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From the "Biz" Archives: Bob Berney's New Gig - Picturehouse - Launched in Cannes; Slate and Staff Unveiled by Brian Brooks
Announcing a slate of nine films including Gus Van Sant's Cannes competition entry "Last Days," as well as key staff and a philosophical outlook, the principles of the previously unnamed HBO/New Line venture headed by former Newmarket chief Bob Berney gathered early Friday morning for a briefing. At the Majestic Hotel in Cannes, Berney revealed initial plans for the newest mini-major, Picturehouse. Taking the reins at the press conference was Picturehouse President Bob Berney, joined by New Line Co-Chair & Co-CEO Michael Lynne, Chairman and CEO of HBO Chris Albrecht, and HBO Films president Colin Calendar. Berney touted the company's lineup with Van Sant's "Last Days" as the company's first release under the Picturehouse banner and Steven Shainberg's ("Secretary") "Fur," starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr., its first production. The first two acquisitions are Raymond De Felitta's ("Two Family House") feature, "The Thing About My Folks" with Peter Falk and Paul Reiser and Giddi Dar's ultra-Orthodox Jewish drama, "Ushpizin." "What we're hopeful of is that Bob can continue his long record of finding films with value that others haven't been able to," said Michael Lynne, outlining some of the strategy the company will take in its approach to distribution. "We're here to give a platform to [Berney's] abilities," said Albrecht, echoing that sentiment. The group clearly hoped to convey to those assembled this morning that the company, although a product of HBO Films and New Line, will pursue its own identity and expects to be an outlet that will bring independent films to a "commercial audience" -- it is not a vanity project they reinforced. During the press briefing, Berney introduced senior members of his staff, which will initially total 33 with the majority in the New York headquarters and eight in Los Angeles. Longtime Berney collaborator Robert Schwartz will serve as COO of the company, while Marian Koltai-Levine from Fine Line and Dennis O'Connnor from HBO Films were named executive vice presidents of marketing. Koltai-Levine will work in the New York office and O'Connor will remain in L.A. with former United Artists executive Sara Rose who will serve as Picturehouse's senior vice president of acquisitions. Rose previously worked with Berney at Orion Pictures. All four execs will report to Berney.
Also on the senior team are veteran distribution execs from Newmarket Films, Bill Thompson and John Lange, who will serve as senior vice presidents and co-general sales managers. Thompson and Lange will report to Schwartz. "This group of real professionals and veterans deliver us a premiere, full-service marketing and distribution company," said Berney in a statement distsributed to journalists prior to the press conference. "I am proud to work with each of them at Picturehouse." The Picturehouse release slate includes Don Argott's "Rock School" in June and Ari Posin's "The Chumscrubber" in August branded as Newmarket releases. Also on tap is Michael Winterbottom's "A Cock and Bull Story" in October and Mary Harron's "The Notorious Bettie Page" from Killer Films next March, as well as "As You Like It" by Kenneth Branagh next year. After the briefing, Berney told indieWIRE that he will release "Rock School" in June and "Last Days" in July fairly aggressively, starting in 10-12 markets and expanding from there. Van Sant's Cannes competition entry has a built in audience in the Northwest, Berney noted, adding that he hopes to draw Nirvana fans and grunge music aficionados. In the case of "The Thing About My Folks," Berney told indieWIRE that he sees an opportunity to model the success he had with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." The successful fest film will open in September and he expects it to deliver as a popular word-of-mouth title, starting in just eight cities but growing from there. "It's more mainstream -- it's a family movie but it's not sappy," Berney added. Berney said the company has no plans to go on an acquisitions spending spree now that Picturehouse's operations are officially underway. "We have a good slate, but I feel no pressure to walk down the street and start buying everything," said Berney. The group indicated that no specific parameters have been set in terms of its development budget, but they said it will evolve over time. "[We] won't be making $150 million movies," quipped Michael Lynne, smiling. Asked during the press conference if the company will have its parent company logo next to its monogram, Lynne said that that was still to be determined. "[It hasn't been] decided if Picturehouse will say, 'A Time Warner Company' or if HBO [and] New Line labels will be on the screen with Picturehouse." "I want to emphasize that this is a full service marketing and distribution company [and] not just a label," said Berney. Still, the group lauded its Time Warner roots as a company spawned by HBO and New Line, both longtime entities of the media giant which is the world's largest. They also dismissed any potential conflict with sister Time Warner label Warner Independent Pictures, which also releases specialty content. "Warner Independent and Picturehouse don't have an impact on one another," said Lynne with Albrecht adding, "[there's] no reason these [companies] can't exist side by side for the benefit of the parent company." [ For more information, please visit http://www.picturehousefilms.com. ] [Eugene Hernandez contributed to this report.] | |
