Picturehouse (company)

Last updated

Picturehouse
Company type Private
Industry Entertainment
Founded
  • 2005;19 years ago (2005) (original company)
  • 2013;11 years ago (2013) (revived studio)
Founders Bob Berney
Defunct2008;16 years ago (2008) (original company)
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States
Key people
Bob Berney (CEO)
Jeanne R. Berney (COO)
Parent Time Warner (2005–2008)
Independent (2013–present)
Website Picturehouse.com

Picturehouse is an American independent entertainment company owned by CEO Bob Berney and COO Jeanne R. Berney. Based in Los Angeles, the company specializes in film marketing and distribution, both in the U.S. and internationally. Its releases have included La Vie en Rose (2007), which earned an Academy Award for Best Actress for Marion Cotillard, Metallica Through the Never (2013), and Adam Wingard's Sundance Film Festival selection The Guest (2014), an Independent Spirit Award nominee starring Dan Stevens.

Contents

History

Formed by Bob Berney in 2005, Picturehouse was a joint venture created by Time Warner subsidiaries, New Line Cinema and HBO Films to acquire, produce and distribute independent films. [1] Berney, who guided the acquisition, marketing and distribution of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and The Passion of the Christ , among other notable releases, ran the company from its inception. [2]

Over the next two years, Picturehouse released features such as Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion , starring Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin; Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth , which was acquired at script stage and went on to earn six Academy Award nominations and wins in three categories; La Vie en Rose , which garnered Marion Cotillard an Academy Award for Best Actress; [3] and Sergei Bodrov's Genghis Khan biopic Mongol , a nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. [4]

In 2008, Time Warner's consolidation resulted in Warner Bros. exiting the independent business to concentrate on big-budget "tentpole" releases. This prompted the closure of marketing and distribution operations at both New Line Cinema and Picturehouse, costing 70 employees their jobs. [5]

In 2013, Berney and his wife Jeanne acquired the Picturehouse logo and trademark from Warner Bros. and relaunched the label as an independent theatrical distribution company. [6] Initial releases included Adriana Trigiani's Big Stone Gap , starring Ashley Judd, and Christian Keller's Gloria , with Sofía Espinosa.

In August 2020, the company released Fatima , directed by Marco Pontecorvo and starring Joaquim de Almeida, Goran Visnjic, Harvey Keitel and Sônia Braga. The film tells the story of a 10-year-old shepherd, Lúcia dos Santos, and her two young cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who report having seen apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, circa 1917. Their revelations inspire believers but anger officials of both the Catholic Church and the secular government, who try to force them to recant their story. As word of their prophecy spreads, tens of thousands of religious pilgrims flock to the site to witness what became known as the Miracle of the Sun. [7]

In September 2021, Picturehouse announced that it would release Becoming Cousteau , a documentary that uses previously unseen archival footage to chronicle the life and career of the adventurous oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who coinvented scuba diving and foretold the impact of pollution on climate change. Directed by Liz Garbus, the film was released on October 22, 2021. [8] [9]

Filmography

2000s

Original seal, distributed by New Line Home Entertainment and HBO Video (now Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)

Release DateTitleRef.
July 22, 2005 Last Days [10]
September 16, 2005 The Thing About My Folks
October 19, 2005 Ushpizin
January 27, 2006 A Cock and Bull Story
April 14, 2006 The Notorious Bettie Page
June 9, 2006 A Prairie Home Companion
November 9, 2006 Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?
November 10, 2006 Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
December 29, 2006 Pan's Labyrinth
March 9, 2007 Starter for 10
June 1, 2007 Gracie
June 8, 2007 La Vie en Rose [11] [12]
August 3, 2007 El Cantante [10]
August 10, 2007 Rocket Science
August 17, 2007 The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters [13]
September 14, 2007 Silk [10]
January 11, 2008 The Orphanage [14]
February 8, 2008 Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days and 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland [10]
February 29, 2008 (DVD) The Fox and the Child
March 28, 2008 Run Fatboy Run
June 6, 2008 Mongol
July 2, 2008 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
September 12, 2008 The Women [15]
January 20, 2009 (DVD) Amusement [10]

2010s

Revived seal, distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Release DateTitleRef.
October 4, 2013 Metallica: Through the Never [16]
September 17, 2014 The Guest [10]
July 17, 2015 Gloria
October 9, 2015 Big Stone Gap

2020s

Release DateTitleRef.
August 28, 2020 Fatima [17]
October 22, 2021 Becoming Cousteau [18]
August 19, 2022 The Territory [19]
April 14, 2023 Wild Life [20]
October 13, 2023 The Mission [21]

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References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Anne (March 4, 2008). "Warner Bros. shape shifts". Variety. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  2. ↑ Hirschberg, Lynn (December 19, 2004). "The Distribution Artist". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  3. ↑ Collett-White, Mike (February 24, 2008). "French actress Cotillard shines at Oscars". Reuters . Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  4. ↑ McIntyre, Gina (February 6, 2007). "Del Toro's 'Labyrinth' gains Oscar momentum". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  5. ↑ Hayes, Dade; McNary, Dave (May 8, 2008). "Picturehouse, WIP close shop". Variety. Archived from the original on July 14, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  6. ↑ Fleming, Mike (January 15, 2013). "The Berneys are Back with Picturehouse, and Now They've got Metallica". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  7. ↑ Fleming, Mike (October 28, 2019). "Bob & Jeanne Berney Reopen PictureHouse With North American Rights Deal For 'Fatima'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  8. ↑ Thompson, Anne (September 1, 2021). "NatGeo Unveils Four Documentaries at Telluride, from 'Fauci' to 'Becoming Cousteau'". IndieWire . Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  9. ↑ Hammond, Pete (September 1, 2021). "Nat Geo Documentary Films Set To Dominate Telluride Film Festival; 'Fauci', 'The Rescue', 'Becoming Cousteau' And More To Premiere". Deadline . Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Renner, Amy (August 26, 2023). "Picturehouse". Movie Insider .
  11. ↑ Goodridge, Mike (May 27, 2006). "Picturehouse wins US rights to La Vie En Rose". Screen Daily . Archived from the original on January 17, 2022.
  12. ↑ Grove, Martin A. (June 15, 2007). "Picture perfect launch for Picturehouse's 'Rose'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on February 2, 2023.
  13. ↑ "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  14. ↑ Billington, Alex (February 13, 2007). "Picturehouse Picks Up The Orphanage in Berlin". First Showing.
  15. ↑ "Picturehouse Picks Up Diane English's The Women". MovieWeb·. November 9, 2006.
  16. ↑ Cunningham, Todd (September 25, 2013). "'Metallica Through the Never' Rocks the Rebirth of Indie Picturehouse". The Wrap. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  17. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 7, 2020). "Bob & Jeanne Berney's Picturehouse Release 'Fatima' To Rise In Theaters This Summer". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  18. ↑ "BECOMING-COUSTEAU"-on-Friday-Oct.-22-2021 "National Geographic Documentary Films and Picturehouse to Release Liz Garbus' "BECOMING COUSTEAU" on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021". BusinessWire . September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  19. ↑ "National Geographic Documentary Films and Picturehouse Release Trailer for Two-Time Sundance Award-Winner 'THE TERRITORY'". BusinessWire . June 22, 2022.
  20. ↑ "National Geographic Documentary Films and Picturehouse Announce First Trailer and Theatrical Release of WILD LIFE from OscarⓇ Award-Winning Filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin". Business Wire . March 9, 2023. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023.
  21. ↑ Carey, Matthew (August 31, 2023). "He Went To Convert Indigenous Islanders And Was Met With Arrows: Watch Trailer For Riveting NatGeo Doc 'The Mission' – Telluride". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
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