Act III Communications is a media and entertainment company owned by TV producer

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...

. It was started in 1985 following Lear's sale of

Embassy Communications ELP Communications (formerly known as T.A.T. Communications Company, Embassy Television, Embassy Telecommunications, and Embassy Communications) was an American television production company that originally began in 1974. History Beginning EL ...

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

. In a Wall St. Journal interview in 1988, Lear explained the name by noting that in a Shakespeare play there are always more than three acts and that he expects there to be an Act IV and V. Act III is Lear's business vehicle and is unconnected to his other activities as a political activist and philanthropist.

Act III notable investments and ventures

Among the many activities of Act III Communications are a minority interest in

Village Roadshow Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures is the American subsidiary of the Australian co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures established in 1986. It is a division under Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is o ...

(VRP); an ownership interest in

Concord Music Group Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings ( Fearless Records, Concord R ...

(later merged with VRP to create Village Roadshow Entertainment Group); Act III Broadcasting; Act III Theatres; Act III Publishing; and Act III Television, a joint venture formed with

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

in February 1989; and Act III Merchandising which handles the merchandising for "

The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...

" among other properties. Act III Broadcasting was divested for approximately $500 million in 1994/95 to ABRY Partners; Act III Theatres was divested to KKR in 1997 for just under $700 million while Concord Music Group was divested in 2013 to Wood Creek Capital for $115 million. Act III/Lear continue to own the two Rob Reiner directed films it produced, '' Stand By Me'' and ''The Princess Bride''. Act III/Lear continues to hold an interest in

/Village Roadshow Entertainment.

Village Roadshow Pictures

Through a group led by Act III Communications, in January 2006,

and his partner Hal Gaba purchased 50% of

(VRP), the Los Angeles-based, U.S. film production arm of Village Roadshow Limited, one of Australia's leading entertainment and media companies. Their entity, Crescent Film Group included longtime associate Michael Lambert through Lambert Media Group and

Clarity Partners Clarity Partners, LP is a private equity firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California that focuses on investments in media, telecommunications and business services. Clarity Partners also manages an affiliated China investment private equity fun ...

as investors. Crescent invested $115 million for the interest in VRP. The Australian parent, Village Roadshow Limited (VRL) also operates movie theaters; film production and distribution in Australia; TVand Video distribution; radio stations; and theme parks including "Warner Movie World." VRP co-produces and/or co-finances 6-8 movies per year. Historically a long-term partner with Warner Brothers, VRP moved its distribution to Sony Pictures in 2014. VRP's library includes films such as '' The Great Gatsby'', ''

Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'', '' The Lego Movie'', the ''Matrix'' trilogy, ''

Miss Congeniality Miss Congeniality may refer to: * ''Miss Congeniality'' (film), 2000 film, directed by Donald Petrie, starring Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt **'' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'', a 2005 sequel *A special award, the "Miss Congeniality A ...

'', ''

Training Day ''Training Day'' is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period in the gang- ...

'', ''

Ocean's Eleven ''Ocean's Eleven'' is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The fil ...

'' and its sequels, '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', and others. This interest has been diluted with subsequent expansion and re-capitalizations of VRP but remains a significant interest for Act III. Village Roadshow Pictures used the $115 million invested by Crescent to repay an inter-company loan of $100 million owed to its parent company, as well as pay a $15 million dividend to the existing VRP shareholders and management.

Concord Music Group

is also chairman emeritus of the

(aka Concord Records) one of the world's largest independent record and music publishing companies, which was acquired by Lear and his associate Hal Gaba in 1999 and divested to Wood Creek Capital in 2013. Concord is one of the leading producers and distributors of classic and contemporary Jazz musicians and also owns the legendary Stax label which it acquired in 2004 as part of the Fantasy Records acquisition. Concord was acquired as a labor of love at the urging of Lear's long time associate and then-CEO of Act III Communications Hal Gaba. Gaba was CEO of Act III from late 1990, when he succeeded Tom McGrath, until his death in 2009. Gaba had long dreamed of owning a record company and in 1999 he developed the Concorde opportunity. The Concord Music Group had/has an extensive roster of household name artists that includes one of Gaba's favorite singers, who was also a personal friend -

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

(Gaba produced a live tribute show regarding Frank Sinatra that included marrying archival film footage with live performances called ''Sinatra, His Voice, His World'' that played

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

). Other artists on Concord's labels include

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

, John Coltrane,

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Sergio Mendes Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Se ...

and

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

. Concord Records started a relationship with

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

in 2003 that reached a high point with the release of '' Genius Loves Company'',

’ last recording. The album went on to win 8 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. In early 2007, Concord and

launched a joint venture record label – Hear Music. With guaranteed distribution at thousands of Starbucks store, the label attracted

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

who left

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

for the new label.

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

all recorded for Hear Music before the partnership was terminated by

which was reacting to the general decline in physical sales of recorded music that made the label unprofitable.

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group

In 2008,

merged into

to form

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Village Roadshow Pictures is the American subsidiary of the Australian co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures established in 1986. It is a division under Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is o ...

(VREG). Investors in VREG included the shareholders of Crescent as shown above, as well as Australia's Village Roadshow Limited and Tailwind Capital

was sold to Wood Creek Capital, an affiliate of Mass Mutual Insurance in 2013 for approximately $115 million.

Film productions

* '' Stand by Me'' (1986) - distributed by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

* ''

'' (1987) - production company * '' Breaking In'' (1989) (as Act III Productions) * '' Pyrates'' (1991) * ''

Fried Green Tomatoes ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel ''Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, Jessic ...

'' (1991)

Theater productions

* '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' (play, comedy, revival) - produced by Act III Productions (Norman Lear, founder) Jun 26, 1986 - Jan 03, 1987, starring Jean Stapleton and Tony Roberts; opened on Broadway following a national tour

Television productions

* ''

Sunday Dinner A Sunday roast or roast dinner is a traditional meal of British and Irish origin. Although it can be consumed throughout the week, it is traditionally consumed on Sunday. It consists of roasted meat, roasted potatoes and accompaniments su ...

'' - 1991 CBS (6 episodes) * ''

The Powers That Be In idiomatic English, "the powers that be" (sometimes initialized as TPTB) is a phrase used to refer to those individuals or groups who collectively hold authority over a particular domain. Within this phrase, the word ''be'' is an archaic vari ...

'' - 1992-1993 NBC (21 episodes),

, Executive Producer * ''

704 Hauser ''704 Hauser'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of ''All in the Family'' (the final of several) that aired on CBS from April 11 to May 9, 1994. The series is built around the concept of a black family, the Cumberbatch Family ...

'' CBS 1994 (6 episodes) * ''

Channel Umptee-3 ''Channel Umptee-3'' (also known simply as ''Umptee-3'') is a Saturday morning animated television series created by Jim George and produced by Norman Lear. It aired on The WB as part of the Kids' WB programming block from 1997 to 1998. The one ...

'' (animated) - 1997-1998 WB (13 episodes) * ''Tait Stages'' - AXS TV 2013 (13 episodes) * ''

America Divided ''America Divided'' is an American documentary television series, created by Solly Granatstein, Lucian Read, and Richard Rowley, that premiered on September 30, 2016, on Epix. Premise ''America Divided'' in Season One explored "critical societ ...

'' (miniseries) - EPIX 2016 (5 episodes) * '' One Day at a Time'' - Netflix/Pop (41 episodes)

Shareholders

Act III was initially formed by Lear as a 100% controlled investment and management vehicle for his post-Embassy Communications business activities. In January 1989, Tractebel S.A., a large Belgian utility company with interests in Cable TV in Europe acquired a 20% equity stake in Act III Communications for $30 million, placing a value on the start-up venture's equity of $150 million. Tractebel was headed by Baron Philippe Bodson who oversaw the formation of Tractebell from the merger of Tractionel and Electrobel. Société Générale de Belgique (SGB) holds 50.3% of Tractebel's stock. SGB, Belgium's largest holding company, is in turn controlled by France's Suez-Lyonnaise, the holding giant formed by the merger of Compagnie de Suez and Lyonnaise des Eaux in early 1997. Tractebel sold its shares back to Act III and related parties in 1991.

References

External links

* {{Norman Lear Mass media companies established in 1985 Mass media companies of the United States Norman Lear Film distributors of the United States 1985 establishments in the United States