Warner Bros' Clockwork Survives Paramount Merger

Clockwork, the contemporary film label Warner Bros set up under former NEON CMO Christian Parkes, has survived the Paramount merger. It will make the jump to the newly merged Paramount Warner Bros, aka Skydance.

This wasn't a given. There had been rumors that Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy were quietly banking on Paramount nixing Clockwork altogether, which would have freed them up to take the label independent and run it themselves with Parkes. Not a bad plan, frankly.

Instead, Paramount is keeping it. Whether that's a win or a disappointment depends on who you ask, but for audiences it's good news. We need a label built around edgy, mid-budget filmmaking to carry on.

Clockwork's first theatrical release is Ken Russell's "The Devils," the 1971 film hitting theaters on October 16 in a 4K restoration.

The whole point of the label, when De Luca and Abdy launched it with Parkes, was to inject some A24 vibes into a major studio. We need as many indie labels like this as possible, not fewer: A24, Clockwork, Neon, MUBI, Focus. And keep an eye on Annapurna. Megan Ellison's company has had its ups and downs, but it's currently attempting a comeback; Megan recently secured money from her brother, David Ellison.

The slate Clockwork brings to Paramount:

• "Ti Amo!" (Sean Baker)

• "The Brigands of Rattlecreek" (Park Chan-wook)

• Sean Penn's January 6th Capitol riot feature

• Noah Baumbach's next film

• “Nasty” (Mary Bronstein)

All of these, save for Penn's film, are supposed to start production in early 2027. Speaking of Penn, I wouldn't be surprised if we soon hear that Ellison has put the kibosh on his January 6 movie. A recent report had Penn delaying production to late 2027 so the film can be released in 2028, around the same time as the next presidential election. Yes, I'm sure David Ellison will be very supportive of this plan.