Capital Arts Entertainment is a Los Angeles based film/TV, production, financing and distribution company.
Run by former Roger Corman alums Mike Elliott, Rob Kerchner and Joe Genier, Capital Arts Entertainment is widely believed to have produced, with Saban Entertainment's Lance H.Robbins and Haim Saban, the very first direct-to-video sequel, 1996's Casper: A Spirited Beginning starring Steve Guttenberg, Lori Loughlin and Rodney Dangerfield.
Company efforts include Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, Beethoven's 5th, Peaceful Warrior, Why Did I Get Married?, Route 9, The Perfect Holiday and TimeCop : The Berlin Decision. Though best known for their succession of direct-to-video sequels, the shingle has also developed and produced several original features.
Capital Arts Entertainment was founded in 1995 by Mike Elliot, Rob Kerchner and Joe Genier.
The company's first major effort, Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1996) won VSDA's direct-to-video release by a major studio in 1998. [1] The company later developed and produced many more sequels for the home entertainment market, working with most of the major studios. Among the direct-to-video sequels produced by the shingle, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love , American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile , and The Prince and Me 2: The Royal Wedding .
"We gained a reputation back in the 90′s for doing tightly-budgeted, high profile sequels, starting with Fox and Warner Bros (like Casper, Casper Meets Wendy, Addams Family Reunion, Richie Rich)", Elliot said in 2006. "The market was new, then, but growing. We helped it grow. Soon, word spread and we started doing sequels for many of the studios in town. It seems that there are only a handful of producers who can work within the tight budget parameters and high standards that this business demands." [2]
In 2005, Capital Arts Entertainment announced the launch of an international distribution company, Push Worldwide.
Capital Arts Entertainment produced Beethoven's Big Break and Blue Crush 2 , both of which Elliot also directed, Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball , American Pie Presents: The Book of Love , the VH1 telemovie Wifey and Death Race : Inferno. The company also provided production services on MTV's Teen Wolf TV series, which premiered on the network in 2011.
Capital Arts Entertainment claim Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1996) is the first direct-to-video sequel ever produced. Debuting on home video September 9, 1997, [3] the film is directed by Sean McNamara and takes place before the events of 1995's Casper, telling of how the titular character became the friendly sprite.
“I claim I made the first DTV sequel (with Casper: A Spirited Beginning [1997]),” Elliot said. “Stephen Einhorn’ll tell you he did with Poison Ivy 2 (1996), but I’m pretty sure they thought they were making a theatrical while they were doing it. I suspect Stephen thought it was a theatrical, too.” [4]
Capital Arts Entertainment produced Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1996), distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Video, which was voted the best direct-to-video release by a major by VSDA in 1998. It sold 5.5 million units, [5] according to Hosea Belcher, vice president of marketing at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. American Pie Presents : Band Camp (2005), produced by the company and released by Universal Home Entertainment, is one of the top 5 non-family direct-to-video titles of all time. [6] The Prince and Me 2: The Royal Wedding (2006) was voted family title of the year and rental title of the year at VSDA. [7]
In 2005, Capital Arts Entertainment begun acquiring and distributing completed motion pictures under their Push Distribution label. Aiming to buy and distribute 10-15 completed films a year, Push was formed so independent filmmakers would have more opportunities to showcase their work.
"As filmmakers ourselves, we recognized the need for a new type of international distribution company — a filmmaker's distributor," Mike Elliot said. "Push is committed to the dual creative process of identifying innovative and accessible films and providing these filmmakers with the entry point to the global audience. Our objective is to be the filmmaker's partner as we push them together with buyers who understand quality and marketability and value the consistent flow of product from Push Worldwide." [8]
Push Distribution have acquired and distributed such feature films as Razortooth , One Way to Valhalla, The Independent , Eating Raoul , Land Gold Women , Outside Sales and Almost Related.
Orion Pictures is an American film production and distribution company co-owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Amazon through Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films from 1978 until 1999 and was also involved in television production and syndication throughout the 1980s until the early 1990s. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former senior executives at United Artists. From its founding until its buyout by MGM in the late 1990s, Orion was considered one of the largest mini-major studios.
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Casper may refer to:
Casper: A Spirited Beginning is a 1997 American direct-to-video fantasy comedy film based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost. It serves as a prequel, though breaks continuity with the 1995 Universal/Amblin film Casper. The film stars Steve Guttenberg, Lori Loughlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Michael McKean, James Earl Jones and Pauly Shore, with supporting roles of Richard Moll, Sherman Helmsley, Brian Doyle-Murray, Edie McClurg and Ben Stein. The plot explores additional details surrounding the titular character's origins. 20th Century Fox had previously acquired film rights to the character from Universal. The film was produced by The Harvey Entertainment Company and Saban Entertainment and released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on September 9, 1997, and was panned by critics.
Entertainment Rights PLC was a British multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that specialized in TV shows and cartoons, children's media, films, and distribution. In May 2009, the company was acquired by Boomerang Media and merged into its own subsidiary Classic Media.
Trimark Pictures was an American production company that specialized in the production and distribution of television and home video motion pictures. The company was formed in 1984 by Mark Amin as Vidmark Entertainment with Vidmark Inc. established as the holding company. As a small studio, Trimark produced and released theatrical, independent, television and home video motion pictures. The logo features a triangle with a profile of a tiger's head.
Harvey Films was the production arm of comic book publisher Harvey Comics. It was founded in 1957.
American Pie Presents: Beta House is a 2007 American sex comedy film released by Universal Pictures. It is the third installment in the American Pie Presents film series, a spin-off of the American Pie franchise. John White stars as Erik Stifler, a college freshman who pledges the Beta House fraternity led by his cousin Dwight Stifler. Christopher McDonald co-stars as Erik's father and Eugene Levy plays Beta House alumnus Noah Levenstein. It is a Direct Sequel to The Naked Mile (2006).
Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a translucent ghost who is pleasant and personable, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio.
Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment was a company formed at the height of the home video industry in 1982 by producer Leonard Shapiro and director James Glickenhaus to produce and distribute low-budget horror and action films.
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Mike Elliott is an American film producer, film director and writer. He has produced or co-produced over 100 films, with a special focus on direct-to-video sequels.
PM Entertainment Group Inc. was an American independent production, distribution company which produced a distinctive line of low-to-medium budget films mostly targeted for home-video market. The company diversified into television production and larger budgeted star vehicles before being sold by its founders in 2000.
The cartoon character, Casper the Friendly Ghost who appears in numerous cartoon shorts as well as Harvey Comics publication, has appeared in five films since his inception, most of which were either released in television or straight-to-video while only one was released theatrically. Many for the most part are unrelated to each other. Like in the comics and animated shorts, the films feature Casper, a ghost of a deceased child, who refused to frighten others and would like nothing more than to be friendly around the world; however, due to the nature of what he appears to be, it would often get him shunned and petrified by whoever he encounters, but along the way, he would find and befriend a certain someone he could identify himself with, and would often help that someone in need.
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group unit, and is based at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California. Animated films produced by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation are also released under the studio banner.
American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules is a 2020 American straight-to-DVD sex comedy film directed by Mike Elliott. It is the fifth installment of the American Pie Presents film series, a spin-off of the American Pie franchise and the ninth overall installment. It is also the first film in the franchise to neither feature Eugene Levy nor contain any nudity. The film serves as a standalone sequel, revolving around Steve Stifler's relative Stephanie and her friends.