Walter Hamada — Direct/Cross
115 lines[STAGE DIRECTION]: REBUTTAL WALTER HAMADA, Being first duly sworn, was examined ard testified as follows:
MR. CHEW: = Mr. Hamada, what -- do you work for Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc.? 17. =A Yes,I do.
WALTER HAMADA: My title is president of DC-based film productions for Warner Brothers.
MR. CHEW: What, if anything, did you do to prepare to testify for Warner Brothers as to topics 2 through 18?
WALTER HAMADA: I did not do anything to prepare for this other than my — the meeting that I had with the attorneys.
WALTER HAMADA: Yes. There was a — we had an agreement for her for Aquaman 2,
WALTER HAMADA: Looks like a standard contract between an actor and the studio. 12. Q_. And which actor was involved in this -- which actor was a party to this contract? 14. A Amber Heard. It was a contract for Amber Heard for the role of Mera in Aquaman and its sequels. 17. Q . Which studio contracted with Amber Heard?
WALTER HAMADA: Warner Brothers.
WALTER HAMADA: At the beginning of 2018, 2018.
MR. CHEW: Mr. Hamada, was Ms. Heard ever released by Warner Brothers from the Aquaman 2 contract or what you call the option agreement?
WALTER HAMADA: No.
WALTER HAMADA: No.
WALTER HAMADA: No.
WALTER HAMADA: As a rule, as a company, we make these - we go through a lot of trouble when we make our deals with our actors. When we get options, we get options on them for subsequent movies, and I think traditionally, prior to me joining the company, every option was renegotiated. And one of the things that we were trying to put a reining on was not renegotiating every deal with the understanding that people come in and make these deals and they have an understanding that there will be options and that there's a deal in place, and there was a big part of our philosophy that we were going to hold people to their options moving forward.
WALTER HAMADA: The role in the film that -- the size of the role in the film that she has was determined in the early development of the script, which would have happened in 2018, I would say.
WALTER HAMADA: So and from there, beyond normal development for the role, sort of the character's involvement in the story is sort of what it was from the beginning.
WALTER HAMADA: No. I mean, again, from the early stages of development of the script, the movie was built around the character of Arthur and the character of Orm, Arthur being Jason Momoa, Orm being Patrick Wilson. So they were always the two co-leads of the movie.
WALTER HAMADA: No. The movie was always pitched as a buddy comedy between Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson.
WALTER HAMADA: Yes, she was. Was Ms. Heard cast in Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: Yes, she was.
WALTER HAMADA: Yes.
MR. CHEW: Was her compensation for Aquaman 2 affected in any way by anything said by Johnny Depp?
WALTER HAMADA: No.
WALTER HAMADA: No.
MR. CHEW: Was her compensation for Aquaman 2 affected by anything said by anybody representing Johnny Depp?
WALTER HAMADA: A: No. Q: Was there any delay in Warner Brothers exercising the option to cast Ms. Heard in Aquaman 2? A. Yes, there was. 12. Q How long a delay was there? 13. A I don't know. Probably weeks. 14. Q What was the cause of the delay?
WALTER HAMADA: There were conversations about potentially recasting. 17. Q Who was the producer?
WALTER HAMADA: Peter Safran.
WALTER HAMADA: James Wan.
WALTER HAMADA: Yeah. I mean, I have no reason not to believe the director-:or the producer of the movie.
WALTER HAMADA: Yes, I am,
MR. CHEW: What, if any, creative concerns did Warner Brothers have about-casting Amber Heard as Mera in Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: It was the concerns that were brought up at the wrap of the first movie, production of the first movie, which is the issue of chemistry. Did the two have a chemistry? You know, I think editorially, they were able to make that relationship work in the first movie, but there - was a concern that it took a lot of effort to get there and would we be better off recasting, - finding someone who had a bit of more natural chemistry with Jason Momoa and move forward from that point.
MR. CHEW: Did Warner Brothers take any steps affirmatively to audition other actresses for the role of Mera in Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: No, we did not.
MR. CHEW: Other than the creative concerns and concerns about chemistry you testified about, was there any other reason Warner Brothers delayed in picking up Ms. Heard's option for Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: No. It was’ali concerns about whether she was the right fit of casting for the movie.
MR. CHEW: What role, if any, did Ms. Heard's dispute with Johnny Depp have in Warner Brothers's delay picking -- in picking up Ms. Heard's option _ for Aquaman 2? <A _ There was none from our end.
MR. CHEW: Q: At any point in time, was Warner Brothers considering paying Ms. Heard more money for Aquaman 2 than is set forth in the option contract you previously identified? 17. A No. As I said, we were determined to - hold our actors for their option agreements.
MR. CHEW: Would Warner Brothers have paid Ms. Heard more money on Aquaman 2 if it had picked up her option earlier?
WALTER HAMADA: No.
MR. CHEW: At any time from the beginning of history through today, did Warner Brothers ever release Ms. Heard from the Aquaman 2 contract?
WALTER HAMADA: No.
MR. CHEW: At any point in time from the beginning of history to today, did Warner Brothers rehire Ms. Heard for Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: No. Because we just picked up her option.
MS. BREDEHOFT: And when is the last time you spoke with Rob Cowan relating in any manner to -- whether to exercise the option on Amber Heard for Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: It would have been same time that I was having this conversation with Peter Safran.
MS. BREDEHOFT: So--
WALTER HAMADA: In 2020.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Did you speak with Zack Snyder at all relating to whether to exercise the option for Amber Heard on Aquaman 2
WALTER HAMADA: No. I have not had any conversations with Zack Snyder.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Did you speak at all with Jason Momoa in preparation for your deposition today?
WALTER HAMADA: No.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Have you ever spoken with Jason Momoa about.any issues relating to chemistry between he and Amber Heard? <A Yes.
MS. BREDEHOFT: When did you speak with Jason Momoa’ about chemistry issues between he and Amber Heard? 13. A _ It would have been in that same time period where we were — prior to green-lighting the movie.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Now, you were asked some questions about scripts. Did you review any of the drafts of the script for Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: Yes.
MS. BREDEHOFT: When was the first script for Aquaman 2 you looked at?
WALTER HAMADA: Oh, boy. I cannot tell you. Probably in 2018, latter part of 2018 would be my guess.
MS. BREDEHOFT: And how many versions of the script had been written by the beginning of 2021 for Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: Oh, there were probably half dozen drafts of the script.
MS. BREDEHOFT: What, if any, did Rob Cowan say to you 1] about chemistry, what specifically about the chemistry between Amber Heard and Jason Momoa?
WALTER HAMADA: Just the fact that they didn't really have a lot of chemistry together. You know, the reality is it's not uncommon on movies for two leads to not have chemistry, and that it's sort of movie magic and editorial, the ability to sort of put performances together, and with the magic of, you know, a great score and how you put the pieces together, you can fabricate, sort of, that chemistry. And so I think in -- at the end of the day, I think if you watch the movie, they look like they had great chemistry, but I just know that through the course of the postproduction, that it took a lot of effort to get there. Sometimes you don't. Sometimes it's very easy, and you just put the, you know, characters on the screen together, and they work. And sometimes it's harder, and so...
MS. BREDEHOFT: Can you give me anything more specific about what it was with Amber Heard and Jason. Momoa that was difficult for the chemistry?
WALTER HAMADA: No. Because it's like what makes a movie star a movie star? Like, you know it when you see it, and the chemistry wasn't there.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Now, you've used the term "fabricated" a number of times. What did you do to fabricate the chemistry between Amber Heard and Jason Momoa?
WALTER HAMADA: Well, those are just -- it's editorial.
WALTER HAMADA: Good editor and a good filmmaker can pick the right takes, can pick the right moments and put scenes together. Again, score is a big, you know, the music in the scene makes a different. You can make a happy scene feel sadder or a sad scene feel happier. And so it was sort of the -- it's just the magic of postproduction: Editing, sound, sound design, music, et cetera.
MS. BREDEHOFT: And what do you mean by "fabricating" though? I mean, were they literally falsifying? Or were they just picking the best music?
WALTER HAMADA: No.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Let me finish my question. Were they picking the best music and picking the best looks because that's their job and that's what you do on every scene?
WALTER HAMADA: That is what we do in postproduction. That's what filmmakers do. But, yeah, this is on any production, you're doing that. You're putting formats together. Sometimes it's easier than others. This one was more difficult because of the lack of chemistry between the two. But they were able to -- James Wan and the editor were able to get it to a place where the end result actually works, and it's great.
MS. BREDEHOFT: In fact, that's the job of every filmmaker, right, is to put all the combinations together to make the most successful production?
WALTER HAMADA: Absolutely.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Showing you what has been marked as Exhibit Number 5. It's ALH18247. And this is a text message exchange between James Wan and Amber Heard. And you mentioned James Wan was the director of Aquaman 2; is that correct?
WALTER HAMADA: Yes.
MS. BREDEHOFT: And Aquaman, the first one, correct?
WALTER HAMADA: That's right.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Allright. And James is texting to Amber on August 25, 2018, "You rated really high with the audience! Do you see that?
WALTER HAMADA: Yes.
MS. BREDEHOFT: This is August 25, 2018. What's going on on August 25, 2018, that would cause a director to send a text messages to Amber saying --
WALTER HAMADA: Maybe test screening. So during our postproduction of the movie, we test the movie with an audience, and the audience tells us what they like and what they didn't like. So that's what he's referring to there.
MS. BREDEHOFT: And they really like Amber Heard, correct?
WALTER HAMADA: Yes, she did. She tested well.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Billion dollars; is that correct? And more specifically, did you play any role in the determination to communicate to Amber's representatives that Warner Brothers was considering not exercising her option?
WALTER HAMADA: Yeah. Probably in the sense of we had the conversations, and I believe, if I recall, we had — that's where Peter Safran offered to reach out to the agent and express which direction we were leaning. 15. Q = Have you seen any document that says there was any chemistry issues between Amber Heard and Jason Momoa in Aquaman 1?
WALTER HAMADA: Documents? No. Those were all conversations.
MS. BREDEHOFT: But if Jason came back and James Wan came back, you were guaranteed that Amber Heard would be playing Mera, correct?
WALTER HAMADA: That's correct.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Okay. And Jason Momoa was able to negotiate a different compensation structure, was he not, for Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: That's true. He did renegotiate.
MS. BREDEHOFT: Now, Aquaman was the highest-grossing DC film ever for Warner Brothers, was it not?
WALTER HAMADA: Yes, it was.
MS. BREDEHOFT: What, if any, issues did you have with Amber Heard in Aquaman 2?
WALTER HAMADA: My understanding is actually the production went very smoothly.