The new CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, David Zaslav, has looked over the studio’s work and reportedly isn’t too happy about some past decisions – one of which being the making of Clint Eastwood’s last movie, Cry Macho. According to The Wall Street Journal, Zaslav confronted executives about why the film was greenlit, despite the team’s reservations on its success.
Clint Eastwood is one of those rare cases where an actor makes the jump into directorial duties and becomes a smash hit. After rising to stardom in classic Westerns, such as Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Eastwood would helm 45 flicks and earn four Academy Awards. However, not all of Clint Eastwood’s movies are winners, and his last film, released in 2021, even failed to turn a profit.
Based on N. Richard Nash’s novel of the same name, Cry Macho follows the story of a retired rodeo star (Eastwood) who is hired to reunite a young boy and his father. The film only grossed $15 million against a $33 million budget and failed to garner critical acclaim. So it is understandable why Zaslav wanted to know why the studio agreed to make it in the first place.
The Wall Street Journal claims that executives told the new CEO that there were reservations about the movie, but despite these concerns, the film went ahead, since Eastwood always delivered on time and under budget.
But with a film that lost the studio millions, Zaslav is adamant that this doesn’t happen again. “We don’t owe anyone any favours,” he reportedly said. “It’s not show friends; it’s show business.”
Zaslav’s reaction to Eastwood’s flop points toward his new strategy at Warner Bros. Instead of relying on famous stars such as the western icon, the studio is buckling down on its key IPs, such as Harry Potter, to bring in a new slate of content.
With such changes being made, it could signify the end of Warner Bros and Eastwood’s partnership. We will keep you posted as soon as we know more.