Warner Independent Pictures was an

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

division of the American film studio Warner Bros., itself a division of Warner Bros. Discovery, which then was known as TimeWarner. Established in August 2003, its first release was 2004's ''

Before Sunset ''Before Sunset'' is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, from a story by Linklater and Kim Krizan. The sequel to ''Before Sunrise'' (1995) and the seco ...

,'' the sequel to 1995’s ''

Before Sunrise ''Before Sunrise'' is a 1995 romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater and co-written by Linklater and Kim Krizan. The first installment in the ''Before'' trilogy, it follows Jesse ( Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) as they meet ...

.'' The division financed, produced, acquired and distributed feature films largely budgeted under $20 million. Mark Gill was the division's first president. After a controversial departure, Gill was replaced by former Warner Bros. production executive Polly Cohen, who served as president of this division until fall

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, when the division was officially shut down. While well versed in big-budget motion picture production, it was widely believed Cohen did not have strong enough backgrounds in independent film, or in the marketing/publicity aspects of film distribution, to hold that role. This led to a lackluster slate and output, after a successful initial run under Gill. In February 2008, Time Warner announced that it would merge

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

into Warner Bros. New Line'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. In 2013 however, Picturehouse was relaunched under separate ownership.

Films

References

External links

* {{Authority control Defunct film and television production companies of the United States American companies established in 2003 Mass media companies established in 2003 Mass media companies disestablished in 2008 Warner Bros. divisions Film production companies of the United States American independent film studios