Horror

Stevo’s Weekly Blog Vol. 2 (The House Freddy Built: Torn Down)

Today was the day I found out that a few days ago New Line Cinema, as we know it, has closed their doors and merged with Warner Bros. officially. Why does anyone really care? Why am I posting about it? Why do I care so much?

Well first the facts:
– Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne are gone
– It will maintain “brand identity”
– It will run on a smaller “budget minded” capacity
– They will be firing a LOT of New Line employees
– This means one less buyer on the market for films

Now what does this mean to me? As a movie fan it means a lot and as an aspiring film maker it means a lot more. New Line has always been known for taking huge risks when it comes to movies - over the years they risked everything they had to bring us something different. From distributing “Reefer Madness” and other small genre films to taking a $300 million risk on an unknown horror director to make “The Lord of the Rings”, Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne took a lot of chances and broke a lot of people into the business overall.

In the 80’s New Line was still just working with distribution mostly (including The Evil Dead), until a child killer name Freddy Krueger came a knocking on their door. This one event pushed New Line Cinema forward and made them one of the most successful film companies in America. Through the 80’s they pushed forward with tons of Nightmare sequels.

Horror may have pushed them forward, but they didn’t rely totally on it at all, they also were known for their controversial comedies such as the ones put out by John Waters, and their other darker dramas that drew their own controversies as well such as Se7en, and American History X.

Here’s Bob Shaye’s Press Release to Employees:

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

And Now Warners Memo to Internal Employees

TIME WARNER CONSOLIDATES FILMED ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESSES
New Line Cinema To Be A Unit Of Warner Bros. Entertainment

NEW YORK, February 28, 2008 – Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) announced today the consolidation of its filmed entertainment businesses, Warner Bros. Entertainment and New Line Cinema. The combination brings together New Line’s 40-year legacy as the world’s most successful and innovative independent film studio with Warner Bros.’ creative leadership and unparalleled scale and reach in global distribution and marketing.

As part of the consolidation, New Line will be operated as a unit of Warner Bros. New Line will maintain separate development, production, marketing, distribution and business affairs operations, but will closely integrate and coordinate those functions with Warner Bros. to maximize film performance and operating efficiencies, achieve significant cost savings, and improve margins.

In making the announcement, Time Warner’s President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes said: “We are moving quickly to improve our business performance and financial returns. New Line has built a strong franchise of cutting-edge entertainment. We can enhance its value by combining it with Warner Bros. Given the trend toward fewer movie releases, New Line and Warner Bros. will now have more complementary release slates, with New Line focusing on genres that have been its strength. 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. We can also take better advantage of digital distribution platforms by combining our studios. These changes will enhance our revenue opportunities and drive dramatic cost efficiencies and higher margins at New Line.”

New Line’s Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne have elected to leave the studio, but are in discussions about possible future business relationships with the company.

Mr. Bewkes said: “Bob and Michael have a unique partnership that is noteworthy not only for its stability and longevity, but for its record of innovation and success. They have guided New Line’s growth from a privately held art film distributor to the world’s leading independent film studio that is home to some of the most popular films in entertainment history, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Mask, Austin Powers, Blade, Rush Hour, Elf, Wedding Crashers and Hairspray. We thank Bob and Michael for their enduring contributions to Time Warner and look forward to a continuing working relationship with them.”

Mr. Shaye and Mr. Lynne said: “New Line has been our respective life’s work as well as our second family. While we’re sad to be leaving, we’re enormously proud to have overseen its extraordinary growth and worked with so many dedicated and talented colleagues. New Line represents innovation, creativity, and independent success. We hope that the company can continue to be a leader in creating entertainment that resonates around the world. We will now focus our efforts on exploring new entrepreneurial opportunities.”

Now I know a lot of people think this full merger isn’t going to change anything but it is painfully obvious from the press releases to Warner and New Line employees that it is going to cause a LOT of problems and a lot of jobs are going to be lost… now why does this affect me so much?

I guess to some people the place that gave us Se7en, Almost all the John Water’s movies, Dark City, Boogie Nights, etc. being eaten alive by a giant corporation that doesn’t care about movies as much as they used to doesn’t matter — I can understand that. But, to me — New Line Cinema, the REAL New Line Cinema will be sorely missed, and I as well as others can more than forgive them for their past mistakes because we all make them — but really… The Golden Compass? What were you thinking?

I always have that nostalgic feeling hearing that 4 note descending theme and seeing that logo slowly descend on the screen… I love that logo and it, to me, always meant that I was going to see something special, or at least something different. I miss the silent Redbar logo… I just miss film companies that took risks and tried new things when they were at their lowest.

New Line Cinema, you will be missed! Say hello to Artisan and Orion for me.

© 2008 WTFEntertainment.