The Ladd Company

Last updated
The Ladd Company
Company type Movie Studio
Industry Film Production
FoundedAugust 18, 1979 (Original company)
February 17, 1995 (Revived company)
Founder Alan Ladd Jr., Jay Kanter, and Gareth Wigan
DefunctApril 19, 1984 (Original company)
December 19, 2007 (Revived company)
Fate Liquidation (Original company)
Liquidation (Revived company)
Headquarters
Hollywood, California

The Ladd Company was an American film production company founded by Alan Ladd Jr., Jay Kanter, and Gareth Wigan on August 18, 1979.

Contents

In 1979, the three founders were executives with 20th Century Fox; Ladd was the president. They announced their intention to leave the company when their contracts expired in December 1980 and form a new production company to be financed by Warner Bros. (Ladd had reportedly been quarreling with other Fox senior executives). Fox subsequently cut their contracts short, ending on October 1, 1979. [1] The day after the contracts expired, the trio placed ads for the newly named "Ladd Company" in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety . [2]

Under Warner Bros., The Ladd Company distributed Chariots of Fire , which won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Picture. [3] Among the films it produced were the Space Race epic The Right Stuff , the space western Outland , Ridley Scott's science-fiction cult film Blade Runner , neo-noir film Body Heat , and the first two Police Academy films.

Police Academy proved very profitable. But the returns from the company's successes did not outweigh the box-office failures of The Right Stuff, the edited version of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, and the animated Twice Upon a Time (co-production with Korty Films and Lucasfilm). On April 18, 1984, Alan Ladd Jr. and Warner Bros. parted ways, even though the former still had three years left on the studio's contract. From that point on, "the Ladd Company [would] become a non-exclusive production organization." [4]

During a brief partnership with Paramount Pictures in the mid-1990s, the company produced The Brady Bunch Movie and the Best Picture Oscar winner Braveheart .

Ladd's later releases are the 2005 Lasse Hallström drama, An Unfinished Life, and the 2007 Ben Affleck drama Gone Baby Gone , both distributed by Miramax Films.

The Ladd Company's co-founder Gareth Wigan died at his home in Los Angeles on February 13, 2010, at the age of 78. [5] [6] The Ladd Company's founder Alan Ladd Jr. died of kidney failure at his home in Los Angeles on March 2, 2022, at the age of 84. [7] [8] The Ladd Company's co-founder Jay Kanter died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on August 6, 2024, at the age of 97. [9]

History

Beginnings

Alan Ladd Jr. had been a successful studio head of 20th Century Fox, helping make films such as Star Wars , [10] Julia , Alien , The Turning Point , Young Frankenstein , An Unmarried Woman and Silver Streak . [11] He ran into conflict with the company's chairman, Dennis Stanfill and wanted to leave. He left the company in June 1979 to set up his own company along with fellow executives Jay Kanter and Gareth Wigan. Under the terms of their severance with Fox, they were not allowed to start working until October 1, 1979. [12]

The company was known as The Ladd Company and its symbol was a tree. "You could say it has a tie in with the tree of life," said Ladd. [13] They signed a deal with Warner Bros who would finance and distribute their films, although the Ladd Company had creative control. Warners would finance at least $75 million a year. [13]

Ladd said he wanted to make "basically what I made at Fox. I don't think my attitude has changed. Those pictures went all over the place. There wasn't any specific theme to them." Even films like Alien and The Omen which he admits were "exploitation pictures, I think we tried to do it with more quality and style than just ripping off a theme." [14]

Early films

On November 2, 1979, Ladd announced the company's first films: a Bette Midler concert movie (Ladd greenlit Midler's The Rose while at Fox) and Madonna Red a $10 million Joseph L. Mankiewicz film starring Paul Newman as a Vietnam War veteran turned priest. [15] Then they announced Five Days in Summer from Fred Zinnemann who had made Julia, and Twice Upon a Time a $3 million film from Lucasfilm. [16] [17]

The Midler film became Divine Madness (1980) but Madonna Red was never made. The first dramatic film the company ended making was Outland (1981), a science fiction film in the vein of Alien shot in England under Sandy Lieberson, the company's head of European operations. It was a commercial disappointment when released. [18]

The Ladd Company's second film was going to be a Bernardo Bertolucci film starring Ugo Tognazzi. [18] This was never made. However the company had a critical and commercial hit with Body Heat (1981) the directorial debut of Lawrence Kasdan, then with Chariots of Fire (1981), a British film the company helped finance. [19]

Looker (1981) from Michael Crichton was a flop. The company helped make Blade Runner (1982), directed by Ridley Scott, which was a cult classic years after its theatrical release, but under performed critically and commercially. Night Shift (1982), directed by Ron Howard, was a minor success.

Series of flops

However the company made a series of flops: Love Child (1982), Five Days One Summer (1982), Lovesick (1983) and Twice Upon a Time (1983).

The Ladd Company hoped for a big hit with the $28 million The Right Stuff (1983) but it only returned $10 million to the company. [20] Larry Gross later wrote,

The Ladd Company, a director-friendly bunch, went down with The Right Stuff. Execs look very closely at what causes other companies to retire from the field. The levels of caution multiply. [21]

Also unsuccessful were Star 80 (1983) and Mike's Murder (1983). [22]

Ladd developed Country but sold the film to another company. [23] They also had Splash from Ron Howard but put it in turnaround, as they did The Big Chill (1983). [24]

The company had a huge hit with Police Academy (1984), made for $4.2 million which grossed $81 million and led to several sequels. [25] Less successful were Purple Hearts (1984) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984) which the company extensively edited without the cooperation of Sergio Leone.

End of company

The success of Police Academy came too late to save the company. On April 19, 1984, Warners announced its association with the Ladd Company was over and Ladd became a nonexclusive production organization. [26]

By July 16, 1984, the New York Times wrote that,

In essence, the Ladd Company no longer exists; although the label still exists, most of its executives have left. The company failed partly as a result of the dismal box-office record of many of its interesting, intelligent movies, including The Right Stuff, and partly because new management at Warner Brothers, which financed and distributed Ladd Company films, did not care to nurture the smaller movie company. [27]

On July 18, 1984, Kanter left the company to become head of production at MGM/UA. [28] Ladd followed, becoming head of MGM/UA in February 1985. [29]

The last two films made by the company during its first incarnation were Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) and Doin' Time (1985).

Revival

Ladd was ousted from MGM/UA in the mid 1990's. He reformed The Ladd Company on February 17, 1995, and on May 24, 1995, produced the Oscar-winning film Braveheart , a film he was able to take with him from MGM/UA. Around that same time Ladd also produced The Phantom (1996) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). The Ladd Company's final films were An Unfinished Life (2005) and Gone Baby Gone (2007) before the revived company was liquidated on December 19, 2007.

List of films

The following films were produced by The Ladd Company: [30]

FilmRelease DateStudioNotes
Divine Madness September 26, 1980 Warner Bros.
Chariots of Fire May 15, 1981Warner Bros. (Domestic) / 20th Century Fox (International)Domestic distribution in association with Warner Bros. only
Outland May 22, 1981Warner Bros.
Body Heat August 28, 1981Warner Bros.
Looker October 30, 1981Warner Bros.
Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man February 12, 1982Warner Bros.U.S. Distribution only, Subtitled version of an Italian Film
Blade Runner June 25, 1982Warner Bros.Co-production with Shaw Brothers Studio and Blade Runner Partnership
Night Shift July 30, 1982Warner Bros.
Love Child October 15, 1982Warner Bros.
Five Days One Summer November 12, 1982Warner Bros.
Lovesick February 18, 1983Warner Bros.
Twice Upon a Time August 5, 1983Warner Bros.Co-production with Korty Films and Lucasfilm
The Right Stuff October 21, 1983Warner Bros.Limited release in October 1983, wide release in 1984.
Star 80 November 10, 1983Warner Bros.
Mike's Murder March 9, 1984Warner Bros.
Police Academy March 22, 1984Warner Bros.
Purple Hearts March 30, 1984Warner Bros.
Once Upon a Time in America June 1, 1984Warner Bros (U.S.) / Titanus (Italy)
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment March 29, 1985Warner Bros.First Ladd Company film not to have the company's logo screen at the beginning of the film.
Doin' Time May 19, 1985Warner Bros.Final Ladd Company picture released by Warner Bros.
The Brady Bunch Movie February 17, 1995 Paramount Pictures First Ladd Company picture since 1985 and the first released by Paramount
Braveheart May 24, 1995Paramount Pictures (Domestic) / 20th Century Fox (International)Co-production with Icon Productions
The Phantom June 7, 1996Paramount PicturesCo-production with Village Roadshow Pictures
A Very Brady Sequel August 23, 1996Paramount Pictures
An Unfinished Life September 9, 2005 Miramax Films Co-production with Revolution Studios
Gone Baby Gone October 19, 2007Miramax Films

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer</span> American film and television company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., is an American media company specializing in film and television production and distribution based in Beverly Hills, California. MGM was founded on April 17, 1924 and has been owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon since 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Artists</span> American film production company

United Artists (UA) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, UA was founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks as a venture premised on allowing actors to control their own financial and artistic interests rather than being dependent upon commercial studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelley Winters</span> American actress (1920–2006)

Shelley Winters was an American film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations for A Place in the Sun (1951) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). She also appeared in A Double Life (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Lolita (1962), Alfie (1966), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), and Pete's Dragon (1977). She also acted on television, including a tenure on the sitcom Roseanne, and wrote three autobiographies.

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 the name of Adelson's then wife, Lori, and Palomar Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major film studios</span> United States film production and distribution companies with high output

Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, the major film studios, often known simply as the majors or the Big Five studios, are commonly regarded as the five diversified media conglomerates whose various film production and distribution subsidiaries collectively command approximately 80 to 85% of U.S. box office revenue. The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary motion picture business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Ladd</span> American actor (1913–1964)

Alan Walbridge Ladd was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in films noir, such as This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942), and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Whispering Smith (1948) was his first Western and color film, and Shane (1953) was noted for its contributions to the genre. Ladd also appeared in ten films with William Bendix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cannon Group, Inc.</span> Film studio

The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested heavily in the video market, buying the international video rights to several classic film libraries. Some of their best known films include Joe (1970), Runaway Train (1985) and Street Smart (1987), all of which were Oscar-nominated.

<i>Outland</i> (film) 1981 film by Peter Hyams

Outland is a 1981 science fiction thriller film written and directed by Peter Hyams and starring Sean Connery, Peter Boyle and Frances Sternhagen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment</span> Home video distribution arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. is the American home video distribution division of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Canal+ Image International was a British-French film, television, animation studio and distributor. A former subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief connection with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Anglo-EMI, the division under Nat Cohen, and the later company as part of the Thorn EMI conglomerate are outlined here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGM Home Entertainment</span> Home video distribution arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

MGM Home Entertainment LLC is the home video distribution arm of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). It is owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon.

Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. was an American film industry executive and producer. He was president of 20th Century Fox from 1976 to 1979, during which he approved the production of Star Wars, on his confidence in George Lucas, which proved well-founded. He later established The Ladd Company and headed MGM/UA. Ladd won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1996 for producing Braveheart.

Aljean Meltsir Harmetz is an American journalist and film historian. She was the Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times from 1978 to 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema International Corporation</span> Defunct global distributor of American films

Cinema International Corporation (CIC) was a film distribution company started by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in the early 1970s to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States – it even operated in Canada before it was considered part of the "domestic" market. During the 1970s, CIC was the "most important agent of overseas distribution" for American films. In 1981, CIC merged with United Artists' international units and became United International Pictures. The formation of CIC, and the profit-sharing arrangement that made it work, has been described as the product of "revolutionary thinking".

<i>Shoot the Moon</i> 1982 film by Alan Parker

Shoot the Moon is a 1982 American drama film directed by Alan Parker, and written by Bo Goldman. It stars Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen, Peter Weller, and Dana Hill. Set in Marin County, California, the film follows George (Finney) and Faith Dunlap (Keaton), whose deteriorating marriage, separation and love affairs devastate their four children. The title of the film alludes to an accounting rule known in English as "shooting the moon" in the scored card game hearts.

The 6th Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and dance for the 1983–1984 season, and took place on December 2, 1984, in Hollywood, California.

MGM-Pathé Communications was an American film production company that operated in Los Angeles County, California from 1990 to 1992.

Elisabeth Robinson is an American novelist, screenwriter and film producer. She is the author of The True & Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters, a national and New York Times bestseller. The epistolary novel, her first, was published in the US by Little, Brown and translated into ten languages.

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

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.

References

  1. ↑ Thomas, Bob. "Studio 'revolution' treat for gossips". Edmonton Journal (August 18, 1979).
  2. ↑ Schreger, Charles. "New Film Company Born of Frustration". Sarasota Herald-Tribune (October 19, 1979)
  3. ↑ Chariots of Fire Wins Best Picture: 1982-Oscars on YouTube
  4. ↑ Associated Press. "Ladd, Warner Bros. dissolve agreement". St. Joseph News-Press (April 20, 1984).
  5. ↑ "Agent, producer, studio chief Wigan dies at 78". Reuters. 2010-02-13.
  6. ↑ Gareth Kilday (2010-02-13). "Gareth Wigan dies at 78". The Hollywood Reporter .
  7. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (March 2, 2022). "Alan Ladd Jr. Dies: Oscar-Winning 'Braveheart' Producer, 'Star Wars' Shepherd & Former Exec At Fox, MGM/UA Was 84". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  8. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (March 3, 2022). "Alan Ladd Jr., Hitmaking Film Executive, Dies at 84" . The New York Times . Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  9. ↑ Tinoco, Armando. "Jay Kanter Dies: Film Producer & Agent To Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe Was 97". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  10. ↑ Warner Bros. Settles Alan Ladd, Jr. Profits Lawsuit (Exclusive)|Hollywood Reporter
  11. ↑ Alan Ladd Jr. - Biography -IMDb
  12. ↑ BUSINESS PEOPLE New York Times 12 Oct 1979: D2.
  13. 1 2 In Movieland, Three's a Company: Pace Is Slow at Ladd Co. SCHREGER, CHARLES. Los Angeles Times 10 Oct 1979: g1.
  14. ↑ Sweeney, Louise (7 February 1980). "Studio boss who called it quits". The Christian Science Monitor.
  15. ↑ Ladd Films to Star Midler and Newman By ALJEAN HARMETZ New York Times 2 Nov 1979: C5.
  16. ↑ At the Movies: Stallone unveils a Switzerland of personalities. Buckley, Tom. New York Times 18 Jan 1980: C8.
  17. ↑ Star Wars' Team Plans Mythical Animated Film By ALJEAN HARMETZ New York Times 1 Apr 1980: C9.
  18. 1 2 Champlin, Charles (8 June 1980). "BY JUPITER, THE LADD CO. TAKES FLIGHT". Los Angeles Times. p. q3.
  19. ↑ SOMETIMES A MOVIE MAKES A STUDIO PROUD ALJEAN HARMETZ New York Times 6 Feb 1982: 1.11.
  20. ↑ MOGULS TAKE TO THE SLOPES FOR DEALS HARMETZ, ALJEAN. New York Times 7 Mar 1984: C.17.
  21. ↑ The rise and fall of Hollywood Gross, Larry. The Ottawa Citizen 19 Apr 1999: B10
  22. ↑ AT THE MOVIES Maslin, Janet. New York Times 9 Mar 1984: C.8.
  23. ↑ IN LIFE AS ON SCREEN, STRUGGLE DEFINES TWO ACTRESSES: [1] Lindsey, Robert. New York Times 16 Sep 1984: A.19.
  24. ↑ Auteur Opie McCarthy, Todd. Film Comment; New York Vol. 20, Iss. 3, (May/Jun 1984): 40-42,80.
  25. ↑ Thomas, Bob (11 January 1985). "IF YOU ENJOYED 'POLICE ACADEMY,' GET READY FOR ANOTHER". Chicago Tribune. p. E.
  26. ↑ Warner Severs Tie With Ladd Warner Communications New York Times 19 Apr 1984: D.5.
  27. ↑ REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: FILM INDUSTRY THRIVES HARMETZ, ALJEAN. New York Times 16 July 1984: C.12.
  28. ↑ KANTOR CHOSEN TO HEAD MGM/UA PRODUCTION HARMETZ, ALJEAN. New York Times 18 July 1984: C.21.
  29. ↑ LA CLIPS Same old faces on two film sets Deans, Laurie. The Globe and Mail1 Feb 1985: E.7.
  30. ↑ BFI
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.