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Cinergi Pictures Inc. was an American independent film production company founded by
Andrew G. Vajna Andrew G. Vajna (born András György Vajna; 1 August 1944 – 20 January 2019) was a Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the ''Rambo'' series, '' Total Recall'', '' Tombstone'', ''Die Hard with a Vengeance' ...
in 1989, after he had sold his interest in his first production company, Carolco International Pictures. The company had a number of major hit films, most notably '' Tombstone'', ''
Die Hard with a Vengeance ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the chara ...
'' and ''
Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...
''. However, the majority of their films lost money. A string of
box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
s – including ''
Renaissance Man A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
'', ''
Color of Night ''Color of Night'' is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Buena Vista Pictures (through its Hollywood Pictures label). Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Wil ...
'', ''
Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running ...
'', ''
The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...
'', ''
Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
'', ''
Shadow Conspiracy ''Shadow Conspiracy'' is a 1997 American political thriller film starring Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Linda Hamilton, and Sam Waterston. It was the final film directed by George P. Cosmatos, who died in 2005. The film was poorly received by ...
'', ''
Deep Rising ''Deep Rising'' is a 1998 American action horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Treat Williams, Famke Janssen and Anthony Heald. It was distributed by Hollywood Pictures and Cinergi Pictures and released on February 2, ...
'' and '' An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn'' – ultimately did the company in, and it was dissolved on February 27, 1998. Cinergi Pictures' library is now owned by
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
.


Pre-founding

Andrew G. Vajna Andrew G. Vajna (born András György Vajna; 1 August 1944 – 20 January 2019) was a Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the ''Rambo'' series, '' Total Recall'', '' Tombstone'', ''Die Hard with a Vengeance' ...
, a Hungarian native, launched his career in the entertainment industry with his purchase of motion picture theaters in the Far East. Later, he founded Panasia Films Limited in Hong Kong before forming Carolco with Mario Kassar in 1976. In less than four years, Carolco became one of the top three foreign sales organizations in motion pictures. In 1982, Vajna and Kassar made their film production debut with the highly successful '' First Blood'', starring Sylvester Stallone. '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' was released in 1985, generating more than $300 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable films in the history of filmmaking. Vajna and Kassar were executive producers on such films as Alan Parker's ''
Angel Heart ''Angel Heart'' is a 1987 American neo-noir psychological horror film, an adaptation of William Hjortsberg's 1978 novel ''Falling Angel''. The film was written and directed by Alan Parker, and stars Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, an ...
'', ''
Rambo III ''Rambo III'' is a 1988 American action film directed by Peter MacDonald and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985), it is the third i ...
'', and ''
Johnny Handsome ''Johnny Handsome'' is a 1989 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Walter Hill and starring Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Forest Whitaker and Morgan Freeman. The film was written by Ken Friedman, and adapted from the novel ''The Thre ...
''. Other projects included ''
Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'' ...
'', '' Total Recall'', '' Air America'', '' Mountains of the Moon'', ''
Narrow Margin ''Narrow Margin'' is a 1990 American neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Peter Hyams, loosely based on the 1952 film noir '' The Narrow Margin''. The film stars Gene Hackman and Anne Archer, with James Sikking, J. T. Walsh, ...
'', and ''
Jacob's Ladder Jacob's Ladder ( he, סֻלָּם יַעֲקֹב ) is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of th ...
''.


History

Cinergi Pictures Entertainment was founded in 1989 after leaving Carolco. Vajna's strategy was to develop long-term relationships with certain talent and to produce a steady supply of two to four event motion pictures per year. Upon forming Cinergi, Vajna established an alliance with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
for distribution of Cinergi motion pictures in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Cinergi's first production, ''
Medicine Man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cerem ...
'' starring Oscar-winner Sean Connery, was followed by ''
Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
'' in co-production with
Allied Filmmakers Allied Filmmakers was a British film production company, founded by Jake Eberts in London in 1985 as a film branch from Pathé. Production filmography *'' Hope and Glory'' (1987; uncredited) *''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988) *''Las ...
and Lightmotive, '' Tombstone'' starring
Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...
and Kurt Russell and ''
Renaissance Man A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
'' starring
Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...
. In 1994, Cinergi released ''
Color of Night ''Color of Night'' is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Buena Vista Pictures (through its Hollywood Pictures label). Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Wil ...
'' starring
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
,
Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...
, and
Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...
. With the exception of ''Tombstone'', all of those films flopped at the box office. In 1992, Cinergi was hired to manage Sovereign Pictures' library, producer of '' Reversal of Fortune''. Cinergi went public in 1994 with Vajna converting $33.6 loans to equity. There was another public offering of share in 1995. In 1995, Cinergi released ''
Die Hard with a Vengeance ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the chara ...
'' starring
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
,
Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
, and
Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
. To date, the film has grossed over $300 million worldwide. That film was followed by ''
Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running ...
'' starring Sylvester Stallone, ''
The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...
'' with
Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...
, and Oliver Stone's epic ''
Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
'', starring
Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...
. The last film released was '' An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn''. In the early 1990s, Cinergi started up a VFX company, Mass.Illusion, in Massachusetts.


Closing

The box office and budgets for their films began to fall in late 1996, and Cinergi Pictures eventually closed on February 27, 1998. The company's film ''
Broadway Brawler ''Broadway Brawler'' is an unfinished romantic comedy film that was to star Bruce Willis and Maura Tierney and be directed by Lee Grant. It was produced by Willis and Joseph Feury for Cinergi Pictures, and was to have been distributed by The Walt ...
'' involving Bruce Willis had abruptly stopped production in March 1997. After a year on consulting, Disney and Cinergi decided to wind down the company. Disney canceled $38 million in production advance owed and 5% of Cinergi shares in exchange for most of the film rights excluding the international rights of ''
Die Hard with a Vengeance ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the chara ...
'', which was acquired by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, which ironically was bought by Disney. The company was separately selling its development slate, a special effects facility and the “Evita” soundtrack. The development slate included Oliver Stone project underwritten in a first-look deal. Shareholders were expected to get between $2 and $2.50 per share back. The company's development projects sold through an auction to Vajna for $4.75 million. In September 1997, Vajna made a bid to purchase the company's stock at $2.30 a share which was considered underwhelming by Wall Street with the company expect to have $3.48 a share in cash or $45 million. The buyout would only cost him $15 million give his and his other own companies' shares in Cinergi. The “Evita” soundtrack and the Stone project were still not sold. Vajna had tasked Mass.Illusion former executive producer Michael Van Himbergen and Roger Davis to sell the VFX company, which had about $1 million in debt, expert staff, likely contract for a film, ''
The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...
'' and ''What Dreams May Come'' special effects contract worth $7.5 million. Van Himbergen found Manex Group of Ohio to assume the company's debt. Three years earlier, Kassar's
Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco h ...
had also collapsed; Vajna and Kassar eventually became partners again in 2002 to form C2 Pictures. In 2003, Vajna bought a
videogame Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedb ...
company, Games Unlimited, and renamed it Cinergi Interactive.http://www.cinergi-interactive.com/CI%20new%20web/main%20corporate.htm The company went on to acquire 4 development studios:
Black Hole Entertainment Black Hole Entertainment (also known as Black Hole Games) was a Hungary, Hungarian video game developer, founded in 2001 in Budapest by seven young game enthusiasts. The company's first title was ''Armies of Exigo'', developed with the financial ...
, Clever's Games, Artex Entertainment and Digic Pictures before closing in 2007.


Filmography

In the United States, Buena Vista Pictures through their Touchstone Pictures and
Hollywood Pictures Hollywood Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Established on February 1, 1989, by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood ...
imprints distributed Cinergi's movies. Cinergi division Cinergi Productions N.V. Inc. handled distribution of the company's films worldwide, which they farmed out to many independent film distributors around the world, however this excludes the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Australia rights to ''
Die Hard with a Vengeance ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the chara ...
'', a co-production with
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
(and which Disney distributed in most international territories until acquiring worldwide rights in 2019 after the merger with Fox).


References

{{Walt Disney Television Entertainment companies established in 1989 Mass media companies established in 1989 Companies disestablished in 1998 Defunct American film studios Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Santa Monica, California 1989 establishments in California 1998 disestablishments in California Defunct film and television production companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Film production companies of the United States American independent film studios Walt Disney Studios (division) The Walt Disney Company subsidiaries