 | |
| Industry | Independent film studio,television station holdings company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992; 33 years ago (1992) |
| Founder | Victor Kaufman |
| Defunct | 1997; 28 years ago (1997) |
| Fate | Acquired byUSA Networks, Inc.; USA's entertainment assets acquired byVivendi Universal in 2002 |
| Successor | Library: Universal Pictures (throughFocus Features) (with some exceptions) |
| Headquarters | United States |
Key people | Victor A. Kaufman Lewis J. Korman |
| Products | Motion Pictures |
| Owner | IAC (1995–1997) |
Number of employees | 16 (1997) |
| Subsidiaries | HBO Savoy Video Savoy Pictures Television SF Broadcasting |
Savoy Pictures Entertainment, Inc. was an American independent motion picture company that operated from 1992 to 1997. Among Savoy Pictures' noteworthy feature films wereNo Escape, andLast of the Dogmen.
FormerColumbia Pictures Entertainment chairman andTriStar Pictures founder Victor A. Kaufman became chairman and chief executive officer of Savoy Pictures in 1992 along with vice chairman executive, Lewis J. Korman. Kaufman has claimed that the name came from the Savoy Special batRobert Redford's character used inThe Natural.[1] Savoy intended to finance and distribute films in the $12–25 million range, investing in up to $15 million per film.[2] In June of that year, Savoy entered into a deal withHBO for the home video, pay-TV, and pay-per-view rights to its films.[3]
Budgets for their films grew. However, with rather poor marketing, Savoy faced a major financial slump, only three years after being formed. For three years, Savoy then released box office failures includingExit to Eden andGetting Away with Murder. It also didn't help that two of its competitors in the independent film field,Miramax andNew Line Cinema, were bought out by majors (The Walt Disney Company andTurner Broadcasting, respectively), giving them stability. As a result, Savoy focused on low-budget films and the occasional blockbuster, costing up to $80 million.[2] Executives hoped to lureSylvester Stallone with a then-hefty $20 million paycheck to star in a studio project that was ultimately never made.[2]
In the meantime, Savoy expanded into broadcasting to help the investment of films. In March 1994, Savoy createdSF Broadcasting as a venture withFox Television Stations, with Kaufman and Korman owningcontrolling interest.[4] As a result of purchasing these stations, all of them would become affiliates of theFox network. Stations owned by SF Broadcasting wereWALA-TV inMobile,Alabama,WLUK-TV inGreen Bay,Wisconsin,WVUE inNew Orleans, andKHON-TV inHonolulu,Hawaii. Savoy also launched a television production division.[5]
In January 1995, Kaufman announced that he was hiringRobert N. Fried to run the motion picture studio. Fried brought in executivesAlan Sokol,Bob Levin,Cathy Schulman,Stan Brooks,Stan Wlodkowski and filmmakersSam Raimi, andGeorge Tillman,Rob Weiss andPeter Chelsom. In the middle of the year, the company started a television division, which was headed byStanley Brooks.[6] In September 1995, Kaufman announced that he was cutting back on his interest in the motion picture business and was re-positioning the company as a television stationholding company.[7]
Shortly thereafter, Savoy announced the sale of 14 films in its roster, in varying stages of production, to potential buyers.[8]New Line Cinema picked upMartin Lawrence's directorial debutA Thin Line Between Love and Hate,American History X,The Adventures of Pinocchio,Heaven's Prisoners,Faithful, andThe Stupids.[9][10][11]Paramount Pictures picked up the rights to produceA Simple Plan, and the distribution rights ofPrivate Parts.[12][13] Only a single film Savoy had on their roster,Mariette in Ecstasy, was left unreleased, until 2019, when the film's directorJohn Bailey, eventually saw a screening at the 2019Camerimage International Film Festival.[14][15]
Savoy Pictures announced in November 1995 thatBarry Diller'sSilver King Communications was going to acquire Savoy for $210 million.[16] The deal was finalized in 1997. Victor Kaufman was made vice chairman and sits on the board of directors of IAC. The SF stations were sold to Diller'sSilver King Broadcasting in 1997.
Cineplex Odeon Films was the Canadian distributor for Savoy films, thenAlliance Films became the Canadian distributor afterNew Line Cinema picked up the later films from 1996.
Much of Savoy's library now lies withUniversal Pictures andFocus Features, most likely as a result of Diller selling offUSA Networks' entertainment assets toVivendi Universal for $10.3 billion.[17]Warner Bros. Discovery owns the titles produced by New Line Cinema, whileParamount Global owns the titles produced by Rysher Entertainment,Pathé owns the rights toNo Escape viaAllied Filmmakers, rights toA Bronx Tale have since reverted toRobert De Niro'sTribeca Productions, andJoel B. Michaels owns the rights toLast of the Dogmen.
| Release date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| September 29, 1993 | A Bronx Tale | First Savoy film, US distributor; co-production withTriBeCa Productions |
| December 25, 1993 | Shadowlands | US distributor; co-production with Price Entertainment and Spelling Films International,Paramount Pictures distributed in UK |
| March 11, 1994 | Lightning Jack | US distributor only; co-production withVillage Roadshow andBuena Vista Pictures |
| April 13, 1994 | Serial Mom | Co-production with Polar Entertainment Corporation |
| April 29, 1994 | No Escape | USA/Canada and UK distributor; co-production withAllied Filmmakers,Pacific Western;Columbia Pictures handled international distribution rights underEscape from Absolom |
| October 14, 1994 | Exit to Eden | |
| February 24, 1995 | The Walking Dead | |
| March 15, 1995 | Circle of Friends | US distribution;Rank Organisation distribution in UK andCineplex Odeon Films distributed in Canada |
| April 28, 1995 | Destiny Turns on the Radio | Distribution; co-production withRysher Entertainment |
| May 24, 1995 | Tales from the Hood | Distribution only; co-production with40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks |
| August 25, 1995 | Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde | US distributor; co-production with Rastar andRank Organisation |
| August 25, 1995 | The Show | Co-production withRysher Entertainment |
| September 8, 1995 | Last of the Dogmen | US distributor |
| September 22, 1995 | Bleeding Hearts | Distribution; co-production with Peacock Films |
| September 29, 1995 | Steal Big Steal Little | |
| October 27, 1995 | Three Wishes | Co-production withRysher Entertainment |
| November 17, 1995 | Let It Be Me | |
| December 1, 1995 | White Man's Burden | Co-production withRysher Entertainment andUGC |
| April 3, 1996 | Faithful | Co-producer;New Line Cinema,Miramax Films andTriBeCa Productions |
| April 5, 1996 | A Thin Line Between Love and Hate | Co-production with New Line Cinema |
| April 12, 1996 | Getting Away with Murder | |
| May 17, 1996 | Heaven's Prisoners | producer; distribution by New Line Cinema |
| July 26, 1996 | The Adventures of Pinocchio | International distributor; co-production with New Line Cinema andThe Kushner-Locker Company |
| August 30, 1996 | The Stupids | Co-production with New Line Cinema andRank Film Distributors |
| December 11, 1998 | A Simple Plan | Last Savoy Film. studio credit only; co-production withMutual Film Company,Paramount Pictures,Tele-München andBBC |
| Unreleased | Mariette in Ecstasy | co-production with Price Entertainment andRastar |