Warner Independent Pictures

Warner Independent Pictures
Company typeDivision
IndustryFilm
FoundedAugust 7, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-08-07)
FounderMark Gill
DefunctNovember 12, 2008; 16 years ago (2008-11-12)
FateClosed
SuccessorsStudio:
Warner Bros. Pictures
Castle Rock Entertainment
Library:
Warner Bros.
Headquarters
Burbank, California
,
United States
ParentWarner Bros.
Websitewip.warnerbros.com at the Wayback Machine (archived November 7, 2008) (now redirects to www.warnerbros.com)

Warner Independent Pictures was an independent film division of the American film studio Warner Bros. Entertainment. Established on August 7, 2003, its first release was 2004's Before Sunset, the sequel to the 1995 film Before Sunrise. The division financed, produced, acquired and distributed feature films largely budgeted under $20 million.

Mark Gill was the division's first president.[1] After a controversial departure, Gill was replaced by former Warner Bros. production executive Polly Cohen,[2] who served as president of this division until fall 2008, when the division was officially shut down. While well versed in big-budget motion picture production, it was widely believed Cohen did not have strong enough backgrounds in independent film, or in the marketing/publicity aspects of film distribution, to hold that role. This led to a lackluster slate and output, after a successful initial run under Gill.

In February 2008, Time Warner announced that it would merge New Line Cinema into Warner Bros. New Line's "independent" group Picturehouse was expected to be merged into Warner Independent as part of this process. On May 8, 2008, however, it was announced that both of these specialty divisions would be shut down.[3][4] In 2013 however, Picturehouse was relaunched under separate ownership.[5]

  1. ^ "Warner Bros. Unveils Specialty Division with Mark Gill at the Helm – IndieWire". August 8, 2003. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "Polly Cohen Named New President of Warner Independent Pictures – IndieWire". May 8, 2006. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. ^ McNary, Dave; Hayes, Dade (May 8, 2008). "Picturehouse, WIP to close shop". Variety. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Finke, Nikki (May 8, 2008). "End Of Picturehouse Was Predicted; But End Of Warner Independent Not So Much". Deadline. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  5. ^ "Bob Berney Relaunching Picturehouse, Signs Output Deal with Netflix". www.hollywoodreporter.com. January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2021.