HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Empire International Pictures (aka Empire Entertainment) was an American small-scale theatrical distribution company.
Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...
formed Empire in 1983, prompted by his dissatisfaction with distributors' handling of films made by his previous business, Charles Band International Productions. Empire produced and distributed a number of low-budget horror and fantasy feature films, including '' Re-Animator'', ''
Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
'', '' Ghoulies'', ''
Trancers ''Trancers'' (also released as ''Future Cop'') is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by Charles Band and starring Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, and Art LaFleur. It is the first film in the ''Trancers'' series. Thomerson plays Ja ...
'', and '' From Beyond''.


History


Early years (1983–1984)

Sensing the emerging theatrical market for independently produced horror and science-fiction films, producer Charles Band decided to create a small production company to compete with the major Hollywood studios. The name ''Empire Pictures'' first surfaced in May 1983 at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, where Band sought funding for ''Parasite II'', a proposed sequel to his successful movie '' Parasite'' (1982). Initial Empire productions included ''Swordkill'' (aka ''Ghost Warrior'') and '' The Dungeonmaster'', each of which received limited theatrical releases in 1984. Also that year, Empire signed an agreement with
Vestron Video 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. The name is now used for a collect ...
that granted Vestron worldwide video rights to five of Empire's films.


Box office success (1985–1986)

Empire's first hit came in early 1985, with '' Ghoulies''. Released in several major markets, the film had grossed $3,455,018 by February; it made over $1 million in its first weekend in New York City alone. This success paved the way for the company to showcase future cult hits ''
Trancers ''Trancers'' (also released as ''Future Cop'') is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by Charles Band and starring Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, and Art LaFleur. It is the first film in the ''Trancers'' series. Thomerson plays Ja ...
'' and '' Re-Animator'' in theaters. Flush with cash, Band purchased Castello di Giove, a 12th-century castle located in Giove, Italy. His intention was to use the edifice as a European base of operations and a filming location. Around the same time, Band also bought Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, which was founded by
Dino De Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. ...
in 1946. The purchase price of De Laurentiis's studio was reportedly $20 million. Empire also teamed up with Vestron Video subsidiary Lightning Video to create the Force Video banner, under which six action-adventure videocassettes were released in the summer of 1985. 1986 saw Empire's biggest output of theatrical releases, including '' Eliminators'', '' From Beyond'', ''
TerrorVision ''TerrorVision'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ted Nicolaou, produced and written by Albert and Charles Band and composed by Richard Band, all of whom would go on to found and work with Full Moon Features ...
'', and ''
Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
''. The last of these proved to be Empire's biggest success that year, grossing $5,450,815 when released in nearly a thousand theaters. The company decided to expand. Albert Band was named production head, a position he held until the company was sold off. Empire's agreement with Vestron Video continued; Vestron bought the worldwide video rights to one of Empire's future releases for $35–$40 million.


Financial collapse (1987–1989)

With a studio in Italy secured, 1987 saw Empire significantly increase its production. The company arrived at the
American Film Market The American Film Market (AFM) is a film industry event held each year in early November. Historically, more than 7,000 people attend the eight-day annual event to network and to sell, finance and acquire films. Participants come from more than ...
in February touting 36 new releases. Titles produced in this period included ''
Dolls A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...
'', '' Ghoulies II'', ''
Prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
'', and '' Robot Jox''. Empire also switched video distributors, from Vestron to New World Video, which would release titles under the Empire Video label. Two new divisions of Empire were launched in 1987. The first was Urban Classics, which produced films such as '' Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity'', '' Galactic Gigolo'', and ''Space Sluts in the Slammer''. Urban Classics released movies both theatrically, and subsequently on home video, marking the first time that Empire had produced its own home video releases, rather than partnering with another company. The second subsidiary was Infinity Film Sales, headed by Maura Hoy. Its purpose was to distribute to the foreign market a set of low-budget films that had been offered to Wizard Video, yet another Empire division. Later that year, Australian home video veteran Walter Lehne would purchase Infinity's 14 titles in a $1 million deal that included movies from Filmtrust, Intercontinental Releasing Corporation, and others as well. Also in 1987, Empire partnered with Cinema Home Video Productions to develop ten films. Most of the movies were planned to have a budget of $1 million each, but at least two would have $2–3 million in funding, and be shot at Empire's Italian studio. Distribution would be handled by Urban Classics domestically, and by Infinity overseas. On September 8, 1987, Empire reduced the staff of its publicity department from three people to one. The studio planned to outsource the marketing of special projects. Empire began to collapse in mid-1988, due to financial problems, including long-term debt obligations to
Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cent ...
. Once it became clear that the studio could not weather these difficulties, it was seized by the bank, and absorbed into Eduard Sarlui's Epic Productions in May 1988. As a result, the releases of the titles that were in production, such as
Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon is perh ...
's ''Robot Jox'', Peter Manoogian's ''
Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...
'', and
David Schmoeller David Schmoeller (born December 8, 1947) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is notable for directing several full-length theatrical horror films including ''Tourist Trap'' (1979), '' The Seduction'' (1982), '' Crawlspace ...
's ''
Catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...
'', were delayed by several years. Band would form a new company, Full Moon Entertainment, in the autumn of 1988. Like Empire, Full Moon specializes in horror and fantasy films. As of 2017,
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
is the owner of most of Empire's library, by way of Polygram Entertainment. These films are being released on DVD and Blu-ray by Full Moon, under license from MGM. The rise and fall of Empire is the subject of the book ''Empire of the 'B's: The Mad Movie World of Charles Band'' by Dave Jay, Torsten Dewi, and Nathan Shumate, and the upcoming documentary ''Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland'' by Daniel Griffith.


Partial filmography

*'' The Alchemist'' (1983) *'' The Dungeonmaster'' (1984) *''Ghost Warrior'' (1984) *'' Ghoulies'' (1984) *''
Trancers ''Trancers'' (also released as ''Future Cop'') is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by Charles Band and starring Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, and Art LaFleur. It is the first film in the ''Trancers'' series. Thomerson plays Ja ...
'' (1984) *'' Re-Animator'' (1985) *''Savage Island'' (1985) *'' White Slave'' (1985) *''
Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
'' (1985) *'' Walking the Edge'' (1985) *'' Zone Troopers'' (1985) *'' Breeders'' (1986) *'' Crawlspace'' (1986) *''Dreamaniac'' (1986) *''
Dolls A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...
'' (1986) *'' Eliminators'' (1986) *'' From Beyond'' (1986) *''Necropolis'' (1986) *'' Rawhead Rex'' (1986) *''
Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
'' (1986) *''
TerrorVision ''TerrorVision'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ted Nicolaou, produced and written by Albert and Charles Band and composed by Richard Band, all of whom would go on to found and work with Full Moon Features ...
'' (1986) *'' Valet Girls'' (1986) *''Vicious Lips'' (1986) *'' The Caller'' (1987) *''
Cellar Dweller ''Cellar Dweller'' is a 1988 American monster horror film about a comic book artist who unleashes a demon after drawing it. It was directed by John Carl Buechler, written by Don Mancini (credited as Kit Du Bois), and stars Debrah Farentino and Br ...
'' (1987) *''
Creepozoids ''Creepozoids'' is a 1987 American science fiction horror film, the first 35mm film directed by David DeCoteau, and starring Linnea Quigley, Ken Abraham, Michael Aranda, Richard S. Hawkins and Kim McKamy (also known as Ashlyn Gere). It was rema ...
'' (1987) *'' Enemy Territory'' (1987) *'' Galactic Gigolo'' (1987) *'' Ghoulies II'' (1987) *''Mutant Hunt'' (1987) *'' The Princess Academy'' (1987) *''
Prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
'' (1987) *'' Psychos in Love'' (1987) *'' Robot Holocaust'' (1987) *'' Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity'' (1987) *''
Assault of the Killer Bimbos ''Assault of the Killer Bimbos'' is a 1988 American comedy film starring Elizabeth Kaitan, Christina Whitaker, and Tammara Souza. Premise Two go-go dancers, Lulu ( Elizabeth Kaitan) and Peaches ( Christina Whitaker), are framed for the murder ...
'' (1988) *'' Buy & Cell'' (1988) *''
Catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...
'' (1988) *'' Cemetery High'' (1988) *''
Ghost Town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
'' (1988) *''
Pulse Pounders ''Pulse Pounders'' is a 1988 American anthology film directed by Charles Band. The film is composed of three 30-minute films, two of which are sequels to '' The Dungeonmaster'' and '' Trancers''. The third is an adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's " T ...
'' (1988) *''
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama ''Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama'' (also known as ''The Imp'') is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by David DeCoteau, loosely based on the classic short story '' The Monkey's Paw''. Notable for scream queens Linnea Quig ...
'' (1988) *''Transformations'' (1988) *''
Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...
'' (1989) *'' Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death'' (1989) *''
Deadly Weapon A deadly weapon, sometimes dangerous weapon (although some jurisdictions differentiate between the two) or lethal weapon, is an item that can inflict mortal or great bodily harm. By statutory definition, certain items, especially firearms, are d ...
'' (1989) *'' Intruder'' (1989) *'' Robot Jox'' (1990) *'' Spellcaster'' (1991)


References


External links


Killer POV – Charles Band Interview (January 2014) (MP3)
{{Charles Band 1983 establishments in California 1988 disestablishments in California Companies based in Los Angeles Mass media companies established in 1983 Mass media companies disestablished in 1988 Film production companies of the United States American independent film studios