Artisan Entertainment
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Formerly called |
U.S.A. Home Video (1983–1987) International Video Entertainment (1985–1990) LIVE Entertainment (1988–1998) |
|---|---|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry |
Home video company Motion pictures |
| Fate | Acquired by and folded into Lions Gate Entertainment, Inc. |
| Successor |
Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lionsgate Films |
| Founded | 1980 (as Family Home Entertainment) |
| Defunct | 2004 |
| Headquarters |
15400 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA (1986–1998) 2700 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA (1998–2004) |
Key people | Noel Bloom, Sr. |
| Owner |
Family Home Entertainment (1983–1984) NCB Entertainment Group (1984–1987) Carolco Pictures (1987–1993) Independent (1993–1997) Bain Capital (1997–2003) Lions Gate Entertainment (2003–2004) |
| Divisions |
Artisan Pictures Artisan Television Artisan Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment |
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios[1] until it was purchased by later mini-major film studio Lions Gate Entertainment in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and distribution agreements. Its headquarters and private screening room were located in Santa Monica, California. It also had an office in Tribeca in Manhattan, New York.[2]
The company owned the home video rights to the film libraries of Republic Pictures, ITC Entertainment, EMI Films, Gladden Entertainment, Hemdale Film Corporation, The Shooting Gallery, and Carolco Pictures before it went defunct.
Artisan's releases included Requiem for a Dream, Pi, Grizzly Falls, Killing Zoe, National Lampoon's Van Wilder, The Blair Witch Project, Novocaine, and Startup.com.
History
Artisan, unlike most movie studios, had its roots in the home video industry.
1980s
Artisan Entertainment was founded in 1981 by Noel C. Bloom as Family Home Entertainment, Inc.. In 1983, FHE began operating its new subsidiary U.S.A. Home Video, when tapes were usually packaged in large boxes and included non-family films such as Supergirl, Silent Night, Deadly Night, and many B-movies, including those that begin and end with B-actress Sybil Danning talking about the film that is being shown under the Adventure Video label. U.S.A. also released sports videos under the U.S.A. Sports Video label.
In 1984, FHE and U.S.A. became part of Noel Bloom's NCB Entertainment Group (which also included Bloom's other labels Caballero Home Video, Monterey Home Video, Thriller Video and later Celebrity Home Entertainment), and then a year later in 1985, both were consolidated into International Video Entertainment, Inc., formed under NCB and also taking ownership of Monterey and Thriller Video. The IVE name was used for non-family releases (although the U.S.A. name continued until 1987) and FHE name was used for family releases[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] In the late 1980s, the company branched into film distribution for television.
In 1987, IVE was acquired by Carolco Pictures from NCB Entertainment after Carolco had a short-lived minority interest in the latter a year earlier.[10][11][12][13][14] The unrated release of Angel Heart was the first Carolco film released by IVE on video. The studio hired Jose Menendez as head of IVE; he was responsible for creating product deals with Sylvester Stallone's White Eagle Enterprises and producer Edward Pressman.[10] In 1989, Menendez and his wife were murdered by their two sons.[10]
In 1988, IVE and FHE consolidated into LIVE Entertainment after a merger with Lieberman.[15] LIVE formed new ventures outside the home video business, including an ownership of retail music and video chains across the East Coast, after the acquisitions of such stores as Strawberries and Waxie Maxie.[10]
1990–1997
In 1990, IVE became LIVE Home Video. Carolco formed its own home video division under partnership with LIVE. The company also formed Avid Home Entertainment, which reissued older IVE products, as well as ITC Entertainment's back catalogue, on videocassette at discount prices. Also in 1990, LIVE acquired German video distributor VCL.[10]
LIVE Entertainment branched into film production. The company spent more than a million dollars to finance the 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, which marked the directorial debut of Quentin Tarantino.[16] Other films included Paul Schrader's Light Sleeper.[10]
In 1991, the company took over Vestron after its downfall; Vestron had been known best for Dirty Dancing, which had been the second highest-grossing independent film of all time. Vestron releases continued into 1992. For several years starting in 1993, LIVE Entertainment distributed anime released by Pioneer Entertainment, including Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki and the first Tenchi Muyo! movie, Tenchi Muyo! in Love.
Much of LIVE's earnings was partially thanks to Carolco's investment in the company, but by 1991, the studio was in such debt that a plan to merge the two companies was called off that December.[17] In 1993, Carolco restructured itself and was forced to sell its shares in LIVE Entertainment to a group of investors led by Pioneer Electric Corporation.[10] In August 1994, Carolco and LIVE plotted another merger attempt, but the plans fell apart once again that October.[18][19] In 1996, when Carolco ceased to exist as a company, StudioCanal got full rights to their film library and thus LIVE (under a new deal with the French-based production company) continued to distribute Carolco's films for video.
Other ex-video distributors that had been owned by and folded into LIVE Entertainment included Tenth Avenue Video (And Platinum Productions), and Magnum Entertainment.
1997–2003
In 1997, LIVE was acquired by Bain Capital and was taken private. As part of a restructuring process, in April 1998, the company became Artisan Entertainment.[10]
Artisan's video unit began to expand to include the Hallmark Entertainment and Hallmark Hall of Fame movies on VHS and DVD and Discovery Communications releases.
In May 2000, Marvel Studios negotiated a deal with Artisan Entertainment for a co-production joint venture that included rights to 15 Marvel characters including Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, Iron Fist, and Deadpool. Artisan would finance and distribute while Marvel would developing licensing and merchandising tie-ins. The resulting production library, which would also include TV series, direct-to-video films and internet projects, would be co-owned.[20]
On September 13, 2000, Artisan launched Artisan Digital Media and iArtisan.[21]
In May 2003, Artisan and Microsoft jointly announced the first release of a high definition DVD, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Extreme Edition). The release was a promotion for the Windows Media version 9 format; it could only be played on a personal computer with Windows XP. Artisan had released the movie in 2002 on D-VHS. In the summer 2003, Marvel Enterprises placed an offer for Artisan, with then-Disney-owned and Weinstein-operated Miramax Films to provide backing for Marvel's bid.[22][23] On December 15, 2003, Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation acquired Artisan for $220 million[24] and video releases through Artisan have now been re-released under the Lionsgate Home Entertainment banner. After the sale, Artisan Entertainment, Inc. was renamed to Lions Gate Entertainment, Inc.
Filmography
As LIVE Entertainment
| Release date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| September 4, 1992 | Bob Roberts[25] | co-production with Paramount Pictures, Miramax Films, StudioCanal and Working Title Films |
| October 23, 1992 | Reservoir Dogs[25] | co-production with Miramax Films |
| November 20, 1992 | Bad Lieutenant[25] | distributed by Aries Films; video distributor |
| July 30, 1993 | Tom and Jerry: The Movie | distribution only; produced by Turner Entertainment Co., WMG and Film Roman; co-distributed by Miramax Films in the US and Turner Pictures outside of the US. |
| September 17, 1993 | Frauds | co-production with J&M Entertainment and Latent Image Productions |
| July 8, 1994 | Pentathlon | |
| January 19, 1995 | Mutant Species | co-production with Southern Star Studios |
| April 28, 1995 | Top Dog | |
| June 2, 1995 | Out-of-Sync | co-production with United Image Entertainment |
| September 9, 1995 | Blood and Donuts | co-production with Daban Films and The Feature Film Project |
| April 19, 1996 | The Substitute | co-production with Orion Pictures |
| May 31, 1996 | The Arrival | |
| August 2, 1996 | Phat Beach | |
| September 17, 1996 | Deadly Outbreak | co-distributed by Nu Image Films |
| October 11, 1996 | Trees Lounge | co-production with Orion Pictures and Pioneer Entertainment |
| February 7, 1997 | Hotel de Love | co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures and Pratt Films |
| March 7, 1997 | The Grotesque | |
| September 19, 1997 | Wishmaster | |
| October 31, 1997 | Critical Care | co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures, Mediaworks and ASAQ Film Partnership |
| November 18, 1997 | Joyride | co-production with Trillion Entertainment |
| December 19, 1997 | Open Your Eyes | co-production with Redbus Film Distribution |
| February 27, 1998 | Caught Up | co-production with Heller Highwater Productions |
| April 17, 1998 | Suicide Kings | co-production with Dinamo Entertainment |
As Artisan Entertainment
| Release date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| July 10, 1998 | Pi | co-production with Protozoa Pictures |
| September 16, 1998 | Permanent Midnight | co-production with JD Productions |
| October 1998 | Dark Harbor | co-productions with Killer Films |
| October 2, 1998 | Strangeland | co-production with Shooting Gallery, Snider Than Thou Productions, Raucous Releasing and Behaviour Communications |
| October 13, 1998 | Butter | co-production with HBO Films, CineTel Pictures, Buttler Films and World International Network |
| October 14, 1998 | The Cruise | co-production with Charter Films |
| November 4, 1998 | Belly | co-production with Big Dog Films |
| November 6, 1998 | Arrival II | co-production with Rootbeer Films and Taurus 7 Film Corporation |
| November 25, 1998 | Ringmaster | co-production with Motion Picture Corporation of America and The Kushner-Locke Company |
| January 29, 1999 | The 24 Hour Woman | co-production with Shooting Gallery |
| February 26, 1999 | The Breaks | |
| April 9, 1999 | Foolish | co-production with No Limit Films |
| May 18, 1999 | Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai | |
| June 4, 1999 | Buena Vista Social Club | |
| July 30, 1999 | The Blair Witch Project | co-production with Haxan Films |
| September 10, 1999 | Stir of Echoes | |
| October 8, 1999 | The Minus Man | co-production with TSG Pictures |
| November 5, 1999 | Grizzly Falls | co-production with Providence Entertainment |
| November 30, 1999 | Candyman: Day of the Dead | |
| August 11, 2000 | Cecil B. Demented | co-production with Le Studio Canal+ and Polar Entertainment |
| September 8, 2000 | The Way of the Gun | |
| October 13, 2000 | Dr. T & the Women | |
| October 27, 2000 | Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 | co-production with Haxan Films |
| Requiem for a Dream | co-production with Thousand Words and Protozoa Pictures | |
| December 1, 2000 | Panic | |
| January 21, 2001 | Nobody's Baby | co-production with Millennium Pictures, SE8 Group and Front Street Pictures |
| April 19, 2001 | The Center of the World | co-production with Redeemable Features |
| May 9, 2001 | 'R Xmas | |
| May 25, 2001 | Startup.com | co-production with Artificial Eye and Noujaim Films |
| July 13, 2001 | Made | |
| August 17, 2001 | Double Bang | |
| September 7, 2001 | Soul Survivors | |
| September 8, 2001 | Novocaine | |
| November 13, 2001 | Ticker | co-production with Nu Image Films, Filmwerks, Kings Road Entertainment and Emmett/Furla Films |
| January 6, 2002 | Sins of the Father | co-production with Landscape Entertainment and FX |
| February 14, 2002 | Book of Love | co-production with Crossroads Pictures |
| April 5, 2002 | National Lampoon's Van Wilder | co-production with Myriad Pictures and Tapestry Films |
| July 2, 2002 | Chat Room | co-production with Megastar Pictures and Inverness Media |
| July 23, 2002 | Con Express | co-production with PM Entertainment; distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the 2003 DVD release and CineTel Films outside of the US. |
| October 4, 2002 | Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie | co-production with Big Idea Entertainment and FHE Pictures |
| October 18, 2002 | Children on Their Birthdays | co-production with Frantic Redhead Productions, Crusader Entertainment and Salem Productions; co-distributed by Koch Media and Moonstone Entertainment |
| October 25, 2002 | Roger Dodger | co-production with Holedigger Films |
| November 15, 2002 | Standing in the Shadows of Motown | |
| January 3, 2003 | Final Examination | co-production with Franchise Pictures, Epsilon Motion Pictures, Hawaii Filmwerks and Royal Oaks Entertainment |
| March 21, 2003 | Boat Trip | co-production with Nordisk Film and Motion Picture Corporation of America |
| July 13, 2003 | Blue Hill Avenue | co-production with Asiatic Pictures, Cahoots Productions and Den Pictures |
| July 22, 2003 | Guilty by Association | |
| August 5, 2003 | Step into Liquid | |
| September 12, 2003 | Dummy | co-production with Quadrant Entertainment and Dummy Productions LLC |
| October 10, 2003 | House of the Dead | |
| December 16, 2003 | Devil's Pond | co-production with Davis Entertainment, Filmworks and Splendid Pictures |
| February 27, 2004 | Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights | co-production with Lions Gate Films, Miramax Films, A Band Apart, Lawrence Bender Productions and Havana Nights LLC |
| March 16, 2004 | Quicksand | co-production with First Look Pictures and Cinerenta |
| April 16, 2004 | The Punisher | co-production with Marvel Entertainment and Valhalla Motion Pictures. Distributed by Lions Gate Films in the US and Columbia Pictures outside of the US. |
| March 11, 2005 | Dot the i | co-production with Summit Entertainment, Alquima Cinema and Arcane Pictures |
| April 30, 2005 | Man-Thing | co-production with Lionsgate Films, Marvel Entertainment, Fierce Entertainment and Screenland Movieworld; Last film by Artisan. |
See also
References
- ↑ Carver, Benedict (1998-09-28). "Artisan Home Entertainment ups exex". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
Artisan Home Entertainment, a division of mini-major Artisan Entertainment, has upped Jed Grossman to senior vice president, rental sales and distribution.
- ↑ "Company Profile." Artisan Entertainment. April 8, 2003. Retrieved on September 3, 2011.
- ↑ Wasser, F. (2009). Veni, Vidi, Video: The Hollywood Empire and the VCR. University of Texas Press. p. 107. ISBN 9780292773943. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ↑ Mayer, I. (1988). Kidware: The Market for Children's Media. Knowledge Industry Publications. ISBN 9780867292268. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 30 November 1985. p. 32. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 4 May 1985. p. 26. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 31 August 1985. p. 28. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ↑ Billboard (31 August 1985, p. 49).
- ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 30 November 1985. p. 45. ISSN 0006-2510.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Artisan Entertainment Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Artisan Entertainment Inc". Referenceforbusiness.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 8 February 1986. p. 1. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 28 June 1986. p. 6. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ↑ Reed, R.M.; Reed, M.K. (2012). The Encyclopedia of Television, Cable, and Video. Springer US. p. 320. ISBN 9781468465211. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 19 July 1986. p. 66. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ↑ Prince, pp. 145-146.
- ↑ "The Times-News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ↑ Apodaca, Patrice (4 December 1991). "Carolco Drops Merger Talks With Live." Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "COMPANY NEWS - LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND CAROLCO SIGN MERGER ACCORD - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ↑ "Company Town : Carolco-Live Merger Looks Dead - latimes". articles.latimes.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ↑ Fleming, Michael (May 16, 2000). "Artisan deal a real Marvel". Variety. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Variety" Artisan spins web variety.com, Retrieved on July 3, 2012
- ↑ "Artisan bids heating up". Variety. September 16, 2003. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ↑ Farrow, Boyd (April 16, 2004). "New York-Based Marvel Enterprises Launches London-Based International Division". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- ↑ SHARON WAXMAN "New York Times" December 16, 2003 With Acquisition, Lions Gate Is Now Largest Indie nytimes.com, Retrieved on July 20, 2013
- 1 2 3 Nichols, Peter M. (July 9, 1993). "Home Video". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2015.