HandMade Films

HandMade Films
Private: LSE: HMF
Industry Filmmaking, Distribution
Founded 1978
Founder George Harrison
Denis O'Brien
Headquarters London, England, UK
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 David Francis
Products Handmade Films
Handmade Films international
Services Distribution
Divisions HandMade Films International
Subsidiaries Sequence, Equator
Website www.handmadefilms.com

HandMade Films is a British film production and distribution company. Notable films from the studio include Monty Python's Life of Brian, Time Bandits, Withnail and I, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

History

HandMade Films was formed by former Beatle George Harrison and business partner Denis O'Brien in 1978 to finance the Monty Python film Life of Brian. Harrison had first been introduced to Denis O'Brien by actor Peter Sellers in 1973. Soon after, the two went into business together.[1]

When the original financiers of Brian, EMI Films, pulled out of the project less than a week before filming was to commence, the creators had to find other financing.[2][3] Harrison, a friend and fan of the Pythons, mortgaged his home in order to finance the feature. Eric Idle of the Pythons later called "the most anybody's ever paid for a cinema ticket in history".[4]. Life of Brian grossed $21 million at the box office in the US.[1]

Harrison explained: "The name of the company came about as a bit of a joke. I'd been to Wooky Hole in Somerset ... [near] an old paper mill where they show you how to make old underpants into paper. So I bought a few rolls, and they had this watermark 'British Handmade Paper' ... So we said ... we'll call it Handmade Films."[1] The first film distributed by HandMade Films was The Long Good Friday (1980), and the first they produced was Time Bandits (1981), a co-scripted project by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin.[5] The film featured a new song by Harrison, "Dream Away", in the closing credits.[6] Time Bandits became one of HandMade's most successful and acclaimed efforts; with a budget of $5 million, it earned $35 million in the US within ten weeks of its release.[6]

Harrison served as executive producer for 23 films with HandMade, including Mona Lisa, Shanghai Surprise and Withnail and I. He made several cameo appearances in these films, including a role as a nightclub singer in Shanghai Surprise, for which he recorded five new songs.[7] According to Ian Inglis, Harrison's "executive role in HandMade Films helped to sustain British cinema at a time of crisis, producing some of the country's most memorable movies of the 1980s."[8]

Financial problems

Following a series of box office bombs in the late 1980s, and excessive debt incurred by O'Brien which was guaranteed by Harrison, HandMade's financial situation became precarious.[9][10] The company ceased operations in 1991 and was sold three years later to Paragon Entertainment, a Canadian corporation.[11] Afterwards, Harrison sued O'Brien for $25 million for fraud and negligence, resulting in an $11.6 million judgement in 1996.[12]

Paragon Entertainment

In 1994, the company was acquired by the Canadian company Paragon Entertainment, which restarted production under the HandMade name.[13] The company's most notable release of that era was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). In 1999 Patrick Meehan and Cartier Investments acquired HandMade from Paragon.[14][15] In June 2006 the Equator Group plc acquired Handmade Holdings Limited, and in November of that year Sequence Film Limited (a film sales, marketing and financial packaging company) was also acquired. It was subsequently renamed Handmade Films International.[16] The parent company, now known as HandMade plc, is currently publicly traded under the symbol HMF.

On 7 January 2010, the company's shares were suspended on the London AIM stock market pending financial restructuring.[17]

In July 2010, Handmade was purchased for £6.1 million by a syndicate of Jersey-based businessmen, at which time wealth-manager David Francis was reported to be deciding what to do with the business.[18]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Harry 2003, p. 211.
  2. ↑ HandMade Films at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
  3. ↑ Davies 2009, pp. 362–363; Doggett 2009, p. 262.
  4. ↑ Doggett 2009, p. 262.
  5. ↑ Harry 2003, p. 212.
  6. 1 2 Inglis 2010, p. 83.
  7. ↑ Leng 2006, p. 244.
  8. ↑ Inglis 2010, p. xvi.
  9. ↑ Sellers, Robert (2013). Very Naughty Boys: The Amazing True Stories of HandMade Films. London: Titan Books. ISBN 9781781167083.
  10. ↑ Dawtrey 2002, p. 207.
  11. ↑ Harry 2003, pp. 214–15.
  12. ↑ Morris, Chris. "George Harrison Wins $11.6 Mill. In Suit Vs. Ex-Partner" Billboard 3 February 1996: 13
  13. ↑ newswire
  14. ↑ "HandMade offering". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  15. ↑ Blackwell, David (16 May 2006). "HandMade set for Aim after £15m deal". Financial Times. Pearson PLC. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "HandMade plc". Financial Times. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  17. ↑ Allen, Katie (2010-01-07). "Aim-listed HandMade films asks for share suspension". The Guardian. London.
  18. ↑ Adler, Tim (2010-07-22). "Handmade Film Backers Buy It Back". Deadline. London.


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