strictly business

Breaking: WB Mothership Cuts Off Picturehouse and Warner Independent

As first foreseen here last week, bad news rolled into Picturehouse HQ today in the form of a batch of pink slips. Warner Bros, is shuttering the art-house/indie/foreign distribution arm in the wake of its belt-tightening at Picturehouse's parent company New Line; we're a little more surprised, however, to read that Warners is also closing shop at Warner Independent Pictures. We knew Jeff Robinov and Alan Horn were unhappy with the boutique business, but Jesus. Picturehouse chief Bob Berney and WIP boss Polly Cohen, tagged for a possible (if implausible) power-sharing arrangement as recently as last week, are both being shown the door, as are both offices' staffs in New York and Los Angeles. We'll be following up later with word on that rumored independent venture of Berney's, but in the meantime, the full press release from Warner Bros. follows after the jump. More »

superman

Superman Ready To Fly Back Into The Hetero Mainstream

It's a relief to see that Warner Bros. decided to subtly address the Gay Superman issue in their blockbuster's one-sheet rather than just let unseemly questions about his sexual preference linger and shift the focus away from the product. And as we suspected, it seems clear that this won't be the movie where the caped hero grapples with the one supervillain he can't defeat with heat-vision or a powerful blast of icy breath: doubts about his heterosexuality. Yes, Jor-El's kid is suspended above an imposing geological representation of a phallus, but he's merely pausing for a moment before flying away from the peninsula penetrating deep into the "man" of the title, a sure repudiation of any cryptohomosexual agenda. This poster is, of course, merely the first in a series that will more clearly narrate the hero's journey of self-discovery, building to a final, powerful image of Superman flying confidently through the gapingly vaginal Gateway Arch, telling us all we need to know about this latest incarnation of the Man of Steel just before the movie's release. More »