Heron Communications was a production company, distributor and a subsidiary of Gerald Ronson's

Heron International Heron International is a British property development company. Founded in 1957 by the Ronson family, it came to prominence in the 1980s as the UK's second largest private company. After over extending itself in the 1990s, it was revived by Gerald R ...

. It owns various home video companies, including Heron Home Entertainment (formerly Videoform Pictures), which had a joint venture with

PolyGram Video PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...

, in order to set up Channel 5 Video. In 1984, it bought out

Media Home Entertainment Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band. Media Home Entertainment also distributed video product under three additional labels — ...

, including The Nostalgia Merchant, which two years later, in 1986, set up a kid-friendly label of Heron,

Hi-Tops Video Hi-Tops Video was a children's home video sublabel of Media Home Entertainment (a division of Heron Communications), active from 1986 until 1992. Some of its releases include some Charlie Brown specials, ''Madeline'' and primarily some of the or ...

, which hired two

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was founde ...

executives to run the studio. Also that year, the company had set up Fox Hills Video as a sellthrough video label, with The Nostalgia Merchant branding to be used as a flagship of the Fox Hills label, and hired two home video veterans to run the studio. On July 22, 1987, Heron Communications teamed up with fledging film distributor

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

to distribute nine films on videocassette through the

label, and decided to co-finance and distribute up to seven made-for video programs from Cox Video and executive producer

Alan Landsburg Alan William Landsburg (May 10, 1933 – August 13, 2014) was an American television writer, producer, and director. He was the founder and CEO of Alan Landsburg Productions and the Landsburg Company and was involved in producing over fifty mo ...

on the Fox Hills Video label, and as for the Cox deal, paid $750,000 is to focus on non-fictional programming in such areas as sports and history. In October 1987, it entered into an agreement with

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ot ...

that would make Fox Hills the distributor for titles produced by the NFL Films Home Video Library for ten made-for-video productions per year and brought down an advance payment for $8 million to cover the first two-and-a-half years, plus a royalty for the NFL/Fox Hills home video agreement. In late October 1987, Heron Communications had filed a lawsuit against American film producer/distributor Vista Organization, charging that Vista, along with its chairman and president with fraud and breach of contract, and alleges the firm has home video rights to ten pictures produced by the Vista Organization, namely ''

Maid to Order ''Maid to Order'' is a 1987 American comedy/fantasy film. It is a variation on the Cinderella formula, where the fairy godmother is not the means to a better life for the heroine, but rather the nemesis. Rather than doing so out of malice, thoug ...

'', '' Fright Night Part II'', '' Dudes'', ''Leader of the Band'', ''

Penitent Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part i ...

'', ''

Remote Control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

'', ''

Rented Lips ''Rented Lips'' is a 1988 satire comedy film directed by Robert Downey Sr., and starring his son Robert Downey Jr., as well as Martin Mull, Dick Shawn, and Jennifer Tilly. It was the final film appearance of Shawn, who died in 1987. Plot Archi ...

'', ''

Pass the Ammo ''Pass the Ammo'' is a 1987 American comedy film starring Bill Paxton, Annie Potts, Linda Kozlowski and Tim Curry. The film is a spoof of televangelism released right after the real-life scandals related to Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. The movi ...

'', ''

Nightflyers ''Nightflyers'' is a science fiction horror novella by American writer George R. R. Martin, released as a short novella in 1980 and as an expanded novella in 1981. A short story collection of the same name was released in 1985 that includes the ...

'' and ''Tweeners'', and Steve Diener said that Vista is attempting to renege on the merger with

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 hit ...

, and Seymour Malamed said that the initial attempt by Heron was for a temporary restraining order.

Filmography

As a production company

Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel ''Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel'' is a 1991 neo-noir black comedy written and directed by Alien Castle and produced by Donald P. Borchers. It stars Sherilyn Fenn, Whip Hubley, David Hewlett, David Johansen, and Paul Bartel. Plot In 1955, a toy ...

(1991) ... Production Company *The Perfect Bride (1991) (TV) ... Production Company * A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) ... Production Company (presents) *The Adventures of Ronald McDonald: McTreasure Island (1989) (V) ... Production Company * A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) ... Production Company (presents) * The Hidden (1987) ... Production Company * A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) ... Production Company (presents) *I Am Not a Freak (1987) (TV) ... Production Company (as Heron Communications Inc.) *The Ladies Club (1986) ... Production Company * A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) ... Production Company (presents) *

A Stranger Is Watching ''A Stranger Is Watching'' (1977) is a suspense novel by Mary Higgins Clark. Plot summary The main characters in the novel are Steve Peterson, whose wife Nina was murdered two years before, his six-year-old son Neil, who witnessed the murder, a ...

(1982) ... Production Company

As a distributor

* Il cacciatore di squali (1979) ... Distributor (1987) (USA) (VHS) * Flight to Mars (1951) ... Distributor (1987) (USA) (VHS) * The Set-Up (1949) ... Distributor (1987) (USA) (VHS)

Assets

(1978–1993) *

(1984–1993) *The Nostalgia Merchant (1978-) *Fox Hills Video (1986–1992) *Channel 5 Video (joint venture with PolyGram) (1986-1992)

References

{{Authority control Film production companies of the United States