 | |
| Formerly | U.S.A. Home Video (1983–1987) International Video Entertainment, Inc. (1984–1990) LIVE Entertainment (1988–1998) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Home video Motion pictures |
| Founded | 1983; 43 years ago (1983) |
| Founder | Noel C. Bloom |
| Defunct | December 15, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-12-15) |
| Fate | Acquired by and folded intoLions Gate Entertainment, Inc. |
| Successor | Lionsgate Studios |
| Headquarters | 15400 Sherman Way,Van Nuys, California (1986–1998) 2700 Colorado Ave,Santa Monica, California (1998–2004) |
| Parent | Family Home Entertainment (1983–1984) NCB Entertainment Group (1984–1987) Carolco Pictures (1987–1993) Bain Capital (1997–2003) |
| Divisions | Artisan Pictures Artisan Television Artisan Home Entertainment Artisan Digital Media Family Home Entertainment iArtisan FHE Kids VCL |
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known asU.S.A. Home Video,International Video Entertainment (IVE) andLIVE Entertainment) was an Americanfilm studio andhome video company. It was founded in 1983 and was considered one of the largestmini-major film studios[1] until it merged with later mini-major film studioLions Gate Entertainment on December 15, 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 inSanta Monica, California. It also had an office inTribeca inManhattan, New York.[2]
The company owned the home video rights to the film libraries ofRepublic Pictures,ITC Entertainment,Gladden Entertainment,Miramax Films,Hemdale Film Corporation,The Shooting Gallery, andCarolco Pictures before it became defunct.
Artisan's releases includedRequiem for a Dream,Pi,Killing Zoe,The Blair Witch Project,Grizzly Falls,Startup.com,Novocaine, andNational Lampoon's Van Wilder.
Artisan, unlike most movie studios, had its roots in thehome video industry.
Artisan Entertainment was founded in 1980 byNoel C. Bloom asFamily Home Entertainment, Inc., and it was initially operated as a subsidiary of adult film distributorCaballero Control Corporation. It received a distribution pact withWizard Video. In 1982, the latter had sold 10,000 copies ofThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre a week.[3] Also in 1982, the label started distributing titles byMonterey Home Video. Later on, it received a distribution deal withMGM/UA Home Video to distribute the latter's library. In 1983, it received a new agreement with Filmation in order to distribute their library on videocassette.[4]
In 1983, FHE began operating a new subsidiaryU.S.A. Home Video,[5] when tapes were usually packaged in large boxes and included non-family films such asSupergirl,Silent Night, Deadly Night, severalLorimar titles and manyB-movies. It also published titles under theAdventure Video label, which began and ended with B-actressSybil Danning talking about the film in question, and also released sports videos under theU.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 labelsCaballero Home Video,Monterey Home Video and Thriller Video), and then later that year, both were consolidated intoInternational 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 the FHE name was used for family releases.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Also that year, Bloom launched Concept Productions to develop live programming.[13] In the late 1980s, the company also branched out into film distribution for television.
In 1987, IVE was acquired byCarolco Pictures from NCB Entertainment after Carolco had taken a minority interest in the latter a year earlier.[14][15][16][17][18] That year, it secured a deal with MCA Distributing Corporation to handle distribution of its titles.[19] The unrated release ofAngel Heart was the first Carolco film released by IVE on video. The studio hiredJosé Menendez, previously ofRCA, as head of IVE; he was responsible for creating product deals withSylvester Stallone's White Eagle Enterprises and producerEdward Pressman.[14] In 1989, Menendez and his wife were murdered bytheir two sons.[14][20] Also in the same year, Noel C. Bloom left IVE after disputes with Carolco, to startCelebrity Home Entertainment, with some of IVE's employees defecting to the new company.[21][22] Later in 1987, the company had acquired the assets of home video distributor Vista Home Video from The Vista Organization for $38 million.[23]
In 1988, IVE and FHE were consolidated intoLIVE Entertainment after a merger with wholesale media distributor Lieberman Enterprises.[24][25] LIVE formed new ventures outside the home video business, including ownership of retail music and video chains across the East Coast, after the acquisitions of such stores as Strawberries and Waxie Maxie, and its Lieberman subsidiary acquiredNavarre Corporation.[14] It partnered with distributor Radio Vision International in 1988 to launch a music-oriented label,Radio Vision Video.[26]
In 1990, IVE becameLIVE Home Video. Carolco formed its own home video division under a partnership with LIVE. The company also formedAvid Home Entertainment, which reissued older LIVE products, as well asITC Entertainment's back catalogue, on videocassette at discount prices (held to a $15 price point); this division was based out of Denver, Colorado and had their own sales force to better distinguish themselves from their parent company.[27] In 1990, LIVE acquired German video distributor VCL.[14][28]
LIVE Entertainment also branched out into film production. The company spent more than a million dollars to finance the 1992 filmReservoir Dogs, which marked the directorial debut ofQuentin Tarantino.[29] Other films includedPaul Schrader'sLight Sleeper.[14] On January 11, 1991, Live announced that it would acquireVestron, Inc. for $24 million after its downfall; Vestron had been known best forDirty Dancing, which had been the second highest-grossing independent film of all time. Vestron releases continued into 1992.[30]
Much of LIVE's earnings were 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; around that time, the Lieberman assets were sold to another video distributor, Handleman, in an effort to stem LIVE's financial bleeding.[31] In May 1992, its distribution agreement withUni Distribution Corporation expired, and LIVE signed a deal withWarner-Elektra-Atlantic.[32] The following month, LIVE defaulted on their debt payments; Carolco reduced their stake in LIVE concurrently (from a majority share of 53% to 49.9%), selling minority shares in LIVE to a group of investors led byPioneer Electronic Corporation.[33]
In February 1993, LIVE, despite their best efforts, was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to insufficient cash flow; as a part of this deal, Pioneer acquired 30% of LIVE's voting stock (Carolco was also restructuring, and their stake in LIVE was further reduced to 35%).[34][14] In August 1994, Carolco and LIVE plotted another merger attempt, but the plans fell apart once again that October.[35][36][37] Under new CEO Roger Burlage, the unprofitable retail assets were sold and more focus was placed upon film production (Burlage took the inspiration for this new business plan from his previous employer,Trimark Pictures).[38] In 1996, when Carolco ceased to exist as a company,StudioCanal got full rights to their film library; LIVE, under a new deal with the French-based production company, continued to distribute Carolco's films on video. LIVE also took control of its video sales at this time from WEA; WEA continued to handle distribution of its products.[39]
In July 1997, LIVE was acquired byBain Capital and was taken private. Though Burlage was retained as chairman initially, a new trio of executives took power: formerInternational Creative Management agent Bill Block and formerOctober Films partner Amir Malin became co-presidents, while former Bain Capital financial consultant Mark Curcio handled financial matters. Their goal was to utilize the large video library and the consistent profit from that area to invest in independent film production, which they saw as a market in flux in the wake of several notable independent film companies, includingOrion Pictures,Miramax Films and others, being subsumed into larger corporate organizations; going along with this, LIVE's existing film production unit was shuttered. As part of the restructuring process, in April 1998, LIVE was rebranded as Artisan Entertainment; the rebranding was in part motivated by LIVE's reputation for mediocre product and lingering memories of their connection to theMenendez brothers case. The company headquarters was moved fromVan Nuys, California to oceanfront offices inSanta Monica, while the company's New York branch office relocated to theTriBeCa neighborhood.[14][40][41][42]
On December 18, 1997, LIVE entered a domestic home video deal withHallmark Entertainment to handle the distribution of products from its Hallmark Home Entertainment subsidiary, includingCrayola-branded releases andHallmark Hall of Fame movies. These releases would be distributed under Family Home Entertainment, while Hallmark Home Entertainment would retain marketing rights.[43] By 1998, products from Cabin Fever Entertainment were added to the deal after Hallmark purchased and folded the company in March of that year.[44]
In August 1998, the distribution deal with WEA expired and was replaced by a new distribution deal with20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[45] In addition to adding more theatrical releases, the company's home video subsidiary, Artisan Home Entertainment, continued to expand with more home video deals. The company began releasing products fromTSG Pictures around this time, and by September 1998, Artisan signed a deal withSpelling Entertainment Group to distribute films from itsRepublic Pictures unit for home video release throughout a five-to-ten-year period.[46] This was followed in October 1999 with a four-year home video deal withDiscovery Communications to release programming from theDiscovery Channel,Animal Planet andTLC networks through dedicated labels under Family Home Entertainment.[47]
On February 10, 2000, Artisan acquired a minority stake inThe Baby Einstein Company in exchange for a three-year North American home video distribution agreement for theBaby Einstein catalog.[48] The deal was eventually revoked early at the end of 2001 followingThe Walt Disney Company's purchase of The Baby Einstein Company. In May 2000,Marvel Studios negotiated a deal with Artisan Entertainment for a co-production joint venture that included rights to 15 Marvel characters includingCaptain America,Thor, theBlack Panther,Iron Fist, andDeadpool. Artisan would finance and distribute while Marvel would developing licensing and merchandising tie-ins. The resulting production library, which would also include television series, direct-to-video films and internet projects, would be co-owned.[49]
On September 13, 2000, Artisan launchedArtisan Digital Media andiArtisan.[50] The last major deal Artisan undertook that year was their renewal of a distribution pact with Canadian media firmAlliance Atlantis, which included distribution rights to Artisan product in Canada, and theatrical distribution of Artisan films in Britain via AAC'sMomentum Pictures unit.[51] In 2001, the company acquired Canadian film and television company Landscape Entertainment.[52] In May 2003, Artisan andMicrosoft jointly announced the first release of ahigh definitionDVD,Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Extreme Edition). The release was a promotion for theWindows Media version 9 format; it could only be played on apersonal computer withWindows XP. Artisan had released the movie in 2002 onD-VHS.
In the summer of 2003,Marvel Enterprises placed an offer for Artisan, with then-Disney-owned and Weinstein-operatedMiramax Films to provide backing for Marvel's bid.[53][54] On December 15, 2003,Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation would merge with Artisan for $220 million, and video releases through Artisan were re-released under theLionsgate Home Entertainment banner.[55]
| Release date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| October 23, 1992 | Reservoir Dogs | Distributed byMiramax Films |
| July 30, 1993 | Tom and Jerry: The Movie | American co-distributor with Miramax Films; co-production withTurner Entertainment andFilm Roman |
| September 17, 1993 | Frauds | Co-production with J&M Entertainment and Latent Image Productions |
| February 4, 1994 | Gunmen | American co-distributor withDimension Films; co-production withDavis Entertainment |
| July 8, 1994 | Pentathlon | |
| January 19, 1995 | Mutant Species | Co-production withSouthern Star Studios |
| April 28, 1995 | Top Dog | |
| April 28, 1995 | Little Odessa | distributed byFine Line Features |
| 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 | Distributed byOrion Pictures |
| May 31, 1996 | The Arrival | |
| August 2, 1996 | Phat Beach | |
| September 17, 1996 | Deadly Outbreak | Co-distributed byNu Image Films |
| October 11, 1996 | Trees Lounge | Distributed by Orion Pictures |
| February 7, 1997 | Hotel de Love | Co-production withVillage 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 withRedbus Film Distribution |
| February 27, 1998 | Caught Up | Co-production with Heller Highwater Productions |
| April 17, 1998 | Suicide Kings | Co-production with Dinamo Entertainment |
| Release date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| June 24, 1998 | I Went Down | Co-production withBBC Films,Bord Scannán na hÉireann,Irish Film Board,Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Easkel Media, Treasure Entertainment, and Shooting Gallery |
| July 10, 1998 | Pi | Produced byProtozoa Pictures; distribution only; owned byA24[56] |
| September 16, 1998 | Permanent Midnight | Co-production with JD Productions |
| October 1998 | Dark Harbor | Co-productions withKiller Films |
| October 2, 1998 | Strangeland | Produced by Shooting Gallery,Snider Than Thou Productions, Raucous Releasing, andBehaviour Communications; distribution. |
| October 13, 1998 | Butter | Co-production withHBO Films,CineTel Pictures, Buttler Films, and World International Network |
| October 14, 1998 | The Cruise | Produced by Charter Films; distribution only; owned byOscilloscope Laboratories |
| 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 withMotion Picture Corporation of America andThe Kushner-Locke Company |
| January 29, 1999 | The 24 Hour Woman | Produced by Shooting Gallery; distribution |
| February 26, 1999 | The Breaks | |
| April 9, 1999 | Foolish | Co-production withNo Limit Films |
| May 18, 1999 | Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai | Distribution only |
| June 4, 1999 | Buena Vista Social Club | U.S. distribution only |
| July 30, 1999 | The Blair Witch Project | produced by withHaxan Films; U.S. distribution |
| August 25, 1999 | The Ninth Gate | U.S. distribution only, co-production withLe Studio Canal + |
| September 10, 1999 | Stir of Echoes | |
| October 8, 1999 | The Minus Man | Produced byTSG Pictures, distribution only |
| The Limey | ||
| November 5, 1999 | Grizzly Falls | Co-production with Providence Entertainment |
| November 30, 1999 | Candyman 3: Day of the Dead | |
| March 21, 2000 | Hot Boyz | Distribution only |
| July 14, 2000 | Chuck & Buck | U.S. distribution only |
| August 11, 2000 | Cecil B. Demented | Produced by Le Studio Canal+ and Polar Entertainment; U.S. distribution only |
| August 15, 2000 | Premonition | |
| September 8, 2000 | The Way of the Gun | |
| September 12, 2000 | Bloody Murder | |
| October 13, 2000 | Dr. T & the Women | U.S. Distribution only |
| October 27, 2000 | Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 | Co-production withHaxan Films |
| Requiem for a Dream | Co-production with Thousand Words andProtozoa Pictures | |
| December 1, 2000 | Panic | |
| January 21, 2001 | Nobody's Baby | Co-production withMillennium Films, 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 | Produced byArtificial Eye andNoujaim Films; distribution only |
| July 13, 2001 | Made | |
| August 17, 2001 | Double Bang | |
| September 7, 2001 | Soul Survivors | |
| September 8, 2001 | Novocaine | |
| October 23, 2001 | Deep in the Woods | |
| November 13, 2001 | Ticker | Co-production withNu Image Films, Filmwerks, Kings Road Entertainment andEmmett/Furla Films |
| December 14, 2001 | Vanilla Sky | Produced byParamount Pictures,Cruise/Wagner Productions,Vinyl Films,Sogecine, andSummit Entertainment; studio credit only |
| January 6, 2002 | Sins of the Father | Co-production with Landscape Entertainment andFX |
| February 14, 2002 | Book of Love | Co-production with Crossroads Pictures |
| April 5, 2002 | Van Wilder | Produced byMyriad Pictures and Tapestry Films; U.S. distribution only. |
| July 2, 2002 | Chat Room | Co-production with Megastar Pictures and Inverness Media |
| July 23, 2002 | Con Express | Co-production withPM Entertainment; U.S. theatrical distributor |
| September 24, 2002 | The Pool | American distribution only |
| October 4, 2002 | Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie | Produced byBig Idea Productions andFHE Pictures; U.S. distribution only |
| October 18, 2002 | Children on Their Birthdays | Co-production withCrusader Entertainment, Frantic Redhead Productions, and Salem Productions; co-distributed byKoch Media and Moonstone Entertainment |
| October 25, 2002 | Roger Dodger | Produced bv Holedigger Films; distribution only |
| November 15, 2002 | Standing in the Shadows of Motown | |
| January 3, 2003 | Final Examination | Produced byFranchise Pictures, Epsilon Motion Pictures, Hawaii Filmwerks and Royal Oaks Entertainment; distribution only |
| February 18, 2003 | Bloody Murder 2: Closing Camp | |
| February 19, 2003 | Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony | |
| March 21, 2003 | Boat Trip | Produced byNordisk Film andMotion Picture Corporation of America; U.S. distribution only |
| May 20, 2003 | The Shaft | Distribution only |
| July 13, 2003 | Blue Hill Avenue | Produced by Asiatic Pictures, Cahoots Productions, and Den Pictures; distribution only |
| July 22, 2003 | Guilty by Association | |
| August 5, 2003 | Step into Liquid | |
| August 19, 2003 | I've Been Waiting for You | |
| September 12, 2003 | Dummy | Produced by Quadrant Entertainment and Dummy Productions LLC; distribution only |
| October 10, 2003 | House of the Dead | American distribution only |
| December 16, 2003 | Devil's Pond | Co-production withDavis Entertainment Filmworks, and Splendid Pictures |
| February 27, 2004 | Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights | Picked up byLionsgate Films, and produced withMiramax Films,A Band Apart,Lawrence Bender Productions, and Havana Nights LLC |
| April 16, 2004 | The Punisher | Picked up by Lionsgate Films and produced withMarvel Entertainment andValhalla Motion Pictures;Columbia Pictures handled international rights distribution |
| April 30, 2005 | Man-Thing | Picked up by Lionsgate Films and produced by Marvel Entertainment, Fierce Entertainment and Screenland Movieworld; the last film by Artisan |
| Release date | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 25, 2002 | RFK | FX | Co-production withFox Television Studios |
| March 9, 2003 | Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt | CBS | Co-production with Fox Television Studios and The Kaufman Company |
Artisan Home Entertainment, a division of mini-major Artisan Entertainment, has upped Jed Grossman to senior vice president, rental sales and distribution.
bain capital trimark.
