TriStar Pictures
Divisions | TriStar Productions |
---|---|
Website | sonypictures.com |
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group,[1] part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony studio Columbia Pictures.
TriStar Pictures was established on March 2, 1982, and founded by Victor Kaufman as Nova Pictures. On May 16, 1983, its name was changed to Tri-Star in order to avoid confusion with the PBS series Nova.[3]
Originally a joint venture between
On November 15, 1985, CBS dropped out of the joint venture, selling its stake to Columbia Pictures.[8] HBO sold its shares to the same studio in 1986 in order to form HBO Pictures.[9] On December 21, 1987, Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. was renamed Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. following The Coca-Cola Company's merger of Tri-Star and Columbia to become "Columbia/Tri-Star", of which it owned 80% of its stock.[10] In January 1988, CPE's stocks somewhat fell, and Coca-Cola decreased its shares in CPE to 49%. On April 13, 1988, the name of the company was reverted back to Tri-Star Pictures, Inc.[11] On November 8, 1989, the Sony Corporation of Japan acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment for $3.4 billion. On August 7, 1991, under Sony Pictures Entertainment, the hyphen was officially removed from the name of the studio.
During the 1990s, TriStar operated autonomously from Columbia. Although its products were mostly indistinguishible from that of its sister studio, it soon scored a string of hits at the box office with such films as
TriStar Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).[17]
History
Early era (1982–1987)
The concept for Tri-Star Pictures can be traced to Victor Kaufman, a senior executive of Columbia Pictures (then a subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company),[18] who convinced Columbia, HBO, and CBS to share resources and split the ever-growing costs of making movies, leading to the creation of a new joint venture on March 2, 1982. On May 16, 1983, it was given the name Tri-Star Pictures (when the new company was formed and did not have an official name, the press used the code-name "Nova", but the name could not be obtained as it was being used as the title for the PBS science series).[3][19] Tri-Star embarked on a 12 to 18 feature film slate per year, with a combined budget of $70 to $80 million and signed producer Walter Colbenz as vice president of the Tri-Star feature film studio, and signed initial development deals with director John Schlesinger and producers Jeffrey Walker and Michael Walker.[20] Tri-Star's first project to roll out was The Muppets Take Manhattan.[21]
On May 11, 1984, the studio's first produced film was released,
Many of Tri-Star's productions were released on VHS by
On May 8, 1984, Tri-Star Pictures secured North American distribution rights for the film Supergirl from Warner Bros., which enabled the film to be ready for distribution by Christmas 1984.[23] On May 15, 1984, the studio hit big through its association with Carolco Pictures, with the release of Rambo: First Blood Part II, which eventually became a smash hit for the studio the following year.[6][24] The company also partnered with Producers Sales Organization to handle theatrical distribution of the PSO titles,[5] while both Tri-Star and Columbia struck a deal for film financing with Delphi Film Associates.[25]
CBS dropped out of the Tri-Star venture in 1985,
Another avenue of expansion was acquiring the storied
1987 was another ambitious year for Tri-Star; plans were in place to take Tri-Star from a relatively new, untested film company into a major film studio. Components of these plans included the formation of
Columbia Pictures Entertainment era (1987–1989)
However, Tri-Star's ambitions were curtailed by yet more change in ownership. The Coca-Cola Company boosted its stake in Tri-Star to 29.3% that September.[34] That December, following several high-profile flops (including Ishtar), Coca-Cola began a plan to get out of the media industry; Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. was renamed as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc., and Coca-Cola sold its entertainment business to Tri-Star for $3.1 billion. Coca-Cola would then gradually reduce their holdings in the new company to 49%. Both studios continued to produce and distribute films under their separate names; a new Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. entity was created in April 1988.[10][11]
As a result, Tri-Star's television division was consolidated into a single operating entity with Columbia/Embassy Television and Coca-Cola Television to form a new incarnation of Columbia Pictures Television. Merv Griffin Enterprises would continue to operate separately.[35][36] Similarly, Tri-Star's nascent video division was absorbed into RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video.[37]
Sony era (1989–present)
In 1989, Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. was acquired by Japanese conglomerate Sony Corporation, which merged Columbia and Tri-Star, but continued to use the separate labels. On July 11, 1990, Tri-Star Pictures dissolved and sold its venture in TeleVentures to Stephen J. Cannell Productions and TeleVentures became Cannell Distribution Co. Most of the series and the Tri-Star film packages that were distributed by TeleVentures were transferred to Columbia Pictures Television Distribution.[38] Sony Pictures Entertainment later revived TriStar Television as a television production banner in 1991 (by way of acquiring rights to shows from New World Television) and merged with its sister television studio Columbia Pictures Television to form Columbia TriStar Television on February 21, 1994.[39][40] Both studios continued to operate separately under the CTT umbrella until TriStar folded in 1999 and CPT in 2001.
In addition to its own slate, TriStar was the theatrical distributor for many films produced by Carolco Pictures (the rights to only one of its films, Cliffhanger, has been retained by TriStar). TriStar also theatrically distributed some FilmDistrict movies. In 1992, TriStar, along with Japan Satellite Broadcasting signed an agreement with The IndieProd Company to distribute movies produced by IndieProd in order to fill the void left by Carolco, whose deal with TriStar was on the verge of expiring amid financial troubles.[41]
Around summer 1998, SPE merged Columbia and TriStar to form the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, but just like Columbia Pictures Entertainment, both divisions continued producing and distributing films under their own names. Some of the movies slated to be released by TriStar, including Stepmom would go to its flagship label Columbia Pictures following the merger.[13]
TriStar was relaunched on May 13, 2004, as a marketing and acquisitions unit that had a "particular emphasis on genre films".[14] Screen Gems' executive vice president Valerie Van Galder was tapped to run the revived studio after being dormant.[42] However, the release of its 2013 film Elysium represented the label's first big-budget release since The Mask of Zorro in 1998.
The same year, former
Logo
TriStar's logo features a Pegasus (either stationary or flying across the screen). The idea came from executive Victor Kaufman and his family's interest in riding horses. The original logo was created with the assistance of Sydney Pollack, who was an adviser at Tri-Star. The horse in the original filmed logo was the same one used in Pollack's film The Electric Horseman.[45]
Filmography
Film series
Title | Release date | No. Films | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Rambo | 1985–88 | 2 | co-production with Carolco Pictures |
Short Circuit | 1986–88 | ||
Iron Eagle | |||
Look Who's Talking | 1989–93 | 3 | |
Universal Soldier
|
1992–99 | 2 | Co-production with Carolco Pictures and IndieProd Company Productions |
Sniper | 1993–2002 | ||
3 Ninjas | 1994–98 | 3 | |
Matilda | 1996–2022 | 2 | |
Starship Troopers | 1997–2004 | ||
Godzilla | 1998–99 | From Toho Pictures
| |
Thanksgiving | 2023–present | 1 | Co-production with Spyglass Entertainment
|
See also
References
- ^ a b "Divisions - Sony Pictures". sonypictures.com. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "Nicole Brown To Lead TriStar In Wake Of Hannah Minghella Exit To Bad Robot". October 17, 2019.
- ^ a b "What's in a name". Broadcasting. 1983-05-16. p. 102.
- ^ ISBN 0-684-80493-X.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- ^ a b "SPARING RAMBO'S LIFE MADE SEQUEL POSSIBLE". Los Angeles Times. 1985-08-21. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ a b Tusher, Will (1986-08-20). "Taft/Barish Pacts With Tri-Star For 10 Pics, With More Possible". Variety. p. 7.
- ^ a b "CBS Sells Stake In Tri-Star Inc". The New York Times. Associated Press. 16 November 1985.
- ^ ISBN 9780520232662. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ^ a b KATHRYN HARRIS (September 2, 1987) Coke, Tri-Star Confirm Plans for $3.1-Billion Deal Los Angeles Times, Retrieved on August 8, 2013
- ^ a b "State of New York Division of Corporations - Entity Search: Tri-Star Pictures, Inc". Retrieved 5 August 2013.
- ^ Simon, Rachel (September 13, 2016). "Mara Wilson Is Done Backing Away From 'Matilda'". Bustle. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ^ a b Cox, Dan; Carver, Benedict (1998-07-27). "Post-'Godzilla'". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ )
- ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. Tom Rothman To Launch New TriStar Productions Label For Sony Deadline Hollywood (August 1, 2013).
- ^ a b "Industry News: Sony Pictures and Tom Rothman Launching TriStar Productions". ComingSoon.net. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Motion Picture Association of America – Who We Are – Our Story". MPAA. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ "Victor Kaufman - Founding TriStar Pictures". Vimeo.
- ISBN 0-312-18726-2.
- ^ "Tri-Star Firms Six Feature Starts, Two Pickups, En Route To Slate of 12-18; Coblenz To Prod. Slot". Variety. 1983-05-25. p. 3.
- ^ "'Muppets' Rolls as First Tri-Star Pic". Variety. 1983-06-01. p. 5.
- ^ London, Michael. "Tri-Star Bows With a Universal Castoff". Sarasota Herald-Tribune (February 18, 1984).
- ^ "Tri-Star To Distrib 'Supergirl', Not WB". Variety. 1984-05-09. p. 5.
- ^ "Tri-Star To Distribute Next Four Carolco Pics; 'Blood II' First Up". Variety. 1984-05-16. p. 4.
- ^ "7 Tri-Star Pix in Delphi III Float; Gross Cut as Invester Protection; HBO, CBS Deals: 'Fair Market'". Variety. 1984-02-15. p. 3.
- ^ "Third 'Rambo' Centerpiece Of Tri-Star-Carolco Deal". Variety. 1986-07-02. p. 5.
- ^ "Tri-Star Pictures to acquire cinema chain - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (2002-11-20). "Loews prez Myerson dies". Variety. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ^ "THEATER CHAIN EYES TOP". Chicago Tribune. 1986-10-22. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ^ "Orion, TriStar enter home video arena" (PDF). Billboard. 1987-02-28. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
- ^ Tusher, Will (1987-03-11). "Tri-Star Launches Video Division; Messner Switches Executive Roles". Variety. p. 91.
- ^ "Tri-Star Intl. Taps Anthony Manne As O'Seas Sales Rise". Variety. 1987-03-04. pp. 4, 43.
- ^ "Tri-Star To Release 'Major' Pix From Hemdale; 15 Over 3 Years". Variety. 1987-09-30. pp. 3, 30.
- ^ "CPI Holdings Increases Tri-Star Stake To 29%". Variety. 1987-07-22. p. 3.
- ^ "Coca -Cola Entertainment and Tri-Star to merge TV units" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1987-10-19. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
- ^ "Coke's EBS & Tri-Star Merge TV Biz, Forming Col Pictures TV". Variety. 1987-10-21. pp. 512, 528.
- ^ "RCA/Columbia Is a Home for Tri-Star" (PDF). Billboard. 1988-02-20. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
- ^ "IN BRIEF". Broadcasting. 1990-07-16. p. 110.
- ^ "TriStar President Expected to Head Combined Unit". Los Angeles Times, February 11, 1994. Retrieved on June 28, 2012
- ^ Feltheimer heads new Columbia TriStar TV connection.ebscohost.com, Retrieved on December 18, 2012
- ^ Frook, John Evan; Brennan, Judy (1992-12-14). "IndieProd pacts with JSB, TriStar for distrib'n, prod'n". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ Brodesser, Claude; Dunkley, Cathy (May 13, 2004). "TriStar takes flight again". Variety Magazine. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- ^ Faughnder, Ryan (August 1, 2013). "Tom Rothman teams with Sony Pictures to create TriStar Productions". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ MICHAEL CIEPLY (August 1, 2013) Sony Hires Rothman to Head Revived TriStar Unit The New York Times, Retrieved on August 2, 2013
- ^ "Victor Kaufman – Creating the TriStar Logo". Vimeo.