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FilmDistrict

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FilmDistrict Distribution LLC.
TypePrivate
IndustryFilm
FoundedAugust 2010; 12 years ago (2010-08)[1]
FounderGraham King
Timothy Headington
Peter Schlessel
Bob Berney
Defunct2014; 9 years ago (2014)
FateMerged into Focus Features
SuccessorStudio:
Focus Features
Library:
Content Partners LLC
Headquarters1540 2nd Street
Suite 200
Los Angeles, California, USA
Key people
Peter Schlessel (CEO)
Adrian Alperovich (COO)
Christine Birch (President of Marketing)
Jim Orr (President of Distribution)
Lia Buman (EVP of Acquisitions)
Bob Berney (President of Theatrical Distribution)
ProductsMotion pictures
ServicesFilm production
Film distribution
Film financing
OwnerComcast (2013-2014)
Number of employees
45
ParentFocus Features
(NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment)
(NBCUniversal)
(ultimately owned by Comcast, 2013-2014)
WebsiteFilmDistrict.com

FilmDistrict Distribution LLC was an American independent[1] motion picture company based in Los Angeles. It specialized in acquisitions, distribution, production, and financing. It was founded in September 2010 by Bob Berney and Peter Schlessel in partnership with Graham King and Timothy Headington.[1]

FilmDistrict's releases were distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for home media, with the exception of Red Dawn, which was released on home media by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. FilmDistrict was merged into Focus Features in 2014. Soul Surfer, Looper, Evil Dead and Pompeii were retained by TriStar Pictures after 2014.

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Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California, the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, and one of the world's most populous megacities. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits as of 2020, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The majority of the city proper lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending partly through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to its east. It covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2), and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estimated 9.86 million residents as of 2022.

Bob Berney

Bob Berney

Bob Berney is an American independent film executive based in Los Angeles. Currently, he is the CEO of Picturehouse, an independent motion picture marketing and distribution company that acquires, markets and distributes films from the U.S. and around the world. In September 2021, Picturehouse announced that it will release Becoming Cousteau, a documentary that uses previously unseen archival footage to chronicle the life and career of the adventurous oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who coinvented scuba diving and foretold the impact of pollution on climate change. Directed by Liz Garbus, the film is scheduled to be released on October 22, 2021. In May 2021 the company released Fatima, a historical drama directed by Marco Pontecorvo and starring Joaquim de Almeida, Goran Višnjić, Stephanie Gil, Lúcia Moniz, Sônia Braga and Harvey Keitel.

Graham King

Graham King

Graham King is an English film producer. King was nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Picture for producing the films The Aviator (2004), Hugo (2011), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), and winning for The Departed (2006).

Timothy Headington

Timothy Headington

Timothy Clare Headington is an American billionaire, the CEO and owner of Headington Oil, a film producer, and real estate developer.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.

Red Dawn (2012 film)

Red Dawn (2012 film)

Red Dawn is a 2012 American action war film directed by Dan Bradley and written by Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore. It is a remake of the 1984 film of the same name. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The film centers on a group of young people who defend their hometown from a North Korean invasion.

Soul Surfer (film)

Soul Surfer (film)

Soul Surfer is a 2011 American biographical drama film directed by Sean McNamara, based on the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton about her life as a surfer after losing her left arm in a horrific shark attack and her recovery. The film stars AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, and Lorraine Nicholson with Carrie Underwood, Kevin Sorbo, Sonya Balmores, Branscombe Richmond, and Craig T. Nelson.

Looper (film)

Looper (film)

Looper is a 2012 American science fiction action-thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Ram Bergman and James D. Stern. It stars Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt. It revolves around "present-day" contract killers called "loopers", hired by criminal syndicates from the future to terminate victims whom they send back through time.

Evil Dead (2013 film)

Evil Dead (2013 film)

Evil Dead is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by Fede Álvarez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues. Dubbed as a "re-imagining" of The Evil Dead (1981), the film is the fourth installment in the Evil Dead film series. It stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, and Elizabeth Blackmore. The story follows a group of five people under attack by a supernatural entity in a remote cabin in the woods.

Pompeii (film)

Pompeii (film)

Pompeii is a 2014 epic romantic historical disaster film produced and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. An international co-production between the United States, Germany and Canada, it is inspired by and based on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. that destroyed Pompeii, a city of the Roman Empire. The film stars Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Carrie-Anne Moss, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica Lucas, with Jared Harris and Kiefer Sutherland.

TriStar Pictures

TriStar Pictures

TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony studio Columbia Pictures.

History

FilmDistrict acquired and released between four and eight wide release, commercial titles per year. This includes select titles from GK Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.[2][3] In December 2010, FilmDistrict and Netflix signed a Pay-TV deal.[4]

FilmDistrict partnered with TriStar Pictures on select films such as Soul Surfer and Looper. FilmDistrict's CEO Peter Schlessel also made alternative distribution arrangements for their film releases. In 2012, Schlessel closed a three-picture distribution deal for their 2012 films to go through Open Road Films. Open Road released Lockout, the Luc Besson-produced sci-fi action movie that stars Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace, on April 13, 2012. Open Road also released the Red Dawn remake on November 21, 2012. On Open Road's official website they list both the Red Dawn remake and Playing the Field, even though Open Road was never involved in distributing those two films.[5]

On March 23, 2012, Peter Schlessel announced that FilmDistrict hired Christine Birch as President of Marketing as the company rebuilt its distribution team. She worked on The Help, Real Steel and War Horse when she was at DreamWorks.[6] On April 12, 2012, Schlessel announced Jim Orr has joined FilmDistrict as the new President of Distribution. He held similar positions when he was at MGM and Paramount Pictures.[7] At the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, FilmDistrict bought the U.S. rights for romantic thriller Dead Man Down[8] and, from Intrepid Pictures, Oculus.[9] On May 31, 2012, they have hired three new executives: Tracy Pollard (Senior VP of Creative Advertising), Brad Goldberg (Senior VP of Media), and Anna Baxter (Senior VP of Digital Marketing). FilmDistrict also announced that Adrian Alperovich has been promoted from President of Acquisitions and Operations to COO.[10] On June 25, 2012 FilmDistrict announced they have hired Elissa Greer as Senior Vice President of Publicity.[11]

In April 2013, FilmDistrict announced the launch of a unit, High Top Releasing, which "will provide distribution-for-hire services including sales, in-theatre marketing and print control support, film rental negotiation and collection capabilities to independent producers who have the ability to provide their own prints-and-advertising and marketing resources."[12]

On October 2, 2013, it was announced that Peter Schlessel would be replacing James Schamus as CEO of Focus Features effective January 2014, and FilmDistrict was shut down as a distributor. Future FilmDistrict titles will be absorbed and released under Focus Features, the first being That Awkward Moment.[13] FilmDistrict's last film is Paul W. S. Anderson's Pompeii, which the company produced and financed with German-based Constantin Film. TriStar Pictures handled the U.S. distribution. High Top Releasing later co-released Eli Roth's The Green Inferno with Blumhouse Tilt.

In 2020, the rights to FilmDistrict's library were purchased by Content Partners, an investment company who also owns Revolution Studios.[14]

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GK Films

GK Films

GK Films is a British-American film and television production company founded in 1990 by Graham King, located in Santa Monica, California. In 2005, the firm, which was known as Initial Entertainment Group at that time, signed a deal with Warner Bros.

Netflix

Netflix

Netflix, Inc. is an American media company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it operates the over-the-top subscription video on-demand service Netflix brand, which includes original films and television series commissioned or acquired by the company, and third-party content licensed from other distributors. Netflix is a member of the Motion Picture Association—having become the first streaming company to become a member.

Looper (film)

Looper (film)

Looper is a 2012 American science fiction action-thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Ram Bergman and James D. Stern. It stars Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt. It revolves around "present-day" contract killers called "loopers", hired by criminal syndicates from the future to terminate victims whom they send back through time.

Open Road Films

Open Road Films

Open Road Films, LLC is an American film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Eric Hohl on March 26, 2011, as a joint venture between the two largest American theatrical exhibitors, AMC Theatres and Regal Entertainment Group, which both owned the company until it was bought out by Tang Media Partners, a media company owned by Donald Tang, in August 2017. After Tang's purchase, both companies Open Road and IM Global merged and formed "Global Road Entertainment". In September 2018, Open Road declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy did not affect TMP, IM Global or IM Global TV. On November 6, 2018, Open Road agreed to be purchased by Raven Capital Management. Raven completed its acquisition in February 2019.

Lockout (film)

Lockout (film)

Lockout is a 2012 English-language French science fiction action film directed by James Mather and Stephen Saint Leger, and written by Mather, Saint Leger, and Luc Besson. It is both Mather and Saint Leger's feature directorial debuts. The film stars Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Vincent Regan, Joe Gilgun, Lennie James and Peter Stormare. The plot follows Snow (Pearce), a man framed for a crime he did not commit, who is offered his freedom in exchange for rescuing the President's daughter Emilie (Grace) from the orbital prison MS One, which has been taken over by its inmates, led by Alex (Regan) and his psychotic brother Hydell (Gilgun).

Luc Besson

Luc Besson

Luc Paul Maurice Besson is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films Subway (1985), The Big Blue (1988), and La Femme Nikita (1990). Associated with the Cinéma du look film movement, he has been nominated for a César Award for Best Director and Best Picture for his films Léon: The Professional (1994) and the English-language The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). He won Best Director and Best French Director for his sci-fi action film The Fifth Element (1997). He wrote and directed the 2014 sci-fi action film Lucy and the 2017 space opera film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce

Guy Edward Pearce is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, and raised in Geelong, he started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series Neighbours. He received international attention for his breakout role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and subsequently took starring roles in Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential (1997), Christopher Nolan's Memento (2000) and Simon Wells's The Time Machine (2002). Pearce is known for his performances in the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road (2009), Kathryn Bigelow's war drama The Hurt Locker (2009) and Tom Hooper's historical drama The King's Speech (2010). He has appeared in Ridley Scott's Prometheus (2012), the Marvel action film Iron Man 3 (2013), Alien: Covenant (2017), and the historical biopic Mary Queen of Scots (2018).

Maggie Grace

Maggie Grace

Margaret Grace Denig is an American actress and model. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series Lost, Kim Mills in the Taken trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in The Twilight Saga (2011–2012), and Althea Szewczyk-Przygocki in Fear the Walking Dead (2018–2021).

Playing for Keeps (2012 film)

Playing for Keeps (2012 film)

Playing for Keeps is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Gabriele Muccino, starring Gerard Butler with Jessica Biel, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid, Uma Thurman and Judy Greer in supporting roles. The film was released on December 7, 2012, in the United States and Canada by FilmDistrict. It received negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing just $27.8 million on a $55 million budget.

Real Steel

Real Steel

Real Steel is a 2011 American science fiction sports drama film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Matheson, which was originally published in the May 1956 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and later adapted into a 1963 Twilight Zone episode. The film features a former boxer (Jackman) whose sport is now played by robots. He must build and train his own robot with his son. Real Steel was in development for several years before production began on June 24, 2010. Filming took place primarily in the U.S. state of Michigan. Animatronic robots were built for the film, and motion capture technology was used to depict the rodeo brawling of computer-generated robots and animatronics, respectively.

DreamWorks Pictures

DreamWorks Pictures

DreamWorks Pictures is an American film company and distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994 as a live-action film studio by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, of which they owned 72%. The studio formerly distributed its own and third-party films. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses of more than $100 million each.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924, and based in Beverly Hills, California.

Filmography

Released

Release Date Title Notes
September 14, 2010 Insidious FilmDistrict's first release; co-production with Blumhouse Productions, Alliance Films, Stage 6 Films and IM Global
April 8, 2011 Soul Surfer co-production with TriStar Pictures, Mandalay Pictures, Enticing Entertainment and Brookwell/McNamara Entertainment
August 26, 2011 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark co-production with Miramax
October 7, 2011 Drive co-production with Sierra/Affinity, Bold Films and OddLot Entertainment
November 4, 2011 The Rum Diary co-production with GK Films and Infinitum Nihil
December 2, 2011 In the Land of Blood and Honey co-production with GK Films
April 13, 2012 Lockout co-production with Canal+, Ciné+ and EuropaCorp; theatrically released by Open Road Films
June 8, 2012 Safety Not Guaranteed co-production with Big Beach
September 28, 2012 Looper US co-distribution with TriStar Pictures; production by Endgame Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment and DMG Entertainment
November 21, 2012 Red Dawn co-production with Contrafilm, United Artists and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
December 7, 2012 Playing for Keeps co-production with Millennium Films
January 25, 2013 Parker co-production with Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Incentive Filmed Entertainment
March 8, 2013 Dead Man Down co-production with IM Global, WWE Studios and Original Film
March 22, 2013 Olympus Has Fallen co-production with Millennium Films and Nu Image
April 5, 2013 Evil Dead co-production with TriStar Pictures and Ghost House Pictures
September 13, 2013 Insidious: Chapter 2 US distribution only, co-production with Entertainment One, Blumhouse Productions and Stage 6 Films
November 27, 2013 Oldboy co-production with 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks and Good Universe
February 21, 2014 Pompeii co-production with TriStar Pictures, Summit Entertainment, Constantin Film and Impact Pictures
September 23, 2014 Wer FilmDistrict's final film, co-production with Sierra Pictures, Incentive Filmed Entertainment, Prototype, and Room 101, Inc.

High Top Releasing

Release Date Title Notes
September 6, 2013 The Ultimate Life co-production with ReelWorks Studios, LLC
October 18, 2013 I'm in Love with a Church Girl co-production with RGM NewBreed
April 18, 2014 Make Your Move co-production with CJ Entertainment, Robert Cort Productions, and SM Entertainment
September 25, 2015 The Green Inferno co-production with BH Tilt, Worldview Entertainment, and Dragonfly Entertainment
May 13, 2016 The Darkness co-production with BH Tilt and Chapter One Films
December 2, 2016 Incarnate co-production with BH Tilt, IM Global, WWE Studios, and Maniac Productions
November 18, 2016 The Take co-production with StudioCanal, Anton Capital Entertainment, Amazon Prime Instant Video, and Anonymous Content

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Insidious (film)

Insidious (film)

Insidious is a 2010 supernatural horror film directed by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell, and starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey. It is the first installment in the Insidious franchise, and the third in terms of the series' in-story chronology. The story centers on a married couple whose boy inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for a variety of demonic entities in an astral plane.

Blumhouse Productions

Blumhouse Productions

Blumhouse Productions is an American film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum.

Alliance Films

Alliance Films

Alliance Films was a Canadian motion picture distribution and production company, which had served Canada, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

IM Global

IM Global

IM Global was an American independent film and TV production company, The company was founded by Stuart Ford in April 2007 and operating in international film, television and music production, as well as sales and international distribution. The company financed or produced over 30 Hollywood feature films and controlled a library of over 300 films.

Mandalay Pictures

Mandalay Pictures

Mandalay Pictures or Mandalay Vision is an American film production company founded on May 27, 1995, which is part of producer and businessman Peter Guber's Mandalay Entertainment. From 1997 until 2002, Lionsgate Entertainment owned a stake in Mandalay Pictures until Lionsgate gave up rights to own Mandalay Pictures. The company's mascot is a tiger.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010 film)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010 film)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is a 2010 supernatural horror film written by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins, and directed by Troy Nixey in his feature directorial debut. It is a remake of the 1973 ABC made-for-television film of the same name. The film stars Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, and Bailee Madison, as a family moving into a 19th-century Rhode Island mansion, where the withdrawn daughter begins to witness malevolent creatures that emerge from a sealed ash pit in the basement of the house. Jack Thompson also stars in a supporting role.

Drive (2011 film)

Drive (2011 film)

Drive is a 2011 American action drama film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The screenplay, written by Hossein Amini, is based on James Sallis's 2005 novel of the same name. The film stars Ryan Gosling as an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver. He quickly grows fond of his neighbor, Irene, and her young son, Benicio. When her debt-ridden husband, Standard, is released from prison, the two men take part in what turns out to be a botched million-dollar heist that endangers the lives of everyone involved. The film co-stars Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, and Albert Brooks.

Bold Films

Bold Films

Bold Films is an American independent film, television and live stage development, production and finance company. Bold was founded in 2004.

GK Films

GK Films

GK Films is a British-American film and television production company founded in 1990 by Graham King, located in Santa Monica, California. In 2005, the firm, which was known as Initial Entertainment Group at that time, signed a deal with Warner Bros.

Infinitum Nihil

Infinitum Nihil

Infinitum Nihil is an American film production company, founded by Johnny Depp. The company is run by Depp's sister Christi Dembrowski. Depp founded the company in 2004 to develop projects where he will serve as actor and/or producer.

In the Land of Blood and Honey

In the Land of Blood and Honey

In the Land of Blood and Honey is a 2011 war drama film written, produced, and directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Zana Marjanović, Goran Kostić, and Rade Šerbedžija. The film, Jolie's first commercial release as a director, depicts a love story set against the background of the Bosnian War. It opened in the United States on December 23, 2011, in a limited theatrical release.

Lockout (film)

Lockout (film)

Lockout is a 2012 English-language French science fiction action film directed by James Mather and Stephen Saint Leger, and written by Mather, Saint Leger, and Luc Besson. It is both Mather and Saint Leger's feature directorial debuts. The film stars Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Vincent Regan, Joe Gilgun, Lennie James and Peter Stormare. The plot follows Snow (Pearce), a man framed for a crime he did not commit, who is offered his freedom in exchange for rescuing the President's daughter Emilie (Grace) from the orbital prison MS One, which has been taken over by its inmates, led by Alex (Regan) and his psychotic brother Hydell (Gilgun).

Source: "FilmDistrict", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 7th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FilmDistrict.

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References
  1. ^ a b c "About Us". FilmDistrict.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-25. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  2. ^ Kilday, Gregg (September 27, 2010). "King's FilmDistrict taps Bob Berney". The Hollywood Reporter.
  3. ^ "filmdistributorguide – Film District". Distributorreportcard.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  4. ^ FilmDistrict Netflix Retrieved July 6, 2010
  5. ^ Open Road Films (June 28, 2012). "Playing the field". Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  6. ^ Christine Birch Joins FilmDistrict as Marketing President
  7. ^ "FilmDistrict Hires Jim Orr As President Of Distribution". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  8. ^ Fleming, Mike (2012-05-17). "FilmDistrict Buys U.S. Rights To Colin Farrell-Noomi Rapace Pic 'Dead Man Down'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  9. ^ Fleming, Mike (2012-05-16). "FilmDistrict Acquires 'Oculus': Cannes". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  10. ^ Kilday, Gregg (2012-05-31). "FilmDistrict Names Three New Marketing Executives". Hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  11. ^ "FilmDistrict Hires New Line's Elissa Greer As SVP Publicity". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  12. ^ Deadline.com
  13. ^ "Focus Features Hires Peter Schlessel to Replace James Schamus as CEO". October 2, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  14. ^ McNary, Dave (December 3, 2020). "'Olympus Has Fallen,' 'Insidious' Bought in FilmDistrict Library Deal by Content Partners (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
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