ABC Warner to Sell New Line Cinema
BURBANK - Having gobbled up the assets of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer last year, and DreamWorks Animation and Miramax this year, ABC Warner has made a move in the other direction, and has put New Line Cinema, a division of its Warner Bros. studio, up for sale.
New Line's president, Toby Emmerich, was promoted to the head of the main Warner Bros. Pictures operation last year, and New Line's operations were scaled back as a result. Now, Warner and its corporate parent look to shed the unit entirely.
"New Line Cinema has had a long, successful history, but we no longer feel it to be a strategic fit," said ABC Warner's Overseer Anonus Utilis. Since ABC and Warner Bros. bought M-G-M last year, it has more or less assumed New Line's purpose within the Warner hierarchy, and with a restructuring of Warner's operations, New Line has found itself something of an orphan.
Much of New Line's value derives from its back catalog of Hollywood hits, which includes "The Lord of the Rings," "The Hobbit," "Austin Powers," "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and "Elf," among others.
ABC Warner says it will retain the rights to The Conjuring franchise, the films based on HBO's Sex and the City and Warner's Mortal Kombat, and the Dumb and Dumber Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera, but the rest of New Line's library and slate will be sold.
"It'll be good for the business," said Utilis on his decision to sell New Line.
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