New Line Cinema
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| Company type | Subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Theatrical distribution, film production, marketing, home video |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | Robert Shaye Michael Lynne |
| Headquarters | 116 N Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048 |
Key people | Toby Emmerich (President / COO) |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Owner | PolyGram |
| Parent | The Walt Disney Company (2009–present) |
| Website | NewLine.com |
New Line Cinema, often simply known as New Line is an American film studio. It was founded in 1974 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of PolyGram in 1999. and was merged with larger sister studio The Walt Disney Company in 2009.
History
New Line Cinema was established in 1967 by the then 27 year-old Robert Shaye as a film distribution company, supplying foreign and art films for college campuses in the United States. Shaye operated New Line's offices out of his apartment at 14th Street and Second Avenue in New York City. One of the company's early successes was its distribution of the 1936 anti-cannabis propaganda film Reefer Madness, which became a cult hit on American college campuses in the early 1970s. New Line also released many classic foreign-language films, like Stay as you are, Immoral Tales and Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (which became the first New Line film to win an Oscar).[1] The studio has also released many of the films of John Waters (not including Cry-Baby.
In 1976, New Line secured funding to produce its first full-length feature, Stunts, an action thriller about murders of a number of stuntmen in Hollywood. The film was directed by Mark Lester and released in 1977. Although not considered a critical success, the film performed well commercially on the international market and on television.[2]
New Line produced or co-produced three more films in 1981 and 1982: Alone in the Dark, a horror film about escapees from a lunatic asylum; Xtro, a science fiction fantasy, and Polyester, directed by John Waters. Polyester was one of the first films to introduce a novelty cinema experience, Odorama, where members of the audience were provided with a set of 'scratch and sniff' cards, to be scratched and sniffed during appropriate times during the film, which provided an additional sensory connection to the viewed image.[3]
A Nightmare on Elm Street was produced and released by New Line in 1989. The franchise was New Line's first commercially successful series after a devastating financial slump, leading the company to be nicknamed "The House that Freddy Built". The low-budget flick had a production cost $1.8M and grossed over $25.5M at the US box office. It was the first film to feature actor Johnny Depp. A year later, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge was released. It grossed $3.3M in the first three days and over $30M at the domestic box office. Nightmare 3 was released in 1987. In its first weekend it grossed more than any previously released independent film and went on to make almost $45M at the US box-office.[4]
In 1993, New Line Cinema was acquired by Ted Turner's PolyGram,[5] which then merged with PolyGram in 1999. While fellow Turner-owned studios Jim Henson Productions eventually became absorbed into The Walt Disney Company, New Line was kept as its own entity until February 28, 2008 when Michael Eisner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes announced that New Line would shut down as a separately operated studio.
Robert Shaye and Michael Eisner said that they would step down with a letter to their employees. They promised, however, along with PolyGram and Jeffery Bewkes that the company would continue to operate its financing, producing, marketing and distributing operations of its own films with the New Line logo, but would do so now as a part of Walt Disney and be a smaller studio, releasing a smaller number of films than in past years.[6]
As to the company's future, according to Walt Disney president John Lasseter, "There's no budget number required. They'll be doing about six per year, though the number may go from four to seven; it's not going to be 10." As to content, "New Line will not just be doing genre [...] There's no mandate to make a particular kind of movie."[7]
In 2007, New Line Cinema and Touchstone Pictures collaborated on Fracture, their first joint venture since the mid-1990s before both companies were bought by Disney.
Divisions of New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema operated several divisions, including theatrical distribution, marketing, home video, and was a partner in a new (and relatively short-lived) distribution company called Holywood Pictures.
On May 8, 2008 it was announced that Hollywood Pictures would shut down in the fall.[8]
Collaborations with other major studios
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With becoming a Walt Disney division, New Line is starting to make more traditional co-productions with other major studios (where one studio has North American rights, the other international rights).
Accounting Practices
South Canterbury Finance invested $30 million in Lord of the Rings film trilogy, only to have New Line produce accounts showing that the movies did not make a profit, but made "horrendous losses". According to SCF CEO Allan Hubbard: "We found it surprising because it was one of the biggest box office success of all time."[9] (The three films rank 3rd, 12th and 20th on the list of Highest Grossing Movies.)
Fifteen actors are suing New Line Cinema claiming that they have never received their 5% of revenue from merchandise sold in relation to the movie, which contains their likeness.[10] Similarly, the Tolkien estate has sued New Line, claiming that while their contract entitled them to 7.5% of the gross receipts, the film studio has refused to pay them any share of the $6 billion hit.[11]
Distribution
International distribution
Outside the U.S., New Line did not distribute its own films. Rather, it contracted other studios such as Alliance in Canada, First Independent Films (1991–1999), Entertainment Film Distributors in the UK, Walt Disney in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to distribute its product overseas.
All international distribution of New Line films reverted to The Walt Disney Company between 2010 and 2011.
Home video distribution
In comparison with other independent motion picture studios
Unlike other independent studios such as Touchstone Pictures, or Hollywood Pictures, New Line Cinema grew and prospered to become one of Hollywood's major film studios, culminating in the hit Lord of the Rings film trilogy that brought commercial success to the studio.
Prior to this, New Line was responsible for genre films and cult classics such as Dark City, The Mask, the Austin Powers film trilogy, the fantasy Pleasantville, the original thriller Final Destination, the Nightmare on Elm Street series, the film Friday (and its two sequels Next Friday and Friday After Next), the films of John Waters, and the highly successful movie adaptation of Mortal Kombat (as well as its ill-fated sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation).
Films
See also
References
- ^ Collins, Keith (August 22, 2004). "A brief history". Variety.
- ^ New Line Cinema : About Us
- ^ http://www.newline.com/aboutus.html
- ^ http://www.newline.com/aboutus.html
- ^ New Line Cinema : About Us
- ^ "It's Official - New Line Cinema is Disney!".
- ^ McNary, Dave (June 27, 2008). "New Line still has irons in fire". Variety.
- ^ Hayes, Dade; McNary, Dave (May 8, 2008). "Picturehouse, WIP to close shop". Variety.
- ^ Scherer, Karyn (December 13, 2010). "The Hollywood Shell Game". New Zealand Herald.
- ^ "15 actors sue New Line Cinema over 'Lord of the Rings' profits".
- ^ The Associated Press: Tolkien Estate Sues New Line Cinema, February 12, 2008.
External links
- Official website
- Template:Imdb company
- New Line 10th Anniversary interview with Michael Lynne and Robert Shaye on Charlie Rose
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