Back in June 2019, J.J. Abrams struck a massive overall deal that would keep him in the fold of Warner Bros., his home studio since 2006.
(Bad Robot and Warner Bros. declined comment.)
Instead, Warner Bros.-DC has the James Gunn-directed “Superman” reboot hitting theaters on July 11.
The Warner Bros. Television-produced sci-fi drama was then shopped to the deep-pocketed streamers.
Says one veteran producer: “The Bad Robot deal was a massive coronation of J.J.
In June of 2019, J. The J. Warner Bros. retained Abrams after he made a huge overall deal. since 2006, in his house studio.
With a five-year contract worth $500 million at the time, it had a special arrangement that let Abrams sign other authors to overall deals by drawing from a sizable fund. With Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, running the stable, this established the multihyphenate behind “Felicity” and “Lost” as more than just a content creator; it also established her as a mogul whose Bad Robot production company would nurture the next generation of storytellers. Following five and a half years, Warner Bros. has little to show for the money it spent on Abrams, despite the fact that the deal’s value fell by half as a result of Bad Robot’s failure to meet the output and financial targets that would have activated the full $500 million. Having less negotiating power than in 2019, Abrams’ team has quietly reached a smaller production agreement with the studio that, according to sources, will cover both film and television. It’s a clue to managers and agents around town that the nine-figure writer-producer megadeal is over. Warner Brothers and Bad Robot. declined to comment. . ().
It didn’t quite work out if the idea was to make Abrams into a hybrid of Rembrandt and Bob Iger. Approximately $50 million of Warners’ funds were used by Bad Robot to establish fruitless satellite deals with writer-producers Dustin Thomason, LaToya Morgan, Jessie Nelson, and Angela Robinson. The objective was to transform Bad Robot into a Warners mini-studio with independence.
“The CEO thing whiffed,” a senior dealmaker claims. This was the heyday of the overall deal, though. “”.
Based on the immortal DC character, Robinson’s “Madame X” series was canceled by HBO Max in 2022. The streamer chose not to proceed with Thomason’s “Overlook,” a spinoff of Stephen King’s “The Shining,” last year. Nelson’s “Little Voice,” a Warner Bros.-produced, musically heavy tribute to the ennui of the 20s. TV, which was available on Apple TV+, was canceled in 2021 after just one season. Additionally, Morgan’s “Duster” has made it through a protracted filming process. Following its 2020 straight-to-series approval at HBO Max, the FBI drama is finally scheduled to make its Max debut in 2025. Morgan reportedly received over $10 million for eight episodes, according to sources.
The dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Stephen Galloway, says, “The economy is really putting a new spotlight on extravagance, and the squeeze is on.”. The current economy is based on meat and potatoes. Everyone is currently feeling the pinch, even though it was once a luxury business. You are examining the layoffs, the disintegration of some of these large corporations, and the amount of debt they have incurred. The economy is in a recession, but we are not in one. “.”.
The number of writer-producers with nine-figure deals is declining, and Abrams is no longer at the top of the list with his new contract. Dick Wolf is king, according to agents familiar with Hollywood’s hierarchy, because of the success of his “Law and Order,” “FBI,” and “Chicago” franchises on NBC and CBS. Following him are Greg Berlanti (Warner Bros.), Dan Fogelman (Disney, “Only Murders in the Building”), Shonda Rhimes (Netflix, “Bridgerton”), Ryan Murphy (Disney, “American Horror Story”), and Taylor Sheridan (Paramount, “Yellowstone”). “The Flash.”. With two years remaining on his $120 million contract, Berlanti will probably encounter an unfriendly environment when it comes time to negotiate. Due to back-end compensation terms for successful shows, some, like comedy mogul Chuck Lorre, have more intricate agreements that could overshadow those of the mega-earners.
The once-productive Abrams hit a block at the wrong moment if the writer-producer believes that volume is crucial. In terms of television, HBO Max canceled the DC-based “Constantine” series from Bad Robot. An Abrams-produced Black Superman movie with a Ta-Nehisi Coates script generated a lot of excitement on the big screen. Although technically that project is still ongoing, it has not advanced since the beginning of 2023. By contrast, Warner Bros. -On July 11, DC’s reboot of “Superman,” directed by James Gunn, will be released. The upcoming Anne Hathaway film “Flowervale Street,” which is set in the 1980s, was produced by Abrams. The $85 million thriller, which opens on March 13, isn’t the kind of tentpole that WarnerMedia executives had in mind in 2019. It may feature dinosaurs.
Abrams would still have been at the mercy of the market even if his output had done better. The industry was devastated by COVID and the twin labor strikes in 2023, which caused productions to be halted or postponed and severely damaged legacy studios’ bottom lines. Production is still not back to normal over a year after SAG-AFTRA and the studios came to an agreement. Warner Bros. is among the CEOs who have been sent. David Zaslav from Discovery is searching for trash to cut.
Jason Squire, professor emeritus at USC School of Cinematic Arts and host of “The Movie Business Podcast,” says that the emphasis on studio downsizing calls for a reexamination of these lucrative talent deals. “Warner Bros.”. The board and stockholders are putting a lot of pressure on Discovery and other studios to lower their debt, and one way to do so is by lowering talent [costs]. “.”.
However, HBO’s decision to cancel Abrams’ $200 million+ series “Demimonde” in 2022 due to financial concerns was one clear indication that a new era was dawning. A Warner Bros. A sci-fi drama produced by television was then sold to the wealthy streamers. No takers were found.
One seasoned producer claims that the Bad Robot deal was a huge celebration of J. The J. He was essentially a working screenwriter who was assisted by Hollywood in becoming the next Steven Spielberg. However, what did Warner Bros. do? get out of that arrangement?
