New Line Cinema celebrates its 40th Anniversary

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent
The Film Society of Lincoln Center will salute New Line Cinema's 40 years of extraordinary moviemaking at a black-tie gala to benefit the Film Society's campaign to build a new film center. On Friday, October 5, during the 45th New York Film Festival, New Line Cinema's Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne will host a star-studded evening at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Time Warner Center. New Line Cinema is an Time Warner company.

"We are honored to celebrate New Line Cinema's anniversary, Their leadership and unprecedented generosity opens the door for greater participation of the film industry as a whole in completing our vital capital campaign." says Claudia Bonn, Executive Director of the Film Society.

The gala marks the biggest benefit in the history of the Film Society. All proceeds will go to the In Motion capital building campaign for the new Elinor Bunin-Munroe Film Center. The evening will include a celebration of New Line's cinematic achievements, plus a sneak peek of the highly anticipated The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, and directed by Chris Weitz. Based on the first novel of the bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass will be released worldwide on Dec 7, 2007.

"The Film Society is a passionate and influential champion of world cinema, As New Line celebrates its 40th anniversary, we feel the best way to commemorate this occasion is to support the capital building campaign for this cultural institution." comment Shaye and Lynne.

The new Elinor Bunin-Munroe Film Center, scheduled to open early 2010, will dramatically increase the Film Society's programming capabilities by adding two new screens and a public amphitheater, complementing its existing Walter Reade Theater. The new film center will be the cornerstone of the Film Society's participation in the redevelopment of the Lincoln Center campus.

New Line and the Film Society began their collaboration in the early 1970s when the studio served as the technical producers of the "Movies in the Park" series, a summer program that screened films for free to the public in parks in all five boroughs of New York.

Throughout the years, New Line has been a part of the New York Film Festival with films such as About Schmidt, Short Cuts, Boogie Nights and last year's Little Children. The studio is also known for Austin Powers, Rush Hour, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wedding Crashers, as well as the Academy Award-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Contributors who donate $100,000 and above for New Line Cinema's 40th Anniversary Gala to Benefit the Film Society of Lincoln Center will be given permanent name recognition in the Elinor Bunin-Munroe Film Center and will be invited to a attend a special preview screening of The Golden Compass prior to the worldwide opening. Tickets to the gala begin at $2500, with packages including extra privileges available at higher levels.