Studio

Industry News: Basterds Upset By Final Destination

8/31/2009 at 2:11 PM by Jessica Kantor

Box Office Weekend Estimate
August 28-30, 2009 (*millions)
FILM GROSS
1       The Final Destination (2009)   $28.3M
2       Inglourious Basterds (2009)   $20M
3       Halloween II (2009)   $17.4M
4       District 9 (2009)   $10.7M
5       G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)   $8M
6       Julie & Julia (2009)   $7.4M
7       The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)   $6.75M
8       Shorts (2009)   $4.87M
9       Taking Woodstock (2009)   $3.75M
10       G-Force (2009)   $2.85M

Warner reups Jeff Robinov
Jeff Robinov has been reupped as president of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group on the heels of the studio’s socko summer. Warner Bros. had no confirmation of Robinov’s deal closing yesterday, but the official announcement is expected to come soon. Robinov’s new deal comes nearly two years after Warners promoted him from president of production to head the newly formed Warner Bros. Pictures Group. That move brought together motion picture production, marketing and distribution operations — the presidents of domestic and international marketing and distribution report directly to Robinov. The reupping of Robinov will likely lead to speculation that he’s being groomed to eventually succeed either studio chairman-CEO Barry M. Meyer or prexy-chief operating officer Alan Horn. Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes reupped Meyer and Horn in March for another two years at Warner Bros., continuing the duo’s decade-long partnership in the top slots at the studio.

Sony exec rides Tandem position
Former Sony Pictures exec Malisa Scott has joined Munich-based Tandem Communications as a partner and operating officer. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in business, Tandem describes Scott’s appointment as the next stage in the company’s development. Scott has for the past 15 years served as managing director of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Germany in Munich, overseeing all of SPHE’s activities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Tandem, which was launched by Canadian Rola Bauer and American Tim Halkin in 1999, produces and distributes high-profile English-language TV movies and miniseries and is spearheading the $40 million eight-hour limited series adaptation of Ken Follett’s “The Pillars of the Earth” (which, by the way, is a pretty amazing book), starring Ian McShane.

WGA West prexy race gets heated
The gloves have come off in the contest for the presidency of the Writers Guild of America West. Current president Patric Verrone and former negotiating committee chair John Bowman have issued a stinging rebuke to former president John Wells over last year’s contract negotiations, asserting Wells had served a counterproductive role in his efforts to push for a deal that would end the 2007-08 writers strike. In an email sent to members Friday, Verrone and Bowman accused Wells - who was not part of the negotiating committee — of acting improperly by not telling them about his involvement in the Directors Guild of America negotiations. In the latter stages of the WGA strike, Wells had urged support for a WGA deal that mirrored the DGA terms.


Guilds fight apathy in voting process
More than two-thirds of the members of the WGA West and SAG won’t vote in their presidential races, should usual voting patterns hold — even though both contests involve hot-button issues such as a possible 2011 strike. Ballots in both elections went out last week, with return dates of Sept. 18 for the writers and Sept. 24 for thesps. WGA West voting participation tends to be between 15% and 25% of the 8,000 members; turnout in SAG elections is usually a bit higher, in the low 20s to low 30s. And with Michael Winship set to be re-elected as WGA East president without opposition, voting in the WGAE races will likely be scanty.