Weintraub Entertainment Group (WEG) was a film production company considered to be a mini-major studio founded by

Jerry Weintraub Jerome Charles Weintraub (September 26, 1937 – July 6, 2015) was an American film producer, talent manager and actor whose television films won him three Emmys. He began his career as a talent agent, having managed known singer John Denver in ...

History

Weintraub Entertainment Group was formed on July 1, 1986 by

. In February 1987, WEG received $461 million in financing from

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

Cineplex Odeon Cineplex Odeon is a theatre brand owned by Cineplex Entertainment in Canada, after acquiring the Cineplex Odeon Corporation in 1998. As of 2023, there are 61 Cineplex Odeon locations in Canada. The former corporation was one of North America's ...

and others in the form of securities, bank loans and advances.

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...

and US Tobacco Company were principal investors. WEG also arranged a $145-million, 7-year credit line with the

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

. WEG also signed a 20-year distribution deal with Columbia and planned to release seven or eight movies per year. In March 1987, WEG signed its first production and distribution deal, a three-year agreement with

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario, best known for managing musicians such as Cream, Andy Gibb, and the Bee Gees; theatrical produc ...

's RSO Films for multiple films budgeted in the $12-million to $15-million range. With Stigwood's partnership, WEG was to finance a film version of '' Evita'' with

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...

as writer/director and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until ...

. However, the studio dropped the project. WEG purchased from

The Cannon Group The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...

in May 1987 its 2,000-title British film library, the Thorn-EMI Screen Entertainment library, for $85 million with $50 million from a loan. On July 20, Harry Usher joined the Group as President of the Weintraub International Enterprises division and as a senior vice president. In January 1988, Barney Rosenzweig was hired as chairman of the television unit, corporate vice president and a member of the executive committee. In July, the Bank of America terminated its credit line with Weintraub after difficulties in syndicating parts of the loan to other banks due to the Thorn-EMI loan. The Group's first release was ''The Big Blue'' in August; it grossed $1.6 million the opening weekend. In January 1989, Usher left his position as President of the Weintraub International Enterprises. The Bank of America and WEG established a new credit line for two years and $95 million with

Credit Lyonnais Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), ...

participating. In 1989, as a result of Sony/Columbia hiring

Peter Guber Howard Peter Guber (born March 1, 1942) is an American film producer, business executive, entrepreneur, educator, and author. He is chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment. Guber's films have grossed over $3 billion worldwide and received ...

and

Jon Peters John H. Peters (born June 2, 1945) is an American film producer and former hairdresser. Early life Peters was born on June 2, 1945, in Van Nuys, California. Peters is of Cherokee (father) and Italian (mother) descent. While growing up in a ro ...

away from

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 ...

, Sony/Columbia traded its 15% share in WEG. In September 1990, WEG filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

. Later that month, Jerry Weintraub left the company and forged a deal with

, while Columbia still remained indebted to releasing WEG films. Film Asset Holding Co., a company formed by WEG's two primary bank creditors, sued Weintraub over his structuring of a sale of the ''Peter Pan'' story to Sony Pictures Entertainment in the fall of 1990. Weintraub and Film Assets settled in January 1992. In August 1998, a jury verdict for $7 million was lost by

Bear Stearns The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an American investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. After its closure it was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chas ...

Cos. to investors who had been misled by the brokerage's $83 million bond issue prospectus for the now-bankrupt Weintraub Entertainment Group.

Production/release library

* '' The Big Blue'' (1988): distribution rights, $3 million * '' Fresh Horses'' (1988): first original production, grossed only $7 million * ''

My Stepmother Is an Alien ''My Stepmother Is an Alien'' is a 1988 American science fiction comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin. It stars Dan Aykroyd, Kim Basinger, Jon Lovitz, and Alyson Hannigan. The film follows the story of Celeste, an extraterrestrial woman who ...

'' (1988): $26 million budget, grossed $13.8 million * ''

The Karen Carpenter Story ''The Karen Carpenter Story'' is an American made-for-television biographical film about singer Karen Carpenter and the brother-and-sister pop music duo of which she was a part, The Carpenters. The film aired on CBS on January 1, 1989. Directe ...

'' (1989): a TV movie release on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

* '' Listen to Me'' (1989) * ''

She's Out of Control ''She's Out of Control'' is a 1989 American independent coming of age comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti, starring Tony Danza, Ami Dolenz and Catherine Hicks. The original music score was composed by Alan Silvestri. The film was marketed with ...

'' (1989) * '' Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) * ''

The Gods Must Be Crazy II ''The Gods Must Be Crazy II'' is a 1989 comedy film written and directed by Jamie Uys, and a sequel to the 1980 film ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'', which Uys also wrote and directed. An international co-production between South Africa, Botswana an ...

'' (1989) After the company shut down its assets were reorganized into the WEG Acquisition Corp, and are currently held by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, while the television rights are controlled by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and under license to

Trifecta Entertainment Trifecta Entertainment & Media is an American entertainment company founded in 2006. The company's founders previously held jobs as executives at MGM Television. Trifecta is primarily a distribution company and also handles advertising sales in ex ...

References

{{Authority control Mass media companies established in 1986 Mass media companies disestablished in 1990 Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Los Angeles Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles 1986 establishments in California 1990 disestablishments in California Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990