Capitol Films
Encyclopedia
Capitol Films is at the hub of David Bergstein
's Pegasus Studios - a multinational Filmed Entertainment Group - with interests in production, post-production, library management and foreign sales.
Since its inception 17 years ago, Capitol has handled the worldwide sales and distribution of over 100 films, the majority of which it has financed or co-financed.
Over the years, Capitol has enjoyed a wide range of commercial and critical success, including Robert Altman's Academy Award winning Gosford Park
, horror hit Jeepers Creepers
and slick gangster thriller, Lucky Number Slevin
. As a result of its focused balance of product, Capitol has developed an extensive network of contacts among independent distributors in every market in the world as well as at the major Hollywood studios.
In early 2006, LA based entrepreneur David Bergstein acquired Capitol. The recent acquisition of leading US independent distributor ThinkFilm
has brought physical distribution to the organisation and added an East Coast presence to the Los Angeles and London offices. The first ThinkFilm release in North America of a Capitol production was Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
starring Philip Seymour Hoffman
and Ethan Hawke
which was released in October 2007.
Recent Capitol productions include John Maybury
's The Edge Of Love
starring Keira Knightley
and Sienna Miller
, and Tony Kaye's Black Water Transit
starring Laurence Fishburne
and Karl Urban
.
ThinkFilm and Capitol Film were forced into bankruptcy in October 2010.
David Bergstein
David Rafael Bergstein is an American entrepreneur and film producer who has worked alongside directors such as Sidney Lumet, Taylor Hackford, David Mamet, and also recent Academy Award winners and nominees like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling and Michael Shannon.In 2007, Bergstein began to...
's Pegasus Studios - a multinational Filmed Entertainment Group - with interests in production, post-production, library management and foreign sales.
Since its inception 17 years ago, Capitol has handled the worldwide sales and distribution of over 100 films, the majority of which it has financed or co-financed.
Over the years, Capitol has enjoyed a wide range of commercial and critical success, including Robert Altman's Academy Award winning Gosford Park
Gosford Park
Gosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
, horror hit Jeepers Creepers
Jeepers Creepers (2001 film)
Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. The movie takes its name from the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers" which is featured in the film.- Plot :...
and slick gangster thriller, Lucky Number Slevin
Lucky Number Slevin
Lucky Number Slevin, renamed for the German/USA DVDs as Lucky # Slevin , is a 2006 crime thriller film written by Jason Smilovic, directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, and Lucy Liu...
. As a result of its focused balance of product, Capitol has developed an extensive network of contacts among independent distributors in every market in the world as well as at the major Hollywood studios.
In early 2006, LA based entrepreneur David Bergstein acquired Capitol. The recent acquisition of leading US independent distributor ThinkFilm
THINKFilm
THINKFilm is a privately held production and distribution company founded in September 2001. It has been a division of David Bergstein’s Capitol Films since 2006. Bergstein also serves as the company’s chairman...
has brought physical distribution to the organisation and added an East Coast presence to the Los Angeles and London offices. The first ThinkFilm release in North America of a Capitol production was Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a 2007 crime drama directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Kelly Masterson. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney. The title comes from the Irish saying: "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows...
starring Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
and Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
which was released in October 2007.
Recent Capitol productions include John Maybury
John Maybury
John Maybury is an English filmmaker. In 2005 he was listed as one of the 100 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain.-Early life:...
's The Edge Of Love
The Edge of Love
The Edge of Love is a 2008 John Maybury film starring Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys from a script by Sharman Macdonald, Knightley's mother...
starring Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
and Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller
Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2007, the London Film Criticsnamed her British Actress of the Year for Interview...
, and Tony Kaye's Black Water Transit
Black Water Transit
Black Water Transit is a 2009 crime drama film based on the novel of the same name by Carsten Stroud. It is directed by Tony Kaye and stars an ensemble cast including Laurence Fishburne and Karl Urban...
starring Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
and Karl Urban
Karl Urban
Karl-Heinz Urban is a New Zealand actor.He is known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek and Julius Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess...
.
ThinkFilm and Capitol Film were forced into bankruptcy in October 2010.
Recent filmography
- Black Water TransitBlack Water TransitBlack Water Transit is a 2009 crime drama film based on the novel of the same name by Carsten Stroud. It is directed by Tony Kaye and stars an ensemble cast including Laurence Fishburne and Karl Urban...
- Kiss the Dead Goodbye
- Love Ranch
- Nailed
- $5 a Day
- The Edge of LoveThe Edge of LoveThe Edge of Love is a 2008 John Maybury film starring Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys from a script by Sharman Macdonald, Knightley's mother...
- ShroomsShrooms (film)Shrooms is a 2007 horror film about a group of American students and their Irish guide who are stalked by a serial killer while out in the woods looking for psilocybin mushrooms...
- Lucky Number SlevinLucky Number SlevinLucky Number Slevin, renamed for the German/USA DVDs as Lucky # Slevin , is a 2006 crime thriller film written by Jason Smilovic, directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, and Lucy Liu...
- Ask the DustAsk the Dust (film)Ask the Dust is a 2006 film based on the book Ask the Dust by John Fante. The movie was written and directed by Robert Towne. Tom Cruise served as one of the film's producers. The film was released on a limited basis on March 17, 2006...
- The Mistress of Spices
- Five Children and ItFive Children and It (2004 film)Five Children and It is a 2004 film adaption of the book of the same name, directed by John Stephenson, starring Freddie Highmore, with Zoë Wanamaker, Kenneth Branagh and Eddie Izzard as the voice of the Psammead.-Plot:...
- Elvis Has Left the Building
- SylviaSylvia (2003 film)Sylvia is a 2003 British biographical drama film directed by Christine Jeffs and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Jared Harris, and Michael Gambon. It tells the true story of the romance between prominent poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes...
- SpiderSpider (film)Spider is a 2002 Canadian/British drama film produced and directed by David Cronenberg and based on the novel of the same name by Patrick McGrath, who also wrote the screenplay....
- Gosford ParkGosford ParkGosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
- Ghost WorldGhost World (film)Ghost World is a 2001 comedy-drama film directed by Terry Zwigoff, based on the comic book of the same name and screenplay by Daniel Clowes...
- Beautiful JoeBeautiful Joe (film)Beautiful Joe is a 2000 American - British film written and directed by Stephen Metcalfe. It stars Sharon Stone and Billy Connolly, with supporting roles by Ian Holm, Dann Florek, and Gil Bellows.-Plot:...
- BeowulfBeowulfBeowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
- A Soldier's Daughter Never CriesA Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (film)A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries is a French/U.S. film directed by James Ivory and written by James Ivory & Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It stars Leelee Sobieski, Jesse Bradford, Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Hershey and Virginie Ledoyen...
- Dancing at LughnasaDancing at Lughnasa (film)Dancing at Lughnasa is a 1998 film adapted from the Brian Friel play of the same title, directed by Pat O'Connor.The movie competed in the Venice Film Festival of 1998. It won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Female Role by Brid Brennan...
- Lulu on the BridgeLulu on the BridgeLulu on the Bridge is a 1998 romantic mystery drama film directed by author Paul Auster. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
- Among GiantsAmong GiantsAmong Giants is a 1998 British film directed by Sam Miller, and written by Simon Beaufoy, fresh from his success with The Full Monty. It is set in Yorkshire, and stars Pete Postlethwaite, Rachel Griffiths and James Thornton...
- WildeWilde (film)Wilde is a 1997 British biographical film directed by Brian Gilbert with Stephen Fry in the title role. The screenplay by Julian Mitchell is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1987 biography of Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann.-Plot:...
- The Winter GuestThe Winter GuestThe Winter Guest was British actor Alan Rickman's debut as a director, and stars Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law.-Plot:Set in Scotland on one wintry day, the film focuses on eight people: a mother and daughter, Elspeth and Frances ; two young boys skipping school, Sam and Tom ; two old women who...
- Kiss Me, GuidoKiss Me, GuidoKiss Me, Guido is a 1997 independent film comedy. Written and directed by Tony Vitale, it stars Nick Scotti, Anthony Barrile, Anthony DeSando and Craig Chester.-Synopsis:...
- A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 film)A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1999 American film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Michael Hoffman. The ensemble cast features Kevin Kline as Bottom, Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Everett as Titania and Oberon, and Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel,...
- American BuffaloAmerican Buffalo (film)American Buffalo is a 1996 British/American drama film directed by Michael Corrente and starring Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz, and Sean Nelson...
- The Secret AgentThe Secret AgentThe Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is a novel by Joseph Conrad published in 1907. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals largely with the life of Mr. Verloc and his job as a spy. The Secret Agent is also notable as it is one of Conrad's later political novels, which move away from his typical...
- Death and the MaidenDeath and the Maiden (film)Death and the Maiden is a 1994 drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on the play by Ariel Dorfman. It starred Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley and Stuart Wilson.-Plot summary:...
- A Good Man in AfricaA Good Man in Africa (film)A Good Man in Africa is a 1994 film, based on the novel A Good Man in Africa , and directed by Bruce Beresford.-Synopsis:...