 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | 1967; 58 years ago (1967) |
| Founders | William S. Paley Frank Stanton Gordon T. Stulberg[1] |
| Defunct | August 9, 1972; 53 years ago (1972-08-09) |
| Fate | Closed |
| Successors | Company: CBS Theatrical Films(1979–1985) Library: CBS Broadcasting Inc. Paramount Pictures |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Gordon T. Stulberg[1] |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| $10 million loss (1971 est.)[2] | |
| Owner | CBS |
Cinema Center Films (CCF) was the theatrical film production company of theCBS Television Network from 1967 to 1972. Its films were distributed byNational General Pictures.[3] The production unit was located atCBS Studio Center in theStudio City district ofLos Angeles in theSan Fernando Valley, and produced 30 films.[om 1]
CBS chairmanWilliam S. Paley andFrank Stanton founded the network's first film division, Cinema Center Films, in 1967, withGordon T. Stulberg as its first chief.[1]
In February 1967, CBS had bought for $9.5 million the studios ofRepublic Pictures (which would be renamedCBS Studio Center).[om 1] The following month they announced Stulberg's appointment, stating they intended to make ten films a year at a cost of $3.5 million each on average. Paley and Stulberg met withGulf & Western chairmanCharles Bluhdorn, who had just acquiredParamount Pictures, in a search for a distributor, but Bluhdorn's over-chumminess turned off Paley. Stulberg reported toJohn A. Schneider, CBS network president.[4]
The studio's first notable talent signing was withDoris Day[5] which resulted in their first movieWith Six You Get Eggroll.[4] Initially, CCF was generally termed by the film community as a maker only of "fluffy films" that seemed designed for rebroadcast on CBS.[4]
Their second signing was with Bob Banner Associates, who were to make a series of projects that did not come to fruition.[6]National General Pictures agreed to distribute their films in August 1967, agreeing to provide $60 million for 22 movies.[7]
They signed a four-picture deal in October 1967 withJalem Productions,Jack Lemmon's company, worth $21 million – Jalem was to produce four films, two in which Lemmon was to appear.[8] The deal gave way toThe April Fools (1969) andThe War Between Men and Women (1972).[9]
Other people who signed deals with the company included producer William Graf,[10] and actorSteve McQueen via his companySolar Productions.[11] Robert Culp's company also signed.[12]
Ogilvy Mather was hired in July 1969 to provide advertising for the division.[13] To counter-act the film community's perception of being a "fluffy films" producer, Stulberg recommended makingThe Boys in the Band to Paley.Little Big Man was CCF's biggest hit at the box office despite a cost overrun.[4] CCF also financed a Broadway production,Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, aDon Petersen drama that opened in February 1970.[14] Paley moved responsibility at CBS for CCF from Schneider toGoddard Lieberson, president ofColumbia Records, which was then owned by CBS.[4]
Twenty-six films were produced under Stulberg until he left to work at20th Century Fox in 1971.[1] CBS closed the unit in 1972;[2] its last film was thePeanuts animated musicalSnoopy Come Home. The studio never reported a profit in any year of its operation, losing money on 20 out of 27 films for a total loss of $30 million.[4]
Distribution of Cinema Center's films were transferred from National General Pictures toWarner Bros. in a November 1973 deal that also included those ofFirst Artists Productions.[om 2]
CBS licensed 28 CCF films toViacom in 1979 for $30 million.[15] Another look at Cinema Center Films found that it was profitable. Since its closure, its films had been generating income via network and pay TV ancillary markets,[16] thus CBS attempted another return to the theatrical film production business in 1982, with a unit known asCBS Theatrical Films, as well as withTri-Star Pictures, the joint venture between CBS,HBO andColumbia Pictures. CBS closed down CBS Theatrical Films and dropped out of Tri-Star in 1985.[a][17]
CBS would later fall under common ownership withParamount Pictures after being bought by Viacom (Paramount's parent since 1994 and originally the syndication arm of CBS) in 2000 (which CBS was majority-owned byNational Amusements from 2000 to 2025). CBS andViacom split again in 2006, with CBS becoming a unit ofCBS Corporation, but both were still majority-owned by National Amusements. CBS eventually launched a new film unit independent of Viacom and Paramount in March 2007, calledCBS Films (whichLionsgate took over CBS Films' U.S. distribution and global sales functions in 2015).[18] On December 4, 2019, CBS Films was folded into the mainCBS Entertainment Group after releasingJexi, at the same time CBS also announced that it will re-merge with Viacom to formViacomCBS (nowParamount Skydance Corporation), reuniting CBS with Paramount.
CBS sold Cinema Center Films to Viacom -wiki.
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