In an effort to cut costs and save on distribution, Time Warner has announced the merger of Warner Bros. Entertainment and New Line Cinema. Under the merger, New Line will maintain separate marketing, production, and distribution, but it's made clear that if they drive anywhere with the Warner Brothers, New Line has to ride bitch. The press release:

New Line will maintain its own identity and will continue to produce, market, and distribute movies. But New Line will now do so as part of Warner Bros. and will probably be a much smaller operation than in the past. Time Warner hopes that operating New Line as a unit of Warner Bros. will allow New Line to focus on the creative side of movie-making, while reducing costs and taking advantage of Warner Bros.' distribution systems.

Hopefully this merger will be as seamless as when the WB Network merged with UPN, and I barely even noticed it was a different channel I was skipping past. If nothing else, maybe now we'll finally be able to order a chess set with Looney Tunes characters dressed as Lord of the Rings characters. It could only be rights issues keeping such an obvious product from existing. New Line Folds Into Warner Bros. [Deadline Hollywood]