Ava DuVernay Inks Estimated $100 Million Deal W/ Warner Bros. Television Group
Emmy Winning Director Ava DuVernay Inks An Estimated $100 Million Deal With Warner Bros. Television Group
Director and social rights activist Ava DuVernay has signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTV). Within the Emmy winning director’s multi-year deal, she will be creating content under her production company’s Forward Movement umbrella, while covering multiple genres. Forward Movement aims to create content which covers dramas, documentaries, digital content, and longer form projects for broadcast cable, premium cable, and streaming platforms/services.
DuVernay and her relationship with WBTV has previously been formed, as the company helms as the distributor for her executive produced series’ “Queen Sugar” & “Red Line.” The WBTV President and Chief Content Officer Peter Roth said about the deal,
We have had the great pleasure of working with her on ‘Queen Sugar’ and ‘The Red Line,’ and we are extremely excited about the new stories she has to tell.
The overall deal is expected to be in the $100 million range, and will not directly affect the Oscar nominated director’s collaborations with Netflix – as her four-part drama “Central Park Five” is expected to debut in 2019. DuVernay said about the deal,
I’ve had nothing but beautiful experiences working with Peter Roth, Susan Rovner and Brett Paul. They love and support artists in wonderful and nourishing way. They work within a traditional studio headed by Kevin Tsujihara that is stirring with un-traditional energy and fresh protocols for intentional, inclusive image-making. Warner Bros. is a terrific partner about matters of visibility and belonging for all kinds and cultures of people, which is our mission at Forward Movement. I couldn’t be happier to call Warner Bros. TV my production home.
The agreement is not set to begin until January 2019.
Will you be waiting to see what DuVernay will create for her first program? Let us know in the comments.