All language subtitles for 100.Years.of.Warner.Bros.S01E03.WEB-DL.HBOGO.en

Attica!

Warner Bros. was always
pushing the boundaries.

They were always a studio

that took risks.

It's part of the DNA of this place.

Warner Bros. was known

at that point for how

they treated their stars.

And they were really good
to directors.

We became part
of the family that way.

Like a Warner Bros. family.

During the creative renaissance
of the '70s

Warner Bros. provided
a safe haven for storytellers.

Maybe we can cut a deal.

In the coming age of blockbusters
and big business

it was a family worth fighting for.

Warner Bros. had a very good system.

They had good people.

They worked very hard
to make you happy too.

Never rat on your friends

and always keep your mouth shut.

There's no denying the fact

that it's an industry
and a business

but there was a little bit

more humanity at Warner Bros.

Deal.

In order for any business

to be successful, you have to lead.

You're gonna work harder

than you ever worked before.

You have to have
the courage to invest

in stories that have
never been told before.

Amid corporate turmoil

Warner Bros. needed
to fortify its studio machinery

and chase the biggest, boldest ideas

to satisfy audience demand.

It's just all about epic filmmaking

and giant franchisable movies.

You never know if you got a hit.

Meow.

And you're ready to die for me?

It's the job.

Going to the theater, it felt like

the whole world sort of descending

into this dark room

to watch this vision.

Hey, Data, where are you going?

- I'm setting booty traps.
- You mean booby traps.

That's what I said. Booby traps!
Be quiet.

My childhood is here.

That's what's so great
about these movies

is I don't think it would have been

as good as it was had we not had fun.

We were like a family back then.

It's bigger than an industry.

It's an incredibly powerful force

to make art that speaks to the world.

The truth often poses a threat
to power

and one often
has to fight power

at great risk to themselves.

There's such a long line of people

who have made just some

of their best films
at Warner Bros.

I told you I can only show you
the door.

You have to walk through it.

In 1983

Warner Communications suffered
a $500-million loss

from the Atari collapse.

To fend off corporate raiders
who prey on company debt

Steve Ross sacrificed valuable assets

including MTV.

More regrettably, he laid off staff.

To safeguard
against future catastrophe

Ross siloed the business units
into separate divisions.

But to regain shareholder confidence,
he needed commercial hits

from his crown jewel,
the movie studio.

The key to our industry

and maybe to most industries

is having good people and good people

can make anything happen.

Having the relationships

all the way through with the artists
is very important to us

and creating an ambience

a creative atmosphere
where people want to work.

From the ashes of Atari's ruins

rose a friendship
between Ross and Steven Spielberg.

The name of Hollywood's
hottest blockbuster director

attached to Warner Bros.

could turn their fortunes around.

Ross won him over with a promise

make the films
you want to make.

Once Steven Spielberg

finds something he likes

and he wants to make it

it's hard to say no.

Gremlins is a picture

about something that probably

could never happen in real life.

Gremlin. What a fairy tale.

Well, I think the name Gremlins

caught Spielberg's eye

because Steven being a fan
of old Warner Bros. cartoons...

There is a cartoon...

I think it's a Bugs Bunny cartoon

with gremlins.

Could that have been a...

Gremlin?

I probably saw it as a kid,
forgot about it.

So it was a subconscious thing.

And then I created a whole mythology
around what gremlins were.

And probably the most important thing

don't ever feed him after midnight.

Immediately, once we started Gremlins

Steven and I were already
into the writing of Goonies.

Ready and shoot it.

Number one.

The films I had set out to make

Dog Day Afternoon

and all of those types of films

I was gonna employ what I had learned

from those films in the dialogue

making sure that they were
always speaking over each other

that they were very naturalistic,
that they were saying things

that felt very real from a kid.

- That's it, guys.
- What's it?

- What's it?
- There are three rocks out there.

- Take a look. One, two, three.
- You're right.

- Out there. Okay.
- Let's go get 'em.

Let's go get 'em!

The Goonies is about seven outcasts

who are on the verge
of losing their homes

and they stumble upon a pirate ship.

That takes them on the greatest
adventure of their life.

In fact, the famous Stage 16

is where we built
that full-size pirate ship.

It's a Steven Spielberg-produced
movie

with Dick Donner at the helm.

I think the uniquest part of working
with this many kids in the film

is that every night

I'm contemplating suicide.

I think we all drove him crazy
'cause we're just so loud.

You know,
constantly fighting and arguing.

We would ride bikes
on the Warner Bros. backlot

just going around
from soundstage to soundstages

knocking on doors

messing up people's shots

and we'd hear the AD go

"Oh, my God, what are you guys
doing here?" You know?

And we're just telling them,
"We're the Goonies."

Steven and Dick, they were
just like this great father figure.

I didn't see them as the most
successful filmmakers of all time.

He allowed us to be kids,
to be ourselves and not actors.

Everywhere I go

people of all colors, of all ages

have come up to me

and told me how much
they love The Goonies.

Goonies never say die.

It doesn't get old.

With Gremlins and Goonies

Spielberg re-energized Warner Bros.

with a sense of adventure
and box office gold.

But in addition to making money

Steve Ross sought projects
that achieved cultural capital.

That same year,
music mogul, Quincy Jones

also Ross's dear friend

urged Spielberg
to direct an adaptation

of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize
winning novel

The Color Purple.

Totally uncharacteristic film

for any studio

and another characteristic gamble

on the part of Warner Bros. to say

"Yeah, this is something

that we're gonna invest

a significant amount of money in.

This is a blockbuster film director

and we're gonna cast unknowns
in the key roles."

Whoopi Goldberg's first film.

Oprah Winfrey's first film.

It's been over 35 years, and I still
can tear up talking about it

'cause I never wanted anything

as much as I wanted to be

in The Color Purple.

The arc of Celie's story

how she withstood the abuse

having the world look at you,
literally, and say

"You sure is ugly."

And in the midst of that

find a way to believe in herself.

You told Harpo to beat me!

Coming from a world
of abuse myself, so when I say

all my life I had to fight.

That is part of my story.

There is a definitive following
of women

specifically black women

who walked out of the theater

who felt a little more
emboldened themselves

a little more expanded.

I'll knock you up and...

Everything you done to me...

you already done to you.

The Color Purple
is one of those movies

people seem
to be talking about everywhere

and it's a movie that some people
are getting upset about.

Warner Bros., and Steven Spielberg

and Quincy Jones, and Alice Walker

all took a lot of heat.

Black organizations in particular
were criticizing it

because they thought
it was detrimental

to the images of black men.

They need to change it.

If that's the way all black men
supposed to be, it's not true.

The rise of, you know,
domestic violence is real

in the black community
and every other community.

So I was happy
that the studio stood by it.

The Color Purple also signaled
Spielberg's evolution

into a director
of more serious material.

- Jimmy!
- Mama!

I don't think I could have made

either Empire of the Sun

or Schindler's List

without the first big

for me, stepping stone

of Color Purple.

For decades to come

the kinship between Warner Bros.

and Spielberg only deepened.

Whether as a producer or director

he supplied the studio
with a variety of crowd pleasers.

1985 brought another harbinger
of good fortune.

An unlikely hero
from Warner Bros.' own backyard.

It was strange growing up
in Burbank because the studios

were so close, yet so far away.

Kind of magical, impenetrable walls

you know, that you drive by.

We used to kind of try
to sneak into the studios

which is not very easy to do.

Excuse me, sir. Do you have a pass?

Oh, no, I'm sorry.
You can't enter without a pass, sir.

So the other fellow said

"What do you think I got down here?
A duck?"

A duck.

I started out as an animator

and did a couple of short films

which was the thing that probably
helped me to get my first feature

Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

Warner Bros.
has one of the best backlots.

It was like a playground.

What more fun could you have
trashing the Warner Bros. backlot?

It was an era where things
could still surprise people.

You know, to kind of come out
of left field a little bit.

Beetlejuice.

It's showtime.

And I think that happened
with Beetlejuice.

The people really didn't know
what it was

and it could have gone either way.

It felt like making a Warner Bros.
cartoon in a funny way.

Don't you hate it when that happens?

Let's go, Barbara.

Burton's lower-budget escapades

turned into surprise hits
at just the right moment.

Time and Warner executives
have endorsed

the new law of survival
in the media universe.

We are moving toward a handful

six, 12 companies controlling
information flow in the free world.

Still mired in the financial fallout
caused by Atari

Steve Ross staked everything
on a potential merger

with the publishing powerhouse,
Time Inc.

As negotiations plodded
along for over two years

neither side knew
who would have the upper hand.

At the same time, Bob Daly
and Terry Semel

were searching
for a new kind of blockbuster

to flex the studio's muscle

and called upon a hero
from its DC pantheon.

It had to be a different type
of Batman

and we worked on it for a decade.

But nothing ever materialized

until we decided to go

with Tim Burton to direct it.

You're not exactly normal, are you?

It's not exactly
a normal world, is it?

In the post-studio system

every film has become a gamble.

So making a film of
the comic strip character, Batman

was a risk.

Entrusting it to Tim Burton
who was still a fledgling director

was another risk.

Obviously, the first
really big film I did

in terms of a budget and awareness

and I felt the pressure of it.

- Sixty-seven, take one.
- Action.

And then casting Michael Keaton

who'd made his name doing comedy,
was yet another risk

that provoked cries
of outrage from fans.

Batman was the polar opposite
of Superman.

The aspirational hero beloved by all.

Burton's Caped Crusader

masked a deeply flawed man.

I love the idea of making a darker,
Jekyll and Hyde nature of it.

We're kind of charting new territory.

You make the movie,
you keep your fingers crossed

and then you have to come up
with a good marketing campaign.

Daly and Semel devised a strategy

that signaled a seismic event.

One that couldn't be missed.

Batman was always so very important
for one reason.

We were in the middle of our merger
agreement with Time.

The film's performance

could radically shape
the outcome of the merger.

All eyes were on Batman.

Wait till they get a load of me.

Some of Hollywood's biggest stars
turned out for the premiere

giving the event the glitter
of vintage Tinseltown.

There's no other way of putting it.

This evening,
Los Angeles has gone bats.

I don't think you could
have been prepared for this.

I'm sure they were imagining

a good box office.

But to this extent?

Batman shattered
opening weekend records.

Became the year's
highest-grossing film

and the studio's biggest
box office success to date.

The studio boss is a very rich
and happy man.

I loved, loved every minute of it.

Batman had a huge influence on me.

It was the first time
that I felt like

the story wasn't just on the screen

but also, like, came home with us.

Batmania ignited the sale

of more than 500 million dollars'
worth of merchandise.

Where does he get
those wonderful toys?

We got the toys, the soundtrack

and to be a part
of a pop cultural moment

where everybody had to show up.

Warner Bros. had revolutionized
the way films were marketed.

Which also promoted synergy
between the divisions of the company.

Remember the deal with Time is
they bought us.

I'm Batman.

But once we hit Batman, there was
no question who should run the place.

Steve Ross emerged the victor.

He had orchestrated
the deal of the decade

and transformed Warner Bros.

into a colossal force
atop the entertainment world.

I think we had a real advantage
over many of our competitors

and that is we're a stable company.

We could win and lose.

So sometimes we could lose

but we would not go away.

One after the other

Warner Bros. churned out

sequels to Batman.

Riddle me this.

Even when the quality slumped

event movies minted money.

And validated
the franchise mindset.

Hollywood only hungered
for more.

Do you really wanna jump?

Do you wanna?

Well, then, that's fine with me.
Come on.

Box office ticket sales
boomed yet again

when director, Richard Donner

and action producer, Joel Silver

turned Lethal Weapon
into its own franchise.

I feel torn about it,
because, on the one hand

I think that it paved the way

for a new genre of filmmaking

which were tentpoles.

On the other hand, sadly

our industry often all scuttles after

only one thing at the same time.

Studios are addicted to that success

and that success only often.

It's like a gold rush.

They can't help but go
for the one sure thing.

But Daly and Semel took
their winnings on safer bets

to bankroll their pursuit
of long shots.

Films that traded
popcorn entertainment

for prestige.

I've always known I was born

to dominate your sex

and avenge my own.

And the Oscar goes to...

Dangerous Liaisons.

You don't know what you want.

One minute you like me,
and the next, you don't.

One minute you're ashamed
to be seen with me

and the next, you think I'm the best
thing that ever happened to you.

- Geena Davis.
- The Accidental Tourist.

You're speeding. I can see it.

No, Miss Daisy, no. We're only doing

about 19 miles an hour.

I like to go under the speed limit.

We're hardly movin'.

Might as well walk
to the Piggly Wiggly.

I'm pleased with my association

with Warner Bros.

They didn't spend much money
making Driving Miss Daisy

but they spent a lot promoting it.

And the Oscar goes to...

Driving Miss Daisy.

Richard D. Zanuck
and Lili Fini Zanuck.

Lauded with accolades
and loaded with cash

Warner Bros. found itself
firing on all cylinders.

But ever since 1971,
the executive team resented

having to share the lot
with Columbia Pictures.

The joint venture had long gone sour

and they looked for a way out.

There was a lucky thing that happened
a few years later

when our two producers who were
on Batman

took the job to help run
what was then gonna be called Sony.

Sony, which had recently
purchased Columbia

stole Jon Peters
and Peter Guber away

from Warner Bros.

in dramatic fashion.

A Hollywood
hit and run.

And, of course, they violated
their contract with us.

And as a result of that,
the two of us together

negotiated for an extraordinary deal

which included
a hundred percent of this studio.

Because of this break we got

which was an unbelievable break
to let two producers leave

and get $750 million worth of assets

it all worked out nicely.

In 1990

after nearly a 20-year
marriage of inconvenience

Columbia Pictures
vacated the Burbank lot.

It was time to party.

It's kind of stunning.
I expected a little party

you know, in a soundstage.

This is show business personified.

People, company,
and now all the families

is under one roof.

And it's called Warner Bros.
And it's so exciting.

I got David Wolper to produce it.

We invited a thousand people.

We had a parade. Reagan was here.

All the stars came.

It was the best party
I ever attended in my life.

The symbol of the studio
has always been

our illuminated landmark water tower.

And tonight, it is our joy
to reignite that beacon of light

to let the world know once again

that it is the Warner Bros. Studio.

One, two, three.

The return of the Warner Bros. shield

restored the studio's identity

and would rekindle
a connection with its roots.

Ripping a page
from the founders' book

Ross, Daly, and Semel next put their
chips on a classic Warner gambit.

The wise guy flick.

As far back as I can remember,
I always wanted to be a gangster.

People who ran Warners
had a certain understanding

of that kind of culture.

They felt more connected
to it in a certain way.

Yeah?

You can certainly draw a through line

of Warner Bros. crime pictures

where you have this rooting interest

that seems incongruous

with a good person.

But this rooting
interest in the criminals.

You know, we always
called each other goodfellas.

Like you'd say to somebody

"You're gonna like this guy.
He's all right.

He's a good fella. He's one of us."

You understand?

It was like a guy telling a story
in a street corner.

And that's how I learned

about narrative.

It was how my father told stories.

My mother. My friends.

In this case, we took
Nick Pileggi's book, Wise Guy.

We put images to it and the camera
moves, music, et cetera.

And make it with an energy level
that would just blow the place apart.

But back in July of 1990,
it was war zone at a preview.

What's the world coming to?

People were upset
because they weren't expecting

that the violence in the film
was combined with humor.

I'm funny how? I mean, funny,
like, I'm a clown? I amuse you?

I make you laugh?
I'm here to fuckin' amuse you?

But Warners released the picture.

Then when it finally came out,
people started laughing.

People were reacting. Then we sat up.

"So yeah, that's right."

It was an extraordinary reaction.

Goodfellas reinvented the genre
Warner Bros. made famous

and influenced every Mafia picture
that followed.

Sixteen years later,
Scorsese would return

with another gritty portrait
of gangster life.

The Departed examined
the perils of power.

And the price of loyalty.

These twin benchmark films
were only made possible

under the financial protection
of Warner Bros.

And in the early '90s,
no one supported the studio family

more than its godfather, Steve Ross.

Steve Ross had a love
of this business

but he also had a love

of being around great talent.

And if you worked for Steve

he would love you
and you would never wanna leave.

He was the head of the corporation,
but he was a mensch.

You would say,
"Steve, I need this or that".

Even things like a plane

he'd send you a plane
if you asked for it.

Steve Ross taught us to take
good care of all those people.

It was one big family,
and we were doing everything it took

to keep the family together
of great talent.

You know, I came to Warner Bros.

because of Terry Semel and Bob Daly.

And how they treated me.

They believed in relationships.

Long term relationships.

That meant supporting filmmakers

and stars in good times and bad.

It meant if they had one flop

you didn't write them off

and kick them off the lot.

It meant, "We're in it with you
for the long haul."

The partner who lasted the longest

and delivered the most

was none other than Clint Eastwood.

My name is Gunnery Sergeant Highway

and I've drunk more beer

and pissed more blood

and banged more quiff

and busted more ass...

than all of you numbnuts
put together.

Clint Eastwood deserves anything
as far as I'm concerned.

He's the rock of the studio.

In all the movies Clint Eastwood
had made at Warner Bros.

he's never gone over budget.

Never gone over budget.

Terry and I visited Clint Eastwood
on every single movie

when he was shooting it.

You know, he's the best.

Get the security.

- Call security immediately.
- Get security, yeah.

I can't wait to see you
in another Western.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Well, we'll do it.

Terry and Bob were terrific.

And they're the ones that gave me

Unforgiven to do.

How 'bout it, Will?

How 'bout what?

How about being my partner?

Daly and Semel encouraged Eastwood

to dust off an old script from 1976.

It was the story of an aging outlaw
in the Old West.

But Eastwood never felt
old enough to play him.

I read it and I said

"Geez, this is really good.
I'd better do this."

Unforgiven rectified
the traditional Western.

Eastwood told a grim tale of regret

one where the act of violence
harmed even the culprit.

Take a drink, kid.

It wasn't just a routine deal

where the bad guys come over the hill

and the good guy fights him off
or whatever.

It had this whole deal
of this bad history

and how he was a haunted person.

I've seen the angel of death.

So the hero is everything
that isn't heroic.

I don't deserve this.

"Deserve's" got nothing
to do with it.

Look down there, look down at him.

Look down there.
You can't believe it.

First thing you learn about Clint
is he works.

Get him. Action.

He's really on the job.

I don't think he's ever gonna say,
"That was great. Let's do one more."

I like working
with somebody who's just...

They know what they want.
They know when they get it.

And we're moving on.

And when I saw Unforgiven
cut together, he'd done it again.

This is really a terrific film.

It's one of those
that's gonna last, I think.

You better bury Ned right.

Or I'll come back and kill every one
of you sons of bitches.

Unforgiven showcased
Eastwood's ability

to walk the line between
the popular and the artistic

which certified his reputation
as a master director.

As Eastwood entered the third act
of his career with Warner Bros.

he crafted more provocative,
critically acclaimed films.

Whether a neo-noir thriller

a World War II epic

or a knockout sports drama...

Eastwood toppled every genre.

It's not about hitting it hard.
It's how good you hit it.

That reinvention began in 1992

when Unforgiven rode into the Oscars
with nine nominations

including Best Director
and Best Picture.

And the Oscar for the Best Picture
of 1992 goes to...

Clint Eastwood.

I wanna thank Bob Daly
and Terry Semel

the whole executive strata
over there.

We lost... Warner Bros. lost

a great friend, Steve Ross,
this year.

Steve did get to see this picture

and he predicted this outcome.

So I'll dedicate this to Steve Ross.

Only four months prior,
Steve Ross succumbed

to a secret seven-year battle
with prostate cancer.

His passing stunned
his studio family.

I was shocked, just shocked.

He was one of a kind.

When he died,
that was a big loss for the company.

I just remember him
being a great boss

because he had confidence.

He trusted you.

He loved people and he loved talent.

He had just a tremendous
amount of charisma.

He just knew
how to make everybody feel like

this was the greatest place
in the world.

I miss him.

When Steve Ross died,
I had an unlimited budget

to do anything I wanted to do
in honor of Steve Ross.

So I built the Steve Ross Theater.

And I decided
while I'm building the theater

let's put a museum in.

In that same spirit

Daly took the opportunity
to build a corporate archive

that would restore and showcase

nearly half a century's
worth of costumes

props, and mementos.

From then on, Warner Bros.
has rallied around every effort

to preserve not only
its physical history

but films themselves.

Myself, Spielberg, a number
of other people were afraid

that the films themselves
would disappear.

Literally disappear.

I feel that the people
who made the films

have a responsibility
to the rest of the world, really.

They have an obligation to share
that for future generations.

For our children.

Warner Bros., of all the studios,
has always done a very good job

of protecting their assets

and future-proofing them

and preserving their negatives.

It's a lot of money that has to go
into these processes

but they're
extraordinarily important.

Films allow us
to see ourselves, of course.

See who we've been,
how we've evolved.

There may be things we don't like
to see about ourselves in the past.

We don't really have a chance
to know where we're going

unless we know
where the hell we've been.

The studio never lost sight
of its moral duty.

Like Harry and Jack Warner,
Daly and Semel

chose projects that critiqued

recent American history

on an epic scale.

Films of reckoning.

One of the things Stanley Kubrick
would always say is

"If you make a movie
that everybody likes, you failed.

Because a great movie
has to get under people's skin."

From now on, you will speak
only when spoken to.

And the first and last words out
of your filthy sewers will be "Sir."

Do you maggots understand that?

- Sir, yes, sir.
- Sir, yes, sir.

Bullshit. I can't hear you.

Sound off like you got a pair.

- Sir, yes, sir.
- Sir, yes, sir.

Stanley Kubrick returned

with a razor-sharp examination
of the Vietnam War.

And the wounds that linger.

Kubrick stopped at nothing

to confront the hard truths
of human nature.

Private Joker, why did you join
my beloved Corps?

Sir, to kill, sir!

- So you're a killer?
- Sir, yes, sir!

Let me see your war face.

You don't scare me. Work on it!

For the first three months

we never completed anything

that was on the call sheet

that said what we were going

to film the next day.

Could you stand
the way you do with your gun

or simulate the gun?

He said, "Who cares
how many takes I do?

Would you ever go up
to Picasso and say

"Hey, Pablo, how many strokes
in that painting?"

Do something brilliant.

He is who he is. He's an icon.

You have to play by their rules.

John Calley was playing by their
rules long before we got there.

You think we could change the rules?

There was no changing the rules.

I remember having conversations
with Stanley about Warner Bros.

Terry Semel and Bob Daly.

That they had his back.

It's very important to have producers
that will say no.

But producers that will say yes.

Did you try it?
Let's give it a crack.

It's... sometimes,
it's hard to raise money

and green light a picture

that's going to make people
uncomfortable.

People like Hollywood endings.

But he lived in a world where
that's not necessarily the truth.

There's an expression
they use in combat

where somebody
gets a thousand-yard stare.

When you see beyond this life

because you've taken
somebody else's life.

When I pull the trigger
on that young girl

I wanted the audience
to feel Private Joker died.

He was no longer ever going to be

the boy that he was
before he pulled the trigger.

I went to Nam as a soldier in '67-8.

And I saw things
that just shocked me.

And you see a lot of ugliness
in your fellow man.

When you come back from war

you just don't look at people
the same way.

You don't relate to them
the same way.

You don't have friends.
You don't trust anybody.

And then eventually
you get to the point

where you don't trust
your government anymore.

- From CBS News.
- Looking at as the world turns.

In Dallas, Texas,
three shots were fired

at President Kennedy's motorcade
in downtown Dallas.

The first reports say

that President Kennedy

has been seriously wounded
by this shooting.

Terry Semel and Bob Daly
came after me.

I sat down to dinner
with them one night.

And I told them the story
of what I wanted to do.

We're going to revisit
the events in the beginning

and then as the story goes along,
we're gonna show you

what really happened
in the last reel.

They killed a president
of the United States

and they got away with it.

Stone's pitch
was incendiary but timely

marshaling the anger

that gnawed at the country's psyche
after Vietnam

Watergate, and Iran-Contra.

Stone raised difficult questions
few had dared to ask.

Warners was relatively conservative

but they were a studio
willing to take a risk at that time.

Kevin was also known
as a conservative

so this was pretty scary
to him, perhaps.

One thing I said with Oliver...

I said, "If we can't ever
prove something

don't have me say,
this is what happened."

'Cause we're trying to
fill in the blanks of history.

Let me say, "Let us suppose."

And, you know, he honored that.

Maybe Oswald
didn't even pull the trigger.

Nitrate tests indicate

he hadn't even fired a rifle
on November 22.

I feel like JFK
was almost like a fight

that everybody knows
is gonna happen after the school.

When you think about the people
that the Kennedys had issues with...

You are so naive.

J. Edgar Hoover, Castro...

The CIA, the FBI.

Oswald!

And not to mention, Hoffa.

They don't give a shit
if he gets killed.

It's a mystery wrapped
in a riddle inside an enigma!

They decided to not stop it.
'Cause they didn't like him.

We're talking about
our government here.

No, we're talking
about a crime, Bill.

Pure and simple.

Now we're through
the looking glass here, people.

White is black...

and black is white.

We started the movie
and we had a tremendous amount

of interference from the press.

They were knocking the film
before it was made.

Washington Post,
Newsweek, horrible stories.

The film came out.
Tremendously exciting reviews.

But I got nailed on a lot of shows
and people were coming after me.

Like flies, they came
and attacked and attacked.

I got death threats about doing it,
which kind of shocked me.

It has become
a dangerous country, sir

when you cannot trust anyone anymore

when you cannot tell the truth.

Warner Bros. was great.

And I have to say

they fought for the film.

The outcry only drew audiences
into theaters.

In turn,
Warner Bros. used the publicity

as ammunition to lobby Congress

which declassified JFK files
12 years sooner than expected.

The film still sparks debate.

I think that Warner Bros.

wanna be more than just
about action movies

more than just about hits.

To look at our past
and do it effectively is to teach.

Whether national icons
or local heroes

Warner Bros.
dramatized true life stories

that had lasting impact

far beyond the box office.

Thousands of teachers
all over America

have been using the film

for 35 years in their classroom.

Stand and Deliver, to me,
has really become

what this art form can do.

At the highest level,
there's nothing like it.

But Warner Bros. applied

that same level of social commentary
to television

where creators found
a more pervasive way

to blend fact and fiction.

- Hey!
- All right!

Murphy Brown was

an unusually strong female lead.

She was a television journalist.

Very successful in her field.

You can do better than that. Come on.

Everybody's talking about

sitcom character, Murphy Brown.

It felt so current.

It felt so lively.

You had to tune in to Murphy Brown

to see what the writers were saying
about current events.

If you remember

our Vice President at the time

made a blunder

because Murphy Brown was having
a baby and wasn't married.

It became a big issue.

Bearing babies irresponsibly

is simply wrong.

It doesn't help matters when
prime time TV has Murphy Brown.

He is talking about you.

It was a firestorm.

It became this sort of headline
for days.

"Murphy has baby, Quayle has cow."

We were not trying to negate
the importance of fathers.

I didn't just wake up
one morning and say

"Oh, gee,
I can't get in for a facial.

I might as well have a baby."

We were trying to reflect the reality

of what was happening
in the world at that time

and people appreciated the writing
and the ambition of it.

Everything rang true.

As Murphy Brown took off

Warner Bros. purchased Lorimar

a production company
with a TV division so prolific

that it earned the nickname
"The Fifth Network."

When we acquired Lorimar

we ended up getting not only
good assets, meaning shows

we ended up getting
unbelievable people.

As big as the hits that Lorimar
brought to Warner Bros.

it was a homegrown show
with a bunch of unknown actors

that would become
the studio's biggest hit

and one of the greatest shows
in television history.

When the six of them

for the first time in the show,
were together

I got chills up my spine.

How you doin'?

It was like
they'd worked together for years.

You heard the material
just rise.

What is Chandler Bing's job?

Oh, oh, he's a transponster!

That's not even a word!

It's not easy to write jokes
for six characters.

A Chandler line is a Chandler line.

It can't be given to Joey.

Oh, my God!

That is so not the opposite
of taking somebody's underwear!

Here we go. Pivot!

Pivot!

Pivot!

Shut up!

You rarely in life,
get any experience

where everything comes together.

It's talented people
who connect with the writing.

It's lightning in a bottle.

Smelly cat, smelly cat

What are they feeding you?

No... I'm sorry. It's...

Smelly cat

Smelly cat

No, don't feel bad,
'cause it's a hard song.

Yeah.

After the first season, we were
the number one show on television.

And the whole thing kind of

exploded at that point

but we felt the pressure

to keep telling the story better.

I can't have sex with you.

- And why not?
- Because I'm in love with Monica.

You're what?

As the superstars aligned

their ensemble chemistry
created a cultural frenzy.

Yeah, baby.

The show averaged
25 million viewers a week

making it
television's number one comedy

for six straight seasons.

It's a bunch of friends
hanging out in a café

spending time with each other

and no one's on their phones because

of course, there weren't phones

when the show was made.

They were filming a show

that very much spoke to the era
that we were living in.

But there's something
almost nostalgic about it

for young people
who are watching the show today.

This is everybody.
This is Chandler, and Phoebe.

And Joey.

- And you remember my brother Ross?
- Sure.

- Hey.
- Hi.

In the beginning, what struck me
was how innocent and naive they were.

And maybe the show
was innocent and naive.

As they aged, the show ages.

And they're now facing
the realities of growing up.

If the show is about
that time in your life

when your friends are your family

once you have family of your own

it's no longer that time.

Thank you.

I guess this is it.

This is harder
than I thought it would be.

The Friends farewell remains

the most watched television finale

since 2004

when 52 million viewers tuned in
to say goodbye.

It was not just the end of a series.

It was the end
of ten years of relationships.

It's the kind of TV I really enjoy.

TV that withstands the test of time
and can bring people together.

Yet when Warner Bros.

debuted another freshman cast
of characters

In the fall of 1994

lightning struck twice.

Three months old, seizing in one.

The frenetic medical drama

was the brainchild
of author Michael Crichton.

But only after a referral
from Steven Spielberg

did the project find
its way to Warner Bros.

where executives trusted
resident showrunner John Wells

to give it a life.

We didn't have a large budget

to make the show.

And we had to build
the set in a certain way

and shoot in a certain way,
and that meant that it looked real.

- She's bleeding out.
- Carter, Chen, gown up.

So we had real doctors,
real nurses as all of our extras.

We had two doctors who were also
writers on our writing staff.

We did not change
any of the medical jargon.

- Oh, man.
- Pressure's up to 90 palp.

- Why wasn't he in restraints?
- I don't know.

John Wells rightly said

it doesn't matter if they don't
understand what you're saying

as long as they...

they understand what's going on

and root for the people.

It was really just one thing
after another.

You know, someone comes in, go...

And it was electric.

BP's sky-high. 170 over 140.

- What about anesthesia?
- There's no time.

Every television show that came
after ER that deals with medicine

that deals with hospitals

owes a credit to ER

for changing the game

in terms of the realism.

Book an OR.
Get ready to send Carter up.

- Where's the foley?
- I'm working on it.

The camera angles, the cinéma-vérité
style of shooting.

The action.

- Hey!
- Move, move!

Do it!

It was chaos.

Get off of me.

That's what a real emergency room
looks like.

And television hadn't really shown
that before.

The show took off right away.

And by the third week

we were the number one
or number two show in the country.

Routinely, at that time, we had
35 to 40 million viewers a week.

You had to go home and you had
to watch on Thursday nights.

It was appointment television.

It was an exciting time
at Warner Bros.

Really, 'cause that lot was magical.

It just felt like really new blood.

Everybody would go
to the commissary to eat

and we'd all play basketball outside
with the Friends cast

with whoever was around.

Friends and ER
were quick phenomenons.

Changed the game

and quickly made NBC the number one
network in television.

When I was at NBC

I was running the cable group.

As people tuned in all around America

the majority of our content
was produced right here on this lot

and we had established
the Thursday night

that was called Must See TV.

Must See TV. Warner Bros. TV.

The company's appetite only grew.

In 1996

Time Warner made Ted Turner

an offer he couldn't refuse.

Will it be a marriage

made in media heaven

that will provide quality

and not just quantity

for cable consumers

with Time Warner
and Turner Broadcasting

for the proposed merger
of the two media giants?

The unified juggernaut took control
of CNN, HBO, and New Line Cinema.

And in a twist of fate that would
have made the founders proud

Warner Bros. now owned

the MGM movie library.

Despite the company's added weight

Daly and Semel made sure
it didn't lose its soul.

They embraced human stories
that made headlines.

She was a singer
with one name, Selena

known as
the Mexican-American Madonna.

But in this motel
in Corpus Christi, Texas

the former head
of her fan club killed Selena.

Young fans across
the country were heartbroken.

Her death was a tremendous loss
to our community

and we wanted
to do everything we could

to try to make something positive

out of this tragedy.

We went around town pitching the idea
of doing a film about Selena

and a lot of people thought
"Well, this is really a movie for TV.

This really isn't a big movie.
You know?"

I went into Warner Bros.,
and I told them this story

about how I met
these two little girls

and they were Mexicanas.

And I said, "Why do you love Selena?"

And they looked up at me
and they said

"Because she looks like us."

They don't have a Disney Princess.

They never see themselves
on the screen.

I'm going to make this film for them.

At the end of that pitch

they were in tears

and they said, "Yeah, let's do it."

That takes a huge amount of courage

for a studio to do such a thing.

But we couldn't just offer the role
of Selena to anybody.

We wanted to see
who could really do it.

- All right, here we go.
- And rolling sound, quiet!

Action.

Nava chose a relative unknown

named Jennifer Lopez.

Warner Bros. offered her

an unprecedented salary
of one million dollars

making her the highest-paid
Latina actress ever.

She dedicated herself completely

because she knew
that this was her shot

and she was keenly aware
that the hopes and dreams

of our entire community

and all those young Latinas
were riding on her shoulders.

How you doing, Houston, Texas?

Jennifer is a marvelous dancer.

She used her acting talent
to dance like Selena.

And the performance
is absolutely mind-boggling.

She lived and breathed Selena.

Doing that film and what it meant

was an advancement of the culture

in a way that

had never been seen before.

Selena still is one of the few movies
that have been made

with Latino themes
and a Latina actress leading the way.

I really feel

that if you tell
the story of your village

you tell the story of the world.

But Warners didn't yet realize

that authentic storytelling
would unlock the future.

Instead, the media empire wagered

on the promise of new technology.

It's three times sharper than VHS.

A revolution is about to hit
the entertainment industry.

Now, this is the wave
of the future right here.

In a move that echoed
the dawn of sound

Warner Bros. became the first studio

to embrace a cutting-edge innovation.

Say goodbye to videotapes,
hello to DVD.

A digital video disc.

And sales are soaring.

Warner Bros.' conviction persuaded
the entire industry to follow suit.

Audiences went wild.

Rather than just renting content,
they craved owning it.

The DVD ignited a huge revenue engine

that would soon outpace box office

and drive Hollywood
out of the analog age

and into a digital one.

Unfortunately, no one can be told
what The Matrix is.

You have to see it for yourself.

The Matrix was all about

the beauty, importance

of the idea of the real.

How do we talk about what we are
and who we are?

The Matrix was just so cutting-edge

and so profound, it was insane.

That made you think about
the world and the possibility

that maybe this is all a simulation
or something.

It's like, "Well, I don't know,
it's really crazy."

Warner Bros. invested big
in a dystopian vision

that felt very plausible
in a Y2K-fearing world.

The pair of writer-directors,
the Wachowskis

imagined a future ruled by machines

where humanity is imprisoned.

You take the red pill

you stay in Wonderland

and I show you how deep
the rabbit hole goes.

The Matrix themes are cautionary.

Systems of control...

Who has it, who uses it?

Ideas of revolution.

Far more than a mere action movie

The Matrix played as a parable
on paranoia, truth, and liberation.

Its message rattled the psyche

and awakened the conscience.

The Matrix, to me,
was a Warner Bros. film.

You know, it was science fiction,
but it gave back in other ways.

I've met people who say
they saw the first Matrix

and they weren't the same, you know.

They felt like they could see
the world in a different way

that, at the core,
made them feel better

like there's less confusion.

The films are a message of love

and, in a way,
to take care of each other.

One month before
The Matrix went viral

another moment marked
the company's future.

Stanley Kubrick unveiled
his longtime passion project

Eyes Wide Shut.

Stanley called and told me that

he had run it through the studio

and that Terry and Bob
thought it was fantastic

and I could feel a sigh of relief

because it had gone on forever.

And in some terrible way

I feel that

he could let go then.

Then he died two days later
after he talked to me

and three days after he showed it
to Terry and Bob.

The creative partnership

that symbolized an era

of artistry had ended.

But the body
of work endures.

I had never seen films
like that before.

The production design,
the costume

the cinema, the detail...

Everything working together
for the vision of a filmmaker.

I just wanted to be
in those movies

wanted to play those roles

wanted to say those words.

A few months after Kubrick's passing

Daly and Semel made an
announcement.

We decided we were gonna leave

but I didn't wanna tell anybody
until we opened Eyes Wide Shut.

Because Stanley only had
a relationship with Terry and I.

We wanted to get the movie open

get everything set before we told
the point we weren't gonna stay.

Leadership continuity
was rare in Hollywood.

A place often fraught
with studio upheaval.

But for two decades, Daly and Semel

exerted a calming influence

and championed
more than 500 films together.

They had a movie that didn't open,
and I asked them

"Was somebody
gonna get fired for it?"

'Cause that's what happened at all
the other studios at that point.

And they were like,
"Look, this is a crapshoot.

We've made really good movies
that have bombed

and we've made really bad movies
that have been big hits

and it's timing,
it's a lot of things."

And it worked for them.

They hired people they loved
and they stuck with them.

And they said,
"Okay, I trust you, you know?"

That's why Kubrick stayed
as long as he did.

The days of indulging artists through
thick and thin were numbered.

Daly and Semel
made their farewell speech

inside the Steve Ross Theater

to their Warner family.

From time to time, we've been accused
of being too generous with people.

I think that's the greatest thing
that we could ever be accused of.

There are so many
extraordinary filmmakers

who have worked under

the Warner Bros. banner

and I think it's a testament
to the structure

of how a studio works

so they can find a home
within what is often portrayed

in simplistic terms

as a mere
commercial machine.

The fact that great art

comes through that system
is really remarkable.

I think, if Warner Bros. ever loses

that sense of supporting
individual voices

then it'll cease
to function correctly.

As the countdown
to the new millennium crept closer

rumors spread of yet
another corporate shake-up.

One that raised doubts about
endless growth in the Internet Age.

Warner Bros. braced
for an oncoming identity crisis.

I don't know the future.

I didn't come here to tell you
how this is going to end.

Where we go from there
is a choice I leave to you.