Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal confirmed Clooney's Smokehouse Pictures is in final negotiations to ditch Warner in a deal that industry sources say illustrates how studios aren't willing to pay "A-list" actor-producers as much in light of declining DVD sales and corporate cutbacks, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Citing unnamed sources, the Times said Warner offered a renewal to Clooney but that he wanted a change.
The newspaper said the move seems like a strange fit, since Sony is best known
for crowd-pleasing blockbusters while Clooney favors smaller, arty movies.
Warner's relationship with Clooney goes back to "ER" and "Batman and Robin," but his box-office appeal peaked in 2001 with "Ocean's Eleven," with his recent movies being riskier projects such as "Syriana" and "The Good German."
"Warner Brothers has been a great place to work and I've felt like part of a family for almost 20 years," Clooney said in Sony's statement. "So in moving on, I'm leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends."
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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