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Watch: Warner Bros' 100th Anniversary - Special Tribute Sizzle Reel

by Alex Billington
December 14, 2022
Source: YouTube

"At Warner Bros., we are storytellers. Instilled into the foundation of who we are… For 100 years, we've been dream-makers." It's time for a celebration of cinema! The iconic Burbank, CA movie studio Warner Bros is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2023. To kick off this iconic year, the studio has released a five-minute "sizzle reel" video, a lovely tribute to their 100 years of unforgettable storytelling on screen - it features footage from many of their classic movies and a few television shows (mainly "Friends" and "E.R."). They are also launching a big "Celebrating Every Story" campaign - with local events, screenings of WB favorites, and much more over the next few months. WB first incorporated on April 4th, 1923 as "Warner Brothers Classics of the Screen" and launched with the movie Where the North Begins starring the dog Rin Tin Tin in the summer of 1923. This video below is one of these nicely edited corporate sizzles that is usually only shown at industry events, but since this is a celebration for everyone, it's available for the public, too.

Watch the WB promo below. "Join us in celebrating every story. The year of celebrating #WB100 is here."

"The name Warner Bros. is synonymous with entertainment and we are honored to be celebrating this iconic studio’s centennial and the rich heritage that stretches back to the four brothers who founded it in 1923," Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav states. "Over the past 100 years, Warner Bros. has created some of the most recognizable and beloved films, TV shows and characters ever made and has been the place for impactful storytelling that both defines and reflects our culture. We are excited about our company’s bright and dynamic future and, as we embark on its second century, to continue to tell the kind of great stories that entertain, inform and inspire audiences around the world."

Founded in 1923 by four brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, the company established itself as a leader in the American film industry for decades. The company's name originated from the founding Warner brothers (originally born Wonsal, Woron and Wonskolaser before Anglicization): Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner. Harry, Albert and Sam emigrated as young children with their Polish-Jewish mother to the United States from Krasnosielc, Poland, in October 1889, a year after their father emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. As the studio prospered, it gained backing from Wall Street, and in 1924 Goldman Sachs arranged for a major loan. With this new money, the Warners bought the pioneer Vitagraph Company which had a nationwide distribution system. During the transition from silent to talkies, WB was actually the studio that decided to release The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson in 1927, known as the iconic movie that forever changed Hollywood, ending the silent era once and for all. The rest is history, as they say.

Warner Bros is currently in turmoil thanks to thei leader, the disastrous David Zaslav, which is unfortunate because this should be a celebratory time for them heading into this big 100th anniversary year. Hopefully something will change soon. In the meantime, despite their mishandling of everything, they're still an iconic studio with an incredible legacy. So many classics! So many phenomenal movies! Here's to 100 years of WB. I hope they'll continue to support filmmakers, artists, and storytellers of all kinds pushing cinema forward.

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