EXCLUSIVE: The new Warner Bros’ Christian Parkes-led contemporary film label, Clockwork, which we first told you about last December, will be making the segue to the new Paramount Warner Bros merger aka 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 on Oct. 16, the unearthed spicy Catholic taboo 1971 Ken Russell directed 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 a shot in the arm. Clockwork is an entry point for edgy filmmakers with moderate sized budgeted pics. The label’s original output was for two-to-three films annually.
When the label was first announced in December (the name followed at CinemaCon), there was some wonder in the town as to 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 Canal’s Midnight Library for $36M (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 Bailey, 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.
