The Brothers Warner

It is not the challenge of dollars...

...it is the challenge of ideals and ideas.

If the producers of pictures

see only the dollar...

...then I believe those production efforts

will fail.

This is Harry Warner.

With three of his brothers, he founded

and ran Warner Bros. for over 50 years.

They did this with no education,

a huge amount of chutzpah...

...and the belief as long as they were told

they couldn't do something...

... they knew

they were on the right track.

To me, Harry Warner was just Grandpa...

... the guy who loved nothing more than

riding me around on the tractor at his ranch.

Grandpa passed away when I was 10...

...following a long struggle

within the family business.

The last time I saw him, he was bedridden

in an antiseptic-smelling room.

His eyes moved to take me in.

He smiled as his hand took mine.

He tried to speak but no words came.

His grip tightened.

Something special

was being entrusted to me.

I squeezed back.

A promise was made.

It wasn't until years later...

... that I would realize the magnitude

and meaning of that moment.

As a kid, I often went to the studio lot.

As long as the red light wasn't flashing...

...I could go into any sound stage

and watch the magic happening.

Cut it. Let's move in

on a close shot here.

It was better than going to the circus.

It was a place of wonder, a kingdom

and a factory of dreams and creativity...

...being fashioned by my grandfather

and his brothers.

Today, the family business

has been reincarnated into another body.

A corporation that's part

of an even bigger corporation...

... that's part

of an even bigger corporation.

In other words, a conglomerate.

So does anyone even know

who the original Warner brothers were?

Can people possibly imagine that this huge

company was once run by an actual family?

People with a story, a past, a passion

and a purpose?

I decided to find out.

When I say "Warner Bros.,"

What comes to mind?

-Bugs Bunny.

-I like Bugs Bunny.

Cartoons.

Do you think there were actual brothers,

or that Warner Bros. is just a brand name?

I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I'm sorry.

I have no clue. Why do I care?

- I think it's just a brand name.

- It's just a brand name.

If there were brothers,

what do you think their names were?

I wanna say Anthony.

I'll go with Mike and Charlie

because I got no idea.

Homer.

Oscar and Stanley.

Diego?

I don't know, Time Warner?

And AOL Time Warner, I would think.

When I say the name Warner Bros.,

what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Jack Warner.

If one does remember

the brothers, they remember Jack.

He was the last man standing.

He rewrote history and

pretty much left the other brothers out.

The truth is,

they were a phenomenal team...

...that built an empire on a dream

and revolutionized Hollywood...

... while making the most classic,

relevant movies of their time.

- I reserved a table. Victor Laszlo.

- Yes, Mr. Laszlo, right this way.

Warner Bros. had a definite stamp

to their films.

That'll learn you to sit up

and hold onto this.

The lean, hard, look of Warner Bros.

It's gritty and it's tough.

They were interested in issues of prejudice,

of ethnicity.

Your money's no good here.

Come on, let's go.

You too.

Hold on a minute.

Warner Bros. by far

was known in Hollywood...

...as a studio with a social conscience.

Warner Bros. had a motto...

...to educate, entertain and enlighten.

If there was a champion

for a patriotic way of life...

...it was Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. was America.

You could not have a Harry

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