Warner Bros. is celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2023 and after a two-hour presentation at CinemaCon, it’s clear the studio is making sure the next eight months reflect that historic legacy. Following a somewhat impassioned talk from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslov, WB co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy brought out some big stars and filmmakers to tout their upcoming slate. And there might have just been a future Best Picture nominee (or two, or three) in the mix.
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One of the biggest surprises of the day was Zaslov introducing his old friend, Oprah Winfrey. The pair partnered on the OWN network over 15 years ago and when the Warner Bros. Discovery deal came to pass one of the first calls he received was from Winfrey informing him she was producing a movie version of “The Color Purple” musical at WB. Winfrey was making her first visit to the theater owners’ convention and came on stage with a loud “Helllooooo Cinemacon!” alongside “Purple” director Blitz Bazawule. Then in something of an unbelievable coup for Warner Bros, Winfrey proceeded to introduce and then spend 10 minutes interviewing “Purple” stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia.
Henson, who portrays Shug Avery, says she “punked out” on auditioning for “The Color Purple” on Broadway and when it came around again this time around it was the perfect way to do it because it was “one and done.” A musical theater major in college before the birth of her first child, she was excited to flex those muscles again and was “blown away” by the experience. She also noted how important this story is to Black America noting, it’s “a fiber of the community.”
Brooks, who plays Sofia, reprises her Tony Award-nominated role for her studio big-screen debut. She notes, “This has been an incredible journey once again” after playing her on Broadway. The part of the story she loves is “no matter how many times you fall you can get back up.”
Fantasia admits when she first got the call to play Celie she said no. Playing the role in the Broadway incarnation occurred during one of the roughest patches of her life. She tears up on stage discussing how deep she had to go to play this role when her personal life is in a much better place. Says people who are “wounded” will be healed because she was healed returning to the role.
Brooks thinks the song “Hell No” will be the anthem for the film (it was the background music for the preview), but Fantasia adds that Bazawule took all the music to another level including the ballad, “I’m Here.” For Fantasia, that record says “I’m still here so I got a chance to step out and do something I’ve always wanted to do.” The “American Idol” legend she still cries and gets messed up whenever she performs it.
Winfrey capped off the interview segment by telling the crowd “It’s not your mama’s ‘Color Purple” but your mama’s gonna like it.”
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Here’s a reaction to some of the other films De Luca, Abdy, and DC Studios co-chairman and CEO Peter Safran (standing in for James Gunn locked into a “Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3” publicity tour) screened for the CinemaCon audience.
“The Color Purple”
Smartly has a much different aesthetic than Spielberg’s original film, but still hints at genuine scope (there appears to be one number which is a dream sequence in the vein of a 1930’s Hollywood musical) and major energy. Outside of the aforementioned three leads, Colman Domingo popped the most as Mister. But the scope of the cast including Jon Baptiste, H.E.R, Deon Cole, Ciara, Halle Bailey and Corey Hawkins, among others, was super impressive. This was a trailer that makes the new incarnation appear commercial, awards-worthy, and just flat-out entertaining.
“Wonka”
Appearing on stage beforehand, star Timothee Chalamet noted that this version of Willy Wonka is much more optimistic than the slightly more jaded Wonka that Gene Wilder played in the original 1971 film. This movie looked decidedly family-friendly with Wonka trying to get his chocolate company off the ground in a world that looked slightly “Harry Potter”-esque. The preview teased musical numbers (although no songs were heard or discussed) and appearances by Olivia Colman and Sally Hawkins as Wonka’s mother. It ended with a very funny bit where Hugh Grant plays a captured Oompa Loompa to hilarious effect. We’d heard from screenings it’s very much a kid’s movie, but the trailer looked slightly broader than that take.
“Meg 2: The Trench”
Do you want a bigger Meg? How about two Megs? Do you want ridiculous plot points? How about a Meg eating a T-Rex? Do you want characters to die hilarious deaths out of sheer stupidity? You’ll get all that in more in the sequel to the surprise 2018 hit. Oh, yeah, Jason Statham is back, too.
“The Nun 2”
The possed nun is wreaking havoc across Europe killing girls right and left. Taissa Farminga is a nun trying to stop her and Storm Reid is along for the ride. Looks as scary as the first and possibly more commercial which is sort of a surprise considering the original took in $365 million global.
“Dune: Part Two”
Fresh from a surprise Coachella performance this past weekend, Zedaya joined Chalamet and director Denis Villeneuve to introduce the follow-up to the 2022 Best Picture nominee. To be honest, the two stars didn’t have much concrete to say, but Villeneuve heaped praise on new cast members Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and, notably, Christopher Walken, who he says brings a tremendous amount of humanity to his role as Shaddam IV, the Emperor of House Corrino. The footage itself seemed much more action-packed than the first installment and centered on Paul (Chalamet) trying to ride a sandworm for the first time. The only notable surprise was quick glimpses of Butler with a shaved head and in completely white face and body makeup as Feyd-Rautha.
“Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom”
The buzz on James Wan‘s sequel to the 2018 billion-dollar blockbuster has not been good, but the extended preview at least promised Warner Bros. has material they can sell to potential moviegoers. This installment finds Aquaman (Jason Mamoa) having to team up with his former nemesis and brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to take down a more powerful version of Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). In an introductory video Wan referred to the movie as “bromance” but it looked more like just bickering siblings in the footage screened. The plot seems very much brothers reunite and go take down the big bad guy, but Wan is a talented visual filmmaker and the movie certainly looks big. It also appears as though a good chunk of the budget went to the special effects (a good thing) and there were quick glimpses of Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) and Mera (Amber Heard) in action.
“Blue Beetle”
This extended preview only included a few more scenes than the current trailer, but showed reluctant hero Jamie Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) in action. Needless to say, the fight scenes were impressive and absolutely looked like a theatrical play over the films original streaming designs. There was also a shot of what we could assume is the original Blue Beetle’s Bug ship and, possibly, Ted Kord’s own version of the bat cave. The movie continues to look like it could do box office similar to the original “Shazam”
Other notable parts of the presentation included a hilarious look at “Barbie” with Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and American Ferrera. Additionally, the studio screened a promo reel for its 100th anniversary which included tantalizing shots from George Miller’s “Furiosa” starring Anna Taylor-Joy. We would have loved to see more of that particular release.