Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has finally committed to paper a new strategy for the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.In a Wednesday memo to his staff obtained by Variety, Zaslav told studio employees that he will create “three distinct film segments around Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Feature Animation, and DC-Based Film Production.” These units will presumably report to Zaslav directly. The CEO said the idea was workshopped with the outgoing film group chairman Toby Emmerich, a veteran executive he called “a great leader and a friend to me and to many.”Earlier this morning, official word came that Emmerich will be replaced by former MGM film leaders Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy at the end of the summer. Shortly after the memo was circulated, Warner Bros. Discovery sent an official notice calling the structure “long-range,” and added that De Luca and Abdy will oversee operations on all three units until clarity comes for Warner Animation and DC Films (both of which have leaders presently in place).Emmerich has accepted a production deal on the Warner lot. In his own memo to his team, the 20-plus year company veteran said he’d be “rooting” for the motion picture group, and that he’d “see them on the other side.”Regarding De Luca and Abdy, Zaslav said the pair were “supremely talented creative leaders with a proven track record of success,” and that he looked forward to “seeing them take this nearly century-old iconic studio to even greater heights of excellence in film.”
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