Nelson Entertainment was a Los Angeles-based film production and home video distribution company, a subsidiary of Nelson Holdings International Ltd., a Vancouver, Canada, holding company formed in 1985 by British film producer Barry Spikings and Richard Northcott, a British financier who amassed his fortune from a chain of hardware and furniture stores.[1] The company acquired Galactic Films as well as Spikings Corporation in 1985, then later acquired distribution rights to a majority of Embassy Pictures' titles after purchasing its home video division. Sometime in August 1987, Embassy Home Entertainment was renamed Nelson Entertainment,[2] but retained the earlier brand as well as Charter Entertainment for sell-through products.[3] Nelson then financed a deal with Castle Rock Entertainment to co-produce their films, and in addition handle the international distribution rights. In September 1988, Orion Home Video took over sales and marketing for Nelson; in addition, Orion Pictures would later theatrically distribute a few of Nelson's titles.[4] By February 1989, Orion was the official home video distributor of Nelson product.[5]
In 1991, Nelson Entertainment sold its home video division to New Line Cinema and it was rebranded as New Line Home Video.[6] The company was later renamed Sultan Entertainment and was acquired by New Line, who then later took over the rights to the library.[7] By 1994, Nelson's catalog had been acquired by Epic Productions and folded into the Alpha Library Company. After Epic's closure Crédit Lyonnais assumed responsibility of its library. Upon the collapse of the bank the library was retitled as the Consortium de Realisation a.k.a. the Epic library. Crédit Lyonnais later sold the Epic film library to PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1997,[8] then Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired 2/3 of PolyGram's pre-April 1996 library in October 1998.[9] Therefore, MGM now owns most of the Nelson Entertainment library with the copyrights being held by Orion Pictures. Due to a previous agreement with Viacom Enterprises, Paramount Pictures via Trifecta Entertainment & Media holds the television rights to Nelson's post-January 1989 films not co-produced with Castle Rock. While Castle Rock's pre-July 1994 titles are owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment but are controlled by MGM via Orion.
Films[]
| Release Date | Title | Co-producer | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 16, 1987 | The Whales of August | Alive Films | |
| November 13, 1987 | Hope and Glory | Goldcrest Films | Columbia Pictures |
| April 15, 1988 | The Moderns | Alive Films | |
| April 22, 1988 | A Time of Destiny | Columbia Pictures | |
| White Mischief | Goldcrest Films BBC |
Columbia Pictures | |
| September 10, 1988 | Far North | Alive Films | |
| January 27, 1989 | Cohen and Tate | New Galactic Tate Productions | Hemdale Film Corporation |
| February 17, 1989 | Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure | Interscope Communications De Laurentiis Entertainment Group |
Orion Pictures |
| April 14, 1989 | Winter People | Castle Rock Entertainment | Columbia Pictures |
| July 21, 1989 | When Harry Met Sally... | Castle Rock Entertainment | Columbia Pictures |
| November 17, 1989 | Prancer | Cineplex Odeon Films | Orion Pictures |
| March 16, 1990 | Lord of the Flies | Castle Rock Entertainment | Columbia Pictures |
| April 6, 1990 | The First Power | Interscope Communications | Orion Pictures |
| September 28, 1990 | Texasville | Cine-Source | Columbia Pictures |
| October 26, 1990 | Sibling Rivalry | Castle Rock Entertainment | Columbia Pictures |
| November 30, 1990 | Misery | Castle Rock Entertainment | Columbia Pictures |
| December 19, 1990 | Hamlet | Icon Productions Carolco Pictures Sovereign Pictures |
Warner Bros. |
| January 18, 1991 | Eve of Destruction | Interscope Communications | Orion Pictures |
| June 7, 1991 | City Slickers | Castle Rock Entertainment | Columbia Pictures |
| July 19, 1991 | Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey | Interscope Communications | Orion Pictures |
| October 11, 1991 | The Taking of Beverly Hills | Columbia Pictures | |
| April 29, 1994 | The Favor | Orion Pictures | |
| September 23, 1994 | There Goes My Baby | Orion Pictures |
References[]
- ↑ Coke Will Sell Embassy Unit for $85 Million : Nelson Entertainment Gets Co-Production Deal
- ↑ Billboard (August 29, 1987). Embassy Logo Changed to Nelson. New York: Billboard Publications, page 57.
- ↑ McCullaugh, Jim (January 16, 1988). "Nelson Steps Up Sell-Through Push". Billboard.
- ↑ Stewart, Al (August 20, 1988). "Orion To Handle Sales Of Nelson Titles As Of Sept.". Billboard.
- ↑ https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-03-04.pdf
- ↑ |format=TXT |title=NIGHTMARES, TURTLES AND PROFITS |website=bloomberg.com |accessdate=2019-05-03
- ↑ "COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM INC" (TXT). Sec.gov.
- ↑ https://variety.com/1997/film/news/new-epic-librarian-1116678770
- ↑ https://articles.latimes.com/1998/oct/23/business/fi-35357
External links[]
- Template:IMDb company