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Yari Film Group, LLC (YFG), or Yari Film Group Releasing, was an Los Angeles-based American independent film distribution company founded by producer Bob Yari in 2005. The company deals in financing, production, acquisition, sales and distribution of theatrical feature films. The Yari Film Group was formed in 2005 through the merger of Stratus Film Company, Bull’s Eye Entertainment, El Camino Pictures, Bob Yari Productions, and Syndicate Films International. YFG is led by Bob Yari, who intended to create a film consortium that would minimize investment risk and maximize creative freedom for filmmakers by financing a large slate of diverse films. Within the first two years, the group had produced 16 films. The company's early production credits included Academy Award Winner '' Crash'', led by
Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Independent Spirit Awards alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, ...
and
Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...
; '' The Hoax'', with
Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...
; ''
The Matador ''The Matador'' is a 2005 black comedy crime film written and directed by Richard Shepard, and starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear. The film was released on DVD on July 4, 2006, and on HD DVD on December 19, 2006. Brosnan received praise an ...
'' with
Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...
; '' The Painted Veil'' starring
Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. After graduating from Yale College in 1991 with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City ...
; '' A Love Song for Bobby Long'' with
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
; ''
Dave Chappelle's Block Party ''Dave Chappelle's Block Party'' (also known as ''Block Party'') is a 2005 American documentary-concert film starring comedian Dave Chappelle at the height of his early mainstream success and cultural influence. Directed by Academy Award-winning f ...
''; ''
Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
'' with Meryl Streep; '' Thumbsucker'' with
Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public imag ...
and
Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...
and '' Nothing but the Truth starring
Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress. The only child of actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe, she debuted in the series premiere of the 1975 daytime drama ''Couples.'' In 1993, she made her theatrical film deb ...
.''


History

Yari Film Group Releasing (YFGR), the distribution arm of YFG, was created in 2006. YFGR's first releases were '' Winter Passing'', starring
Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...
and
Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...
, and ''
Find Me Guilty ''Find Me Guilty'' is a 2006 American courtroom comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Sidney Lumet. The film is based on the true story of the longest Mafia trial in American history. Much of the courtroom testimony was taken from the ori ...
'', starring
Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...
. That same year, YFGR distributed '' The Illusionist'', starring
Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. After graduating from Yale College in 1991 with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City ...
,
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti ( ; born June6, 1967) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globes, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award. After studying a ...
and
Jessica Biel Jessica Claire Timberlake (née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress. Biel began her career as a vocalist appearing in musical productions until she was cast as Mary Camden in the family drama series '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2007 ...
, which pulled in roughly $40 million at the U.S. box office, and demonstrated the success of the platform release model. YFGR adopted an early strategy of producing and acquiring independent films with major name talent attached, such as ''The Illusionist'', ''Winter Passing'', '' Haven'' (with
Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series (2001–03). He reprised his r ...
and
Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. A versatile character actor known for his distinctive Texan drawl and everyman screen persona, he was a four-time Golden Globe Award and a Prime ...
), '' Shortcut to Happiness'' (starring
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
,
Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...
and
Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress, producer and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel serie ...
) and ''
Even Money Even money is a wagering proposition with even odds - the bettor stands to lose or win the same amount of money. Beyond gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stake ...
'' (with
Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...
,
Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He first gained attention for his role in the film '' Something Wild'' (1986), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. He was best known for his portray ...
and
Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...
). Yari Film Group's distribution platform filed for bankruptcy on December 12, 2008, due to various box office flops, tightening credit markets and the bankruptcy of payroll company Axium, which according to Yari swept millions of dollars from its payroll accounts, as a “perfect storm” that sunk the company financially. Yari's last few films would instead be released directly to DVD by the company's home video partners,
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
and
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
. Since then, the company has remained mostly silent, though it has still been retained by Yari for some films he's contributed to such as ''
Guns, Girls and Gambling ''Guns, Girls and Gambling'' is a 2012 American action crime thriller film written and directed by Michael Winnick. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Gary Oldman, Christian Slater, Megan Park, Helena Mattsson, Tony Cox, Chris Katt ...
'', '' Papa: Hemingway in Cuba'' and the upcoming ''Fireflies at El Mozote''. Yari has licensed the rights to a majority of their films to Moonstone Entertainment, who has re-released them on home video through
MVD Entertainment Group MVD Entertainment Group, (previously Music Video Distributors, Inc.) is an American independent production company and film distributor based in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, consisting of three main departments: MVD Visual, MVD Audio, and MVD Distr ...
and on streaming through
FilmRise FilmRise is an American media company, headquartered in New York City, that operates a film and television studio and a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) network. As of November 2024, the FilmRise app has reported more than 31.5 milli ...
.


List of Yari Film Group Releasing films


2004

* '' Crash''


2005

* '' Winter Passing''


2006

* ''
Even Money Even money is a wagering proposition with even odds - the bettor stands to lose or win the same amount of money. Beyond gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stake ...
'' * '' First Snow'' * '' Gray Matters'' * ''
Find Me Guilty ''Find Me Guilty'' is a 2006 American courtroom comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Sidney Lumet. The film is based on the true story of the longest Mafia trial in American history. Much of the courtroom testimony was taken from the ori ...
'' * '' Haven'' * '' The Illusionist'' * '' Winter Passing'' * '' The Painted Veil''


2007

* '' The Final Season'' * '' The Good Night'' * '' Kickin' It Old Skool'' * '' Resurrecting the Champ'' * '' Shortcut to Happiness'' * '' The Perfect Holiday'' * '' Christmas in Wonderland''


2008

* '' The Girl in the Park'' * ''My Father's Will'' * ''
Assassination of a High School President ''Assassination of a High School President'' is a 2008 American neo noir comedy film directed by Brett Simon and starring Reece Thompson, Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton, Emily Meade and Michael Rapaport. It was written by Tim Calpin and Kevin ...
'' * '' Nothing But The Truth'' * ''
What Doesn't Kill You What does not kill me makes me stronger () is part of aphorism number 8 from the "Maxims and Arrows" section of Friedrich Nietzsche's ''Twilight of the Idols'' (1888). It is quoted or alluded to by many other works, with minor variants in wording. ...
''


2009

* '' The Accidental Husband'' * ''
Possession Possession may refer to: Law *Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance *Drug possession, a crime *Ownership *Pe ...
'' * ''
The Maiden Heist ''The Maiden Heist'' is a 2009 American crime comedy film directed by Peter Hewitt, written by Michael LeSieur, and starring Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, William H. Macy and Marcia Gay Harden. Plot Roger is a security guard at an art mu ...
''


2012

* ''
Guns, Girls and Gambling ''Guns, Girls and Gambling'' is a 2012 American action crime thriller film written and directed by Michael Winnick. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Gary Oldman, Christian Slater, Megan Park, Helena Mattsson, Tony Cox, Chris Katt ...
''


2015

* '' Papa: Hemingway in Cuba''


In Production

* ''Fireflies at El Mozote''


References

{{Authority control Mass media companies established in 2002 Film production companies of the United States 2002 establishments in California American independent film studios