Propaganda Films was an American

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

and

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

company founded in 1986 by producers

Steve Golin Steven Aaron Golin (March 6, 1955 – April 21, 2019) was an American film and television producer and the founder and CEO of Anonymous Content LLP, a multimedia development, production and talent management company and co-founder and CEO of Pr ...

and

Sigurjón Sighvatsson Sigurjón Sighvatsson (born 15 June 1952), also known as Joni Sighvatsson, is an Icelandic Hollywood film producer and businessman. Sigurjon (Joni) Sighvatsson, a veteran producer with over 50 feature films, television series, and documentaries ...

and directors

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

Dominic Sena Dominic Sena (born April 26, 1949) is an American film director and music video director. As a film director, he is best known for directing the films ''Kalifornia'' (1993), '' Gone in 60 Seconds'' (2000), and '' Swordfish'' (2001). As a music ...

and Greg Gold. By 1990, the company was producing almost a third of all music videos made in the U.S.

Founding and early work (1986-1990)

As the name suggests, the

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

was founded with the intent to focus on the medium of films; those that Golin and Sighvatsson couldn't get enough financing and creative control for elsewhere. However, in order to create financial stability the company focused on a base of music video production. The company also branched off into producing

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

, which along with music videos were considered inherently lesser quality than films. Gold later commented:

We were the first company that wanted to apply the principals of the commercial industry to music videos... ndwe wanted to take the aesthetics of music videos and apply them to commercials.

In addition to revenue from music videos and commercials, Propaganda entered into a deal in 1988 with

PolyGram 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 a ...

which meant that the Dutch media company would pay for Propaganda's film costs in exchange for part of the film revenues. It was during this era that Propaganda made connections with the likes of

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

, who they hired to direct '' Wild at Heart''. They also produced Lynch's television show ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...

''.

PolyGram and decline (1991-2002)

The initial deal with PolyGram, which involved selling them 49% of Propaganda, was intended to bring about financial strength and expanded opportunities. However, Golin and the others realized they needed even more resources to continue making films. Propaganda Films was fully acquired by

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a British film studio founded in 1979 which became a European competitor to Hollywood, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in 1 ...

in 1991. This brought a decrease in creative control and the budget allocations for films were tightly scrutinized by PolyGram. Nigel Dick later said:

We wanted to do good work and spend a little of the budget, the markup, on a better director of photography or shooting five more rolls of film. When the PolyGram bean counters came in, we didn’t get that. ‘Where’s the markup gone?’ That’s what we got.

The nineties saw Propaganda produce films of varying success, including ''

Canadian Bacon ''Canadian Bacon'' is a 1995 comedy film written, produced, and directed by Michael Moore which satirizes Canada–United States relations along the Canada–United States border. The film stars an ensemble cast featuring Alan Alda, John Candy ...

'', '' The Game'', and ''

Being John Malkovich ''Being John Malkovich'' is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich as a ...

''. They also continued producing popular commercials (such as the "Aaron Burr"

Got Milk? Got Milk? (stylized as got milk?) is an American advertising campaign encouraging the consumption of milk and dairy products. Created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board in 1993, it w ...

commercial) and music videos for the likes of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. In 1998 PolyGram was sold to

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...

, which folded part of PolyGram into

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 ...

and sold the commercial, music video, and management divisions of Propaganda to SCP Equity Partners. Its film division was sold to Barry Diller's USA Films, which soon ended up under the Universal/

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in th ...

umbrella again and eventually formally closed. By 2000 Sighvatsson had left for

Lakeshore Entertainment Lakeshore Entertainment Group, LLC is an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum (1933–2002). Lakeshore Entertainment is headquart ...

and Golin had founded

Anonymous Content Anonymous Content (AC) is an American entertainment company founded in 1999 by CEO Steve Golin. It is based in Los Angeles with offices in Culver City, New York City and London. History Anonymous Content was founded in 1999 by CEO Steve Gol ...

. In 2000, the company had struck a deal with Mandolin Entertainment.

Notable directors who worked with Propaganda Films

Boris Malagurski Boris Malagurski ( sr-Cyrl, Борис Малагурски; born 11 August 1988) is a Serbian-Canadian film director, producer, writer, political commentator, television host, and activist.

Vaughan Arnell Vaughan Arnell (born 31 May 1961, in Chertsey, Surrey) is a British music video and television commercial director. Although having done films for high-profile clients in the TV commercial field, including Nestlé and Levi's, he is best known for ...

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of ...

* Markus Blunder * Paul Boyd *

Nick Brandt Nick Brandt (born 1964) is an English photographer. Brandt's work generally focuses on the rapidly disappearing natural world, as a result of environmental destruction, climate change and humans' actions. Background and early career Born in 19 ...

* Albert Bravo * Jhoan Camitz *

Peter Care Peter Alan Care (born 28 April 1953) is an English director of music videos, commercials and film. He has directed music videos for Cabaret Voltaire, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison, Depeche Mode and New Order, amongst others. Biogr ...

John Dahl John Dahl (born December 11, 1956) is an American film director, film and television director and screenwriter, writer, best known for his work in the neo-noir genre. Life and career John Dahl was born in Billings, Montana, the second of four c ...

Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua (born May 30, 1965) is an American filmmaker, known for his work in the action and thriller genres. He was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with ''The Replacement Killers''. His critica ...

Douglas Gayeton Douglas Gayeton is an American multimedia artist, filmmaker, writer, and photographer who divides his time between a farm near Petaluma, California and Pistoia, a medieval Tuscan town. Along with his wife, Laura Howard-Gayeton, he directThe Le ...

* Greg Gold *

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...

Steve Hanft Steve Hanft is a writer, director, musician, and artist. Early life Steven Paul Hanft was born in Ventura, California where he started making films at the age of nine. He has an MFA in Experimental Narrative Film from California Institute of the ...

Spike Jonze Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze began his ca ...

* David Kellogg *

Alek Keshishian Alek Keshishian ( hy, Ալեք Գևորգի Քեշիշեան, born 30 July 1964) is an Armenian-born American film and commercial director, writer, producer and music video director. His 1991 documentary, '' Madonna: Truth or Dare'' was the high ...

* Mark Kohr *

Christian Langlois Christian Langlois is a Canadian film director based in Montreal, Quebec. He has directed several short films, video content, series, commercials, music videos and media installation. He studied at Université du Québec à Montréal in communicat ...

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

* Pierre Winther * Scott Marshall *

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

Jeffrey Obrow Jeffrey Obrow is an American film director and a professor at USC School of Cinematic Arts. He has also produced many music videos with Propaganda Films. Career Obrow's first project, '' The Dorm That Dripped Blood'', was underfinanced but thro ...

* Willi Patterson *

Vadim Perelman Vadim Perelman ( ukr, Вадим Перельман; born 8 September 1963) is a Ukrainian-Canadian-American film director. Perelman made his feature film directorial debut in 2003 with '' House of Sand and Fog'', following a successful career as ...

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films ''The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ' ...

Paul Rachman Paul Rachman (born September 13, 1962) is an American film director who directed the highly praised 2006 documentary on punk music '' American Hardcore'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. H ...

Mark Romanek Mark Romanek (; born September 18, 1959) is an American filmmaker whose directing work includes feature films, television, music videos and commercials. Romanek wrote and directed the 2002 film ''One Hour Photo'' and directed the 2010 film '' Neve ...

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French director, photographer, film producer and actor. Over the years, Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited r ...

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...

Simon West Simon Alexander West (born 1961) is an English film director and producer. He has primarily worked in the action genre, most notably as the director of the films ''Con Air'', '' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'', '' The Mechanic'', and ''The Expendab ...

* Bobby Woods *

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and musician. He is best known for directing ''The Ring (2002 film), The Ring'', the ''Pirates of the Caribbean (film series), Pirates of t ...

Partial filmography

* ''

P.I. Private Investigations ''P.I. Private Investigations'' (also known as ''Private Investigations'') is a 1987 crime-thriller film directed by Nigel Dick and starring Clayton Rohner, Ray Sharkey and Paul Le Mat. Premise A young architect finds himself being stalked by ...

'' (1987) * ''

The Blue Iguana ''The Blue Iguana'' is a 1988 American crime film directed by John Lafia and starring Dylan McDermott, Jessica Harper, Pamela Gidley and James Russo. The plot is about a bounty hunter who is blackmailed into stopping the transfer of twenty mill ...

'' (1988) * '' Kill Me Again'' (1989) * ''

Fear, Anxiety & Depression ''Fear, Anxiety and Depression'' is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by Todd Solondz and starring Solondz, Stanley Tucci and Jill Wisoff. Production The film was Solondz's first for a major studio, after his work in film school h ...

'' (1989) * ''

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, released on September 19, 1989, by A&M Records. Although label executives wanted material similar to her previous album, ''Control'' (19 ...

'' (1989) * '' Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted'' (1990) * ''

'' (TV series, 1990–1991, now owned by

CBS Television Distribution CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Glob ...

) * '' Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?'' (1990) * '' Wild at Heart'' (1990) * '' The Idiot Box'' (TV series, 1990-1991) * ''

Salute Your Shorts ''Salute Your Shorts'' is an American television sitcom created by Steve Slavkin and produced by Propaganda Films, which aired on Nickelodeon from July 4, 1991, to September 12, 1992. Focused around the life of young campers at the fictional Cam ...

'' (TV series, 1991–1992) * ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...

'' (TV series, 1990–2000, now owned by

) * '' Madonna: Truth or Dare'' (1991) * '' Voices That Care'' (1991) * ''

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...

'' (1992) * ''

A Stranger Among Us ''A Stranger Among Us'' is a 1992 American crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Melanie Griffith. It tells the story of an undercover police officer's experiences in a Hasidic community. It was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film F ...

'' (1992) * '' A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica'' (1992) * '' Candyman'' (1992) * ''

Fallen Angels A fallen angel is an angel that has been exiled or banished from Heaven. Fallen Angels may also refer to: Film and television * ''Fallen Angels'' (1948 film), a Greek film by Nikos Tsiforos * Fallen Angels (1985 documentary film) by Gregory Dark * ...

'' (TV series, 1993–1995) * ''

Hotel Room A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

'' (TV mini-series, 1993) * ''

Red Rock West ''Red Rock West'' is a 1993 American neo-noir thriller film directed by John Dahl and starring Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle, J. T. Walsh, and Dennis Hopper. It was written by Dahl and his brother Rick, and shot in Montana, Willcox, Arizona, Son ...

'' (1993) * ''

Kalifornia ''Kalifornia'' is a 1993 American road thriller film directed by Dominic Sena, in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes. The film tells the story of a journalist (Duchovny) a ...

'' (1993) * ''

Dream Lover "Dream Lover" is a song written by Bobby Darin. Darin recorded his composition on March 5, 1959 and released it as a single the following month. It was produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd. Song background In a ...

'' (1993) * '' Dangerous: The Short Films '' (1993) * '' S.F.W.'' (1994) * ''

Turbocharged Thunderbirds This article primarily discusses screen and audio works of fiction based on '' Thunderbirds'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. It also covers imitations and references in other media. Produced ...

'' (TV series, 1994) * ''

Jason's Lyric ''Jason's Lyric'' is a 1994 American erotic romantic psychological drama film, written by Bobby Smith Jr., directed by Doug McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson and Marilla Lane Ross, and starring Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett, B ...

'' (1994) * ''

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

'' (1994) * '' Dead Connection'' (1994) * '' Coldblooded'' (1995) * ''

'' (1995) * '' Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh'' (1995) * ''

Lord of Illusions ''Lord of Illusions'' is a 1995 American neo-noir supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his own short story "The Last Illusion" published in 1985 in the anthology '' Books of Blood'' Volume 6. The same story introd ...

'' (1995) * ''

Barb Wire Barb Wire may refer to: * Barb wire, a fencing material * Barb Wire (character), a comic book superhero published by Dark Horse Comics * ''Barb Wire'' (1996 film), starring Pamela Anderson, based on the comic book * ''Barb Wire'' (pinball), pinb ...

'' (1996) * ''

The Portrait of a Lady ''The Portrait of a Lady'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and ''Macmillan's Magazine'' in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular novels and is regarded by cri ...

'' (1996) * ''

Sleepers ''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin H ...

'' (1996) * '' The Game'' (1997) * ''

A Thousand Acres ''A Thousand Acres'' is a 1991 novel by American author Jane Smiley. It won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1991 and was adapted to a 1997 film of the same name. It was premiered as an ...

'' (1997) * ''

An American Werewolf in Paris ''An American Werewolf in Paris'' (the "An" does not appear in the title scene) is a 1997 dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Anthony Waller, screenplay by Tim Burns, Tom Stern, and Waller, and starring Tom Everett Scott and Julie De ...

'' (1997) * '' More Tales of the City'' (TV miniseries, 1998) * ''

Your Friends & Neighbors ''Your Friends & Neighbors'' is a 1998 black comedy film written and directed by Neil LaBute and starring Amy Brenneman, Aaron Eckhart, Catherine Keener, Nastassja Kinski, Jason Patric and Ben Stiller in an ensemble cast. The film was the first to ...

'' (1998) * '' Return to Paradise'' (1998) * ''

'' (1999) * '' The Match'' (1999) * ''

Nurse Betty ''Nurse Betty'' is a 2000 American black comedy film directed by Neil LaBute and starring Renée Zellweger as the title character, a small town, Kansas housewife-waitress who suffers a nervous breakdown after witnessing her husband's torture mur ...

'' (2000) * ''

Bounce Bounce or The Bounce may refer to: * Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface Books * Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books Broadcasting, film and ...

'' (2000) * '' The Little Vampire'' (2000) * '' Full Frontal'' (2002) * ''

Auto Focus ''Auto Focus'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Paul Schrader and starring Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe. The screenplay by Michael Gerbosi is based on Robert Graysmith's book ''The Murder of Bob Crane'' (1993). ''Auto Focus ...

'' (2002) * '' Trapped'' (2002) * ''

Adaptation. ''Adaptation'' is a 2002 American meta comedy-drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. It features an ensemble cast including Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper, with Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, ...

'' (2002)

References

External links

Mvdbase.com: List of music videos produced by Propaganda Films
{{Authority control 1986 establishments in California 1991 mergers and acquisitions 2002 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1986 American companies disestablished in 2002 Companies based in Los Angeles Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Defunct mass media companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Entertainment companies established in 1983 Entertainment companies disestablished in 2002 Film production companies of the United States Universal Pictures