginning with 77 Sunset Strip (1958–64) followed by Hawaiian Eye (1959–1963), Bourbon Street Beat (1960) and Surfside Six (1960–1962).

Within a few years, the studio, in a matter reminiscent of their problems with James Cagney and Bette Davis, provoked hostility among their emerging contract TV stars like Clint Walker and James Garner, who sued over a contract dispute[155] and won. Edd Byrnes was not so lucky and bought himself out of his contract. Jack Warner was angered by the perceived ingratitude of television actors, who evidently showed more independence than film actors, and this deepened his contempt for the new medium.[156] Many of Warners television stars appeared in the casts of Warner's cinema releases of the time. In 1963 as a result of a court decision Warners has to cease their contracts with their television stars, engaging them for specific series or film roles. In the same year Jack Webb took over the television unit and did not have any successes.

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. was already the owner of extensive music-publishing holdings, whose tunes had appeared in countless Warners cartoons (arranged by Carl Stalling) and television shows (arranged by Max Steiner[157]).

In 1958 the studio launched Warner Bros. Records. Initially the label released recordings made by their television stars whether they could sing or not and records based on the soundtracks of favourite Warner Bros. Television shows.

In 1963, Jack Warner agreed to a "rescue takeover" of Frank Sinatra's Reprise Records.[158] The deal gave Sinatra US$1.5 million and part ownership of Warner Bros. Records, with Reprise becoming a sub-label;[158] most significantly for Warner Bros.'s future music operations, the deal also brought Reprise manager Morris "Mo" Ostin into the company. In 1964, upon seeing the profits record companies made from Warner film music, Jack Warner decided to claim ownership of the studio's film soundtracks and focus on making profits through Warner Bros. Records.[159] In its first eighteen months, Warner Bros. Records lost around $2 million.[160]

New owners

Warner Bros. rebounded in the late 1950s, specializing in adaptations of popular plays like The Bad Seed (1956), No Time for Sergeants (1958), and Gypsy (1962).

With his health slowly recovering from a car accident while vactioning in France in 1958, Jack returned to the studio and made sure his name was featured in studio press releases.[161] In each of the first three years of the 1960s, the studio's net profit was a little over $7 million.[161] Warner paid an unprecedented $5.5 million for the film rights to the Broadway musical My Fair Lady in February 1962. The previous owner, CBS director William S. Paley, set terms including half the distributor's gross profits "plus ownership of the negative at the end of the contract."[162] In 1963, the net profit dropped to $3.7 million.[161] By the mid-1960s, motion picture production was in decline. There were few studio-produced films and many more co-productions (for which Warner provided facilities, money, and distribution), and pickups of independently made pictures.

With the success of the studio's 1965 Broadway play The Great Race,[160] as well as its soundtrack,[160] Warner Bros. Records became a profitable subsidiary. The studio's 1966 film Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? was a huge success at the box office.[163]

In November 1966, Jack gave in to advancing age and the changing times,[164] selling control of the studio and its music business to Seven Arts Productions, run by the Canadian investors Elliot and Kenneth Hyman, for $32 million.[165] The company, including the studio, was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. Jack Warner did, however, remain studio president until the summer of 1967, when Camelot failed at the box office and Warner gave up his position to the studio's longtime publicity director, Ben Kalmenson;[166] Warner did, however, remain on board as an independent producer and vice-president.[165] With the success of the studio's 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, Warner Bros was making profits once again.[167]

Michael Keaton as Batman in Batman Returns (1992).

Two years later, the Hymans, now fed up with Jack Warner,[167] accepted a cash-and-stock offer from an odd conglomerate called Kinney National Company for more than $64 million.[167] Kinney owned a Hollywood talent agency, Ashley-Famous,[168] and it was Ted Ashley who led Kinney head Steve Ross to purchase Warner Bros. Ashley became the new head of the studio, and the name was changed to Warner Bros., Inc. once again. Jack Warner, however, was outraged by the Hymans' sale,[167] and decided to retire.[167]

Although movie audiences had shrunk, Warner's new management believed in the drawing power of stars, signing co-production deals with several of the biggest names of the day, among them Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, and Clint Eastwood, carrying the studio successfully through the 1970s and 1980s. Warner Bros. also made major profits on films built around the characters of Superman and Batman, owned by Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Comics.

Abandoning the mundane parking lots and funeral homes, the refocused Kinney renamed itself in honor of its best-known holding, Warner Communications. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Warner Communications branched out into other business, such as its acquiring of video game company Atari, Inc. in 1976, and later the Six Flags theme parks.

From 1971 until the end of 1987, Warner's international distribution operations were a joint venture with Columbia Pictures, and in some countries, this joint venture also distributed films from other companies (like EMI Films and Cannon Films in the UK). Warner ended the venture in 1988 and joined up with Walt Disney Pictures; this joint venture lasted until 1993, when Disney created Buena Vista International.

In 1972 in a cost-cutting move, Warner and Columbia Pictures formed a partnership called The Burbank Studios in which they would share production facilities utilitizing the Warner lot in Burbank. The partnership ended in 1990 when Columbia moved into the former MGM studio lot in Culver City.

To the surprise of many, flashy, star-driven Warner Communications merged in 1989 with the white-shoe publishing company Time Inc. Though Time and its magazines claimed a higher tone, it was the Warner Bros. film and music units which provided the profits. The Time Warner merger was almost derailed when Paramount Communications (Formerly Gulf+Western, later sold to Viacom), launched a $12.2 billion dollar hostile takeover bid for Time Inc., forcing Time to acquire Warner for $14.9 billion dollar cash/stock offer. Paramount responded with a lawsuit filed in Delaware court to break up the merger. Paramount lost and the merger proceeded.

In 1997, Time Warner sold the Six Flags unit. The takeover of Time Warner in 2000 by then-high-flying AOL did not prove a good match, and following the collapse in "dot-com" stocks, the AOL name was banished from the corporate nameplate.

Since 1995

A panoramic view over today's studio premises.

In 1995, Warner and station owner Tribune Company of Chicago launched The WB Network, finding a niche market in teenagers. The WB's early programming included an abundance of teenage fare like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, and Dawson's Creek. Two dramas produced by Spelling Television, 7th Heaven and Charmed also helped bring The WB into the spotlight, with "Charmed" lasting eight seasons and being the longest running drama with female leads and "7th Heaven" surviving eleven seasons and being the longest running family drama and longest running show for The WB. In 2006, Warner and CBS Paramount Television decided to close The WB and CBS's UPN and jointly launch The CW Television Network. In 1999, Terry Semels and Robert Daly resigned as heads of the studio after a career of 13 Oscar nominated films. Many of Warner's top stars were considering quitting because of their absence. Daly and Semels were said to popularize the modern model of partner financing and profit sharing for film production. In the late 1990s, Warner obtained rights to the Harry Potter novels, and released feature film adaptations of the first in 2001, the second in 2002, the third in June 2004, the fourth in November 2005, and the fifth on July 11, 2007. The sixth was slated for November 2008, but Warner moved it to July 2009 only three months before the movie was supposed to come out, citing the lack of summer blockbusters in 2009 (due to the Writer's Strike) as the reason.[169] The decision was purely financial, and Alan Horn said, "There were no delays. I’ve seen the movie. It is fabulous. We would have been perfectly able to have it out in November.”[170] This resulted in a massive fan backlash.[171] The seventh and final adaptation, to be shown in two parts, has been announced for 2010 and 2011.

Over the years, Warner Bros. has had distribution and/or co-production deals with a number of small companies. These include (but are not limited to) Amblin Entertainment, The Zanuck Company, Morgan Creek Productions (now working with Universal Studios), Regency Enterprises (now working with 20th Century Fox), Village Roadshow Pictures, Icon Productions, Legendary Pictures, Heyday Films, Alcon Entertainment, Lakeshore Entertainment, Malpaso Productions, Virtual Studios, Silver Pictures (including Dark Castle Entertainment), The Ladd Company, Castle Rock Entertainment and The Geffen Film Company. Troublemaker Studios, DC Entertainment, GK Films, Media Rights Capital, Syncopy Films and Spyglass Entertainment.

Warner Bros. played a large part in the discontinuation of the HD DVD format. On January 4, 2008, Warner Bros. announced that they would drop support of HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray Disc.[172] HD DVDs would continue to be released through May 2008 (when their contract with the HD DVD promotion group expired), but only following Blu-ray and DVD releases. This started a chain of events which resulted in HD DVD development and production being halted by Toshiba on February 16, 2008, ending the format war.

Warner Bros. and National CineMedia have formed a partnership to provide pre-feature entertainment and advertising in movie theaters nationwide.[173]

Warner Bros. celebrated its 90th anniversary on June 1, 2008 even though the company celebrated for its 85th anniversary for films only.

In 2009, Warner Bros. became the first studio in history to gross more than $2 billion domestically in a single year.

It is responsible for the Harry Potter film series, the highest grossing film series of all time. Warner Brothers is also responsible for The Dark Knight, the 2008 Academy Award-winning Batman film that eventually became the studio's highest grossing film ever with over $1 billion. Warner Bros. films were the top-grossing films worldwide for 2001('Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"), 2005 ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire") and 2008 (The Dark Knight).

Imax Corp. has finalized a pact with Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Pictures unit to release as many as 20 giant-format films through 2013.[174]

Film library

Warner Bros Village in Florence Main article: List of Warner Bros. films

Over the years, a series of mergers and acquisitions have helped Warner Bros. (the present-day Time Warner subsidiary) to accumulate a diverse collection of movies, cartoons, and television programs.

In the aftermath of the 1948 antitrust suit, uncertain times led Warner Bros. in 1956 to sell most of its pre-1950[142][143] films and cartoons to a holding company called Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.). a.a.p. also got the Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios Popeye cartoons originally from Paramount. Two years later, a.a.p. was sold to United Artists (UA), which held them until 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought UA.[citation needed]

Three years later, Turner Broadcasting System, having failed to buy MGM, settled for ownership of the MGM/UA library. This included almost all pre-1986 MGM features with the exception of those owned by United Artists (i.e. James Bond franchise), although some UA material were included such as the a.a.p. library, the U.S. rights to a majority of the RKO Radio Pictures library, and the television series Gilligan's Island.[citation needed]

In 1991, Turner Broadcasting System bought animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions, and much of the back catalog of both Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears Productions from Great American Broadcasting, and three years later, Turner bought New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment.[citation needed] In 1996, Time Warner bought Turner Broadcasting System.

Previously owned by HiT Entertainment/Lyric Studios, and Playhouse Disney, since 2007, Warner Bros. now owns the rights to produce The Wiggles with the first production "Getting Strong" DVD and "Pop Goes the Wiggles" and future DVDs.

In 2007, Warner Bros. added the Peanuts/Charlie Brown library to its collection (this includes all the television specials and series outside of the theatrical library, which continues to be owned by CBS and Paramount through United Feature Syndicate, licensor and owner of the Peanuts material).[citation needed]

In 2008, Warner Bros. absorbed New Line Cinema, as a result, Warner added the New Line Cinema film and television library to its collection. On October 15, 2009, Warner Bros. added the entire Sesame Street library to its collection, in conjunction with Sesame Workshop.[citation needed]

The Warner Bros. Archives

The University of Southern California Warner Bros. Archives is the largest single studio collection in the world. Donated in 1977 to USC's School of Cinema-Television by Warner Communications, the WBA houses departmental records that detail Warner Bros. activities from the studio's first major feature, My Four Years in Germany (1918), to its sale to Seven Arts in 1968.

UA donated pre-1949 Warner Bros. nitrates to the Library of Congress and post-1951 negatives to the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Most of the company's legal files, scripts, and production materials were donated to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Warner Brothers is now dueted with Sony Pictures.

Warner Bros. Franchises

This is a list that Warner Bros. Entertainment owns primarily by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. itself and by ownership through acquisition of companies such as Turner Entertainment Co., New Line Cinema, Hanna-Barbera, and Cartoon Network.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Time Warner Inc. Reports Results for 2007 Full Year and Fourth Quarter". http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=BW&Date=20080206&ID=8146081&Symbol=TWX.
  2. ^ "Warner Bros. Company Info". Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.. http://www.warnerbros.com/#/page=company-info.
  3. ^ Warner Sperling, Cass (Director). The Brothers Warner (DVD film documentary). Warner Sisters, Inc.. http://www.warnersisters.com/ourstore.html.
  4. ^ ""Journey of discovery : Warner documentary the result of 20-year effort" Santa Barbara News Press". Santa Barbara News Press. January 29, 2009. http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:azi07GrG6s0J:warnersisters.com/news/3Ftag%3Dwarner-brothers+Wonskolaser&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au. Retrieved May 27, 2009. from the website warnersisters.com.
  5. ^ a b "HARRY M. WARNER FILM FESTIVAL NAMED ONE OF 32 ‘PREMIER’ EVENTS IN STATE". Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. January 31, 2006. http://www.sru.edu/pages/12398.asp. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  6. ^ WQED educational film "Things that are still here", PBS WQED, Pittsburgh, PA
  7. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 77.
  8. ^ http://www.nypostonline.com/p/blogs/movies/differ_fox_really_this_year_somewhere_ZCPXjPEGf78WS4CmqHdTkJ
  9. ^ a b c d Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 81.
  10. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 80.
  11. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 82.
  12. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 101.
  13. ^ Behlmer (1985), p. xii.
  14. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 46, 47. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  15. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 83.
  16. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 84.
  17. ^ ""Theatre Owners Open War on Hays"". New York Times. May 12, 1925. pp. 14.
  18. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 86.
  19. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.88.
  20. ^ a b Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 95.
  21. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 94.
  22. ^ Freedland, Michael (1983). The Warner Brothers. St. Martin's Press. pp. 119. ISBN 0-312-85620-2.
  23. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 96.
  24. ^ a b Thomas (1990), p. 56.
  25. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 57.
  26. ^ a b Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 113.
  27. ^ a b Thomas (1990), p. 59.
  28. ^ Warner and Jennings (1964), pp.180–181.
  29. ^ a b "Jews in Hollywood". Jewishmag.com. http://www.jewishmag.com/75mag/hollywood/hollywood.htm. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  30. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 62.
  31. ^ a b Thomas (1990), p. 100-101.
  32. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 141.
  33. ^ Warner-Sperling, Cass; Millner, Cork; Warner, Jack; Warner, Jack Jr. (1999). Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 142–145. ISBN 0-813-10958-2.
  34. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.144.
  35. ^ Thomas (1990), p.65.
  36. ^ a b c d e Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 147.
  37. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 66.
  38. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.148.
  39. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 4. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  40. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 127. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  41. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 208. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  42. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 67. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  43. ^ a b c Thomas (1990), p. 77.
  44. ^ Monday; Jun. 9, 1930 (June 9, 1930). "Warner Week – TIME". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,739489,00.html. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
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  48. ^ Thomas (1990), pp. 93.
  49. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.151.
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  57. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 195.
  58. ^ "The mobster and the movies". August 24, 2004. http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/08/24/mob.movies/index.html. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  59. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 184.
  60. ^ Thomas (1990), pp.77–79.
  61. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.185
  62. ^ Thomas (1990), p.81.
  63. ^ Thomas (1990), p.83.
  64. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.186.
  65. ^ Monday; Dec. 26, 1932 (December 26, 1932). "Fugitive – TIME". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744829,00.html. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  66. ^ Monday; Jan. 2, 1933 (January 2, 1933). "Fugitive Free – TIME". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847110,00.html. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  67. ^ Monday; Jan. 16, 1933 (January 16, 1933). "TIME". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744920,00.html. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  68. ^ Thomas (1990), pp. 82–83.
  69. ^ a b Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.161.
  70. ^ "Musicomedies of the Week". Time. July 3, 1933. pp. 2. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745754-2,00.html.
  71. ^ Warner-Sperling, Cass; Millner, Cork; Warner, Jack; Warner, Jack Jr. (1999). Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 182,183. ISBN 0-813-10958-2.
  72. ^ a b c "New Deal in Hollywood". Time. May 1, 1933. pp. 2. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847255,00.html.
  73. ^ Behlmer (1985), p.12.
  74. ^ a b Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 96. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  75. ^ a b Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 95. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
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  77. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 209
  78. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.209
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  80. ^ Monday; Jan. 21, 1935 (January 21, 1935). "St. Louis Suit – TIME". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,787960,00.html. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
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  84. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 109, 110. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  85. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 88. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  86. ^ a b Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 219-221.
  87. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 221.
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  89. ^ WatchMojo.com – Daily Video Clips – Bette Davis
  90. ^ a b Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 104 106. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  91. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 105. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
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  98. ^ a b c Warner-Sperling, Cass; Millner, Cork; Warner, Jack; Warner, Jack Jr. (1999). Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 235. ISBN 0-813-10958-2.
  99. ^ a b Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 123 125. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  100. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 124. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  101. ^ a b Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 125. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  102. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 125 126. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  103. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 126 127. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  104. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 187.
  105. ^ Barrier, Michael (1999). pp.329–333.
  106. ^ "Porky Pig and Small Dog – Looney Tunes All Hebrew". http://www.milechai.com/product2/children_books/porky-pig-and-the-small-dog.html. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  107. ^ "Warner Bros. Studio biography". AnimationUSA.com. Retrieved June 17, 2007.
  108. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 187-188.
  109. ^ p.37 McLaughlin, Robert L. & Parry, Sally E. We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema in World War II 2006 University Press of Kentucky
  110. ^ p.17 Birdwell, Michael E. Celluloid Soldiers: The Warner Bros. Capaign Against Nazism 2000 NYU Press
  111. ^ Youngkin, Stephen D. The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre 2005 University Press of Kentucky
  112. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 225
  113. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 233
  114. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 247
  115. ^ a b Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 240
  116. ^ a b c d e f g h Warner-Sperling, Cass; Millner, Cork; Warner, Jack; Warner, Jack Jr. (1999). Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 247–255. ISBN 0-813-10958-2.
  117. ^ Thomas (1990), pp.141–143.
  118. ^ a b Thomas (1990), p.144.
  119. ^ a b c d e f Thomas (1990), p. 145.
  120. ^ p.178 Schatz, Thomas Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s 1991 University of California Press
  121. ^ Thomas (1990), p.98.
  122. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 148.
  123. ^ Thomas (1990), p.150.
  124. ^ a b Thomas (1990), p.151.
  125. ^ Thomas (1990), p.152.
  126. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), pp.258–279
  127. ^ Warner-Sperling, Cass; Millner, Cork; Warner, Jack; Warner, Jack Jr. (1999). Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 258–279. ISBN 0-813-10958-2.
  128. ^ a b Thomas (1990), p. 163.
  129. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 164.
  130. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.279
  131. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 175, 176. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  132. ^ a b c d Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 286
  133. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p. 287.
  134. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 191.
  135. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), pp.287–288.
  136. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.288.
  137. ^ Monday; May. 21, 1956 (May 21, 1956). "Boston to Hollywood – TIME". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808529,00.html. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  138. ^ Balio, Tino (1985). The American Film Industry. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 567. ISBN 9780299098742. http://books.google.com/?id=eT_6IcZM-fAC.
  139. ^ a b c Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.303.
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  141. ^ Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 225. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  142. ^ a b You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008), p. 255.
  143. ^ a b WB retained a pair of features from 1949 that they merely distributed, and all short subjects released on or after September 1, 1948; in addition to all cartoons released in August 1948.
  144. ^ "Boston to Hollywood". Time. May 21, 1956. pp. 2. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808529,00.html.
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  146. ^ a b Thomas, Bob (1990). Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Times of Jack L. Warner. McGraw-Hill. pp. 226. ISBN 0-070-64259-1.
  147. ^ Sperling, Millner, and Warner (1998), p.306.
  148. ^ The United Press (July 12, 1956). "2 Warners Sell Most of Stock in Film Firm: Harry and Albert Dispose of Shares to Banker; Jack to Be President". The Youngstown Vindicator: p. 22.
  149. ^ http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_061149-1/10
  150. ^ p.144 Hope, Bob & Shavelson, Mel Don't Shoot, It's Only Me 1991 Jove Books
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  152. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 193.
  153. ^ a b c Thomas (1990), p. 194.
  154. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 195.
  155. ^ Thomas (1990), pp.196–8.
  156. ^ Thomas (1990), p.199.
  157. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000070/
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  159. ^ Thomas (1990), pp.264–265.
  160. ^ a b c Thomas (1990), p.265.
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  162. ^ Thomas (1990), p.259.
  163. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 278.
  164. ^ Thomas (1990), p.280.
  165. ^ a b Thomas (1990), p.279.
  166. ^ Thomas (1990), p. 279-280.
  167. ^ a b c d e Thomas (1990), p. 288.
  168. ^ William Poundstone, Fortune's Formula
  169. ^ http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1833086,00.html
  170. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26205933/
  171. ^ Warner Bros. Chief Responds to Harry Potter Fans
  172. ^ Warner Bros Goes Blu Ray Exclusive Console Watcher
  173. ^ Warner Bros. and National CineMedia Form Marketing Partnership, Yahoo!, January 14, 2008
  174. ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703648304575211961881537030.html

References

External links

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How can you become a record producer for companies like Warner bros, roadrunner, etc?
Q. What college courses should u take to become a better producer? How do you become a producer for a certain company? Anything helps, Thanks!
Asked by JEsse - Sat Sep 12 15:02:31 2009 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Hey there, There are very rarely situations where there is an in-house producer that does all of their production for the label they work for- it just tend not to work that way. You should pursue courses in music and audio engineering. In addition to studying music and engineering you should absolutely intern at a music studio if you want to get into producing, engineering or mixing. Being a producer is really part engineering part songwriting and part arranging so pure music courses and then courses that teach you to use pro tools or an old school console. Learn those skills and then you have to be a guy who attaches himself to talented groups. Great producers are only as good as the groups they work with and since the big names… [cont.]
Answered by Music Consultant - Sun Sep 13 16:36:43 2009

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