Jason Kilar, the CEO of WarnerMedia, is reportedly stepping down from the company in the wake of the AT&T announcements to spin WarnerMedia off to its own division and to merge it with Discovery. Kilar was one of the founders of Hulu, served on the board of directors at DreamWorks Animation, and was an executive at Amazon. He assumed the role of CEO at WarnerMedia on May 1, 2020, and was behind some of Warner's big decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, like the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League and the announcement that all of Warner Bros films in 2021 would be released theatrically and on HBO Max on the same day.
According to The New York Times, Kilar has hired a legal team to negotiate his departure as chief executive. The report states that Kilar was kept in the dark about the upcoming deal with Discovery. WarnerMedia is now reportedly set to be run by Discovery executive, David Zaslav.
While Kilar's decision to release all of Warner Bros. films on HBO Max as well as theaters might have helped films like Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat reach a wider audience, it soured things among many of Warner Bros' top talent. Filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Judd Apatow, and M. Night Shyamalan have all expressed their feelings about Warner Bros. putting their films on HBO Max. It is seen as not only hurting the theatrical exhibition, but going back on a trust the filmmakers had with the studio, one that has always prided itself on being a director-friendly studio. Kilar kept filmmakers in the dark about the decision with many learning of the news their films would be on HBO Max along with the public, and now Kilar finds himself in a similar position regarding his place at WarnerMedia.
Source: The New York Times
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