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Touchstone Pictures

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Touchstone Pictures
FormerlyTouchstone Films (1984–1986)
TypeLabel[1]
IndustryFilm industry
FoundedFebruary 15, 1984; 39 years ago (1984-02-15)
FounderRon W. Miller
DefunctDecember 20, 2017; 5 years ago (2017-12-20)[2]
FateInactive[2]
Headquarters500 South Buena Vista Street, ,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Sean Bailey[3] (2010–2016)
ProductsMotion pictures
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company
ParentWalt Disney Studios

Touchstone Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured more mature themes targeted towards adult audiences than typical Walt Disney Pictures films.[4][5] As such, Touchstone was merely a brand of the studio and did not exist as a distinct business operation.[1]

Established on February 15, 1984,[6] by then-Disney CEO Ron W. Miller as Touchstone Films, Touchstone operated as an active film production division of Disney during the 1980s through the early 2010s, releasing a majority of the studio's PG-13 and R-rated films. In 2009, Disney entered into a five-year, thirty picture distribution deal with DreamWorks Pictures by which DreamWorks' productions would be released through the Touchstone banner; the label then distributed DreamWorks' films from 2011 to 2016.[7][8]

Following the release of The Light Between Oceans, Touchstone Pictures went defunct in 2017, after 33 years in operation.[2]

Discover more about Touchstone Pictures related topics

Film studio

Film studio

A film studio is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production company. Most firms in the entertainment industry have never owned their own studios, but have rented space from other companies.

Walt Disney Studios (division)

Walt Disney Studios (division)

The Walt Disney Studios is an American film and entertainment studio, and a major division of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. Based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, the studio is best known for its multifaceted film divisions. Founded in 1923, it is the fourth-oldest and one of the "Big Five" major film studios.

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American multinational, mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to The Walt Disney Company in 1986. Early in its existence, the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry, with the creation of the widely popular character Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in Steamboat Willie, which used synchronized sound, to become the first post-produced sound cartoon. The character would go on to become the company's mascot.

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit, and is based at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Animated films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios are also released under the studio banner. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by Walt Disney Pictures.

Division (business)

Division (business)

A division, sometimes called a business sector or business unit (segment), is one of the parts into which a business, organization or company is divided.

Ron W. Miller

Ron W. Miller

Ronald William Miller was an American businessman and professional American football player. He was president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 1980 to 1984 and was president of the board of directors of the Walt Disney Family Museum. Miller was the son-in-law of Walt Disney.

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.

The Light Between Oceans (film)

The Light Between Oceans (film)

The Light Between Oceans is a 2016 romantic drama film written and directed by Derek Cianfrance and based on the 2012 novel of the same name by M. L. Stedman. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States, India and Canada, the film stars Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Bryan Brown, and Jack Thompson. The film tells the story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who rescue an infant girl adrift at sea and raise her as their own. Years later, the couple discover the child's true parentage and are faced with the consequences of their actions.

History

Background and conception

Due to increased public assumption that Disney films were aimed at children and families, films produced by the Walt Disney Productions began to falter at the box office as a result.[6] This began in 1975 with the release of Escape to Witch Mountain and its 1978 sequel. In late 1979, Walt Disney Productions released The Black Hole, a science-fiction movie that was the studio's first production to receive a PG rating (the company, however, had already distributed via Buena Vista Distribution its first PG-rated film, Take Down almost a year before the release of The Black Hole).[9]

Over the next few years, Disney experimented with more PG-rated fare, such as the horror-mystery The Watcher in the Woods, the spy-themed comedy Condorman and the Paramount Pictures co-produced fantasy epic Dragonslayer. With Disney's 1982 slate of PG-rated films, which included the thriller drama Night Crossing and the science-fiction film Tron, the company lost over $27 million. Tron was considered a potential Star Wars-level success film by the film division.

In late 1982, Disney vice president of production Tom Wilhite announced that they would produce and release more mature films under a new brand. Wilhite elaborated to The New York Times: "We won't get into horror or exploitive sex, but using a non-Disney name will allow us wider latitude in the maturity of the subject matter and the edge we can add to the humor." He stated that one of the first films that would be released under this new brand was Trenchcoat, a comedy caper starring Margot Kidder and Robert Hays;[10] however, the new brand had not yet been created by the time of the film's release in March 1983, so it was instead released by Walt Disney Productions, but with no production company credited in the released prints.

A loss of $33 million was registered by the film division in 1983 with the majority resulting from such films as the horror-fantasy adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, the horror-comedy The Devil and Max Devlin starring Elliott Gould and Bill Cosby, and the dramas Tex and Never Cry Wolf, the latter being a PG release that featured male nudity, did well as the studio downplayed the film's association with the Disney brand.[6]

Touchstone Films

Touchstone Films was founded by then-Disney CEO Ron W. Miller on February 15, 1984, as a label for their PG films with an expected three to four movies released under the label. Touchstone's first film was Splash, a huge hit for grossing $68 million at the domestic box office was released that year.[6][11][12] Incoming Disney CEO Michael Eisner and film chief Jeffrey Katzenberg considered renaming the label to "Hollywood Pictures", which went on to become a separate Disney film label on February 1, 1989.[13]

In 1986, Down and Out in Beverly Hills was another early success for Touchstone and was Disney's first R-rated film, followed in 1987 by Disney's first PG-13 rated film, Adventures in Babysitting. Disney increased the momentum with additional PG-13 and R-rated films with Ruthless People (1986), Outrageous Fortune (1987), Tin Men (1987), and other top movies.[11] In April 1986, movies by Touchstone Films were licensed to Showtime/The Movie Channel for five years starting in 1987.[14]

Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Films was renamed Touchstone Pictures after the release of Ruthless People in 1986. With the Touchstone movies, Disney moved to the top of box office receipts beating out all the other major film studios by 1988.[11] On April 13, 1988, Touchstone became a unit of Walt Disney Pictures with newly appointed president Ricardo Mestres.[15]

On October 23, 1990, The Walt Disney Company formed Touchwood Pacific Partners I to supplant the Silver Screen Partners partnership series as their movie studios' primary funding source.[16]

With several production companies getting out of film production or closing shop by December 2, 1988, the Walt Disney Studios announced the formation of the Hollywood Pictures division, which would only share marketing and distribution with Touchstone, to fill the void. Mestres was appointed president of Hollywood.[13] On July 27, 1992, Touchstone agreed to an exclusive, first-look production and distribution agreement with Merchant Ivory Productions to last three years.[17]

Following the success of the Disney-branded PG-13-rated Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003, and other films that in the 1980s and 1990s would have been released as Touchstone or Hollywood Pictures films, Disney weighed distribution of films more toward Disney-branded films and away from Touchstone Pictures, though not entirely disbanding them as it continued to use the Touchstone label for R and most PG-13 rated fare.[1] In 2006, Disney limited Touchstone's output to two or three films in favor of Walt Disney Pictures titles due to an increase in film industry costs.[18] Disney indicated scaling back on using multiple brands in 2007 with the renaming of Touchstone Television to ABC Television Studio in February and the outright elimination of the Buena Vista brand in April.[19][17] On January 14, 2010, Sean Bailey was appointed the president of live-action production at Walt Disney Studios, overseeing all films produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone.[3]

Distribution label

In 2009, Disney repurposed Touchstone as a distribution label for films produced by DreamWorks Studios.[8][20] Disney financed DreamWorks productions with $90 million more available under its agreement if DreamWorks could not get additional equity funding. In 2012, Disney reportedly was in early stages in considering Touchstone's fate, including a possible sale.[21]

Following Disney's decision not to renew their long-standing deal with Jerry Bruckheimer Films in 2013, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that he insisted on revitalizing the Touchstone label for production. Disney was uninterested, with studio chairman Alan Horn admitting that Touchstone's output had been reduced to only distributing DreamWorks' films as those films were in the label's interest.[22] In addition to DreamWorks' films, Touchstone also released non Disney-branded animated films such as Gnomeo & Juliet, The Wind Rises, and Strange Magic.[23]

By the end of the DreamWorks deal in August 2016, Disney had distributed 14 of DreamWorks' original 30-picture agreement, with thirteen through Touchstone.[24][25] The deal ended with The Light Between Oceans being the final theatrical film released by Disney under the Touchstone banner. Universal Pictures then replaced Disney as DreamWorks' distributor.[26][27] Disney retained the film rights to these DreamWorks films in perpetuity as compensation for the studio's outstanding loan.[28]

As of 2017, following the release of The Light Between Oceans, the label became defunct. Since then, several other Disney divisions have produced or are developing television series and films based on previous Touchstone properties—such as Turner & Hooch, High Fidelity, Three Men and a Baby, Sister Act, and Real Steelfor Disney+ and Hulu.[2][29][30][31] Following the acquisition of the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox in 2019, both 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) and Searchlight Pictures (formerly Fox Searchlight Pictures) labels currently release the majority of adult and mature content produced by Walt Disney Studios.[32]

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Escape to Witch Mountain (1975 film)

Escape to Witch Mountain (1975 film)

Escape to Witch Mountain is a 1975 American fantasy science-fiction film, based on Alexander H. Key's 1968 novel of the same name and directed by John Hough. It was released on March 21, 1975 by Walt Disney Productions and Buena Vista Distribution Company. It is the first film of the Witch Mountain series.

Return from Witch Mountain

Return from Witch Mountain

Return from Witch Mountain is a 1978 American science fiction–adventure film and a sequel to Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) and the second film in the Witch Mountain franchise. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was written by Malcolm Marmorstein and is based on characters created by Alexander Key, who also wrote the novelization of the film for Disney. Ike Eisenmann, Kim Richards, and Denver Pyle reprise their roles as Tony, Tia, and Uncle Bené—humanoid extraterrestrials with special powers including telepathy and telekinesis. The two main villains are played by Bette Davis as Letha Wedge, a greedy woman using the last of her money to finance the scientific experiments of Dr. Victor Gannon, played by Christopher Lee. It was the final film of actor Jack Soo, who died of cancer in January 1979.

Condorman

Condorman

Condorman is a 1981 American adventure spy comedy superhero film directed by Charles Jarrott, produced by Walt Disney Productions, and starring Michael Crawford, Barbara Carrera and Oliver Reed. The movie follows comic book illustrator Woodrow Wilkins's attempts to assist in the defection of a female Soviet KGB agent.

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global. It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest film studio in the United States, and the sole member of the "Big Five" film studios located within the city limits of Los Angeles.

Dragonslayer (1981 film)

Dragonslayer (1981 film)

Dragonslayer is a 1981 American dark fantasy film directed by Matthew Robbins from a screenplay he co-wrote with Hal Barwood. It stars Peter MacNicol, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam and Caitlin Clarke. It had a co-production between Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions, where Paramount handled North American distribution and Disney's Buena Vista International handled international distribution. The story is set in a fictional medieval kingdom, where a young wizard experiences danger and opposition as he hunts the dragon, Vermithrax Pejorative.

Night Crossing

Night Crossing

Night Crossing is a 1982 British-American thriller drama film starring John Hurt, Jane Alexander and Beau Bridges. The film is based on the true story of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families, who on September 16, 1979, attempted to escape from East Germany to West Germany in a homemade hot air balloon, during the days of the Inner German border-era, when immigration to West Germany was strictly prohibited by the East German government. It was the final theatrical film directed by Delbert Mann, and the last film, too, in which Kay Walsh appeared, before retiring.

Star Wars

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe. Star Wars is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

Margot Kidder

Margot Kidder

Margaret Ruth Kidder, known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy Award. Though she appeared in an array of film and television roles, Kidder is most widely known for her performance as Lois Lane in the Superman film series, appearing in the first four films.

Robert Hays

Robert Hays

Robert Hays is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom Angie, and playing the central role of pilot Ted Striker in the hit spoof film Airplane! and its sequel. Other film roles include the lead role in the comedy Take This Job and Shove It (1981), and Bob Seaver, one of the main human characters in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993). On television, he starred in the science fiction series Starman (1986–1987) and the short-lived workplace sitcom FM (1989–1990), played the voice of Tony Stark on Iron Man (1994), and had a guest role as Bud Hyde on That '70s Show (2000).

Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Something Wicked This Way Comes (film)

Something Wicked This Way Comes (film)

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a 1983 American dark fantasy film directed by Jack Clayton and produced by Walt Disney Productions, from a screenplay written by Ray Bradbury, based on his 1962 novel of the same name. It stars Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd, and Pam Grier.

Elliott Gould

Elliott Gould

Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s.

Film library

Some well-known Touchstone Pictures releases include Beaches, Turner & Hooch, Splash, The Waterboy, The Color of Money, Good Morning, Vietnam, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Dead Poets Society, Pretty Woman, Sister Act, Ed Wood, Dick Tracy, The Insider, The Royal Tenenbaums, Sweet Home Alabama, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Help, War Horse, Lincoln, and Bridge of Spies. Its highest-grossing film release is Armageddon. Although animated films produced by Walt Disney Studios are primarily released by Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone's animated releases include the original theatrical release of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Gnomeo & Juliet, The Wind Rises, and Strange Magic. Six Touchstone films have received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture: Dead Poets Society, The Insider, The Help, War Horse, Lincoln, and Bridge of Spies.[33]

Through Touchstone, Disney's first R-rated film, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, came on January 31, 1986, and was a large box-office success. Ruthless People followed on June 27, 1986, and was also very successful. Both of these pictures starred Bette Midler, who had signed a six-picture deal with Disney and became a major film star again with these hits as well as Beaches and Outrageous Fortune.

One of the most notable key producers behind Touchstone films was Jerry Bruckheimer, who had a production deal with Disney from 1993 to 2014.[34][35] Touchstone films produced by Bruckheimer include The Ref, Con Air, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Gone in 60 Seconds, Coyote Ugly, and Pearl Harbor. In addition, Bruckheimer has also produced several other films released under the Disney and Hollywood labels.

Releases from Touchstone Pictures were distributed theatrically by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and through home media platforms by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (branded as "Touchstone Home Entertainment").[36]

Highest-grossing films

Highest-grossing films in North America[37]
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 Signs 2002 $227,966,634
2 Armageddon 1998 $201,578,182
3 Pearl Harbor 2001 $198,542,554
4 Lincoln 2012 $182,207,973
5 Pretty Woman 1990 $178,406,268
6 The Help 2011 $169,708,112
7 Wild Hogs 2007 $168,273,550
8 Three Men and a Baby 1987 $167,780,960
9 The Proposal 2009 $163,958,031
10 The Waterboy 1998 $161,491,646
11 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988 $154,112,492
12 Sister Act 1992 $139,605,150
13 Ransom 1996 $136,492,681
14 Bringing Down the House 2003 $132,716,677
15 Sweet Home Alabama 2002 $127,223,418
16 Good Morning, Vietnam 1987 $123,922,370
17 The Village 2004 $114,197,520
18 Enemy of the State 1998 $111,549,836
19 Phenomenon 1996 $104,636,382
20 Dick Tracy 1990 $103,738,726
21 Gone in 60 Seconds 2000 $101,648,571
22 Con Air 1997 $101,117,573
23 Gnomeo & Juliet 2011 $99,967,670
24 Dead Poets Society 1989 $95,860,116
25 Unbreakable 2000 $95,011,339
Highest-grossing films worldwide
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 Armageddon 1998 $553,709,788
2 Pretty Woman 1990 $463,406,268
3 Pearl Harbor 2001 $449,220,945
4 Signs 2002 $408,247,917
5 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988 $351,500,000
6 The Proposal 2009 $317,375,031
7 Ransom 1996 $309,492,681
8 Real Steel 2011 $299,268,508
9 Lincoln 2012 $275,293,450
10 The Village 2004 $256,697,520
11 Wild Hogs 2007 $253,625,427
12 Enemy of the State 1998 $250,649,836
13 Unbreakable 2000 $248,118,121
14 Gone in 60 Seconds 2000 $237,202,299
15 Dead Poets Society 1989 $235,860,116
16 Sister Act 1992 $231,605,150
17 Con Air 1997 $224,012,234
18 Flightplan 2005 $223,387,299
19 The Help 2011 $216,639,112
20 King Arthur 2004 $203,567,857
21 Need for Speed 2014 $203,277,636
22 Gnomeo & Juliet 2011 $193,967,670
23 The Waterboy 1998 $185,991,646
24 Sweet Home Alabama 2002 $180,622,424
25 War Horse 2011 $177,584,879

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List of Touchstone Pictures films

List of Touchstone Pictures films

This is a list of theatrical feature films released under the Touchstone Pictures banner and films released before that under the former name, Touchstone Films (1983–1986).

Beaches (1988 film)

Beaches (1988 film)

Beaches is a 1988 American comedy-drama film adapted by Mary Agnes Donoghue and based on Iris Rainer Dart's 1985 novel of the same name. It was directed by Garry Marshall, and stars Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, Mayim Bialik, John Heard, James Read, Spalding Gray, and Lainie Kazan.

Splash (film)

Splash (film)

Splash is a 1984 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Ron Howard, from a screenplay by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, and Bruce Jay Friedman, and a story by Friedman and producer Brian Grazer, and starring Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy, and Eugene Levy. It involves a young man who falls in love with a mysterious woman who is secretly a mermaid. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

The Color of Money

The Color of Money

The Color of Money is a 1986 American sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film was created from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. The film stars Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, and John Turturro in supporting roles. It features an original score by Robbie Robertson, and was released on October 17, 1986, after a premiere a week earlier at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City in New York. The film grossed $52.3 million at the box office.

Good Morning, Vietnam

Good Morning, Vietnam

Good Morning, Vietnam is a 1987 American war comedy film written by Mitch Markowitz and directed by Barry Levinson. Set in Saigon in 1965, during the Vietnam War, the film stars Robin Williams as a radio DJ on Armed Forces Radio Service, who proves hugely popular with the troops, but infuriates his superiors with what they call his "irreverent tendency". The story is loosely based on the experiences of AFRS radio DJ Adrian Cronauer.

Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Tom Schulman. The film, starring Robin Williams, is set in 1959 at the fictional elite conservative boarding school Welton Academy, and tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry.

Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, Laura San Giacomo, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles.

Sister Act

Sister Act

Sister Act is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick. It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. It also features Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel.

Ed Wood (film)

Ed Wood (film)

Ed Wood is a 1994 American biographical comedy-drama film directed and produced by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as Ed Wood, the eponymous cult filmmaker. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi, played by Martin Landau. Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Lisa Marie, and Bill Murray are among the supporting cast.

Dick Tracy (1990 film)

Dick Tracy (1990 film)

Dick Tracy is a 1990 American action crime comedy film based on the 1930s comic strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. Warren Beatty produced, directed, and starred in the film, whose supporting cast includes Al Pacino, Madonna, Glenne Headly, and Charlie Korsmo, with appearances by Dustin Hoffman, James Keane, Charles Durning, William Forsythe, Seymour Cassel, Mandy Patinkin, Catherine O’Hara, James Caan, and Dick Van Dyke. Dick Tracy depicts the detective's romantic relationships with Breathless Mahoney and Tess Trueheart as well as his conflicts with crime boss Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice and his henchmen. Tracy also begins fostering a young street urchin named Kid.

Sweet Home Alabama (film)

Sweet Home Alabama (film)

Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant. Written by C. Jay Cox, it stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey. The supporting cast includes Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Jean Smart, Candice Bergen, Ethan Embry, and Melanie Lynskey. It was released in the United States on September 27, 2002, by Buena Vista Pictures. The film takes its title from the 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd song of the same name. It received a mixed critical reception but was a success at the box office.

Lincoln (film)

Lincoln (film)

Lincoln is a 2012 American biographical historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as United States President Abraham Lincoln. It also features Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones in supporting roles.

Related units

Touchstone Television

Touchstone Television served as Touchstone Pictures' counterpart label for television programming, producing television series including The Golden Girls, Blossom, Home Improvement, My Wife and Kids, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, Criminal Minds, and Monk. In 2007, the company was renamed ABC Studios, as part of a move by Disney to re-align its studios around core brands such as ABC.[19]

On August 10, 2020, Disney announced that it would revive the Touchstone Television brand as a renaming of Fox 21 Television Studios, as part of its phase-out of the "Fox" brand from the studios it acquired from 21st Century Fox. At the same time, the existing ABC Studios was renamed ABC Signature.[38][39]

However, about four months later on December 1, 2020, Disney announced the revived Touchstone Television label would be folded into 20th Television.

Touchstone Interactive

By the end of 2007, Disney's video game subsidiary Buena Vista Games began to produce material under its own short-lived Touchstone imprint. As is the case with its motion picture and television counterparts, Touchstone Interactive merely acted as a brand label of Disney Interactive and not its own entity. The only title it released was the Turok video game in 2008.

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ABC Signature

ABC Signature

ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is a division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the production arm of the ABC television network, and started in 1950 as the television unit of Walt Disney Productions, which was later renamed Walt Disney Television as a separate company from Walt Disney Television Animation, in 1983, and launched a subsidiary, the first incarnation of Touchstone Television, established in 1985 and renamed ABC Studios in 2007. It adopted its current identity on August 10, 2020, after a merger between ABC Studios and the original ABC Signature Studios.

Blossom (TV series)

Blossom (TV series)

Blossom is an American sitcom that aired for five seasons on NBC. It debuted as a pilot preview on July 5, 1990, and premiered as a mid-season replacement on January 3, 1991, and aired until May 22, 1995. Don Reo created the series, which starred Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, a teenager living with her father and two elder brothers. It was produced by Reo's Impact Zone Productions and Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Touchstone Television.

Home Improvement (TV series)

Home Improvement (TV series)

Home Improvement is an American television sitcom starring Tim Allen that aired on ABC from September 17, 1991 to May 25, 1999 with a total of 204 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series was created by Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra, and David McFadzean. Despite not being a favorite with critics, it was one of the most watched sitcoms in the United States during the 1990s, winning many awards. The series launched Allen's acting career and was the start of the television career of Pamela Anderson, who was part of the recurring cast for the first two seasons.

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives is an American comedy-drama mystery television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a total of 180 episodes. Executive producer Marc Cherry served as showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw.

Lost (TV series)

Lost (TV series)

Lost is an American science fiction drama television series created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof that aired on ABC from September 22, 2004, to May 23, 2010, over six seasons, comprising a total of 121 episodes. The show contains elements of supernatural fiction, and follows the survivors of a commercial jet airliner flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, after the plane crashes on a mysterious island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean. Episodes typically feature a primary storyline set on the island, augmented by flashback or flashforward sequences which provide additional insight into the involved characters.

Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into seasoned doctors while balancing personal and professional relationships. The title is an allusion to Gray's Anatomy, a classic human anatomy textbook first published in 1858 in London and written by Henry Gray. Shonda Rhimes developed the pilot and continued to write for the series until 2015. Krista Vernoff, who previously worked with Rhimes, is now the showrunner. Rhimes was also one of the executive producers alongside Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, Allan Heinberg, and Ellen Pompeo. Although the series is set in Seattle, Washington, it is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), using behavioral analysis and profiling to investigate crimes and find the unsub, the team's term for perpetrators. The show tells the story of the team as they work various cases and tackle their personal struggles.

Monk (TV series)

Monk (TV series)

Monk is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a police procedural series but also exhibits comic and dramatic tones in its exploration of the main characters' personal lives. The series was produced by Mandeville Films and Touchstone Television in association with Universal Network Television.

Acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney

Acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney

The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition included the 20th Century Fox film and television studios, U.S. cable channels such as FX, Fox Networks Group, a 73% stake in National Geographic Partners, Indian television broadcaster Star India, and a 30% stake in Hulu. Immediately preceding the acquisition, 21st Century Fox spun off the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business, Fox Sports 1 and 2, Fox Deportes, and the Big Ten Network into the newly formed Fox Corporation. Other 21st Century Fox assets such as the Fox Sports Networks and Sky were divested and sold off to third parties such as Comcast, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Yankee Global Enterprises.

21st Century Fox

21st Century Fox

Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, following a spin-off of the publishing assets of the old News Corporation as News Corp.

20th Television

20th Television

20th Television is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment distributes the television series produced by 20th Television in home media formats through the 20th Century Home Entertainment banner.

Disney Interactive Studios

Disney Interactive Studios

Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide.

Source: "Touchstone Pictures", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 25th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchstone_Pictures.

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