The LA Times reports that Warner Brothers is looking to DC Comics for a little salvation, and hints that DC's long-rumored move to Los Angeles is actually going to happen, and soon. The spotlight's fallen on Geoff Johns and DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson to find marketable screen franchises out of DC's catalog of characters. With the studio's breadwinning Harry Potter franchise on the way out, WB needs to find new hits, and looks to the example Marvel has made over the past few years with a number of successful comic adaptations like Iron Man. WB and DC have Nolan's Batman films, but few if any of their other comic properties have made it as box office hits.
Johns has stated that something like a half dozen DC properties are in development as new television series. The next major film if Green Lantern, and both WB and parent company Time Warner are pushing for more.
Film group president Jeff Robinov said this of Johns: "Geoff knows how to make these characters contemporary and yet stick to their core values, which is a fantastic asset for us."
As for DC's move to LA? How's about this:
"The biggest challenge for Nelson and Johns may be merging the cultures of the Warner lot in Burbank and the offices of DC, which are in Manhattan but may soon move to L.A."
Did it take Disney's acquistion of Marvel and the recent success of Marvel Studios films franchises to make Warner Brothers realize they had heaps of gold in the basement? Here's hoping the push from Time Warner and WB serves as a decent catalyst for great films, as guided by Nelson and Johns, and not a mindless surge into moviemaking. DC is a brand, sure, but it got that way because a number of great writers and artists put out quality work. The big names and logos might sell a bunch of tickets, but it's everything that goes behind them that will sell oodles of them.
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I’m sure alot of people will be upset about this, but it just makes sense to be closer to DC parent company.
Aww man
Physical closeness is generally unimportant in the internet world. Really, though, who cares where they keep their HQ?
from what i’ve heard, DC people were suspecting this almost to the day they got the memo’s announcing the new leadership. It will be interesting to see which New Yorkers working at DC will "move on" with their careers rather than leave The City.
Makes total sense for DC to move out west since every other arm of the company is in the LA area.
Don’t know what DC will do, but Time Warner corporate HQ is in the Time Warner Center which is in…. NYC.
sucks for the families who have to move. LA is such a snore.
After the ludicrous bank of "The Dark Knight," WB has little to complain about. There’s no guarantee that Avengers, Thor, or Cap will strike gold. I seem to recall the Marvel slate being filled with Daredevil, Kick-Ass, and Ghost Rider more than anything else, which equally match the relative failure of Hex, Losers, and Watchmen.
Actually Daredevil and Ghost Rider were relatively successful. Blade 3, Hulk, the Punisher movies and Elektra were the Marvel bombs.
You get my point…