June 12
Call of the Wild 3D
Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
June 16
June 19
Dead Snow
Whatever Works
June 24
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
June 26
Cheri
Fireflies in the Garden
July 1
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
July 3
The Girl from Monaco
I Hate Valentine's Day
July 10
July 15
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
July 17
July 24
All Good Things
The Answer Man
In the Loop
July 29
July 31
The Cove
August 7
When in Rome
August 14
A Perfect Getaway
District 9
The Goods: The Don Ready Story
Ponyo
Pool Boys
Spread
The Time Traveler's Wife
August 21
Five Minutes of Heaven
Goose on the Loose!
It Might Get Loud
World's Greatest Dad
August 28
The Boat that Rocked
September 4
Amreeka
Carriers
Citizen Game
Shanghai
September 9
September 11
The Red Canvas
Tyler Perrys: I Can Do It All Myself
September 17
The Burning Plain
September 18
Brand New Day
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Jennifer's Body
Splice
September 25
October 2
A Serious Man
Toy Story/Toy Story 2
After reportedly trying to forge some kind of amicable, foward-looking merger between Picturehouse and Warner Independent, Warner Bros. management has suddenly thrown up its hands and is getting out of the "dependent" business altogether, it was announced about an hour ago.
WB president & COO Alan Horn released a statement that seems to translate, when you boil the snow out of it, into the following: "Sorry, but we've come to realize that running a Fox Searchlight- or Paramount Vantage-type operation just isn't our bag. Our hearts were sort of into this, but now they aren't. Things change. Besides, we've got New Line for the smaller stuff. We're into maximizing revenue and building broad genre franchises, and...you know, making or releasing movies for people who read reviews and enjoy provocative subject matter just isn't worth it to us."
The actual statement reads that "with New Line now a key part of Warner Bros., we're able to handle films across the entire spectrum of genres and budgets without overlapping production, marketing and distribution infrastructures ...after much painstaking analysis, this was a difficult decision to make, but it reflects the reality of a changing marketplace and our need to prudently run our businesses with increased efficiencies. We're confident that the spirit of independent filmmaking and the opportunity to find and give a voice to new talent will continue to have a presence at Warner Bros."
So except for Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino and the occasional lucky-accident movie that may rank as award-worthy, Warner Bros. seems to have basically taken itself out of the quality-driven prestige movie business.
I wonder what really happened? What led to the breakdown of the merger talks?
It turns out that Defamer's Stu VanAirsdale was fairly close to the money when he reported that Picturehouse may soon be shut down, and that Anne Thompson's Variety story about the same situation was less correct, especially in reporting that Picturehouse chief Bob Berney and Warner Independent prexy Polly Cohen are "likely" to accept a bicoastal power-sharing arrangement that will preside over a merged operation," i.e., Warner Indiepicturehouse.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 8, 2008 at 11:01 AM
comment #1
Don Murphy
says ...
Can't stop
Must'nt stop
Will not Stop THE HAPPY!
Posted by Don Murphy
at May 8, 2008 12:28 PM
comment #2
Wrecktum
says ...
Perhaps New Line will eventually morph into a more traditional dependent model in the future?
Posted by Wrecktum
at May 8, 2008 12:31 PM
comment #3
corey3rd
says ...
Guess they made all that Snow Angels money and decided to cash out.
Warners is hopeless.
Nice that this news broke the same day Cablevision buys Sundance so that either it or IFC gets retooled. Indie film took a gut shot.
Posted by corey3rd
at May 8, 2008 3:08 PM
comment #4
soap-and-water
says ...
is it just me or was jeff's analysis pretty much bang-on? great writing, really.
Posted by soap-and-water
at May 8, 2008 6:02 PM
comment #5
Terry McCarty
says ...
"We're into maximizing revenue and building broad genre franchises, and...you know, making or releasing movies for people who read reviews and enjoy provocative subject matter just isn't worth it to us." --Alan Horn translated by Jeffrey
And, of course, no movies toplining female stars unless they're romantic comedies or WONDER WOMAN adaptations.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at May 8, 2008 8:32 PM
comment #6
D.Z.
says ...
I just find it amusing that they're blaming New Line and WIP for their failed merger with AOL and their overpriced bombs like Superman Returns.
Posted by D.Z.
at May 8, 2008 9:48 PM
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