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Jill Austin
Mr. Furman
AICE Media Studies
February 18th 2016
Case Study Warner Brothers

History: The Companys name originates from the four founding Warner brothers:
Harry, Albert, Sam & Jack. Jack, the youngest, was born in London, Ontario. The three
elder brothers began in the movie theater business, having acquired a movie projector
with which they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania and Ohio. In the
beginning, Sam and Albert Warner invested $150 to present Life of an American Fireman
and The Great Train Robbery. They opened their first theater, the Cascade, in New Castle,
Pennsylvania in 1903. In 1904, the Warners founded the Pittsburgh-based Duquesne
Amusement & Supply Company to distribute films.

Technology Evolution and Impacts: During World War I &II Warner Bros went through
a very hard time. Prior to US entry in World War II, Philip Kauffman, Warner Bros.
German sales head, was murdered by the Nazis in Berlin in 1936. However after the war
was over the company was able to get back on track. By 1946, company payroll reached
$600,000 a week and net profit topped $19.4 million. In the early 1950s, the threat of
television emerged. By 1956 the studio was losing money,[143] declining from 1953's net
profit of $2.9 million[144] and the next two years of between $2 and $4 million.[145] In

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February 13, 1956, Jack Warner sold the rights to all of his pre-1950 films to Associated
Artists Productions (which merged with United Artists Television in 1958, and was
subsequently acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in early 1986 as part of a failed
takeover of MGM/UA by Ted Turner).

Distribution Practices: From 2006, Warner Bros operated a joint venture with China Film
Group Corporation and HG to form Warner China Film HG to produce films in Hong
Kong and China, including Connected, a remake of the 2004 thriller film Cellular. They
co-produced many other Chinese films.

Marketing Strategies: Sue Kroll is the head of marketing at Warner Brothers. Since
January 2008, when Kroll took over leadership of worldwide marketingwith
responsibility for all aspects of Warner Bros. Pictures marketing, advertising, media
planning, promotion, publicity and researchthe Studio has opened more than 40 films
at number one at the U.S. box office.
Divergence and Convergence: Warner Bros typically uses Divergence in films to portray
characters. They implement these things into their films by using many techniques.
Case Study 1 (The Blind Side) - The Blind Side is a 2009 American semi-biographical
sports drama film. It was written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the
2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The storyline

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features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who played for the Baltimore Ravens and
the Tennessee Titans, and currently is signed with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL. The
film follows Oher from his impoverished upbringing, through his years at Wingate
Christian School, his adoption by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, to his position as one of
the most highly coveted prospects in college football, then finally becoming a first-round
pick of the Ravens. The Blind Side was a box-office success, grossing over $300 million.
The film was well received by critics, who praised Sandra Bullock's performance.
Bullock went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as the Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding
Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. The film also received an Academy
Award nomination for Best Picture.
Case Study 2 (How to be single) - How to Be Single is a 2016 American romantic
comedy film directed by Christian Ditter and written by Abby Kohn and Marc
Silverstein, based on the novel of the same name by Liz Tuccillo. In 2008, Liz Tuccillo's
debut novel How to Be Single was released; the film rights were bought the same year by
New Line Cinema, and Drew Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen were set to produce the film
through Flower Films. Filming began on April 20th 2015 and ended on August 15th 2015.