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Warner Independent Pictures
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Warner Independent Pictures was the specialty division of film studio Warner Bros. Entertainment. Established in August 2003, its first release was 2004's Before Sunset. The division financed, produced, acquired and 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. Mark Gill was the division's first President. After a controversial departure, Gill was replaced by former Warner Bros. production executive Polly Cohen served as President of this division until fall 2008 when the company was officially shut down. While well-versed in big-budget motion picture production, it was widely believed Ms. 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, Warner Bros. announced that it would merge New Line Cinema into the parent studio. 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, Picturehouse was relaunched under separate ownership.
Best films
(2006)
(2005)
(2004)
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(2007)
(2003)Filmography of Warner Independent Pictures (38 films)
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Snow Angels (2007)
, 1h47Directed by David Gordon Green
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano, Brian Downey, Olivia Thirlby, Nicky Katt
On a cold afternoon, with snow on the ground, a high school band is practicing for the last football game, when they hear gunshots. The film abruptly flashes back to a few weeks before, to a Chinese restaurant where a high school boy named Arthur (Michael Angarano) buses tables, and his ex-babysitter, Annie (Kate Beckinsale), and her best friend, Barb (Amy Sedaris), are waitresses. Arthur, who's a bit of a misfit, has a troubled home life caused by his constantly clashing parents, both of whom often forget about him. Annie's life isn't faring much better: she's now a single mother with an ill mother, separated from her husband, Glenn (Sam Rockwell), who's on the wagon and becoming a born-again Christian in order to prove that he is responsible enough to spend time with their young daughter, Tara. Depressed and lonely, Annie is having an affair with Barb's husband, Nate (Nicky Katt), which eventually serves to only make her unhappier, as she feels great guilt over betraying her best friend. Desperate to prove himself and still harboring feelings for his estranged wife (whom he suspects is seeing someone), Glenn gets a new job and spends as much time as possible with Tara. Meanwhile, Arthur finds himself growing close to Lila (Olivia Thirlby), a new student at the high school who has a knack for photography.
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
, 1h40Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Richard Linklater, Tommy Pallotta
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Crime, Animation
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about drugs, Films based on science fiction novels, Films set in the future, Political films, Films based on works by Philip K. Dick, Dystopian films
Actors Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, Rory Cochrane, Alex Jones
The United States has lost the war on drugs. Substance D, a powerful and dangerous drug that causes bizarre hallucinations has swept the country. Approximately 20% of the total population is addicted. In response, the government has developed an invasive, high-tech surveillance system and a network of undercover officers and informants.
For Your Consideration (2006)
, 1h26Directed by Christopher Guest
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Musical theatre, Documentary
Themes Films about films, Films about music and musicians, Films about sexuality, Films about television, LGBT-related films, Musical films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film, Lesbian-related films
Actors Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Stephen Rannazzisi, Eugene Levy, John Michael Higgins
Character actress Marilyn Hack (O'Hara), despite having been in the industry for 30 years, is best known for playing a blind prostitute in a film from the late 1980s. Victor Allen Miller (Shearer) is also an acting veteran who is known to the public as the hot-dog wearing mascot for a kosher line of frankfurters. Together they are cast in a new low-budget film called Home for Purim as the patriarch and dying matriarch of a Southern U.S. Jewish family in the 1940s.
, 1h38Directed by Albert Brooks
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Political films
Actors Penny Marshall, Albert Brooks, Sheetal Sheth, Emma Lockhart, Jon Tenney, Amy Ryan
Albert Brooks, a Jewish-American comedian, is asked by the United States government to travel to India and Pakistan to find out "what makes Muslims laugh." References are made to Brooks's earlier films, including Finding Nemo, Lost In America and Defending Your Life, along with his earlier stand-up comedy material.
Infamous (2006)
, 2h1Directed by Douglas McGrath
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Crime
Themes Films about writers, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Films about capital punishment, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, Peter Bogdanovich, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis
Truman Capote, known in New York City society for his wit and fashion flair as much as he is recognized in literary circles as the celebrated writer of Other Voices, Other Rooms and Breakfast at Tiffany's, reads a brief article about the murder of a farming family in Holcomb, Kansas, in the back pages of the New York Times of November 16, 1959.
The Science of Sleep (2006)
, 1h42Directed by Michel Gondry
Origin France
Genres Drama, Fantastic, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Fantasy
Actors Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miou-Miou, Alain Chabat, Emma de Caunes, Aurélia Petit
Stéphane Miroux is a man whose vivid dreams and imagination often interfere with his ability to interact with reality. He is coaxed back to his childhood home after his divorced father passes away and his mother, Christine, finds him a job in a calendar printing company in France. His mother implies the position is a creative role, and he prepares colourful drawings, each showing a disaster, for his "disasterology" calendar. However, nobody appreciates his talents and it transpires that his mother had led him on - the real vacancy is for nothing more than mundane typesetting work. While leaving his apartment to go to work one day, Stéphane injures his hand helping his new neighbor move a piano into her apartment. The new neighbor, Stéphanie, invites Stéphane into her apartment (unaware that he lives next door) where her friend Zoé tends to his wound. Stéphane initially forms an attraction to Zoé, though he suspects it is instead Stéphanie who likes him.
The Painted Veil (2006)
, 2h6Directed by John Curran
Origin Chine
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about viral outbreaks
Actors Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Diana Rigg, Edward Norton, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong
On a brief trip back to London, earnest, bookish bacteriologist Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is dazzled by Kitty Garstin (Naomi Watts), a vivacious and vain London socialite. He proposes; she accepts ("only to get as far away from [her] mother as possible"), and the couple honeymoon in Venice. They travel on to Walter's medical post in Shanghai, where he is stationed in a government lab studying infectious diseases. They find themselves ill-suited, with Kitty much more interested in parties and the social life of the British expatriates.
Monster House (2006)
, 1h31Directed by Gil Kenan
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Ghost films, Comedy horror films, Children's films
Actors Mitchel Musso, Ryan Newman, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Steve Buscemi, Nicholas Cannon
Twelve-year-old DJ Walters spies on his elderly neighbor, Horace Nebbercracker, who confiscates any item landing in his yard. DJ's parents leave town for a dentist convention, leaving him in the care of a babysitter, Elizabeth "Zee". DJ's best friend Charles "Chowder" visits him, but accidentally loses his basketball on Nebbercracker's lawn. DJ is caught by Nebbercracker while recovering it, who rages at him before apparently suffering a stroke and being taken away by an ambulance. That night, DJ receives mysterious phone calls from Nebbercracker's house with no one on the other end. DJ eavesdrops on Zee's boyfriend Bones, who tells Zee about losing his kite on Nebbercracker's lawn when he was young and that Nebbercracker supposedly ate his wife Constance. Later, Bones is driven out by Zee after he gets too fresh. When he leaves, he sees his kite in the doorway of Mr. Nebbercracker's house, but he and the kite are consumed, while retrieving it.
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
, 1h33Directed by George Clooney
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Biography, Documentary, Historical
Themes Films about writers, Films about journalists, Politique, Films about television, Political films
Actors David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Grant Heslov, Frank Langella
Set in 1953, during the early days of television broadcast journalism. Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and his dedicated staff — headed by his co-producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) and reporter Joseph Wershba (Robert Downey, Jr.) in the CBS newsroom—defy corporate and sponsorship pressures, and discredit the tactics used by Joseph McCarthy during his crusade to root out Communist elements within the government.
The Jacket (2005)
, 1h43Directed by John Maybury
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Fantasy, Horror
Themes Medical-themed films, Psychologie, Time travel films, Films set in the future, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Alternate history films, Films set in psychiatric hospitals
Actors Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kelly Lynch, Brad Renfro
After miraculously recovering from a bullet wound to the head, Gulf War veteran Jack Starks (Adrien Brody) returns to Vermont in 1992, suffering from periods of amnesia. While walking, he sees a young girl, Jackie (Laura Marano), and her alcoholic mother (Kelly Lynch) in despair beside their broken-down truck. Starks and Jackie quickly form a certain affinity; she asks him to give her his dogtags and he does so. He gets the truck started for them and continues on his way. Shortly after, a man driving along the same highway gives Jack a ride and they get pulled over by a policeman. The scene changes: Starks is found lying on the deserted roadside near the dead policeman, with a slug from the policeman's gun in his body. The murder weapon is on the ground nearby. Although he testifies there was someone else at the scene, he is not believed because of his amnesia. Starks is found not guilty by reason of insanity and is incarcerated in a mental institution.
Paradise Now (2005)
, 1h30Directed by Hany Abu-Assad
Origin France
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about terrorism, Political films
Actors Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal, Hiam Abbass, Ashraf Barhom
Paradise Now follows Palestinian childhood friends Said and Khaled who live in Nablus and have been recruited for suicide attacks in Tel Aviv. It focuses on what would be their last days together.
March of the Penguins (2005)
, 1h24Directed by Luc Jacquet
Origin France
Genres Documentary
Themes Films about animals, Environmental films, Documentaire animalier, Documentary films about environmental issues, Films about birds, Documentary films about nature, Films about penguins, Ecologie
Actors Romane Bohringer, Charles Berling, Jules Sitruk, Morgan Freeman, Torsten Michaelis, Andrea-Kathrin Loewig
Les manchots empereurs vivent en colonie en Antarctique. Au milieu de leurs congénères, chaque couple de manchots lutte contre les conditions extrêmes pour perpétuer l'espèce et protéger leur petit des nombreux obstacles et dangers qui les guettent. Chaque année est un cycle qui voit la naissance d'un seul petit manchot par couple, dont beaucoup n'atteindront pas l'âge adulte, voire n'auront pas la chance de naître. Outre le grand froid, le vent et les tempêtes, ils affrontent des prédateurs tels que le léopard de mer et le pétrel géant. Les parents alternent entre protection de l'œuf puis du petit dans l'intérieur des terres (plus stable et protégé que la banquise) et pêche sur le littoral. Des kilomètres de marche sont alors nécessaires pour utiliser les avantages de ces deux territoires alors que le manchot, bien plus à l'aise dans l'eau, est incapable de voler et se déplace avec difficulté sur le continent.
Everything Is Illuminated (2005)
, 1h46Directed by Liev Schreiber
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Adventure
Themes Films about religion, Transport films, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism, Road movies
Actors Elijah Wood, Eugene Hütz, Laryssa Lauret, Jan Pavel Filipenský
Jonathan Foer, (Elijah Wood) a young American Jew, goes on a quest to find the woman, Augustina, sister of Lista (Laryssa Lauret), who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust in a small Ukrainian town called Trachimbrod that was wiped off the map when the Nazis liquidated Eastern European shtetls. His guides are a cranky, anti-semitic grandfather (Boris Leskin); his deranged Border collie named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.; and his over-enthusiastic grandson, Alex (Eugene Hutz), whose fractured command of English, passion for American pop culture, and constant chatter threaten to make the worst of every situation. The guides are not very knowledgeable about the subject of finding Jews, and usually just attempt to scam them by taking them on long journeys, however after hearing about Jonathan's compelling story, they decide they actually want to help him. After traveling through much of rural Ukraine they eventually find Augustina's sister, who leads them to where Augustina was killed by Nazi soldiers after her father refused to spit on the Torah. The grandfather kills himself after it was revealed he was Jewish and managed to survive the war himself. His suicide was portrayed as more of a relief than a tragedy. Jonathan returns home after saying farewell to his new friend Alex.
Before Sunset (2004)
, 1h20Directed by Richard Linklater
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romantic drama, Romance
Actors Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Vernon Dobtcheff, Louise Lemoine Torrès, Albert Delpy, Marie Pillet
Nine years before, Jesse and Céline had met and had a brief encounter in Vienna. Jesse's new novel, This Time, was inspired by that night, and becomes a bestseller. He does a book tour in Europe, including Paris. He does a reading at the noted bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. Flashbacks express elements of his time with Céline in Vienna. Three journalists attend the reading to interview Jesse: one is convinced the book's main characters meet again, another that they do not, and a third who wants them to but is doubtful that will occur. As Jesse speaks with the audience, his eyes wander and he sees Céline there, smiling at him.
Around the Bend (2004)
, 1h22Directed by Jordan Roberts
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Transport films, Films about automobiles, Road movies
Actors Christopher Walken, Josh Lucas, David Eigenberg, Michael Caine, Jonah Bobo, Glenne Headly
Henry Lair, un archéologue qui considère sa famille comme sa tribu, a élevé son petit-fils Jason durant toute l'enfance de celui-ci car la mère de Jason est morte quand il était bébé alors que Turner, son père, musicien et petit truand à ses heures, a disparu dans la nature. Des années plus tard, alors que Jason a lui-même un fils, Zach, Turner fait sa réapparition. Henry organise à l'insu de tous un voyage en famille pour renouer les liens entre Turner et Jason.