Paramount Vantage (also known as Paramount Classics) was a
film distribution label of
Paramount Pictures (which, in turn, has
Paramount Global
Paramount Global ( doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. ...
as its parent company), charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing
films, generally those with a more "
art house" feel than films made and distributed by its parent company. Previously, Paramount Vantage operated as the specialty film division of Paramount Pictures, owned by
Viacom.
History
Paramount Classics was launched on May 15, 1998 and released such
art house fare as ''
The Virgin Suicides
''The Virgin Suicides'' is a 1993 debut novel by the American author Jeffrey Eugenides. The fictional story, which is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the 1970s, centers on the lives of five doomed sisters, the Lisbon girls. The novel is w ...
'', ''
You Can Count on Me'', ''
Sunshine'', ''
Mostly Martha'', ''
Winter Solstice
The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter ...
'', and three
Patrice Leconte films (''
Girl on the Bridge'', ''
The Man on the Train'', ''
Intimate Strangers''). Although film journalist David Poland felt "Ruth Vitale and David Dinerstein have proven to have wonderful taste heading up Paramount Classics", the duo was fired in October 2005.
In 2006, the Paramount Vantage brand branched off from Paramount Classics, which was relaunched in 2007 as a distributor of "smaller, review-driven films including foreign-language acquisitions and
documentaries
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
."
In 2007, Paramount Vantage partnered with then-
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
subsidiary
Miramax Films
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a lead ...
on two of the year's most highly regarded movies, ''
No Country for Old Men
''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, th ...
'' and ''
There Will Be Blood
''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel '' Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oilm ...
''. Both films garnered eight nominations at the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, with ''There Will Be Blood'' winning the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Actor for
Daniel Day-Lewis
Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...
, while ''No Country for Old Men'' won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. Known for his roles in blockbusters and foreign films, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the psychopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in ...
, and Best Picture.
Despite its critical success, Paramount Vantage continually failed to deliver the financial returns Paramount Pictures expected. Only ''No Country for Old Men'' made a profit, while films that many believe should have generated significant returns failed to deliver through either poor or excessive marketing.
In June 2008, Paramount Pictures consolidated Paramount Vantage's marketing, distribution, and physical production departments into the parent studio, while retaining the Paramount Vantage brand to develop and acquire specialty product with dedicated creative staff.
''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' article
/ref>
Paramount Vantage went silent after the release of ''Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
''.
Paramount Classics releases
Paramount Vantage releases
See also
* Paramount Pictures
* Go Fish Pictures
Go Fish Pictures was an American film production and distribution company and a division of DreamWorks SKG, The company was founded in 2000 in order to produce and release arthouse, independent and foreign films. The division was initially suc ...
* Miramax Films
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a lead ...
References
{{Paramount Global, state=autocollapse
Companies established in 1998
Companies disestablished in 2013
Film distributors of the United States
Paramount Pictures
Hollywood, Los Angeles