Warner Independent Pictures was the specialty division of film studio Warner Bros. Entertainment. Established in August 1995, its first release was 2004's Before Sunset. The division financed, produced, acquired an
d distributed feature films largely budgeted under $20 million.
The use of independent in its name is not literal, as it is a division of Warner Bros., itself a division of media conglomerate Time Warner. Former Warner Bros. production executive Polly Cohen served as President of this division until fall 2008 when the company was officially shut down.
In February 2008, Warner Bros. announced that it would merge DreamWorks into the parent studio. New Line Cinema'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.
Films[]
Listed by year of American release by the studio:
2004[]
- Around the Bend
- Before Sunset
- Criminal
- A Home at the End of the World
- A Very Long Engagement
- We Don't Live Here Anymore
2005[]
- Eros
- Everything Is Illuminated
- Good Night, and Good Luck. multiple Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture (logo appeared in black and white)
- The Jacket
- March of the Penguins multiple award winner, including an Academy Award for Documentary Feature
- Paradise Now
2006[]
- Duck Season
- For Your Consideration (co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment and Shangri-La Entertainment)
- Infamous
- Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
- Mama's Boy
- Mary Queen of Scots
- The Painted Veil
- The Promise
- A Scanner Darkly
- The Science of Sleep (co-production with Gaumont, France 3 Cinéma and Canal+)
- Truce
2007[]
- Chaos Theory
- The Girls' Guide to Hunting And Fishing
- In the Land of Women
- In the Valley of Elah
- December Boys
- The 11th Hour
- Death-Breed
- Darfur Now
2008[]
- Towelhead
- Funny Games (co-production with Tartan Films, Celluloid Dreams and FilmFour)
- Snow Angels
- Slumdog Millionaire (co-production with Pathé, Celador Films and FilmFour), which was sold to Fox Searchlight Pictures after Warner Independent closed. The main Warner Bros. studio logo, not the Independent one, now appears at the beginning of the film after the Fox Searchlight logo, and Warner retained distribution rights in some countries outside North America. However, Fox Searchlight is its distributor in North America, and FoxStar handles it in India, where the film is set. After Warner Independent closed, the film seemed destined to go straight to DVD before the deal with Fox Searchlight . Slumdog Millionaire would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
In development[]
- The Man Who Fell to Earth (status unknown)