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The Samuel Goldwyn Company

See also: Samuel Goldwyn (disambiguation)
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Company typeSubsidiary
PredecessorSamuel Goldwyn Productions
FoundedJune 16, 1978; 46 years ago (1978-06-16)
FounderSamuel Goldwyn Jr.
DefunctMarch 15, 1999; 25 years ago (1999-03-15)
FateMerged with and folded into United Artists
SuccessorCompany:
Samuel Goldwyn Films
United Artists
Library:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(through Orion Pictures)
ParentMetromedia (1996–1997)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1997–1999)
DivisionsSamuel Goldwyn Television
Samuel Goldwyn Home Entertainment
Heritage Entertainment, Inc.

The Samuel Goldwyn Company was an American independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the famous Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in 1978.

History

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.[1]

In succeeding years, the Goldwyn company was able to obtain (from Samuel Sr.'s estate) the rights to all films produced under the elder Goldwyn's supervision, including the original Bulldog Drummond (1929), Arrowsmith (1931), and Guys and Dolls (1955). The company also acquired some distribution rights to several films and television programs that were independently produced but released by other companies, including Sayonara, the Hal Roach–produced Laurel & Hardy–starring vehicle Babes in Toyland (1934), the Flipper TV series produced by MGM Television, the Academy Award–winning Tom Jones (1963), and the Rodgers and Hammerstein film productions of South Pacific (1958) and Oklahoma! (1955), as well as the CBS Television adaptation of Cinderella (1965).

Animated films include Swan Lake, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, The Care Bears Movie, The Chipmunk Adventure and Rock-a-Doodle. Among the television programs in the Goldwyn company's library are the television series American Gladiators, Gladiators, Gladiators, Gladiators: Train 2 Win, 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 attempted to merge during late 1990, but the plans fell apart while Heritage went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[2] The merger also allowed Goldwyn to inherit the Landmark Theatres chain, which was a unit of Heritage.

That company and its library were acquired by Metromedia on July 2, 1996, for US$125 million.[3][4] To coincide with the purchase, the Samuel Goldwyn Company was renamed Goldwyn Entertainment Company, and was reconstituted as a subsidiary of Metromedia's Orion Pictures unit. That year, Orion and Goldwyn became part of the Metromedia Entertainment Group (MEG). Goldwyn became the specialty films unit of MEG, though they would seek out films with crossover appeal. While Orion and Goldwyn would share the overhead costs, the production/acquisition operations would operate independently from each other.[5]

In 1997, Metromedia sold its entertainment group to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for $573 million, making that company's film library the largest at the time.[6] The Landmark Theatres group, which Metromedia did not sell to MGM, was taken over by Silver Cinemas, Inc. on April 27, 1998.[7]

In September 1997, the company was renamed Goldwyn Films and operated as MGM's specialty films unit. A month later, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. sued MGM and Metromedia, claiming that he was abruptly let go of the company despite promises that he would continue to run it under different ownership. Another concern in the lawsuit was the use of the Goldwyn name, with the defendants being accused of "palming off specialized films produced or acquired by" the unit as though the plaintiff was still involved in its management.[8] Goldwyn Films changed its name to G2 Films in January 1999 as part of the settlement.[9]

In July 1999, G2 Films was renamed United Artists International.[10] As well as all that, UA became an arthouse film producer/distributor. The younger 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.

Since the new Goldwyn company was formed, MGM currently holds much of the original Goldwyn Company's holdings (including, with few exceptions, the non-Goldwyn-produced properties) that would end up with the library of Orion Pictures, now an MGM division. One Goldwyn-produced film, The Hurricane, which was a part of the original Goldwyn Company library, has had its ownership returned to its original distributor, United Artists (also an MGM division).

Filmography

1970s

Release date Title
June 1978 Zero to Sixty
June 15, 1979 The Water Babies
October 1979 The Last Word

1980s

Release date Title Notes
February 8, 1981 Spetters
June 19, 1981 Stevie
July 23, 1981 Swan Lake North American distribution only; produced by Toei Company, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company, Ltd.
March 21, 1982 Forbidden Zone
May 26, 1982 Gregory's Girl
August 17, 1982 Aladdin and the Magic Lamp North American distribution only; produced by Toei Company, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company, Ltd.
November 1982 Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder
November 1982 Time Walker
February 27, 1983 Bankers Also Have Souls
August 12, 1983 The Golden Seal
September 4, 1983 Lonely Hearts
November 4, 1983 Experience Preferred... But Not Essential
January 1984 Goodbye Pork Pie
February 15, 1984 That Sinking Feeling
May 1984 Another Time, Another Place
August 17, 1984 Secrets
September 12, 1984 A Joke of Destiny
October 1, 1984 Stranger Than Paradise Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2002
October 19, 1984 The Ploughman's Lunch
November 1, 1984 Not for Publication
January 25, 1985 The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak
March 29, 1985 The Care Bears Movie produced by Nelvana
April 19, 1985 Petit Con
May 17, 1985 Silver City
June 2, 1985 The Holy Innocents
August 9, 1985 Dance with a Stranger North American distribution only
October 4, 1985 Always
November 8, 1985 Bring On the Night
November 18, 1985 Once Bitten
February 14, 1986 Turtle Diary
February 21, 1986 Getting Even
March 7, 1986 Desert Hearts currently owned by DD Productions with U.S. distribution rights currently licensed to Janus Films and The Criterion Collection
April 25, 1986 Three Men and a Cradle
July 7, 1986 The Girl in the Picture
November 7, 1986 Sid and Nancy
January 30, 1987 Malandro
March 13, 1987 Witchboard
March 20, 1987 Hollywood Shuffle
May 8, 1987 Prick Up Your Ears
May 22, 1987 The Chipmunk Adventure produced by Bagdasarian Productions
July 17, 1987 Ping Pong
August 27, 1987 Backlash
August 28, 1987 The Rosary Murders
September 11, 1987 A Prayer for the Dying
November 13, 1987 Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
April 13, 1988 Beatrice
July 22, 1988 Mr. North
October 9, 1988 Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie
October 21, 1988 Mystic Pizza
March 3, 1989 Heart of Midnight
October 13, 1989 Breaking In
November 8, 1989 Henry V
December 8, 1989 Fear, Anxiety & Depression

1990s

Release date Title Notes
February 2, 1990 Stella co-production with Touchstone Pictures
May 11, 1990 Longtime Companion
June 12, 1990 The Misadventures of Mr. Wilt
August 17, 1990 Wild at Heart
October 12, 1990 To Sleep with Anger owned by Sony Pictures
November 2, 1990 C'est la vie
March 1, 1991 My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
March 8, 1991 La Femme Nikita U.S. distribution rights currently owned by Sony Pictures Classics
May 22, 1991 Straight Out of Brooklyn
May 24, 1991 Truly, Madly, Deeply
September 20, 1991 Livin' Large
October 4, 1991 Black Robe produced by Alliance Atlantis and Hoyts
October 11, 1991 City of Hope owned by Sony Pictures
December 25, 1991 Madame Bovary
February 5, 1992 Mississippi Masala
April 3, 1992 Rock-a-Doodle North American distribution only; produced by Goldcrest and Sullivan Bluth Studios
April 22, 1992 The Playboys
May 13, 1992 The Waterdance owned by Sony Pictures
July 10, 1992 The Best Intentions
November 11, 1992 Traces of Red
November 14, 1992 Flirting
December 25, 1992 Peter's Friends
February 19, 1993 Mac owned by Sony Pictures
March 3, 1993 The Stolen Children
May 7, 1993 Much Ado About Nothing
July 16, 1993 Road Scholar
August 7, 1993 The Wedding Banquet Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2023
September 24, 1993 Baraka
The Program co-production with Touchstone Pictures
October 15, 1993 Mr. Wonderful overseas distribution; Warner Bros. distributed the film in the U.S.
November 5, 1993 Wild West
November 26, 1993 Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
December 21, 1993 The Summer House
January 28, 1994 Golden Gate
March 18, 1994 Suture
April 27, 1994 You So Crazy
May 15, 1994 A Million to Juan
June 3, 1994 Fear of a Black Hat
June 10, 1994 Go Fish
July 22, 1994 Just Like a Woman
August 3, 1994 Eat Drink Man Woman
September 9, 1994 What Happened Was U.S. distribution rights currently owned by Oscilloscope Laboratories
October 6, 1994 Ladybird, Ladybird
November 4, 1994 Oleanna
November 18, 1994 To Live
December 28, 1994 The Madness of King George
February 3, 1995 The Secret of Roan Inish produced by First Look Pictures; U.S. distribution rights currently owned by Samuel Goldwyn Films
March 8, 1995 The Sum of Us
April 14, 1995 The Last Good Time
May 12, 1995 The Perez Family
May 19, 1995 Rampo
June 9, 1995 Wigstock: The Movie
November 17, 1995 Reckless
January 26, 1996 Angels & Insects
April 19, 1996 August
May 1, 1996 I Shot Andy Warhol co-production with BBC Arena; distributed in the U.S. by Orion Pictures
May 10, 1996 Love Is All There Is
August 23, 1996 Foxfire produced by Rysher Entertainment; distribution rights currently owned by Paramount Pictures
September 13, 1996 American Buffalo
September 20, 1996 Big Night produced by Rysher Entertainment; distribution rights currently owned by Paramount Pictures
October 25, 1996 Palookaville
December 16, 1996 The Preacher's Wife co-production with Touchstone Pictures
February 28, 1997 Hard Eight credited in promotional material as Goldwyn Entertainment Company; co-production with Rysher Entertainment; distribution rights currently owned by Paramount Pictures
April 11, 1997 Kissed as Goldwyn Films
May 30, 1997 Rough Magic as Goldwyn Entertainment Company
July 15, 1997 Paperback Romance as Goldwyn Entertainment Company
October 10, 1997 Napoleon as Goldwyn Films
November 7, 1997 The Hanging Garden as Goldwyn Films
November 26, 1997 Bent as Goldwyn Entertainment Company; U.S. distribution rights currently owned by Film Movement
January 16, 1998 Live Flesh as Goldwyn Films; U.S. distribution rights currently owned by Sony Pictures Classics
February 20, 1998 I Love You, Don't Touch Me! as Goldwyn Films
August 14, 1998 The Chambermaid on the Titanic
September 25, 1998 Lolita as Samuel Goldwyn Films; co-production with Pathé
November 6, 1998 Velvet Goldmine as Goldwyn Films; distributed in the U.S. by Miramax Films; U.S. distribution rights currently owned by Sony Pictures Classics
November 13, 1998 Welcome to Woop Woop as Goldwyn Entertainment Company
November 27, 1998 Immortality as Goldwyn Films; distributed in the U.S. by Miramax Films
January 25, 1999 Tinseltown as Samuel Goldwyn Films
May 14, 1999 Tea with Mussolini as G2 Films
June 18, 1999 Desert Blue as Samuel Goldwyn Films
September 17, 1999 Splendor as Samuel Goldwyn Films; co-production with Summit Entertainment and Newmarket Capital Group

Other names

  • Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment
  • Goldwyn Entertainment Company
  • G2 Films
  • Goldwyn Films

Successor

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Golden Seal (1983)". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  2. ^ Glover, Karen (September 23, 1991). "Goldwyn, Heritage Entertainment merging (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)". Los Angeles Business Journal. 13 (38): 50.
  3. ^ Landler, Mark (January 5, 1997). "Rich, 82, and Starting Over". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2016-05-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Andrew Hindes (1997-12-10). "Hegeman hops to Live". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  6. ^ "Metromedia to Sell Film Units to MGM for $573 Million". The New York Times. April 29, 1997. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  7. ^ "Metromedia International Group Completes the Sale of Landmark Theatre to Silver Cinemas". Thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  8. ^ Bates, James (30 October 1997). "Goldwyn Suing Metromedia, MGM Over Firing, Contract". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  9. ^ Higgins, Bill (January 10, 1999). "G2 Films emerges as Goldwyn, MGM settle". Variety. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  10. ^ "United Artists restructuring by MGM - Jun. 7, 1999". Money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2015-02-05.
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