Warner Bros. Shakes Up Senior Film Ranks, Ending a Power Struggle
Warner Bros. Shakes Up Senior Film Ranks, Ending a Power Struggle
Sue Kroll, one of Hollywood’s highest-ranking female executives, will leave Warner’s management team on April 1 to become a producer on the studio’s lot, where she will have offices next to Clint Eastwood
and work on films like a remake of “A Star Is Born.” Ms. Kroll had run Warner’s film marketing and distribution division.
LOS ANGELES — Ending a power struggle in its senior ranks, Warner Bros. on Tuesday gave control of worldwide film production, marketing
and distribution to Toby Emmerich, who rose through the studio by finding hits like “It” and shepherding “The Lord of the Rings” movies.
“I love movies, and working even more closely with the filmmakers who bring great stories to life is both a great opportunity
and an exciting new challenge for me,” Ms. Kroll said in a statement.
In an email to Warner employees, Kevin Tsujihara, the studio’s chairman and chief executive, called her “a legend in the marketing world.”
The changes are being made as Warner anticipates new corporate oversight.
Mr. Tsujihara positioned the shake-up, which included a promotion for Ms. Kroll’s longtime
lieutenant, Blair Rich, as necessary to enhance the studio’s competitiveness.
But the studio also had marketplace misfires like “Justice League” and “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Sue Kroll, one of Hollywood’s highest-ranking female executives, will leave Warner’s management team on April 1 to become a producer on the studio’s lot, where she will have offices next to Clint Eastwood
and work on films like a remake of “A Star Is Born.” Ms. Kroll had run Warner’s film marketing and distribution division.
LOS ANGELES — Ending a power struggle in its senior ranks, Warner Bros. on Tuesday gave control of worldwide film production, marketing
and distribution to Toby Emmerich, who rose through the studio by finding hits like “It” and shepherding “The Lord of the Rings” movies.
“I love movies, and working even more closely with the filmmakers who bring great stories to life is both a great opportunity
and an exciting new challenge for me,” Ms. Kroll said in a statement.
In an email to Warner employees, Kevin Tsujihara, the studio’s chairman and chief executive, called her “a legend in the marketing world.”
The changes are being made as Warner anticipates new corporate oversight.
Mr. Tsujihara positioned the shake-up, which included a promotion for Ms. Kroll’s longtime
lieutenant, Blair Rich, as necessary to enhance the studio’s competitiveness.
But the studio also had marketplace misfires like “Justice League” and “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword