Kristin Thompson writes: We must have posted on the Wall Street Journal’s news about the Bewkes/New Line situation at about the same time. You might want to add a link to The Frodo Franchise, where I lay out what’s new in the story and give a link to the WSJ story itself. You might want just to add a link to the WSJ story. It’s a lot more detailed than the imdb summary suggests.
Tag: new line cinema
From IMDB: Time Warner executives are considering folding New Line into its Warner Bros. division or keeping the brand as a separate production unit with Warner Bros. handling its distribution, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Monday), citing people familiar with the situation. The newspaper said that in either scenario, New Line would be reduced to producing low-budget films as it once did instead of blockbusters like its recent Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Journal did not indicate what would become of The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings prequel, which New Line is scheduled to produce this year.
Kristin Thompson writes: Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes has made some statements about apparently downsizing New Line. I’ve tried to make sense of those and offer some relevant background on The Frodo Franchise.
Kristin Thompson writes: New Line has now denied that rumor that circulated last week, the one about Time Warner possibly ousting Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne and absorbing its subsidiary into itself. I thought your readers might like a little more information about where that rumor came from. I try to put it in context on the Frodo Franchise blog.
Contrary to previous reports on IMDB there is “no truth” to the rumor that New Line Cinema’s Bob Shaye & Michael Lynne were being sacked, and all projects, including The Hobbit were moving completely over to the Warner Bros. camps. A New Line spokesperson stated via email to us today that the story was false, and they are seeking a correction on IMDB.
From IMDB: Following a planned meeting this week with new Time Warner Chairman Jeff Bewkes, New Line Cinema founders Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne are expected to be terminated and New Line’s projects, including The Hobbit, folded into Warner Bros., L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke reported on her Deadline Hollywood Daily blog Monday, citing no sources. With the exception of last year’s Hairspray, New Line has had a nearly uninterrupted string of financial failures since its Lord of the Rings franchise ran out.