Orion Pictures Corporation
The Orion Pictures Corporation operates as a company in the production and distribution of television and movie content.
history
founding
Due to differences between the management of United Artists and its parent company, Transamerica Corporation , three high-ranking managers rose from the position of Charlie Chaplin , Mary Pickford , Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and David Wark Griffith made up of: Arthur B. Krim , Robert Benjamin and Eric Pleskow .
This step could not have been easy for them, as Krim and Benjamin acquired the United Artists from their previous owners in 1951 and created a flourishing film company from the pure film distribution business. This has since been involved in the production of feature films and the subsidiaries United Artists Records and United Artists Television were founded. In addition, the new owners established a film distribution company that operates worldwide . But after the Transamerica Corporation acquired the film company in 1968, tensions arose between the managers of the United Artists and the new parent company. Despite great commercial and economic success in the 1970s, the Transamerica Corporation, as the owner, did not understand the business of the entertainment industry. In retrospect, the United Artists management was also dissatisfied with their decision to sell. This resulted in the resignation of Krim, Benjamin and Pleskow - the creative directors of United Artists - in 1978.
A short time later, the three of them created Orion Pictures Corporation as a joint venture with the media group Warner Communications . The trio took care of the film production and the film company. Warner Bros. was responsible for the worldwide distribution of these. This collaboration ended in 1982. The rights to the films made up to that point remained with Warner Bros.
Merger with Filmways, Inc.
In 1982 Orion Pictures Corporation merged with Filmways, Inc. This company became famous in the 1960s for the production of television series. In the 1970s, Filmways, Inc. produced mostly second rate motion pictures. The main interest of the Orion was in the rights of the film library of the subsidiary American International Pictures .
Orion Pictures Corporation achieved some artistic and commercial success in the years that followed. These include the Oscar winner Amadeus , Platoon , Dances with the Wolf and The Silence of the Lambs . The produced Woody Allen films as well as the first Terminator and Robocop films were well received by the audience . In addition, however, many of the company's films failed at the box office.
The Orion Pictures Corporation did the film rental and sales in the home entertainment sector in the USA independently. Outside the United States, either local film distributors were used or the distribution system of another American film company, such as the international arms of 20th Century Fox or Columbia Pictures, was used .
Incorporation into Metromedia
Out of respect for Arthur Krim, billionaire John Kluge invested in Orion Pictures Corporation in 1986. Until 1988, he became the majority owner of the company through Metromedia.
Due to financial problems, Orion Pictures Corporation went bankrupt in 1992 with US $ 700 million in debt, although two big hits ( The Silence of the Lambs and The Dances with Wolves ) were released in quick succession and won a total of 12 Oscars . This was due to a number of flops such as attack by the 20-meter woman . Due to the bankruptcy proceedings, some films that had already been completed could only see the big screen in 1994. A later hit, Addams Family , had to be sold to another studio before it hit theaters .
The television division of Orion Pictures Corporation was sold to the American Broadcasting Company due to financial problems and was renamed ABC Productions. Orion Pictures Corporation continued to hold the rights to the series produced. ABC held the television rights of the film company at the time of bankruptcy.
In 1996 the bankruptcy proceedings ended.
Sale to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
John Kluges Metromedia acquired the two film companies The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Motion Pictures Corporation of America and incorporated them into his company. In 1997 Metromedia sold these two together with Orion Pictures Corporation to Kirk Kerkorians Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . The purchase price was $ 573 million. The deal was concluded in 1998. The value of the purchase consisted primarily of the large film libraries of the individual companies.
Orion Pictures Corporation only survived on paper as a separate film production unit. MGM also considered establishing the subsidiary as a special label for inexpensive entertainment films.
The MGM lion was added to all DVD evaluations of the films from the Orion Pictures Corporation rights stock. This includes the rights to the films of Filmways, Inc., American International Pictures and its own works produced after 1982.
With the sale of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to a consortium led by Sony Corporation of America , Orion Pictures Corporation and its film library also moved into their possession.
Possible future
A relaunch of the production company or even the Orion Pictures Corporation label is unlikely under the new owner, because Sony Pictures Entertainment is already owned by Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures , Screen Gems , Sony Pictures Classics and, since 2005, Metro-Goldwyn -Mayer and the United Artists is.
Web links
- Orion Pictures in the Internet Movie Database (English)