SXSW Shake-up: Trade Roughage 04/15/08

By Karina Longworth on April 15, 2008 at 9:14 am

Plus: New Line's anti-climax, and the Oscars duck and cover.

Matt Dentler, whose name has become synonymous with the SXSW Film Festival’s ascendancy over the past several years as both a studio launching pad and a platform for no-budget American indies, is leaving the festival to take a position on a new digital rights wing at sales agency Cinetic. He’ll be replaced at SXSW by Janet Pierson who, with husband John, repped for sale some of the biggest indie success stories of the 90s, including Roger & Me and Slacker. For the full details behind these moves, check out this story at indieWIRE.
Time Warner has fired roughly 450 of New Line’s 500 employees, as part of their move to fold the long-independent speciality division fully into the corporate beast. The news has been expected for awhile––so much so that, after the requisite mourning, David Poland’s already looking at mini-studio’s demise as an opportunity to lessen urban blight.
The Academy has announced some key dates for the 2009 Oscar calendar. Most of note: nominations will be announced two days later than is traditional, in order to give the presidential inauguration on January 20 some breathing room.