CNN CEO Chris Licht Tries To Soothe Restless Staff: ‘I Should Not Be In The News’

After a year-plus of tabloid headlines about its star Ezra Miller, Warner Bros./DC’s Covid-delayed $200M Justice League standalone superhero movie The Flash finally arrives in theaters. The global opening looks better than domestic, $155M-$165M global to a $70M+ in U.S./Canada.

BreAnna Bell “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace” recorded a solid performance for ID and the newly integrated Max. The three-episode series, which premiered on May 29 on ID and aired over the course of three consecutive nights during the 9 p.m. block, delivered an audience of 10.295 million total viewers across ID, Max and Discovery+ according to a mix of data from Nielsen and Warner Bros. Discovery. This marks ID’s highest-rated telecast in three years. The six-hour documentary exploring a bizarre family saga centered around the mystery of Natalia Grace, a 6-year-old Ukrainian orphan who was believed to have spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia — a rare congenital bone growth disorder that results in dwarfism. But her adopted family suspected otherwise.

Ezra Miller was all smiles on the red carpet for the premiere of The Flash. The internet, not so much!

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Joker” fans who are theorizing about the reported musical aspects of the upcoming Joaquin Phoenix-led sequel film finally have a little bit more clarity, thanks to star Zazie Beetz. “I think people will be surprised. I don’t think it’s going to be what they expect, around it being musical,” Beetz, who is reprising her role as Sophie Dumond for “Joker: Folie à Deux,” told Variety Monday at Chanel’s Tribeca Film Festival Artists Dinner in New York. “We all sort of express musically and dancing in our lives day-to-day. I think it’s going to work really well.” Todd Phillips returns to the director’s chair for the “Joker” sequel, which is rumored to take place prominently in Arkham Asylum.

Naman Ramachandran Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” led the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive weekend with £4 million ($5.1 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The web-slinging animation now has a total of £16.2 million. Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts” debuted in second place with a healthy £2.9 million. In its third weekend, in second position, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” collected £2.1 million for a total of £19.9 million. In fourth place, another Disney title, “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3” earned £511,837 in its sixth weekend for a total of £35.5 million. Rounding off the top five in its fourth weekend was Universal’s “Fast X” with £475,640 and a total of £14.2 million.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent British actors Julia Ormond (“Ladies in Black”) and Lydia Page (“Blue Jean”) are set to soon appear in psychological horror movie “Home Education” directed by Italy’s Andrea Niada. Set in the scenic Sila plateau in Italy’s Southern Calabria region, “Home Education” revolves around a family that are followers of an esoteric cult and live in a secluded house deep in the woods. Warner Bros Entertainment Italia, Italy’s Indiana Production and BlackBox Multimedia are producing with support from the Calabria Film Commission. Germany’s SquareOne Productions is handling international sales. Warner Bros. Pictures will release the film in Italian theaters.

Ezra Miller is speaking out in public for the first time since August 2022.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Ezra Miller made a public showing for the first time in nearly two years on Monday night, attending the Los Angeles premiere of DC Studios’ “The Flash.” The embattled actor spoke openly about misconduct allegations levied against them and various legal woes, addressing fans and many industry players at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Miller, who is non-binary and uses they and them pronouns, made a big show of acknowledging Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Film Group heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy and DC Studios stewards James Gunn and Peter Safran for “your grace and discernment and care in the context of my life. And in bringing this moment to fruition.”

Warner Bros. held the premiere for the long-awaited DC spinoff The Flash today in Hollywood with its star Ezra Miller, who has been the subject of several tabloid headlines from alleged assaults in Hawaii to unlawful trespassing at a neighbor’s house in Vermont, making their red carpet debut since such incidents.

hinted to return for an additional season “or two” by DC head James Gunn, who said in January that “it’s a show everybody likes, so it’s gonna keep going for a little bit.”Starring Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane, the third installment of the superhero series will be produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

J. Kim Murphy It’s curtains for “Gotham Knights” at The CW. The network will not move forward with a second season of the DC Comics series, Variety has learned. The series was absent from a statement of upcoming programming from the CW, which announced renewals for both “Superman & Lois” and “All American: Homecoming” for the 2023-2024 broadcast season. The news about “Gotham Knights” comes more than two weeks ahead of the date that the series is slated to air what would now be its series finale. The program premiered on March 4 and was set to conclude its 13-episode season on June 27.

The CW has renewed Superman and Lois for a 10-episode fourth season, following months of negotiations. The series was one of three shows on the network in collaboration with Warner Bros. pending renewal alongside All American: Homecoming and Gotham Knights.

The head of the country’s largest labor union joined striking Writers Guild film and television writers at a rally on Monday outside the New York City offices of streaming giant Amazon and said the writers’ cause has the support of workers from across unionized labor. 

Amazon Freevee has teamed with MGM and Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal to add 23 FAST Channels.

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” PremiereRegency Village Theatre, WestwoodThe Spider-verse opened a portal into Westwood for the world premiere of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 smash hit film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” and the stars celebrated. The actors who were delighted to have returned to the next ultra-cool vision of Spidey from the minds of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya and recent Oscar nominee Brian Tyree Henry.Hailee Steinfeld, who reprises her role as Spider Gwen in the animated movie, slayed the red carpet at the Regency Village Theatre by wearing a complete ensemble from Bally’s spring 2023 collection.

Selome Hailu Titled “Double Fantasy,” Episode 2 of “The Idol” brought in 800,000 viewers across HBO and Max on Sunday night. This marks a 12% dip from the 913,000 viewers who tuned in to last week’s series premiere. Reported by Warner Bros. Discovery, these figures represent a combination of Nielsen’s measurement of linear viewing on HBO’s cable channel as well as WBD’s own data regarding streams on Max. According to WBD, streaming of the episode through Sunday night was “nearly even” with that of the week before, meaning that the decrease in viewership happened largely on cable. Nielsen data shows that approximately 232,000 viewers watched Episode 1 on cable the night of its premiere, meaning that some 681,000 viewers streamed the episode. Therefore, if streaming remained even for Episode 2, it can be estimated that around 119,000 viewers watched it on cable.

2023 Tony Awards will recognize the best of Broadway during the 76th annual celebration hosted by Ariana DeBose. The ceremony, which unfolded a bit differently this year after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike with studios over fair compensation, revealed the winners of 26 categories while still providing a showcase for many of the top nominees with live musical performances.Leading up to the big night, a total of 27 new productions were nominated, with the musical adaptation of coming out on top with a total of 13.

Rotten Tomatoes. “Rise of the Beasts” will need that audience buzz as it faces competition for the 18-34 demographic — which made up 54% of its opening day audience — from Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” next weekend.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has signed a first-look deal with London and LA-based Locksmith Animation to develop and produce animated features for worldwide distribution.

Amy Schumer has revealed the real reason why she left the Barbie movie – and it’s not what they told us at the time. While playing Plead the Fifth on “Watch What Happens Live,” the comedian admitted that she didn’t drop out due to scheduling conflicts, but creative differences.“I think it was scheduling conflicts,” Schumer said. “That’s what we said.

The day after New York-based pickets were canceled for the week because of smoke, the gathering at Warner Bros. in Los Angeles was a bit smaller on Thursday, with less than 50 people gathering in support of the WGA strike.

Japanese genre auteur Takashi Miike is notorious for taking his cinema to extreme limits, whether that’s in terms of violence or sexual depravity. And over a career that spans three decades, he’s directed some classics: “Audition,” “Ichi The Killer,” the “Dead Or Alive” trilogy, and “Hara-Kiri,” just to name a few.

EXCLUSIVE: Following months of going through dozens of audition tapes, Warner Bros and DC Films look to be getting closer to finding the stars of their Superman: Legacy movie as a second round of testing looks to be imminent.

now-former network CEO Chris Licht might open the door for Don's CNN resurrection.TMZ said Don and Chris had a long-standing tension. Following Chris' firing, CNN's Executive VP for Talent and Content Development Amy Entelis is now one of the people calling the shots, and she's been close with Don for nearly 15 years. Don's unceremonious spring termination (which came hours after Fox News showed Tucker Carlson the door) was dramatic and acrimonious, as he said he was let go without any notice whatsoever. "I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned.

Proud stepmom. Heather Rae El Moussa (née Young) is setting the record straight on her dynamic with her stepchildren, whom her husband, Tarek El Moussa, shares with ex-wife Christina Hall (née Haack).

In the wake of world premiering in Cannes to lackluster film reviews at 50% Rotten, Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is currently looking at a $60M+ domestic opening.

The group of executives who are leading CNN on an interim basis made their first comments to staffers on Thursday, vowing to make “this period as smooth as possible.”

Chris Licht released a statement following his exit from CNN on Wednesday.

Chris Licht’s ouster as CEO at CNN, Joe Scarborough argued that Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav should have kept Licht on for the full term of his two-year-contract. “Zaslav gave Chris two years; I wish Chris had been given the two years Zaslav promised him,” Scarborough told The New York Times.

The day that SAG-AFTRA began its talks with Hollywood studios over its own film and TV contract with a strike authorization in hand, picketing Writers Guild members on Wednesday hit up Disney and Warner Bros in Burbank.

Chris Licht has broken his silence following his abrupt departure as CEO and Global Chairman of CNN Wednesday morning, calling his tenure “exciting but incredibly challenging.”“This was an exciting but incredibly challenging assignment, and I learned a lot over the past 13 months,” Licht said in a statement to media. “I’ve been lucky enough to have had a successful, fulfilling career, and I look forward to my next chapter.”Licht’s statement comes hours the former CEO’s ouster was announced by Warner Bros.

The abrupt yet not-all-too-surprising exit of Chris Licht from CNN is a bit of a relief for staffers who thought he was the wrong person for the job, but whoever succeeds him at the cable news network will face many of the same headwinds.

Top leaders of CNN’s PR team that oversaw The Atlantic’s disastrous profile of Chris Licht have been fired, TheWrap has confirmed. EVP and global head of communications and marketing Kris Coratti Kelly and head of strategic communications Matt Dornic were among those ousted.According to a source familiar with the decision, the network began cleaning out its communications team Wednesday, just hours after the embattled CEO exited amid plunging ratings and growing discontent within his news staff. The news comes following Licht’s firing on Wednesday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Some people only get one chance to run CNN. Amy Entelis is about to embark on her second. The veteran news executive was one of three who took the reins at the Warner Bros. Discovery news outlet when Jeff Zucker, the previous chief, was forced out in February of last year after acknowledging a romantic relationship with Allison Gollust, once CNN’s chief marketing officer. Now Entelis will be part of a new trio leading the news giant after the Wednesday departure of former CEO Chris Licht. The challenges facing CNN have not diminished. Entelis will guide CNN’s news operations along with Virginia Moseley, recently named to oversee editorial operations, and Eric Sherling, recently appointed head of U.S. programming. David Leavy, a longtime Zaslav lieutenant who was named chief operating officer at CNN last week, will oversee business activities. The entire group must keep CNN moving forward as the 2024 presidential election cycle draws near, even as the outlet’s ratings have fallen and its staff has been buffeted by job cuts, programming changes and a seemingly endless cycle of senior executives coming and going.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic The departure of CNN’s Chris Licht, following his turbulent year atop the cable news network, places a pause on one of the great media stories of the decade so far. But even non-media-junkies can appreciate just how strange and how strenuously rocking had been Licht’s time at the network: It played out across screens. The trouble with being the place that invented the 24-hour news cycle is that those hours can come back to bite when you’re the story. There it was in politics, when Donald Trump’s “Town Hall,” with purported rising star Kaitlan Collins, gear-shifted into the first televised rally of the 2024 presidential cycle — with CNN’s air being used to depict an audience of Trump supporters cheering on his jibes. (No less an eminence than Christiane Amanpour, a CNN icon, registered her dissent in public.) There it was on the business pages, with Licht’s overseeing the dismantling of streaming product CNN+, on orders from Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav, setting the tone for his tenure. There it was at the Oscars, when Michelle Yeoh used her best actress acceptance speech to rebuke anchor Don Lemon’s bizarre on-air comments about a woman’s “prime” years. There it was in the gossip pages, after a Variety story about Lemon’s comportment toward his female co-anchors on the network’s flagship morning show, and then his ouster, leaked into the tabloids, and never seemed to be countered by any good news about the network. And, finally, there it was at length, with an all-access profile by the Atlantic’s Tim Alberta revealing Licht’s contempt for predecessor Jeff Zucker and the depths of his disdain for and, frankly, confusion about CNN’s mission.

exited his position of CEO at CNN on Wednesday morning and, for many online, it was no big surprise. A fairly large swath of folks on Twitter actually dubbed it “karma” for Licht’s firing of CNN anchor Don Lemon.Licht’s one-year tenure as CEO and Chairman of CNN Worldwide was turbulent from start to finish, with a disastrous Donald Trump town hall and an unflattering profile in The Atlantic finally breaking staff morale.