Alleged Ex-Warner Bros. Employee Criticizes Studio for Layoffs, Recent Releases

An alleged ex-Warner Bros. employee has published an open letter to the studio at Pajiba, criticizing the studio's output of movies over the last year, with a heavy emphasis on Zack Snyder and the decision to keep him a significant producer of DC Comics-based films, despite the projects' underwhelming box office returns and lukewarm critical response.

The author, under the pseudonym Gracie Law, said they started writing the letter after watching "Man of Steel," but put it away -- until they saw "Suicide Squad" and walked away even more discouraged by the studio.

"...I got back from my ['Suicide Squad'] screening and dusted this sucker off." Addressing Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, Law wrote, "You, your executive team, and the vision of your 'extraordinary storytellers' that resulted in the loss of around one thousand jobs seem intent on crashing the ship into as much shit as you can find in the ocean by making inane decisions over and over again."

"Zack Snyder is not delivering. Is he being punished? Assistants who were doing fantastic work certainly were. People in finance and in marketing and in IT. They had no say in a movie called 'Batman V Superman' only having 8 minutes of Batman fighting Superman in it, that ends because their moms have the same name."

Law expressed affection for the company, despite its recent decisions. Explaining the experience leaving the studio, Law said the following:

...I am a former Warner Bros employee. I have so much respect for your studio. I love every square inch of that magical backlot, from Stars Hollow to the fitness center I always meant to use. The people I worked with during my time with your company are now close friends. On my last day, I hugged them and I told them I loved them.

I was also there in 2014, when you made the decision to lay off 10 percent of your workforce. It was a terrible year. Let me catch you up: Every morning I woke up with a pit in my stomach, because I assumed that would be the day I lost my job. Every day I saw someone packing up their desk, or carrying a box to their car. I can not describe to you the relief I felt when my department was told we were safe, or the guilt I felt afterwards walking through the halls of my office with that relief.

Law inserted the following excerpt from a letter that was reportedly given to Warner Bros. employees amidst the layoffs:

At Warner Bros., we work with the world's most extraordinary storytellers, and our focus has always been to provide the creative environment and financial resources they need to realize their vision. Our commitment to that won't change. In fact, we're investing more than ever in our film and television productions.

Picking apart the termination letter, Law wrote, "This is how you opened a memo about layoffs. 'Hey guys, we work hard for the people telling stories here and we want to make sure those visions are realized.' The balls on you."

Law noted that the fault isn't completely on the shoulders of DC Comics-based projects, but the overall output of the studio. "[In 2014] we pursued the storytelling vision of Adam Sandler's 'Blended' and Clint Eastwood's 'Jersey Boys.' Failures. We pursued a potentially great summer movie like 'Edge of Tomorrow' and completely botched its release. Same with 'Man From UNCLE.' We dug in our heels and hoped 'The Hobbit Trilogy' would somehow stop being a mediocre case of diminishing returns. Talented, loyal people packed their boxes and went home while your story tellers dropped the ball."

Summing up the argument, Law offered the following comparison, "If I worked at a donut stand, and I kept fucking up donuts, I'd be fired. Even if I made a tiny decent one every now and then, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna get fired."