Warner Bros. Shuts Down Picturehouse and WIP

Warner Bros. does not care about the specialty business and has no time for it, basically. The Draconian studio is shutting down not one specialty arm but two, both Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse, with the notion that New Line Cinema can handle whatever specialty needs the studio has. New Line chief Toby Emmerich will be given something to do going forward. More updates as I have them. Here's Variety.

UPDATE: Picturehouse prexy Bob Berney, who learned late yesterday that Warners would be shuttering both specialty arms, is taking his team to Cannes as planned, and will release all three of his upcoming films, including Mongol, Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl and The Women, which opens in September. Then Picturehouse will call it quits. This gives his 43 employees some time to look for work. Berney will use his time in Cannes to look for investors, partners, and check out the pics on view there. He will resurface.

WIP's Polly Cohen, meanwhile, whose 31 staffers are also being cut by parent Warners, is rumored to be heading away from is likely to stay at the studio with a production deal. Warners basically dropped her into the deep end without a boat or a paddle. They don't get the specialty business, never did, never will.

Alan Horn and Barry Meyer were the last studio execs to mount a specialty label, and gave the reins of the specialty arm to Jeff Robinov, a capable production exec who clashed with Mark Gill, even when he was successful. Clearly, Gill was not able to function well within the WB bureaucracy. But getting autonomy is often a factor in whether these divisions sink or swim. They need to be able to ride the wave of the swiftly changing indie marketplace, and it takes years for any exec to learn how to do that.

Fox, Universal, Disney and Sony have all been in this market for a long time. They understand how to function with their specialty arms. Paramount and Warners have never been entirely comfortable with it. As successful as John Lesher was at choosing good movies, is Vantage making money? Warners may have realized that at best the specialty world is a breakeven business, and that what they know how to do is to make branded global tentpole entertainment.

Indiewire has reactions. The press release is on the jump:

[Photo courtesy IndieWire]

PICTUREHOUSE AND WARNER INDEPENDENT PICTURES TO CEASE OPERATIONS (May 8, 2008 – Burbank, CA) Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures will cease operations, it was announced today by Alan Horn, President & COO, Warner Bros.

“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,” said Horn. “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.”

Bob Berney has served as President, Picturehouse and Polly Cohen as President, Warner Independent Pictures. The management teams from both companies will be meeting in the weeks ahead with executives from the Warner Bros. Pictures Group to determine the status of projects in various stages of development and acquisition, as well as distribution of already-dated films.

“Working with Polly and her team at Warner Independent has been great for me personally and a valuable experience for the company,” said Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “I’d like to thank everyone at Warner Independent for their passion and dedication to independent films and filmmakers. They were involved with some very important films and helped further the talents and careers of a number of writers and directors, and between Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line, we’ll continue to nurture those relationships and produce those types of films.”

“Bob is an incredibly talented film executive and made Picturehouse an important player in the world of independent film in a relatively short time,” said Horn. “I’m extremely grateful to Bob and the entire team at Picturehouse. Their accomplishments and the films they created speak volumes about their dedication to and understanding of the art of film.”

Upcoming Picturehouse films include “Mongol” (June 6), “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” (in limited release June 20; wide release on July 2) and “The Women” (September 12). Warner Independent’s upcoming releases include “Towelhead” (August 8) and “Slumdog Millionaire” (in limited release starting November 7).

Comments

[Andrew]

Excellent press release. Because the "spirit of independent filmmaking" flourishes best from within the main body of a massive international corporation.