Millennium Media

Company logo
Formerly	Nu Image (1992–2017)
Company type	Private
Industry	Entertainment
Predecessors	Equity Pictures (2003–2013) [citation needed]
Founded	1992
Founder	Avi Lerner Trevor Short Danny Dimbort Danny Lerner
Headquarters	Los Angeles,California , United States
Key people	Avi Lerner Trevor Short
Products	Motion Pictures
Subsidiaries	Millennium Films (1996–2017) Millennium Entertainment (2001–2014)
Website	www.millennium-media.net

Millennium Media (formerlyNu Image andMillennium Films) is an American independent film production and financing company that was founded byAvi Lerner, Trevor Short, Danny Dimbort and Danny Lerner in 1992, and is one of Hollywood's^[1] longest running independent film companies.^[2] Millennium creates, produces, finances, and sells^[3] films worldwide. The company producesaction films, most of which are filmed primarily inSouth Africa andBulgaria (by 2005, it acquiredNu Boyana Film Studios),^[4] among other locations.

In the mid-1980s,The Cannon Group, Inc. began expanding its operation into Africa, taking advantage of cheap locations and labor in countries such asZimbabwe andSouth Africa.Avi Lerner opened Nu Metro Entertainment, a film production company based inJohannesburg to accommodate production demands in the countries.^[5] During this time, Lerner executive produced many films, such asAmerican Ninja 2: The Confrontation andRiver of Death for Cannon as well asHowling IV: The Original Nightmare forHarry Alan Towers.

After pressure from anti-apartheid forces, Cannon closed its African operations in 1988,^[6] Lerner created a new company, Nu Image, to produce original, low budget films alongside his brother Danny Lerner and otherCannon employees Trevor Short, Danny Dimbort andBoaz Davidson.^[5]

From 1992, Nu Image began producing multiple films a year, mainly in the action genre. Many of its films wentdirect-to-video, however some, such asShark Attack debuted ontelevision. Many stars, writers and directors fromThe Cannon Group, Inc. appeared in films for Nu Image, includingDavid Bradley,Michael Dudikoff,Sam Firstenberg andBilly Drago. They also built a new generation of action talent such asBryan Genesse^[7] andJoe Lara.^[8]

However, their efforts to break into the mainstream withmockbusters such asFreefall starringEric Roberts,Jeff Fahey andPamela Gidley, created to capitalise on the success ofSylvester Stallone'sCliffhanger failed to make much of an impact.Freefall ended up goingdirect-to-video.^[9]

After the successes ofcreature features such asAnaconda andDeep Blue Sea released in the late 1990s, Nu Image produced a spate of low budget franchises to capitalise on the trend including;Tobe Hooper'sCrocodile,Shark Attack,Spiders,Killer Rats,Octopus andRaging Sharks and various sequels were produced from 1999 to 2005. While not critically successful, the films were extremely successful on television and home media.

In early 1996,^[10] Nu Image formed a subsidiary label, Millennium Films, for higher-budget productions. From the mid-2000s, the main Nu Image company gradually began producing fewer films, with Millennium Films releasing more with a greater level of financing than previously.

In 2005, it purchasedNu Boyana Film Studios in Bulgaria.^[11]

In March 2007, Nu Image acquired a controlling 52% stake in independent film and home video companyFirst Look Studios. As a result, Nu Image and Millennium Films were given an additional outlet for home video and theatrical distribution.^[12]

One of the first films to be produced by Millennium Films was the remakeThe Wicker Man starringNicolas Cage.^[13] The film was a critical and commercial failure.^[14][15] They continued on with a focus onsequels andremakes of notable properties such asDay of the Dead^[16] andRambo.^[17] After the commercial success ofRambo,^[18][19] Millennium Films entered into a multi-year deal withLionsgate to produce several big-budgeted films, the first of which wasConan the Barbarian.^[20] The deal would be extended over the years with successful box-office hits (The Mechanic^[21]) andbox office bombs (The Legend of Hercules^[22]). Another notable success wasOlympus Has Fallen starringGerard Butler.^[23]

In November 2010, First Look filed for bankruptcy. Nu Image formed Millennium Entertainment, LLC to assume the assets of First Look.^[24]

Millennium Entertainment was sold in August 2014. The company's library and distribution assets had been sold to a consortium consisting of its current management and Virgo Investment Group. The new owners renamed the companyAlchemy in January 2015, finally cutting ties to its former sister company Millennium Films, which remained under the control ofAvi Lerner.^[25] Alchemy filed forChapter 7 Bankruptcy on June 30, 2016.^[26]

In 2017, a deal was reached withThe Recon Group, a Chinese investment firm, for them to purchase a majority stake in the Millennium Films subsidiary.^[27] The deal was signed and a $20 million downpayment was secured.^[28] However, this deal was later announced to be off in August 2017 due to the Chinese government clamping down on overseas business investments.^[29] The same year, Millennium Films was merged into Nu Image to form Millennium Media.

In 2017, Millennium faced sexual harassment allegations alleging hostile workplace and rampant sexual harassment and gender disparity.^[30]

In 2018, actor Terry Crews testified in front of Congress that he had been threatened by Avi Lerner of Millennium Media not to testify in his sexual assault case.^[31]

• Avi Lerner's Millennium Entertainment Up for Sale (EXCLUSIVE) on Variety.com

• New Line Cinema
• Film distributors of the United States
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• Companies based in Los Angeles
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