The New New Line

By Steven Zeitchik

It's official on New Line, and while it's not shuttered, it's not great either. Shaye and Lynne are out, and the company is being folded into Warners Bros. Production, distribution and marketing will presumably remain separate entities, with respective toppers reporting to Alan Horn and/or Barry Meyer. News comes on the eve of its big Will Ferrell release "Semi-Pro."

Open questions: Bob Berney and Picturehouse (could it be merged with Warner Independent?), slimming of the slate (we're imagining biggies like "Hobbit" stay while smaller ones go) and direction of the slate (we're hearing genre). And how to classify this rejiggered, Shaye- and Lynne-less division? As a hybrid. More than a label, not quite a studio.

We've got a first version up now, complete with Jeff Bewkes giving the "moving quickly to improve our business performance" quote. Shaye and Lynne offer that "New Line has been our respective life's work as well as our second family." Keep refreshing, this one's live.