George Clooney Smokes Out New Production Home At Sony

Updated 8:00 PM PST, Tue, Jun 30, 2009

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George Clooney has lined up a new home for his production company.

Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov's Smoke House Pictures is in final negotiations on a two-year development and production deal with Sony Pictures, studio Co-Chairwoman Amy Pascal said Tuesday.

For many years, Clooney had been set up at Warner Bros., first with his Section Eight partnership with Steven Soderbergh and later with Smoke House. Clooney said he felt like "part of a family" at Warner.

"I'm leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends. They're a class act," said Clooney, 48, who called Sony a "perfect match" for Smoke House. "Grant Heslov and I hope to deliver the kind of films that will make them proud."

While at Warner, Clooney won a supporting-actor Academy Award for "Syriana" and had a best-director nomination the same year for "Good Night, and Good Luck," which Heslov produced.

Smoke House still has half a dozen projects in development at Warner Bros. that will remain there. Future Clooney and Heslov projects will be developed at Sony.

"We couldn't be more excited to be in business with them," Pascal said. "The broad range of quality projects they have championed and the compelling and sometimes provocative material they support says everything about their company and their creative aspirations."

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