WarnerMedia Unveils J.J. Abrams Mega Deal – Variety



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WarnerMedia has officially announced its mega deal with J.J. Abrams, the creator of "Lost" and the director of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" have unleashed intense attendance through Hollywood while he was looking for a new studio.

The pact provides that Abrams-led production company Bad Robot with his wife and co-CEO, Katie McGrath, will produce movies, shows, games and other entertainment content for the company. On Thursday, the companies said the far-reaching agreement was starting immediately and was continuing initially until 2024.

Abrams is held in such high esteem for its ability to tell compelling stories and to create and reinvigorate franchises that it has sparked the interest of Disney, Apple and Comcast. His team explained that any company interested in using its services should be able to present Bad Robot on a wide range of platforms. They were also looking for a record deal. To this end, the deal has been valued at $ 500 million and insiders believe it could be worth even more if certain performance-related goals are met. The financial terms of the transaction have not been officially disclosed.

The Abrams draw has involved leaders from the highest levels of society. WarnerMedia's chief, John Stankey, traveled to London in September 2018 to start talks with Abrams, explaining the company's ability to offer a wide range of houses for its content – from traditional theatrical releases to streaming and at video games.

"We are extremely excited to be able to deliver remarkable and memorable stories and characters across multiple platforms to audiences around the world." J.J., Katie and all members of Bad Robot bring extraordinary vision, exquisite film making and exemplary industry leadership to this company and our society, "Stankey said in a statement. "In all forms of content, we are uniquely positioned to offer our creative partners a multitude of platforms to achieve their artistic goals and ambitions, and to ensure that their stories provide the best opportunity to connect." with the good public. "

The Abrams CV includes "water cooler" shows such as "Alias" and "Westworld", as well as blockbusters such as "Cloverfield", "Star Trek" and "Super 8". It is an impressive choice of box office success and audience success. However, at least among entertainment conglomerates who did not use his services, Abrams realized he was better at rehabilitating old franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars than launching new ones. .

Abrams' race for services shows how desperate the entertainment companies are to lock up the best talent. Companies such as WarnerMedia and Disney are preparing to launch streaming challengers, which will increase the competition of digital players such as Netflix. This led to a period of prosperity for producers and filmmakers, with creators of "Game of Thrones" David Benioff and DB Weiss, creators Shonda Rhimes of "Gray's Anatomy" and "Gray's Anatomy", as well as creators of "Pose" and "American Horror Story," Ryan Murphy, have all signed big pacts.

Previously, Bad Robot had a contract with Paramount, but had a long relationship with Warners on television. The companies have been working together for 13 years as part of an exclusive global pact, which began in 2006. This association is deepened. In 2018, Bad Robot created a video game development division, Bad Robot Games, in association with
Tencent and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

In a statement, Abrams said it was a "thrill" to come to WarnerMedia, adding, "I'm grateful to have the chance to write, produce and direct work for this amazing company, and to assisting in the creation of films and series with an extensive and diverse collection of inspiring storytellers. We are eager to start.

In the official announcement, WarnerMedia stated that Bad Robot would honor existing obligations to Paramount and indicated, as if the general public did not know, that Abrams was running and
producing the release of "The Rise of Skywalker", which Disney is going out.

Abrams praised Mt. Jim Gianopulos' supreme leader and production director Liz Raposo, describing his departure as "bitter-sweet".

"We still have a number of great stories to tell together, and for that I feel extremely lucky," he said.

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