Propaganda films

Propaganda Films was an American music video and film production company founded in 1986 by producers Steve Golin and Sigurjón Sighvatsson and directors David Fincher, Nigel Dick, Dominic Sena and Greg Gold. By 1990, the company was producing almost a third of all music videos made in the U.S.

Founding and early work (1986-1990)

As the name suggests, the production company was founded with the intent to focus on the medium of films; those that Golin and Sighvatsson couldn't get enough financing and creative control for elsewhere. However, in order to create financial stability the company focused on a base of music video production. The company also branched off into producing television commercials, which along with music videos were considered inherently lesser quality than films. Gold later commented:

We were the first company that wanted to apply the principals of the commercial industry to music videos... ndwe wanted to take the aesthetics of music videos and apply them to commercials.

In addition to revenue from music videos and commercials, Propaganda entered into a deal in 1988 with PolyGram which meant that the Dutch media company would pay for Propaganda's film costs in exchange for part of the film revenues. It was during this era that Propaganda made connections with the likes of David Lynch, who they hired to direct '' Wild at Heart''. They also produced Lynch's television show ''Twin Peaks''.

PolyGram and decline (1991-2002)

The initial deal with PolyGram, which involved selling them 49% of Propaganda, was intended to bring about financial strength and expanded opportunities. However, Golin and the others realized they needed even more resources to continue making films.

Propaganda Films was fully acquired by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1991. This brought a decrease in creative control and the budget allocations for films were tightly scrutinized by PolyGram. Nigel Dick later said:

We wanted to do good work and spend a little of the budget, the markup, on a better director of photography or shooting five more rolls of film. When the PolyGram bean counters came in, we didn’t get that. ‘Where’s the markup gone?’ That’s what we got.

The nineties saw Propaganda produce films of varying success, including '' Canadian Bacon'', '' The Game'', and ''Being John Malkovich''.

They also continued producing popular commercials (such as the "Aaron Burr" Got Milk? commercial) and music videos for the likes of Madonna and Michael Jackson.

In 1998 PolyGram was sold to Seagram, which folded part of PolyGram into Universal and sold the commercial, music video, and management divisions of Propaganda to SCP Equity Partners. Its film division was sold to Barry Diller's USA Films, which soon ended up under the Universal/Focus Features umbrella again and eventually formally closed. By 2000 Sighvatsson had left for Lakeshore Entertainment and Golin had founded Anonymous Content. In 2000, the company had struck a deal with Mandolin Entertainment.

Notable directors who worked with Propaganda Films

* Boris Malagurski
* Vaughan Arnell
* Michael Bay
* Markus Blunder
* Paul Boyd
* Nick Brandt
* Albert Bravo
* Jhoan Camitz
* Peter Care
* John Dahl
* Nigel Dick
* David Fincher
* Antoine Fuqua
* Douglas Gayeton
* Greg Gold
* Michel Gondry
* Steve Hanft
* Spike Jonze
* David Kellogg
* Alek Keshishian
* Mark Kohr
* Christian Langlois
* John Lithgow
* David Lynch
* Pierre Winther
* Scott Marshall
* Michael Moore
* Jeffrey Obrow
* Willi Patterson
* Vadim Perelman
* Alex Proyas
* Paul Rachman
* Mark Romanek
* Stéphane Sednaoui
* Dominic Sena
* Zack Snyder
* Simon West
* Bobby Woods
* Gore Verbinski

Partial filmography

* ''P.I. Private Investigations'' (1987)
* ''The Blue Iguana'' (1988)
* '' Kill Me Again'' (1989)
* '' Fear, Anxiety & Depression'' (1989)
* '' Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989)
* '' Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted'' (1990)
* ''Twin Peaks'' (TV series, 1990–1991, now owned by CBS Television Distribution)
* '' Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?'' (1990)
* '' Wild at Heart'' (1990)
* '' The Idiot Box'' (TV series, 1990-1991)
* '' Salute Your Shorts'' (TV series, 1991–1992)
* ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (TV series, 1990–2000, now owned by CBS Television Distribution)
* '' Madonna: Truth or Dare'' (1991)
* ''Voices That Care'' (1991)
* ''Ruby'' (1992)
* '' A Stranger Among Us'' (1992)
* ''A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica'' (1992)
* '' Candyman'' (1992)
* '' Fallen Angels'' (TV series, 1993–1995)
* ''Hotel Room'' (TV mini-series, 1993)
* '' Red Rock West'' (1993)
* '' Kalifornia'' (1993)
* '' Dream Lover'' (1993)
* '' Dangerous: The Short Films '' (1993)
* '' S.F.W.'' (1994)
* '' Turbocharged Thunderbirds'' (TV series, 1994)
* '' Jason's Lyric'' (1994)
* ''Avalanche'' (1994)
* '' Dead Connection'' (1994)
* '' Coldblooded'' (1995)
* '' Canadian Bacon'' (1995)
* '' Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh'' (1995)
* ''Lord of Illusions'' (1995)
* ''Barb Wire'' (1996)
* ''The Portrait of a Lady'' (1996)
* '' Sleepers'' (1996)
* '' The Game'' (1997)
* '' A Thousand Acres'' (1997)
* ''An American Werewolf in Paris'' (1997)
* '' More Tales of the City'' (TV miniseries, 1998)
* '' Your Friends & Neighbors'' (1998)
* '' Return to Paradise'' (1998)
* ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999)
* '' The Match'' (1999)
* '' Nurse Betty'' (2000)
* '' Bounce'' (2000)
* '' The Little Vampire'' (2000)
* '' Full Frontal'' (2002)
* '' Auto Focus'' (2002)
* '' Trapped'' (2002)
* '' Adaptation.'' (2002)

References

External links

Mvdbase.com: List of music videos produced by Propaganda Films

{{Authority control

1986 establishments in California
1991 mergers and acquisitions
2002 disestablishments in California
American companies established in 1986
American companies disestablished in 2002
Companies based in Los Angeles
Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Defunct mass media companies of the United States
Entertainment companies based in California
Entertainment companies established in 1983
Entertainment companies disestablished in 2002
Film production companies of the United States
Universal Pictures