WARNER BROS. CREATES NEW ARTHOUSE FILM DIVISION.Byline: Greg GREG Great Egg Harbor National Scenic and Recreational River (US National Park Service) Hernandez Staff Writer BURBANK Burbank, city (1990 pop. 93,643), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1911. Tourism and the entertainment industry are central to its economy; several motion-picture studios and television headquarters are here. Burbank's aerospace industry collapsed with the end of the Cold War. - Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . Entertainment, the only major film studio without a specialty arm for arthouse fare, announced Thursday Thursday: see week. that it is creating an autonomous film label to produce or acquire up to 10 such films a year for worldwide release. Films released by Warner Independent Pictures will have production budgets of up to $20 million and will range from projects from new directors to established filmmakers. The label will acquire films that are better suited for a boutique-like release schedule rather than the studio's regular slate. The new film label will be autonomous and will be headed by Mark Gill gill, in weights and measures gill, in weights and measures: see English units of measurement. , a former executive with Miramax Films and Columbia Columbia, cities, United States Columbia (kəlŭm`bēə). 1 City (1990 pop. 75,883), Howard co., central Md., between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Pictures, who will have the title of president. ``Mark's production, marketing and distribution experience make him uniquely qualified to lead our efforts,'' Alan Horn, president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of Warner Bros. Entertainment said in a statement. ``We will look to him not just to execute our strategy and beliefs, but more importantly to use his talent and insights to create a genuinely unique film entity.'' Gill will oversee all aspects of the new company, which will be housed on the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank. ``Clearly, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that was impossible to resist,`` Gill said. In establishing the new label, Warner Bros. follows in the footsteps of the other major studios, which already have specialty arms. They consist of Universal Focus, Fox Searchlight searchlight, device, usually swiveled, using a lens and reflecting surface to direct a powerful beam of light of nearly parallel rays. In 1892 such apparatus was used along the English Channel in coastal defense and later, in the South African War, as an aid to , Miramax Films (owned by Disney), Sony Pictures Classics, Paramount Classics, and MGM's United Artists. Horn and Warner Bros. Chairman Barry Meyer said they have long felt that in order to be a ``full service'' studio, they need to produce, distribute and market all genres of films. Horn will retain the ultimate authority of giving any project the final green light, with Gill and Warner Independent reporting directly to Jeff Robinov, Warner Bros. Pictures president of production. ``While it might be difficult to precisely define or label Warner Independent, our purpose couldn't be more clear,'' Robinov said in a statement. ``We want to create a home for director-driven films that don't fit into, or are simply not suited for, the distribution patterns, marketing budgets and commercial pressures that are inherent to mainstream studio films.'' Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com |
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