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A month after her departure from Warner Bros. was announced, Pamela Abdy made her first industry appearance Thursday night at the Women in Film Honors at the Beverly Hilton.
On the morning of Oct. 1, Abdy was announced
as WIF’s inaugural Vanguard Award recipient. Then, she was serving as co-chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group with her longtime producing partner Michael DeLuca. Later that night, Abdy and DeLuca learned that would not usher the film studio into its next chapter amid the Skydance merger. Just over a month later, she was ready to talk about it.
“Right now, I’m taking a break and chilling,” Abdy told Variety‘s Marc Malkin on the red carpet.
“I got to go see every single one of my daughter’s volleyball games, without being interrupted. So that’s what I’m doing right now,” she said.
When Malkin asked her about the swirling rumors about her next stop, including the idea that she and De Luca could fill the open film head job at Netflix, Abdy said, “When I decide what I’m doing, I promise I will tell everyone. But honestly, it’s an interesting time to be able to take a break, and really decide what I want.
“I know what happiness is when I’m working with filmmakers, and wherever and whatever I end up doing, that’s my goal is to continue to work with the best storytellers out there,” Abdy said.
When Malkin asked if she thinks the new combined company can reach its goal of releasing 30 movies a year, Abdy replied, “I don’t know. I’m not there. I hope they do.”
The WIF prize recognizes the breadth of Abdy’s career beyond Warner Bros., where she oversaw blockbusters and award darlings including “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” “Barbie,” “Weapons,” and “Dune: Part Two.” Last year, Warner Bros. tied the all-time studio record with 11 Academy Awards from an industry-leading 30 nominations. That said, not all of the duo’s big-budget swings paid off. For example, “The Bride!” lost $100 million theatrically after failing to spark at the box office this spring. Then, “Digger,” Warner Bros.’ final release as a standalone studio, proved to be one of the biggest financial misfires of the year.
WIF is also honoring Adria Arjona, Beth de Araújo, Gemma Chan and Salma Hayek Pinault at Thursday’s gala.
