Zack Snyder's JUSTICE LEAGUE on HBO Max (2021) 1 1

[Bosco685]

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Additional filming for the Snyder Cut of Justice League is officially underway, as confirmed by Zack Snyder on Twitter Tuesday morning. The director posted a picture of the official Justice League slate, meaning that he and the rest of the cast and crew are getting down to business.

 

 

The first trailer for the Snyder Cut was released back in August as a part of DC FanDome. More recently, TikTok users were treated to a Snyder Cut teaser trailer that revealed the new-and-improved Steppenwolf. We’ve also heard news that Ben Affleck would be returning for reshoots as Batman, and Joe Manganiello would reprise his role of Deathstroke. Jared Leto will also be joining the cast as the Joker, who he previously played in Suicide Squad.

 

Due to the unpredictable nature of Covid-19, it was hard to tell exactly when these added shoots would happen. Now, it’s confirmed that production is back in action. Remember, Snyder won’t be using any of the scenes captured by Joss Whedon after he stepped down from the original production. So there’s quite a few gaps to fill.

 

The Snyder Cut of Justice League will run about four hours in length, but you won’t have to experience it all at once. Rather, it will be released as four hour-long installments, giving it more of a limited series feel. Although it won’t be a traditional movie release per se, it’s definitely something to look forward to next year. Zack Snyder’s Justice League premieres on HBO Max in 2021.

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

I was expecting a November 2021 release, but recently saw that it's expected to be released by July?

[Bosco685]

34 minutes ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

I was expecting a November 2021 release, but recently saw that it's expected to be released by July?

July 2021 and September 2021 have been floating around. But I don't believe anything official has been announced yet.

[media_junkie]

15 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

That's it. Nothing else. But they used the rarest black ink. 

Well from a report I saw in Variety $30 mil on reshoots, $5 mil on the case and logo, and the remainder on hookers and blow.

[Bosco685]

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“The erasure of people of color from the 2017 theatrical version of Justice League was neither an accident nor coincidence,” Ray Fisher calmly, but sternly stated.

 

Justice League star Ray Fisher has never been shy about speaking his truth. Focused and measured, Fisher spoke with Forbes about his continued dispute with Warner Bros. Fisher passionately spoke on the toxic and harmful work environment that he and the cast endured during the film’s Joss Whedon-led reshoots, after he took over from original director, Zack Snyder. Fisher went into detail on the myriad issues on set. 

 

Fisher’s campaign started on June 29. Fisher put Hollywood on notice when he shared a clip of himself from Hall H at 2017’s San Diego Comic-Con. During the Justice League panel that year, fans were blissfully unaware of the lies the cast were forced to say, according to Fisher. “I’d like to take a moment and forcefully retract every bit of this statement,” Fisher said on Twitter.

 

Fisher Discusses Abusive Set and Racist Environment

 

Fisher went into detail on why he felt the need to retract the statement, citing how fabricated talking points were distributed to the cast of heaping praise on Whedon as Snyder’s replacement.

 

“For one thing, the cast and crew were told that Zack had handpicked Joss to finish the film for him. I didn’t find out until after the reshoots that that was a complete lie.” Fisher began. “I heard whispers and rumblings of things being off behind the scenes, but nothing concrete until much later. They had us go out to San Diego Comic-Con in 2017 and say Zack picked Joss and that Joss was a great guy. I still have the email with those talking points.”

 

Two days later, Fisher took to Twitter to point fingers and provide the names of the those he held responsible.

 

“Joss Whedon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment,” Fisher tweeted on July 1st.

Fisher explained to Forbes the exact moment he decided he needed to take a public stand. 

 

“What set my soul on fire and forced me to speak out about Joss Whedon this summer was my becoming informed that Joss had ordered that the complexion of an actor of color be changed in post-production because he didn’t like the color of their skin tone,” Fisher firmly stated. “Man, with everything 2020’s been, that was the tipping point for me.” Whedon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

After Zack Snyder left Justice League’s production in early 2017 following a family tragedy, Warner Bros. Pictures brought in Joss Whedon to conduct reshoots that heavily altered the original film. The cast of the film was taken aback by the things that happened in Snyder’s absence. Yet, the cast was not aware of how bad things were about to get. 

 

“You’ve got to understand, Zack stepped away to be with his family, and we wanted to give him space to do that,” Fisher said. “He and I didn’t speak for about a year after he left.”

 

Fisher went on to explain how the abusive and unprofessional atmosphere was cultivated behind closed doors even before Snyder departed the project. 

 

“Prior to Justice League’s reshoot process, blatantly racist conversations were had and entertained—on multiple occasions—by former and current top level executives at Warner Bros. Pictures,” Fisher stated. “Decision-makers that participated in those racist conversations were Geoff Johns, Jon Berg, and current Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich.” Emmerich, Berg, and Johns did not immediately respond for comment.

 

“I realized that the notes I ended up getting from Johns during reshoots were just a coded version of the racist things he was saying with behind closed doors with the other execs,” Fisher alleged.

 

“A lot of what these guys were doing was in an effort to prevent themselves from being fired during AT&T’s merger with Time Warner,” Fisher pointed out to Forbes. “I plan getting much more specific about each of these guys after the investigation is over—this interview is just the abridged version,” Fisher further clarified.

 

While Fisher was already aware of the alleged whitewashing, he didn't become aware of these racist conversations until after he started speaking out.

 

“These conversations were reported to me by people in the room. And I wasn’t made aware until AFTER I had already spoken out about Joss Whedon.”

 

“None of what I’m sharing in this interview is news to Warner Bros. HR, nor should it be news to WarnerMedia. I reported almost everything to them back in July—including Emmerich’s involvement,” Fisher said. “The fact that I’m having to advocate for myself in this way is equal parts freeing and frustrating.”

 

Outside of Fisher, multiple actors of color had their roles completely removed or heavily-reduced in Justice League. 

 

The role of Ryan Choi, played by Zheng Kai, was cut. Joe Morton, who played Cyborg’s father Silas, had his role mostly cut and reshot. While Zack Snyder included a diverse cast of characters, many of them had roles significantly altered, or disappeared from the film altogether before it arrived in theaters. Karen Bryson, who played Cyborg’s mother Ellinore, had her role cut as well. Additionally, Kiersey Clemons, who played Iris West, was removed from the film. All of them will appear in 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League. 

 

“I always suspected that race was a determining factor for the way that things went down, but it wasn’t until this past summer that I was able to prove it,” Fisher said of the changes to minority characters.

 

Fisher outlined how the abusive and unprofessional atmosphere went beyond the racial elements. He claims a toxic and manipulative atmosphere quickly engulfed the Justice League reshoots. 

 

“Race was just one of the issues with the reshoot process. There were massive blowups, threats, coercion, taunting, unsafe work conditions, belittling, and gaslighting like you wouldn’t believe,” Fisher commented when asked for details. 

 

As for the role Johns had in the abusive environment on set, Fisher didn't mince words on either Whedon or Johns. 

 

“Geoff Johns made a veiled threat to my career during the LA reshoots of Justice League,” Fisher said. “Multiple sources have informed me, that Joss threatened the career of another person associated with the production. Toby was made aware and tried to cover for Whedon rather than deal with the abuse. That situation had to be escalated to Tsujihara to get any results.”

 

While some question the legitimacy of his claims, Fisher has made it very clear that they should not.

 

“These things affected many people across various departments. Warner Bros. Pictures has tried to make it seem as if these issues are mine and mine alone,” Fisher said. “I’ve brought them a number of witnesses that have been avoided and in some cases ghosted during the investigation process. Warner Bros. knows full well my claims are credible. They’re just scrambling.”

 

The Conversation Between Ray Fisher, Walter Hamada, and WB’s Statement

 

On September 4th, the Cyborg actor took to Twitter once again to explain how the studio had been handling his dispute thus far. The actor detailed a call between himself and Walter Hamada, president of DC Films. In it, he alleged that Hamada tried to get Fisher to relent on Johns. The tweet sparked Warner Bros. Pictures to put out their first official statement.

 

In the statement, a studio spokesperson said, “At no time did Mr. Hamada ever 'throw anyone under the bus,' as Mr. Fisher has falsely claimed, or render any judgments about the Justice League production, in which Mr. Hamada had no involvement since filming occurred before Mr. Hamada was elevated to his current position.”

 

The studio went on to say that “Mr. Fisher has declined to speak to the investigator” and that Fisher “failed to provide” specific and credible allegations of misconduct. 

 

Fisher, infuriated by the statement, told Forbes that the statement was a double-edged sword that helped him as much as the studio attempted to discredit him.

 

“The hit piece that Warner Bros. Pictures put out on me on September 4th, was meant to isolate me, but it ended up having the opposite effect,” Fisher said. “More people ended up reaching out and offering their support.

 

Fisher saw this as a clear pattern of behavior from the studio and made him even more focused on continuing to speak out.

 

“Warner Bros. Pictures has been receiving a lot of bad press recently for their mishandling of HR and third-party investigations—unfortunately the Justice League investigation has been no different.” 

 

After Justice League massively underperformed at the box office, a sizable shift at Warner Bros brass followed, with Geoff Johns and Jon Berg removed from their positions and replaced by Hamada. While Hamada was not present during the production of Justice League, Fisher went into further detail about his disappointment with the DC Films president regarding the investigation process.  

 

“Walter Hamada chose to insert himself into this situation by trying to throw Joss Whedon and Jon Berg under the bus to protect Geoff Johns,” Fisher reiterated. “He has a long-standing work relationship with Johns and an even longer one with Toby [Emmerich] from their time together at New Line.”

 

Fisher stressed the connection between Emmerich and Hamada, to explain how deep studio politics go to protect each other. 

 

“Emmerich made Hamada the president of DC Films and Johns is providing content for Hamada to produce. It stands to reason that he would have a vested interest in trying to protect both of them.” Hamada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

It's okay to reduce anyone's role when it's regardless of their skin color. It's definitely not okay to reduce a role because of racism.

This is an instance where I can support an actor's outcry, because he appears to have evidence of the roles being limited by racist outlook. Not just random speculation.

Very unfortunate.

[Bosco685]

1 hour ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

It's okay to reduce anyone's role when it's regardless of their skin color. It's definitely not okay to reduce a role because of racism.

This is an instance where I can support an actor's outcry, because he appears to have evidence of the roles being limited by racist outlook. Not just random speculation.

Very unfortunate.

There are people on social media demanding he post recordings of conversations or it never happened.

Funny how extreme an evidence bar is in these situations for the accuser, but not the accused in proving they were not at fault.

[D84]

54 minutes ago, Bosco685 said:

There are people on social media demanding he post recordings of conversations or it never happened.

Funny how extreme an evidence bar is in these situations for the accuser, but not the accused in proving they were not at fault.

People are being harsh on Ray Fisher, but I believe in innocent until proven guilty.

I'm not saying it didn't happen, but guilt by accusation is just as bad as brushing the allegations off the accuser.

[Bosco685]

20 minutes ago, D84 said:

People are being harsh on Ray Fisher, but I believe in innocent until proven guilty.

I'm not saying it didn't happen, but guilt by accusation is just as bad as brushing the allegations off the accuser.

I agree. We don't want flippant claims as anyone then can post harsh statements with no real merit.

But you can tell something is there the way WB Studios worked with Variety to publish that hit piece about ONLY Ray Fisher had issues and just didn't want to say 'BOOYAH' as a -script line. That all went down the bowl when Jason Momoa came forward and added his voice to these claims.

Jason Momoa affirms Justice League mistreatment on set: 'Serious stuff went down'

Allowing them to blow off Fisher as a lone complainer was the wrong move on their part. Especially in 2020 and some of the events that have occurred.

[theCapraAegagrus]

13 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

There are people on social media demanding he post recordings of conversations or it never happened.

Funny how extreme an evidence bar is in these situations for the accuser, but not the accused in proving they were not at fault.

As @D84 said, there does need to be corroboration, or ironclad evidence. I don't think it's proper to take only Fisher's word for it.

Other people need to step up and support Fisher if they witnessed these events.

[Bosco685]

33 minutes ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

As @D84 said, there does need to be corroboration, or ironclad evidence. I don't think it's proper to take only Fisher's word for it.

Other people need to step up and support Fisher if they witnessed these events.

But what would ironclad evidence look like?

Even when corporations investigate racism claims, they look for hints of such activities rather than assuming someone stood up on a table to proclaim their hate. Something that clear cut is uncommon.

[theCapraAegagrus]

2 minutes ago, Bosco685 said:

But what would ironclad evidence look like?

Even when corporations investigate racism claims, they look for hints of such activities rather than assuming someone stood up on a table to proclaim their hate. Something that clear cut is uncommon.

In no way am I suggesting that it is common. It would destroy any argument against Fisher's claims, though.

I doubt that there is physical evidence to support his claims, which is why the actions need to be corroborated.

[Bosco685]

30 minutes ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

In no way am I suggesting that it is common. It would destroy any argument against Fisher's claims, though.

I doubt that there is physical evidence to support his claims, which is why the actions need to be corroborated.

And that is why Momoa came forward as a recognized name to support the claims. And with the WB Studios investigation Fisher has others to come forward (such as Gal Gadot's body double that was threatened to force the breast-in-face scene). But they are more nervous about their careers, and only want to come forward if a real investigation is going to occur.

Which what we found out last night the third-party conducting an investigation on behave of the accused (WB Studios) is gone, and now WM has hired its own third-party.

Interview: Ray Fisher Speaks Out On “Toxic” Set And WarnerMedia Investigation Into Justice League Production

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Fisher revealed one of the biggest challenges has been getting WarnerMedia to conduct a fair and impartial investigation, something that has taken much of Fisher’s time to achieve. 

 

“My team and I have been informed that the third-party firm that was originally brought on to investigate Justice League has withdrawn from the case,” Fisher began. 

 

 “WarnerMedia has since informed me and my team that the old investigator purposely lied to us about the investigation. We’ve asked WarnerMedia to relay this information to the public and to retract Warner Bros.’ September 4th hit piece on me so we can clear the air and get the investigation back on track. They’ve refused to do so…so here we are…”

 

With the original investigator withdrawn, Fisher is optimistic that the new investigator will perform their duties impartially.

 

 “The new investigator that WarnerMedia has brought on is the same one that did the final Kevin Tsujihara investigation before he was taken down,” Fisher explained.

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

4 minutes ago, Bosco685 said:

And that is why Momoa came forward as a recognized name to support the claims. And with the WB Studios investigation Fisher has others to come forward (such as Gal Gadot's body double that was threatened to force the breast-in-face scene). But they are more nervous about their careers, and only want to come forward if a real investigation is going to occur.

Which what we found out last night the third-party conducting an investigation on behave of the accused (WB Studios) is gone, and now WM has hired its own third-party.

Interview: Ray Fisher Speaks Out On “Toxic” Set And WarnerMedia Investigation Into Justice League Production

 

[Bosco685]

Wow! Forbes fired the contributor that wrote the article concerning Ray Fisher's experience and started rewriting the article.

The contributor is one of the more sensible #SnyderCut supporters too.

 

[The Brain]

 

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

Credit to u/FocalDrifts on Reddit for these fan art posters:

[media_junkie]

Those are great posters.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Small Screen is claiming that HBO Max will green-light Justice League 2, allegedly with Ben Affleck already signed on, and Zack Snyder with Chris Terrio co-writing.

T'was supposed to be a big movie, originally adding Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, (the real) Captain Marvel, and The Atom. I don't see how HBO Max could afford to put in $300 million, which I think it was it would take for the sequel to work.

Unless they can reasonably expect to get X amounts of $20 rentals, I just don't see the logistics of streaming a sequel working out.

[Bosco685]

14 minutes ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

Small Screen is claiming that HBO Max will green-light Justice League 2, allegedly with Ben Affleck already signed on, and Zack Snyder with Chris Terrio co-writing.

T'was supposed to be a big movie, originally adding Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, (the real) Captain Marvel, and The Atom. I don't see how HBO Max could afford to put in $300 million, which I think it was it would take for the sequel to work.

Unless they can reasonably expect to get X amounts of $20 rentals, I just don't see the logistics of streaming a sequel working out.

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Affleck Has Signed On To Star In Zack Snyder’s Justice League 2

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It’s been revealed to us by multiple sources that WarnerMedia has managed to get Ben Affleck to sign onto Zack Snyder’s Justice League 2. We had previously reported that Zack Snyder was already working on a Justice League 2 that would be coming to HBO Max. It now seems as though WarnerMedia is really keen on getting the ball rolling with this upcoming sequel.

 

They’re already spending upwards of $70 million on this Zack Snyder cut of Justice League. His Justice League four-part series is reportedly going to be coming to HBO Max early-to-mid 2021. They’re now trying to get stars signed onto Zack Snyder’s Justice League 2 which is currently in the -script phase.

 

I was told late last week that Snyder had been given the green light on the Justice League sequel. He’s currently writing the -script with Chris Terrio.

 

Well, now, we’re being told by multiple sources that Ben Affleck has agreed to star in it as Batman.

Hate to say it, but this may be the UK version of We Got This Covered. But I hope not. Though when I searched...