Heron Communications

Last updated
Heron Communications Inc.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Production and Distribution [1]
Founded1984;40 years ago (1984)
Defunct1993;31 years ago (1993)
FateCeased operations
Parent Heron International
Subsidiaries Heron Home Video
Media Home Entertainment
Hi-Tops Video
Fox Hills Video
The Nostalgia Merchant

Heron Communications was a production company, distributor and a subsidiary of Gerald Ronson's Heron International.

Contents

It owned various home video companies, including Heron Home Entertainment (formerly Videoform Pictures), which had a joint venture with PolyGram Video, Channel 5 Video. [2] [3]

In 1984, it bought out the American home video company Media Home Entertainment, also including The Nostalgia Merchant. In 1986, Heron expanded in the US with two new labels; children's-oriented Hi-Tops Video [4] , and sell-through oriented label Fox Hills Video (with The Nostalgia Merchant now part of Fox Hills). [5]

In 1987, Heron Communications teamed up with fledging film distributor Troma Entertainment to distribute nine films on videocassette through the Media label, and also became involved with Cox Video and executive producer Alan Landsburg to produce direct-to-video documentaries for the Fox Hills Video label. [6]

That October, it entered into an agreement with NFL Films that would make Fox Hills the exclusive distributor for NFL Films Video titles. [7] Elsewhere, Heron filed a lawsuit against American film producer/distributor The Vista Organization, charging that Vista, along with its chairman and president, with fraud and breach of contract involving Vista's then-recent merger with Carolco and subsequent transfer of video rights to Vista titles to International Video Entertainment (then partially-owned by Carolco), including Maid to Order , Fright Night Part II , and Dudes . [8]

Heron ultimately began to sell or close their video operations in the early 1990s, a side-effect of the fraud cases that took down their parent company, Heron International. Hi-Tops Video was sold to Western Publishing and integrated into their Golden Book Video label [9] [10] ; Media continued operations into 1993, with their final releases being distributed by FoxVideo. [11] [12] [13] Other Media and Hi-Tops titles were licensed to Video Treasures for a period in the early-to-mid 1990s. [14] [15]

Filmography

As a production company

[1]

As a distributor

[1]

Assets

Related Research Articles

Orion Releasing, LLC is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon. 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.

Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Television. It was founded by Irwin Molasky, Merv Adelson, and Lee Rich. The company's name was a portmanteau of Adelson's then wife, Lori and Palomar Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TriStar Pictures</span> American film studio

TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony studio Columbia Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PolyGram Filmed Entertainment</span> British-American film studio and film production company

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment was a film production company founded in 1975 as an American film studio, which became a European competitor to Hollywood within two decades, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in 1998 and was folded a year later. Among its most successful and well known films were The Deep (1977), Midnight Express (1978), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Flashdance (1983), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Dead Man Walking (1995), The Big Lebowski (1998), Fargo (1996), The Usual Suspects (1995), The Game (1997), Barney's Great Adventure (1998) and Notting Hill (1999).

Artisan Entertainment was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until it was purchased by later mini-major film studio Lions Gate Entertainment in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and distribution agreements. Its headquarters and private screening room were located in Santa Monica, California. It also had an office in Tribeca in Manhattan, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolco Pictures</span> Defunct US independent film production company

Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, with blockbuster successes including the first three films of the Rambo franchise, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Basic Instinct, Universal Soldier, Cliffhanger and Stargate. Nevertheless, the company was losing money overall and required a corporate restructuring in 1992. The 1995 film Cutthroat Island, intended to be a comeback for the studio, instead lost $147 million and brought the company to an end.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment</span> The Walt Disney Companys home entertainment subsidiary

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, and other audiovisual content across several home media formats, such as Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and digital media, under various brand labels around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vestron Video</span> Defunct American home video company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media Home Entertainment</span> Defunct American home video company (1978–1993)

Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band.

Warner Music Vision was a music video company formed in 1990 by Warner Music International to make music videos from artists and bands on Warner Bros. Records, Maverick Records, Sire Records, Atlantic Records, Elektra Records and other Warner Music Group labels and to release them on video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Pictures Home Entertainment</span> Home video distribution division of Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio, owned by NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchor Bay Entertainment</span> American home entertainment and production company

The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre films, undiscovered treasures, cult classics, and remastered catalog releases".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hi-Tops Video</span>

Hi-Tops Video was a children's home video sublabel of Media Home Entertainment, active from 1986 until 1991. Some of its releases include some Charlie Brown specials, Madeline and primarily some of the original Baby Songs video releases beginning in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guild Home Video</span> UK video distribution company

Guild Home Video (GHV) or Guild Film Distribution was one of the first video distribution companies to start operating in the UK. Unlike other independent labels such as Intervision or Videoform, GHV not only survived for a very long time, but continued to grow, eventually becoming a video distributor for independent studios such as Carolco, New Line Cinema, Cannon, and Lorimar. The videos were released by Video Collection International and PolyGram Video.

<i>Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World</i> 1987 television special directed by Bernard Deyriès

Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World is a 1987 American animated television special created by DIC Animation City with Saban Productions featuring popular Mattel character Barbie. The story was based on the Barbie and the Rockers line of dolls, which featured Barbie as the leader of a rock band. The special originally aired in syndication. It was later released as a single tape by Hi-Tops Video. Foreign rights were assumed by Channel 5 Video, a joint-venture of Heron Communications and PolyGram.

Roadshow Entertainment is an Australian home video, production and distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow that distributes films in Australia and New Zealand. Their first release was Mad Max. Roadshow Entertainment is an independent video distributor in Australia and New Zealand.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MarVista Entertainment</span> American production company

MarVista Entertainment, LLC is an American production company, based in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. The company mainly provides financing and some original content, mainly made-for-TV films and direct-to-SVOD titles, many of which are carried by networks such as Lifetime, along with Netflix, Ion Television, Hulu, Crackle, Disney Channel, and Hallmark Channel.

References

  1. 1 2 3 https://www.imdb.com/company/co0052823/ [ user-generated source ]
  2. 1 2 "Heron, PolyGram Set Joint Venture With Low Pricing". Variety . 1986-01-01. p. 25.
  3. "Channel Five Moves Into Music & Kid Vid" (PDF). World Radio History. 11 July 1987. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  4. "Heron Establishes Kidvid Label; Moss, Steingard Aboard". Variety . 1986-07-09. p. 31.
  5. "Heron Sets Name, Product & Execs Of New Vid Branch". Variety . 1986-08-27. p. 30.
  6. "Heron Obtains 9 Troma Films For HV And Inks With Cox For Madefors". Variety . 1987-07-22. p. 44.
  7. Bierbaum, Tom (1987-10-21). "Fox Hills To Carry Ball For NFL; Called Biggest Sportsdeal Yet". Variety . p. 510.
  8. "Heron Sues Vista Citing Contract Breach, Fraud". Variety . 1987-10-28. p. 40.
  9. Lichtman, Irv (20 July 1991). "Inside Track" (PDF). Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  10. McCullaugh, Jim (8 August 1991). "Western Publishing On The Fast Track With Hi-Tops Slate" (PDF). World Radio History. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  11. McCullaugh, Jim (30 March 1991). "Parent Wants To Sell Media Home Entertainment" (PDF). World Radio History. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  12. Goldstein, Seth (12 December 1992). "Picture This" (PDF). World Radio History. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  13. Goldstein, Seth (30 January 1993). "Video Treasures Polishes Up; Stevens To Focus On Acquisitions" (PDF). World Radio History. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  14. Holley, Debbie (16 November 1991). "Suppliers Step Out Of Superstar-Vid Routine & Into New Territory" (PDF). World Radio History. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  15. Jeffrey, Don (13 March 1993). "GTS Links With Video Treasures; Distrib Pact To Bolster Tesh Label's Reach" (PDF). World Radio History. Retrieved 5 May 2024.