Lightyear Entertainment, headquartered in Studio City, California, is a distributor of independent motion pictures in theaters, on DVD, Blu-ray, Video On Demand, as well as a distributor of music and music videos on CD, DVD, and digital distribution.
Lightyear releases movies into theaters directly. After the theatrical run, digital distribution and licensing (including VOD, EST, SVOD and TV) in North America is now conducted through 1091 (formerly called The Orchard). Physical distribution of DVDs and BluRays is through MVD Distribution. From 2010 to 2018, both digital and physical releases were through eOne Distribution. From 2008 to 2010, it was through
Vivendi
Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
/
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
distribution,
[ and, from 1995 to 2008, through ]Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...
. From 1991 to 1995, it was distributed through BMG.
Lightyear's music business in North America is conducted through Caroline Distribution/Universal Music Group.
Its origins were as a management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
of RCA Video Productions, Inc. (a.k.a. RVP Productions) in 1987 from Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
, which was originally created in 1984.Jane Fonda
Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...
workout series, and pioneered in the areas of children's and music videos, as well as helping to create the fitness genre. Lightyear is now again the distributor of the original ''Jane Fonda Workout
''Jane Fonda's Workout'', also known as ''Workout Starring Jane Fonda'', is a 1982 exercise video by actress Jane Fonda, based on an exercise routine developed by Leni Cazden and refined by Cazden and Fonda at Workout, their exercise studio in ...
'' videos on DVD and Digital.
Recent films distributed by Lightyear include '' Tanna'' (nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2017), ''Maze
A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lea ...
'', ''Jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
'', ''The Hippopotamus
''The Hippopotamus'' (1994) is a comic novel by Stephen Fry. Written in part as an epistolary novel, it is largely narrated by the main character Edward "Ted" Wallace. Wallace is an alcoholic washed-up poet and theatre critic who, having been fi ...
'', and '' Goldstone''. Other films include ''16 Bars'' and ''The Etruscan Smile''.
Lightyear's original productions include the films ''Aria
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
'', ''Heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
'' and ''The Return of Swamp Thing
''The Return of Swamp Thing'' is a 1989 American superhero film based on the DC Comics' Swamp Thing, character of the same name. Directed by Jim Wynorski, it is a sequel to the 1982 film Swamp Thing (1982 film), ''Swamp Thing'', having a lighter t ...
'', as well as the ''Stories to Remember'' series of animated films for children. It also produced concert films by Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
, Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...
, Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...
, and Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio albu ...
, and the documentary ''Elvis '56''.
Films
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Companies based in Los Angeles
Film distributors of the United States
Film production companies of the United States