Vestron Pictures was an American film studio and distributor, a former division of Austin O. Furst, Jr.'s Vestron Inc., that is best known for their
1987 release of ''
Dirty Dancing''.
The company is a defunct successor corporation of the earlier video distributor,
Vestron Video
Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market.
The name is now used for a collect ...
.
[ Vestron also has had a genre film division, Lightning Pictures, a spin-off of Vestron's Lightning Video, headed by ]Lawrence Kasanoff
Lawrence Alan "Larry" Kasanoff (born June 1, 1959) is an American filmmaker who founded the Vestron Pictures genre subsidiary Lightning Pictures in 1986, Lightstorm Entertainment with James Cameron in 1990, and Threshold Entertainment in 1993. ...
, who would later go on to found Lightstorm Entertainment and Threshold Entertainment.
History
The company was initially kicked off to "pursue projects" with top producers, namely Steve Tisch
Steven Elliot Tisch (born February 14, 1949) is an American film producer and businessman. He is the chairman, co-owner and executive vice president of the New York Giants, the NFL team co-owned by his family, as well as a film and television pr ...
, Larry Turman and Gene Kirkwood, and Vestron would have to finance projects, and do a decided number of series and relationships. The first Vestron Pictures film released was '' Malcolm'', the Australian feature film that launched a New York run on July 18, 1986.
On October 1, 1986, Vestron Pictures and Gotham-based financial outfit Integrated Resources, Inc., which cost a $100 million joint venture to handle underwriting of the production and distribution of 15 in-house Vestron Pictures' feature films, which planned to run from 1987 to 1989, and had to pain a distinctly upbeat of the co-venture's potential.
In December 1986, Vestron Pictures planned to grow enough in order to produce ten films and to acquire 10-15 films in order to become a virtual low-budget film studio, and the Lightning Pictures genre label ran under $2 million, while titles from the mainstream label ran $2–6 million, and the company was relegated to low-budget production without resorting to exploitation filmmaking, and shooting for a broad base that expanded beyond the specialty market into all segments of the viewing audience.
That year, in 1987, the Vestron Pictures unit had acquired worldwide rights to Bob Balaban
Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Gosford Park'' (2001), in which he also appeared.
Balab ...
's '' Parents'', from production company Parents Productions, and Roger Holzberg
Roger Holzberg (born 1954) is an American health innovator, creative director, teacher, writer, and inventor. He is the co-founder and creative director for Reimagine Well, as well as the founder of the organization My Bridge 4 Life.[Midnight Crossing
''Midnight Crossing'' is a 1988 American mystery thriller film directed by Roger Holzberg. The film stars Faye Dunaway, Daniel J. Travanti, Kim Cattrall, John Laughlin, and Ned Beatty.
Plot
What begins as a pleasure cruise turns out to be a tr ...]
'', from another independent production company, Team Effort Productions, with another Vestron subsidiary, Interaccess Film Distribution InterAccess is a Canadian artist-run centre and electronic media production facility in Toronto. Founded in 1982 as Toronto Community Videotex, InterAccess is Ontario's only exhibition space devoted exclusively to technological media arts. The Cen ...
, to handle foreign sales and distribution rights on the two pictures.
In September 1987, upon the success of the company's biggest hit, '' Dirty Dancing'', Vestron had to acquire 24 productions and pickups that were slated for release throughout 1988, and toward that end, the company had unveiled four productions before the end of the year, as well as four acquisitions, and called for a quality of its pictures with a $6 million budget.
In October 1987, Vestron Pictures bought the rights to the two films from production company Double Helix Films, namely ''Mace'' and '' Funland'', which would handle theatrical, television, pay cable and syndicated TV rights to the former, and home video, cable and TV rights to the latter film, and Double Helix Films would retain the rights to the two films for foreign distribution.
In November 1987, Vestron Pictures had studied the Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
and the Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe ...
countries with an eye that the company would be setting up theatrical operations in those territories, although the company had set up distribution offices in the U.K. and Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, and would cooperate with Vestron's international sales subsidiary, Interaccess Film Distribution InterAccess is a Canadian artist-run centre and electronic media production facility in Toronto. Founded in 1982 as Toronto Community Videotex, InterAccess is Ontario's only exhibition space devoted exclusively to technological media arts. The Cen ...
, and decided not to set up shop in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, because the country had been declining theatrical attendance, a glut of cinemas, and a crowded field of cinemas.
Vestron Pictures' parent company, Vestron, Inc., filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
and went out of business in 1991, with their assets being acquired by LIVE Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...
. Today, Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
owns the rights to the Vestron library after acquiring Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...
in 2003.
Productions
Vestron Pictures
Lightning Pictures
References
{{Authority control
Mass media companies established in 1986
Mass media companies disestablished in 1992
Defunct mass media companies of the United States
Film distributors of the United States
American companies established in 1986
American film studios
Lionsgate subsidiaries
1992 mergers and acquisitions