Producers Sales Organization
Encyclopedia
Producers Sales Organization was an independent production/distribution company founded in 1977.
Inititated by Mark Damon
, an actor-turned-producer, PSO (its otherwise known moniker) largely handled foreign sales of independent films. Among the most notable films PSO released include The Final Countdown, Dead and Buried
, Prizzi's Honor
, The Day After
, Silkwood
, Never Say Never Again
, The Outsiders
, Cujo
, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Once Upon a Time in America
, and 9½ Weeks
.
In its final years of existence, PSO briefly became a full-fledged production company, financing films such as The Neverending Story
(with Warner Bros. Pictures), Das Boot
(with Columbia Pictures
), Fire and Ice
(with 20th Century-Fox
), Flight of the Navigator
(with Disney
) and Short Circuit
and 8 Million Ways to Die
(with Tri-Star Pictures
).
Despite releasing many successful films, PSO ended up running into financial problems and was forced into bankruptcy in 1986, effectively ending the company. The assets of PSO were sold to Vestron Pictures
, its home video output partner.
A year after PSO ended, Damon founded a new company, with Peter Guber
and Jon Peters
, called Vision International.
PSO is known today as Lions Gate Entertainment
, which handles some ancillary rights to the former PSO library. One notable exception is the international rights to Once Upon a Time in America, which reverted to the American distributor, Warner Bros. (via The Ladd Company
).
Inititated by Mark Damon
Mark Damon
Mark Damon is an American film actor and producer. He started his career in his native country, appearing in such films as Young and Dangerous and Roger Corman's House of Usher...
, an actor-turned-producer, PSO (its otherwise known moniker) largely handled foreign sales of independent films. Among the most notable films PSO released include The Final Countdown, Dead and Buried
Dead & Buried
Dead & Buried is a 1981 horror film directed by Gary Sherman, starring Melody Anderson and James Farentino. With a screenplay written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the movie was initially banned as a "Video Nasty" in the UK in the early 80s, but was later acquitted of obscenity charges and...
, Prizzi's Honor
Prizzi's Honor
Prizzi's Honor is a 1985 American black comedy film directed by John Huston. It stars Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Robert Loggia and Anjelica Huston.The film was adapted by Richard Condon and Janet Roach from Condon's novel of the same name...
, The Day After
The Day After
The Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABC television network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast....
, Silkwood
Silkwood
Silkwood is a 1983 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was inspired by the true-life story of Karen Silkwood, who died in a suspicious car accident while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she...
, Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
, The Outsiders
The Outsiders (film)
The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. The film was released in March 1983...
, Cujo
Cujo (film)
Cujo is a 1983 American horror/thriller film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Cujo was directed by Lewis Teague from a screenplay by Lauren Currier. The film was #58 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.-Plot:...
, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Once Upon a Time in America
Once Upon a Time in America
Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 Italian epic crime film co-written and directed by Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The story chronicles the lives of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York City's world of organized crime...
, and 9½ Weeks
9½ Weeks
9½ Weeks is a 1986 erotic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. It is based on the novel of the same name by Elizabeth McNeill....
.
In its final years of existence, PSO briefly became a full-fledged production company, financing films such as The Neverending Story
The NeverEnding Story (film)
The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 German-American epic fantasy film based on the novel of the same name written by Michael Ende. The film was directed and co-written by Wolfgang Petersen and starred Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway and Tami Stronach. At the time of its release, it was the most...
(with Warner Bros. Pictures), Das Boot
Das Boot
Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...
(with Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
), Fire and Ice
Fire and Ice (1983 film)
Fire and Ice is a 1983 animated film, a collaboration between Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta, distributed by 20th Century Fox, which also distributed Bakshi's 1977 release, Wizards...
(with 20th Century-Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
), Flight of the Navigator
Flight of the Navigator
Flight of the Navigator is a 1986 Disney science fiction film directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Mark H. Baker and Michael Burton, about a 12-year-old boy named David who is abducted by an alien space craft and finds himself caught in a world which has changed around him...
(with Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
) and Short Circuit
Short Circuit
Short Circuit is a 1986 comedy science fiction film starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg and directed by John Badham. Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton, and G. W...
and 8 Million Ways to Die
8 Million Ways to Die
8 Million Ways to Die is a 1986 American crime film. This was the final film directed by Hal Ashby, and the first attempt to adapt the popular Matthew Scudder detective stories of Lawrence Block for the screen. The screenplay was written by Oliver Stone and David Lee Henry, with uncredited...
(with Tri-Star Pictures
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
).
Despite releasing many successful films, PSO ended up running into financial problems and was forced into bankruptcy in 1986, effectively ending the company. The assets of PSO were sold to Vestron Pictures
Vestron Pictures
Vestron Pictures was a film studio and distributor of the late 1980s, and a division of Austin O. Furst, Jr.'s Vestron Inc., best known for their 1987 release of Dirty Dancing. The company was a spin-off of the earlier video distributor, Vestron Video. Vestron also had a genre film division,...
, its home video output partner.
A year after PSO ended, Damon founded a new company, with Peter Guber
Peter Guber
Howard Peter Guber is an American film producer and executive and Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment...
and Jon Peters
Jon Peters
Jon Peters is an American movie producer.-Early life:Peters was born John H. Peters in Van Nuys, California, the son of Helen , a receptionist, and Jack Peters, a cook...
, called Vision International.
PSO is known today as Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
, which handles some ancillary rights to the former PSO library. One notable exception is the international rights to Once Upon a Time in America, which reverted to the American distributor, Warner Bros. (via The Ladd Company
The Ladd Company
The Ladd Company is a film production and distribution company founded by Alan Ladd, Jr. in 1979, after ending his job as President of 20th Century Fox. Under Warner Bros...
).