George Clooney Moves Production Company from Warner Bros. to Sony
Posted 07.01.09 by reelz
Earlier today, Variety reported that George Clooney will sever his current ties with Warner Bros. Clooney's three-year-old production company, Smokehouse Pictures, will find a new home at Sony Pictures. The move ends a nine-year relationship, which began when Clooney founded Section Eight with Grant Heslov and Steven Soderbergh. Clooney and Heslov then founded Smokehouse in 2006.
While at Warner Bros., Clooney won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Syriana and was nominated for Best Director for Good Night, and Good Luck, which Haslov produced. In a statement to the press, Clooney said:
Warner Bros. has been a great place to work, and I’ve felt like part of a family for almost 20 years. So in moving on, I’m leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends. They’re a class act.
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Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair Amy Pascal seemed enthusiastic about welcoming Clooney.
We couldn't be more excited to be in business with them. The broad range of quality projects they have championed and the compelling and sometimes provocative material they support says everything about their company and their creative aspirations ... While we have been trimming production deals overall for the last few years, we see real value in opening our doors to producers with their critical and commercial track record and their artistic point of view.