Black Label Media is a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

based independent film production,

television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

and finance company founded in 2013. The company had a 25 percent stake in ''

La La Land ''La La Land'' is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing ...

'' (2016).

History

The company was founded in 2013 by

Molly Smith Molly Smith is an American theatre director and the artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. from 1998 to 2023. During this period, she emphasized promoting new American plays, playwrights, and voices, producing 200 works. In addition ...

, the daughter of billionaire

Frederick W. Smith Frederick Wallace Smith (born August 11, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor. He is the founder and chairman of FedEx Corporation, the world's largest transportation company. Smith stepped down as CEO in June 2022 and was succeed ...

who founded

FedEx FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company specializing in Package delivery, transportation, e-commerce, and ...

and invested in the company, and

Thad Luckinbill Thaddeus Rowe Luckinbill (born April 24, 1975) is an American actor and producer best known for playing J.T. Hellstrom on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', from August 1999 to November 2010. He reprised the role of J.T. from De ...

, an actor on ''

Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wisco ...

'' for 11 years, and twin brother Trent Luckinbill. The origins of Black Label Media were started as Belle Pictures, an affiliated production company of

Alcon Entertainment Alcon Entertainment, LLC is an American indie film and television production company, founded in 1997 by film producers Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Since its establishment, Alcon Entertainment has developed and financed films that ar ...

and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, but the company soon underwent name change, with Black Label Media's intentions was to focus on adult, mid-level budget fare, for greater flexibility and autonomy. The name of the company was taken from the

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

Centurion "Black Card" and in part by

Johnnie Walker Black Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

whiskey. On April 12, 2016, the company launched its television division with a deal at

ABC Signature ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio ...

and

ABC Studios ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's ...

, to develop television and movie projects. On April 24, 2017, two of Black Label Media's projects, like '' Only the Brave'' and '' Sicario: Day of the Soldado'', were transferred from

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

. On June 27, 2019, it expanded to podcasts with a deal at the Bleav Podcast Network. On February 11, 2020, Alcon Entertainment teamed up with Black Label Media to purchase the film rights to ''Postscript''. On September 4, 2020,

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

announced that it would acquire ''

Devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Catholic devotions, customs, rituals, and practices of worship ...

'', with

STX Entertainment STX Entertainment is an American independent entertainment and media company. Founded in March 2014 by film producer Robert Simonds and TPG Growth managing partner Bill McGlashan, the studio produces film, television, and digital media projec ...

handling international rights of the picture, with Black Label Media producing.

Films

*'' Begin Again'' (2013) *''

The Good Lie ''The Good Lie'' is a 2014 drama film written by Margaret Nagle and directed by Philippe Falardeau. The film stars Reese Witherspoon in the lead role, alongside Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and Corey Stoll. ''The Good Lie'' was ...

'' (2014) *'' '71'' (2014) *''

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction (building), deconstruction, which inv ...

'' (2015) *''

Sicario derives from the Latin '' sicarius''. It may refer to: * ''Killer 77, Alive or Dead ''Killer 77, Alive or Dead'' (, ) is a 1966 Italian-Spanish Eurospy film directed by Mino Guerrini and starring Rod Dana. Marco Giusti. ''007 all'italiana'' ...

'' (2015) *''Breaking a Monster'' (2015) *''

'' (2016) *''

Rebel in the Rye ''Rebel in the Rye'' is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed and written by Danny Strong. It is based on the book ''J. D. Salinger: A Life'' by Kenneth Slawenski, about the life of writer J. D. Salinger during and after World War II. T ...

'' (2017) *'' Only the Brave'' (2017) *''

12 Strong ''12 Strong'' (also known as ''12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers'') is a 2018 American action-war film directed by Nicolai Fuglsig and written by Ted Tally and Peter Craig. The film is based on Doug Stanton's non-fic ...

'' (2018) *'' Sicario: Day of the Soldado'' (2018) *''

Sierra Burgess Is a Loser Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" or "mountain chain" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieve ...

'' (2018) *''

Broken Diamonds ''Broken Diamonds'' is a 2021 American drama film directed by Peter Sattler from a screenplay by Steve Waverly. It stars Ben Platt, Lola Kirke, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alphonso McAuley, and Lynda Boyd. The film had its world premiere at the Santa B ...

'' (2021) *''

'' (2022) *'' Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody'' (2022) *''

Reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

'' (2023) *''

Die, My Love ''Die My Love'' is a 2025 American psychological dark comedy-drama film directed by Lynne Ramsay, from a screenplay by Ramsay, Enda Walsh and Alice Birch. Based on the 2017 novel by Argentine writer Ariana Harwicz, it centers around a new mothe ...

'' (2025)

References

{{Authority control 2013 establishments in California Companies based in Los Angeles Film production companies of the United States American independent film studios