WB ends Peters' pact
'Witches of Eastwick,' 'Batman' among big B.O. credits
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Peters wanted a non-exclusive deal, but the studio was unwilling to budge on that point.
Peters continues to develop projects for Warners, including three remakes: the long-gestating "Superman" and retreads of "A Star Is Born" and "Around the World in 80 Days."
"We look forward to continuing what has been a long and beneficial relationship," said Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, prexy of worldwide theatrical production for Warners.
Said Peters, "I've had many fruitful years at Warners and I look forward to many more."
Indeed, Peters completed a deal to buy a Japanese anime project, "Akiram" just days before his deal came to an end. That was brought into the company by former Peters VP Brian Manis, who recently ankled to join Davis Entertainment as senior VP production.
Peters is looking for new sources of capital -- a now-standard ritual for producers who need development and overhead coin once handed out freely by studios.
However, Peters' exit stands as proof that there are no sacred cows in Hollywood's increasingly conservative economy.
Indeed, Peters' larger-than-life persona seems to have come from another era. He launched his career at Warners 25 years ago when he famously leveraged his post as a top hairstylist and boyfriend of Barbra Streisand to earn his first producing credit on the 1976 remake of "A Star Is Born," in which she starred.
Peters first teamed with Peter Guber, the man who would become his longtime producing partner, on "An American Werewolf in London" in 1981. Guber-Peters Entertainment went on to produce hits including "Vision Quest," "The Witches of Eastwick" and "Batman" for the studio.
The Warners bond was so strong that after Peters and Guber made a failed run at buying out MGM in 1988, Warners took the duo back into its fold.
Peters' luster began to fade after he was branded a loose cannon with little taste for corporate filmmaking following the duo's switch to Sony Pictures in 1989. He returned to the Warners lot in 1994 but never achieved his former B.O. traction.
However, Peters is back in big-budget form as a producer of "Ali," the Will Smith starrer now shooting for Columbia and Initial Entertainment Group.
