Warner Brothers has lost one of its chief executives, Kevin Tsujihara, following a report that the CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment would help an actress get roles in films in exchange for sex.
On March 6, The Hollywood Reporter dropped a bombshell report in which it’s revealed that Tsujihara was having sex with actress Charlotte Kirk, and connecting her with audition opportunities in return. While Tsujihara denied that he had been involved in casting any movie, the leaked text messages were damning.
On Monday, the CEO stepped down. In a memo to staff he said, “It has become clear that my continued leadership could be a distraction and an obstacle to the company’s continued success. The hard work of everyone within our organization is truly admirable, and I won’t let media attention on my past detract from all the great work the team is doing.”
WB is the midst of conducting an investigation surrounding the allegations.
Notable to readers of Hypable, J.K. Rowling has credited Tsujihara for bringing the Fantastic Beasts film series into existence. “When I say he made ‘Fantastic Beasts’ happen, it isn’t P.R.-speak but the literal truth,” she said in 2014. “We had one dinner, a follow-up telephone call, and then I got out the rough draft that I’d thought was going to be an interesting bit of memorabilia for my kids and started rewriting!”
Tsujihara reportedly flew over to the U.K. on several occasions to have face-to-face meetings with Rowling, further convincing her to agree to Fantastic Beasts. Just last month we shared new comments from the now-former CEO about the status of Fantastic Beasts 3.
According to a well-known Hollywood reporter, Tsujihara has actually been a bad influence on WB:
Kevin Tsujihara being out at WB is great news. Beyond the grossness of the scandal that got him out filmmakers and employees have hated him for years. I've been told numerous times he had zero understanding of storytelling, the very definition of a soulless bottom line exec.
— Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) March 18, 2019
WB is expected to name a temporary replacement later this week as they search for a permanent replacement.
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