EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros’ new Christian Parkes-led contemporary film label , which we first told you about in December, will be making the segue to the newly merged Paramount-Warner Bros company now known as Skydance.
Clockwork was on an internal list of Warner Bros labels shown in-house at Paramount. In addition, we’ve heard from reliable sources that all Warner Bros label heads (i.e., James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC, Richard Brener at New Line, etc) will stay in charge of their domains at the new conglomerate. As previously reported, all film label heads roll up and report to Paramount Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein.
Clockwork’s first theatrical release is due October 16 with the unearthed 1971 Ken Russell-directed spicy Catholic taboo pic The Devils, which will be screened in a 4K restoration. The whole idea why former Warner Bros Motion Picture bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy launched the label with former Neon Chief Marketing Officer Parkes was to give the studio some A24-like mojo shots in the arm. Clockwork is an entry point for edgy filmmakers and their pics with moderate-sized budgets. The label’s original output was for two-to-three films annually.
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When the label was first announced in December (the name followed at CinemaCon), there was some in town who wondered whether the new indie division would make the transition in any Warner Bros. merger. Paramount currently sees Clockwork as a blooming rose.
Clockwork, we understand, will co-exist with Paramount’s current global acquisition division and Republic Pictures, led by Wicker producer Lia Buman. That Melrose lot department made a big purchase out of Cannes with StudioCanal’s Midnight Libraryfor $36 million (which includes domestic and a bulk of foreign). In addition, Republic Pictures is the label responsible for the 2024 Oscar-nominated Munich Olympics thriller September 5.
Projects coming into Paramount from Clockwork include the next movie from Anora Oscar winner Sean Baker, Ti Amo! (financed by FilmNation). There’s also Clockwork’s mid-teen millions North American pick-up out of the Cannes market, Park Chan-Wook’s western The Brigands of Rattlecreek starring Matthew McConaughey, Austin Butler, Pedro Pascal and Chinese star Tang Wei (Decision to Leave). Also in the Clockwork portfolio is the Sean Penn-directed feature about the January 6th Capitol riots.
Paramount didn’t return request for comment.
