United Artists: Difference between revisions
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===Background=== | ===Background=== | ||
'''United Artists''' was formed in 1919 by four of the leading figures in the early Hollywood era: Mary Pickford, | '''United Artists''' was formed in 1919 by four of the leading figures in the early Hollywood era: Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith. It was largely sold to Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin in 1951; both Chaplin and Pickford sold the remaining shares to Krim and Benjamin in 1956. United Artists was sold to Transamerica Corporation on April 27, 1967, and later to Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda, Inc. (the then-current owner of [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc]].) on July 28, 1981. MGM would use both their brand and United Artists as labels during this time under the MGM/UA brand. | ||
In 1986, Turner Broadcasting System purchased MGM/UA Entertainment Co. and renamed it to MGM Entertainment Co. United Artists' assets were purchased back by Kirk Kerkorian who would use them to found a new company under the United Artists name. However, when Turner gained heavy debt over the MGM purchase, he sold the company back to Kirk Kerkorian, with the new United Artists being renamed as [[MGM/UA Communications Co.|MGM/UA Communications Company]], with MGM and United Artists being used as distribution labels. This still wasn't enough, as the company gained a loss of $88 million, leading to MGM and United Artists splitting into separate divisions. | In 1986, Turner Broadcasting System purchased MGM/UA Entertainment Co. and renamed it to MGM Entertainment Co. United Artists' assets were purchased back by Kirk Kerkorian who would use them to found a new company under the United Artists name. However, when Turner gained heavy debt over the MGM purchase, he sold the company back to Kirk Kerkorian, with the new United Artists being renamed as [[MGM/UA Communications Co.|MGM/UA Communications Company]], with MGM and United Artists being used as distribution labels. This still wasn't enough, as the company gained a loss of $88 million, leading to MGM and United Artists splitting into separate divisions. | ||
By 1990, after the purchase of MGM/UA by Giancarlo Parretti, United Artists became dormant in favor of the MGM label being used instead. In 1993, after Crédit Lyonnais' purchase of MGM, he convinced John Calley to run UA, allowing the ''Pink Panther'' and ''James Bond'' franchises alongside | By 1990, after the purchase of MGM/UA by Giancarlo Parretti, United Artists became dormant in favor of the MGM label being used instead. In 1993, after Crédit Lyonnais' purchase of MGM, he convinced John Calley to run UA, allowing the ''Pink Panther'' and ''James Bond'' franchises alongside one of the few NC-17 films released by a major studio, ''Showgirls''. Kirk Kerkorian later repurchased MGM in 1996, and Calley resigned. | ||
In 1999, MGM folded the existing United Artists company into their own operations (with copyrights for ''The Pink Panther'' and ''Rocky'' transitioning to MGM, although James Bond kept with a United Artists copyright for legacy purposes) and rebranded their [[G2 Films]] (a renamed portion of the former [[The Samuel Goldwyn Company|Samuel Goldwyn Company]]) division as United Artists International, with the United Artists brand now being used as an art-house theater label. | In 1999, MGM folded the existing United Artists company into their own operations (with copyrights for ''The Pink Panther'' and ''Rocky'' transitioning to MGM, although James Bond kept with a United Artists copyright for legacy purposes) and rebranded their [[G2 Films]] (a renamed portion of the former [[The Samuel Goldwyn Company|Samuel Goldwyn Company]]) division) as United Artists International, with the United Artists brand now being used as an art-house theater label. | ||
On April 8, 2005, Sony Corporation, Comcast, and four | On April 8, 2005, [[Sony Group Corporation|Sony Corporation]], [[:Category:Comcast|Comcast]], and four other partners bought MGM and United Artists for $4.8 billion. In November 2006, Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner were made the new heads of this revamped United Artists. However on August 14, 2008, Wagner left the studio, but still remained a stockholder in United Artists. In 2011, it became completely owned by MGM again when the studio purchased the stock formerly owned by Cruise and Wagner. As a result, UA was absorbed, but still exists as an in-name-only unit of MGM. | ||
In September 2014, MGM acquired a stake in Mark Burnett's companies One Three Media and [[Lightworkers Media]], merging them into [[United Artists Media Group]]; | In September 2014, MGM acquired a stake in Mark Burnett's companies [[One Three Media]] and [[Lightworkers Media]], merging them into [[United Artists Media Group]]; the next year, UAMG was folded into [[MGM Television]]. | ||
In 2018, MGM revived the brand | In 2018, MGM revived the UA brand as [[United Artists Digital Studio]], and the United Artists name would finally return to the big screen in 2019 as [[United Artists Releasing]], a re-branding of MGM and [[Annapurna Pictures]]' existing distribution joint-venture Mirror Releasing, distributing movies from fellow MGM subsidiaries [[Orion Pictures]], [[Orion Classics]] and [[American International Pictures]]. | ||
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