Spyglass Media Group
Spyglass Media Group, LLC, formerly Spyglass Entertainment, is an American film production company founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998.
 | |
| Spyglass Media Group | |
| Formerly | Spyglass Entertainment (1998–2012) |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Film |
| Predecessor | Caravan Pictures |
| Founded | 1998 2019 (Relaunch) |
| Founder | Gary Barber Roger Birnbaum |
| Headquarters | Century City, , United States[1] |
Key people | |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Owners |
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| Website | spyglassmediagroup |
History
Spyglass Entertainment
In August 1998, Gary Barber, former vice chairman and COO of Morgan Creek Productions, together with Roger Birnbaum, co-founder and former head of Caravan Pictures, founded Spyglass Entertainment. The startup company signed a five-year distribution agreement with Disney, which took an equity stake. Birnbaum previously left Caravan at the prompting of then Disney studio chief Joe Roth; with Disney cutting its yearly production output, Roth recommended forming a self-financing production firm similar to New Regency Productions. After Caravan's remaining three films were released, Caravan went inactive. Its slate of movie projects and an initial financial advance of $10 million to $20 million against future overages were also contributed by Disney.[4] Spyglass's operations were formed and based at the Walt Disney Studios. In October 1998, European media conglomerates Kirch Group and Mediaset invested in theatrical, video and television distribution rights to between 15 and 25 films in Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and the former Soviet Union for over five years.[5] M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense (released 1999) was Spyglass's first film, collecting $661 million at the box office worldwide.[6]
By May 2000, Disney took a 10% equity stake in Spyglass, along with Svensk Filmindustri of Scandinavia and Lusomundo of Portugal.[7][8] In March 2003, Spyglass Entertainment agreed to a four-year distribution output deal with Village Roadshow for Australia, New Zealand and Greece.[9]
In 2002, Spyglass Entertainment launched a television division, and it was focused on small screen projects. Miracles is one of the planned projects supported by Spyglass for its television division.[10]
That same year, it attempted to merge with smaller independent distributor Intermedia, but it failed.[11]
In December 2003, Spyglass ended its deal with Disney and agreed to a four-year first-look non-exclusive co-financing and production deal with DreamWorks. This deal was never finalized and the relationship was not working well. Thus in September 2003, Spyglass instead made a similar deal with Sony Pictures. Spyglass did not move to the Sony lot, but to Murdoch Plaza in Westwood, Los Angeles.[6]
On December 20, 2010, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum became co-chairmen and CEOs of the holding company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which had at that time recently emerged from bankruptcy. The original plan had the Spyglass library being added to MGM, but it was later removed from the plan.[12]
Spyglass Media Group
On March 13, 2019, Barber and Lantern Entertainment revived the company as Spyglass Media Group, bringing in Eagle Pictures and Cineworld as investors. Lantern made a majority investment and also transferred its film library and rights to Miramax film sequels to the Spyglass. Barber owns the Spyglass trademark and the sequel and remake rights to the old Spyglass library, which he has contributed. The company plans to produce content for all platforms.[1][13] Spyglass closed the former Lantern Entertainment/TWC office in New York City while laying off 15 staff members across divisions.[14]
On April 1, 2019, Lauren Whitney, the president of television for Miramax, took on the same position for Spyglass.[2] Damien Marin followed Barber from MGM to be appointed Spyglass president of worldwide distribution and acquisitions in September 2019.[3]
AT&T's Warner Bros. in April 2019 bought an equity stake in Spyglass, which signed a first-look deal with the studio.[15] Spyglass was involved in August 2019 in a potential purchase of part of Miramax but dropped out in two weeks.[16][17]
Spyglass's first greenlit film since its revival is a revival of Hellraiser franchise announced in May 2019.[18] With the company winning the rights to the Stephen King's The Institute book in November 2019, Jack Bender and David E. Kelley were paired to development and produce the book as a mini-series. Also, Bender was signed by Spyglass to a television first-look deal.[19]
MGM President of Physical Production Peter Oillataguerre was appointed President of Production for Spyglass Media Group reporting to Barber.[20]
Foreign distributor
- Village Roadshow (2003–2007) Australia, New Zealand and Greece
- Canal+: France, Benelux, Sweden and Poland pay TV
- Sogecable: Spanish pay cable
- Pony Canyon: Japan
- Lusomundo: Portugal
- Forum: Israel
- Ster-Kinekor: South Africa[9]
Production filmography
1990s
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instinct | June 4, 1999 | Buena Vista Pictures | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Barbara Boyle/Michael Taylor Productions; first film | $80 million | $34.1 million |
| The Sixth Sense | August 6, 1999 | Disney label released as Hollywood Pictures; co-production with The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Barry Mendel Productions | $40 million | $672.8 million | |
| The Insider | November 5, 1999 | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Forward Pass and Eric Roth Productions | $68 million | $60.2 million |
2000s
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission to Mars | March 10, 2000 | Buena Vista Pictures | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Jacobson Company | $100 million | $111 million |
| Keeping the Faith | April 14, 2000 | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions, Koch Co., Blumberg/Norton Productions and Triple Threat Talent | $29 million | $59.9 million | |
| Shanghai Noon | May 26, 2000 | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions and Jackie Chan Films Ltd. | $55 million | $100.5 million | |
| Out Cold | November 21, 2001 | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions and The Donners' Company | $24 million | $14.8 million | |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | January 25, 2002 | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions | $35 million | $75.4 million | |
| Dragonfly | February 22, 2002 | Universal Pictures | co-production with Gran Via Productions and Shady Acres Entertainment; international distribution through Buena Vista International | $60 million | $52.3 million |
| Reign of Fire | July 12, 2002 | Buena Vista Pictures | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions and The Zanuck Company | $60 million | $82.2 million |
| Abandon | October 18, 2002 | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Lynda Obst Productions; international distribution through Buena Vista International | $25 million | $12.3 million |
| The Recruit | January 31, 2003 | Buena Vista Pictures | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions and Epsilon Motion Pictures | $46 million | $101.2 million |
| Shanghai Knights | February 7, 2003 | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions and Jackie Chan Films Ltd. | $50 million | $88.3 million | |
| Bruce Almighty | May 23, 2003 | Universal Pictures | co-production with Shady Acres Entertainment and Pit Bull Productions; international distribution through Buena Vista International | $81 million | $484.6 million |
| Seabiscuit | July 7, 2003 | co-production with DreamWorks Pictures, The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Larger Than Life Productions; international distribution through Buena Vista International | $87 million | $148.3 million | |
| The Perfect Score | January 30, 2004 | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Roger Birnbaum Productions, MTV Films and Tollin/Robbins Productions | N/A | $10.8 million |
| Connie and Carla | April 16, 2004 | Universal Pictures | co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions | $27 million | $11.3 million |
| Mr. 3000 | September 17, 2004 | Buena Vista Pictures | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Dimension Films, Birnbaum/Barber Productions and The Kennedy/Marshall Company | $30 million | $21.8 million |
| The Pacifier | March 4, 2005 | Disney label released as Walt Disney Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions | $56 million | $198.6 million | |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | April 29, 2005 | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions, Hammer & Tongs and Everyman Pictures | $45–50 million | $104.5 million | |
| The Legend of Zorro | October 28, 2005 | Sony Pictures Releasing | Sony label released as Columbia Pictures; co-production with Amblin Entertainment and Parkes/MacDonald Productions | $65 million | $142.4 million |
| Memoirs of a Geisha | December 9, 2005 | Sony label released as Columbia Pictures; co-production with DreamWorks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment and Red Wagon Entertainment; international distribution through Buena Vista International | $85 million | $162.2 million | |
| Eight Below | February 17, 2006 | Buena Vista Pictures | Disney label released as Walt Disney Pictures; co-production with Mandeville Films and The Kennedy/Marshall Company | $40 million | $120.5 million |
| Stay Alive | March 24, 2006 | Disney label released as Hollywood Pictures; co-production with Endgame Entertainment, Wonderland Sound and Vision and Birnbaum/Barber Productions; international distribution through Universal Pictures | $20 million | $27.1 million | |
| Stick It | April 28, 2006 | Disney label released as Touchstone Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions, Gail Lyon Productions and Jessica Bendinger Productions | $20 million | $31.9 million | |
| The Lookout | March 30, 2007 | Disney label released as Miramax Films; co-production with Laurence Mark Productions, Parkes-MacDonald Productions and Birnbaum/Barber Productions | $16 million | $5.4 million | |
| The Invisible | April 27, 2007 | Disney label released as Hollywood Pictures, co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions and MacariEdelstein Productions | N/A | $26.8 million | |
| Evan Almighty | June 22, 2007 | Universal Pictures | co-production with Relativity Media, Original Film, Shady Acres Entertainment and Birnbaum/Barber Productions | $175 million | $173.4 million |
| Underdog | August 3, 2007 | Buena Vista Pictures | Disney label released as Walt Disney Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions, Jay Polstein Productions and Classic Media | $25 million | $65.3 million |
| Balls of Fury | August 29, 2007 | Rogue Pictures | co-production with Intrepid Pictures and Birnbaum/Barber Productions | N/A | $41.1 million |
| 27 Dresses | January 18, 2008 | 20th Century Fox | Fox label released as Fox 2000 Pictures; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions and Dune Entertainment III, LLC | $30 million | $160.3 million |
| Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | February 8, 2008 | Universal Pictures | co-production with Stuber-Parent Productions | $35 million | $43.6 million |
| The Ruins | April 4, 2008 | Paramount Pictures | Paramount label released as DreamWorks Pictures; co-production with Red Hour Films | $8 million | $22.3 million |
| The Happening | June 13, 2008 | 20th Century Fox | co-production with Dune Entertainment, UTV Motion Pictures and Blinding Edge Pictures | $48 million | $163.4 million |
| The Love Guru | June 20, 2008 | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Nomoneyfun Films and Michael de Luca Productions | $62 million | $40.9 million |
| Wanted | June 27, 2008 | Universal Pictures | co-production with Relativity Media, Marc Platt Productions, Kickstart Productions and Top Cow Productions | $75 million | $341.4 million |
| Ghost Town | September 19, 2008 | Paramount Pictures | Paramount label released as DreamWorks Pictures; co-production with Pariah | $20 million | $27.1 million |
| Flash of Genius | October 3, 2008 | Universal Pictures | co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions and Strike Entertainment | $20 million | $4.8 million |
| Four Christmases | November 26, 2008 | Warner Bros. Pictures | Warner label released as New Line Cinema; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions, Wild West Picture Show Productions and Type A Films | $80 million | $163.7 million |
| Star Trek | May 8, 2009 | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Bad Robot Productions | $150 million | $385.7 million |
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | August 7, 2009 | co-production with Hasbro and di Bonaventura Pictures | $175 million | $302.5 million | |
| Invictus | December 11, 2009 | Warner Bros. Pictures | co-production with Revelations Entertainment, Mace Neufeld Productions and Malpaso Productions | $50–60 million | $122.2 million |
2010s
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leap Year[21] | January 8, 2010 | Universal Pictures | co-production with BenderSpink and Birnbaum/Barber Productions | $19 million | $32.6 million |
| Get Him to the Greek[22] | June 4, 2010 | co-production with Relativity Media and Apatow Productions | $40 million | $91.3 million | |
| Dinner for Schmucks[23] | July 30, 2010 | Paramount Pictures | Paramount label released as DreamWorks Pictures; co-production with Parkes/MacDonald Productions, Reliance Big Pictures and Everyman Pictures | $69 million | $86.9 million |
| The Tourist[24] | December 10, 2010 | Sony Pictures Releasing | Sony label released as Columbia Pictures; co-production with GK Films, Birnbaum/Barber Productions and StudioCanal | $100 million | $278.3 million |
| No Strings Attached[25] | January 21, 2011 | Paramount Pictures | Paramount label released as DW Studios, co-production with Cold Spring Pictures and The Montecito Picture Company | $25 million | $149.2 million |
| Footloose[26] | October 14, 2011 | co-production with MTV Films, Dylan Sellers Productions, Zadan/Meron Productions and Weston Pictures | $24 million | $63.5 million | |
| The Vow[27] | February 10, 2012 | Sony Pictures Releasing | Sony label released as Screen Gems; co-production with Birnbaum/Barber Productions | $30 million | $196.1 million |
2020s
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scream[28] | January 14, 2022 | Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Media Group (some markets) | co-production with Paramount, Radio Silence, Project X[29] |
In development
| Title | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hellraiser[18][30] | TBA | co-production with Phantom Four Films |
| Perfect Strangers[31] | co-production with Eagle Pictures, 3 Marys Entertainment and Issa Rae Productions | |
| Short Circuit[32] | co-production with Project X Entertainment and Rehab Entertainment | |
| Untitled Spy Kids film[33] | co-production with Skydance Media | |
References
- Lang, Brent (March 13, 2019). "Gary Barber Teams With Lantern Entertainment to Launch Spyglass Media Group". Variety. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- Otterson, Joe (March 25, 2019). "Miramax President of TV Lauren Whitney Exits to Join Spyglass Media Group". Variety. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Lang, Brent (September 3, 2019). "Spyglass Taps Damien Marin as Distribution and Acquisitions President". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- Eller, Clauida (August 21, 1998). "Spyglass Offers Disney Lower-Risk Deals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Mattzer, Marla (October 29, 1998). "European Firms to Invest in Spyglass". Los Angeles Times. p. C4. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Dunkley, Cathy; Brodesser, Claude (September 23, 2003). "Spyglass splits". Variety. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Eller, Claudia (May 23, 2000). "Spyglass Hopes for More Good 'Sense' in Future Projects". Los Angeles Times. p. C1. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Eller, Claudia (December 10, 2002). "Spyglass Signs Deal With DreamWorks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Dunkley, Cathy (March 7, 2003). "Roadshow taking Spyglass pix to Oz". Variety. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Adalian, Josef (2002-08-06). "Spyglass spiesTV prospects". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- Meza, Dana Harris,Ed; Harris, Dana; Meza, Ed (2002-03-13). "Intermedia/Spyglass: A split decision". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- McNary, Dave (20 December 2010). "MGM restructuring becomes official". Variety. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Kilday, Gregg (March 13, 2019). "Gary Barber's Spyglass Media Group Takes Control of Former Weinstein Co. Assets". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- Friedman, Ryan (March 20, 2019). "Gary Barber's Spyglass Media Group Lays Off 15, Closes Lantern Entertainment's NYC Office". WrapPRO. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- Lang, Brent (April 16, 2019). "Warner Bros. Invests in Spyglass Media". Variety. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- Schwartzel, Benjamin Mullin and Erich (August 1, 2019). "Lions Gate, Spyglass Media, Viacom Are Leading Contenders to Buy Stake in Miramax". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- Sakoui, Anoshua (August 19, 2019). "Viacom and Lionsgate Go Head-to-Head in Fight for Miramax Stake". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- McNary, Dave (May 6, 2019). "'Hellraiser' Revival in the Works With 'Dark Knight' Writer David S. Goyer". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- Thorne, Will (September 10, 2019). "David E. Kelley, Jack Bender Developing Stephen King's 'The Institute' as Limited Series". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- McNary, Dave (April 20, 2020). "Spyglass Hires MGM Veteran Peter Oillataguerre as President of Production". Variety. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- "Leap Year (2010)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- Rechtshaffen, Michael (October 14, 2010). "Get Him to the Greek – Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- "Dinner for Schmucks (2010)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- McCarthy, Todd (December 8, 2010). "Todd McCarthy's Review of 'The Tourist' With Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- McCarthy, Todd (January 16, 2011). "Film Review: 'No Strings Attached' Is Cutesy, Nowhere Near Hot Enough". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- "Footloose (2011)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- "The Vow (2012)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 28, 2020). "'Scream' Relaunch Eyes 2022 Release, 'Snake Eyes' Rolls To 2021 & More – Paramount Release Date Changes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- Kroll, Justin (June 24, 2020). "New 'Scream' Movie From Spyglass Media Will Be Released by Paramount (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- Kit, Borys (April 10, 2020). "Spyglass' 'Hellraiser' Reboot Finds Its Writing/Directing Team (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- McNary, Dave (December 4, 2019). "Issa Rae to Star in and Produce 'Perfect Strangers' Remake". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- Fleming Jr, Mike (November 13, 2020). "'Short Circuit' Remake To Get Latinx Jolt From Spyglass Media Group". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- Kroll, Justin (January 26, 2021). "Skydance Media To Reimagine The 'Spy Kids' Franchise With Spyglass Media And Series Creator Robert Rodriguez". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
External links
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