Warner Bros. Pictures’ CinemaCon Presentation Hits the Jackpot in Las Vegas
Big Movies, Big Stars and Big News Take Center Stage at the
Studio’s Big Picture Presentation
BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Warner Bros. Pictures showcased an impressive lineup of talents and
highly anticipated films at this year’s CinemaCon, which generated
tremendous excitement for the Studio’s wide-ranging slate. Chairman and
CEO Kevin Tsujihara opened the program and announced that Ben
Affleck—who will again play the role of Batman in the upcoming Justice
League movie—will direct, as well as star in, a new stand-alone Batman
feature.
The Studio’s presentation was highlighted by trailers and film
clips—including some never-before-seen footage—and appearances by some
of the major stars and filmmakers involved in each of the movies. It
also served to illustrate Tsujihara’s statement about the diversity of
the slate: built on the foundation of the key franchises of DC Super
Heroes, animated LEGO® features, and “Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them,” but also encompassing a broad scope of dramas,
action adventures, horror thrillers and comedies.
There were also speeches from Sue Kroll, in her new post as Warner Bros.
Pictures President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, and Veronika
Kwan Vandenberg, who was recently named President of Worldwide
Distribution.
Remarking on the Warner Bros. event, Kroll said, “CinemaCon is always
one of the high points of our year: when we get to introduce our
upcoming slate to our partners in the exhibition community who are
responsible for bringing our films to audiences worldwide. It was
wonderful to have this opportunity to showcase the broad range of films
Warner Bros. has on the horizon, as well as some of the extraordinary
artists behind them.”
Kwan Vandenberg added, “We appreciated the enthusiastic participation of
actors and filmmakers from every title, who added tremendous star power
to the presentation. CinemaCon gives us a chance to reinforce our
commitment to the big-screen experience on a global level.”
Kicking off the film presentation with a bang, Ben Affleck and Amy Adams
introduced a thrilling reel spotlighting the Studio’s ambitious slate of
DC films. The roster includes the new Justice League film, as well as
stand-alone features for Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg.
Director Zack Snyder closed the reel with a greeting from the Justice
League film set, surrounded by his stars.
The DC preview also included a glimpse of the summer’s hotly anticipated
action adventure “Suicide Squad” and, immediately following,
writer/director David Ayer took the stage and introduced the main
ensemble cast, led by Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie and Joel
Kinnaman. The extended version of the “Suicide Squad” trailer was met
with loud applause and the buzz surrounding the film was palpable.
Host Mario Lopez then took the attendees through the rest of the summer
line-up, including advance footage from the wide range of titles. The
stars and filmmakers who excited the crowd about their upcoming films
included: Russell Crowe for the action comedy “The Nice Guys”; Emilia
Clarke for the drama “Me Before You” (from New Line Cinema and
Metro-Goldwyn Mayer); James Wan, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson for the
supernatural thriller “The Conjuring 2” (from New Line Cinema); Teresa
Palmer and David F. Sandberg for the horror thriller “Lights Out” (from
New Line Cinema); Kevin Hart and Rawson Marshall Thurber for the action
comedy “Central Intelligence” (from New Line Cinema and Universal
Pictures), which included a taped greeting from Dwayne Johnson;
Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph
Waltz for the adventure “The Legend of Tarzan” (from Warner Bros. and
Village Roadshow Pictures); and Todd Phillips and Bradley Cooper for the
comedic drama “War Dogs,” which is based on real events.
Looking past the summer, Warner Bros. unveiled some of the films on the
drawing board from the Warner Animation Group, or WAG for short. Three
of the brilliant minds in the WAG think tank—Christopher Miller, Phil
Lord and Nicholas Stoller—came to the stage to introduce a special reel
featuring a few of the titles in the pipeline, anchored by three new
films in the LEGO® movie franchise: “The LEGO®
Batman Movie,” “The LEGO® Movie 2” and “Ninjago.” Stoller,
who co-directed the next WAG film on the slate, “Storks,” was joined by
fellow director Doug Sweetland and voice talents Andy Samberg and Katie
Crown to present new footage from the heartwarming and hilarious family
adventure.
The animation portion wrapped with never-before-seen footage from “The
LEGO® Batman Movie,” which gives the breakout star of the hit
“The LEGO® Movie” a film of his own. Drawing laughter and
enthusiastic applause, the clip was presented by producers Lord and
Miller, joined by the voice of LEGO® Batman himself, Will
Arnett, who made a surprise appearance to the delight of everyone there.
Warner Bros. closed the presentation with a look at the most magical
film of the year, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” written by Harry
Potter creator J.K. Rowling, which will bring moviegoers to a new
place and time in the wizarding world. Four of the film’s stars, Eddie
Redmayne, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler and Colin Farrell, came to the stage
to introduce the new teaser trailer and a look behind the scenes of the
film, which has already captivated fans.
Contacts
Warner Bros. Pictures
Jack Horner, 818-954-3291
jack.horner@warnerbros.com
