Radical Studios was an American multimedia studio headquartered inLos Angeles, California.[1]It had branches in feature films, television, physical and digital publishing, merchandise, recorded music, digital and online media applications and mobile and social games.[2]
Radical Publishing was founded in 2007 by Barry Levine, David Elliott, Jesse Berger, and Matthew Berger.[3][4][5]
The company launched its first titles,Hercules andCaliber, in May 2008.[6] In May 2009 Elliott left the company, being replaced by new Editor-in-ChiefDavid Wohl.[7][8]
In September 2010, the company rebranded itself as Radical Studios.[9]
In 2011, the company reduced its overall staff.[10] In January, 2012David Wohl announced that he was leaving the company.[11] Shortly after, the company removed their titleUnder the Faerie Moon fromFree Comic Book Day[12] and cancelled the release ofDamaged issue 6.[13]
In March 2012, the company began production on the movieOblivion with Universal Pictures, based on an unpublished book created by director Joseph Kosinski, starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko and Melissa Leo.[14] The film opened #1 at the box office on April 19, 2013, generating $38.5 million in its US opening weekend.[15] The film went on to generate $89 million in the US box office and $198 million internationally, for a global cumulative gross of $287 million.[16]
In February 2013, the company raised $3m in equity from Los Angeles-based production company Wolfiskin Productions, to help expand its digital strategy and licensing capabilities.[17]
In June 2013, the company started production onHercules, withMGM andParamount Pictures, starringDwayne "The Rock" Johnson, based on the Radical Comics' seriesHercules: The Thracian Wars.[18] The movie opened at #2 in the box office on July 25, 2014, generating $29.8M in its US opening weekend.[19] The film went on to generate $72 million in the US box office and $170 million internationally, for a global cume of $243 million.
Stemming from its start as a comic book publisher, and in regards to its comics, Radical Founder Barry Levine stated that “each title is built with the assumption the comic book will eventually land on the big screen.” These tools are used to attract film directors and other talent for attachment to a project during the development process.[20] Lastly, Radical sometimes employs the comic’s series writer to draft an initial screenplay of their work as a part of the film pitch package presented to studios.[21] Using these strategies, Radical has attracted various Hollywood talent and studios to their projects.
Oblivion (2013): DirectorJoseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) brought this original concept to Radical and is now a major motion picture co-written and directed by Kosinski, and produced and released by Universal Pictures, based on the never published illustrated novel.[22][23][24] It starsTom Cruise,Olga Kurylenko,Andrea Riseborough,Morgan Freeman,Melissa Leo,Zoë Bell, andNikolaj Coster-Waldau.[25][26] Regarding the status of the never released illustrated novel, Kosinski toldEmpire Magazine "I don’t have any plans to do it right now. To me it’s feels like it’s in the rear-view mirror, you know? It’s like part of the development process. The film is the end result. But never say never. Maybe at some point it will be fun to go back and show the steps and the journey."[27]
Shrapnel:Len Wiseman (Underworld) has been attached to direct and produce a film adaptation, but dropped out.Hilary Swank will star and produce the movie withSean Daniel and Radical Pictures from a script by Toby Wagstaff.[43]
Damaged: Sam Worthington and John Schwarz will star in the film adaptation with Worthington producing.[44]
The company launched its first comic titles, Hercules and Caliber, in May 2008 as 5-issue mini-series and debuted as the #7 comic book company in North American comic book shops in market share based on a monthly report by ICV2.[45] Rather than thesuperheroes typical ofMarvel andDC Comics, Radical’s titles focus on retellings of iconic fictional characters,[46] mythology, science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, supernatural themes, and genre-based crime.[47] Radical releases comics first as miniseries, and then combines these miniseries into paperback collections. Radical’s strategy in the comic book business is to create properties that feature painted art and “great stories that will appeal to the fans and the marketplace as a whole."[48][49] Many of Radical’s titles are published in a larger 48-page form, rather than the industry standard 22-page format. Radical comics are distributed in both mass market stores and specialized comic book shops.[50] byDiamond Comic Distributors of North America.[49] At one point Radical had a distribution deal for mass market stores in the United States and Canada by Random House.[51] However, the company rejoinedDiamond Comic Distributors in 2011. As of 2012, Radical has published 20 different titles and is currently distributed byDiamond Comic Distributors.[52] Currently, Radical has not released any new comics or graphic novels since the release ofDamaged issue 5 on February 1, 2012. The final issue ofDamaged has since been cancelled.
Radical received the 2008 Diamond Gem Award for New Comic Book Publisher of the Year fromDiamond Comic Distributors.Diamond Comic Distributors is recognized as the premier comic book distributor in North America. The awards are voted on by the comic book store retailers, and are based on the overall impact of the publisher on the industry, taking into account sales performance, quality and creativity.[71][72][73] Radical received the award for their first two titles, Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Caliber: First Canon of Justice. Both comics were launched in May 2008, and enjoyed sellout performances.[74]
Legends: The Enchanted won the HorrorNews Net award for Best Original Graphic Novel 2010.[75]
Legends: The Enchanted was nominated for an Eagle Award for Favourite Single Story 2010.[76]
In July 2009, it was reported that Elliott had filed a lawsuit against Radical Publishing's parent company, Blatant Entertainment. The lawsuit cited disagreements over unpaid wages, as well as contract and copyright disputes as reasoning behind the action.[77]
In early 2010, Radical Studios had to halt publication ofNick Simmons' seriesIncarnate following accusations of plagiarism.[78][79]
^Radical Publishing (August 4, 2008)."Septagon Studios spotlights Radical Publishing". Radical Comics. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved3 December 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) from original December 3, 2009.
