{"id":1049,"date":"2008-02-06T12:59:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-06T12:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath\/"},"modified":"2008-02-06T12:59:00","modified_gmt":"2008-02-06T12:59:00","slug":"new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html","title":{"rendered":"New Line Cinema — gasping its last breath?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

There is still no official word on whether or not New Line Cinema will go ahead with the sequels to The Golden Compass<\/a><\/i>, but based on recent reports, I\u2019m thinking \u2026 not. More specifically, I\u2019m thinking that there might not even be<\/i> a New Line Cinema any more that can make that decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday, Jeffrey Wells<\/a> at Hollywood Elsewhere passed on the news that, according to Colin Farrell, the release of the cop movie Pride and Glory<\/a><\/i> has been delayed a full year because \u201cNew Line lost the bollocks on The Golden Compass<\/i>\u2026and they literally don\u2019t have enough money to market things.\u201d<\/p>\n

And today, Nikki Finke<\/a> at Deadline Hollywood Daily reported that Time Warner, the company that has owned New Line since 1996, considers New Line to be \u201cripe for expense reductions\u201d and is still planning on letting go of Bob Shaye<\/a> and Michael Lynne, the studio chiefs who founded New Line way back in 1967.<\/p>\n

I guess the question that will be on many moviegoers\u2019 minds now<\/i> is what impact, if any, these developments will have on Peter Jackson\u2019s proposed<\/a> two-part<\/a> adaptation<\/a> of The Hobbit<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Variety<\/a><\/i> magazine adds these details:<\/p>\n

[Time Warner CEO Jeffrey] Bewkes said New Line will be the focus of budget cuts and layoffs. The company expects the move to save $50 million a year.<\/p>\n

The specific microscope on New Line within the context of a $50 billion media conglom raised some eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s real value in New Line as an independent label and brand with its own slate of movies, and New Line\u2019s had great success with certain genres of films that are not historically in the sweet spot of large studios,\u201d Bewkes said. \u201cBut with the recent trend toward fewer movie releases across the industry and given the greater importance of overseas revenues, there\u2019s the obvious question about whether it still makes sense for us to have two completely separate studio infrastructures and Warner and New Line.\u201d<\/p>\n

One New Liner said while \u201cnobody is jumping up and down\u201d in response to the news, the sense is that cuts could resemble those undertaken in 2000 when about one-quarter of the staff was let go. That pullback came amid the doldrums of \u201cTown & Country<\/a>\u201d and \u201cLittle Nicky\u201d and preceded the bullish run that kicked off in earnest with the first \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d pic in 2001.<\/p>\n

New Line toppers Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne have had talks with Bewkes in recent weeks as they reach the end of their contracts, and have met with deep-pocketed investors to explore their options should they want to leave the conglom. But Wednesday\u2019s earnings call did nothing to support rumors of their setting up a new company, and even the folding in of certain New Line ops into Warners remains, for the moment at least, a theoretical scenario.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe greater importance of overseas revenues.\u201d Is it safe to assume that this is an indirect reference to the fact that New Line was unable to enjoy The Golden Compass<\/i>\u2018s success overseas<\/a> \u2014 the film flopped in North America \u2014 because they had pre-sold the foreign-distribution rights to other companies?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is still no official word on whether or not New Line Cinema will go ahead with the sequels to The Golden Compass, but based on recent reports, I\u2019m thinking \u2026 not. More specifically, I\u2019m thinking that there might not even be a New Line Cinema any more that can make that decision. Yesterday, Jeffrey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Line Cinema -- gasping its last breath?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is still no official word on whether or not New Line Cinema will go ahead with the sequels to The Golden Compass, but based on recent reports, I'm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Line Cinema -- gasping its last breath?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is still no official word on whether or not New Line Cinema will go ahead with the sequels to The Golden Compass, but based on recent reports, I'm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-02-06T12:59:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html\",\"name\":\"New Line Cinema -- gasping its last breath?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-02-06T12:59:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-02-06T12:59:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde\"},\"description\":\"There is still no official word on whether or not New Line Cinema will go ahead with the sequels to The Golden Compass, but based on recent reports, I'm\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Line Cinema — gasping its last breath?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/\",\"name\":\"FilmChat\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde\",\"name\":\"Peter T. Chattaway\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Peter T. Chattaway\"},\"description\":\"Peter T. Chattaway was the regular film critic for BC Christian News from 1992 to 2011. In addition to his award-winning film column for that paper, his news and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review and the Vancouver Sun. He has also contributed essays to the books Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson\u2019s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Scandalizing Jesus?: Kazantzakis\u2019s The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years on (Continuum, 2005) and The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film (De Gruyter, 2016).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/author\/peterchattaway\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Line Cinema -- gasping its last breath?","description":"There is still no official word on whether or not New Line Cinema will go ahead with the sequels to The Golden Compass, but based on recent reports, I'm","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Line Cinema -- gasping its last breath?","og_description":"There is still no official word on whether or not New Line Cinema will go ahead with the sequels to The Golden Compass, but based on recent reports, I'm","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html","og_site_name":"FilmChat","article_published_time":"2008-02-06T12:59:00+00:00","author":"Peter T. Chattaway","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter T. Chattaway","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html","name":"New Line Cinema -- gasping its last breath?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-02-06T12:59:00+00:00","dateModified":"2008-02-06T12:59:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde"},"description":"There is still no official word on whether or not New Line Cinema will go ahead with the sequels to The Golden Compass, but based on recent reports, I'm","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2008\/02\/new-line-cinema-gasping-its-last-breath.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Line Cinema — gasping its last breath?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/","name":"FilmChat","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde","name":"Peter T. Chattaway","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Peter T. Chattaway"},"description":"Peter T. Chattaway was the regular film critic for BC Christian News from 1992 to 2011. In addition to his award-winning film column for that paper, his news and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review and the Vancouver Sun. He has also contributed essays to the books Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson\u2019s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Scandalizing Jesus?: Kazantzakis\u2019s The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years on (Continuum, 2005) and The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film (De Gruyter, 2016).","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/author\/peterchattaway"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}