Goldcrest Films is an award-winning independent British distribution, production, post production, and finance company. Operating from London and New York, Goldcrest is a privately owned integrated filmed entertainment company. Goldcrest Films oversees the production, distribution and marketing of films produced by Goldcrest and third-party acquisition in addition to monetising Goldcrest's library of over 100 titles. Goldcrest Films recent slate includes ''Slumber'', '' Come and Find Me'', '' Stonewall'' (directed by

Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the industry. His films, most of wh ...

), BBC's ''EARTH: One Amazing Day'' (directed by

Peter Webber Peter Webber (born 1968) is a British film and television director and producer whose debut feature film as a director was '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (2003). He subsequently directed ''Hannibal Rising'' (2007). Early life Webber took a one ...

), and Joe Dante's ''Labirintus.'' Nick Quested is the current executive director and owner.

History

Goldcrest was founded as Goldcrest Films International by

Jake Eberts Jake Eberts, OC (July 10, 1941 – September 6, 2012) was a Canadian film producer, executive and financier. He was known for risk-taking and producing a consistently high caliber of movies including such Academy Award-winning titles as ''Chari ...

in January 1977 as a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

enterprise. As of 1981, the UK National Coal Board Pension Fund was a major stakeholder in this company. It enjoyed success in the 1980s and the 1990s with films such as ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell ...

'' (1981), ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

'' (1982)'', Local Hero'' (1983), '' The Killing Fields'' (1984), '' Hope and Glory'' (1987), ''

All Dogs Go To Heaven ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' is a 1989 animated musical fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots a ...

'' (1989), '' A Room With a View'' (1985), the cult television series '' Robin of Sherwood'' (1984–86) and the live-action/animated musical comedy film '' Rock-a-Doodle'' (1991). The company also benefited from the new investment of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in film production. The company won two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Picture, for ''

'' in 1981, and ''

'' in 1982. After these initial successes the company backed more expensive productions with established Hollywood stars that often ran over schedule and budget culminating in ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986) and '' Absolute Beginners'' (1986) that all disappointed at the box office, despite ''The Mission'' winning the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

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 ...

. On June 11, 1985, Goldcrest Films had set up a deal with Japanese financer Nippon Herald to finance pictures for up to $2 million. The company ran into financial difficulties, and eventually seeking bids from UK firms in 1987, which included George Walker, and

Hemdale Hemdale Film Corporation, known as Hemdale Communications after 1992, was an independent American-British film production company and distributor. The company was founded in London in 1967 as the Hemdale Company by actor David Hemmings and John D ...

, who had a successful film reputation, were offering bids from the studio, but they turned down each time. After attempted takers, Masterman, which was jointly owned by Brent Walker and Ensign Trust would be shown as a possible buyer for the Goldcrest holdings, of which they outbid various offers from other companies, which included a joint bid of Granada Television, the ITV franchisee, and home video and feature film distributor Virgin Vision, which has been touted among other firms.

Subsidiaries

Pearson Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

established Goldcrest Films and Television in 1981, led by the founder of Goldcrest Films, John Eberts, and chaired by James Lee, chief executive of Pearson Longman. At incept, the new concern owned 40% of Goldcrest Films. Goldcrest Post Production opened in Soho, London in 1982 and in West Village, New York in 2000. Recent expansion and investment has culminated in the opening of central London's largest purpose built

Dolby ATMOS Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...

Premier sound mixing theatre at Goldcrest's Dean Street, Soho premises. Offering full picture and sound post production services to both the Film and Television industry Goldcrest Post Production credits include ''

Jason Bourne Jason Bourne () is the title character and the protagonist in a series of novels and subsequent film adaptations. The character was created by novelist Robert Ludlum. He first appeared in the novel '' The Bourne Identity'' (1980), which was ...

, Carol, American Honey, Morgan, The Danish Girl.''

Financing arm

Goldcrest Films' financing arms, Goldcrest Pictures and Goldcrest Capital Partners, structure transactions in the media sector. From 2006 to 2008 — the first two years of operation — the companies provided services on 18 films, including ''

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...

'', '' Tropic Thunder'', '' Knowing'', ''

Eagle Eye ''Eagle Eye'' is a 2008 American action-thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and with a screenplay by John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz and Dan McDermott from a story by McDermott. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan ...

'', '' Revolutionary Road'' and '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging''. Goldcrest Capital also raises funds and provides services on UK independent feature films. The first two films of this new initiative were Andrea Arnold's ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...

'' - produced by Douglas Rae and Robert Bernstein of

Ecosse Films Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films produces programs for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Sky Atlantic, Starz Channel and WGBH. History The first production of Ecosse Films was the 1 ...

and Kevin Loader and co-financed with the

UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...

Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, i ...

and Screen Yorkshire - and

Phyllida Lloyd Phyllida Christian Lloyd, (born 17 June 1957) is an English film director and producer, best known for ''Mamma Mia!'' (2008) and '' The Iron Lady'' (2011). Her theatre work includes directing productions at the Royal Court Theatre and Royal Na ...

’s biopic of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, '' The Iron Lady''. This starred

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

and was produced by Damian Jones for Pathé,

and the

with the participation of

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

and Cine Cinema.

Filmography

Cinema

Television

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Film production companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies established in 1977 1977 establishments in the United Kingdom