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Producers Sales Organization
Producers Sales Organization (PSO; also known as PSO Productions, Inc.) was an independent motion picture production and sales company founded in 1977. Initiated by Mark Damon, an actor-turned-producer, PSO mostly handled foreign sales of independent films. It was initially a partnership between Damon, producer Sandy Howard, and Richard St. Johns, who worked for Arthur Guinness Son & Co. At one point, it was a subsidiary of Guinness. In its final years of existence, PSO briefly became a full-fledged production company, setting up operations on March 27, 1984, through subsidiary PSO Presentations. On April 10, 1984, a major shake-up happened in the sales and acquisition department and executive Eleanor Powell moved position to become deputy managing director of the company. In November 1984, PSO merged with film financing firm The Delphi Companies; the resulting company, PSO-Delphi, forged a domestic theatrical distribution deal with TriStar Pictures and a home video distribution ...
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Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor. Bankrupt is not the only legal status that an insolvent person may have, and the term ''bankruptcy'' is therefore not a synonym for insolvency. Etymology The word ''bankruptcy'' is derived from Italian ''banca rotta'', literally meaning "broken bank". The term is often described as having originated in renaissance Italy, where there allegedly existed the tradition of smashing a banker's bench if he defaulted on payment so that the public could see that the banker, the owner of the bench, was no longer in a condition to continue his business, although some dismiss this as a false etymology. History In Ancient Greece, bankruptcy did not exist. If a man owed and he could not pay, he and his wife, children or servants were forced into ...
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Chemical Bank
Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996. At the end of 1995, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with about $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees around the world. Beginning in 1920 and accelerating in the 1980s and 1990s, Chemical was a leading consolidator of the U.S. banking industry, acquiring Chase Manhattan Bank, Manufacturers Hanover, Texas Commerce Bank and Corn Exchange Bank among others. After 1968, the bank operated as the primary subsidiary of a bank holding company that was eventually renamed Chemical Banking Corporation. In 1996, Chemical acquired Chase Manhattan Corporation in a merger valued at $10 billion to create the largest financial institution in the United States. Although Chemical was the acquiring company and the nominal survivor, the merged bank adopted the Chase name, which was considered to be better known, particularly internationally. Overview of the company Chemical Ban ...
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Das Boot
''Das Boot'' (, English: "The Boat") is a 1981 West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann. It has been exhibited both as a theatrical release and a TV miniseries (1985). There are also several different home video versions as well as a director's cut supervised by Petersen in 1997. An adaptation of Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 German novel of the same name based on his experiences aboard , the film is set during World War II and follows ''U-96'' and its crew, as they set out on a hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. It depicts both the excitement of battle and the tedium of the fruitless hunt, and shows the men serving aboard U-boats as ordinary individuals with a desire to do their best for their comrades and their country. Development began in 1979. Several American directors were considered three years earlier before the film was shelved. ...
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The Final Countdown (film)
''The Final Countdown'' is a 1980 American science fiction war film about a modern nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that travels through time to the day before the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Produced by Peter Douglas and Lloyd Kaufman (founder of Troma Entertainment) and directed by Don Taylor, the film contains an ensemble cast starring Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Katharine Ross and Charles Durning. This was the final film by Don Taylor. Kaufman also served as an associate producer and had a minor acting role. The film was produced with the cooperation of the United States Navy's naval aviation branch and the United States Department of Defense. It was set and filmed on board (CVN-68), filming operations of the modern nuclear warship, which had been launched in the early 1970s. ''The Final Countdown'' was a moderate success at the box office. Plot In 1980, the aircraft carrier was departing Naval Station Pearl Harbor for naval exercises i ...
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Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980 Film)
''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a 1980 British family film directed by Jack Gold and starring Alec Guinness, Rick Schroder, Eric Porter, Connie Booth, and Colin Blakely. It is based on the 1886 children's novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Plot synopsis Young Cedric 'Ceddie' Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1870s New York after the death of his father. He was the favorite son of Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, because the other two were wastrels and weaklings. But the Earl has long ago disowned his son for marrying outside the aristocracy. Cedric's two best friends were Mr. Hobbs the grocer (a Democrat and anti-aristocrat) and Dick Tipton the bootblack. After his other two sons die, leaving Cedric the heir apparent to the earldom, Lord Dorincourt sends Mr. Havisham, his lawyer, to America to bring Cedric to Britain. Havisham is authorized to buy expensive gifts for Cedric, but the boy chooses to buy an engraved gold watch for H ...
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A Change Of Seasons (film)
''A Change of Seasons'' is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by Richard Lang. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Shirley MacLaine and Bo Derek. The film was a critical and commercial failure, grossing $7.2 million against its $6 million budget and receiving three nominations at the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Actor (Hopkins), Worst Screenplay. Plot When fortysomething Karyn Evans discovers her arrogantly self-centered professor husband Adam is having an affair with student Lindsey Rutledge, she retaliates by having a dalliance of her own with young, philosophical campus carpenter Pete Lachappelle. Adam is infuriated when he learns about his wife's new relationship, and she in turn defends her right to enjoy the same carnal pleasures he does. The four decide to share a Vermont ski house, where their efforts to behave like liberal adults are tested by middle-age angst, hurt feelings, and teenager Kasey Evans (played by Mary Beth Hurt who was 34 at the time), who ...
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The Wanderers (1979 Film)
''The Wanderers'' is a 1979 American film co-written and directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen, Toni Kalem, Tony Ganios and Jim Youngs. Set in the Bronx in 1963, the film follows a gang of Italian-American teenagers known as the Wanderers and their ongoing power struggles with rival gangs such as the Baldies and the Wongs. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Price; its screenplay was written by Philip Kaufman and his wife Rose. The film had a troubled development stage: after unsuccessfully trying to obtain financing for ''The Wanderers'' from Alberto Grimaldi, Kaufman directed other films. After filming the remake of ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'', Kaufman went to New York and successfully pitched ''The Wanderers'' to Martin Ransohoff. The film's budget is unknown, but Kaufman said it was relatively low. After an advance screening, ''The Wanderers'' premiered on July 13, 1979, to mostly positive reviews. ...
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Matilda (1978 Film)
''Matilda'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Daniel Mann and starring Elliott Gould, Robert Mitchum and Lionel Stander. The screenplay by Timothy Galfas is based on the eponymous 1970 novel by Paul Gallico. Plot A small-time talent agent discovers an amazing boxing kangaroo and figures to use him as his stepping-stone into the big time by having him compete with a human pugilist. Cast *Elliott Gould - Bernie Bonnelli *Clive Revill - Billy Baker *Harry Guardino - Uncle Nono *Roy Clark - Wild Bill Wildman *Karen Carlson - Kathleen Smith * Art Metrano - Gordon Baum *Lionel Stander - Pinky Schwab *Roberta Collins - Tanya Six *Larry Pennell - Lee Dockerty * Gary Morgan - Matilda *Robert Mitchum - Duke Parkhurst *Lenny Montana - Hood #1 * Frank Avianca - Hood #2 *Joe De Fish - Hood #3 * Pat Henry - Hood #4 Production The film was budgeted at $5.2 million. Producer Al Ruddy explained that "we debated over using both a real kangaroo and an actor in costume and opted for the l ...
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Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocalyptic action series '' Mad Max'' and as Martin Riggs in the buddy cop action-comedy film series '' Lethal Weapon''. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia, when he was 12 years old. He studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, where he starred opposite Judy Davis in a production of '' Romeo and Juliet''. During the 1980s, he founded Icon Entertainment, a production company, which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called "an alternative to the studio system". Director Peter Weir cast him as one of the leads in the World War I drama '' Gallipoli'' (1981), which earned Gibson a Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute,The Australian Film InstitutPast Winners as ...
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Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California, United States. In addition to its flagship Lionsgate Films division, the company contains other divisions such as Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate Interactive. It owns a variety of subsidiaries such as Summit Entertainment, Debmar-Mercury, and Starz Inc. History Early history Lionsgate was formed in 1997 by Frank Giustra with a $16 million investment including another $40 million from other investors which included Keyur Patel and Yorkton Securities' executives such as G. Scott Paterson. Giustra had recently retired as CEO from Yorkton, an investment bank, and Paterson was then president. Giustra then merged Lionsgate with Toronto Stock Exchange listed Beringer Gold Corp. (founded in 1986) to take the comp ...
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Jon Peters
John Peters (born June 2, 1945) is an American film producer and former hairdresser. Early life Peters was born on June 2, 1945 in Van Nuys, California. Peters is of Cherokee (father) and Italian (mother) descent. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, Peters's father died when he was eight years old and his mother later remarried; Peters was later expelled from school and sent to reform school for a year when he was 12. Career As a child, Peters was cast as an extra in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 film ''The Ten Commandments''. Prior to becoming a producer, Peters ran away from home at the age of 14 and moved to New York City, where he found work as a hairdresser and took his first job of dyeing women's pubic hair. Upon moving back to Los Angeles, he opened two salons and later took over his uncles' salon on Rodeo Drive, where he met Sue Mengers. In the early 1970s, he learned about Jay Sebring's method of cutting hair from Sebring's protégé Jim Markham, whereupon he des ...
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Peter Guber
Howard Peter Guber (born March 1, 1942) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, educator, and author. He is chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment. Guber's most recent films from Mandalay Entertainment include '' The Kids Are All Right'', '' Soul Surfer'' and '' Bernie''. He has also produced ''Rain Man'', '' Batman'', ''The Color Purple'', '' Midnight Express'', ''Gorillas in the Mist'', '' The Witches of Eastwick'', ''Missing'', and ''Flashdance''. Guber's films have grossed over $3 billion worldwide and received 50 Academy Award nominations. Guber is also co-owner of four professional sports teams: the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association, the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) of Major League Soccer, and the professional eSports organization aXiomatic Gaming with a controlling interest in one of the world's premier eSports franchises, Team Liquid. Guber formerly served as chairman of Dick Cl ...
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