Inthe first wave of recruits to join the newly established Warner IndependentPictures, Paul Federbush and Tracey Bing have been named senior vice presidentof production and acquisitions and vice president of production andacquisitions respectively at Hollywood's newest specialty division.

Federbushmost recently served as vice president of acquisitions and co-production atGaylord Films/Pandora, while Bing arrives from Paramount Classics, where shewas director of acquisitions and co-productions. Both appointments areeffective immediately.

"Pauland Tracey will make a formidable team in the acquisitions, co-production andproduction arena," Mark Gill, president of Warner Independent, said in astatement.

"They're both exceedinglysmart, insanely hard-working and personable, and they have proven good tasteand a love of quality movies."

DuringFederbush's tenure at Gaylord/Pandora he was involved in making programming andinternational distribution decisions regarding Donnie Darko, A Walk To Remember, White Oleander, Welcome To Collinwoodand The Heart Of Me.

Gaylord/Pandora, which has a production deal with Warner Bros, collaborated with the studio earlier this year on the worldwide acquisition of A Home At The End Of The World, starring Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Dallas Roberts and Sissy Spacek. That film, which Pandora is selling internationally, is now expected to be released in the US through Warner Independent, rather than the main Warner Bros distribution channel.

Priorto his tenure at Gaylord/Pandora, Federbush was vice president, acquisitionsand production at New Line Cinema/Fine Line Features, where he was involved inthe acquisition of numerous films, including Shine, The Sweet Hereafter, Tumbleweeds and Dancer In The Dark.

Bingspent two years working across the board at Paramount Classics and wasresponsible for acquiring L'Homme Du Train (ManOn The Train), among others.

Prior to that, she was anindependent producer and assistant director and also served as productplacement coordinator on Flirting With Disaster.

Herearlier work included a post as production assistant on a UNICEF project for HillaryClinton.

Speakingto ScreenDaily last week (Aug 8),Gill said the specialty division would aim to release between five and 10 filmsa year, with roughly one quarter of the slate comprising acquisitions.