By Rob M. Worley
May 13, 2009
Mania.com
Source: Various

In what appears to be, in part, fallout from the underperformance of Frank Miller’s ‘The Spirit‘, Variety reports that Odd Lot Entertainment chief Deborah Del Prete is paring ways with the company after 23 years.

According to Variety’s sources, the spectacular crash-and-burn of the comic-based movie is a contributing factor, although Odd Lot CEO Gigi Pritzker denies that it is the sole reason behind the departure. Indeed, Odd Lot has embarked on a multiyear first-look deal with Del Prete’s new shingle Coronet Films.

Also contained in the article is mention that Del Prete and Pritzker have “moved off” of plans to have Frank Miller direct the revamp of ‘Buck Rogers‘. However, that shouldn’t be taken as a sign that they’re swearing off the comic-creator-turned-filmmaker.

“Frank was a fantastic partner, and while everybody was disappointed the film didn’t perform better, it wasn’t the end of the world,” Pritzker said. “You always try to mitigate risk, but this is a very mercurial business and you take a swing and sometimes you don’t hit it. At the end of the day, we’ll be OK. Certainly, when things don’t go as planned, it presents an opportunity for people to step back and think about where you are going. Deborah and I have been together for 23 years, and we’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy many triumphs, but we had the desire to go in different directions. We are friends as well as partners and we will continue to do projects together.”