GQ editor who culled David Zaslav’s critical article is producing film at Warner Bros. – Report

The GQ editor-in-chief, involved in the decision to pull an article critical of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, is also producing a film for Warner Bros. Pictures, according to a new report from Variety.

On Monday, GQ ran a story by freelance film critic Jason Bailey titled “How Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Became Public Enemy Number One in Hollywood.” AS The Washington Post detailed earlier today, the article was edited from its original version and later withdrawn after Bailey requested that his signature be removed from it. The Post reported that the decision to edit the piece came after some members of Warner Bros. Discovery complained to the magazine about the story, which in its original version compared Zaslav to “Succession” character Logan Roy and character of Richard Gere’s businessman in “Pretty Woman”. .”

However, as reported by Variety, one of the people contacted would have been Will Welch, editor-in-chief of GQ, who is also associated as a producer on a film set up at Warner Bros. called “The Great Chinese Art Heist”. The film will be directed by “Wicked” and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M. Chu, with a screenplay by Ken Cheng, Jessica Gao and Jimmy O. Yang; is based on a 2018 GQ article.

A Warner Bros. Pictures representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment as to whether the project was still in development at the studio or whether Welch would remain as producer. However, a Warner Bros. Discovery rep told Variety that no one at the company level was aware of Welch’s ties to the film studio.

Regarding the decision on edits to the piece, a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson said Bailey did not ask for comments on the piece ahead of publication.

“The freelance reporter made no attempt to contact Warner Bros. Discovery to verify the substance of the piece prior to publication, a standard practice for any reputable news organization. As usual, we contacted the store and asked to correct numerous inaccuracies. In doing so, the publishers ultimately agreed to pull the piece,” a WBD spokesperson told IndieWire.

“A piece posted by GQ on Monday was not properly edited before going live. After a review was published, the author of the piece asked for the byline to be removed, at which point GQ decided to unpublish the piece in question. GQ regrets the editorial error that resulted in a story being published before it was ready,” a GQ spokesperson told Variety.

GQ did not immediately respond to IndieWire’s request for comment. A representative for Chu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.