The bottom line concerning Gavin O’Connor‘s all-but-abandoned Pride and Glory — a New Line film that co-chairman and co-CEO Bob Shaye doesn’t like and has decided not to distribute this year, bumping it into ’09 — is that the film might have a chance to come out this year if and when Shaye and co-honcho Michael Lynne get the boot from their owner-bosses at Warner Bros.
DHD’s Nikki Finke reported yesterday that Shaye and Lynne “may find out out as soon as this week what will happen to New Line Cinema and their expiring employment contracts at the movie studio they co-founded 40 years ago.”
Variety‘s Michael Fleming reported yesterday that O’Connor “is blaming the AWOL status of his movie on Shaye. The writer-director is so incensed that he said he will withhold Warrior, a script he’s due to deliver to the studio in the next few weeks, until he knows the fate of his film. The director is also exploring the possibility of extricating Pride and Glory after New Line told him the picture wouldn’t likely be released until next year.”
Fleming added that “New Line wouldn’t comment on the situation, but execs are in the final stages of negotiating a new deal with Time Warner and its topper, Jeff Bewkes, that could conceivably downsize the company. A resolution seems reasonable within the next two weeks.”