Coordinates	56°09′″N40°25′″N
company name	Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.
company logo
company type	Subsidiary of Time Warner
foundation	1918 (as Warner Bros. Studios)1923 (as Warner Bros. Pictures)
founder	Jack WarnerHarry WarnerAlbert WarnerSam Warner
location city	Burbank, California
location country	United States
key people	Barry Meyer(Chairman and CEO)Jeff Robinov(President and COO)Edward A. Romano(Vice President and Chief Financial Officer)
industry	Entertainment
products	Motion pictures, television programs
revenue	(2007)
operating income	(2007)
parent	Independent (1918–1967)Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1970)Kinney (1969–1972)Warner Communications (1972–1989)Time Warner (1989–present, as AOL Time Warner from 2001–2003)
homepage	warnerbros.com }}

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. (the often-spoken Warner Brothers was used historically on its building and is often spoken including by company officials, but the abbreviated form Warner Bros. tends to be their only official name in writing) is an American producer of film and television entertainment.

One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York, New York. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, and DC Comics. Warner owns half of The CW Television Network.

History

1903–25: Founding

The corporate name honors the four founding Warner brothers (born Wonskolaser)—Harry (born Hirsch), Albert (born Abraham), Sam (born Samuel), and Jack (born Jacob), whose parents had emigrated to North America from Poland, which was at that time part of the Russian Empire. The three elder brothers began in the movie theatre business, having acquired a movie projector with which they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania and Ohio. They opened their first theater, the Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania in 1903. (The site of the Cascade later became the Cascade Center, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex honoring its Warner Bros. heritage, though in late 2010 all of the businesses have closed and the complex is currently for sale.) When this original theatre building in New Castle was in danger of being demolished, the modern Warner Bros. called the modern building owners, and arranged a 3 way even splitting of the cost of saving it, between the state, Warner Bros, and the modern owners. The owners noted the fact that they were taking phone calls from all over the country in reference to the historical significance of the humble building that should be saved historically.

In 1904, the Warners founded the Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Amusement & Supply Company, to distribute films.

Within a few years this led to the distribution of pictures across a four-state area. In 1912, Harry Warner hired an auditor named Paul Ashley Chase. By the time of World War I they had begun producing films, and in 1918 the brothers opened the Warner Bros. studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Sam and Jack Warner produced the pictures, while Harry and Albert Warner and their auditor and now controller Chase handled finance and distribution in New York City. It was during World War I and their first nationally syndicated film was ''My Four Years in Germany'' based on a popular book by former American Ambassador James W. Gerard. On April 4, 1923, with help from a loan given to Harry Warner by his banker Motley Flint, they formally incorporated as Warner Brothers Pictures, Incorporated. However, as late as the 1960s, Warner Bros. claimed 1905 as its founding date.

The first important deal for the company was the acquisition of the rights to Avery Hopwood's 1919 Broadway play, ''The Gold Diggers'', from theatrical impresario David Belasco. However, what really put Warner Bros. on the Hollywood map was a dog, Rin Tin Tin, brought from France after World War I by an American soldier. Rin Tin Tin debuted in the feature Where the North Begins. The movie was so successful that Jack Warner agreed to sign the dog to star in more films for $1,000 ''per'' week. Rin Tin Tin became the top star at the studio. Jack Warner nicknamed him "The Mortgage Lifter" and the success boosted Darryl F. Zanuck's career. Zanuck eventually became a top producer for the studio and between 1928 and 1933 served as Jack Warner's right-hand man and executive producer, with responsibilities including the day-to-day production of films. More success came after Ernst Lubitsch was hired as head director; Harry Rapf left the studio and accepted an offer to work at MGM. Lubitsch's film ''The Marriage Circle'' was the studio's most successful film of 1924, and was on ''The New York Times'' best list for the year.

Despite the success of Rin Tin Tin and Lubitsch, Warners was still unable to achieve star power. As a result, Sam and Jack decided to offer Broadway actor John Barrymore the lead role in ''Beau Brummel''. The film was so successful that Harry Warner agreed to sign Barrymore to a generous long-term contract; like ''The Marriage Circle'', ''Beau Brummell'' was named one of the ten best films of the year by ''The New York Times''. By the end of 1924, Warner Bros. was arguably the most successful independent studio in Hollywood, but it still competed with "The Big Three" Studios (First National, Paramount Pictures, and MGM). As a result, Harry Warner – while speaking at a convention of 1,500 independent exhibitors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – was able to convince the filmmakers to spend $500,000 in newspaper advertising, and Harry saw this as an opportunity to finally be able to establish theaters in big cities like New York and Los Angeles.

As the studio prospered, it gained backing from Wall Street, and in 1924 Goldman Sachs arranged a major loan. With this new money, the Warners bought the pioneer Vitagraph Company which had a nation-wide distribution system. In 1925, Warners also experimented in radio, establishing a successful radio station, KFWB, in Los Angeles.

1925–35: Sound, Color, Style

Warner Bros. was a pioneer of films with synchronized sound (then known as "talking pictures" or "talkies"). In 1925, at the urging of Sam, the Warners agreed to expand their operations by adding this feature to their productions. Harry, however, opposed it, famously wondering, "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" By February 1926, the studio suffered a reported net loss of $333,413.

After a long period of denying Sam's request for sound, Harry now agreed to accept Sam's demands, as long as the studio's use of synchronized sound was for background music purposes only. The Warners then signed a contract with the sound engineer company Western Electric and established Vitaphone. In 1926, Vitaphone began making films with music and effects tracks, most notably, in the feature ''Don Juan'' starring John Barrymore. The film was silent, but it featured a large number of Vitaphone shorts at the beginning. To hype ''Don Juan'''s release, Harry Warner also acquired the large Piccadilly Theater in Manhattan, New York and renamed it the Warner Theater.

''Don Juan'' premiered at the Warner Theater in New York on August 6, 1926. Throughout the early history of film distribution, theater owners hired orchestras to attend film showings and provide soundtracks. Through Vitaphone, however, Warner Bros. produced eight Vitaphone shorts (which aired at the beginning of every showing of ''Don Juan'' across the country) in 1926, and got many film production companies to question the necessity. While ''Don Juan'' was a success at the box office, it did not earn back its production cost and Lubsitch left Warner for MGM. By April 1927, the Big Five studios (First National, Paramount, MGM, Universal, and Producers Distributing) had put the Warner brothers in financial ruin, and Western Electric renewed Warner's Vitaphone contract with terms that allowed other film companies to test sound.

As a result of the financial problems the studio was having, Warner Bros. took the next step and released ''The Jazz Singer'' starring Al Jolson. This movie, which has very little sound dialog but does feature sound segments of Jolson singing, was a sensation. It signaled the beginning of the era of "talking pictures" and the twilight of the silent era. However, as Sam died, the brothers were at his funeral and could not attend the premiere. Jack became sole head of production. Sam's death also had a great effect on Jack's emotional state, as Sam was arguably Jack's inspiration and favorite brother. In the years to come, Jack ran the studio with an iron fist. Firing of studio employees soon became his trademark. Among those whom Jack fired were Rin Tin Tin (in 1929) and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. – who had served as First National's top star since the brothers acquired the studio in 1928—in 1933.

Thanks to the success of ''The Jazz Singer'', the studio was suddenly flush with cash. Jolson's next film for the company, ''The Singing Fool'' was also a success. With the success of these first talkies (''The Jazz Singer'', ''Lights of New York'', ''The Singing Fool'', and ''The Terror''), Warner Bros. became one of the top studios in Hollywood and the brothers were now able to move out from the Poverty Row section of Hollywood and acquire a big studio in Burbank, California. They were also able to expand studio operations by acquiring the Stanley Corporation, a major theater chain. This gave them a share in rival First National Pictures, of which Stanley owned one-third. In a bidding war with William Fox, Warner Bros. bought more First National shares on September 13, 1928; Jack Warner also appointed producer Darryl Zanuck as the studio's manager of First National Pictures.

In 1929, Warner Bros also bought the St. Louis-based theater chain Skouras Brothers. Following this take-over, Spyros Skouras, the driving force of the chain, became general manager of the Warner Brothers Theater Circuit in America. He worked successfully in that post for two years and managed to eliminate the losses and eventually even increase the profits. This was a welcome gain given the financial hardships occasioned by the Great Depression.

In addition, Harry Warner was also able to acquire a string of music publishers and form Warner Bros. Music. In April 1930, the Warner Bros. acquired Brunswick Records. Harry also obtained a string of radio companies, foreign sound patents, and even a lithograph company. After establishing Warner Bros. Music, Harry appointed his son, Lewis, to serve as the company's head manager.

In 1929, Harry was also able to produce an adaptation of a Cole Porter musical titled ''Fifty Million Frenchmen''. Through First National, the studio's profit increased substantially. After the success of the studio's 1929 First National film ''Noah's Ark'', Harry also agreed to make Michael Curtiz a major director at the Burbank studio. Mort Blumenstock, a First National screenwriter, became a top writer at the brothers' New York headquarters.

In the third quarter of 1929, Warner Bros. gained complete control of First National, when Harry purchased the company's remaining one-third share from Fox. The Justice Department agreed to allow the purchase if First National was maintained as a separate company. When the Great Depression hit, Warner asked for and got permission to merge the two studios; soon afterward Warner Bros. moved to the First National lot in Burbank. Though the companies merged, the Justice Department required Warner to produce and release a few films each year under the First National name until 1938. For 30 years, certain Warner productions were identified (mainly for tax purposes) as 'A Warner Bros. – First National Picture.'

In the latter part of 1929, Jack Warner hired sixty-one year old actor George Arliss to star in ''Disraeli'', which was a surprise success. Arliss won an Academy Award for Best Actor and went on to star in nine more movies with the studio. In 1930, Harry acquired more theaters in Atlantic City, despite the beginning of the Great Depression. In July 1930, the studio's banker, Motley Flint, was murdered by a disgruntled investor in another company.

By 1931, however, the studio began to feel the effects of the Depression as the general public became unable to afford the price of a movie ticket. In 1931, the studio reportedly suffered a net loss of $8 million, and an additional $14 million the following year. In 1931, Warner Bros. Music head Lewis Warner died from an infection.

Around that time, Warner Bros. head producer Darryl Zanuck hired screenwriter Wilson Mizner. While at the studio, Mizner had hardly any respect for authority and found it difficult to work with studio boss Jack Warner, but nevertheless became a valuable asset. As time went by, Warner became more tolerant of Mizner and helped invest in Mizner's Brown Derby restaurant. On April 3, 1933, Mizner died from a heart attack.

In 1928, Warner Bros. released ''Lights of New York'', the first all-talking feature. Due to its success, the movie industry converted entirely to sound almost overnight. By the end of 1929, all the major studios were exclusively making sound films. In 1929, National Pictures released their first film with Warner Bros., ''Noah's Ark''. Despite its expensive budget, ''Noah's Ark'' was profitable. In 1929, Warner Bros. released ''On with the Show'', the first all-color all-talking feature. This was followed by ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' which was so popular it played in theatres until 1939. The success of these two color pictures caused a color revolution (just as the first all-talkie had created one for talkies). Warner Bros. released a large number of color films from 1929 to 1931, including ''The Show of Shows'' (1929), ''Sally'' (1929), ''Bright Lights'' (1930), ''Golden Dawn'' (1930), ''Hold Everything'' (1930), ''Song of the Flame'' (1930), ''Song of the West'' (1930), ''The Life of the Party'' (1930), ''Sweet Kitty Bellairs'' (1930), ''Under A Texas Moon'' (1930), ''Bride of the Regiment'' (1930), ''Viennese Nights'' (1931), ''Woman Hungry'' (1931), ''Kiss Me Again'' (1931), ''Fifty Million Frenchmen'' (1931), and ''Manhattan Parade'' (1932). In addition to these, scores of features were released with Technicolor sequences as well as a numerous variety of short subjects. The majority of these color films were musicals.

Three years later, the audience had grown so tired of musicals, the studio was forced to cut the musical numbers of many of the productions and advertise them as straight comedies. The public had begun to associate musicals with color and thus the movie studios began to abandon its use. Warner Bros. had a contract with Technicolor to produce two more pictures in that process. As a result, the first mysteries in color were produced and released by the studio: ''Doctor X'' (1932) and ''Mystery of the Wax Museum'' (1933). In the latter part of 1931, Harry Warner rented the Teddington Studios in London, England. The studio focused on making films for the London market, and Irving Asher was appointed as the studio's head producer. In 1934, Harry Warner officially purchased the Teddington Studios.

In February 1933, however, Warner Bros. produced ''42nd Street'', a very successful musical that saved the company from bankruptcy. In the wake of ''42nd Street'''s success, the studio produced further profitable musicals. These starred Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell and were mostly directed by Busby Berkeley. In 1935, the revival suffered a major blow when Berkeley was arrested after killing three people while driving drunk. By the end of the year, people again tired of Warner Bros. musicals, and the studio – after the huge profits made by the 1935 film ''Captain Blood'' – shifted its focus on producing Errol Flynn swashbucklers.

1931–1935: Pre-code realistic period

With the collapse of the market for musicals, Warner Bros., under production head Darryl F. Zanuck, turned to more socially realistic storylines, "torn from the headlines" pictures some said glorified gangsters; Warner Bros. soon became known as a "gangster studio". The studio's first gangster film, ''Little Caesar'', was a great box office success and Edward G. Robinson was a star in many of the subsequent wave of Warner gangster films. The studio's next gangster film, ''The Public Enemy'', made James Cagney arguably the studio's new top star, and Warner Bros. was now convinced to make more gangster films.

Another gangster film the studio produced was the critically acclaimed ''I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'', based on a true story and starring Paul Muni. In addition to Cagney and Robinson, Muni was also given a big push as one the studio's top gangster stars after appearing in the successful film, which got audiences to question the legal system in the United States. By January 1933, the film's protagonist Robert Elliot Burns – who was still imprisoned in New Jersey – and a number of different chain gang prisoners nationwide in the United States were able to appeal and were released. In January 1933, Georgia chain gang warden J. Harold Hardy – who was also made into a character in the film – sued the studio for displaying "vicious, untrue and false attacks" against him in the film. After appearing in the film ''The Man Who Played God'', Bette Davis became a top star for the studio.

In 1933, relief for the studio came after Franklin D. Roosevelt became president and was able to stimulate the economy with the New Deal; because of this economic rebound, Warner Bros. again became profitable. The same year, long time head producer Darryl F. Zanuck quit. One reason was Harry Warner's relationship with Zanuck had become strained after Harry strongly opposed allowing Zanuck's film ''Baby Face'' to step outside Hays Code boundaries. Also, the studio reduced Zanuck's salary as a result of the losses as a result of the Great Depression, and Harry continued to refuse to restore it in the wake of the New Deal's rebound. Zanuck resigned and established his own company. In the wake of Zanuck's resignation, Harry Warner agreed to again raise the salary for studio employees.

In 1933, Warner was able to bring newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan films into the Warner Bros. fold. Hearst had previously been signed with MGM, but ended the relationship after a dispute with the company's head producer Irving Thalberg over the treatment of Marion Davies; Davies was a longtime mistress of Hearst and was struggling for box office success. Through his partnership with Hearst, Warner was able to sign Davies to a studio contract. Hearst's company and Davies' films, however, could not increase the studio's profits.

In 1934, the studio lost over $2.5 million, of which $500,000 was the result of a fire at the Burbank studio at the end of 1934, destroying 20 years worth of early Vitagraph, Warner Bros., and First National films. The following year, Hearst's film adaption of William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' failed at the box office and the studio's net loss increased. During this time, Warner Bros. President Harry Warner and six other movie studio figures were indicted of conspiracy to violate the Sherman Antitrust Act, through an attempt to gain a monopoly over theaters in the St Louis area. In 1935, Harry was put on trial; after a mistrial, Harry sold the company's movie theaters, at least for a short time, and the case was never reopened. 1935 also saw the studio rebound with a net profit of $674,158.00. As a result, Warner Bros. turned out a number of historical pictures from around 1935 in order to avoid confrontations with the Breen office. In 1936, following the success of ''The Petrified Forest'', Jack Warner also signed Humphrey Bogart to a studio contract. Warner, however, did not think Bogart was star material, and decided to only cast Bogart in infrequent roles as a villain opposite either James Cagney or Edward Robinson over the next five years.

After Hal B. Wallis succeeded Zanuck in 1933 and the Hays Code began to be enforced in 1935, the studio was forced to abandon this realistic approach in order to produce more moralistic, idealized pictures. The studio naturally turned to historical dramas which would not cause any problems with the censors. Other offerings included melodramas (or "women's pictures"), swashbucklers, and adaptations of best-sellers, with stars like Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Paul Muni, and Errol Flynn. In 1936, Bette Davis, by now arguably the studio's top star, was unhappy with the roles Warner was giving her. She fled to England and tried to break her contract with Warner Bros. Although many of the studio's employees had problems with Jack Warner, they considered Albert and Harry fair.

Code era

This period also saw the disappearance of a large number of actors and actresses who had characterized the realistic pre-Code era but who were not suited to the new trend into moral and idealized pictures. Warner Bros. remained a top studio in Hollywood since the dawn of talkies, but this changed after 1935 as other studios, notably MGM, quickly overshadowed the prestige and glamor that previously characterized Warner Bros. However, in the late 1930s, Bette Davis became the studio's top draw and was even dubbed as "The Fifth Warner Brother."

In 1935, Cagney sued Jack Warner for breach of contract. Cagney claimed Warner had forced him to star in more films than his contract required. Cagney eventually dropped his lawsuit after a cash settlement. Nevertheless, Cagney left the studio to establish an independent film company with his brother Bill. The Cagneys released their films though Grand National Films, however they were not able to get good financing for their productions and ran out of money after their third film. Cagney then agreed to return to Warner Bros., after Jack Warner agreed to a contract guaranteeing Cagney would be treated to his own terms. After the success of ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' at the box office, Cagney again questioned if the studio would meet his salary demand and again quit to form his own film production and distribution company with his brother Bill.

Another employee with whom Warner had troubles was studio producer Bryan Foy. In 1936, Wallis hired Foy as a producer for the studio's low budget B-films leading to his nickname "the keeper of the B's". Foy was able to garnish arguably more profits than any other B-film producer at the time. During Foy's time at the studio, however, Warner fired him seven different times.

During 1936, the studio's film ''The Story of Louis Pasteur'' proved a box office success and Paul Muni, the film's star, won the Oscar for Best Actor in March 1937. The studio's 1937 film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' gave the studio its first Best Picture Oscar.

In 1937, the studio hired Midwestern radio announcer Ronald Reagan. Although Reagan was initially a small-time B-film actor, Warner Bros. was impressed by his performance in the final scene of ''Knute Rockne, All American'', and agreed to pair him with Errol Flynn in their film ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940). Reagan then returned to B-films. After his performance in the studio's 1942 ''Kings Row'', Warner decided to make Reagan a top star and signed him to a new contract, tripling his salary.

In 1936, Harry Warner's daughter Doris read a copy of Margaret Mitchell's ''Gone with the Wind'' and was interested in making a film adaptation. Doris then offered Mitchell $50,000 for the book's screen rights. Jack, however, refused to allow the deal to take place, realizing it would be an expensive production.

Another studio actor who proved to be a problem for Jack Warner was George Raft. Warner had signed Raft in 1939, hoping he could substitute in gangster pictures when either Robinson or Cagney were on suspension. Raft had difficulty working with Bogart and refused to co-star in any film with him. Eventually, Jack Warner agreed to release Raft from his contract. Following Raft's departure, the studio gave Bogart the role of Roy Earl in the 1941 film ''High Sierra'', which helped establish him as one of the studio's top stars; following ''High Sierra'', Bogart was also given a role in John Huston's successful 1941 remake of the studio's 1931 failure, ''The Maltese Falcon''.

1930: Birth of Warner's cartoons

Warner's cartoon unit had its roots in the independent Harman and Ising studio. From 1930 to 1933, Disney alumni Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising produced a series of musical cartoons for Leon Schlesinger, who sold the shorts to Warner. Harman and Ising introduced their character Bosko in the first ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon, ''Sinkin' in the Bathtub'', and created a sister series, ''Merrie Melodies'', in 1931.

Harman and Ising broke away from Schlesinger in 1933 due to a contractual dispute, taking Bosko with them to MGM. As a result, Schlesinger started his own studio, Leon Schlesinger Productions, which continued with ''Merrie Melodies'' while starting production on ''Looney Tunes'' starring Buddy, a Bosko clone. By the end of the decade, a new Schlesinger production team, including directors Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Robert Clampett, and Chuck Jones was formed. Schlesinger's staff developed a fast-paced, irreverent style that made their cartoons immensely popular worldwide.

In 1936, Avery directed a string of cartoons, starring Porky Pig, which established the character as the studio's first bona fide star. In addition to Porky Pig, Warner Bros. cartoon characters Daffy Duck (who debuted in the 1937 short ''Porky's Duck Hunt'') and Bugs Bunny (who debuted in the 1940 short ''A Wild Hare'') also achieved star power. By 1942, the Schlesinger studio had surpassed Walt Disney Studios as the most successful producer of animated shorts in the United States.

Warner Bros eventually bought Schlesinger's cartoon unit in 1944 as a division, renamed it as Warner Bros. Cartoons. Unfortunately, the unit was indifferently treated by senior management, beginning with the installation of Edward Selzer as senior producer, whom the creative staff considered an interfering incompetent. Furthermore, Jack Warner, who had little regard for his company's short film product, reputedly was so ignorant of his animation division that he was mistakenly convinced that the unit produced cartoons of Mickey Mouse, rival company Walt Disney Pictures' flagship character. Furthermore, he sold off the unit's pre-1948 library for a mere $3000 each, which proved a short sighted transaction in light of the considerable long term value that the company's animation product proved to have.

Warner Brothers Cartoons continued, with intermittent interruptions, until 1969 when it was dissolved when the parent company ceased film short production entirely. Regardless of this treatment, its characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, and Porky Pig became central to the company's image in subsequent decades. Bugs in particular remains a mascot to Warner Bros.' various divisions and Six Flags (which Time Warner previously owned). In fact, it was the success of the compilation film, ''The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie'' in 1980, featuring the archived film of these characters that prompted Warner Brothers to organize Warner Brothers Animation as a new production division to restart production of original material.

World War II

According to Jack Warner in his autobiography, prior to the United States entering World War II, the head of Warner Bros. sales in Germany, Philip Kauffman, was murdered by the Nazis in Berlin in 1936. Harry Warner produced the successful anti-German film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937). After that, Harry supervised the production of several more anti-German films, including ''Confessions of a Nazi Spy'' (1939), ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940), which made King Phillip II an equivalent of Hitler, ''Sergeant York'', and ''You're In The Army Now'' (1941). Also, one-fourth of the studio's employees, including Jack Warner and his son Jack Jr., were drafted or enlisted. the latter became controversial a few years afterwards. At the premieres of ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (in Los Angeles, New York, and London), audiences purchased $15.6 million in war bonds for the governments of England and the United States. By the middle of 1943, however, it became clear audiences were tired of war films. Despite the growing pressure to abandon production of war films, Warner continued to produce them, losing money in the process. Eventually, in honor of the studio's contributions to the war cause, the United States Government named a Liberty ship after the brothers' father, Benjamin Warner, and Harry Warner was given the honor of christening the ship. By the time the war ended, $20 million in war bonds were purchased through the studio, the Red Cross collected 5,200 pints of plasma from studio employees, and 763 of the studio's employees served in the armed forces, including Harry Warner's son-in-law Milton Sperling and Jack's son Jack Warner Jr.

Following a dispute over ownership of ''Casablanca'''s Oscar for Best Picture, head producer Hal B. Wallis broke with Warner and resigned. After ''Casablanca'' made Bogart one of the studio's top stars, Bogart found his relationship with Jack Warner deteriorating. In 1943, Olivia de Haviland (whom Warner was now loaning to different companies) sued Warner for breach of contract.

Warners cut its film production in half during the war, eliminating its B Picture unit in 1941. Bryan Foy was quickly snapped up by 20th Century Fox.

De Haviland had refused to accept an offer to portray famed abolitionist Elizabeth Blackwell in an upcoming film for Columbia Pictures. Warner responded by sending 150 telegrams to different film production companies, warning them not to hire her for any role. Afterwards, de Haviland discovered employment contracts in the United States could only serve a duration of seven years; de Haviland had been under contract with the studio since 1935. The court ruled in de Haviland's favor and she left the studio. Through de Haviland's victory, many of the studio's longtime actors were now freed from their contracts, and Harry Warner decided to terminate the studio's suspension policy.

The same year, Jack Warner also signed newly-released MGM actress Joan Crawford, a former top star who found her career fading. Crawford's first role with the studio was 1944's ''Hollywood Canteen''. Her first starring role at the studio, in the title role as ''Mildred Pierce'' (1945), revived her career and earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.

After World War II: changing hands

The record attendance figures of the World War II years made the Warner brothers rich. The gritty Warner image of the 1930s gave way to a glossier look, especially in women's pictures starring Davis, de Havilland, and Crawford. The 1940s also saw the rise of Bogart. In the post-war years, Warner Bros. continued to create new stars, like Lauren Bacall and Doris Day. The studio prospered greatly after the war. By 1946, company payroll reached $600,000 a week and net profit $19.4 million.

One problem for Warner Bros., however, was Jack Warner's refusal to meet Screen Actors Guild salary demands. In September 1946, the employees engaged in a month-long strike. In retaliation, Warner-during his 1947 testmony before Congress, for making the 1942 Russian propaganda film ''Mission to Moscow'' – accused a number of studio employees of having ties to Communists. By the end of 1947, the studio reached a record net profit of $22 million. This dropped 50% the following year.

Warner was a party to the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. anti-trust case of the 1940s. This action, brought by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, claimed the five integrated studio-theater chain combinations restrained competition. The Supreme Court heard the case in 1948, and ruled in favor of the government. As a result, Warner and four other major studios were forced to separate production from exhibition. In 1949, the studio's net profit was only $10 million. Unfortunately, despite the success of ''House of Wax'', 3-D films soon lost their appeal among moviegoers.

In 1952 Warner Bros. made their first film (''Carson City'') in "Warnercolor" the studio's name for Eastman Color.

3-D almost caused the demise of the Warner Bros. cartoon studio. Having completed a 3D Bugs Bunny cartoon, ''Lumber Jack-Rabbit'', Jack Warner ordered the animation unit to be shut down, erroneously believing that all cartoons hence would be produced in the 3D process. Several months later, Warner relented and reopened the cartoon studio. Fortunately, Warner Bros. had enough of a backlog of cartoons and a healthy reissue program so that there was no noticeable interruption in the release schedule.

After the downfall of 3D films, Harry Warner decided to use CinemaScope in future Warner Bros. films. One of the studio's first CinemaScope films, ''The High and the Mighty'' (now owned by John Wayne's company Batjac), enabled the studio to show a profit.

Early in 1953, the Warner theater holdings were spun off as Stanley Warner Theaters; Stanley Warner's non-theater holdings were sold to Simon Fabian Enterprises, and its theaters merged with RKO Theatres to become RKO-Stanley Warner Theatres. By 1956, however, the studio was losing money. By the end of 1953, the studio's net profit was $2.9 million and ranged between $2 and $4 million for the next two years. In February 1956, Jack Warner sold the rights to all of the studio's pre-1950 films to Associated Artists Productions (which merged with United Artists Television in 1958).

In May 1956, the brothers announced they were putting Warner Bros. on the market. Jack, however, secretly organized a syndicate – headed by Boston banker Serge Semenenko– to purchase 800,000 shares, 90% of the company's stock. After the three brothers sold, Jack – through his under-the-table deal – joined Semenenko's syndicate and bought back all his stock, 200,000 shares. Shortly after the deal was completed in July, Jack – now the company's largest stockholder – appointed himself new president. By the time Harry and Albert learned of their brother's dealings, it was too late. Shortly after the deal was closed, Jack Warner announced the company and its subsidiaries would be "directed more vigorously to the acquisition of the most important story properties, talents, and to the production of the finest motion pictures possible."

Warner Bros. Television

By 1949, with the success of television threatening the film industry more and more, Harry Warner decided to shift his focus towards television production. However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would not permit it. After an unsuccessful attempt to convince other movie studio bosses to switch their focus to television, Harry abandoned his television efforts.

The other Warner brother, Jack, began his hatred of television with problems with Milton Berle being hired by the studio to make an unsuccessful film ''Always Leave Them Laughing'' during the peak of his television popularity. Warner felt that Berle was not strong enough as a lead to carry a film and that people would not pay to see the man they could see on television for free. However Jack Warner was pressured into using Berle, even replacing Danny Kaye with him. Berle's outrageous behaviour on the set and the film's massive failure proving Jack Warner right led to Jack Warner forbidding television sets appearing in the studio's film sets.

In 1954, the studio was finally able engage in television through the successful Warner Bros. Television unit run by William T. Orr, Jack Warner's son-in-law. Warner Bros. Television provided the ABC with a weekly show, ''Warner Bros. Presents''; the show featured a rotating series of shows based on three of the studio's film successes, ''Kings Row'', ''Casablanca'' and ''Cheyenne'', followed by a promotion for one of Warner's big screen films. It was not a success. The studio's next effort, making a weekly series out of ''Cheyenne'', would be. ''Cheyenne'' was television's first one hour Western with two episodes placed together for feature film release outside the United States. In the tradition of their B Pictures, the studio followed up with a series of rapidly produced popular Westerns, such as ''Maverick'', ''Bronco'', and ''Colt .45''. The success of these series helped to make up for the losses on the film side. As a result, Jack Warner decided to emphasize television production. Warners then produced a series of popular private detective shows beginning with ''77 Sunset Strip'' (1958–64) followed by ''Hawaiian Eye'' (1959–1963), ''Bourbon Street Beat'' (1960) and ''Surfside Six'' (1960–1962).

Within a few years, the studio, in a matter reminiscent of their problems with James Cagney and Bette Davis, provoked hostility among their emerging contract TV stars like Clint Walker and James Garner, who sued over a contract dispute and won. Edd Byrnes was not so lucky and bought himself out of his contract. Jack Warner was angered by the perceived ingratitude of television actors, who evidently showed more independence than film actors, and this deepened his contempt for the new medium. Many of Warners television stars appeared in the casts of Warner's cinema releases of the time. In 1963 as a result of a court decision Warners has to cease their contracts with their television stars, engaging them for specific series or film roles. In the same year Jack Webb took over the television unit and did not have any successes.

Warner Bros. Family Entertainment

The family film label of Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. was already the owner of extensive music-publishing holdings, whose tunes had appeared in countless Warners cartoons (arranged by Carl Stalling) and television shows (arranged by Max Steiner).

In 1958 the studio launched Warner Bros. Records. Initially the label released recordings made by their television stars whether they could sing or not and records based on the soundtracks of favourite Warner Bros. Television shows.

In 1963, Jack Warner agreed to a "rescue takeover" of Frank Sinatra's Reprise Records. The deal gave Sinatra US$1.5 million and part ownership of Warner Bros. Records, with Reprise becoming a sub-label; most significantly for Warner Bros.'s future music operations, the deal also brought Reprise manager Morris "Mo" Ostin into the company. In 1964, upon seeing the profits record companies made from Warner film music, Jack Warner decided to claim ownership of the studio's film soundtracks and focus on making profits through Warner Bros. Records. In its first eighteen months, Warner Bros. Records lost around $2 million.

===New owners=== Warner Bros. rebounded in the late 1950s, specializing in adaptations of popular plays like ''The Bad Seed'' (1956), ''No Time for Sergeant swift'' (1958), and ''Gypsy'' (1962).

With his health slowly recovering from a car accident whilst on holiday to France in 1958, Jack returned to the studio and made sure his name was featured in studio press releases. In each of the first three years of the 1960s, the studio's net profit was a little over $7 million. In 1963, the net profit dropped to $3.7 million.

In November 1966, Jack gave in to advancing age and the changing times, selling control of the studio and its music business to Seven Arts Productions, run by the Canadian investors Elliot and Kenneth Hyman, for $32 million. The company, including the studio, was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. Jack Warner did, however, remain studio president until the summer of 1967, when ''Camelot'' failed at the box office and Warner gave up his position to the studio's longtime publicity director, Ben Kalmenson; Warner did, however, remain on board as an independent producer and vice-president. With the success of the studio's 1967 film ''Bonnie and Clyde'', Warner Bros was making profits once again.

Two years later, the Hymans, now fed up with Jack Warner, accepted a cash-and-stock offer from an odd conglomerate called Kinney National Company for more than $64 million. Kinney owned a Hollywood talent agency, Ashley-Famous, and it was Ted Ashley who led Kinney head Steve Ross to purchase Warner Bros. Ashley became the new head of the studio, and the name was changed to Warner Bros., Inc. once again. Jack Warner, however, was outraged by the Hymans' sale, and decided to retire.

Although movie audiences had shrunk, Warner's new management believed in the drawing power of stars, signing co-production deals with several of the biggest names of the day, among them Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, and Clint Eastwood, carrying the studio successfully through the 1970s and 1980s. Warner Bros. also made major profits on films built around the characters of Superman and Batman, owned by Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Comics.

Abandoning the mundane parking lots and funeral homes, the refocused Kinney renamed itself in honor of its best-known holding, Warner Communications. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Warner Communications branched out into other business, such as its acquiring of video game company Atari, Inc. in 1976, and later the Six Flags theme parks.

From 1971 until the end of 1987, Warner's international distribution operations were a joint venture with Columbia Pictures, and in some countries, this joint venture also distributed films from other companies (like EMI Films and Cannon Films in the UK). Warner ended the venture in 1988 and joined up with Walt Disney Pictures; this joint venture lasted until 1993, when Disney created Buena Vista International.

In 1972 in a cost-cutting move, Warner and Columbia Pictures formed a partnership called The Burbank Studios in which they would share production facilities utilitizing the Warner lot in Burbank. The partnership ended in 1990 when Columbia moved into the former MGM studio lot in Culver City.

To the surprise of many, flashy, star-driven Warner Communications merged in 1989 with the white-shoe publishing company Time Inc. Though Time and its magazines claimed a higher tone, it was the Warner Bros. film and music units which provided the profits. The Time Warner merger was almost derailed when Paramount Communications (Formerly Gulf+Western, later sold to Viacom), launched a $12.2 billion dollar hostile takeover bid for Time Inc., forcing Time to acquire Warner for $14.9 billion dollar cash/stock offer. Paramount responded with a lawsuit filed in Delaware court to break up the merger. Paramount lost and the merger proceeded.

In 1997, Time Warner sold the Six Flags unit. The takeover of Time Warner in 2000 by then-high-flying AOL did not prove a good match, and following the collapse in "dot-com" stocks, the AOL name was banished from the corporate nameplate.

Since 1995

In 1995, Warner and station owner Tribune Company of Chicago launched The WB Network, finding a niche market in teenagers. The WB's early programming included an abundance of teenage fare like ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Smallville'', and ''Dawson's Creek''. Two dramas produced by Spelling Television, ''7th Heaven'' and ''Charmed'' also helped bring The WB into the spotlight, with "Charmed" lasting eight seasons and being the longest running drama with female leads and "7th Heaven" surviving eleven seasons and being the longest running family drama and longest running show for The WB. In 2006, Warner and CBS Paramount Television decided to close The WB and CBS's UPN and jointly launch The CW Television Network. In 1999, Terry Semels and Robert Daly resigned as heads of the studio after a career of 13 Oscar nominated films. Many of Warner's top stars were considering quitting because of their absence. Daly and Semels were said to popularize the modern model of partner financing and profit sharing for film production. In the late 1990s, Warner obtained rights to the ''Harry Potter'' novels, and released feature film adaptations of the first in 2001, the second in 2002, the third in June 2004, the fourth in November 2005, and the fifth on July 11, 2007. The sixth was slated for November 2008, but Warner moved it to July 2009 only three months before the movie was supposed to come out, citing the lack of summer blockbusters in 2009 (due to the Writer's Strike) as the reason. The decision was purely financial, and Alan Horn said, "There were no delays. I’ve seen the movie. It is fabulous. We would have been perfectly able to have it out in November.” This resulted in a massive fan backlash. The seventh and final adaptation was released in two parts: Part 1 in November 2010 and Part 2 in July 2011.

Over the years, Warner Bros. has had distribution and/or co-production deals with a number of small companies. These include (but are not limited to) Amblin Entertainment, The Zanuck Company, Morgan Creek Productions (now working with Universal Studios), Regency Enterprises (now working with 20th Century Fox), Village Roadshow Pictures, Icon Productions, Legendary Pictures, Heyday Films, Alcon Entertainment, Lakeshore Entertainment, Malpaso Productions, Virtual Studios, Silver Pictures (including Dark Castle Entertainment), The Ladd Company, Castle Rock Entertainment and The Geffen Film Company. Green Hat Films, Troublemaker Studios, DC Entertainment, Appian Way Productions, GK Films, Media Rights Capital, Syncopy Films, Cruel and Unusual Films and Spyglass Entertainment.

Warner Bros. played a large part in the discontinuation of the HD DVD format. On January 4, 2008, Warner Bros. announced that they would drop support of HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray Disc. HD DVDs would continue to be released through May 2008 (when their contract with the HD DVD promotion group expired), but only following Blu-ray and DVD releases. This started a chain of events which resulted in HD DVD development and production being halted by Toshiba on February 16, 2008, ending the format war.

Warner Bros. and National CineMedia have formed a partnership to provide pre-feature entertainment and advertising in movie theaters nationwide.

Warner Bros. celebrated its 90^th anniversary on June 1, 2008 even though the company celebrated for its 85^th anniversary for films only.

In 2009, Warner Bros. became the first studio in history to gross more than $2 billion domestically in a single year.

Warner Bros. is responsible for the ''Harry Potter'' film series, the highest grossing film series of all time, both domestic and international without inflation adjustment. It is also responsible for ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' as Warner Bros.' highest grossing movie ever (the former was ''The Dark Knight'').

IMAX Corp. has finalized a pact with Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Pictures unit to release as many as 20 giant-format films through 2013.

Since 2006, Warner Bros operated a joint venture with China Film Group Corporation and HG to form Warner China Film HG to produce films in Hong Kong and China, including ''Connected'', which is a remake of the 2004 thriller film ''Cellular'', they have co-produced many other Chinese films as well.

In 2010, Warner announced its intention to buy Leavesden Film Studios near London, where the ''Harry Potter'' films were shot, making Warner Bros. the first studio since MGM in the 1940s to establish a permanent base in Europe.

In 2010, Warner Bros. had a deal with French film distributor, Pathé to handle their films for theatrical distribution in the UK with 20th Century Fox still distributing their film catalog for DVD release.

Flixster including Rotten Tomatoes was acquired by Warner Bros. in May 2011.

Film library

Over the years, a series of mergers and acquisitions have helped Warner Bros. (the present-day Time Warner subsidiary) to accumulate a diverse collection of movies, cartoons, and television programs.

In the aftermath of the 1948 antitrust suit, uncertain times led Warner Bros. in 1956 to sell most of its pre-1950 films and cartoons to a holding company called Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.). a.a.p. also got the Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios ''Popeye'' cartoons originally from Paramount. Two years later, a.a.p. was sold to United Artists (UA), which held them until 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought UA.

Five years later, Turner Broadcasting System, having failed to buy MGM, settled for ownership of the MGM/UA library. This included almost all the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television library with the exception of those owned by United Artists (i.e. James Bond franchise), although some UA material were included such as the a.a.p. library, the U.S. rights to a majority of the RKO Radio Pictures library, and the television series ''Gilligan's Island''.

In 1991, Turner Broadcasting System bought animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions, and much of the back catalog of both Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears Productions from Great American Broadcasting, and three years later, Turner bought New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment. In 1996, Time Warner bought Turner Broadcasting System, and as a result, the pre-1950 sound films and the pre-August 1948 cartoon library (excluding the B&W; Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies which WB bought back as it merged with Seven Arts but including the Harman-Ising Merrie Melodies, save Lady, Play Your Mandolin! which was bought back by WB when merging with 7A) returned to WB ownership. WB tried to buy back the pre-1950 sound films and pre-August 1948 cartoons from MGM/UA in 1982, but the deal fell through.

In 2007, Warner Bros. added the ''Peanuts''/''Charlie Brown'' library to its collection (this includes all the television specials and series outside of the theatrical library, which continues to be owned by CBS and Paramount through United Feature Syndicate, licensor and owner of the ''Peanuts'' material).

In 2008, Warner Bros. absorbed New Line Cinema, as a result, Warner added the New Line Cinema film and television library to its collection. On October 15, 2009, Warner Bros. acquired the home entertainment rights to the ''Sesame Street'' library, in conjunction with Sesame Workshop.

The Warner Bros. Archives

The University of Southern California Warner Bros. Archives is the largest single studio collection in the world. Donated in 1977 to USC's School of Cinema-Television by Warner Communications, the WBA houses departmental records that detail Warner Bros. activities from the studio's first major feature, ''My Four Years in Germany'' (1918), to its sale to Seven Arts in 1968.

UA donated pre-1949 Warner Bros. nitrates to the Library of Congress and post-1951 negatives to the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Most of the company's legal files, scripts, and production materials were donated to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Warner Bros. franchises

This is a list that Warner Bros. Entertainment owns primarily by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. itself and by ownership through acquisition of companies such as Turner Entertainment Co., New Line Cinema, and Hanna-Barbera.

Looney Tunes (featuring ''Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, Elmer Fudd, Speedy Gonzales, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Tasmanian Devil, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Pepe Le Pew, Granny, Tweety, Baby Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, etc.)

Tom and Jerry (Through Turner Entertainment Co.)

Warner Bros. Animation

The CW (in partnership with CBS)

Warner Bros. Television

Hanna-Barbera (''The Flintstones'', ''Yogi Bear'', ''Hong Kong Phooey'', ''The Jetsons'', ''Magilla Gorilla'', ''Huckleberry Hound'', ''Scooby-Doo'', ''Top Cat'', ''Wally Gator'', ''Wacky Races'', ''The Quick Draw McGraw Show'', ''Jonny Quest'', ''The Pirates of Dark Water'', ''Space Ghost'', ''2 Stupid Dogs'', ''SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron'', ''The Herculoids'' etc.)

DC Comics (features ''Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Watchmen, '' and many other heroes)

Dualstar (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen)

Mad Magazine

Judge Mathis

Nine Network (owned by the Nine Entertainment Co. for the deal)

GO! (owned by the Nine Entertainment Co. for the deal)

GEM (owned by the Nine Entertainment Co. for the deal)

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Selena (1987–1995, Warner Bros. produced and distributed a film about her life)

Harry Potter film series

The Matrix Series

Ocean's Eleven (Also Distributed the [[Ocean's Eleven (1960 film)|1960

film]])

Lethal Weapon

The Dukes of Hazzard

Sherlock Holmes

National Lampoon's Vacation

Police Academy

ThunderCats after the takeover of Lorimar-Telepictures

Captain Planet after the takeover of Turner Entertainment

Beetlejuice (film and animated incarnations, co-produced with The Geffen Film Company)

Gremlins

Dirty Harry

The Exorcist

The Lost Boys

The Tyra Banks Show

Terminator (USA and Canada only, franchise is of Sony Pictures Releasing on the rest of the world) (beginning with ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'')

Viz Media (50% only outside of USA)

Section23 Films (Digital distribution, such as on iTunes, only)

Sesame Street (on behalf of Sesame Workshop)

Under Siege

Star Wars (on behalf of Lucasfilm, Twentieth Century Fox produced the six Star films, but Warner Bros. produced a 2008 CGI film Star Wars The Clone Wars (film)

Speed Racer (on behalf of Speed Racer Enterprises, but Warner Bros. produced the live-action Speed Racer (film)

Ace Ventura (on behalf of Morgan Creek Productions)

The Last Starfighter (on behalf of Warner Bros. Television Distribution due to the television broadcast rights)

Free Willy (on behalf of Regency Enterprises: 1993–1997)

Properties after the takeover of New Line Cinema:

* The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

* Austin Powers

* Harold & Kumar

* A Nightmare on Elm Street

* Friday the 13th (2009 film)

* Rush Hour

* The Mask

* Dumb and Dumber

* Final Destination

* The Guyver

* Critters

* Friday

* Mortal Kombat, on behalf of Midway Games (Warner's Interactive Entertainment division would later co-publish ''Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe'' in 2008)

* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (since 2009, Paramount's Nickelodeon owns the franchise)

* The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

* Blade (film series)

* Deacon Frost

* Poison Ivy

Tomb Raider series after share of SCi/Eidos Interactive, but Paramount Pictures distributed the two live-action films

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (including the 1971 film, which WB acquired from The Quaker Oats Company, and the 2005 film)

The Wizard of Oz (Through Turner Entertainment Co.)

Village Roadshow (Village Cinemas and Village Roadshow Pictures for the deal with the Warner Bros films)

Warner Village Theme Parks

Notes

References

External links

Warner Bros TV

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Companies established in 1918 Category:Entertainment companies of the United States Category:Film production companies of the United States Category:Time Warner subsidiaries Category:Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Category:Burbank, California Category:Organizations awarded an Academy Honorary Award Category:Entertainment Software Association Category:San Fernando Valley Category:Film distributors Category:Sibling filmmakers

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Coordinates	56°09′″N40°25′″N
alt	Christian Bale in a black suit at a movie premiere.
birth name	Christian Charles Philip Bale
birth date	January 30, 1974
birth place	Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, United Kingdom
occupation	Actor
years active	1982–present
spouse	Sandra Blažić (2000–present; 1 daughter) }}

Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses.

Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13, when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's ''Empire of the Sun'' (1987). He played an English boy who is separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. He is notable for his role as serial killer Patrick Bateman in ''American Psycho'' (2000), and for portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and ''The Dark Knight'' (2008).

In 2010, Bale played Dicky Eklund in the biopic ''The Fighter''. He received critical acclaim for his role and won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.

Early life

Bale was born in Wales to parents of English descent. His South African–born father, David Bale, was an entrepreneur, commercial pilot, and talent manager, and his mother, Jenny James, was a performer. He is the youngest of four children. After leaving Britain at the age of 2 in 1976, Bale spent his childhood in several countries, such as Portugal.

Settling for four years in Bournemouth and Henley-on-Thames, Bale was educated at Shiplake Church of England Primary School, the independent Dolphin School, Berkshire, and at Bournemouth School. He played rugby. Bale has described his childhood, with respect to his mother being in the circus, as "interesting." He recalled his first kiss was with an acrobat named Barta.

As a child, he trained in ballet and guitar. His sister Louise's work in theatre also influenced his decision to become an actor. Bale's father was very supportive of his son's acting, resigning from his job as a commercial pilot to travel and manage Bale's burgeoning career. The elder Bale later married feminist icon Gloria Steinem. He passed away, at age 62, on 30 December 2003 from brain lymphoma.

Bale's first foray into acting was a commercial for the fabric softener Lenor in 1982, when he was 8 years old. A year later, he appeared in a ''Pac-Man'' cereal commercial playing a child rock star. In 1984, he made his stage debut in ''The Nerd'', opposite Rowan Atkinson.

Career

1986–1998

Bale made his film debut as Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia in the made-for-television film ''Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna'' in 1986, which was followed by leading roles in the miniseries ''Heart of the Country'' and the fantasy adventure ''Mio in the Land of Faraway'', in which he appeared with Christopher Lee and Nick Pickard.

In 1987, Amy Irving, his co-star in ''Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna'', recommended Bale to her then-husband, Steven Spielberg, for a role in ''Empire of the Sun'', adapted from the J.G. Ballard semi-autobiography. Bale's performance as Jim Graham earned him widespread critical praise and the first ever "Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor" award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. The attention the press and his schoolmates lavished upon him after this took a toll on Bale, and he contemplated giving up acting until Kenneth Branagh approached him and persuaded him to appear in ''Henry V'' in 1989. In 1990, he played the role of Jim Hawkins opposite Charlton Heston (as Long John Silver) in ''Treasure Island'', an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic book.

In 1992, Bale starred as Jack Kelly in the Disney musical ''Newsies'', and followed it up in 1993 with another release, ''Swing Kids'', a movie about teenagers who secretly listened to forbidden jazz during the rise of Nazi Germany. Bale was recommended by actress Winona Ryder to star in Gillian Armstrong's 1994 film ''Little Women''. Bale provided the voice for Thomas, a young compatriot of Captain John Smith, in Disney's ''Pocahontas'' (1995) and in 1997 played Arthur Stuart in ''Velvet Goldmine'', Todd Haynes' tribute to glam rock. In 1999, Bale contributed to an all-star cast, including Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, and Rupert Everett, portraying Demetrius in an updated version of William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.

1999–2001

In 1999, Bale played serial killer Patrick Bateman in ''American Psycho'', director Mary Harron's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel. Bale was briefly dropped from the project in favor of Leonardo DiCaprio, but DiCaprio eventually dropped out to star in ''The Beach'', and Bale was cast once again. He researched his character by studying the novel and prepared himself physically for the role by spending months tanning and exercising in order to achieve the "Olympian physique" of the character as described in the original novel. He went so far as to distance himself from the cast and crew to maintain the darker side of Bateman's character. ''American Psycho'' premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival to much controversy. Roger Ebert condemned the film at first, calling it pornography, and "the most loathed film at Sundance," but gave it a favourable review, writing that Harron "transformed a novel about bloodlust into a movie about men's vanity." Of Bale's performance, he wrote, "Christian Bale is heroic in the way he allows the character to leap joyfully into despicability; there is no instinct for self-preservation here, and that is one mark of a good actor."

On 14 April 2000, Lions Gate Films released ''American Psycho'' in theatres. Bale was later approached to make a cameo appearance in another Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, ''The Rules of Attraction'', a film loosely connected to ''American Psycho'', but he declined out of loyalty to Harron's vision of Bateman, which he felt could not be properly expressed by anyone else. In 2000, he again played a wealthy murderer, this time in John Singleton's ''Shaft''.

Bale has played an assortment of diverse characters since 2001. His first role after ''American Psycho'' was in the John Madden adaptation of the best-selling novel ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin''. Bale played Mandras, a Greek fisherman who vied with Nicolas Cage's title character for the affections of Pelagia (Penelope Cruz). ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin'' was Bale's second time working with John Hurt, after ''All the Little Animals''.

2002–2004

From 2002 to 2003, Bale starred in three feature films. ''Laurel Canyon'' (2002) was generally well received by critics. This film also marked the second time he worked with actress Kate Beckinsale, his costar in ''Prince of Jutland'' (1994). Critics generally focused on star Frances McDormand's performance over the rest of the cast, however.

''Reign of Fire'' was Bale's first action vehicle and had, compared to all his previous work, an immense budget estimated at US$95,000,000. Bale entered into negotiations about starring in the film with reservations, but director Rob Bowman convinced him to take the lead role. Bale starred as Quinn Abercromby opposite Matthew McConaughey's Denton Van Zan. Bale and McConaughey trained for their respective roles by boxing and working out.

''Equilibrium'' was Bale's third film of 2002, costing US$20 million to produce but earning just over US$5 million worldwide. In ''Equilibrium'', Bale played John Preston, an elite law enforcer in a dystopian society. ''Equilibrium'' featured a fictional martial art called Gun Kata that combined gunfighting with hand-to-hand combat. According to moviebodycounts.com, the character of John Preston has the third most on-screen kills in a single movie ever with 118, exactly half of the movie's total of 236.

After a year's hiatus, Bale returned in 2004 to play Trevor Reznik, the title character in the psychological thriller ''The Machinist''. Bale gained attention for his devotion to the role and for the lengths to which he went to achieve Reznik's emaciated, skeletal appearance. He went without proper rest for prolonged periods, and placed himself on a crash diet of generally coffee and apples, which reduced his weight by 63 pounds () in a matter of months. By the end of filming Bale weighed only 121 pounds (), a transformation he described as "very calming mentally" and which drew comparisons to Robert De Niro's alternate weight-gaining regimen for his role as Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film ''Raging Bull''. Bale claimed that he had not worked for a period of time before he was cast in the film. "...I just hadn't found scripts that I'd really been interested in. So I was really dying for something to arrive. Then when this one did, I just didn't want to put it down. I finished it and, upon the kind of revelation that you get at the end, I immediately wanted to go back and re-visit it, to take a look at what clues I could have gotten throughout". ''The Machinist'' was a low-budget production, costing roughly US$5 million to produce, and was given only a limited US release. It was well received, with the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 75% of the critics' reviews tallied were positive.

Bale, an admirer of Hayao Miyazaki's ''Spirited Away'', was then cast as the voice of the title character, Howl, in the English language dub of the Japanese director's fantasy anime adventure ''Howl's Moving Castle'', an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones's children's novel. Its gross in the US was US$4,711,096, a fraction of its worldwide gross (US$235,184,110).

Batman: 2005–present

It was reported that Bale had previously auditioned for the role of Robin in ''Batman Forever'' (1995) and later ''Batman and Robin'' (1997), but lost out to Chris O'Donnell. However, this rumor was later dispelled by Bale himself in a magazine interview in 2008. In 2004, after completing filming for ''The Machinist'', Bale won the coveted role of Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's ''Batman Begins'', a reboot of the Batman film series. Bale beat out Jake Gyllenhaal, the closest competition for the role.

Still fresh off ''The Machinist'', it became necessary for Bale to bulk up to match Batman's muscular physique. He was given a deadline of six months to do this. Bale recalled it as far from a simple accomplishment: "...when it actually came to building muscle, I was useless. I couldn't do one push up the first day. All of the muscles were gone, so I had a real tough time rebuilding all of that." With the help of a personal trainer, Bale succeeded in meeting the deadline, gaining a total of in six months. He went from about 130 lbs to 230 lbs. He then discovered that he had actually gained more weight than the director desired, and dropped his weight to 190 lbs by the time filming began.

Bale had initial concerns about playing Batman, as he felt more ridiculous than intimidating in the Batsuit. He dealt with this by depicting Batman as a savage beast. To attain a deeper understanding of the character, Bale read various Batman comic books. He explained his interpretation of the young boy: "Batman is his hidden, demonic rage-filled side. The creature Batman creates is an absolutely sincere creature and one that he has to control but does so in a very haphazard way. He's capable of enacting violence — and to kill — so he's constantly having to rein himself in." For Bale, the most gruelling part about playing Batman was the suit. "You stick it on, you get hot, you sweat and you get a headache in the mask," he said. "But I'm not going to bitch about it because I get to play Batman." When promoting the film in interviews and public events, Bale retained an American accent to avoid confusion.

''Batman Begins'' was released in the U.S. on 15 June 2005 and was a U.S. and international triumph for Warner Bros., costing approximately US$135 million to produce and taking in over US$370 million in returns worldwide. Bale earned the Best Hero award at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards for his performance.

Bale reprised his role as Batman in the ''Batman Begins'' sequel ''The Dark Knight''. He trained in the Keysi Fighting Method, and performed many of his own stunts. ''The Dark Knight'' was released in the U.S. on 18 July 2008 and stormed through the box office, with a record-breaking $158.4 million in the U.S. in its first weekend. It broke the $300 million barrier in 10 days, the $400 million mark in 18 days and the $500 million mark in 43 days, three new U.S. box office records set by the film. The film went on to gross over $1 billion at the box office worldwide, making it the fourth-highest grossing movie worldwide of all time, before adjusting for inflation.

It has been confirmed that Bale will star in the third projected movie in the rebooted franchise, ''The Dark Knight Rises'', which will be released on 20 July 2012, making Bale the actor who has played Batman more times than any other actor in feature film. Bale has given the same opinion as Nolan that, if the latter was forced to bring Robin into the films, he would never again play Batman; even though one of his favorite Batman stories, ''Batman: Dark Victory'', focuses on Robin's origin.

2006–2009

After ''Batman Begins'', Bale returned to appearing in independent films. He was cast as one of the two leads in the South Central David Ayer-helmed crime drama ''Harsh Times'', co-starring with Freddy Rodriguez and Eva Longoria. Bale played Jim Luther Davis, a grim Afghanistan War veteran afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, approached by the Department of Homeland Security and hired as a federal agent. ''Harsh Times'' premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and had a wide release on 10 November 2006.

Terrence Malick directed ''The New World'', a period piece inspired by the stories of Pocahontas, and Bale was cast as John Rolfe. He shared the screen with Colin Farrell and Q'Orianka Kilcher, who played John Smith and Pocahontas. The majority of screen time was devoted to Farrell and Kilcher; Bale was a secondary character, and only appeared during the last third of the film. The film was a failure at the U.S. box office and its worldwide total (US$29,506,437) fell short of turning a profit (the production budget was placed at US$30 million).

In 2006, Bale took on four projects. ''Rescue Dawn'', by German filmmaker Werner Herzog, had him playing U.S. Fighter pilot Dieter Dengler, who has to fight for his life after being shot down while on a mission during the Vietnam War. Bale left a strong impression on Herzog, with the director complimenting his acting abilities: "I find him one of the greatest talents of his generation. We made up our own minds long before he did ''Batman''." }}In ''The Prestige'', an adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel about a rivalry between two Victorian stage magicians, Bale was reunited with ''Batman Begins'' Michael Caine and director Christopher Nolan. The cast of ''The Prestige'' also included Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, and David Bowie. ''I'm Not There'', a film in which Bale again worked alongside Todd Haynes and Heath Ledger (who would go on to play The Joker in ''The Dark Knight''), is an artistic reflection of the life of Bob Dylan. He starred opposite Russell Crowe in a commercially and critically successful Western film, ''3:10 to Yuma''.

Bale was originally cast to play George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's film ''W.'', but dropped out due to the prosthetics involved. Bale played John Connor in ''Terminator Salvation'' and FBI agent Melvin Purvis in Michael Mann's ''Public Enemies''.

''Terminator Salvation'' incident

In July 2008, Bale flew into an angry tirade on the sets of ''Terminator Salvation'', while filming in New Mexico. In February 2009, the audio recording of the incident was released. The tirade was directed at Shane Hurlbut, director of photography for the film. According to Bale, Hurlbut had, for the second time, ruined his concentration by walking onto the set during a scene. The recording is of a highly agitated Bale directing profanities at Hurlbut, threatening and belittling him, and finally threatening to quit the film if Hurlbut repeated his offence without being fired for it. It was reported that Warner film executives sent the tape to the insurer of the film in case Bale decided to quit the movie. In an interview with ''E! Online'', assistant director and producer of ''Terminator Salvation'', Bruce Franklin, said it was an isolated incident. "If you are working in a very intense scene and someone takes you out of your groove ... It was the most emotional scene in the movie ... [A]nd for him to get stopped in the middle of it. He is very intensely involved in his character. He didn't walk around like that all day long. It was just a moment and it passed," Franklin said.

Actors Whoopi Goldberg and Terry Crews, directors Darren Aronofsky and Ron Howard, as well as ''Ain't It Cool News'' website creator Harry Knowles have also publicly defended Bale's actions, some of them citing the practice that crew members are to remain still while the camera is rolling. The incident also inspired experimental band The Mae Shi to write the song, "R U Professional", which features samples from the recording; similarly, Lucian Piane's remix "Bale Out" is composed almost enirely of audio from the incident. Stephen Colbert parodied the incident on the 4 February 2009 episode of ''The Colbert Report'', in which guest Steve Martin repeatedly walked in front of the camera and was berated by Colbert. The incident was re-enacted on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', with ''Inside the Actor's Studio'' host James Lipton giving performances of both Bale and the crewmember. An episode of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy'' also mixed in the voice of Peter Griffin interacting with Bale and reacting to Bale's comments as if they were directed at him to comedic effect.

After remaining silent for most of the week, Bale gave a public apology on 6 February 2009, to a Los Angeles radio station, KROQ. He stated that the outburst was "inexcusable" and that it was motivated by the day's shooting intensity. Bale said he "acted like a punk", and that he and Hurlbut talked after the incident and "resolved this completely". Bale acknowledged that the two worked together for several hours after the incident, and ''"at least a month after that... I've seen a rough cut of the movie and he has done a wonderful job. It looks fantastic"''.

2010–present

Bale starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in the David O. Russell-directed 2010 drama ''The Fighter'', for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and thirty other awards in 2011. Near the end of his acceptance speech during the televised Golden Globes awards ceremony, Bale complemented Robert DeNiro by saying he was "the shit". The comment was censored by NBC.

Writer/director Joe Carnahan confirmed in November 2007 that Bale is also involved in the upcoming movie ''Killing Pablo'' in which he is to play Major Steve Jacoby. According to a ''Nuts'' magazine interview, Bale stated that he will be in the running to play the role of Solid Snake in a film adaptation of ''Metal Gear Solid''. Niels Arden Oplev, director of ''The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'', is to have Bale as lead in his current project ''The Last Photograph'', which Oplev hopes to start filming early 2011. Bale will also star in the upcoming untitled film from Terrence Malick.

Personal life

On 29 January 2000, Bale married Sandra "Sibi" Blažić (born 1970), a former model, make-up artist and personal assistant to Winona Ryder; the couple have a daughter, Emmeline, who was born on 27 March 2005 in Santa Monica, California. Since 1992, Bale has resided in Los Angeles.

Bale has three elder sisters – Erin Bale, a musician; Sharon Bale, a computer professional; and Louise Bale, a theatre actress and director. The Bale family is deeply rooted in show business, especially theatre. Bale is a distant relative of British actress Lillie Langtry, while his uncle, Rex Bale, and maternal grandfather were actors as well.

Like his late father, Christian Bale actively supports environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. Feminist activist Gloria Steinem became Christian Bale's stepmother on 3 September 2000; it was her first marriage (at the age of 66), and the couple were together until David's death.

During an interview promoting his 2009 film ''Public Enemies'', Bale said he is a video game fan, specifically of the ''Metal Gear Solid'' series. When questioned about his time spent playing the game, Bale stated that he prefers to devote his spare time to constructive things and dislikes discussing his personal life.

Bale has stated that he is a big fan of late comedian Chris Farley and of Farley's film ''Beverly Hills Ninja''.

Film and television credits

+ List of film and television credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1985	''''	Rufus
1986	''Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna''		TV movie
1987	''Heart of the Country''	Ben Harris
1987		BenkeJum-Jum
1987		Jamie "Jim" Graham
1989		Falstaff's Boy
1990			TV movie
1991	''''	Tim Perkins	TV movie
1992	''Newsies''	Jack "Cowboy" KellyFrancis Sullivan
1993		Thomas Berger
1994	''Prince of Jutland''	Amled
1994		Theodore "Laurie" Lawrence
1995		Thomas	Voice only
1996	''''	Edward Rosier
1996	''''	Stevie
1997		Chris Lloyd
1998	''Velvet Goldmine''	Arthur Stuart
1998	''All the Little Animals''	Bobby Platt
1999	''''	Demetrius
1999			TV movie
2000		Patrick Bateman
2000		Walter Wade, Jr.
2001		Mandras
2002		Sam Bentley
2002		Quinn Abercromby
2002		Cleric John Preston
2004	''''	Trevor Reznik
2004
2005	''Batman Begins''
2005			Video gameVoice only
2005	''Harsh Times''	Jim Luther Davis	Also executive producer
2005	''''	John Rolfe
2006	''Rescue Dawn''	Dieter Dengler
2006	''''	Alfred Borden
2007		Dan Evans
2007	''I'm Not There''
2008	''''
2009	''Terminator Salvation''	John Connor
2009		Melvin Purvis
2010	''	Dicky Eklund
TBA	''13 Flowers of Nanjing''		''Filming''
2012	''''		''Filming''

Awards and nominations

+ List of awards and award nominations
! Year	! Award	! Award category	! Title of work	! Result
1987	National Board of Review	Best Juvenile Performance
1988	Young Artist Award		''Empire of the Sun''
2001	Chlotrudis Awards	Best Actor
2001	Empire Award	Best Actor	''American Psycho''
2001	London Film Critics' Circle Awards	British Actor of the Year	''American Psycho''
2001		Best Actor	''American Psycho''
2004		Best Actor	''''
2005	Irish Film and Television Award	Best International Actor	''Batman Begins''
2005	European Film Awards	Best Actor	''''
2005	Saturn Award	Best Actor	''''
2006	London Film Critics' Circle Awards	British Actor of the Year	''''
2006	MTV Movie Awards	Best Hero	''Batman Begins''
2006	Empire Awards	Best Actor	''Batman Begins''
2006	Saturn Awards	Best Actor	''Batman Begins''
2006	Scream Awards	Best Superhero	''Batman Begins''
2006	Scream Awards	Most Heroic Performance	''Batman Begins''
2007	Empire Award	Best Actor	''''
2007	San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	Special Award
2007	Satellite Award	Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama	''Rescue Dawn''
2008	London Film Critics' Circle Awards	British Actor of the Year
2008	Independent Spirit Award	Robert Altman Award (with Todd Haynes, Laura Rosenthal, Cate Blanchett,Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Bruce Greenwood, Charlotte Gainsbourg)	''I'm Not There''
2008	Scream Awards	Best Fantasy Actor	''''
2008	Scream Awards	Best Superhero	''''
2009	Empire Awards	Best Actor	''''
2009		Favorite Male Acvion Star	''''
2009	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Leading Man	''''
2009	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Superhero	''''
2009	People's Choice Awards	Favorite On Screen Match Up (with Heath Ledger)	''''
2009	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Cast (with Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine,Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal)	''''
2009	West Point Cadet Choice Awards	Best Exemplification of Leadership	''''
2009	Saturn Award	Best Actor	''''
2010	BAFTA Award		''''
2010	Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Austin Film Critics Association		''''
2010	Black Film Critics Circle	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Boston Society of Film Critics	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Boston Society of Film Critics		''''
2010	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards		''''
2010	Central Ohio Film Critics Circle Association Awards	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Central Ohio Film Critics Circle Association Awards		''''
2010	Chicago Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Denver Film Critics Society	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Detroit Film Critics Society	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Florida Film Critics Circle	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010			''''
2010	Houston Film Critics Society	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010		Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Kansas City Film Critics Circle	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Las Vegas Film Critics Society	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	London Film Critics' Circle	British Actor of the Year	''''
2010	National Board of Review	National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	New York Film Critics Online	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	North Texas Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Oklahoma Film Critics Circle	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Online Film Critics Society	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Phoenix Film Critics Society	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	San Diego Film Critics Society	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	San Diego Film Critics Society		''''
2010	Satellite Awards	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture	''''
2011	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Best Cast	''''
2011	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Utah Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Vancouver Film Critics Circle		''''
2010	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor	''''
2010	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	''''
2011	[[Academy Awards	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor	''''

References

External links

Category:1974 births Category:People educated at Bournemouth School Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:English child actors Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English film actors Category:Living people Category:People from Haverfordwest Category:People from Bournemouth Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area

ar:كريستيان بيل an:Christian Bale az:Kristian Beyl bg:Крисчън Бейл ca:Christian Bale cs:Christian Bale cy:Christian Bale da:Christian Bale de:Christian Bale es:Christian Bale eu:Christian Bale fa:کریستین بیل fr:Christian Bale ga:Christian Bale gl:Christian Bale ko:크리스찬 베일 hr:Christian Bale id:Christian Bale it:Christian Bale he:כריסטיאן בייל ka:კრისტიან ბეილი la:Christianus Bale hu:Christian Bale mk:Кристијан Бејл ml:ക്രിസ്റ്റ്യൻ ബെയ്ൽ ms:Christian Bale nl:Christian Bale ja:クリスチャン・ベール no:Christian Bale pl:Christian Bale pt:Christian Bale ro:Christian Bale ru:Бэйл, Кристиан sq:Christian Bale simple:Christian Bale sk:Christian Bale sr:Кристијан Бејл fi:Christian Bale sv:Christian Bale ta:கிரிஸ்டியன் பேல் th:คริสเตียน เบล tr:Christian Bale uk:Крістіан Бейл vi:Christian Bale yo:Christian Bale zh:克里斯汀·貝爾

Coordinates	56°09′″N40°25′″N
name	Wiz Khalifa
alt	Wiz Khalifa holding a microphone
background	solo_singer
birth name	Cameron Jibril Thomaz
alias
born	September 08, 1987Minot, North Dakota, United States
origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, Singer
years active	2005–present
label	Rostrum, Warner Bros., Atlantic
associated acts	Tinie Tempah, Snoop Dogg,Rick Ross, Curren$y, Big Sean, Fashawn, Mac Miller
website	wizkhalifa.com
notable instruments	}}

Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008. Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, ''Deal or No Deal'', in November 2009. He released the mixtape ''Kush and Orange Juice'' as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records. He is also well-known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, ''Rolling Papers'', was released on March 29, 2011.

Early life

Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota, to a mother and a father serving in the military. His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move on a regular basis. Khalifa lived in Germany, England, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.

His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was fifteen. Khalifa stated to spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got his stage name tattooed on his 17th birthday. He includes Camp Lo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony among his influences.

Career

2005-08: Early mixtapes and ''Show and Prove''

Khalifa released his first mixtape, ''Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania'', in 2005. The mixtape led to his first full length album entitled ''Show and Prove'' in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine.

In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: ''Grow Season'', hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and ''Prince of the City 2'', released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on ''Billboard's'' Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay. Khalifa's vocals from "Say Yeah" appear near the end of Pittsburgh mash up producer Girl Talk's 2008 album, ''Feed the Animals'', over music from Underworld's "Born Slippy", Usher's "Love in This Club", and the Cure's "In Between Days". Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92's Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2, 2008. Khalifa released the mixtapes ''Star Power'' in September 2008, and ''Flight School'' in April 2009 on Rostrum Records.

Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, ''First Flight''. Khalifa stated to the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves". Khalifa appeared with Girl Talk, Modey Lemon, Donora, Grand Buffet, and Don Caballero at the Amphitheatre at Station Square in Pittsburgh on July 31, 2009, where he announced that his relationship with Warner Bros. was over.

2009-10: ''Deal or No Deal''

Continuing his association with Rostrum Records, Khalifa released the single "Teach U to Fly", and the mixtape ''How Fly'', a collaboration with New Orleans rapper Curren$y, on August 9, 2009. Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. Khalifa released the mixtape ''Burn After Rolling'' on November 2, 2009, where he raps over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake. Khalifa released his second album, ''Deal or No Deal'', on November 24, 2009.

Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival. He appeared on the cover of ''XXL'' magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn. Wiz Khalifa was named 2010 "Rookie Of The Year" by "The Source", with alongside Rick Ross, "The Man Of The Year". He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour. Khalifa released the free mixtape ''Kush and Orange Juice'' for download on April 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google’s hot search trends.

2010: Signing with Atlantic Records

Citing music industry insiders, ''New York'' magazine wrote that Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper did not confirm it. He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working on a new album, but was weighing his options and had not yet decided on a label to distribute it. Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.

Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross single "Super High", alongside Curren$y. He guested on the mixtape ''Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women '' by St. Louis rapper M.C, and was featured on the track "The Breeze (Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape ''More About Nothing''. Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out finalists Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Travis Porter, and Diggy Simmons.

Khalifa appeared at the Soundset 2010 festival in May 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Method Man & Redman, Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Murs, Cage, and others. He also performed at the 2010 Rock the Bells festival, along with hip hop veterans Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, KRS-One, Jedi Mind Tricks and Slick Rick. Khalifa declined an invitation to tour with rapper Drake and launched his own "Waken Baken" tour, a 50-city national tour with rapper Yelawolf. The tour, scheduled to last from September to November 2010, has, as of October, sold out every venue. On November 2010, during his "Waken Baken" tour at East Carolina University, Wiz Khalifa was arrested for possession and trafficking of marijuana. He was then released the next morning after a $300K bail, and resumed his tour. Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards. He recited his verse from the song, "The Check Point", from his mixtape with Curren$y, ''How Fly''.

2010-11: Mainstream success and ''Rolling Papers''

Khalifa released "Black and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced by Stargate, which has received radio airplay. The single was peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; the title of the song refers to the colours of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Khalifa will release his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011. He appeared with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer Ski Beatz' 2010 album, ''24 Hour Karate School''. Khalifa's fanbase is known as the Taylor Gang, named after his love of Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes.

On March 29, 2011, Khalifa released his first studio album, ''Rolling Papers''. The album debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 197,000 copies in the United States.

On June 26, 2011, Khalifa was nominated and won Best New Artist at the BET Awards of 2011.

Khalifa collaborated with the prolific British rapper Tinie Tempah whom Tinie announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that his next single is to be called "Till I'm Gone" and would feature Wiz Khalifa and is to be produced by Stargate. The single and the video song were released at the end of June 2011.

Personal life

Thomaz is dating Amber Rose, the former girlfriend of Thomaz's fellow hip-hop star Kanye West. He is also personal friends with rapper Yelawolf, and fellow Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Show and Prove'' (2006)

''Deal or No Deal'' (2009)

''Rolling Papers'' (2011)

References

External links

Wiz Khalifa at MTV

Category:1987 births Category:Military brats Category:African American rappers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:People from Minot, North Dakota Category:Rappers from Pennsylvania

bs:Wiz Khalifa ca:Wiz khalifa cs:Wiz Khalifa da:Wiz Khalifa de:Wiz Khalifa es:Wiz Khalifa fa:ویز خلیفا fr:Wiz Khalifa hr:Wiz Khalifa it:Wiz Khalifa he:ויז קאליפה nl:Wiz Khalifa ja:ウィズ・カリファ no:Wiz Khalifa pl:Wiz Khalifa pt:Wiz Khalifa ro:Wiz Khalifa ru:Wiz Khalifa simple:Wiz Khalifa sh:Wiz Khalifa fi:Wiz Khalifa sv:Wiz Khalifa vi:Wiz Khalifa zh:维兹·卡利法