Vestron Pictures
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| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film industry |
| Genre | Various |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Steve Tisch Lawrence Turman Gene Kirkwood |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Fate | Parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, assets acquired by LIVE Entertainment |
| Successor | Lionsgate |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Austin O. Furst Jr. |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Owner | Vestron, Inc. |
| Parent | Vestron, Inc. (1986–1991) LIVE Entertainment (1991–1992) |
Vestron Pictures Inc. was an American film studio and distributor, a former division of Austin O. Furst, Jr.'s Vestron Inc., that is best known for their 1987 release of Dirty Dancing.[1]
Vestron also has had a genre film division, Lightning Pictures, a spin-off of Vestron's Lightning Video, headed by Lawrence Kasanoff, who would later go on to found Lightstorm Entertainment and Threshold Entertainment.[2]
History
[edit]The company was initially kicked off to "pursue projects" with top producers, namely Steve Tisch, Larry Turman and Gene Kirkwood, and Vestron would have to finance projects, and do a decided number of series and relationships.[3] The first Vestron Pictures film released was Malcolm, the Australian feature film that launched a New York run on July 18, 1986.[4]
On October 1, 1986, Vestron Pictures and Gotham-based financial outfit Integrated Resources, Inc. established a $100 million joint venture to handle underwriting of the production and distribution of 15 Vestron Pictures feature films produced in-house, which planned to be released from 1987 to 1989.[5]
In December 1986, Vestron Pictures planned to produce ten films and to acquire 10-15 films in order to become a virtual low-budget film studio, and gave production budgets of under $2 million to the Lightning Pictures genre label, as titles from the mainstream label ran $2–6 million; the company was relegated to low-budget production without resorting to exploitation filmmaking, and shot for a broad base that expanded into all segments of the viewing audience.[6]
In 1987, the Vestron Pictures unit acquired worldwide rights to Bob Balaban's Parents, from production company Parents Productions, and Roger Holzberg's Midnight Crossing, from another independent production company, Team Effort Productions, with another Vestron subsidiary, Interaccess Film Distribution, to handle foreign sales and distribution rights for the two pictures.[7]
In September 1987, upon the success of the company's biggest hit, Dirty Dancing, Vestron acquired 24 productions and pickups that were slated for release throughout 1988, and toward that end, the company unveiled four productions before the end of the year, as well as four acquisitions, and called for quality pictures with budgets of $6 million.[8]
In October 1987, Vestron Pictures bought the rights to two films from production company Double Helix Films, Mace and Funland. Vestron would handle theatrical, television, pay cable and syndicated TV rights to the former, and home video, cable and TV rights to the latter film, and Double Helix Films would retain the rights to the two films for foreign distribution.[9]
In November 1987, Vestron Pictures was seeking to expand theatrical operations in Australia and the Benelux countries. The company already had distribution offices in the U.K. and Japan, and would cooperate with Vestron's international sales subsidiary, Interaccess Film Distribution. It decided not to set up shop in France due to declining theatrical attendance and a glut of cinemas, some of which formed a crowded field in the nation.[10]
Vestron Pictures' parent company, Vestron, Inc., filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and went out of business in 1992, with their assets being acquired by LIVE Entertainment. Today, Lionsgate owns the rights to the Vestron library after acquiring Artisan Entertainment in 2003.
Productions
[edit]Vestron Pictures
[edit]| Release Date | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 20, 1986 | Malcolm | US distribution only | |
| November 14, 1986 | Slaughter High | ||
| November 1986 | Billy Galvin | ||
| February 20, 1987 | Alpine Fire | ||
| April 10, 1987 | Gothic | US distribution only | |
| May 1987 | Nightforce | Direct-to-video | |
| May 15, 1987 | Personal Services | ||
| August 21, 1987 | Dirty Dancing | Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2024 | |
| September 25, 1987 | China Girl | ||
| October 2, 1987 | Anna | ||
| November 6, 1987 | Steel Dawn | ||
| December 1987 | The Family | US distribution only | |
| December 18, 1987 | The Dead | ||
| 1988 | Dangerous Curves | ||
| January 22, 1988 | Promised Land | ||
| March 4, 1988 | And God Created Woman | ||
| April 8, 1988 | The Pointsman | ||
| April 22, 1988 | The Unholy | ||
| May 6, 1988 | Salome's Last Dance | ||
| May 13, 1988 | Midnight Crossing | ||
| May 20, 1988 | Call Me | ||
| June 3, 1988 | The Beat | ||
| June 17, 1988 | Waxwork | ||
| June 1988 | Paramedics | ||
| August 12, 1988 | Young Guns | International and video distribution only, 20th Century Fox owned North American theatrical rights | |
| October 14, 1988 | The Lair of the White Worm | ||
| November 25, 1988 | Amsterdamned | US distribution only | |
| December 23, 1988 | Burning Secret | ||
| January 27, 1989 | Parents | ||
| February 17, 1989 | Paperhouse | US distribution only | |
| March 3, 1989 | Dream a Little Dream | ||
| March 1989 | Big Man on Campus | ||
| April 28, 1989 | The Fruit Machine | US distribution only | |
| May 5, 1989 | The Rainbow | ||
| May 12, 1989 | Earth Girls Are Easy | US distribution only | |
| June 29, 1989 | Twister | ||
| August 25, 1989 | Little Monsters | Vestron produced the film but sold the film to United Artists due to financial problems. | |
| December 1, 1989 | Hider in the House | ||
| December 8, 1989 | Cat Chaser | ||
| February 4, 1990 | Spies on Ice | ||
| March 28, 1990 | Paint It Black | Direct-to-video | |
| April 3, 1990 | Catchfire | ||
| July 15, 1990 | Fear | ||
| November 9, 1990 | Love Hurts | ||
| October 23, 1991 | Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat | Direct-to-video | |
| January 29, 1992 | Enid Is Sleeping | ||
| July 29, 1992 | Spies Inc. | released on VHS in 1992 by LIVE Home Video, under the name Code Name: Chaos |
Lightning Pictures
[edit]| Release Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| July 10, 1987 | Blood Diner | |
| September 16, 1987 | Street Trash | |
| June 30, 1989 | Far From Home | |
| September 27, 1989 | C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. | |
| March 16, 1990 | Blue Steel | Eventually acquired and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer due to financial problems |
| May 11, 1990 | Class of 1999 | released by Taurus Entertainment Company |
| September 18, 1991 | Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College | released by Taurus Entertainment Company |
| January 17, 1992 | A Gnome Named Gnorm |
References
[edit]- ^ "Talks on Vestron Reported". The New York Times. February 17, 1990.
- ^ "CAN FILMMAKING SAVE VESTRON'S HOME VIDEO?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ^ "Vestron Is Looking Into Feature Film Projects By Tisch, Turman, Kirkwood". Variety. 1986-01-15. p. 8.
- ^ "'Malcolm' Scheduled As Vestron's Initial Release". Variety. 1986-07-02. p. 19.
- ^ "Vestron Pics Into Joint Venture For Prod. Of 15 Films". Variety. 1986-10-01. p. 3.
- ^ "Vestron Gearing Up '87 Slate To Include Lowballers, Pickups". Variety. 1986-12-10. p. 22.
- ^ "Vestron Buys World Rights To 2 New Pix". Variety. 1987-09-09. pp. 4, 32.
- ^ Greenberg, James (1987-09-16). "'Dancing' No Dirty Word At Vestron; First Hit Fuels More". Variety. pp. 6, 121.
- ^ "Vestron Buys Rights To Two Double Helix Pics". Variety. 1987-10-14. p. 36.
- ^ "Vestron is eyeing more intl. bases". Variety. 1987-11-11. p. 26.
