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May 14, 2008 1:46:15 AM CDT

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Warner Bros. Closes 2 Indie Divisions  

Posted May 9, 08 12:30 PM CDT in Arts & Living,  Business    Most Covered

(newser) – Warner Bros. announced yesterday that it is closing both its indie arms, Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse. Speculation had the studio merging the indie and art-house divisions, but the studio opted for even more cost-cutting, the LA Times reports. More than 70 employees will lose their jobs in the shakeup.

"We're not abandoning the specialty business," promised the Warner Bros. CEO Alan Horn, saying the company will still seek out "movies that interest us creatively," but promote them through Warners. Skeptics question whether the studio that is hyping the blockbuster The Dark Knight could have done justice to Pan's Labyrinth.

Source Los Angeles Times

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Warner Bros. Closes 2 Indie Divisions
It's not clear whether the same studio that makes and hypes blockbusters like this summer's "The Dark Knight" could also nurture independent pictures.   (AP Photo/Warner Bros.Stephen Vaughan)
Warner Bros. Closes 2 Indie Divisions
Seventy jobs will be lost as the art-film and independent divisions of Warner Bros. are folded into the main company.   ((c) Buda_Fabio Mori)
Warner Bros. Closes 2 Indie Divisions
"We still want to have movies like 'Pan's Labyrinth' or 'In the Valley of Elah' or 'La Vie en Rose,'" says Warner Bros. Chief Executive Alan Horn.   ((c) Buda_Fabio Mori)
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