Carolco Pictures: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
imported>Tjdrum2000 No edit summary |
imported>AUnnamedDragon No edit summary |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
===Background=== | ===Background=== | ||
'''Carolco Pictures, Inc.''' was originally formed in 1976 by Mario F. Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna (the latter of whom previously founded [[Panasia Films Limited|Panasia Films]] in Hong Kong) as '''Anabasis Investments''' to make a major independent competitor to the Hollywood studios producing A-movie products. In 1984, Anabasis Investments was reincorporated as '''Carolco International, N.V.''' | '''Carolco Pictures, Inc.''' was originally formed in 1976 by film investors Mario F. Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna (the latter of whom previously founded [[Panasia Films Limited|Panasia Films]] in Hong Kong) as '''Anabasis Investments''' to make a major independent competitor to the Hollywood studios producing A-movie products. In 1984, Anabasis Investments was reincorporated as '''Carolco International, N.V.''' The name "Carolco" was purchased from a defunct company based in Panama and "has no meaning," according to Kasser. | ||
Carolco's first major success was the 1982 movie ''First Blood'', an adaptation of David Morrell's novel of the same name. The film made $120 million worldwide and placed Carolco among Hollywood's major players. On May 15, 1984, the company entered a long-term agreement from [[TriStar Pictures|Tri-Star Pictures]], then an up-and-coming film distributor and fledging studio. Through the argeement, Tri-Star would provide North American distribution of Carolco's films, while [[HBO]], one of the original three partners in the Tri-Star venture, would handle pay cable television rights and home video distribution rights would be handled by [[Thorn EMI Video]] (later [[Thorn EMI/HBO Video]] and [[HBO/Cannon Video]]). The agreement started in 1985 with ''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' and lasted until 1994; Carolco's final film distributed by TriStar was ''Wagons East!''. | |||
Today, the ancillary rights to a majority of Carolco's library including the Carolco name and logo are held by the French production company [[StudioCanal]], and because of this, the new Carolco had to change its name to Recall Studios. North American TV and streaming rights belong to [[Paramount Pictures]] through [[Trifecta Entertainment & Media]] on Paramount's behalf, due to a previous TV distribution deal with [[Worldvision Enterprises]], and [[Lionsgate Home Entertainment]] continues to hold the domestic and digital home video rights (via a new output deal with StudioCanal), while the international home video rights are held by a different company for each country. Exceptions include ''Cliffhanger'', which is distributed in the U.S. and some foreign territories by Sony Pictures Entertainment (due to TriStar being given complete distribution rights in those territories as explained above), ''Last of the Dogmen'', which was originally released by [[Savoy Pictures]] and is now owned by the film's producer Joel Michaels, who licensed the film to Kino Lorber for a Blu-Ray release, and ''Showgirls'', which Carolco sold off to [[Chargeurs]] during pre-production, and is distributed in North America by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios]] | Tri-Star and Carolco renewed their partnership in 1986, starting a new multi-feature agreement which called for Tri-Star to distribute forthcoming Carolco products. That same year, Carolco entered home video distribution and acquired [[International Video Entertainment]] (which would eventually become [[Artisan Entertainment]]), which was going through financial difficulties and was near bankruptcy; Carolco hoped to "turn the company around" with the deal, which was finalized a year later. The company payed $32 million to HBO/Cannon Video in exchange for the video rights to ''Angel Heart'' and ''Extreme Prejudice'', both of which were then-forthcoming releases. Carolco then relicensed the films to IVE. | ||
On August 28, 1987, Carolco acquired syndication company [[Orbis Communications]] for $15.4 million (Orbis would be merged into Carolco's [[Carolco Television Productions|television unit]] in 1991). Over the next few years, the company expanded into various other business sectors, including video retail holdings and licensing of their IP. By this point, Carolco focused mainly on big-budget action movies, with major stars such as Sylvester Stallone (who later signed a ten-picture deal with the studio) and Arnold Schwarzenegger attached. | |||
In addition to its own library, Carolco had the television rights to those of [[The Vista Organization]], [[Hemdale Film Corporation]], [[Island Alive]], [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] (except the Embassy library), and [[Pacific International Enterprises]], as well as several HBO movies, among possible others. Carolco also purchased the [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] production facility when DEG closed, and unsuccessfully attempted to buy both [[Orion Pictures]] and [[Media Home Entertainment]]. | |||
In November 1989, Vajna formed [[Cinergi Pictures Entertainment]], with [[The Walt Disney Company]] as a distribution partner; the following month, he sold his share of Carolco to Kasser for $106 million due to increasing disagreement between the two over the direction of the company. In 1990, Pioneer Electronic Corporation of Japan acquired a share of Carolco. Halfway through the year, Carolco entered into a joint venture with [[New Line Cinema]] to start [[Seven Arts Pictures]], which primarily released much of Carolco's low-budget output; the venture collapsed by 1992. The company also formed [[Carolco Home Video]], a home video label with what was by then known as [[Live Entertainment|Live Home Video]] as output partner. | |||
By 1992, however, Carolco entered financial trouble, with factors including overspending on their movies through reliance on star power and far-fetched deals (including paying Schwarzenegger a then-unheard-of $10-14 million for his work on ''Total Recall'' and ''Terminator 2: Judgement Day'' and giving Stallone similar treatment), mixing blockbusters with small-budget, unprofitable arthouse films and losses of partnerships. That year, the company went under a corporate restructuring, invested in by a partnership of Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera of Italy, [[StudioCanal|Le Studio Canal+]] of France, Pioneer and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Each partner helped infuse up to $60 million into the studio's stock and another $50 million for co-financing deals. The following year, Carolco was forced to sell its shares in Live to a group of investors led by Pioneer. | |||
Cutbacks at Carolco also played a role in their eventual demise. The studio provided half of the budget for ''Cliffhanger'', another Stallone-led action film, to TriStar, but would have to sell full distribution rights in North America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and France so it could properly fund the film. This decision wound up hurting Carolco; despite the film being a major box-office success, Carolco saw little profit as the company ended up becoming a minority owner in the movie. Carolco filed a lawsuit against [[Columbia Pictures]], TriStar's eventual corporate sibling, and [[Viacom Productions|Viacom]] in an attempt to gain the home video and television rights to a eventually unrealized ''Spider-Man'' movie with James Cameron attached as producer; the lawsuit would backfire when Columbia and Viacom counter-sued Carolco, and the studio also became sued by MGM. These lawsuits, which the studio lost, caused Carolco to lose more money and also cost them the film rights to ''Spider-Man''. Carolco's attempt to make more of its specialties would also prove to be more strenuous; they would be forced to shelve ''Crusade'', another Schwarzenegger vehicle based on a script by Walon Green and with Paul Verhoeven, who worked with Carolco on ''Total Recall'', attached as director, in 1994 when that film's budget exceeded $100 million. However, the studio managed to complete a merger with The Vista Organization in late October 1993, and made a new agreement with MGM to distribute its films in North America. | |||
The studio attempted a comeback with ''Cutthroat Island'', a big-budget swashbuckler directed by ''Cliffhanger'' director Renny Harlin, and with actor Michael Douglas as the lead. However, Douglas dropped out early in production, and Matthew Modine, a less-bankable actor, was cast as the lead afterward. Female lead Geena Davis, Harlin's then-wife, was already an established A-lister but was coming off a string of flops. MGM hoped to advertise ''Cutthroat Island'' based on spectacle rather than cast. Carolco sold off the rights to several films in production, including ''Last of the Dogmen'', ''Stargate'' and ''Showgirls''; the French company [[Chargeurs]] ultimately brought the latter. The sell-off was done in an attempt to raise more financing for ''Cutthroat Island'', which had a staggering projected $90-100 million budget. The studio ran out of funds in October 1994; Pioneer would then invest another $8 million | |||
In April 1995, Carolco announced that it was unable to make interest payments on $55 million in debt; that November, the studio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. ''Cutthroat Island'' was released that Christmas and became a box-office disaster, losing $147 million. Carolco went bankrupt not long after the disastrous release of ''Cutthroat Island'', and the company agreed to sell its assets to [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] for $50 million. In January 1996, however, [[Canal+]] made a $58 million bid for Carolco's library. Not long after, 20th Century Fox, which by then lowered its purchase price to $47.5 million, dropped its deal. Carolco closed soon after. Cinergi remained active until it too shut down in 1998 following a string of critically and commercially unsuccessful movies. Kassar and Vajna later reinstated their partnership and founded [[C2 Pictures]], which shut down in 2008. | |||
Film producer Alexander Bafer purchased the Carolco name and logo years later. On January 21, 2015, it was announced that Brick Top Productions, Bafer's production company, had adopted the Carolco name and logo, with Mario Kassar as the company's chief development executive. However, on April 7, 2016, it was announced that Bafer and Kasser had both left the company, Kasser taking with him one of Carolco's planned products, a remake of the 1999 Japanese horror film ''Audition'' which he was producing. investor Tarek Kirschen was then inducted as Carolco's CEO. The new Carolco soon ran into legal trouble with StudioCanal over the use of the Carolco name and logo. In 2017, StudioCanal and Carolco reached an agreement whereby StudioCanal would have sole control of the Carolco name and logo and the new Carolco would be renamed "Recall Studios". The arrangement took effect on November 29 of that year. | |||
Today, the ancillary rights to a majority of Carolco's library including the Carolco name and logo are held by the French production company [[StudioCanal]], and because of this, the new Carolco had to change its name to Recall Studios. North American TV and streaming rights belong to [[Paramount Pictures]] through [[Trifecta Entertainment & Media]] on Paramount's behalf, due to a previous TV distribution deal with [[Worldvision Enterprises]], and [[Lionsgate Home Entertainment]] continues to hold the domestic and digital home video rights (via a new output deal with StudioCanal), while the international home video rights are held by a different company for each country. Exceptions include ''Cliffhanger'', which is distributed in the U.S. and some foreign territories by Sony Pictures Entertainment (due to TriStar being given complete distribution rights in those territories as explained above), ''Last of the Dogmen'', which was originally released by [[Savoy Pictures]] and is now owned by the film's producer Joel Michaels, who licensed the film to Kino Lorber for a Blu-Ray release, and ''Showgirls'', which Carolco sold off to [[Chargeurs]] during pre-production, and is distributed in North America by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios]]. MGM also continues to hold the rights to ''Showgirls'' (as stated earlier) and the streaming rights to ''Stargate'', the latter of which they also developed into a multimedia franchise since its release. Carolco did not use a logo until 1985; before then, its films merely used an in-credit notice. | |||
{{ImageTOC | {{ImageTOC | ||
| Line 29: | Line 47: | ||
</tabber> | </tabber> | ||
'''Visuals:''' Against a starry space background, a blue streak of light zooms out, flashes, and forms a bronze, swirly "C". The process repeats twice, working its way outward, before forming the Carolco logo, which consists of a large, stylized "C" formed by many 3D swirls. Afterwards, the logo shines brightly as the words "CAROLCO" (in the Hanzel font and in silver) shine in underneath. The logo then sparkles. | '''Visuals:''' Against a starry space background, a blue streak of light zooms out, flashes, and forms a bronze, swirly "C". The process repeats twice, working its way outward, before forming the Carolco logo, which consists of a large, stylized "C" formed by many 3D swirls. Afterwards, the logo shines brightly as the words "{{color|silver|'''CAROLCO'''}}" (in the Hanzel font and in silver) shine in underneath. The logo then sparkles. | ||
'''Variant:''' A <u>still version</u> exists. | '''Variant:''' A <u>still version</u> exists. | ||
| Line 62: | Line 80: | ||
</tabber> | </tabber> | ||
'''Visuals:''' The logo starts out being in a black background with two silver streaks hitting diagonally from the opposite sides of the screen (lower-left and upper-right corners of the screen). The streaks merge and they have one or two beams of smaller light coming from them. Afterward, the streaks form the same "C" from the previous logo, but now colored in light blue/silver. "CAROLCO" appears below the "C", and flashes/shines in a bright orange light. | '''Visuals:''' The logo starts out being in a black background with two silver streaks hitting diagonally from the opposite sides of the screen (lower-left and upper-right corners of the screen). The streaks merge and they have one or two beams of smaller light coming from them. Afterward, the streaks form the same "C" from the previous logo, but now colored in light blue/silver. "'''CAROLCO'''" appears below the "C", and flashes/shines in a bright orange light. | ||
'''Variants:''' | '''Variants:''' | ||
| Line 94: | Line 112: | ||
</tabber> | </tabber> | ||
'''Visuals:''' Against a black background, a blue laser carves out a series of curves, making its way inward as it slowly turns up, revealing the "C" used in the previous two logos. Then, the logo shines brightly in a "wind tunnel" effect and zooms-out. As the shining ends, the logo is silver, and the | '''Visuals:''' Against a black background, a blue laser carves out a series of curves, making its way inward as it slowly turns up, revealing the "C" used in the previous two logos. Then, the logo shines brightly in a "wind tunnel" effect and zooms-out. As the shining ends, the logo is silver, and the word "{{color|silver|'''CAROLCO'''}}" zooms out below. The logo shines once more. | ||
'''Trivia:''' On international prints of ''The Wizard'', this logo didn't actually plaster over the [[Universal Pictures]] logo. Instead, the logo would play as normal with the music and would then be followed by the film with the Universal logo blacked out. | '''Trivia:''' On international prints of ''The Wizard'', this logo didn't actually plaster over the [[Universal Pictures]] logo. Instead, the logo would play as normal with the music and would then be followed by the film with the Universal logo blacked out. | ||
| Line 115: | Line 133: | ||
'''Availability:''' Seen on films such as ''Terminator 2: Judgement Day'', ''Total Recall'', ''Rambo III'', and others. | '''Availability:''' Seen on films such as ''Terminator 2: Judgement Day'', ''Total Recall'', ''Rambo III'', and others. | ||
*Carolco went to TriStar Pictures for 80% of their releases. For most VHS releases, TV airings and other home media and streaming prints, Carolco's logo is kept while TriStar's logo is deleted; exceptions include ''DeepStar Six'', ''Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw'', ''Cliffhanger'' (owned by Sony Pictures), ''Homeboy'' (Fandango at Home and YouTube prints), the British DVD of ''Music Box'', ''Total Recall'' (releases since 2001, including AMC's print), ''Hamlet'' (1990) (French SECAM VHS, among possible others), ''Basic Instinct'', ''Red Heat'' (on the IVE screener and all releases since 1999), the 1998/99 widescreen DVD release of ''Mountains of the Moon'', ''Air America'' (from the 2004 DVD release on), ''The Doors'', ''L.A. Story'' (particularly the 15th Anniversary DVD of that film), ''Narrow Margin'' (the German DVD and syndicated prints from [[Worldvision Enterprises|Worldvision]]/[[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]/[[Trifecta Entertainment & Media|Trifecta]]), the 1998 widescreen LaserDisc release of ''Terminator 2: Judgement Day'' (as well as Paramount+/Pluto TV/FX/Fandango at Home prints, an Australian DVD release, the 2005 PSP UMD, and a 2015 Encore broadcast, reportedly), ''They Live'' (non-American media, possibly), ''Chaplin'' (the original Live Entertainment DVD from 1998 has only the Carolco logo), and ''Universal Soldier'' (not on the Live Entertainment DVD release, however). | *Carolco went to TriStar Pictures for 80% of their releases. For most VHS releases, TV airings and other home media and streaming prints, Carolco's logo is kept while TriStar's logo is deleted; exceptions include ''DeepStar Six'', ''Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw'', ''Cliffhanger'' (owned by Sony Pictures), ''Homeboy'' (Fandango at Home and YouTube prints), the British DVD of ''Music Box'', ''Total Recall'' (releases since 2001, including AMC's print), ''Hamlet'' (1990) (French SECAM VHS, among possible others), ''Basic Instinct'', ''Red Heat'' (on the IVE screener and all releases since 1999), the 1998/99 widescreen DVD release of ''Mountains of the Moon'', ''Air America'' (from the 2004 DVD release on), ''The Doors'', ''L.A. Story'' (particularly the 15th Anniversary DVD of that film), ''Narrow Margin'' (the German DVD and syndicated prints from [[Worldvision Enterprises|Worldvision]]/[[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]/[[Trifecta Entertainment & Media|Trifecta]]), the 1998 widescreen LaserDisc release of ''Terminator 2: Judgement Day'' (as well as Paramount+/Pluto TV/FX/Fandango at Home prints, an Australian DVD release, the 2005 PSP UMD, and a 2015 Encore broadcast, reportedly), ''They Live'' (non-American media, possibly), ''Chaplin'' (the original Live Entertainment DVD from 1998 has only the Carolco logo), and ''Universal Soldier'' (not on the Live Entertainment DVD release, however). | ||
*Whenever Encore and Telemundo air ''Rambo III'', the current Paramount Pictures logo (the 90th Anniversary version on Telemundo's print, cut off by a few seconds at the beginning) | *Whenever Encore and Telemundo air ''Rambo III'', the current Paramount Pictures logo (the 90th Anniversary version on Telemundo's print, cut off by a few seconds at the beginning) plasters the TriStar logo but leaves Carolco's intact (on AMC airings, both logos are plastered by the Paramount logo), while Encore's airing of ''DeepStar Six'' shows the Paramount logo in addition to the TriStar and Carolco logos. | ||
*On ''Wagons East!'', the last movie to use this logo, it appears after the 1993 TriStar logo ( | *On ''Wagons East!'', the last movie to use this logo, it appears after the 1993 TriStar logo (all other TriStar releases with this logo had it follow the 1984 TriStar logo), both preceded by the Live Entertainment logo on TV prints (except [[Lionsgate Films|Lionsgate]]'s 2013 syndicated print) and on the VHS release. | ||
*It also plasters the 1st logo on the 1988 and 1998 VHS releases of ''Rambo: First Blood Part II''. | *It also plasters the 1st logo on the 1988 and 1998 VHS releases of ''Rambo: First Blood Part II''. | ||
*U.S. prints of ''Repossessed'' have the [[Seven Arts Pictures|Seven Arts]] logo instead, though the print logo still appears at the end and the actual logo appears on the 2003 Artisan Entertainment DVD. Some prints have the Seven Arts logo, but with the Carolco music. | *U.S. prints of ''Repossessed'' have the [[Seven Arts Pictures|Seven Arts]] logo instead, though the print logo still appears at the end and the actual logo appears on the 2003 Artisan Entertainment DVD. Some prints have the Seven Arts logo, but with the Carolco music. | ||
| Line 138: | Line 156: | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
'''Visuals:''' Essentially just a superimposed in-credit logo of Carolco, the "C" in gold with "CAROLCO" below, in a very small size. | '''Visuals:''' Essentially just a superimposed in-credit logo of Carolco, the "C" in gold with "{{color|gold|'''CAROLCO'''}}" below, in a very small size. | ||
'''Variant:''' <u>Later on, when Carolco was revived</u>, the logo appears larger and has a silver look, with a copyright notice below. | '''Variant:''' <u>Later on, when Carolco was revived</u>, the logo appears larger and has a silver look, with a copyright notice below. | ||
| Line 154: | Line 172: | ||
{{Youtube|id=https://youtu.be/TLq1h0p3bCI}} | {{Youtube|id=https://youtu.be/TLq1h0p3bCI}} | ||
'''Visuals:''' It's essentially the same as the 1988 logo, but this time done with modern CGI effects. The "CAROLCO" name is also in a thicker font. | '''Visuals:''' It's essentially the same as the 1988 logo, but this time done with modern CGI effects. The "{{color|silver|'''CAROLCO'''}}" name is also in a thicker font. | ||
'''Technique:''' CGI. | '''Technique:''' CGI. | ||