Fireworks Entertainment (originally Skyvision Entertainment) was an independent studio originally founded in 1991 by Brian K. Ross and later bought out by

Jay Firestone Jay Firestone (born 13 October 1956) is a Canadian film and television producer. Personal Growing up in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Firestone was the third child of six born to Jewish parents Esther, the first female cantor in Canada, and Pa ...

in 1996 to produce, distribute and finance television shows and feature films.The Believer - Jay Firestone
Skyvision Entertainment was originally operating as a division of John Labatt Entertainment Group. In 1993,

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

inked an agreement with Skyvision Entertainment to handle series rights to the ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...

'' franchise. Also that year, it entered into an agreement with Rigel Entertainment for international distribution rights to '' RoboCop: The Series''. In 1996, Skyvision Entertainment was purchased by Jay Firestone, former employee of Alliance Communications, and rebranded it to Fireworks Entertainment. The first show under the new name was '' F/X: The Series'', which they acquired from Orion Pictures in 1994. Fireworks was acquired by

Canwest Global Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting an ...

in May 1998, and was later sold to ContentFilm (production company of ''

The Cooler ''The Cooler'' is a 2003 American crime drama film directed by Wayne Kramer, from a screenplay by Frank Hannah and Kramer. The film stars William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Estella Warren, Paul Sorvino, and Alec Baldw ...

''), a British company, in April 2005. Over the years, Fireworks has amassed a significant catalogue of television shows and movies (under the Fireworks Pictures label) In 1998, Peter Hoffman's Seven Arts Pictures formed an alliance with Fireworks to start out the Seven Arts International branding. In 2000, CanWest Films merged with Seven Arts International, another Canwest subsidiary to start the Fireworks Pictures branding to produce theatrical motion pictures. On October 2, 2001, Pliny Porter was hired as head of production and development for the Fireworks Pictures subsidiary, in order to make an effort to continue producing their own feature films. On March 14, 2011, Fireworks International was renamed as Content Television and its parent company, ContentFilm was also renamed as Content Media Corporation, which was later acquired by Canadian-based Kew Media Group in 2017 and after Kew Media's liquidation and collapse in 2020, its library was later acquired by

Quiver Distribution Quiver Distribution is an American-Canadian film production and film distribution company founded in 2019 by Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman. The company is best known for releasing films '' The Fanatic'', ''Running with the Devil ''Running wit ...

via its Quiver Entertainment division..

Court cases

The original company was sued by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

regarding

Queen of Swords The Queen of Swords is a card in the Suit of Swords, part of the Minor Arcana set of the Tarot. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, Tarot cards are utilized primarily for div ...

and 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 ...

regarding Mutant X.{{cite web, url=http://openjurist.org/277/f3d/253/twentieth-v-marvel , title=Retrieved February 21, 2010 , publisher=Openjurist.org , access-date=2012-12-29

Television shows (as Fireworks Entertainment)

TV shows filmed in widescreen 16:9 from 2000 but generally broadcast in 4:3 pan and scan. The widescreen versions are available on DVD. * ''

100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd ''100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd'' is a television sitcom created for Nickelodeon by Steven H. Berman, Mitchel Katlin, and Nat Bernstein. The series ran for three seasons, premiering on October 16, 1999, and airing its final episode on April 21, 2002 ...

'' * ''

18 Wheels of Justice ''18 Wheels of Justice'' is an American crime drama series that aired from 2000 to 2001 on TNN. It starred Lucky Vanous as federal agent Michael Cates (posing as a truck driver, with a Kenworth T2000 semi-truck), and G. Gordon Liddy as Jacob Cal ...

'' * ''

Adventure Inc. ''Adventure Inc.'' is a dramatised adventure television series produced primarily in Canada which aired from 30 September 2002 to 12 May 2003. It was a co-production of Fireworks Entertainment (Canada), Tribune Entertainment (United States), M6 ...

'' * '' Andromeda'' (

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

) * '' Black Hole High'' * ''

Caitlin's Way ''Caitlin's Way'' (aired in Australia under the title ''Just a Kid'') is a live action teen drama series that aired on Nickelodeon from 2000 to 2002. The show was co-created by Thomas W. Lynch. Premise ''Caitlin's Way'' focuses on Caitlin Seeg ...

'' * ''

Even Stevens ''Even Stevens'' is an American comedy television series that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003, airing a total of 65 episodes over three seasons. It follows the life of the Stevens, a family living in subur ...

'' (co-produced by

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

) * '' F/X: The Series'' * '' Highlander: The Raven'' * '' La Femme Nikita'' (co-produced by

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

) * '' Mutant X'' * ''

'' * '' Relic Hunter'' *'' RoboCop: The Series'' * '' RoboCop: Prime Directives'' (TV miniseries) *'' SCTV'' (distribution only; inherited from

WIC The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an American federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for healthcare and nutritio ...

during CanWest era) * '' Zoe Busiek: Wild Card'' * ''

Young Dracula ''Young Dracula'' is a British children's horror drama comedy television series which aired on CBBC, loosely based on ''Young Dracula'', a 2002 children's book by Michael Lawrence. It is also based on the epistolary novel ''Dracula'', writte ...

Films (as Fireworks Pictures)

* ''

A Wrinkle in Time ''A Wrinkle in Time'' is a Young adult fiction, young adult science fantasy novel written by American author Madeleine L'Engle. First published in 1962, the book won the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and ...

'' * ''

An American Rhapsody ''An American Rhapsody'' is a 2001 Hungarian-American biographical drama film that tells the story of a 15-year-old girl from a Hungarian-American family. The film is based on the true story of the director, Éva Gárdos, who also wrote the scri ...

'' * '' Better Than Sex'' * ''

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) * Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred to simply as "Coronado" * Coronado Chávez (1807–1881), President of Honduras from 1845 to 1847 Places United ...

'' * ''

Faithless Faithless are an English band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, '' Reverence'', was released in 1996 and their most recent, ''All Blessed'', in 2020. They have sold millions ...

'' * ''

Greenfingers ''Greenfingers'' is a 2000 British comedy film directed and written by Joel Hershman. It is loosely based on the true story about the award-winning prisoners of HMP Leyhill, a minimum-security prison in the Cotswolds, England, a story publish ...

'' * ''

Hardball Hardball, in English, more specifically American English, generally refers to baseball (as opposed to its variant softball), especially when played very competitively. Metaphorically, it refers to uncompromising and ruthless methods or dealings, ...

'' * ''

Innocence Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

'' * ''

Interstate 60 ''Interstate 60'' (also known as ''Interstate 60: Episodes of The Road'') is a 2002 American independent road film written and directed by Bob Gale, in his directorial debut, and starring James Marsden, Gary Oldman, Amy Smart, Christopher Lloyd, ...

'' * '' Me Without You'' * ''

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship. ...

'' * ''

Passionada ''Passionada'' is a 2002 romantic comedy film. It is directed by Dan Ireland and stars Jason Isaacs, Sofia Milos and Emmy Rossum, co-starring Seymour Cassel and Theresa Russell. The story is by David Bakalar, and the screenplay is by Jim and Stev ...

'' * ''

Raising Victor Vargas ''Raising Victor Vargas'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Sollett, written by Sollett and Eva Vives. The film follows Victor, a Lower East Side teenager, as he deals with his eccentric family, including his strict grandmothe ...

'' * ''

Rat Race A rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The phrase equates humans to rats attempting to earn a reward such as cheese, in vain. It may also refer to a competitive struggle to get ahead financially or routinely. The term is ...

'' * ''

Simon Magus Simon Magus (Greek Σίμων ὁ μάγος, Latin: Simon Magus), also known as Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation with Peter is recorded in Acts . The act of simony, or paying for position, is ...

'' * '' Solas'' * '' The Believer'' * ''

The Man from Elysian Fields ''The Man from Elysian Fields'' is a 2001 American drama film directed by George Hickenlooper, and starring Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Olivia Williams, Julianna Margulies, and James Coburn. Synopsis After one book that ended up in the remainder b ...

'' * ''

Who Is Cletis Tout? ''Who is Cletis Tout?'' is a 2002 comedy film written and directed by Chris Ver Wiel and starring Christian Slater, Richard Dreyfuss, Portia de Rossi, RuPaul, and Tim Allen. The film is about mistaken identity getting in the way of recovering a st ...

References

Mass media companies established in 1991 Mass media companies disestablished in 2011 Film production companies of Canada Film production companies of the United Kingdom Film production companies of the United States Former Corus Entertainment subsidiaries