I should be packing right now, but I'm absolutely flabbergasted at the news of the unbelievable demise of both Picturehouse and Warner Independent. I suppose the march of media consolidation moves on, but it's unbelievable to me that such a terrific force in independent cinema is gone. Three cheers to Bob Berney and his team for bringing "La Vie en Rose" to the U.S. and for the Oscar win for Marion Cotillard. Who will be bringing the "Pan's Labyrinth"s and the "Last Days"s or even the damn "March of the Penguins" for that matter? Whatever, I guess I'm just shocked. I should just be a dutiful card carrying member of society and go buy my damn ticket to "Iron Man" or "Made of Honor" on Fandango. Thanks Time Warner, you're the best! Viva Homogeneity!!

Anyway, my hats off to the whole Picturehouse team (and WIP too, but I didn't have as much interaction with them). They were always a very class act and they'll be missed. They always had great parties too... I'm sure we'll be seeing more of Berney and crowd soon!

R to L: After the announcement in Cannes 2005 of the formation of Picturehouse, New Line's Michael Lynne, Bob Berney, Colin Callendar and Chris Albrecht.