| Former type | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by Orion Pictures (1996) |
| Successor | Goldwyn Entertainment Co. Goldwyn Films Orion Pictures Samuel Goldwyn Films United Artists |
| Founded | November 9, 1979 1999 (as Samuel Goldwyn Films) |
| Founder(s) | Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. |
| Defunct | 2000 into MGM Studios as Goldwyn Entertainment Co. |
| Owner(s) | independent (1979-1996) Orion Pictures (1996-1997) MGM (1997-2000) |
| Divisions | Samuel Goldwyn Television Samuel Goldwyn Home Entertainment Heritage Entertainment, Inc. |
The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1979. The company originally distributed and acquired art-house films from around the world to U.S. audiences; they soon added original productions to their roster as well, starting with The Golden Seal in 1983.
In succeeding years, the Goldwyn company was able to obtain (from the Sr. Goldwyn's estate) the rights to all films produced under Samuel Goldwyn (including the original 1929 Bulldog Drummond, Arrowsmith, and Guys and Dolls). They also acquired the theatrical and television rights to the Rodgers and Hammerstein films and television programs that were independently produced but released by other companies, including South Pacific, Oklahoma!, and the 1965 CBS television adaptation of Cinderella.
Animated films include The Care Bears Movie, The Chipmunk Adventure (with Alvin and the Chipmunks), and Rock-a-Doodle. Among the television programs in the Goldwyn company's library are the television series American Gladiators and Steve Krantz's miniseries Dadah is Death.
In 1991, after a merger with Heritage Entertainment, Inc., the company went public as Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment. Heritage and Goldwyn has tried to merge since fall 1990, but the plans fell in the beginning before Heritage Entertainment fell through a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.[1] That company and its library were later acquired by Metromedia, and in 1997 sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This company's function of acquiring independent films for American release (or producing such films) has been assumed by United Artists, which was recently relaunched with the help of Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.
Goldwyn has since gone on to found Samuel Goldwyn Films. This successor company has continued to release independent films such as What the Bleep Do We Know? and the Academy Award-nominated The Squid and the Whale.
Contents |
Upcoming releases
Brothers at War - March 13th, 2009
Genre: Documentary
Director & Writer: Jake Rademacher
Producers: Norman Powell and Jake Rademacher
Executive Producers: Gary Sinise and David Scantling
Starring: Jake Rademacher, Isaac Rademacher and Joseph Rademacher,
American Violet - April 17th, 2009
Genre: Drama
Director: Tim Disney
Writer, producer: Bill Haney
Starring: Alfre Woodard, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, Xzibit, Malcolm Barrett, Charles Dutton, and Tim Ware
No Point Back - April 17, 2009
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Michael Scott
Starring: Elisha Cuthbert, Rachel Nichols, Lindsey Ashby, and Julie Benz
The Merry Gentleman - May 2009
Genre: Thriller
Director: Michael Keaton
Writer: Ron Lazzeretti
Starring: Michael Keaton, Kelly Macdonald, and Bobby Cannavale
Management - May 2009
Genre: Comedy
Director & Writer: Stephen Belber
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, Woody Harrelson, Fred Ward, and Margo Martindale
'Blood: The Last Vampire - July 10th, 2009
Genre: Action/Adventure
Ownership rights
The rights to pre-1996 Samuel Goldwyn Company films are now held by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. But, there are a few exceptions.
- The Chipmunk Adventure is owned by Bagdasarian Productions, who have licensed DVD rights to Paramount Pictures;
- Mr. Wonderful is owned by Warner Bros., the film's original distributor;
- The home video rights to Oklahoma! and South Pacific belong to 20th Century Fox, while Goldwyn owns all television and theatrical rights (after acquiring both films from the Rodgers and Hammerstein estate; both South Pacific and the CinemaScope version of Oklahoma! were distributed by Fox originally). Even after MGM inherited Goldwyn's library, Fox still owned home video rights (this was due to contractual agreements that were assumed by Fox after the dissolving of CBS/FOX Video). Ironically, MGM's DVD and Blu-Ray distribution rights currently lie with Fox.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer now also handles television rights to Flower Drum Song, the Universal Pictures film of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical whose rights were formerly held, in part, by Goldwyn, while Universal continues to hold all other rights.
- The domestic rights to The Program and The Preacher's Wife remain with co-producer Touchstone Pictures via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Other names
- Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment
- Goldwyn Entertainment Company
- G2 Films
Successor
Notes and references
See also
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
