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Warner Bros. Closes 2 Indie Divisions

Shakeup was expected; 70 jobs will be cut

By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff

Posted May 9, 2008 12:30 PM CDT

(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.

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.
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)
Seventy jobs will be lost as the art-film and independent divisions of Warner Bros. are folded into the main company.
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)
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.
"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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