Cannon Films: Difference between revisions

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<u>Background:</u> Cannon Films (also known as "The Cannon Group, Inc." and "Cannon Pictures") was a film studio that has produced low- to medium-budget films from October 23, 1967 to 1993. The studio was formed by Dennis Friedland and Christopher C. Dewey. In 1979, Cannon was sold to Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, who had produced a few Israeli films such as ''Operation Thunderbolt'' (''Mivtsa Yonatan'', English translation: "''Operation Jonathan''") and the teen comedy ''Lemon Popsicle'' (''Eis am Steil'') before coming to the United States in 1979. During that year, they bought controlling interest in Cannon Films and forged a business model of buying "bottom-barrel" scripts and putting them into production. In 1989, Cannon was acquired by Giancarlo Parretti and was renamed as Pathé Communications (this company was not connected with Pathé, although Parretti gave the company its name because he was going to purchase the latter studio, but was blocked by the French government). Parretti later acquired MGM/UA Communications Co. in 1990 and the two companies were merged to form "MGM-Pathé Communications Co.". Menahem Golan left the company to form a new studio, 21st Century Film Corporation. In 1993, Cannon was folded into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Most of the library of the American arm of Cannon Films is owned by MGM, who also owns home media, international television and ThisTV rights. Warner Bros. owns the North American theatrical and home media rights to their co-productions with Cannon, such as Cobra, Over the Top, The Hanoi Hilton, Bloodsport, Masters of the Universe, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (for which Warner Bros. also owns international home media rights). North American television rights to the Cannon library is owned by Paramount Pictures, having acquired the rights after being purchased by Viacom, who in turn, previously remained in charge of TV syndication for the Cannon library, with distribution licensed to Trifecta Entertainment & Media.

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1993 Cannon Films logoCannon Pictures Inc. (1992)

CANNON

P I C T U R E S

<u>Variant:</u> Another version has a smaller hexagon, a trademark symbol "TM" is seen on the right side of "CANNON", and the bottom now reads "P I C T U R E S_-I N C."