Cass Warner - Warner Sisters & The Brothers Warner

From the PBS website!

2008-10-31T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Brothers Warner
About the Film

The Brothers Warner, an AMERICAN MASTERS presentation premiering nationally Thursday, September 25, 2008 on PBS (check local listings), is an intimate portrait and epic saga of the four film pioneers who founded and ran the Warner Bros. studio for over 50 years.

Narrated by family member Cass Warner Sperling (Harry Warner’s granddaughter), the 60-minute film gives an insider look at these original Hollywood independent filmmakers and their varied personalities and business sense: the little-known major player, Harry Warner; Albert or “Honest Abe”; visionary Sam; and volatile Jack. Rare archival footage, family photos, and documents trace their scrappy rise from nothing, along with the personal tragedies and professional battles they overcame along the way.

From opening their first storefront theater by hanging a sheet on the wall and borrowing chairs from a funeral parlor to creating one of the top studios in America, these four brothers built an empire on a dream and revolutionized Hollywood, and were the first to use mass media to “educate, entertain, and enlighten.”

Visit Warner Sisters online to learn about Cass Warner Sperling’s production company.

To order The Brothers Warner on DVD, call 1-800-336-1917.

Filmmaker interview: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/the-brothers-warner/filmmaker-interview-cass-warner-sperling/450/

Go here to see clips from the film: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/the-brothers-warner/video-scenes-from-the-film/430/

This article is from: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/the-brothers-warner/about-the-film/441/

PBS's "American Masters" puts a spotlight on Hollywood history

2008-10-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.scrippsnews.com:80/node/36464

Spotlighting the Warner brothers

Submitted by SHNS on Fri, 09/19/2008 - 13:23.

By ROB OWEN, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

television
PBS's "American Masters" puts a spotlight on Hollywood history next week, specifically the Warner Bros. studio and its 85-year legacy.

"You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story" (9 p.m. EDT Tuesday through Thursday) offers a five-hour chronicle of the studio and its films.

At a July PBS news conference in Beverly Hills, "American Masters" executive producer Susan Lacy called Warner Bros. "a media dynasty that would come to reflect and critique America's cultural and social trajectory through the 20th century and beyond."

In addition to "You Must Remember This," written and directed by Richard Schickel ("The Men Who Made the Movies") and featuring studio stars such as Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson and George Clooney, a more intimate second program looks back at the Warner brothers themselves.

Airing as a one-hour version of her 90-minute documentary, Cass Warner Sperling's "The Brothers Warner" (10 p.m. Thursday, PBS) tells the story of the brothers from Youngstown, Ohio.

Sperling, granddaughter of Harry Warner, doesn't dwell on the brothers' origins, instead focusing on the studio they built and the clashes between figurehead Jack Warner and older brother Harry. Brother Albert is the family peacekeeper and Sam served as a producer on Warner Bros. films, including Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer."

"I was fortunate enough to have my grandfather in my life for the first 10 years of my life," Sperling said last month during a conversation at the WQED station in Pittsburgh. "There's always somebody in your life who you don't just forget and who creates some kind of impression on you, and he was that for me."

Sperling's father, Milton, worked on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., as a writer/producer and he'd share stories around the dinner table about the brothers' battles. At the time, filmmaking went on six days a week, and Sperling would go to the lot with her father on Saturdays.

"I would see this incredibly booming, creative empire going on," she said. "How is it that two guys -- Jack and Harry, who really appear not to like each other very much -- are running this business? It always fascinated me."

Sperling said no one else in the family made a point of chronicling the family history.

Documentaries about individual Warners have been made in the past, including Sperling cousin Gregory Orr's 1983 doc "Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul," but Sperling said this is the first film to look at the family.

In "The Brothers Warner," Sperling even uncovers their real last name, which was simplified to "Warner" when the family immigrated to America.

Sperling, 60, first wrote a book, now titled "The Brothers Warner," that was first published in 1993 as "Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story." Now she's made this documentary -- the full 90-minute version is available for purchase at WarnerSisters.com -- and is developing a dramatic film based on this family tale of clashing personalities and betrayal.

(Contact TV editor Rob Owen at rowen(at)post-gazette.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)

BROTHERS WARNER - Washington Times

2008-10-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Tuning In

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Washington Times

Legacy explored

PBS' "American Masters" puts a spotlight on Hollywood history this week with an in-depth look at the Warner Bros. studio and its 85-year legacy.

"You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story" (at 9 tonight through Thursday, WETA-Channel 26 and WMPT-Channel 22) offers a five-hour chronicle of the studio and its films. Oscar winner Clint Eastwood narrates tonight's opening installment, titled "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet (1923-35)," about the movie studio's first years, when its top star was a dog named Rin Tin Tin, and its gradual move into gritty fare.

In addition to "You Must Remember This," written and directed by Richard Schickel ("The Men Who Made the Movies"), PBS also will air Cass Warner Sperling's "The Brothers Warner" (10 p.m. Thursday), an intimate 90-minute look at the four brothers from Youngstown, Ohio.

Miss Sperling, granddaughter of Harry Warner, doesn't dwell on the brothers' origins, instead focusing on the studio they built and the clashes between figurehead Jack Warner and older brother Harry. Brother Albert — who was born in Baltimore — is the family peacekeeper, and Sam served as a producer on Warner Bros. films, including Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer." Sam Warner was the first brother to die, at age 40, the day before the landmark film was released.

"I was fortunate enough to have my grandfather in my life for the first 10 years of my life," Miss Sperling told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

• Compiled by Robyn-Denise Yourse from Web and wire reports

From Ohio to Hollywood

2008-10-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

COLUMBUS DISPATCH feature/interview with Cass

Warner Bros. studio rooted in plan hatched in Youngstown

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 3:18 AM By Jeffrey Sheban

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The vindicator (youngstown)

The entrance to the opulent Warner Theatre in Youngstown, shortly after it opened in 1931
Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar
Harry
Jack
Albert
Sam
Inside the Edward W. Powers Auditorium in Youngstown

For the Warner brothers, the road to Hollywood was paved more than a century ago in Youngstown.

Around the family dinner table back in 1903, three of the boys tried to persuade their immigrant parents, Ben and Pearl Warner, to help them buy a used "moving picture" projector and a grainy print of The Great Train Robbery.

Harry, Sam and Albert (later joined by Jack) saw silent films as potentially more profitable than the market, bicycle store and shoe-repair shop that the Warners operated in the booming steel town.

Harry, the eldest son, and Sam, a mechanical wizard, had fallen in love with picture shows at a small nickelodeon theater (admission: 5 cents) in nearby Pittsburgh.

They hoped to get a secondhand Kinetoscope projector, invented by Thomas Edison, and show short films in tents and storefronts in Youngstown and neighboring communities.

Their father, a Polish Jew who had arrived in America in 1883, agreed to pawn a gold watch and the family horse to help his sons raise the $950 they needed.

"As long as you stand together, you will be strong," he told his ambitious offspring.

Soon, the Warner brothers were showing movies in Ohio (Youngstown, Niles and Warren) and western Pennsylvania (New Castle, Erie and Sharon).

Two new documentaries from the American Masters series on PBS tell the story of the brothers (who ultimately didn't heed their father's advice) and their influential movie studio -- which made household names of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Bette Davis, not to mention Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

One of the documentaries, The Brothers Warner, is based on a 1994 book by Cass Warner Sperling, granddaughter of Harry.

The writer-producer penned Hollywood Be Thy Name (reissued this year as The Brothers Warner) in part to preserve the legacy of her grandfather, who in later years lost a power struggle to Jack.

"I was very close to my grandfather for the first 10 years of my life," said Sperling, 60, of Santa Barbara, Calif. "For me, I felt something was passed to me to carry on."

Sperling hadn't seen Youngstown before she wrote the book, which is based on family stories and her research, but she made a short visit before filming the documentary.

She met the mayor and toured the Edward W. Powers Auditorium, which opened in 1931 as one of the more opulent Warner theaters built in cities nationwide.

Her great-grandfather Ben remained a grocer in town and died across the street from the theater while playing cards; he was buried in Los Angeles.

"Anywhere my family has been, I feel something," Sperling said. "Powers Auditorium really moved me."

Armed with their used projector, the Warner boys traveled the trolley lines connecting Youngstown and other communities to screen short films.

Then, in 1905 or so, they opened the Cascade Theatre in a former penny arcade just across the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in New Castle. A sheet was hung on the wall and chairs were borrowed from a funeral parlor nearby.

The book and documentary describe the transition from traveling nickelodeon shows to film distribution and production, then to movie- theater construction, starting with the first permanent Warner Theatre -- built in 1922 in Niles, about 10 miles northwest of Youngstown.

The famous Warner Bros. Studios, still in operation as a division of Time Warner, was established in 1918 in a little-developed part of Los Angeles called Hollywood.

Movies from the studio's early days focused on working-class struggles and mobsters with heart -- two themes that pretty much described their hometown, which was filling up fast with Irish, Italian and eastern European immigrants plus Southern blacks in search of factory jobs.

"There was discrimination and tension, and absolutely they were influenced by the whole cultural milieu," said John Russo, co-author of Steeltown U.S.A.: Work & Memory in Youngstown. "Their films reflected that."

The decision to leave Youngstown for Hollywood resulted in part because of pressure from Edison, who wanted to enforce his patents on the Kinetoscope and limit the number of film exhibitors east of the Mississippi River.

Although the so-called Edison Trust almost succeeded in driving the Warner brothers out of business, it also opened doors.

Real success for the studio came in 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson -- credited as the first feature film with synchronized dialogue. (The death of Sam the day before the premiere kept Harry, Albert and Jack from attending.)

The Warner Theatre in Youngstown, built as a memorial to Sam, was heralded as "the finest theater ever built."

The 114-room movie house with five levels cost $1.5 million; it opened May 14, 1931. Decorative touches included marble, Carpathian elm, Italian olive wood, Australian and African cherry, Madagascar ebony and burled English walnut.

It closed as a movie theater in 1968 with a final showing of Bonnie and Clyde.

In the wake of a yearlong refurbishing, it has since housed the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

Faring less well is the old Warner neighborhood, north of downtown, where many of the houses have been torn down or abandoned.

No marker tells passers-by that Hollywood history was made inside 1351 1/2 Elm St.

Sperling hopes someday to visit the street where the brothers lived -- something for which she didn't have time during her first trip.

"I'd really like to come back," she said. "This whole journey has been about discovering my roots."

jsheban@dispatch.com

On television
The Brothers Warner -- premiering at 10 p.m. Thursday on WOSU-DT1, a digital cable channel -- provides a more personal look at the family and its Youngstown roots as told by writer-producer Cass Warner Sperling, granddaughter of Harry Warner.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2008/09/23/1_WARNER_BROS.ART_ART_09-23-08_D1_78BBTUK.html?sid=101>

AP on BROTHERS WARNER

2008-10-22T22:13:00.001-07:00

FYI, here's Frazier Moore's AP column which leads off with THE BROTHERS WARNER. This runs in papers and on websites nationwide:

TV Lookout: highlights for Sept. 21-Sept. 27By FRAZIER MOORE-AP Television WriterThursday, September 18, 2008 7:23 AM
Nowadays, the name "Warner" emblazoning that media conglomerate means plenty. Affixed to movie and TV productions, "Warner Bros." is a powerful brand.
But who were those Warner brothers anyway? And what role did they play in the history of entertainment, beyond that as an enduring label?
PBS' "American Masters" presents a tidy crash course in Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack in "The Brothers Warner," a one-hour documentary airing 10 p.m. EDT Thursday (check local listings).
This informative film -- narrated by filmmaker-author Cass Warner Sperling (Harry Warner's granddaughter) -- serves as a useful coda to a more expansive look at the Warner Bros. Studio and the progressive vision it epitomized: the five-hour "American Masters" miniseries "You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story."
Filmmaker and film critic Richard Schickel is the director-writer-producer, and Clint Eastwood the executive producer and narrator of this epic look at cinema and four remarkable young men from Youngstown, Ohio, who moved to Hollywood and helped re-create it.
Prepare to be amazed at the Warners' world-class chutzpah, and dazzled by the canon of timeless films that bear their name.

(Warner Sisters has an "In Association" credit and Cass was a "Consulting Producer" on this project.)
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On the Net:
http://www.pbs.org/
http://www.tpamericaplays.com/
http://www.history.com/
http://www.cbsnews.com//
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EDITOR'S NOTE -- Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore(at)ap.org

2008-10-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

From: Santa Barbara Visitor's Bureau and Film Commission Newsletter

http://www.santabarbaraca.com/filmtour/static/index.cfm?contentID=346

September 2008

After what could be considered the journey of a lifetime, local resident Cass Warner, the granddaughter of Harry Warner, one of the four brothers who founded the legendary Warner Brothers Studios, has cast a new light on her family's history. Her recently completed documentary, "The Brothers Warner" is an intimate portrait of a band of brothers that built an empire on a dream and revolutionized Hollywood. In Cass' words, "They did this with no education, a lot of chutzpah and the belief that if they were told they couldn't do something, they knew they were on the right track."

The story of the four Warner brothers is a classic immigrant tale. From opening their first storefront theater by hanging a sheet on the wall and borrowing chairs from a local funeral parlor to their willingness to embrace innovation when they became the first movie studio to release a "talkie", they were always ready to take a chance. This willingness to take risks served them well, as in the case of Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer", the aforementioned talkie which was famously declared a "failed experiment" by Irving Thalberg on opening night and went on to become one of the top grossing films of all time.

Their legendary scrappy rise from nothing, their overcoming of personal tragedies, and their battles are all woven together by Cass' narration as well as family home movies and photos, news footage, and archival footage from the Warner vaults. This close-knit band of brothers proved in their pioneering efforts to be the first to use film to "educate, entertain and enlighten". (The original company motto.) Their films were often produced from stories ripped from news headlines and it was Harry's belief that, "Those who make a nation's entertainment have obligations above and beyond their primary commercial objective, which is the box office."

The development of "The Brothers Warner" has been literally a thirty-year process beginning with Cass' book formerly known as "Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story" now titled "The Brothers Warner." It's the completion of a promise made to herself and her grandfather Harry, to tell this inspirational tale. Shortly after Cass completed the documentary, it was acquired for domestic television broadcast to be aired as a one-hour by American Masters—a PBS series. "The Brothers Warner" is scheduled to begin airing on PBS via KCET at 9:00 p.m., on September 29th.

Warner Sisters, Cass' production company is proud to have this as its first presentation. For more information, please visit: www.warnersisters.com

GROWING UP WARNER

2008-10-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

New documentary aims to 'educate, entertain and enlighten'

By Jim Reed

MOST SATURDAYS AS A CHILD, Cass Warner accompanied her Oscar-nominated writer/producer father to the famed Warner Bros. studio lot. Now, decades later, she helps run her own film production company (Warner Sisters) and hosts the Starz cable network’s Conversations With Cass, a one-on-one interview show focusing on well-known actors and personalities.
Her latest project to comemmorate the cultural legacy of the Warners’ Hollywood dynasty (after a 1993 book that has been called “definitive”) is The Brothers Warner, a just-completed 90-minute documentary she wrote, directed and produced. It’s one of four featured docs at this year’s Savannah Film Festival.
Cass will accompany her film to the event, and we spoke in advance of her trip.

As a child, you were afforded an almost unimaginably cool perk: free reign of the Warner Bros. lot. Looking back at such a strange and fanciful opportunity, are you surprised you wound up working in the film industry, or are you more surprised that you did not?
Cass Warner: Growing up on the Warner Bros. lot was like being surrounded by a family of great musicians I heard the music being played all the time so to not partake in the joy of creating is hard to imagine. My father often worked out of the house. Seeing my interest, he would hand me a script to hold in his story meetings, even before I could read. Fortunately for me, people who worked at Warner Bros. worked on Saturdays, so I often went with my father to the lot and got to wander into any sound stage that didn’t have a red light flashing. It was better than going to the circus and I found it difficult not to marvel at the magic of this cooperative art form and the family feeling that happens on a set.
I experienced being an actress in the mid-’70s and realized the roles for women were not my cup of tea. I was motivated to write screenplays and had the good fortune of mentoring under my father and the master, Howard Koch of Casablanca fame. Writing led me to developing projects with friends and my independent production company, Warner Sisters, was born.

You’ve spearheaded the celebration and documentation of the legacy of the Warner brothers and their studio through both books and film. In doing this, have you found that by and large, people in the business are excited and happy to reminisce about their experiences working with Warners, or have you encountered any trepidation or outright refusals to participate in your efforts?
Cass Warner: Interviewing people has been one of my greatest pleasures. Folks who experienced working at Warner Bros. have been joyful about sharing their stories.

I understand that PBS will be airing a truncated version of this film as part of their American Masters series. Was it tough to decide what to leave out of the TV version?
Cass Warner: Yes, American Masters is now airing a 53-minute version of The Brothers Warner, I’m honored to say. I have the good fortune of working with the most wonderful Oscar-winning editor and fine human being a film maker could ever wish for. Kate Amend and I worked so well together that editing was not a chore but a pleasure.

How exactly does one go about cutting down a film that I assume they have slaved over to whittle down to just as they’d like it to be seen?
Cass Warner: Decisions, decisions, decisions — and not being afraid to make them and trusting one’s artistry. When you have a great editor like I did, making the decisions are a lot easier. I love the editing process as it’s like having a wonderful lump of clay that already has the form of your vision in it that you now get to put the finishing touches on.

How many times to date has the finished, full-length version of the film been seen by a public audience?
Cass Warner: About ten times.

What have the reactions been to the film?
Cass Warner: Fabulous! Getting the responses I am has made this whole journey so worthwhile. It’s inspirational!

Have you been involved in the Savannah Film Festival before?
Cass Warner: I have not been involved before, but am very much looking forward to having this opportunity. The festival has a great reputation, which is why I submitted my film to it.

How did you come to be involved?
Cass Warner: I heard about it at a festival seminar in Los Angeles. It got five stars as a festival.

Was there any particular revelation or insight which emerged in the process of making The Brothers Warner that had eluded your previous efforts to document the history and impact of the studio and your family?
Cass Warner: In the last 30 years of my research, there have been so many revelations that have emerged while discovering who these brothers were. My fascination with them as characters and my wish to understand their inner workings and reasons for doing what they did has led me into wonderful worlds of detail and insights.

Have those insights made a significant impact on the way you view the studio and its legacy?
Cass Warner: Because of the number of insights, I’d prefer people read my book or see my film, as there are really too many to isolate here. I am very proud to be from a family of filmmakers who loved their art form, and truly knew the value and power of using this medium to “educate, entertain and enlighten,” which was the original motto for their company.

Have you ever been to Savannah before?
Cass Warner: This will be my first time and I’m very much looking forward to it.

The Brothers Warner When: Mon., 9:30 am, Trustees Theater & Thurs., Oct. 30, 2:30 pm, Lucas Theatre Cost: $5 gen. public / $3 students, seniors & military / Free to SCAD students, faculty & staff w/ID

http://www.connectsavannah.comhttp://www.connectsavannah.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A10544

Four young men who caught lightning in a bottle...

2008-10-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

Film Review: The Brothers Warner (2008 Documentary)

Written by Gary Sweeney

If you could spend a day asking people what they thought when they heard “Warner Brothers”, you’re likely to get answers ranging from Bugs Bunny to Elmer Fudd. The WB logo has become synonymous with memorable personalities, unforgettable characters, and timeless films. What you’d be hard pressed to find, however, is someone who can name all four original brothers, or any of them for that matter. That’s exactly what Cass Warner, the granddaughter of Harry Warner, did as part of her new documentary, The Brothers Warner. In an almost comical fashion, she took to the streets with a microphone and questioned random strangers. The tongue-in-cheek approach was effective, yet a solemn reminder that few people of today understand the vision of those early film pioneers.

This 90-minute look at the humble beginnings of Warner Brothers gives new meaning to the word determination. Four brothers (Harry, Jack, Abe, and Sam) saw opportunity in the growing popularity of moving pictures. Their personalities, while very different, worked well in combining the various elements which would comprise their ultimate success. The film traces their childhood, upbringing and their ambition in a changing world through photographs and Cass Warner's heartfelt narration. Harry Warner's authentic love for his work is evident in the following quote: "It is not the challenge of dollars, it is the challenge of ideals and ideas. If the producers of pictures see only the dollar, I believe, those production efforts will fail". In those few words, he manages to capture the essence of every great classic released by the studio in its long history. The Brothers Warner is an intimate look at an empire, and four young men who caught lightning in a bottle.

Click here to purchase the documentary on DVD!

From: http://www.midnightpalace.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=199

TV Preview: PBS show spotlights Warner Bros. dynasty

2008-10-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 21, 2008
By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Lake Fong/Post-Gazette

PBS's "American Masters" puts a spotlight on Hollywood history this week, specifically the Warner Bros. studio and its 85-year legacy.

"You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story" (9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, WQED) offers a five-hour chronicle of the studio and its films.

At a July PBS news conference in Beverly Hills, "American Masters" executive producer Susan Lacy called Warner Bros. "a media dynasty that would come to reflect and critique America's cultural and social trajectory through the 20th century and beyond."

In addition to "You Must Remember This," written and directed by Richard Schickel ("The Men Who Made the Movies") and featuring studio stars such as Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson and George Clooney, a more intimate second program looks back at the Warner brothers themselves.

'American Masters:You Must RememberThis -- The Warner Brothers Story'
When: 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, WQED.
Narrator: Clint Eastwood.
'American Masters:The Brothers'
When: 10 p.m. Thursday, WQED.
Narrator: Cass Warner Sperling.
Airing as a one-hour version of her 90-minute documentary, Cass Warner Sperling's "The Brothers Warner" (10 p.m. Thursday, WQED) tells the story of the brothers fromYoungstown, Ohio, who opened their first movie theater in New Castle.

Cass Warner Sperling, granddaughter of Harry Warner, made "The Brothers Warner."

Sperling, granddaughter of Harry Warner, doesn't dwell on the brothers' origins in Western Pennsylvania, instead focusing on the studio they built and the clashes between figurehead Jack Warner and older brother Harry. Brother Albert is the family peacekeeper and Sam served as a producer on Warner Bros. films, including Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer."

Because of the Warner Bros. connection to Western Pennsylvania -- Harry once worked at the Kaufmann's Downtown -- Sperling developed a connection with WQED when she created a film festival at Slippery Rock University in 2000. She brought "The Brothers Warner" to WQED before "American Masters" picked up the documentary for national airing last month.

"I was fortunate enough to have my grandfather in my life for the first 10 years of my life," Sperling said last month during a conversation at WQED in Oakland. "There's always somebody in your life who you don't just forget and who creates some kind of impression on you, and he was that for me."

Sperling's father, Milton, worked on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., as a writer/producer, and he'd share stories around the dinner table about the brothers' battles. At the time, filmmaking went on six days a week, and Sperling would go to the lot with her father on Saturdays.

"I would see this incredibly booming, creative empire going on," she said. "How is it that two guys -- Jack and Harry, who really appear not to like each other very much -- are running this business? It always fascinated me."

Sperling said no one else in the family made a point of chronicling the family history. Documentaries about individual Warners have been made, including Sperling cousin Gregory Orr's 1983 "Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul," but Sperling said this is the first film to look at the family.

In "The Brothers Warner," she even uncovers their real last name, which was simplified to Warner when the family immigrated to America.

Sperling, 60, wrote a book, now titled "The Brothers Warner," that was first published in 1993 as "Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story." Now she's made this documentary -- the full 90-minute version is available for purchase at WarnerSisters.com -- and is developing a dramatic film based on this family tale of clashing personalities and betrayal.

Contact TV editor Rob Owen at rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1112.
First published on September 21, 2008 at 12:00 am

An inside look into the Brothers Warner

2008-09-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

By Ashlee Fairey
Sun Staff Writer

“The Brothers Warner,” a special presentation featured in the Aspen FilmFest, is a documentary portraying the four famous Warner brothers who founded the Warner Brothers Studio and transformed the silver screen.

It is about the “close-knit band of brothers (who) proved in their pioneering efforts to use mass media to ‘educate, entertain, and enlighten’ while being commercially successful.” The brothers’ motto echoes that of the Aspen FilmFest and can be seen as the embodiment of the festival’s ideals.

The film comes from a new voice: It is the first film by director Cass Warner, granddaughter of Harry Warner. As a child Cass Warner was very close to her grandfather. “He was a fine, kind human being,” she recalls. “He would come home with tales of behind of scenes.” These fantastic tales would create a lasting impression on the young, eager granddaughter.

When she reached her 20s, Warner realized those family legends were unrecorded and slowly slipping into murky memory. She took it upon herself to become the family archivist, a role that was essentially the first move towards the making of the movie. In 2003 she authored a book entitled “The Brothers Warner,” the namesake for the future film. The book was a rags-to-riches story that compiled the photographs and letters that Warner uncovered in her archival efforts.

Those same family archives were used in the film. The never-before-seen footage includes audio interviews with deceased family members, photographs and old home movies. These reveal, as Warner puts it, “guys who came from nothing, who never quit until they made their dream a reality. They made a fantastic team.” The director wanted the film to highlight their conscience, a rare virtue for filmmakers. Harry Warner once said, “It is not the challenge of dollars, it is the challenge of ideals and ideas. If the producers of pictures see only the dollar, I believe, those productions will fail.” They understood that “film is a powerful tool,” as his granddaughter says, and they used it wisely.

Considering director Cass Warner created a documentary on her own family, objectivity may seem an elusive outcome. But Warner describes herself as a fair person who concentrates on offering different points of view. She certainly basks her characters in a light of praise, but she feels the film also conveys character flaws. “I was raised on character-driven films,” Warner explains. “I want to know what makes them tic and why they do things.” The result: “a thorough, deep look at (the Warner brothers) as people.”

Directing a film about one’s own family can have great benefits as well. The making of “The Brothers Warner” was not only a journey through the lives of four extraordinary men, but became a self-exploration. “It helped me to understand my roots and myself,” she noted. “Through osmosis you get certain traits that you were witness to,” and through the camera lens Cass Warner was able to peer into a mirror. The road to the documentary’s creation was not smooth or speedy. “It has taken a long time to make. I have gambled everything,” the director said. The buzz of positive reviews, however, seems to have made it all worth while.

Cass Warner is also the niece of Lita Warner Heller, the honoree of a celebration dinner benefiting the Emerging Filmmaker Fund, and as Warner calls her, “a true lover of the arts.”

The showing of “The Brothers Warner” will be on Friday, Sept. 26, at 5:30 p.m. For tickets call 920-5770 or visit aspenshowtickets.com.

Cass saw the history of social activism that has run through her family.

2008-09-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Story,” into her first film, “The Brothers Warner.”
The movie shows today, at 5:30 p.m., at the Wheeler Opera House, as part of Aspen Filmfest, with Warner expected to attend. The screening will be followed by a dinner celebrating Aspenite Lita Warner Heller, a cousin of Cass’ who is featured in the film. Proceeds from the dinner will go to Aspen Film’s new Emerging Filmmakers Fund.
“Brothers Warner,” made through Cass Warner’s Warner Sisters company, plays partly as a personal reflection. Through home images and the memories of Warner and other family members, the film tells of the Polish-Canadian Jewish siblings who became fascinated with the emerging film technology and built a chain of theaters. It is another version of the American dream tale: immigrants taking extreme risks, dreaming big, and succeeding in expanding the business and artistic landscape.
“Being close to my grandfather, working to do something in his honor — that was a big purpose,” said Warner, whose late father, Milton Sperling, was a film producer and screenwriter. “I think it’s a great saga of family who had a dream and didn’t quit until they made it happen. You can’t quit if you have a dream, and every barrier is an incentive not to stop, to keep going.”
The documentary also works as a tale of ego and family strife. Jack Warner, the youngest of the studio founders, is recalled as a flamboyant figure, the brother most closely associated with the studio, and a back-stabber who acquired exclusive control in Warner Brothers after convincing his brothers to sell their stock in a sham business deal.
Cass Warner learned from this episode that film can be a potent tool not only for the viewer, but for the maker.
“He’s an interesting character,” she said of her great-uncle Jack, who died in 1978, “and I learned to love him as well as the rest of the family. I felt good about including him and forgiving him, rather than making him the enemy. I’ve always been interested in evaluating information for myself, to uncover who these characters were. Why they made these decisions was fascinating to me.
“Power is an interesting state of existence, and it’s a very delicate and potentially dangerous tool if you don’t know how to control it.”
Warner, the mother of four and grandmother of three, is intent on using her newfound power as a filmmaker. She has two projects in the works. “A Shade of Grey” she describes as a “To Kill a Mockingbird”-like story, seen through the eyes of two children. The project has several well-known actors attached to it whom Warner would not publicly identify. The other is “Dog Stories,” a four-person coming-of-age story which she might direct herself.
The documentary “The Brothers Warner” shows at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Wheeler Opera House as part of Aspen Filmfest.
stewart@aspentimes.com

Cass on NPR!

2008-09-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Did you hear Cass on NPR? She was interviewed by Larry Mantle on Friday, September 19th, 2008, and you can hear it by clicking this link:

http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/listings/2008/09/airtalk_20080915.shtml

(Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will hear her interview!)

Enjoy!

THE BROTHERS WARNER, AN AMERICAN MASTERS PRESENTATION

2008-09-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

THE BROTHERS WARNER,
AN AMERICAN MASTERS PRESENTATION

Thursday, September 25, 2008
10:00-11:00 p.m. ET

– Intimate Look at the Men Behind the Lights, Cameras and Action of the Warner Bros. Studio; Film By Harry Warner’s Granddaughter Includes Home Movies, Rare Footage and Recollections From Family And Colleagues –

Harry, the little-known major player. Albert, the “Honest Abe.” Visionary Sam. Volatile Jack. Together, this band of brothers started a movie business that revolutionized Hollywood. They did this with no education, a lot of chutzpah and the belief that if they were told they couldn’t do something, they knew they were on the right track. Their history unfolds in THE BROTHERS WARNER, AN AMERICAN MASTERS PRESENTATION, airing Thursday, September 25, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

“I was riveted by this story,” said Susan Lacy, creator and executive producer of AMERICAN MASTERS. “It’s a wonderful, intimate, deeply interesting film about the actual Warner brothers, illuminating the personal history behind the studio. It beautifully dovetails with our other AMERICAN MASTERS presentation, ‘You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story’.”

Narrated by filmmaker and author Cass Warner Sperling (Harry Warner’s granddaughter), the film gives an insider look at the four original Hollywood independent filmmakers, their disparate personalities and their canny business sense. Industry icons Norman Lear and Roy Disney Jr.; actors Dennis Hopper, Debbie Reynolds, Angie Dickinson and George Segal; film historians,; and family members all contribute to this extraordinary story.

Old footage, family photos and personal documents trace the brothers’ scrappy rise to fortune from their meager immigrant beginnings as working-class Russian Jews. The personal tragedies and professional battles they overcame are an integral part of the story. From opening their first storefront theater by hanging a sheet on the wall and borrowing chairs from a local funeral parlor in 1907, these four brothers built an empire on a dream, transformed Hollywood and created one of the top studios in America.

“THE BROTHERS WARNER is a well-made, fascinating documentary,” said Barry Meyer, chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. “Cass has not only honored her grandfather’s legacy with this work, she’s also paid homage to one of the guiding principles of the four Warner brothers who founded the studio by producing a film that will educate, entertain and enlighten audiences.”

Underwriters: National Endowment for the Arts, Rosalind P. Walter, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Jack Rudin, The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, Public Television Viewers, PBS and Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Producer: Warner Sisters. Producer/director/writer: Cass Warner Sperling. AMERICAN MASTERS producer: Thirteen/WNET New York. Creator and executive producer: Susan Lacy. Format: CC Stereo Letterbox/HD-Upconverted where available. Online: pbs.org

– PBS –

CONTACT: Donald Lee, Thirteen/WNET, Tel.: 212-560-3005; leed@thirteen.org

Donna Williams, Thirteen/WNET, Tel.: 212-560-8030; williamsd@thirteen.org

■ To take AMERICAN MASTERS beyond the television broadcast, the companion Web site (pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters) offers interviews, essays, photographs, outtakes and other resources.

PBS is airing THE BROTHERS WARNER!

2008-09-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

THE BROTHERS WARNER is airing on PBS/KCET as an American Masters show on September 29th at 9pm,

“I was riveted by this story,” said Susan Lacy, creator and executive producer of AMERICAN MASTERS. “It’s a wonderful, intimate, deeply interesting film about the actual Warner brothers, illuminating the personal history behind the studio."

The DVD is now avalable for purchase! Click: http://www.warnersisters.com/brotherswarner.html

AT THE END OF THE WINDY ROAD THERE WAS SERENITY

2008-09-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

At the end of the windy road, and after what seemed like hours of sisterly squabbles and some carsickness, there was the serenity of grandpa Harry’s ranch waiting for us. We’d start out first thing in the morning and arrive in time for brunch as there was no freeway from where we lived in Los Angeles to the Valley.
Pepper trees lined the mile long driveway leading up the hill where ol’ Prince, the St. Bernard, greeted us with his massive clumsy, furry body and wet kisses.
I had a favorite ritual, which I always made sure I had time to do. After successfully stuffing myself with the usual brunch goodies of lox and bagels, potato pancakes with apple sauce, cole slaw, pickled herring in sour cream and onions, fresh fruit salad, and, of course, most importantly the desserts—poppy seed cake, assorted breakfast rolls, beautifully molded jello, and frosted lemon cake, and getting sufficiently bored with the adult conversation, I’d excuse myself and go and mount my favorite deer.
She rested on her haunches, legs tucked under her starring out at the racetrack, the barn and the gentleman farm below. So what if she was made of metal? That only meant that she would always be in the same place waiting for me. Once I had taken in the panorama and opened all my senses to the familiar smells of sage and California earth, I’d manifest the same gaze that my friend the deer had on her face, and drift off into the comforts of my inquiring mind. I truly felt immortal, definitely privileged, and without borders or boundaries. Reflecting like this became a regular habit for me. It was something I cherished and learned to do well. Having the time to figure things out from my observations became routine for me. By the time I had indulged in this form of personal dessert, my food had digested so that I could get permission to swim.
The pool overlooked the expanse of the land below, as it bordered on the edge of a knoll that the ranch house sat on. It had a large shallow end, so us short folks could keep our heads above water if we wanted to stand. By the time I climbed out, the skin on my hands were especially white and shriveled. I’d pretend to be an old lady monster and try and scare my little brother.
The mention of going to the stables with Grandpa to go riding assisted greatly in getting us out of the pool. Grandpa’s pride came shining through as he walked us down the hill pointing things out as he went, and giving us a tour of the sleek race horses in their immaculate stalls. Sometimes, he'd drive us down on the tractor. He’d stick around and make sure that we learned to stay in the saddle by gently yelling instructions as we trotted around him on old nags that were always saddled up and waiting.
I’ll never forget how honored I felt when Grandpa showed me a prize colt and told me he had named her after me. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Putting his arm around me as we both admired her, he told me that he KNEW she was going to be "a winner"--a moment that remains as vivid as if it happened yesterday, and is a constant reminder of his belief in me.
His love and reverence for Nature and his land became mystical as he proudly showed us what he was growing in his vegetable gardens, how beautiful his prize laying hens were, how the seasons caused the fruit trees to be different during the year, and the comings and goings of the birth and death of his animals. Sharing this mind-set of his was part of the legacy he wanted us to remember. His reward was observing our reactions and the expressions on our faces as we took it all in. His certain, quiet dignity and knowing that the ranch represented so many life lessons that he could demonstrate was an obvious important pleasure for him.
My grandfather, Harry Warner, was the benevolent patriarch of our family as well as Warner Bros. studio, and created a most beautiful, solid foundation on which I stand.

Aspen Filmfest reels 'em in - Aspen Times Staff Report

2008-08-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

ASPEN — Aspen Film has announced the partial program for next month’s Filmfest. The 30th annual festival, with American features, documentaries, international movies and special events, is set for Sept. 24-28, with events in Aspen and Carbondale.
The opening night film is “Flash of Genius,” the first feature by director Marc Abraham. Based on a true story, the film stars Greg Kinnear as an inventor trying to win back the rights to his invention, for the intermittent windshield wiper, from a car manufacturer.
Aspenite Lita Heller will be honored with a new Aspen Film award for community service to the arts. The award ceremony will be held in conjunction with a screening of the documentary “The Brothers Warner,” a look at the four siblings who founded the Warner Bros. studio. Director Cass Warner, granddaughter of movie mogul Harry Warner, is scheduled to attend.
Commemorating the 45th anniversary of “Peter Pan,” Filmfest will show the classic in its family-oriented segment. The screening will be an exclusive Colorado engagement, and will feature a new print.
Also in the features category is “Ballast,” a comic-drama about a broken family in the Mississippi Delta that earned Lance Hammer the best director award at Sundance. Foreign titles include “Teddy Bear,” by Czech director Jan Hrebejk; “Lemon Tree, an Israeli film that earned the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival; another Israeli film, “Waltz with Bashir,” a documentary of soldiers recalling the 1982 war in Lebanon; and the French drama “I’ve Loved You So Long,” starring Kristin Scott Thomas as a woman reunited with her family.
Documentaries include “Crimes Against Nature,” based on Robert Kennedy Jr.’s book about the Bush administration’s record on the environment; “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” about the women’s movement in Liberia; and “Stranded,” with survivors of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes recalling their experience.
Filmfest tickets go on sale Sept. 15. For further information, go to aspenfilm.org.

Aspen Filmfest reels ‘em in - Vail Daily News - Vail,CO

2008-08-30T04:38:00.000-07:00

ASPEN — After yet another summer of superheroes, super-villains and characters plucked from television’s past, Aspen Filmfest arrives — at the speed of light, in the nick of time, to save the day!

Aspen Film’s annual fall festival, set for Sept. 24-28, scales things back to human size. “It sounds like a cliché — but it’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” said Laura Thielen, executive director of Aspen Film. “Whether they’re documentaries or features, it’s normal people doing things that are kind of extraordinary.”

The festival takes no time getting to that theme. The opening night film is “Flash of Genius,” a feature based on the true story of Bob Kearns, an inventor whose signature creation, the intermittant windshield wiper, has been swiped by a Detroit automaker. In a performance that Thielen says has lready generated Oscar buzz, Greg Kinnear stars as the little guy who takes on the U.S. auto industry in an effort to get his due. The film, by first-time feature director Marc Abraham, co-stars Alan Alda and Dermot Mulroney.

On the documentary side are several films that have regular people making tremendous achievments, or facing extraordinary circumstances.

In the former category is “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” director Virginia Reticker’s look at how an improbable women’s movement brought enormous political changes to Liberia; and “Pressure Cooker,” the story of a culinary program in a run-down Philadelphia high school that has yielded impressive results for its participants. (The film’s co-directors, Mark Becker and Jennifer Grausman, are both expected to be in attendance.)

In the category of people dropped into extraordinary circumstances is “Stranded,” a documentary about the Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes in 1972. The film features survivors recounting for the first time in public about their experience.

Additional documentaries include the U.S. premiere of director Angus Yates’ “Crimes Against Nature,” based on Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s book about the Bush administration’s dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency; and “The Brothers Warner,” the story of the four siblings who founded the Warner Bros. movie studio, as told by Cass Warner, granddaughter of mogul Harry Warner.

Among the features that tell human-scale tales is “Ballast,” a drama set in the Mississippi Delta about how a suicide ultimately brings a broken family back together. The film earned a best director award at the Sundance Festival for Lance Hammer in his first feature-length effort.

A handful of foreign language films also focus on real-life issues and stories. The French drama “I’ve Loved You So Long” stars Kristin Scott Thomas as a woman trying to reconnect with her family, and herself, after a long prison term. “Waltz with Bashir” and “Lemon Tree” are Israeli films that put the country’s political issues — the 1982 occupation of Lebanon in the former, and the conflict with the Palestinians in the latter — into human perspective. “Lemon Tree” earned the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival; “Waltz with Bashir” was well-received after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. “Teddy Bear” is a comedy/drama about three couples in their 30s; the film is by Czech director Jan Hrebejk, whose last film, “Beauty in Trouble,” showed at last year’s Filmfest.

Amidst all the real-life tales is one very big fantasy: “Peter Pan.” Filmfest will have an exclusive Colorado screening, from a new print, in honor of the film’s 45th anniversary. The 1953 classic hasn’t been featured on the big screen in over 20 years.

Stewart Oksenhorn

Vail CO, Colorado

“I was riveted by this story..."

2008-08-30T04:32:00.000-07:00

“I was riveted by this story,” said Susan Lacy, creator and executive producer of AMERICAN MASTERS. “It’s a wonderful, intimate, deeply interesting film about the actual Warner brothers, illuminating the personal history behind the studio."

A Promise Kept – Granddaughter Carries on the Warner Brothers Legacy

2008-08-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

“It was an especially hot day at my summer camp. As I stood listening to my father on the phone tell me Grandpa Harry "passed on", a thud happened in my universe. I could feel myself grabbing for fond memories that were turning from color to black and white without the presence of my grandfather in them.

The last time I saw him flashed into my mind: He lay on a perfectly starched bed in an anti-septic smelling bedroom. A mysterious force drew me to him as if he were a candle in the dark. It was a gentle force. His eyes were opened and moved to take me in. A slight smile came across his lips. I watched his hand start to slowly move across the sheet toward mine. My hand immediately wrapped around his. The enormously kind look in his eyes embraced me as it always did. I felt his grip strengthen transmitting and sealing an important request—something of great importance was being entrusted to me. I squeezed back. A promise was made!” -Cass Warner Sperling

THE BROTHERS WARNER a feature-length documentary written and directed by Harry Warner’s granddaughter, Cass Warner Sperling, and produced by her production company, Warner Sisters is a completion of a promise to herself and her grandfather. It's an intimate portrait of the four brothers who pioneered the film industry--an ultimate rags-to-riches story of a family run business and the challenges they overcame to create a major studio with a social conscience.

Barry Meyer, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. recently screened THE BROTHERS WARNER. In his own words, “THE BROTHERS WARNER is a well-made, fascinating documentary. Cass has not only honored her grandfather’s legacy with this work, she’s also paid homage to one of the guiding principles of the four Warner brothers who founded the studio by producing a film that will educate, entertain and enlighten audiences.”

The film is based on the family biography, THE BROTHERS WARNER, a book written by Ms. Warner. A special 85th anniversary edition is now available on Amazon.com with twice as many photos and a new introduction, and a pre-released copy of the film is available on DVD on Warner Sisters' website.

realscreen Magazine and the Brothers

2008-06-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

You can double-click

to make this larger

and read the article.

MIP TV Debut, April 7-11, Planned

2008-04-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

NEW DOCUMENTARY: “THE BROTHERS WARNER,” BY FILMMAKER AND GRANDDAUGHTER, CASS WARNER TELLS HER FAMILY DYNASTY’S STORY, BOTH THE GRAND AND THE GRIM!

A band of brothers who rose from immigrant poverty through personal tragedies, persevering to create a major studio with a social conscience

(Los Angeles, Calif., March 25, 2008)--- Warner Brothers was the only family owned and operated studio in Hollywood and today the studio the brothers created 85 years ago remains a giant player in the entertainment industry.
But behind the power of “Casablanca” and reels of Bugs Bunny cartoon classics is an epic saga, the family’s dramatic life story, as told by an insider, Cass Warner, filmmaker and granddaughter of Harry Warner, in a new, 90-minute documentary, “The Brothers Warner,” set to debut April 7th at MIP TV in Cannes.
The Warner Bros. (Harry, Sam, Albert and Jack) started in the picture business in 1903 as exhibitors, showing movies on a bed sheet in Pittsburgh.
By 1918, they were able to open their first studio on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, a few miles from the current location in Burbank.
Their father, Ben, mandated to them when they were children, “As long as you stand together, you will be strong.”
This is an intimate tale that reads like a Greek tragedy of four brothers who created and ran the studio for over 50 years and the disintegration of their relationship, culminating in the subsequent sale of the studio.
Featuring numerous, never before seen images and private movies from the Warner family archives and interviews with Warner luminaries and peers, such as Dennis Hopper, Debbie Reynolds, Norman Lear and Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., “The Brothers Warner” is the first ever film produced by a Hollywood film family member about her own clan’s studio dynasty.
Reaching way beyond the usual studio tributes of film clips and glossy remarks, “The Brothers Warner,” years in the making and based on Cass Warner’s book, “Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story,” peeks behind the curtain and shows the true character of the people who created the Hollywood legacy and mystique.
“For me this documentary is the fulfillment of something special entrusted to me to tell,” says Warner.
Worldwide distribution will be handled by industry veteran Glenn Aveni, whose company Icon Television Music, Inc. will be at MIP TV (stand #15.30). To inquire for rights acquisitions please call (818) 385 0200 x117.
Websites: www.warnersisters.com; www.icontvmusic.com.
###

Cass Warner Interviewed by Bankrate.com

2007-12-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

Not only did independent filmmaker Cass Warner grow up in a socially conscious family in Los Angeles, but she also grew up in and around movies her whole life. Her grandfather was Harry Warner, president and co-founder, along with his siblings Jack, Sam and Albert, of Warner Bros. Studio.

It wasn't unusual for Cass Warner to sit down next to Richard Burton or Natalie Wood, watching one of the recent WB films in her family's living room. And every Saturday, she would accompany her writer/producer father, Milton Sperling, to the studio lot, where she was allowed to roam.

It wasn't unusual for Cass Warner to sit down next to Richard Burton or Natalie Wood, watching one of the recent WB films in her family's living room. And every Saturday, she would accompany her writer/producer father, Milton Sperling, to the studio lot, where she was allowed to roam. Read the full interview...

GET INVOLVED! Find out how YOU can be a part of bringing Hollywood history to life!

2007-09-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Cass Warner is currently in postproduction on THE BROTHERS WARNER, her long-in-the-making feature documentary that puts a new and personal spin on the fascinating Hollywood legacies of her family. You can support this effort with a tax deductible donation through the 501c3 non-profit Fiscal Sponsorship of the International Documentary Association (IDA). Please know that Cass and her collaborators appreciate your help in getting the film finished in time for the 85th anniversary of the studio's founding in 2008 - so we're happy to include your name as a thank you in the credits of the film.

To make a donation please click here.

New Documentary About Warner Bros. Seeks Distributor

2007-08-06T21:50:00.002-07:00

A new documentary about the founding of Warner Bros. has just been finished and now it needs a distributor. Any ideas? Funny, I would have figured the WB itself would be interested in something like this, at least via Warner Independent Pictures, but apparently it isn't that easy. Could it be the doc features negative info about the studio? I doubt this, considering the film was directed by Cass Warner, grand-daughter of Harry Warner (and mother of actor Cole Hauser; daughter of Oscar-nominated producer Milton Sperling). Also, Eliza Steel, grand-daughter of Albert Warner, was an associate producer on the project. Certainly neither would include bad stuff about their family and the movie studio they started. From the sound of it, the doc, titled The Brothers Warner, is simply about the legacy of Harry, Albert, Jack and Sam. Among its interviewees are Dennis Hopper, Norman Lear, Morgan Spurlock and surviving members of the Warner family; the film also features an exclusive audio interview with Ronald Reagan.

I guess there could be some negative things said about today's Warner Bros. or about today's Hollywood in general. The film's co-writer and producer is Eddie Schmidt, usual partner to Kirby Dick, with whom he made This Film is Not Yet Rated and the Oscar-nominated Twist of Faith. So, like the former film, this could offer a controversial look at the movie business. However, I still think the WB should put this out themselves rather than give people the impression the studio has problems with it. Cass Warner actually started a new production company called Warner Sisters for this film, and it would be neat to see the header "Warner Bros. and Warner Sisters Presents ... " Between the recent docs The Kid Stays in the Picture and The Last Mogul, there's obviously some interest in films about film moguls, and both whet my appetite for something just like The Brothers Warner. Hopefully, the WB will get smart soon and put this out.

Valley filmmaker keeps family flame lit with Warner Sisters

2007-07-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

Cass Warner walks in the visionary footsteps of her grandfather
By Mark Krasn

"The legacy of the brothers are boots I like to wear," says studio city resident Cass Warner - author, producer and documentarian.

The brothers? Well, those would be Harry, Jack, Abe and Sam - the world-famous quartet who overcame tremendous odds time and again to establish the studio that went on to provide movie lovers everywhere with some of the alltime classics.

Warner, who is the granddaughter of Harry (the eldest of the Warner Bros. Studios four plucky founders, considers herself the "Keeper of the Flame" — as evidenced through a number of heartfelt projects.

Just one of these is the documentary about the Warner Bros. Studio being made in anticipation of its 85th anniversary. Clint Eastwood is Executive Producer of the history — slated to premier at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.

"It's a pleasure and a duty to carry on my family's vision of films as tools for social awareness," says Warner, who founded Warner Sisters – a production company to bring many of her projects to fruition. One of these projects – already completed and in its sixth printing, is the book, Hollywood Be Thy Name, The Warner Brothers Story.

"It took me a long time to process my grandfather's final communication to me," says Warner, who saw him for the last time when she was ten years old. "I realized that there was a promise between us for me to carry on what the brothers began and believed in."

The privilege of fulfilling that promise, says Warner, includes encouraging filmmakers to product works that are both aesthetically pleasing, but which have an important message about the global issues of the day. To "educate, entertain and enlighten" was her grandfather's enduring motto.

Examples, says Warner, include the legendary Casablanca, where Humphrey Bogart sees his true love Ingrid Bergman fade into the sunset, in lieu of a more romantic ending. This, says Warner, was a message of self-sacrifice for the greater good. Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper, was another Warner Bros./Howard koch production that, Warner says, was an "anti-war" film.

"Howard told me that, when he wrote, he felt he was just the conduit for a message that needed to be conveyed," says Warner. "And my grandfather was one of the first people to really understand the power of film to convey those messages artistically."

Warner, the daughter of screenwriter Milton Sperling, has fond memories of happy times spent on Harry Warner's 1100-acre ranch in Topanga Canyon where she says the humble man drove a tractor, fed chickens and lovingly tended to his family.

She had little awareness of the power he yielded until she saw the startled reaction of childhood friends who joined movie stars such as Natalie Wood and Richard Burton when the Warner-Sperlings held Saturday night home movie screenings.

"I wasn't really aware of my good fortune when I was younger," says Warner, whose father wrote The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell and a documentary, The Sands of Iwo Jima and was twice nominated for an Academy Award. "My family didn't desire the limelight."

Warner's preservation of her family's legacy includes participating in the revitalization of the New Castle, Pennsylvania theatre where the Harry, Sam, Abe and Jack Warner first displayed silent films, such as The Great Train Robbery.

Visionaries all, they eventually produced The Jazz Singer, the first successful "talkie", that starred Al Jolson. The theatre's revitalization will be accompanied by the development of storefronts and restaurants that warner says will bring new life to downtown New Castle.

Warner is also hard at work on The Promise, a feature documentary about the rags to riches tale of the four brothers who parents escaped Czarist Russia to pursue a better life. 1904 marked their first entertainment venture, when father Ben pawned his precious gold watch and a horse so that his sons could purchase a kinetoscope projector for nickel per ticket showings of The Great Train Robbery.

Warner says the documentary will focus on her beloved grandfather Harry, the studio's "strategic general" and financial whiz.

The "Dream Factory" is another way through which Warner hopes to preserve her grandfather's legacy. The nonprofit will make available to children interviews with "people at the top of their game" whatever their station in life.

"I want to start a library of these interviews to inspire and motivate children," says Warner. "Why do people love what they do, and how can they communicate their insights?"

Warner also is a founder of the International Youth for Human Rights Festival, dedicated to helping young people between the ages of 12 to 21 to use film as a medium for social betterment, and serves on the board of advisors for the Citizens Commission for Human Rights.

She sees this as part of her obligation to leave a better world for her own grown children: daughters Tao and Vanessa and sons Jesse and Cole (known as Cole Hauser — an actor whos credits include roles in Good Will Hunting, Tigerland and Paparazzi).

Warner Sisters has acquired the rights to all of the unproduced works of Howard Koch. Praising recent socially conscious movies, such as Good Night and Good Luck — a look at the McCarthy-era blacklisting of supposed Communist sympathizers — Warner says it's fitting that Clint Eastwood occupies her grandfather's studio bungalow as he helps Warner Bros. prepare to celebrate its 85th birthday.

"Hollywood has an ethical responsibility," says Warner. "As Frank Capra once said, we have the power to speak to millions of people two hours at a time in the dark."

About Cass Warner

2007-07-31T09:31:00.000-07:00

Echoing the original motto set forth by her grandfather, Harry Warner president and co-founder of the Warner Bros. studio, Cass Warner founded Warner Sisters with the passion of carrying on a legacy to use film to "educate, entertain and enlighten.” (The original motto for the studio.)

Accompanying her father, twice Oscar-nominated writer/producer Milton Sperling to the Warner Bros. lot on Saturday was where her dedication to this art form was born.

Cass studied acting with Milton Katselas and others, while raising her children. She expanded into screenwriting under the mentorship of her father and Howard Koch of “Casablanca” fame. Her affiliation with and admiration for Koch grew into a close friendship which led to her landing his un-produced works: screenplays, plays, short stories and novels, which she is developing into a library.

In addition to writing and developing her own and others' screenplays, Cass authored a book documenting the actual accounts of her forefathers' rags-to-riches tale: HOLLYWOOD BE THY NAME: THE WARNER BROTHERS STORY now in its sixth printing.

In 2005, Cass became a founding supporter of the International Youth for Human Rights Film Festival, which encourages youth from ages 12-21 to use the medium of film to demonstrate their solutions regarding human rights issues -- the UN Declaration of Human Rights being the document used as the basis for the education of children and adults concerning their rights.

“Conversations With Cass” is a series of one-on-one conversations with some of today’s most recognized actors and other notable personalities. Moving away from the prepackaged Q&A sessions commonly seen, each dialogue shares a different perspective into the lives of these individuals. Comfortable in the intimate setting, the actors explain their journey to success, including the inspiration and obstacles they encountered along the way. Written, directed, and hosted by Cass, these interviews will form a large part in an inspirational film library for “The Dream Factory”—a place where dreams are discovered, renewed, rehabilitated, and made to come true. This library will not only host interviews from successful actors, but will also feature accomplished individuals from all walks of life. (The Starz Channel has aired clips from her interviews with Matthew McConaughey, Giovanni Ribisi and Cole Hauser.)

Cass collaborated with Kay McConaughey’s (Matthew's mother) on her book, I AMAZE MYSELF, a set of anecdotes and insights, each themed to inspire the reader to acknowledge their own amazing journey.

She is currently writing, directing and producing a feature length documentary, on her family THE BROTHERS WARNER with Oscar nominated, Eddie Schmidt (TWIST OF FAITH and THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED.) It will be released in 2008 for the 85th Anniversary of the studio.

She is the proud mother of four: Tao, Cole Hauser (actor), Vanessa and Jesse.

Warner Sisters website is: http://www.warnersisters.com

New Warner Documentary Keeps Things “All In The Family”

2007-07-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)

Director Cass Warner – Granddaughter of Famed Harry Warner – Reveals
The Real Inside-Story Behind The Filming Of ‘Band of Brothers’

Los Angeles, CA (July 31, 2007) – “It’s a wrap” on principal photography for director Cass Warner’s intimate documentary on the legacy of her family – the family who gave the world everything from Bogart to Bugs Bunny – The Warner Bros.

Under the aegis of original brothers, Harry, Jack, Sam and Albert, the WB was also known for gritty, socially conscious themes that addressed the human condition in films like “I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang,” “Black Legion,” and “Confessions of a Nazi Spy.” And that’s where this Warner descendant lays claim for her filmmaking forefathers.

Cass, the President of the aptly named independent production company, Warner Sisters, is the granddaughter of Warner founder Harry. She’s also the author of the family’s definitive biography “Hollywood Be Thy Name.” The book – and now this film as well – mark the culmination of a promise Cass made to her grandfather on his deathbed.

Tentatively titled “The Brothers Warner,” the feature doc looks at the fascinating lives of these American icons filtered through the lens of contemporary Hollywood, and framed by the unique perspective of Warner herself. “I remember my father (Oscar nominated writer/producer Milton Sperling) being the referee between Harry and Jack, and telling wild stories about their relationship around the dinner table. Yet I’d go to the studio lot every Saturday and see this idyllic creative enclave. I started to wonder how these guys kept it together to make that magic happen?”

Warner credits digital video and the explosion of the documentary form with making the film possible. “I’ve wanted to tell the story of the Brothers on film for so long, and digital technology has finally made it feasible,” Cass said. “And since my grandfather was known for making gritty, socially conscious films, it seems only fitting to tell his and the other brothers’ story in a documentary where relevant films live today.”

Warner wanted to deliver her vision with a seasoned documentary team, and so is co-writing and producing the doc with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Eddie Schmidt – whose writing & producing credits include last year’s “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” and HBO’s Oscar-nominated “Twist Of Faith.” Schmidt felt a connection to Warner’s book and her rich archive – including letters, diaries, photos and exclusive audio interviews with the likes of Ronald Reagan – and began imaging a story that would resonate with contemporary audiences. “A lot of what the Brothers lived through parallels to the industry as it stands on the brink of major changes today,” said Schmidt, “both creatively and technologically.” He added that he hopes to bring humor and irreverence to telling of the Brothers’ saga.

Thus far, interviewees have lined up in droves for the film, with an impressively eclectic cast of past and present that includes such industry movers-and-shakers as Dennis Hopper, Angie Dickinson, Haskell Wexler, and Morgan Spurlock – to name a few. In total, the filmmakers have interviewed over 30 actors, filmmakers, moguls and cultural analysts.

Rounding out the team are director of photography Arlene Donnelly-Nelson (“A Mighty Wind”), herself a documentarian with HBO’s “Naked World” and “Naked States” films, as well as Grammy Award winning producer/arranger/composer David Campbell, as composer and music supervisor. Editor Stephen Malik, who so impressed Warner and Schmidt with his work on an in-progress trailer, was brought on to edit the feature, currently on track for fall-festival submissions.

Warner and Schmidt funded the film privately with help from the IDA’s (International Documentary Association) Fiscal Sponsorship Program. Currently in preliminary talks with potential distributors from the theatrical and premium cable world, Warner and Schmidt may opt to take the doc on the festival route before signing any deals.

“Since 2008 marks the 85th anniversary of Warner Brothers’ founding with Harry Warner at the helm, our timing is perfect,” noted Warner, who is also planning a companion book about the making of the film.

Media contact:
Publicist – Marlan Willardson (310) 701-3350
marlan@mw-pr.com

The Brothers Warner Documentary

Cass Warner/Warner Sisters Productions