R.I.P.
Filed under: Exclusives! > R.I.P. > Media MinuteNew Line Cinema is dead.
Bowing down to corporate pressure, the heads of the movie studio resigned today. Major layoffs are expected imminently.
New Line will now be folded into Warner Bros.
Here is the email that was just sent out to all staffers:
"February 28, 2008
To: New Line Colleagues
From: Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne
Subject: Our Company
This afternoon, Time Warner is announcing that New Line will become a unit of Warner Bros. This is, of course, a very difficult and emotional time for all of us who have worked at New Line. While there is not much we can say that can lessen the impact of this announcement, we did want you to know about the decision before you read about it in the press.
New Line will maintain its own identity and will continue to produce, market, and distribute movies. But New Line will now do so as part of Warner Bros. and will probably be a much smaller operation than in the past. Time Warner hopes that operating New Line as a unit of Warner Bros. will allow New Line to focus on the creative side of movie-making, while reducing costs and taking advantage of Warner Bros.' distribution systems. The company will be holding group meeting with New Line employees tomorrow in Los Angeles and New York to discuss this announcement, and is committed to letting employees know as soon as possible about how this change affects them individually.
For our part, we will be stepping down as Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOS of New Line. This was a painful decision, because we love New Line and the people who work here have been like our second families. 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. Those movies are a tribute to the amazing creative energy and entrepreneurial abilities of the talented people at New Line. They are a legacy that will endure forever.
Although we are stepping out of New Line, we intend to remain actively involved in the industry in an entrepreneurial capacity, and will keep you advised of developments.
We thank all of you who have worked so hard to make New Line such a success. We are very proud of every one of you.
Bob & Michael"
FIRSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
1st?
yay i got 2nd.
By the way, Mischa barton is awesome leave her alone.
Yea no more shitty horror remakes. I Loved New Line 74-98
************
but what will become of the hobbit
and all of the other movies in production.
will no more movie in the Golden Compass
be made??
they made so much $$ off of LOTR… how can they be dead??
****************
Hi Perez
Would you like to do an interview with an icelandic magazine?
Greetings from Iceland
Oh well… I'm sure there are plenty of other studios to handle it.
whyyyyy!?
We are so headed for a recession!
Hi Perez
Would you like to do an interview with an icelandic magazine?
Greetings from Iceland
Aw.
you got third…..sooorrrry
awwwr i like it when at the beggining of a movie..new line cinema pops up first…wow it is a sad day ….R.I.P NEW LINE…FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS :'(!
much love perez…you are a legend!!! im from england and i hit your site EVERY day!
#8
OMG! All the poor staff will be layed off.
very sad….
boringgggggggggggggggggg
this is truely a sad day for horror fans worldwide. If you are one then you know why…
Hobbit?
I think there was a lawsuit pending for lord of the rings, I dont remember quite well but may be thats something to do with it.
THIS SO SO SAD! GOP GREED
Don't give a rat's ass now go and get a real fucking job. Something that doesn't involve polluting the culture.
yay i made the first page!
there is only one thing on my mind
Is 17 again (ZAC EFRONS MOVIE) gonna still come out? like will it be new line or warner bros???……
Way to go concentration of ownership. Soon there will be no more diverse, independent media.
Freddie Kruger GOT ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Muah hahahahahahahahahahaha….
Freddie Kruger GOT ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Muah hahahahahahahahahahaha….
WOW!!
WOW, THAT'S SAD . WHAT ABOUT ALL THE EMPLOYEES?
THAT SUCKS?
didn't they make enough off the LOTR franchise?? I guess their other movies bombed…oh well
Re: Steve Drill – Wait, are you seriously leaving that comment on Perez Hilton?! You must be doing research on cultural polution…or else you're just a giant hypocrite.
Guess we shouldn't have spent all that money on BE KIND REWIND!!! That PIECE OF SHIT MOVIE RUINED THEM!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA JACK BLACK SUCKS!!!! NEW LINE SUCKS!!! GRAB YOUR ANKLES BOYS– Time for your CAREER ASS-RAPING from the WARNER Brothers DUAL DONKEY COCKS!!!!!!! EVERY SINGLE MOVIE THAT NEW LINE FINANCED OVER THE PAST 4 YEARS HAS FAILED!!!! WHO IS GOING TO HIRE THESE FUCKING RETARDS?!?!?
Basically, your all out of a job except for the people who sold you out…
SEE YOU ALL IN THE UN-EMPLOYMENT LINE
I interned for them and they were complete jackass*es. I am glad they are done. They should treat their employees and interns with respect.
WHAT CUNTS!!! WHAT A STUPID FUCKING LETTER!!!! THESE ASSHOLES SUNK THE FUCKING SHIP– AND THEY'RE PROUD???!?!?!?! Perfect Hollywood ending for a couple of NO TALENT HACKS!!! Every single movie that these TWATS produced outside of LORD OF THE RINGS FAILED. They burned up all of their TOLKEIN BILLIONS and FINALLY they had to shut down the SHIT FACTORY!!! The GOLDEN COMPASS IS WHAT BROKE YOU CUNTS!!!! BYE-BYE FAILURES!!!!!
I can't believe that… I'm working here right now and am somewhat surprised someone already sent this to you (even though I thought about doing it).
Re: gmfg –
You don't know what hypocrisy is, friend. This is a public forum and I'm using it, I don't produce, finance or distribute crappy movies.
This is my first posting on perezhilton.com, and I'm only doing this to say F U to all of you UNEDUCATED assholes making such harsh comments about a studio that worked their ass off for 40 years. You have not a clue what it's like to work in entertainment and run a studio. Clearly you have nothing better to do with your time than to make people feel like shit…me? I'm just stunned at how fucking cruel and inconsiderate people can be. Get a life.
Our economy is going to shIt. But no, we're not in a recession says all those wall-street tight asses. The unemployment rate is above five percent, and companies as large as New Line can't even keep their doors open. Brace yourselves middle class, if there is even any left of you.
pooo
so many good movies under New Line
sad
Does this mean less crappy movies??
Spend money on humanitarian causes and less millions on crappy movies.
AIDS, REFUGEES, FOOD, POVERTY, ORPHANS
Time Warner is in the process of finding ways to unravel their merger with AOL which was a disaster. Before they sell AOL or split the company in two they are doing some house cleaning to save money. Folding New Line into Warner Bros is just one of the many things that will be happening in the next few months. Look for something happening in the cable division very soon as well as an announcement about AOL and another internet giant.
You people think it's funny that we're joining the millions of unemployed in the US? You think when we don't lose our jobs it doesn't affect the economy? Try doing something creative with your lives before you mock the rest of us. Until then, see you on the unemployment line, douchebags.
And I can't believe this letter is up here already either. What a fucking joke.
I am not sure why anyone will care about this. In fact, I am sure no one will. If I had been the CEO I would have at least listed some of their movies in this memorial email to staff.
This was my bad -sorry
-G.O.D.
FYI:
Hedwig, Spanking the Monkey, La Vie en Rose, American Splendor, Crash, Lord of the Rings,, The Player, The Sweet Hereafter, Austin Powers, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hairspray, Dumb and Dumber, Glengarry Glenn Ross, Se7en, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, the Notebook and Pan's Labyrinth came out of New Line or Fine Line/ Picturehouse.
Now we know why New Line greenlighted the remake of the Nightmare on Elm st sereies……because they dont want to accept the fall out of the shitty movie remakes….I AM VEY DISAPOINTED IN THEM!!!!!!!!!
I agree with you Sarah. It's easy to sit back as an overweight hack and comment on a real business without the true knowledge of what it takes to run an entertainment company. It's an unfortunate time, but this type of situation has happend many times before and will again. That is the nature of the entertainment business. It's called "Show Business" because it's not all Show…it's business. Hang in there New Liners as there are better days ahead.
Perry
Re: unknown –
I can believe that. When I graduated a few years ago, I was able to get direct contact info and was called for an interview. Her first question was who referred me, when I said no one, she became dismissive and even took her time on a phone call during the interview. Apparently, to answer phones as a pr asst, you must have a connection. I feel badly for anyone who loses their job, but not the least bit sorry if that chick is among the casualties. Unfortunately, it's usually the little guys that suffer the most.
anytime you lose a corporation…big or small…we all suffer…it has a ripple effect and direct and indirect people will all have to go thru difficult times.
i really feel bad for the ones who are going to lose their jobs.
i am between jobs right now….and as a result of the elections and the "recession"…big companies are not hiring right now. lets not make false assumptions because i guarantee you…we all have bills to pay. God bless us all.
including you perez..for being an informator.
Suits Suck! Goodbye New Line. Hope you ruined the Sex and the City movie.
Did you actually read the fucking article, fatboy pizza tits? New Line isn't dead, it's being reorganized. There are still films that will come out under the New Line banner that are created and developed by New Line. It's identical to the situation Dimension had with Miramax.
Re: Anon – what the fuck does that have to do with the article? Besides, 2 quarters of negative growth define a recession and we haven't even had one yet and there are indicators that the slump may be loosening a bit. So its not done and dusted yet. We were still hit MUCH harder at the end of the Clinton administration when the tech bubble was allowed to burst.
Re: economyDOWN – dipshit, less than 20 years ago, 5% employment was considered 'full employment' now you are worried about 5.5% unemployment?
Your buddies the Dems who are so wild about letting every illegal in here to drive down labor costs are a big part of the woes you 'middle classers' are facing folks. Let's not forget Clinton's 'wonderful' NAFTA agreement that sent the rest of the jobs to Mexico.
But the Wall Street suits are right, we aren't in a recession yet. There are actual definitions for these things. 2 quarters of negative growth = recession. Slowed growth = economic slowdown. Anyone who remembers the the late 90's and the late 80's remembers what a real recession feels like. MUCH worse than what's going on now.
Re: Steve Drill – Use the public forum all you'd like. That's not what makes you a hypocrite. What does it the the fact that you are visiting and posting comments on a celebrity gossip bog which most people would agree is a greater contributor to cultural pollution than a film studio. I think everyone should be free to speak their minds, but how does that saying go about people in glass houses…..And yes, New Line has produced some dreck but they are also responsible for The Player, La Vie En Rpse, the LOTR trilogy, Maria Full of Grace, Blow, Hedwig, etc.
Hard to believe this is the same company that produced Lord of the Rings, Hairspray, Rush Hour, and Austin Powers. Guess that's what you get for trying to fuck with Peter Jackson.
Bbbbbbbut what does this mean for the Hobbit? What does it mean for the Subtle Knife??
Bbbbbbbut what does this mean for the Hobbit? What does it mean for the Subtle Knife??
yeah some really good movies have come out of new line cinema like heathers and hellraiser. but lately new line has been sucking.
I have worked with NewLine and they are an amazing team. To anyone under 30 all you can probably think of is LOTR trilogies but there has been so much more history. I will always remember working on campaigns for them abd having the amazing experience to see every LOTR movie in advanced screenings. People need to realize that not everyone working in film makes tons of money they work so hard and very late hours and sometimes you never know if you are appreciated. RIP NewLine
RIP
The Studio that gave us John Waters and Freddy Kruger!
:(
RIP
The Studio that gave us John Waters and Freddy Kruger!
:(
wow, #47 made me look up the wikipedia for new line, and they've made some of the greatest movies of all time. you weirdo freddy and waters people make me nervous, but looking ahead, does this mean the death of voltron the movie? argh!
This sucks!! This is just so terrible…media consolidation = less creativity and more of the same stuff that just earns a buck in the end. A sad day
I am pulling out all my horrors and planning a wake for New Line! Damn, I hope the powers that be, Bob and Michael, make up another film company and try again…
Recession, huh?
Very Sad. A lot of people will be out of work and there is nothing good about that.
PS to GMG: Picture House did La Vie en Rose- not New Line
That sux
Guess that's what happens when you rob directors and the estates of world renowned authors. Feel sorry for the employes who had nothing to do with stiffing Jackson and Tolkein's estate. Once again the CEO's who made poor decisions get off scott free as they escape to other ventures as hard working people suffer the consequences on their behalf. My heart goes out to the innocent.