Warner Bros Hopes To Fill Harry Potter’s Void with DC Comics Movie Adaptations | /Film

Warner Bros Hopes To Fill Harry Potter’s Void with DC Comics Movie Adaptations | /Film

Warner Bros Hopes To Fill Harry Potter’s Void with DC Comics Movie Adaptations

Posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 by Peter Sciretta

One of the other notable things Warner Bros head Alan Horn said at the ShoWest presentation today involved how the studio hopes to fill the void that will be left by the studio’s most successful franchise. After Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II hits theaters in July 2011, that will conclude the biggest box office franchise in cinema history. How does Warner Bros hope to fill the hole left by this profitable series?

Here is the quote from Horn:

“As we ease out of Harry Potter, we hope to bring you the excitement of the DC [Comics] Library!”

It isn’t clear if that statement is just wishful thinking or if actual plans are under way to greenlight new DC Comic book adaptations. We know that The Green Lantern is currently shooting and is set for a June 2011 release, and development of a movie adaptation of The Flash has been ongoing. We also know that Warner Bros wants a sequel to The Dark Knight, and is trying to get a Superman movie into production before they loose the rights to the character.

Discuss: But will Superman and Batman be able to fill the void left by “the kid who survived”?

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The Ten Questions DC Entertainment Must Answer | Bleeding Cool Comic News & Rumors

I am VERY interested to see how things are going to change from here on out.

The Ten Questions DC Entertainment Must Answer | Bleeding Cool Comic News & Rumors

The Ten Questions DC Entertainment Must Answer
Submitted by Rich Johnston on September 12, 2009 – 12:00 pm (22) comments
nelson

Okay, okay, as I said before, no one actually has to answer anything. Why would they? Diane Nelson doesn’t know I exist and it’s probably better that way. It just makes for a better headline. But if they were to answer, what would they say?

1. The Location Question. Will any of DC Comics operations be relocating to Warner Bros headquarters in Burbank, California any time soon? This move, closer to Warner Bros HQ has been speculated about a number of times, but Paul Levitz kept the company firmly on the East Coast. With the new Publisher likely to be a West Coaster, is everyone going to up sticks in the next few years? And will we see DC publishing and editorial move to other Warner East Coast offices?

2. The Jim Lee Question. Yes, what of Jim Lee? With his contract up and with Warner worried that he might leave, just what will they offer him to stay? Is there any possibility he may team up with the much-favoured-by-Warner Hank Kanalz at Wildstorm in some kind of dream team partnership within DC Entertainment? Or will Marvel Disney step up with the biggest offer in the world and bring him back to X-Men? And actually on that point… Hank Kanalz? What’s the story there?

3. The Comic Shop Question. What are DC Entertainment’s plans for serving the direct market? Will they maintain their leadership role with retailers? Are there to be any changes in general policy regarding the specialised comic shop outlet? Will DC continue to exclusively distribute comics through Diamond?

4. The Internet Controversy Question. Paul Levitz had tastes and concerns that, on occasion, saw certain items pulled back from publication. Could The Boys come back to DC now? Can Art Adams work on The Authority be restored now? Can Wildstorm put out the League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Black Dossier vinyl record now and can Titan Book publish the graphic novel now? Will we see Lobo: The Hand To Hand Job published now? Will Vertigo publish The Sex Detectives Preacher spinoff now? What about Milligan and Morrison’s Bizarre Boys? And also can be have that Bendis Batman/Daredevil crossover now please? Pretty please?

5. The Film/Comic Relationship Question. Will the publishing division still have the ability to kill a potential film deal now, if its believed to harm the brand? This has happened before. Could it be allowed again?

6. The Dan DiDio Question. Is Dan DiDio back from Hawaii yet? Is there any reason he hasn’t been mentioned during all this restructuring? What’s his future with the company?

7. The Wildstorm Question. We’ve heard about exploiting the DC Universe characters, and Vertigo has been pinpointed for having a better look at, but what does this mean for the wide array of material in the WildStorm library? One WildCATS TV cartoon from years ago isn’t exactly deep cross-media penetration.

8. The Long Tail Question. On that point, will DC Entertainment continue to allow let lower income producing lines like Vertigo or Zuda continue, in anticipation of greater profits down the road?

9. The Harry Potter Question. Has Diane Nelson asked JK Rowling if she’d ever like to write a comic book?

10. The Ambush Bug #6 Question. Will we ever see Ambush Bug #6?

Industry Reacts to Levitz, DC Entertainment – Comic Book Resources

The rest of the article at the link below

Industry Reacts to Levitz, DC Entertainment – Comic Book Resources

Posted: 5 hours ago | Updated: 4 hours ago

This morning, DC Comics’ The Source blog lit up with release after release outlining the new shape that the just rechristened “DC Entertainment” will take in 2010 and beyond. Much like last week’s shocker news that Disney plans purchase Marvel, the word from DC’s parent company Warner Bros. on the future of the comics giant represents a game-changer for the comics entertainment landscape.

Compounding that massive change is the fact that legendary writer and longtime DC executive Paul Levitz will step down as the company’s Publisher and President to be a consultant and writer, starting with issue #7 of the recently re-launched “Adventure Comics.”

With the news already burning up the blogosphere, CBR reached out to a raft of DC talent to get their take on Levtiz’s legacy as the leader of DC and what the changes mean for the new DC Entertainment. Be sure to check back throughout the day as we update with more reactions and opinions.

Levitz & Nelson on DC Entertainment – Comic Book Resources

The rest of the article at the link below

Levitz & Nelson on DC Entertainment – Comic Book Resources

News broke Wednesday that Paul Levitz, the President and Publisher of DC Comics since 2002 and a chief architect of the publisher’s success in other roles since the 1970s, had resigned. Levitz saw DC through such publishing milestones as “Watchmen” and “The Dark Knight Returns,” the formation of its influential Vertigo imprint, and guided the publisher through the creation of the direct market. Once a hugely popular writer of such DC titles as “The Legion of Super-Heroes,” Levitz will return to writing comic books full time, beginning with next year’s “Adventure Comics” #7. Levitz will also serve as a multipurpose consultant as the company continues its restructuring, a process which includes hiring a new Publisher.

Concurrently, DC Comics parent company Warner Bros. Entertainment announced the formation of DC Entertainment, a new entity under which DC Comics will continue to operate. DC Entertainment’s stated mission is to strategically exploit the DC brand across all media, such as video games and feature film. DC Entertainment’s President is Diane Nelson, who most recently served as the President of Warner Premiere, WB’s direct-to-consumer brand responsible for the “Green Lantern: First Flight” and “Batman: Gotham Knight” DVD features, among other projects. Most auspiciously, Nelson has managed the Harry Potter franchise for Warner Bros. since 1999, turning JK Rowling’s best-selling novels into a multimedia empire.

To learn more about DC Entertainment’s plans for DC Comics and what role Levitz will play in the newly organized company, CBR News spoke with Levitz and Nelson about all the day’s big news.

CBR Staff Writer Andy Khouri contributed to this story.
Story continues below

Warner Bros. reboots DC Comics in bid to rival Marvel on big screen | Company Town | Los Angeles Times

Warner Bros. reboots DC Comics in bid to rival Marvel on big screen | Company Town | Los Angeles Times

Warner Bros. reboots DC Comics in bid to rival Marvel on big screen
September 9, 2009 | 11:34 am

Warner Bros. is hoping to bring some Harry Potter magic to its DC Comics brand.

Sick of being second banana to comic book competitor Marvel Entertainment in the movie world, the studio has brought DC in-house and appointed Diane Nelson, a brand management executive who has overseen the Harry Potter franchise since 2000 to run the unit.

Along with the move, Warner Bros. is changing DC Comics’ corporate name to mirror that of its rival. The division will now be known as DC Entertainment.

While Warner’s move has been long rumored in Hollywood, it comes just a week after Walt Disney Co. agreed to acquire Marvel for $4 billion.

Warner is hoping Nelson will be able to duplicate Harry Potter’s amazing track record with DC’s rich library of characters across movies, television, video games, the Web and consumer products. The Potter franchise, the most successful in the studio’s history, has generated more than $5.4 billion in worldwide box office and billions more from DVDs, video games and other markets.

DC Entertainment will be a separate division of the studio, with Nelson reporting to Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov.

While rival Marvel has turned super heroes including Spider-Man, Iron Man and the X-Men into big screen juggernauts, the only DC hero with a hit series of films in the last decade has been Batman. “The Dark Knight” generated more than $1 billion in worldwide box office, while “Batman Begins” grossed $373 million. However, March’s “Watchmen” was a disappointment, 2006′s costly “Superman Returns” wasn’t successful enough to merit a sequel, and 2004′s “Catwoman” was a major flop.

DC Comics’ predecessor company began publishing in 1935 and launched the super hero phenomenon, which came to define the medium, when Superman debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1938. The late media mogul Steve Ross acquired DC in 1968. The next year he bought Warners’ then-parent company Warner Communication and folded DC into it.

Warner currently has several DC projects in development as movies, including “The Green Lantern,” starring Ryan Reynolds, which the studio hopes will be its next super-hero tent pole when released in 2011. Other movies include “Jonah Hex,” a supernatural western that just completed production; “The Losers,” which started shooting in July; and “Lobo,” based on the space-faring anti-hero. It also recently released a direct-to-DVD animated movie about Green Lantern and video game starring Batman. A television series based on DC’s “The Human Target” is on the Fox network’s mid-season schedule.

As part of the corporate reshuffling, DC’s longtime publisher Paul Levitz, who has been with the company since the 1970s and became president in 2002, is stepping aside to become a consultant. He will also serve as a contributing editor and continue writing comic books, which he has done for his entire career.

The news of Warner Bros.’ move was first reported on Deadline Hollywood.

– Claudia Eller and Ben Fritz

TODAY’S VIEWS – PAUL LEVITZ – Marvwofman.com

TODAY’S VIEWS

PAUL LEVITZ

If you are into comics, you already know Paul Levitz is stepping down from his position as President and Publisher of DC Comics. I’ve known Paul since he was 13 and consider him one of my closest and dearest friends. For years now, Paul has talked about retiring someday soon and returning to writing, his first love. For that reason alone I am so happy for him because I know that’s what he deeply cares about and has been wanting. As readers, we are in for some major treats.

I can also say, without fear of rebuttal by anyone who is in the know, Paul is probably the best, the smartest, the most creative and the most moral Publisher the business has ever seen. Most fans have no idea how important Paul is, not only to DC, but to the entire industry. I have often said, and mean, that without Paul there very well might not be a comics industry today. I am not speaking in hyperbole. I am being literal; I mean exactly what I wrote.

The other side of my mind is focused on the future of comics. When you look at the billion dollars plus that Dark Knight grossed, or the hundreds of millions grossed by Iron Man – a character few people outside of comics knew anything about – we see that people love what we do, but that love has not always been reflected in the sales of the comics themselves. Back in the 90s, when I was one of the two founding editors of Disney Adventures magazine – a magazine that sold over a million copies a month – I started calling regular comics a 32 page pamphlet. I meant that to be as derogatory as it sounds.

Comics were trapped in a ghetto; beloved and ignored at the same time. The days of the pamphlet are over. The tail of the dinosaur just hasn’t informed the brain. We need to look ahead to other formats, to other kinds of stories to tell and to other ways to distribute what we do. There is a generation now who gets all their entertainment over the net and that is not going to change. We are not going to go back to a 100% paper society. That is ridiculous both for distribution and for the environment. Computer book readers are going to get more popular and when they move to color, there will be no reason at all to have to print a magazine when you can download one to a perfect flat screen with no glare that looks exactly like paper anyway.

Comics have already become a staple of the net as well as the iPhone and other mobile devices. As any reader of this column knows from my endless sales pitches, my own comic, The Man Called A-X, has been available on the iPhone for months now. Yes, I know there are negatives, but technologically the world rarely moves backward. People all over the world love comics, we know that without doubt, but for the industry to grow to where it should be, we’ve got to find better ways of getting our ideas into their hands, and we also need to tell stories that appeal to all walks of life. I see a bright future for comics, but we’ve got to move and think forward if we hope to achieve it.

I think that Disney taking over Marvel, and Warner’s working more closely with DC, means new ideas can be tried in ways that they haven’t been able to before. When you are now part of a large whole, where each part of a company can work with and strengthen the other, the synergy created can bring more notice and therefore more eyes to comics. I’m not naive; I know there can also be downsides, but I believe you don’t spend the money Disney did or the effort Warners is unless you believe in the business. We all know there are comics today that sell only in the hundreds and many others in just 4 figures. There should be no reason for so much great material to sell so badly other than our current inability to get people to see it. By looking and moving ahead, by experimenting with new ways to get comics into our hands, we can reach the audience the material deserves to find.

Congratulations to my friend Paul for getting to do what he’s been wanting to for years. And congratulations and the very best of luck to Diane Nelson who will help guide DC into the future.

Labels: Paul Levitz