NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH! 

If you really want to know what works in our profession of the gods, then bow down, raise your arms, and worship Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group. For in early January, they will be celebrating Warner’s 90th birthday anniversary with a celebration that will last for the entire year, and will feature the largest collection of film ever assembled for you to obtain in 100-film DVD and 50-film Blu-ray collections.

On the studio lot yesterday, Warner chairman Barry C Meyer unveiled the new Warner shield logo which will celebrate the year, as well as “Best of Warner Bros.: 100 Film DVD Collection,” and “Best of Warner Bros.: 50 Film Blu-ray Collection.” And there are no fillers, these films range in age from 1929 to 2010, and bring to you a virtual history of motion picture success right at your fingertips. 

Along to support Meyers were directors Richard Donner and William Freidkin, and actress Jane Withers. Donner, of course, directed the “Superman” franchise as well as “The Goonies,” Freidkin was responsible for “The Exorcist,” and Withers has been working since 1932, including work with James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and rock Hudson on “Giant,” in 1956, which was Dean’s last film. All shared that Warner was a real studio, and were so supportive of their work as artists. 

Warner Bros. has the largest film library in the world – 6,800 features and includes 22 Academy Award-winning Best Pictures, which are the most in Oscar history. Warner Bros. also features the film world’s leading franchises – “Harry Potter,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Batman,” “Superman,” and “The Matrix.”

How did they ever accomplish this amazing achievement? According to Meyer, it is Warner’s long-lasting relationships with talent that have brought it success. 

In a fascinating documentary presented yesterday by Jeff Baker, EVP of Warner’s Home Video and GM of Theatrical Catalog, “Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot,” the story is just that – stories from talent and personalities on the Warner’s lot about Warner Bros. and what that means to them to be working on the lot. 

Baker’s film contained so many funny and touching stories, and Clint Eastwood’s was so powerful, as he shared he pretty much has had a handshake deal forever with Warner Bros, has always got a green light, and still views his work in the same screening room, #4. This documentary will change how history is shot – it is not a lot of clips from movies, but words from personalities, all filmed on the lot, as the lot was the star, just as Baker wanted it to be.

The lot is the oldest in Hollywood, and has kept its buildings and water tower from another age, and has protected them and uses them. When you walk on the lot, you feel the history, with building facades you may recognize from a favorite film, you can relax under trees that probably shaded everyone from Garbo to Nicholson to DiCaprio, and co-mingle with talent sipping coffeein a grassy glade, or in the lot’s coffee shop, Central Perk, which of course comes from the Warner hit tv show, “Friends.”. 

But that’s not all. Warner is also spending a fortune restoring so many films, and one that will get special treatment is “The Wizard of Oz.” A favorite of many generations, it will even get special 3D treatment and be released as a disc and also a kick-off in movie theatres, which will surely soar to the top of the box office charts. When the film was re-released in 1998, it led the box office for several weeks, demonstrating that good stories always work.

Additionally, as if that wasn’t enough, Baker screened some scenes from a similar film on Clint Eastwood and his career at Warner, and it was an inside look at one of the most prolific and successful men ever to work in Hollywood. Stars shared their experiences, including how Clint inspired them when he worked with or directed them, and also a great tale was Marcia Gay Harden, Meryl Streep, and Gene Hackman revealing what got Clint mad on the set. (Sorry, no spoilers here.)

And if this sounds to you as if I am shilling for Warner, that’s fine, but don’t blame me when you are out of work, when your career is in the toilet, when you can’t figure out where to go with that story, when one of your characters is killing you, when you are stuck in a 7-11 or in your kitchen eating anything to stop the anxiety, as the remedy for all that and more is right here, at the movies, and Warner is bringing it to your doorstep

This January, run, jump, and if you have to, fight for the prize, this is something that will change your life and cure what ails you! The gods have been good to us mortals in this treasure. Enjoy, and get to work!!