EX-WARNER BROS. PRESIDENT JEFF ROBINOV SAID CLOSE TO CHINA DEAL

Jeff Robinov, who was passed over to head Warner Bros. last June and subsequently resigned, is putting together a new film company funded in part by China’s Huayi Brothers Media Corp., the Wall Street Journal said today (Thursday). The company is reportedly in talks with other Chinese investors to put several hundred million dollars into the project, which would likely represent the biggest investment in Hollywood ever for a Chinese company, aside from Wanda Corp.’s $2.75-billion acquisition of the AMC movie chain in 2012. The deal with Robinov would represent China’s largest investment in U.S. film production. Huayi Brothers is one of China’s biggest studios. However, industry blogger Nikki Finke, who is currently commenting on industry events via Twitter, tweeted on Wednesday, “My sources say ‘deal nowhere near done.'”