02 March 2008

New Line Cinema -the House that Lord of the Rings saved - to be folded into the Time Warner family

New Line Cinema, the semi independent arm of Warner Bros., will be officially assimilated into the Time Warner family, becoming the genre arm of Warners, which will focus on horror, urban features and comedies.

This move was really designed to save money, and it’s expected that 600 people in both LA and NY branches will lose their jobs. Also out will be the studio's creator Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne.

New Line has had a good track record as an independent, handling the franchises of Austin Powers, Rush Hour, Blade, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Final Destination, Friday the 13th, and, of course, The Lord of the Rings which made them more money than anyone of the above mentioned franchise.

New Line will also stop its longstanding practice of selling off international rights to finance films - a move that came significantly after The Golden Compass underperformed domestically but grossed big overseas. The project's failure was the last in a long line of problems that have plagued the company since the success of the Rings trilogy. The move is not expected to affect the production of both The Hobbit films, which they’re targeting for Christmas 2011 and 2012 release.

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