Move will save company $1 mil

Genius Products is pulling the plug on indie distrib Wellspring’s theatrical distribution division after partnering with the Weinstein Co. late last year.

The Weinstein Co. and Genius struck a deal in December to launch a new home entertainment company, with TWC controlling 70% of the label and the partnership’s board.

Wellspring — which specializes largely in foreign-language pics and has a track record with long-running arthouse films — was acquired by Genius last year, and the company’s role in Genius’ plans fell into question when the Weinstein Co. entered the fold.

While TWC will now distribute any theatrical product in the Wellspring pipeline, Genius will take over Wellspring’s homevid activities at its new Santa Monica HQ.

As part of the move, Wellspring’s veteran acquisitions head Marie Therese Guirgis is expected to exit the company. She has headed the unit’s acquisitions initiatives since 2003 and joined Wellspring in 1999. More Wellspring staff also are expected to ankle in the coming months.

A Genius spokesman said that Wellspring will remain a label under the Genius banner but would not elaborate on how many employees the label would have.

Genius said that the move to fold Wellspring’s efforts into its other divisions would save about $1 million in annual overhead expenses.

Wellspring’s slate includes the docu “Unknown White Male,” which opens this week, as well as Patrice Chereau’s bigscreen adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s “The Return.” Other recent titles include Steve James’ docu “Reel Paradise,” Claire Denis’ “The Intruder” and Marco Bellocchio’s “Good Morning, Night.”

Unit’s library of more than 700 titles includes such pics as Francois Ozon’s “Under the Sand,” Edward Yang’s “Yiyi,” Karim Ainouz’s “Madame Sata,” Jafar Panahi’s “Crimson Gold” and Alexander Sokurov films “Russian Ark” and “Father and Son.”

“This realignment supports an aggressive acquisition campaign to build on the Wellspring brand with critically acclaimed films that celebrate intelligent cinema,” Genius CEO Trevor Drinkwater said.

The shift comes after a roller-coaster ride for Wellspring under the management of various corporate parents: In 2004, American Vantage Media, an investment group based in Las Vegas, acquired Wellspring. American Vantage was then acquired by Genius just over a year later.

The Genius label also distributes various titles under the NBC News, TV Guide and Sundance Channel brands.

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