Warner unites film operations

Warner Bros. has consolidated its movie production, marketing and distribution operations into a single entity and promoted Jeff Robinov to be president of the newly formed group, effective Jan. 1.

Robinov, who joined the Burbank-based studio in 1997 and has served as production president for the last five years, will oversee the heads of domestic and international marketing and distribution. They had previously reported to Robinov’s boss, Warner Bros. Entertainment President Alan Horn, who will continue to have final say on what movies are made.

Robinov, 49, will still oversee the studio’s specialty film label, Warner Independent Pictures, which will be folded into the newly formed Warner Bros. Pictures Group, and share oversight of the direct-to-DVD production unit Warner Premiere. Kevin McCormick, who as executive vice president of production has been second in command to Robinov, is expected to succeed his boss as president of production in January.

However, Horn said, Robinov’s ascension should not be viewed as a succession plan. Contracts for Horn and Warner Bros. Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer expire at the end of 2009, more than two years away. Warner is a unit of media giant Time Warner Inc.

Meyer said that promoting Robinov would free Horn from some day-to-day responsibilities to work more closely with him on expanding Warner’s businesses around the world. The two are planning a business trip to India in January, followed by visits to Abu Dhabi, where Warner recently formed a joint venture, and Europe.

“This gives me the opportunity to step back a little and involve myself in the broader landscape,” Horn said. At the same time, he added, giving Robinov added responsibility for marketing and distribution consolidates the process of developing movies and getting them into theaters under one executive.

“Jeff will now be in a position to oversee the entire process from A to Z,” Horn said.

Warner Bros. Pictures Group will have 1,221 employees, consisting of 658 in the U.S. and 563 overseas.

Robinov has helped oversee many of the studio’s biggest hits and franchises, including “300,” “Batman Begins,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and the “Harry Potter” series. Yet in recent years the studio has had a mixed record at the box office, with such notable misses as “Poseidon,” “Lady in the Water” and, most recently, “The Brave One.”

Meyer said the formation of the movie group and its centralized reporting was in line with the structures of the studio’s other primary segments, television and home entertainment.

Before joining the studio 10 years ago as senior vice president for production, Robinov was a talent agent for three years at International Creative Management, representing writer-directors such as Larry and Andy Wachowski of “The Matrix.”

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claudia.eller@latimes.com