Warners’ Zaslav Exits Stage Left With Video

Skydance’s official acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to close tomorrow and ahead of that, outgoing Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav sent out a company-wide email.

The e-mail reportedly contained a three-minute video that effectively served as Zaslav’s farewell address, according to THR. In the video, Zaslav is seen sitting in a chair in the Loft warehouse at Warner Bros. Studios’ Ranch facility in Burbank.

In it, he says it has been “a great honour to be alongside all of you” and thanks them for “all these years at Warner Bros. Discovery,” where he got to “know so many of you”.

According to the trade, the reaction on the lot was not good – everyone is well aware Zaslav is walking away with a pay package worth upwards of $800 million while the sale he’s just done is setting up the layoffs of many thousands of staffers.

One thing that has emerged (via Deadline) in recent days is that Warner Bros. Clockwork, the new film division for the company’s edgier fare, is surviving the transition. Clockwork’s first theatrical release is next week’s 4K restoration of the unseen cut of Ken Russell’s “The Devils”.

In addition, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has denied a last-minute effort to halt the merger, claiming it was anticompetitive.

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