Seven Arts Productions
Encyclopedia
Seven Arts Productions was founded in 1957 by Ray Stark
and Eliot Hyman. The company was a frequent producer of movies for other studios, including The Misfits
(1961) for United Artists
, Gigot
(1962) for Twentieth Century-Fox, Lolita
(1962) for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, and Is Paris Burning?
(1966) for Paramount Pictures
.
Over time it expanded it's involvement in movies, becoming equity investors with the studios and partnering with legendary horror film company Hammer Film Productions
on many projects. It also produced Seven Days in May
(1964) and Promise Her Anything
(1965) for release by Paramount. On these productions, it retained ancillary rights that they had surrendered on earlier films.
In 1967, it acquired Jack Warner
's controlling interest in Warner Bros.
for $32 million and merged with it, becoming Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
. Warner Bros.-Seven Arts itself was acquired in 1969 by Kinney National Company
, who proceeded to delete "Seven Arts" from the company name, reestablishing it as Warner Bros.
This now-defunct Seven Arts company has no relation to producer Peter Hoffman's active production company Seven Arts Pictures
, or the defunct releasing company also called Seven Arts, which was a joint venture between Carolco Pictures
, during Peter Hoffman's tenure at the company, and New Line Cinema
(the latter of which is now merged into WB) in the early 1990s.
Ray Stark
Ray Stark was an American film producer and powerbroker known for his Machiavellian ways.While putting together the Broadway musical Funny Girl - the highly fictionalized account of the life of his mother-in-law, Fanny Brice - its producer David Merrick took Stark and his wife to see an unknown...
and Eliot Hyman. The company was a frequent producer of movies for other studios, including The Misfits
The Misfits (film)
The Misfits is a 1961 American drama film written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston, and starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter, and Eli Wallach. It was the final film appearance for both Gable and Monroe...
(1961) for United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
, Gigot
Gigot
Gigot is an American motion picture; it was released in 1962 by 20th Century Fox. The film starred Jackie Gleason and was directed by Gene Kelly.-Synopsis:...
(1962) for Twentieth Century-Fox, Lolita
Lolita (1962 film)
Lolita is a 1962 comedy-drama film by Stanley Kubrick based on the classic novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov. The film stars James Mason as Humbert Humbert, Sue Lyon as Dolores Haze and Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze with Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty.Due to the MPAA's restrictions at...
(1962) for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, and Is Paris Burning?
Is Paris Burning?
Is Paris Burning? is a 1966 film dealing with the 1944 liberation of Paris by rival branches of the French Resistance and the Free French Forces.-Plot:...
(1966) for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
Over time it expanded it's involvement in movies, becoming equity investors with the studios and partnering with legendary horror film company Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
on many projects. It also produced Seven Days in May
Seven Days in May
Seven Days in May is an American political thriller novel written by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II and published in 1962. It was made into a motion picture and released in February 1964, with a screenplay by Rod Serling, directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk...
(1964) and Promise Her Anything
Promise Her Anything
Promise Her Anything is a 1965 British romantic comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller. The screenplay by William Peter Blatty is based on a story by Arne Sultan and Marvin Worth.-Plot:...
(1965) for release by Paramount. On these productions, it retained ancillary rights that they had surrendered on earlier films.
In 1967, it acquired Jack Warner
Jack Warner
Jack Leonard "J. L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California...
's controlling interest in Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
for $32 million and merged with it, becoming Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was formed in 1967 and became defunct in 1970, when Seven Arts Productions acquired Jack Warner's controlling interest in Warner Bros. for $32 million and merged with it. The deal also included Warner Bros. Records, Reprise Records and the B&W Looney Tunes library...
. Warner Bros.-Seven Arts itself was acquired in 1969 by Kinney National Company
Kinney National Company
Kinney National Services, Inc. was formed in 1966 when the Kinney Parking Company and the National Cleaning Company merged. The new company was headed by Steve Ross....
, who proceeded to delete "Seven Arts" from the company name, reestablishing it as Warner Bros.
This now-defunct Seven Arts company has no relation to producer Peter Hoffman's active production company Seven Arts Pictures
Seven Arts Pictures
Seven Arts Pictures also known as Seven Arts Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded independent film production company registered in the United Kingdom engaged in developing, financing, producing and licensing theatrical motion pictures...
, or the defunct releasing company also called Seven Arts, which was a joint venture between Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures, Inc., Carolco International N.V., or Anabasis Investments was an American independent film production company that, within a decade, went from producing such blockbuster successes as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the first three movies of the Rambo series to being bankrupted by...
, during Peter Hoffman's tenure at the company, and New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
(the latter of which is now merged into WB) in the early 1990s.