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Day of reckoning for Marc Shmuger and David Linde?

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Hollywood’s latest cliffhanger has everyone in town speculating about the fate of Universal Pictures movie chiefs Marc Shmuger and David Linde.

Many are wondering whether the two will survive the disastrous year their studio has had this year with such box office misfires as ‘State of Play,’ ‘Duplicity,’ ‘Land of the Lost,’ ‘Bruno’ and ‘Funny People.’ (April hit ‘Fast and Furious’ was the one notable exception.)

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It’s not only the significant financial losses that have their boss, Universal Studios President Ron Meyer, disturbed. He is angered by the high level of disharmony, distrust and finger pointing that have permeated the executive ranks in recent months -- for which he holds Shmuger and Linde responsible as the team leaders.

If there’s anything Meyer hates, it’s a culture gone amok. One of the main reasons that Creative Artists Agency always was (and still is) one of the most effective and powerful businesses in Hollywood was that it was predicated on the philosophy of teamwork established by Meyer and the agency’s other founders.

Shmuger and Linde are well aware that their jobs are on the line. In recent weeks, they have humbled themselves, taken responsibility for the missteps and attempted to smooth the executive waters, as they acknowledged in a candid interview in today’s Times. The topics discussed include the high costs of their films, infighting among the studio’s executive team and just what went wrong with ‘Land of the Lost.’

Within the next two weeks, it likely will become clear whether Meyer is going to give the duo a chance to right the ship or toss them overboard.

-- Claudia Eller

Read: Universal execs under fire for a flop-filled season

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