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02-29-2008, 05:13 AM
Feb 28, 2009
The colorful 40-year run of New Line is coming to an abrupt end, costing the jobs of most of the company's 600 staffers.
The company -- home to "The Lord of the Rings," "Austin Powers," "Friday the 13th," "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Rush Hour," "The Mask" and "Boogie Nights" -- will be folded into Warner Bros. as a small genre arm.
But toppers Bob Shaye, who founded the company in his New York apartment, and Michael Lynne will not be part of the package.
No exact numbers have been divulged for how many of New Line's staffers will stay but the surviving entity will be a shell of its former self, refocusing on the horror, comedy and urban genre pics that helped put it on the map decades ago. Employees will attend meetings today in Los Angeles and New York to discuss future plans.
Time Warner said New Line would continue to have development, marketing, business affairs and some distribution operations but those will be cut severely. And New Line films will go out through Warner Bros. pipes after this weekend's "Semi-Pro."
Warner will likely make ample use of completed New Line pics since the usually prolific studio has dated only three pics for 2009.
The fate of Time Warner's specialty film divisions, Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures, wasn't addressed Thursday, but New Line's oversight of Picturehouse signals that the operations will also be consolidated.
Time Warner CEO and president Jeff Bewkes wouldn't address other operations, but told Daily Variety the consolidation is "a move toward the label model," adding, "New Line will have its own voice, but focus on a smaller slate and franchises they have built. The main operation, the arms and legs, will be at Warner Bros."
Thursday's announcement -- a few minutes after the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange -- was not a complete surprise in the wake of Bewkes' first earnings call as TW chief on Feb. 6. Citing an industry shift toward fewer releases, he said cutbacks at New Line would be central to a plan to save $50 million annually. He said New Line will stop its longstanding practice of selling off international rights to finance films as many of its output deals are due to expire.
"With the growing importance of international revenues, it makes sense for New Line to retain its international film rights and to exploit them through Warner Bros.' global distribution infrastructure," he added.
In a message to New Line staffers, Shaye and Lynne warned New Line will be much smaller.
"This was a painful decision, because we love New Line, and the people who work here have been like our second families," Shaye and Lynne said. "But we will be leaving the company with enormous pride in what all of us at New Line have accomplished together. From its humble beginnings 40 years ago, our studio has created some of the most popular and successful movies of all time."
The curtain fell just four years after "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" vaulted New Line to the pinnacle of the film biz. The third installment of the ultra-risky $270 million trilogy won the best picture Oscar and grossed $1.1 billion worldwide.
Since then, however, New Line had fallen on harder times. Its lone breakout post-"Rings" pic was "Wedding Crashers," which tallied $209 million in summer 2005. Its only solid performers since were "Rush Hour 3" and "Hairspray."
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981598.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
The colorful 40-year run of New Line is coming to an abrupt end, costing the jobs of most of the company's 600 staffers.
The company -- home to "The Lord of the Rings," "Austin Powers," "Friday the 13th," "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Rush Hour," "The Mask" and "Boogie Nights" -- will be folded into Warner Bros. as a small genre arm.
But toppers Bob Shaye, who founded the company in his New York apartment, and Michael Lynne will not be part of the package.
No exact numbers have been divulged for how many of New Line's staffers will stay but the surviving entity will be a shell of its former self, refocusing on the horror, comedy and urban genre pics that helped put it on the map decades ago. Employees will attend meetings today in Los Angeles and New York to discuss future plans.
Time Warner said New Line would continue to have development, marketing, business affairs and some distribution operations but those will be cut severely. And New Line films will go out through Warner Bros. pipes after this weekend's "Semi-Pro."
Warner will likely make ample use of completed New Line pics since the usually prolific studio has dated only three pics for 2009.
The fate of Time Warner's specialty film divisions, Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures, wasn't addressed Thursday, but New Line's oversight of Picturehouse signals that the operations will also be consolidated.
Time Warner CEO and president Jeff Bewkes wouldn't address other operations, but told Daily Variety the consolidation is "a move toward the label model," adding, "New Line will have its own voice, but focus on a smaller slate and franchises they have built. The main operation, the arms and legs, will be at Warner Bros."
Thursday's announcement -- a few minutes after the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange -- was not a complete surprise in the wake of Bewkes' first earnings call as TW chief on Feb. 6. Citing an industry shift toward fewer releases, he said cutbacks at New Line would be central to a plan to save $50 million annually. He said New Line will stop its longstanding practice of selling off international rights to finance films as many of its output deals are due to expire.
"With the growing importance of international revenues, it makes sense for New Line to retain its international film rights and to exploit them through Warner Bros.' global distribution infrastructure," he added.
In a message to New Line staffers, Shaye and Lynne warned New Line will be much smaller.
"This was a painful decision, because we love New Line, and the people who work here have been like our second families," Shaye and Lynne said. "But we will be leaving the company with enormous pride in what all of us at New Line have accomplished together. From its humble beginnings 40 years ago, our studio has created some of the most popular and successful movies of all time."
The curtain fell just four years after "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" vaulted New Line to the pinnacle of the film biz. The third installment of the ultra-risky $270 million trilogy won the best picture Oscar and grossed $1.1 billion worldwide.
Since then, however, New Line had fallen on harder times. Its lone breakout post-"Rings" pic was "Wedding Crashers," which tallied $209 million in summer 2005. Its only solid performers since were "Rush Hour 3" and "Hairspray."
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981598.html?categoryid=13&cs=1