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More On Shaye's & Lynne's New Company
EXCLUSIVE: So the two New Line founders bounced from their studio by Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes are finally getting closer to starting their own company. I hear Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne are setting up offices on the 9th floor of their old building on Robertson Blvd in Los Angeles. Tipsters tell me that the L.A. head of production is probably Mark Kaufman, responsible for such memorable un-hits as The Man, Martian Child, Codename: Cleaner, Secondhand Lions, but also one legitimate moneymaker, Hairspray. Ever since Shaye and Lynne found out they were being fired (which I reported exclusively back in January), the pair have been talking about this setting up of a production entity fueled by some projects from New Line development that they could make for their ex-underling Toby Emmerich and that would go through Warner Bros. Also, I hear Warner Bros may give them some films to produce and develop.
At one point very early on, the duo were talking about starting another New Line (and Ted Turner offered to put up some money), but I've since been assured they have given up on that dream/nightmare. Since they pocketed an extremely generous payout from Bewkes (unlike all those other axed NL'ers penny-pinched by Time Warner), that's what is being used to fund the new operation for the moment. But even though Bob and Michael are centi-millionaires, they're still intent on using that tried and true Hollywood formula to fund their new operation: Other People's Money. They are looking for some outside financing so they can produce third party product. I hear Lynne is trying to raise the money through his "New York Cipriani" circuit. Tipsters tell me that he may even relocate to Los Angeles -- for obvious reasons. As one insider explained to me, "Unless he's there watching the store, no one's giving him money to send out to Bob."
Gotta tell you: just the notion of a sequel to The Last Mimzy makes me giddy.
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SECONDHAND LIONS was a big hit. Seriously, NL would’ve made $20m on that movie at the end of the day. A nothing little $12m movie that grossed over $40m. Focus continues to brag about their hits like CONSTANT GARDENER–they even tried to release a virtually identical product exactly a year later (CATCH A FIRE). CONSTANT GARDENER only grossed $33m and Focus ended up making $15m profit.
kaufman is a f’ing prick. i’ve had the opportunity to watch him SCREAM at his asst.
he has the worst taste EVER and is a total tool.
bob and lynne are 100 years old.
hollywood died today. good riddance.
c’mon, kaufman’s a good guy who knows musicals and screwball comedy as well as anyone in hollywood. He’s had hits along with flops, but both credit and blame are shared. He’s a NYer thru and thru so doubtful he’d end up in LA and everyone knows he’s not a yeller.
Bob is a bitter ex-floater who couldn’t cut it on kaufman’s desk.
Would it be too much to hope that the experience of New Line’s crash & burn would somehow humble Shaye & Co. and make them shed the tactics that destroyed their company and turned audiences and the industry against them and their films?
Yeah, probably is, this is Hollywood after all.
The ego is always more resilient than kevlar.
I bet Shaye & Co will surprise us. They didn’t build a huge studio on sheer luck.
I’m sure there’s lots to hate Shaye for, but the rise of New Line is an amazing story. And I don’t see why it couldn’t happen again. There does seem to be a hole in producing cheaper genre movies for a younger audience… And let’s face it, the only people who go to the movies every week are kids.
Go to a real movie theater on a Friday night. It’s all kids! All screaming, yelling, text-messaging and stinking of AXE body spray. If those 12-22 year old animals won’t go to your movies, you have no business making them.
So if Shaye can get back into the groove of making movies for kids, as Roger Corman and Sam Arkoff did before him, some version of New Line may well rise again.
Too bad Cale Boyter already left for MGM. HOLLYWOOD HOT-TUB TIME MACHINE has the potential to be the best movie ever made. How funny that Mark Kaufman was known as “The Closer”, since his horrible choice in films was expected to bring down the company. He certainly wasn’t the biggest idiot/douchebag development guy at New LIne, was he Mike Disco? Kaufman knows screwball comedies as well as anyone in Hollywood? So true. Every time I get to the part in THE MAN where Sam Jackson says “I’ll beat you like a runaway slave”, I bust a gut! If this company actually happens, you can expect nothing but crap and more crap. And maybe a Brett Ratner film. Oops, I already said to expect crap.
If WB is reading this fire Toby Emmerich and his wack pack!!
Broman, you must be kidding me. Kaufman knows musicals like Chauncey Gardner knows politics. I don’t know if he’s a nice guy or a “yeller” and don’t care, but I do know that the creators of a certain hit NL musical that he was an exec on had to do everything they could to keep him and his terrible ideas out of the movie, eventually just ignoring him. And for that matter I doubt this new company’s focus is going to be musicals, don’t you? As for “screwball comedies” I’ll admit I have no idea about them at all (I wasn’t alive in the 40’s).
Hey, I liked The Last Mimzy! It’s a nice kids’ film. If it had cost $10 million (which it should have), it would have been considered a hit.
Bob started New Line 40 years ago and from his idea many, many people had jobs for a very long time. This is a lot more than many can say who are criticizing him. And shame on anyone who is making all the age comments. New Line has it’s faults but Bob is a genius. You will never see a Lord of the Rings from Toby Emmerich.