Sign of the Times? Insiders React To Picturehouse, Warner Indie Closures

The tragedy was in plain sight, but nobody thought it would hit this hard. As word spread today that Warner Bros. planned to close its specialty divisions Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures, shifting all projects currently in development to the larger studio and its recently absorbed subdivision New Line, a mournful tone took hold of the independent film industry. "It is a sad day when any film company, large or small, bites the dust," said President of THINKfilm Mark Urman. "One had heard and one had even considered that this was a possible scenario. It's still surprising when you see it in print."
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"Sarah" Author Laura Albert, The Real J.T. Leroy, Charged With Fraud

The story of recent literary sensation and media darling J.T. Leroy, a persona created by writer Laura Albert, took another dramatic turn on Friday in New York City as Albert was charged with fraud and fined. Jury selection in the case of Jeff Levy-Hinte's Antidote International Films against Albert began just two weeks ago with Levy-Hinte claiming that the writer misrepresented herself when signing a deal for a film based on the novel, "Sarah." In the words of a 50 page complaint against Laura Albert and her publishers Bloomsbury, among others: "Defendants' numerous representations regarding "J.T. Leroy's" identity and biography were and are lies. 'J.T. Leroy' does not exist and never did. The novels and short stories, including 'Sarah', that were supposedly written by 'J.T. Leroy" were, in fact, written by defendant Laura Albert."
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Gill Leaving Warner Independent; Surprise Move Raises Questions About Direction for Unit

Nearly three years after launching Warner Independent Pictures, the company's parent company, Warner Bros. Pictures, announced late Tuesday night that Mark Gill is leaving his post as president of the division. The news came as a complete surprise to people inside and outside of the company, raising questions about the future of a unit which is coming off a successful year with such hits as "March of the Penguins," "Paradise Now," and "Good Night, and Good Luck." However, a Warner Bros. spokesperson assured indieWIRE that the studio is committed to Warner Independent, while some speculated that a replacement could be announced very soon.
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Six Months and One Oscar Later, Battsek and the New Miramax

"Meet the New Boss, Not as Nuts as the Old Boss," quipped a headline in the cheeky movie industry blog, Defamer, atop a recent posting about new Miramax Films president Daniel Battsek. Indeed, among the first comments voiced by those who talk about Battsek is the fact that he is no Harvey Weinstein. Later this week, Battsek will mark six months in his role as the head of Disney's Indiewood company, which was formed by Bob and Harvey Weinstein. He took over on October 1st of last year when the brothers left to launch their new company, moving to New York from the UK where he ran Buena Vista International for Disney. A former managing director at Palace Pictures, Battsek joined Disney fifteen years ago, working on the international releases of "Muriel's Wedding," "Shine," "Central Station," "Kolya," and "The Ice Storm," including some 35 films per year from Disney, Touchstone and Miramax. Soft-spoken and easy to talk with, Battsek chatted with indieWIRE recently.
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With Indiewood Films Riding High, David Linde Named a Top Exec at Focus' Hollywood Parent

The news that David Linde will leave Focus Features -- a company he founded with James Schamus four years ago -- to join Marc Shmuger atop Universal Pictures reinforces just how much the specialty film business has changed over the past decade. As many have noted recently, the films from companies like Focus Features are crucial to the livelihood of the Hollywood studios today. So, in a year when movies from Indiewood companies dominated the Oscars, the head of a specialty division has ascended to the ranks of running its parent company.
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"Pride & Prejudice," "Capote," "Brokeback Mountain" (and more), and Why Audiences Matter

Prior to the release of Joe Wright's "Pride & Prejudice" in the U.K. two months ago, the film's producers, Working Title, decided to shorten the original romantic ending of the movie, apparently feeling it was a bit too sappy for British audiences. Focus Features on the other hand, which opened the movie over the weekend in the U.S., kept Wright's original ending, releasing a different, slightly longer version of the film in this country. In a statement to indieWIRE Wednesday, a Focus spokesperson explained that in the U.K., "audiences prefer a less overtly romantic wrap-up, so the filmmakers had prepared the movie accordingly." Standing by their decision to release the film with the more romantic coda Stateside, the Focus spokesperson added, "What's most gratifying is that, wherever in the world 'Pride & Prejudice' is being shown, critics and moviegoers are enjoying this classic love story." Such decisions, reiterating how audience reactions are anticipated and accommodated ahead of major film releases, are increasingly commonplace in Indiewood, as a panel of insiders discussed Monday night at a New York Women in Film and Television seminar.

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IFP Unveils Gotham Award Nominations

An eclectic mix of films has been nominated for the 15th annual Gotham Awards, to be presented in New York City on November 30, 2005. Once again, the night will usher in an awards season that will continue for more than three months, culminating with the 78th Academy Awards in early March of next year. Presented by Independent Feature Project (IFP), this year's Gotham Award for Best Feature includes a wide range of movies, from a low-budget film like Lodge Kerrigan's "Keane" to the much bigger "A History of Violence" by David Cronenberg (pegged at a $32 million budget). Rounding out the race for best feature are Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," Bennett Miller's "Capote", and Miranda July's "Me and You and Everyone We Know."

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New Studio Boss Shakes Up Paramount Classics, Vitale & Dinerstein Leaving Division

Just days after a formal changing of the guard took place at one Hollywood studio specialty division another studio took the first step towards re-envisioning its classics unit. Paramount Pictures confirmed Thursday that it would not renew the contracts of Paramount Classics co-presidents David Dinerstein and Ruth Vitale. The news hit the same week that Disney welcomed new leadership at Miramax and its co-founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein formally launched a new company. While a replacement has not yet been announced for the nearly eight-year-old Paramount Classics, which was founded by Vitale and Dinerstein, speculation intensified regarding the leadership of the division.

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Amidst Buzz and Rumors, Paramount Continues To Assert It Owns "Thank You For Smoking"

The day after both Fox Searchlight and Paramount Classics announced separate deals for Jason Reitman's debut feature film "Thank You For Smoking" here at the Toronto International Film Festival, industry insiders were voraciously buzzing about the unprecedented situation. Despite a growing speculation that Fox would end up with the movie, Paramount maintained late Monday that it had rightfully reached a deal for the film before Fox.
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Egoyan's "Truth" Coming To Toronto After MPAA Rating Appeal Rejection

The version of "Where The Truth Lies," Atom Egoyan's new film, screening here at the Toronto International Film Festival is the "Cannes cut" or the version seen before Egoyan attempted to appease the Motion Picture Association of America by re-editing the picture. Egoyan, en route to Toronto for the North American debut of his new film, lost his appeal to the MPAA in Los Angeles Thursday, with an NC-17 rating upheld by the organization according to distributor ThinkFilm. For the U.S. release, the company is inclined to release the film unrated and revert to Egoyan's original version.
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