Associated Film Distribution was a British film distribution company. It was set up in the 1970s by

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

and

EMI Films EMI Films was a British film studio and distributor. A subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief conne ...

to distribute their films in the US. Michael Deeley, head of EMI at the time, opposed the move. He thought it was motivated by Sir

Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...

's belief that his films had failed in the US due to poor distribution. The company was launched in 1978 with $40 million in capitalisation. It aimed to distribute 12 films a year. The initial slate included: *''The Story of Maria Callas'' directed by Zeffirelli *two films from Alan Carr, ''Cafe Society'' and a musical *''The Wife'' directed by John Schlesinger *an Ingmar Bergman film *''Movie Movie Two'' - a sequel to ''

Movie Movie ''Movie Movie'' is a 1978 American double bill directed by Stanley Donen. It consists of two films: ''Dynamite Hands'', a boxing ring morality play, and ''Baxter's Beauties of 1933'', a musical comedy, both starring the husband-and-wife team of ...

'' (never made) *''

Saturn 3 ''Saturn 3'' is a 1980 British science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel. The screenplay was written by Martin Amis, from a story by John Barry. Though a British pro ...

'' *''French Vanilla'' directed by Stanley Donen (never made) *''

The Muppet Movie ''The Muppet Movie'' is a 1979 American musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film featuring the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the film w ...

'' *''

Escape to Athena ''Escape to Athena'' is a 1979 British adventure comedy war film directed by George P. Cosmatos. It stars Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono and Elliott Gould. The film is se ...

'' *''

Firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. (It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes the cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system.) Firepower involves the whole range of potent ...

'' *''

Blood Feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one pa ...

'' *''

Raise the Titanic ''Raise the Titanic!'' is a 1976 adventure novel by Clive Cussler, published in the United States by the Viking Press. It tells the story of efforts to bring the remains of the ill-fated ocean liner RMS ''Titanic'' to the surface of the Atlantic ...

'' *''

The Legend of the Lone Ranger ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'' is a 1981 American Western film that was directed by William A. Fraker and stars Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd. It is based on the story of The Lone Ranger, a Western character crea ...

'' *''The Chinese Bandit'' (never made) *''Eleanor Roosevelt's Niggers'' *'' The Golden Gate'' from the novel by

Alistair MacLean Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist who wrote popular Thriller (genre), thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels hav ...

(never made) *'' Green Ice'' *'' The Gemini Contenders'' and ''

The Scarlatti Inheritance ''The Scarlatti Inheritance'' is the first of 27 thriller novels written (the last four of them left in the form of manuscripts, later finalized by ghost writers) by American author Robert Ludlum. Premise In Washington during World War II, wor ...

'' from novels by

Robert Ludlum Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original '' The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated b ...

*''Trans Siberian Express''

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

The company wound up in 1981, having enjoyed only one hit, ''The Muppet Movie''. The theatrical rights to their films and distribution of their future projects were acquired by Universal."WRITERS AND PRODUCERS BREAK OFF TALKS AGAIN" ALJEAN HARMETZ, Special to the ''New York Times''. 15 June 1981: C.14."UNIVERSAL TO MARKET FILMS FROM A.F.D." ALJEAN HARMETZ ''New York Times'' 24 Feb 1981: D.6. Sidney J. Sheinberg, president of

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

who owned

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

, said the agreement went for three years involved all the movies that A.F.D. had ready for distribution including: *''

'' (1981) *''

The Great Muppet Caper ''The Great Muppet Caper'' is a 1981 British-American musical heist comedy film directed by Jim Henson (in his feature directorial debut). It is the second theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performers, the ...

'' (1981) *''

Honky Tonk Freeway ''Honky Tonk Freeway'' is a 1981 American-British comedy film directed by John Schlesinger. The film, conceived and co-produced by Don Boyd, was one of the most expensive box office bombs in history, losing its British backers Thorn EMI betwe ...

'' (1981) *'' On Golden Pond'' (1981) *'' Barbarosa'' (1982) *'' Evil Under the Sun'' (1982) *''

Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "French ...

'' (1982) *'' Sophie's Choice'' (1982) *''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and T ...

'' (1982) *'' Second Thoughts'' (1983) *'' Bad Boys'' (1983) *''

Tender Mercies ''Tender Mercies'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay by Horton Foote focuses on Mac Sledge, a recovering alcoholic country music singer who seeks to turn his life around through his relationship with a young ...

'' (1983) *'' Cross Creek'' (1983) *'' Slayground'' (1983) Grade said, "If we had ordinary pictures, I doubt that Universal would have wanted us."

Select filmography

*''

'' (1979) *''

'' (1979) *'' Love and Bullets'' (1979) *'' Killer Fish'' (1979) *''

'' (1980) *''

'' (1980) *'' The Changeling'' (1980) *''

Can't Stop the Music ''Can't Stop the Music'' is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Nancy Walker. Written by Allan Carr and Bronté Woodard, the film is a pseudo-biography of the 1970s disco group the Village People loosely based on the actual story ...

'' (1980) *''

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

'' (1980) *'' Borderline'' (1980) *''

Inside Moves ''Inside Moves'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Richard Donner. The film is based on the book of the same name by Todd Walton, with a script by then writing duo Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson. Plot After a suicide attempt leave ...

'' (1980) *''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...

'' (1980) *''

The Mirror Crack'd ''The Mirror Crack'd'' is a 1980 British mystery film directed by Guy Hamilton from a screenplay by Jonathan Hales and Barry Sandler, based on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novel ''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'' (1962). It stars Ange ...

'' (1980) *'' Hard Country'' (1981) *''

From the Life of the Marionettes ''From the Life of the Marionettes'' (german: Aus dem Leben der Marionetten) is a 1980 television film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film was produced in West Germany with a German-language screenplay and soundtrack while Bergman was in "tax ex ...

'' (1981)

References

{{reflist 1978 establishments in the United Kingdom 1981 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Film distributors of the United Kingdom ITC Entertainment EMI