Orion Classics started in 1982 as the distribution label for the then independent film production company

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

, now owned by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. It was relaunched in 2018. The original focus of 1980-era Orion Classics was on acquiring

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

and

foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

for North American distribution, as headed by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom. In addition it aimed to produce some arthouse films of its own. It was launched when Barker, Bernard and

Donna Gigliotti Donna Gigliotti is an American film producer. She is best known for producing ''Shakespeare in Love'', ''Hidden Figures'', ''Silver Linings Playbook'' and '' The Reader''. Gigliotti started her professional career as an assistant to Martin Scor ...

moved from UA Classics, a United Artists specialty division. Among its most notable films were ''

Babette's Feast ''Babette's Feast'' ( da, Babettes Gæstebud) is a 1987 Danish drama film directed by Gabriel Axel. The screenplay, written by Axel, was based on the 1958 story of the same name by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen). It was produced by Just Betzer, ...

'',

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narra ...

's ''

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' ( es, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios) is a 1988 Spanish black comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas. The film brought Almodóvar to ...

'',

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including ''Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' (19 ...

's '' Mystery Train'' and

Richard Linklater Richard Stuart Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for films that revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies ' ...

's '' Slacker''. Since its relaunch Orion Classics has released Mike P. Nelson's '' The Domestics'' and Jim Cummings' ''

The Wolf of Snow Hollow ''The Wolf of Snow Hollow'' is a 2020 American comedy horror film about a small Utah town that is seemingly terrorized by a werewolf. It was written and directed by Jim Cummings who also stars along with Riki Lindhome, Chloe East, Jimmy Tatro ...

'', among others.

History

Orion Classics was formed by Orion Pictures in 1982 as an autonomous division for specialty films. United Artists Classics executives, Tom Bernard, Michael Barker and Donna Gigliotti, having a dispute with its parent United Artists left to fill Orion Classics' executive ranks, thus mirroring Orion Pictures' formation. With the UA Classics executives, the division had built in connection with the art house film community. While the three executives had different titles and responsibilities they acted as all having the same responsibilities. The division took on the early UA Classics

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of o ...

of frugal marketing spending and strict staggered releasing with few prints. Thus 10 to 50 prints would be made based on its potential success with an average marketing budget of $225,000 would be first released in New York City before moving on to other metropolitan areas and given time to find its position. The team was able to get French filmmaker Eric Rohmer to switch from UA Classics to Orion. He was then the source of its first film and box office hit with ''Pauline at the Beach'' in July 1983. Thus Orion Classics released four out of five of Rohmer's 1980s films and investing in a few of them. Orion's last acquisition in 1983 was its first independent US movie, ''Strangers Kiss'' (1984). In August 1983, the company had indicated that they would be into production of its own material by late 1984 or early 1985. However, Orion Pictures was having more box office failures then successes thus those plans were put on hold. In late 1991, when Orion Pictures was in serious financial trouble, Barker, Bernard, and Bloom left Orion Classics, taking the rights to the highly anticipated Merchant Ivory Productions adaptation of '' Howards End'' with them; at the invitation of former Orion president

Mike Medavoy Morris Mike Medavoy (born January 21, 1941) is an American film producer and business executive. He is the co-founder of Orion Pictures (1978), former chairman of TriStar Pictures, former head of production for United Artists (1974–1978), and t ...

, who was now relocated at

TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...

, the three set up Sony Pictures Classics, with '' Howards End'' as the company's first release. In the mid-1990s,

Metromedia Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMon ...

acquired Orion, and merged the classics division into the Samuel Goldwyn Company. Both Orion and SGC were sold to

in 1997, with the latter's function of producing and/or distributing independent films being assumed by MGM's

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

division.

Relaunch

In May 2018, it was announced that Orion Classics would be revived as a multiplatform distribution label, with 8 to 10 films being released per year. Orion Classics will be MGM's method of getting into the day-and-date theatrical-VOD business. The label's first film is Mike P. Nelson's '' The Domestics'', which was released in theaters on June 28, 2018, and on VOD and digital the next day.

Film library

References

External links

* {{MGM .01 Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Los Angeles American companies established in 1982 Entertainment companies established in 1982 1982 establishments in California American independent film studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer subsidiaries