“Queen!”
It was a Friday night in January, and Snoop Dogg had just been at a cocktail party hosted by Donna Langley, NBCUniversal’s chief content officer and studio head. His roaring greeting, coupled with a brisk, respectful dance, seemed to make her a little embarrassed. “We’re here to celebrate filmmakers and films,” Langley said in the room a few minutes later. “This isn’t about me.”
For an executive who ardently prefers to stay in the background — she declined an interview for this article and sent a lieutenant to try to kill Oscar — the path to the 2024 Oscar was a thorny affair. Like it or not, this moment in Hollywood history is very much about her.
It was Langley who gave Christopher Nolan the money to make “Oppenheimer” in a wild bet on a three-hour period drama about a physicist. The film won seven Oscars on Sunday, including director and best picture. Nolan began his acceptance speech for the Best Director award by saying, “Donna Langley – thank you for seeing the potential in this.”
Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the supporting actress Oscar for her performance as a grieving mother and boarding school cook in “The Holdovers,” released by Focus Features, a specialty film studio that also oversees Langley.
In a rare achievement, Universal’s creative dominance was matched by commercial supremacy: The studio was No. 1 at the global box office in 2023, selling nearly $5 billion in tickets and ending an eight-year Disney reign. In addition, Universal reached audiences the old-fashioned way – by presenting films from various genres in which there was hardly a superhero to be found. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.4 billion) was at the top, followed by “Oppenheimer” ($958 million), “Fast X” ($705 million), “Five Nights.” at Freddy’s” ($291 million) and “Migration” ($279 million).
Other Universal successes included Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” the comedy “Cocaine Bear” and the horror comedy “M3gan.” Over the weekend, “Kung Fu Panda 4” grossed an impressive $58.3 million in the US and Canada. (Of course, there were misfires, including “The Exorcist: Believer,” which bombed in the fall and jeopardized a planned trilogy.)
Sometimes luck is hot in the casino called Hollywood. But Universal’s strength is also a testament to Langley, 56, who has doggedly tried to make her studio the home of choice for Hollywood’s top filmmakers and producers. As ticket buyers begin to balk at best-of-breed superhero spectacles and franchise sequels, Universal is offering initial deals and partnerships with talent like Jason Blum, James Wan, Jordan Peele, Elizabeth Banks, Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow, Phil Lord and Chris Miller Position the studio for continued prosperity.
“Donna is a spectacular studio boss,” Steven Spielberg, who returned to Universal in 2015 after a period of solitude, said in a telephone interview. “The relationship between directors and studios has historically been a relationship between them and us. There are exceptions and Donna is one of them. She is with us.”
Spielberg added that he showed Langley “a very early excerpt” of his 2022 film memoir “The Fablemans,” which was nominated for seven Academy Awards. “Not because I was obliged to,” said Spielberg. “Not because I was trying to get approval or fish for compliments. I needed Donna’s ideas on how to improve the film.”
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, whose “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won seven Oscars last year including director and best picture, signed a five-year exclusive deal with Universal in 2022.
“We were immediately drawn to Dame Donna Langley and the culture she cultivated in her studio,” Kwan and Scheinert wrote in an email. “She is a deeply soulful and creative person who really listens when you speak. As we had dinner for the first time, we talked about incorporating gut biome science into criminal justice, climate change, interior design, and finding the perfect shade of yellow. We knew straight away we had found our people.” (Langley, who grew up on the Isle of Wight, was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2020.)
The talent may be comfortable with Langley, but she also makes it clear that the studio is her priority. She was one of four executives (the others came from Disney, Netflix and Warner Bros.) who held open union negotiations with writers and actors last year, leading to strikes. She recently lost a bidding war with Warner Bros. for a new film from Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”), in part because she refused to address a highly unusual deal point: Coogler wanted the copyright to expire after a certain period of time fell behind him. Warner agreed.
Universal, which will release 19 films this year, has also benefited from the instability of competition.
Disney’s film operations struggled with quality, causing the company to cut back on production; 10 films will be released this year. Warner Bros., which has a dozen films on its 2024 release schedule, has been tossed between owners, and its parent company is widely seen in Hollywood as a merger candidate. (Possibly with NBCUniversal.) Paramount will release nine films as its parent company struggles with a rapidly declining cable TV business and streaming costs.
Universal is owned by Comcast, which has been comparatively stable. “Film has always been a priority for Comcast and under Donna’s leadership, we wanted to ensure she had the resources to invest in talent and creators who want to call Universal home,” Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts wrote in an email.
Langley came to Hollywood in 1991 and worked as an unpaid intern at a literary agency while also working at a nightclub on the Sunset Strip. At the club she met Michael De Luca, then New Line Cinema manager, and he hired her as his assistant. (De Luca is now co-chairman and chief executive of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.) She rose through the ranks at New Line until joining Universal in 2001.
“Sometimes in our industry there is a feeling of being afraid to act – let me take the path of least resistance, let me do what is least risky because the environment is tough,” said Will Packer, who Universal-based producer of hits like “Girls Trip” and “Ride Along.”
“I don’t get that feeling from the team at Universal,” he continued. “And to the creative community that makes the difference.”
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2024-03-11 15:08:57
www.nytimes.com
