Jump to content

Interscope Communications

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interscope Communications, Inc.
IndustryFilm studio
Founded1982;42 years ago(1982)
Defunct1999(1999)(as film studio and label)
2002(2002)(through USA Films merger)
2003(2003)(as in-name-only label)
FateMerged withOctober FilmsandGramercy Picturesto become USA Films and later consolidated intoFocus Features
Successor
HeadquartersUnited States
Key people
Ted Field
Robert W. Cort
Scott Kroopf
ParentIndependent (1982–1994)
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment(1994–1998)
Universal Studios(1998–1999)
USA Films (1999–2002)
SubsidiariesInterscope Records(1990–1996)

Interscope Communications, Inc.(also known asInterscope Pictures) was amotion pictureproductioncompany founded in 1982 byTed Field.It soon became a division ofPolyGram Filmed Entertainment.

In 1999, afterSeagrammerged PolyGram intoUniversal Pictures,Interscope Communications was sold toUSA Networksand merged into the recently formed USA Films, which in 2002, would later be merged with other film labels after being acquired by Universal to becomeFocus Features.[1]

History

Interscope Communications (the studio shared its name for a former racing team, "Interscope Racing" ) was founded in 1982 by media mogulTed Field,who aimed to create films with mass appeal.[2]Field acted as aproducerorexecutive produceron a number of films in Interscope's filmography. The company's first film,Revenge of the Nerds,was released in 1984 and was a box office success.[3]That same year,Robert W. Cort,a former executive of20th Century FoxandColumbia Pictures,joined Interscope and became the president of the company. Cort also co-produced a number of films.[4]

On November 13, 1984, the company received an agreement withThe Walt Disney Studiosfor a two-year term, to become the company's first independent supplier within the studio, after several years working with an agreement at20th Century-Foxin order that Interscope would finance films for the studio.[5]

On December 10, 1986, Interscope Communications inked a three-picture domestic feature pact withUnited Artists Pictures,whereas production would be jointly financed by UA and Interscope, and thatInteraccess Film DistributionandVestron Inc.would participate in Interscope's share of financing, and domestic videocassette rights to Interscope's features going toVestron Video,and foreign theatrical, TV and home video distribution of Interscope's films going toInteraccess Film Distribution.[6]

On May 20, 1987, Interscope Communications rises into the rank as a film supplier, in order to set films from different major film studios, mostlyMPAAmembers, which included five of the films that were donated by Interscope to the major motion picture studios, such asTouchstone Pictures,Tri-Star Pictures,Warner Bros.,Orion Pictures,20th Century FoxandDe Laurentiis Entertainment Group,as well as his involvement with a $1 million in-house development kitty.[7]

In early July 1987, Interscope Communications decided to accelerate its TV production phase from four productions from its first four years of existence to a slate of 13 new projects for the next eighteen months, and which include two movies-of-the week, a miniseries and a conventional series forNBC,and Patricia Clifford runs the company's television operations for Interscope's television division, acknowledged a markedly pronounced greater receptivity than in previous years to telefilms dealing with black experience in the U.S., and offered a series of failed pilots and television movies on the air.[8]

In 1990,Nomura Babcock & Brown(NBB) invested $250 million in a joint venture withThe Walt Disney Companyand Interscope Communications. The deal called for NBB to co-produce and finance[2]films for Interscope and Disney for four years. The joint venture produced five films between 1992 and 1995, all of which were marketed and released under two of Disney's production banners,Touchstone PicturesandHollywood Pictures.[9]The most successful film co-produced by Interscope and NBB wasThe Hand That Rocks the Cradle(1992), while other films produced by the joint venture were critical and commercial failures.[4]

Also that year, it purchased Marble Arch Productions fromITC,and decided that ITC Entertainment would co-finance the projects for U.S. and foreign distribution.[10]

PolyGram

In 1992,PolyGrambought a controlling interest in Interscope Communications' film unit. Production and marketing budgets were to be paid by PolyGram.[2]Robert W. Cort, president of Interscope, left the company at the end of 1995 believing that PolyGram "took on much more of a corporate environment than it had before and that consequently his role had become more like an executive's than a producer's." Field purchased Cort's 12% stake in the corporation.[4]

Beginning in 1996, Interscope began using PFE's PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Distribution for distribution.[11]

USA Films merger and shut down

In 1998, after PolyGram was bought byUniversal Studios,[12]Interscope's film unit was retained as a subsidiary of Universal until in 1999, it was sold off toBarry Diller'sUSA Networks,which later merged Interscope Communications withOctober FilmsandGramercy Picturesto become USA Films. In 2001, Universal acquired USA and its divisions from Diller,[13]resulting in USA Films combining its operations with Universal Focus andGood Machineto becomeFocus Features.[1]Interscope Communications managed to remain in-name-only until it was shut down in 2003. Remaining films that were intended to be produced under the Interscope Communications name were drafted to Focus Features.[citation needed]

Interscope Records,however, still exists as part of theInterscope Geffen A&Mfaction ofUniversal Music Group(whose predecessor,MCA,purchasedAtlantic's stake in the label in 1995).

Filmography

Interscope Communications has produced 56 films. Of the 56 films produced, only 14 aredirect-to-videoormade-for-televisionproductions. Currently, all of the films that Interscope produced forOrion Pictures,andDe Laurentiis Entertainment Groupbetween 1989 and 1991, as well asPolyGram Filmed EntertainmentandGramercy Picturesbefore March 31, 1996, are owned byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer(MGM), which acquired the studios in separate transactions.[14]Films produced for PolyGram or Gramercy after April 1, 1996, are now owned byUniversal Studiosor its divisionFocus Features.Note that in all cases the distributor or distributors are also co-producers. The box office column reflects the worldwide gross for the theatrical release of the films inUnited States dollars.

Year Title Director Co-production company(s) Distributor(s) Box office Ref.
1984 Revenge of the Nerds Jeff Kanew 20th Century Fox $40,874,452 [3]
1985 Turk 182 Bob Clark 20th Century Fox $3,594,997 [15]
1985 American Geisha2 Lee Phillips CBS —
1987 Critical Condition Michael Apted Paramount Pictures $20,240,752 [16]
1987 Outrageous Fortune Arthur Hiller Silver Screen Partners II Touchstone Pictures $52,864,741 [17]
1987 Stillwatch2 Rod Holcomb CBS —
1987 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise Joe Roth 20th Century Fox $30,063,289 [18]
1987 Three Men and a Baby Leonard Nimoy Silver Screen Partners III Touchstone Pictures $167,780,960 [19]
1988 The Seventh Sign Carl Schultz TriStar Pictures $18,875,011 [20]
1988 Cocktail Roger Donaldson Silver Screen Partners III Touchstone Pictures $171,504,781 [21]
1989 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Stephen Herek Nelson Entertainment Orion Pictures $40,485,039 [22]
1989 Collision Course1 Lewis Teague DEG —
1989 Renegades Jack Sholder Morgan Creek Productions Universal Pictures $9,015,164 [23]
1989 Blind Fury Phillip Noyce TriStar Pictures $2,692,037 [24]
1989 My Boyfriend's Back2 Paul Schneider NBC —
1989 An Innocent Man Peter Yates Silver Screen Partners III Touchstone Pictures $20,047,604 [25]
1989 A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story2 John Patterson Walt Disney Television — [26]
1990 The First Power Robert Resnikoff Nelson Entertainment Orion Pictures $22,424,195
1990 Bird on a Wire John Badham The Badham-Cohen Group Universal Pictures $138,697,012 [27]
1990 A Gnome Named Gnorm1 Stan Winston Lightning Pictures Vestron Pictures —
1990 Three Men and a Little Lady Emile Ardolino Touchstone Pictures $71,609,321 [28]
1990 Eve of Destruction Duncan Gibbins Nelson Entertainment Orion Pictures $5,451,119 [29]
1991 The Last to Go2 John Erman ABC —
1991 Aftermath2 Glenn Jordan CBS — [26]
1991 Class Action Michael Apted 20th Century Fox $28,277,918 [30]
1991 Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey Peter Hewitt Nelson Entertainment Orion Pictures $38,037,513 [31]
1991 Paradise Mary Agnes Donahue Touchwood Pacific Partners I Touchstone Pictures $18,634,643 [32]
1992 The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Curtis Hanson Nomura Babcock & Brown Hollywood Pictures $88,036,683 [33]
1992 The Cutting Edge Paul Michael Glaser Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer $25,105,517 [34]
1992 The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag Allan Moyle Nomura Babcock & Brown Touchstone Pictures $3,721,911 [35]
1992 Out on a Limb Francis Veber Universal Pictures $1,659,542 [36]
1993 Foreign Affairs2 Jim O'Brien TNT — [37]
1994 The Air Up There Paul Michael Glaser PolyGram Filmed Entertainment/
Nomura Babcock & Brown 		Hollywood Pictures $21,011,318 [38]
1994 Holy Matrimony Leonard Nimoy PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Hollywood Pictures $713,234 [39]
1994 Terminal Velocity Deran Sarafian PolyGram Filmed Entertainment/
Nomura Babcock & Brown 		Hollywood Pictures $16,487,349 [40]
1994 A Part of the Family2 David Madden PolyGram Filmed Entertainment —
1995 Roommates Peter Yates PolyGram Filmed Entertainment/
Nomura Babcock & Brown 		Hollywood Pictures $12,096,881 [41]
1995 Separate Lives David Madden Trimark Pictures $961,147 [42]
1995 Body Language2 Eric Harlacher HBO —
1995 Operation Dumbo Drop Simon Wincer PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Walt Disney Pictures $24,670,346 [43]
1995 The Tie That Binds Wesley Strick PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Hollywood Pictures $5,830,454 [44]
1995 Two Much Fernando Trueba PolyGram Filmed Entertainment/
Sogetel 		Touchstone Pictures $1,141,556 [45]
1995 Jumanji Joe Johnston TriStar Pictures $262,322,000 [46]
1995 Mr. Holland's Opus Stephen Herek PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Hollywood Pictures $106,269,971 [47]
1996 Boys Stacy Cochran PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Touchstone Pictures $516,349 [48]
1996 Kazaam Paul Michael Glaser PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Touchstone Pictures $18,937,262 [49]
1996 The Associate Donald Petrie PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Hollywood Pictures $12,844,057 [50]
1997 Dead Silence2 Daniel Petrie, Jr. Alliance Communications HBO Pictures —
1997 Gridlock'd Vondie Curtis-Hall PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Gramercy Pictures $5,571,205 [51]
1997 Snow White: A Tale of Terror2 Michael Cohn PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Gramercy Pictures —
1998 The Proposition Leslie Linka Glatter PolyGram Filmed Entertainment $147,773 [52]
1998 Very Bad Things Peter Berg Initial Entertainment Group/
Ballpark Productions 		PolyGram Filmed Entertainment $9,898,412 [53]
1998 What Dreams May Come Vincent Ward PolyGram Filmed Entertainment $55,382,927 [54]
1999 Runaway Bride Garry Marshall Lakeshore Entertainment Paramount Pictures/
Touchstone Pictures 		$309,457,509 [55]
1999 Teaching Mrs. Tingle Kevin Williamson Konrad Pictures Dimension Films $8,951,935 [56]
2000 Pitch Black David Twohy PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Gramercy Pictures/
USA Films 		$53,187,659 [57]
2000 The Three Stooges2 Glenn Jordan Icon Entertainment International Columbia TriStar Television —
2002 The Pianist Roman Polanski Studio Canal+/
Canal+/
Studio Babelsberg 		Focus Features $120,072,577
Box office total: $3,037,962,100 —'

1Direct-to-videorelease.
2Released as amade-for-television film


References

  1. ^ab"Interscope Communications".Audiovisual Identity Database.2023-10-09.Retrieved2023-10-09.
  2. ^abcGeraldine Fabrikant (11 August 1992)."Polygram to Buy 51% Stake in Interscope's Film Division – New York Times".The New York Times.Retrieved31 January2013.
  3. ^ab"Revenge of the Nerds (1984) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedAugust 20,2013.
  4. ^abcClaudia Eller (September 27, 1995)."ENTERTAINMENT: Interscope President to Resign; Parting Amicable, Partner Says".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  5. ^"Interscope Disney's First Indie Supplier".Variety.1984-11-14. p. 3.
  6. ^"UA To Distribute 3 Interscope Films".Variety.1986-12-10. pp. 5, 40.
  7. ^Tusher, Will (1987-05-20). "Intersccope Into Front Ranks As Film Supplier; Sets 5 For Majors".Variety.p. 39.
  8. ^Tusher, Will (1987-07-08). "Interscope Picks Up TV Stream With 13 Projects In Production: Made-Fors, Miniseries & Skeins".Variety.pp. 55, 73.
  9. ^Alan Citron (14 September 1990)."Japanese Will Invest Up to $250 Million in Disney Filmmaking".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved16 February2012.
  10. ^"Syndication Marketplace"(PDF).Broadcasting.1990-05-28.Retrieved2021-10-25.
  11. ^"PolyGram Unit to Distribute Films in U.S."Los Angeles Times.1997-05-03.Retrieved2012-10-22.
  12. ^Seagram swallows PolyGrammoney.cnn December 10, 1998, Retrieved on July 19, 2014
  13. ^Staff Reports; Verrier, Richard; Hofmeister |, Sallie (2001-12-17)."UNIVERSAL'S OWNER, USA NETWORKS OK DEAL".Orlando Sentinel.Retrieved2023-10-09.
  14. ^Gerald Fabrikant (August 11, 1992)."MGM Owner Said to Offer $300 Million to Buy Orion – New York Times".The New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  15. ^"Turk 182 (1985) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  16. ^"Critical Condition".Box Office Mojo.Retrieved2022-03-02.
  17. ^"Outrageous Fortune (1987)".Box Office Mojo.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  18. ^"Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1985) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  19. ^"Three Men and a Baby (1987) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  20. ^"The Seventh Sign (1988)".Box Office Mojo.RetrievedAugust 31,2013.
  21. ^"Cocktail (1988)".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  22. ^"Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  23. ^"Renegades (1989)".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  24. ^"Blind Fury (1990) – Weekend Box Office Results – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  25. ^"An Innocent Man (1989) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  26. ^ab"Mother's Courage, A: The Mary Thomas Story (1989) - Overview - TCM".Turner Classic Movies.Turner Entertainment Networks.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  27. ^"Bird on a Wire (1990) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  28. ^"Three Men and a Little Lady (1990) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  29. ^"Eve of Destruction (1991) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  30. ^"Class Action (1991) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  31. ^"Eve of Destruction (1991) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  32. ^"Paradise (1991) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  33. ^"The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  34. ^"The Cutting Edge (1992) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  35. ^"The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (1992) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  36. ^"Out on a Limb (1992) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  37. ^"Foreign Affairs (1993) - Overview - TCM".Turner Classic Movies.Turner Entertainment Networks.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  38. ^"The Air Up There (1994) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  39. ^"Holy Matrimony (1994) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  40. ^"Terminal Velocity (1994) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  41. ^"Roommates (1995) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  42. ^"Separate Lives (1995) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  43. ^"Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  44. ^"The Tie That Binds (1995) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  45. ^"Two Much (1995) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  46. ^"Jumanji (1995) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  47. ^"Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  48. ^"Boys (1996) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  49. ^"Kazaam (1996) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  50. ^"The Associate (1996) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  51. ^"Gridlock'd (1997) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  52. ^"The Proposition (1998) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  53. ^"Very Bad Things (1998) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  54. ^"What Dreams May Come (1998) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  55. ^"Runaway Bride (1999) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  56. ^"Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
  57. ^"Pitch Black (2000) – Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.RetrievedSeptember 4,2013.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Interscope_Communications&oldid=1232355138"