Thursday, March 20, 2008

Emmerich to front reconfigured New Line


By Borys Kit


LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
Toby Emmerich has been
named president and chief operating officer of New Line and
will lead its reorganization as a stand-alone production entity
under the Warner Bros. umbrella. The move had been expected.

Wednesday's announcement clarifies what the new, smaller
New Line will look like. Since new Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes
said in February that the unit would be absorbed by Warners,
New Line had been operating in a state of limbo, with
executives and other employees uncertain about their future.

With Emmerich's appointment, New Line will continue to
maintain its own development, creative and production teams,
though in a much pared-down incarnation. It will release about
six films a year and have a discretionary fund to buy scripts
and books, though it will be cut back considerably from the $40
million to $50 million it had under former company heads Bob
Shaye and Michael Lynne.

Emmerich, who will report to Warner Bros. president and COO
Alan Horn, is expected to oversee a slate that will focus more
on horror movies and low-budget comedies than the
moderate-budgeted fare New Line had been producing in recent
years. But it won't be limited to those genres and might, on
occasion, be allowed to stretch its budgetary restrictions if
A-listers are interested in a particular project that requires
a commitment beyond the new spending caps.

The company will continue working with MGM on its two-film
adaptation of "The Hobbit."

New Line is expected to further define its executive ranks
in the coming weeks, with the roles of such senior execs as COO
Mark Ordesky and senior executive vice president Richard Brener
hanging in the balance. Rolf Mittweg, president and COO of
worldwide marketing and distribution, and domestic distribution
president David Tuckerman are expected to leave in the coming
months.

THE LURE OF HORROR

New Line 2.0 will keep its own marketing, publicity,
distribution, business and legal affairs and physical
production divisions; all will report to Emmerich but will
closely coordinate their activities with their Warners
counterparts in order to keep costs low.

The company will maintain its headquarters on Robertson
Boulevard and not move to Warner Bros.' Burbank lot.

Warners opted to turn the reins over to Emmerich partly
because of his experience as the company's head of production,
a position he has held since 2001, and partly to ensure a sense
of continuity.

Though the company will refocus itself on horror and genre
fare, Emmerich has in the past publicly stated his dislike for
those kinds of movies. During his tenure, New Line produced
fewer genre offerings like the "Nightmare on Elm Street"
franchise on which it once relied. Instead, it steered toward
mid-range thrillers and comedies with budgets in the $30
million-$70 million range.

A handful of hits resulted, such as "Wedding Crashers,"
which grossed more than $209 million domestically, as well as
"Elf," "The Notebook" and "Hairspray." But Emmerich's strategy
of working the middle ground, ceded by bigger studios
concentrating on tentpole titles and by smaller outfits making
horror and urban comedies, also resulted in long dry spells at
the box office.

New Line, perhaps realizing that there is gold in the
horror hills, already had begun to return to the genre. In
January, it engaged the production company Platinum Dunes to
relaunch the "Nightmare" franchise, and last year, it began
developing a revamp of "Friday the 13th" with Paramount. It
also recently began production on "Final Destination 4."

Emmerich joined the company in 1992 as a dual development
and music executive. He oversaw development for such films as
"Boogie Nights," "Friday," "Dumb and Dumber" and "I Am Sam,"
among others.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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