New Concorde

For the planned supersonic airliner, see Boom Overture.
New Concorde
FormerlyConcorde-New Horizons (1983–2000)
IndustrySubsidiary
Founded1983; 41 years ago (1983)
FounderRoger Corman
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Products
ParentShout! Studios (2018–present)

New Concorde (NC) is an American film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons (CNH) as one of the first production companies to develop and take advantage of video as a distribution tool.[1][2]

The company was originally Concorde-New Horizons, which was itself created when Corman combined his two new companies Concorde Pictures (CP)[3] and New Horizons Pictures in 1983. The company is now officially known as New Horizons Picture Corp.

History

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New World Pictures

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Corman founded New World Productions (NWP) in 1970,[4][5] and had been making low budget genre films until 1982.[6] When larger studios began producing the same genres with larger budgets that his company could not meet, and after being approached by a consortium of attorneys wishing to buy the company, he opted in 1982 to sell his interests.[7]

Millennium Films

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Corman sold New World Pictures in January 1983 for $16.9 million. He retained all rights to his large back catalogue of films and took most members of his creative team with him. As he wrote "they had bought the dinosaur of distribution, leaving me with the film library and production staff."[8]

Under the terms of the contract, he agreed to stay on as consultant for two years and that New World would guarantee to distribute any movies he made until February 1984, at a bargain rate fee of 15%. Corman agreed to provide the company with a minimum of five films they could release. He also undertook not to return to the distribution business.[9]

Corman set up a new production company, Millennium - the title of which was taken from the name of a 1981 retrospective of Corman's work at the National Film Theatre of London. As the new owners of New World had taken over the old offices, Corman established offices for Millennium across the road from them in Brentwood. He announced plans to make films budgeted between $2–5 million a picture, using cash from his sale of New World.[10]

Corman claimed he wanted to make less commercial films, and the first film from Millennium (and the last from old New World) was a character drama Love Letters. Another early, more arthouse effort from Millenium was Wild Side which became Suburbia. Millennium's other films were more standard exploitation fare such as Space Raiders and Screwballs.[10]

Corman found he disliked working in Brentwood so eventually shifted the offices to Corman's Venice studio.[11] He was having trouble with the name "Millennium" - "‘Nobody could spell it, nobody knew what it meant" so in October of 1983, Millennium was renamed "New Horizons."[7] [12]

Formation of Concorde Pictures

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Some Corman films were released through the "new" New World, such as Love Letters, Deathstalker, Screwballs, and Space Raiders but Corman was unhappy with the results. "They never gave my pictures a full release, and they never paid me the money the pictures earned," he claimed.[13]

In turn, the new owners of New World were unhappy with the advantageous deal given to Corman, and wanted to take the company public. Corman felt he had to go back into distribution, which was contrary to his agreement with New World. He later wrote, "The last thing I wanted to do was get back into distribution, but I had no choice. My pictures needed distribution and I needed the revenues."[14]

In early 1985, Corman sued New World for breach of its obligations to him. In particular, he claimed that New World refused to distribute two of his films, School Spirit and Wheels of Fire, and that New World owed him money from Screwballs, Space Raiders and Slumber Pary Massacre. In turn New World sued him claiming Corman had been discrediting the company against new investors and clients, and had bypassed New World in seeking distribution for some of Corman's films, notably Hardbodies which had been partly financed by Corman but which had been sold to Columbia Pictures.[15]

The matter went to court but only a few days into the trial both parties agreed to settle. Corman called this "an unhappy experience. I was forced back into distribution, a business I did not want to be in. I was so dead-set against it that I proposed a formula to a group of four well-financed independent producers to jointly start a distribution company."[16]

The company would be called Concorde Pictures. Corman said "I had read a book this time that said hard C's were the most significant sound to sell products — like Kodak, or Coca-Cola. Concorde not only had two hard C's; for extra measure the dictionary described it as a harmonious grouping of similar entities with similar goals".[17]

The company would be a "co-operative" that would distribute films from Corman (including his back catalogue of over 100 films) and other producers.[7][1] The formation of this company was announced in March 1985.[18] Corman announced Concorde's first few films would include School Spirit, Wheels of Fire and Barbarian Queen; he also declared an intention to distribute foreign films, as he had done with New World.[19]

The first eight films distributed by Concorde would be Wizards of the Lost Kingdom, Naked Vengeance, Wheels of Fire, Loose Screws (Screwballs II), School Spirit, Barbarian Queen, The Devastator and Streetwalkin’.[20]

In July 1985, it was announced Concorde would team with Cinema Group to distribute films. Their first releases would include Club Sandwich and Cocaine Wars from Concorde and Born American and Hollywood Vice Squad from Cinema Group.[21] Other early releases included Loose Screws and Streetwalkin. Harper Paul Williams then ran Concorde. Corman called it "the first co-op distribution company."[22]

He added, "I'm not that happy about being a businessman in distribution again but it's something I have to deal with for at least another year. Then I hope to return to directing. Our goal is to make eight to nine pictures a year and eventually start picking up foreign films and independent features."[22]

However Corman had trouble finding other companies to distribute with parties. He said others who proposed to join the distribution company pulled out as they lacked the requisite money. The arrangement with Cinema Group ended and Concorde wound up being a distributor on its own.[23]

Concorde

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CNH came into existence during the beginnings of the home video boom. Corman found he was in an ideal position to capitalize on the new market.[24] Using his extensive back catalogue and his creative team he was able to take full advantage of the new and growing video market and created films specifically targeted toward home video. This made Concorde-New Horizons one of the first production companies to fully develop and capitalize on video as a distribution tool.[1]

This allowed Corman's Concorde-New Horizons to be more prolific than his former New World Productions, but that productivity resulted in a lowering of standards. The new New World films were themselves seen as producers of low quality products, but their films were seen as having an energy and charm that Corman's films seemed to lack. However, his goal to create films for a direct-to-video market has been financially successful.[1] According to his biographer, "At Concorde-New Horizons in the mid-1980s, the key to profitability seemed to lie in volume: more movies meant more money. Corman, of course, was heartened when this theorem proved to be true. What he didn’t foresee, however, is that he was creating his very own Frankenstein monster—a company that grew so large so fast that it threatened to overwhelm him."[25]

Last Resort (1986) was an attempt at a broad appeal comedy. Corman had more success with Stripped to Kill.

Beverly Gray, Corman's biographer, wrote "many Concorde veterans remember the late 1980s as the company’s golden age, in which there was plenty of room for new ideas and new talent. This was a time when exciting young directors put their personal stamp on conventional genre-film assignment."[26]

Filminl argued the overall quality of Corman's output dropped around this time and "Most discussions of Corman’s output skim over the post New World Pictures, and I can’t really say they’re wrong to do so."[27]

New Concorde

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In early 2000, Corman renamed the firm 'New Concorde',[28] sold the New Horizons Pictures (NHP) branch, and reorganized to form New Concorde Home Entertainment.[29][30]

In 2005, Concorde signed a 12-year deal with Buena Vista Home Entertainment giving BVHE distribution rights to the more than 400 Roger Corman produced films.[31] Buena Vista ended the deal with New Horizons early in 2008, largely due to poor sales and poor masters for many of the titles.

In 2010, Shout! Factory signed a large package deal with New Horizons Pictures for nearly all the Concorde-New Horizon and pre-1984 New World Pictures catalog, including those that were previously put out by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. In March 2018, Shout! Factory acquired New Horizons from Roger Corman, giving them complete ownership of all the Concorde-New Horizon and pre-1984 New World Pictures libraries. Shout! Factory controls distribution rights in North America, Europe, Australia, and Russia, while Chinese company Ace Film HK Company signed distribution deals with Shout for China, most of Asia, Africa, and South America. Soon after the contract, Roger Corman and his wife, Julie Corman were sued by their sons, Roger and Brian, for ownership of the film library.[32]

Production and distribution

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Concorde-New Horizons has produced over 122 films, including Bloodfist, Shadow Dancer, The Sea Wolf, Munchie Strikes Back, and Summer Camp Nightmare, and has distributed over 39 films, including Supergator, Slaughter Studios, Dragon Fire, and Eye of the Eagle. The New Concorde Home Entertainment concentrates on distribution, and has released over 90 films, including Dinocroc, Avalanche Alley, Humanoids from the Deep, Munchies, and The Slumber Party Massacre. Concorde Pictures, has produced 9 films, including Killer Instinct, Watchers II, Time Trackers, and The Drifter, and has distributed over 144 films, including Avalanche Alley, The Sea Wolf, Humanoids from the Deep, Star Hunter, and Wizards of the Lost Kingdom.

Partial filmography

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Millenium Films Era

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Early Concorde Pictures Releases

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Concorde/Cinema Group Releases

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Distributed by Concorde Pictures alone

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Roger Corman Presents Series

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Films made for screening on Showtime as part of the series Roger Corman Presents.

Bloodfist Series

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Deathstalker Series

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Munchies Series

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Watchers Series

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Films shot in Peru

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Films shot in Argentina

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Death Race series

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Creature series

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Production

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Distribution

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Notes

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  • Corman, Roger; Jerome, Jim (1998). How I made a hundred movies in Hollywood and never lost a dime.
  • Gray, Beverly (2004). Roger Corman : blood-sucking vampires, flesh-eating cockroaches, and driller killers.
  • Koetting, Christopher T (2013). Mind warp! : the fantastic true story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Roger Corman, 1980s". The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  2. ^ "Concorde/New Horizon Corporation". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-09. [dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Concorde Pictures". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-09. [dead link‍]
  4. ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution: the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 226. ISBN 9780835717762.
  5. ^ Mask, Mia (2009). Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film (illustrated ed.). University of Illinois Press. pp. 67. ISBN 9780252076190. New World Productions, roger Corman.
  6. ^ Cook, Pam (2005). Screening the past: memory and nostalgia in cinema (illustrated ed.). Routledge. pp. 44–47. ISBN 9780415183758.
  7. ^ a b c "Roger Corman interview, September 23, 1995". MJ Simpson. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  8. ^ Corman p 222
  9. ^ Corman p 222-223
  10. ^ a b Caulfield, Deborah (13 June 1983). "Film Clips: Corman Names His New Baby". Los Angeles Times. p. g1.
  11. ^ Gray p 155
  12. ^ Koetting p 229
  13. ^ Corman p 222
  14. ^ Corman p 223
  15. ^ "B movie king corman files suit to regain company". The Atlanta Journal. 12 March 1985. p. 41.
  16. ^ Corman p 223
  17. ^ Corman p 223
  18. ^ "Today". The Times. 21 March 1985. p. 4.
  19. ^ "Film Clips". The Los Angeles Times Part 6. 22 March 1985. p. 12.
  20. ^ Koetting, Christopher T. (2013). Mind warp! : the fantastic true story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures. p. 234.
  21. ^ "Cinema Group, Concorde Unite for distribution". The Los Angeles Times Part 6. 18 July 1985. p. 2.
  22. ^ a b Stanley, John (23 February 1986). "Corman Hustles New Distribution Territory". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 22.
  23. ^ Corman p 223
  24. ^ Dixon, Wheeler W. (2000). Wheeler W. Dixon (ed.). The second century of cinema: the past and future of the moving image (Illustrated ed.). SUNY Press. pp. 80–90. ISBN 9780791445150.
  25. ^ Gray p 160
  26. ^ Gray p 171
  27. ^ Vagg, Stephen (21 May 2024). "Top Ten Corman – Part Eight, Corman's Studios". Filmink.
  28. ^ Marlowe, Chris (July 27, 2000). "Corman A Convert To Digital Film". The Hollywood Reporter. allbusiness.com. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  29. ^ Saroyan, Strawberry (May 6, 2007). "King of the killer B's". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  30. ^ Roger Corman, Jim Jerome (1998). How I made a hundred movies in Hollywood and never lost a dime (illustrated ed.). Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306808746. How I made a hundred movies in Hollywood and never lost a dime.
  31. ^ Netherby, Jennifer (September 7, 2005). "Mouse mixes with B pix". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  32. ^ Deb, Sopan (4 April 2018). "Roger Corman is Sued by His Sons over Sale of Film Library". The New York Times.
  33. ^ Zion, Robert (2023). Roger Corman: Die Rebellion des Unmittelbaren (in German). BoD - Books on Demand. p. 291. ISBN 9783746044316. 231. DETONATOR (Concorde-New Horizons, 1997), AP.
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