United Artists

This article is about the lm studio. For the cinema

chain, see Regal Entertainment Group. For the former
record label, see United Artists Records.
The United Artists Media Group (UAMG), formerly
known as United Artists Corporation (UA), is an
American lm and television entertainment company.
The original studio using the name United Artists was
founded in 1919 by D. W. Grith, Charlie Chaplin, The rst United Artists logo, used until the 1967 sale to
Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, with the intention Transamerica
of controlling their own interests rather than depending
upon the powerful commercial studios.[1]
ing 20% held by lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo.[4] The
An incarnation of United Artists formed in November
idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin,
2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom
Pickford, and cowboy star William S. Hart a year earCruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and
lier as they were traveling around the U.S. selling Liberty
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Paula Wagner left the studio on
bonds to help the World War I eort. Already veterans
[2]
August 14, 2008. Cruise owned a small stake in the stuof Hollywood, the four lm stars began to talk of form[3]
dio until late 2011. In 2014, MGM acquired controlling
ing their own company to better control their own work
interest in Mark Burnett and Roma Downey's entertainas well as their futures.
ment companies, resulting in another relaunch of United
They were spurred on by established Hollywood proArtists.
ducers and distributors who were tightening their control over actor salaries and creative decisions, a process
that evolved into the rigid studio system. With the ad1 History
dition of Grith, planning began, but Hart bowed out
before things had formalized. When he heard about
1.1 The early years
their scheme, Richard A. Rowland, head of Metro Pictures, is said to have observed, The inmates are taking
over the asylum. The four partners, with advice from
McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of
then-President Woodrow Wilson), formed their distribution company, with Hiram Abrams as its rst managing
director.
The original terms called for Pickford, Fairbanks, Grifth and Chaplin to independently produce ve pictures
each year. But by the time the company got under way
in 19201921, feature lms were becoming more expensive and more polished, and running times had settled at
around ninety minutes (or eight reels). It was believed
that no one, no matter how popular, could produce and
star in ve quality feature lms a year. Its headquarters was established at 729 Seventh Avenue in New York
City.[5]

Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W.

Grith in 1919

UAs rst lm was His Majesty, the American by and starring Fairbanks was a success. There was limited funding
for movies at the time. Without selling stock to the public like the other studios of the time, all United had to
work with was weekly prepayment installments from theater owners for the upcoming movies. Thus production

UA was incorporated as a joint venture on February 5,

1919, by four of the leading gures in early Hollywood:
Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and
D. W. Grith. Each held a 20% stake, with the remain1

HISTORY

and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United

Artists name. They also began international operations,
rst in Canada, then in Mexico, and by the end of the
1930s, United Artists was represented in over 40 countries.

List of UA stockholders in 1920.

Schenck resigned in 1935 when an ownership share was

denied, Schenck left which set up 20th Century Pictures'
merger with Fox Film Corporation to form 20th Century
Fox. Schenck was succeeded by Al Lichtman as company
president. A number of other independent producers distributed through United Artists in the 1930s including
Walt Disney Productions, Alexander Korda, Hal Roach,
David O. Selznick and Walter Wanger.[6] As the years
passed and the dynamics of the business changed, these
producing partners drifted away, Samuel Goldwyn Productions and Disney to RKO and Wanger to Universal
Pictures.
In the late 1930s, UA actually turned a prot while
Samuel Goldwyn Productions was providing most of the
output for distribution. Goldwyn sued United several
times for disputed compensation leading Goldwyn Productions to leave. MGMs 1939 hit, Gone With the Wind,
the top money maker of all time, was supposed to be a UA
release except for the fact Selznick wanted Clark Gable to
play Rhett Butler, but Gable was under contract to MGM.
Also that year Fairbanks died.[6]
UA again was embroiled in lawsuits with its top producer,
Selznick, over his distribution of some lms through
RKO and Selznicks considering their sloppy operation.
Selznick left UA and started his own distribution arm.[6]

D.W. Grith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin (seated) and

Douglas Fairbanks at the signing of the contract establishing
United Artists motion picture studio in 1919. Lawyers Albert
Banzhaf (left) and Dennis F. O'Brien (right) stand in the background.

In the 1940s, United Artists was losing money with poor

pictures and cinema attendance down as viewers were
moving to TV.[6] It sold o its Mexican releasing division
to Crdito Cinematogrco Mexicano, a local company.

1.2 Society of Independent Motion Picture

Producers (1940s and 1950s)

was slow with the company distributing for the rst ve The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers was founded in 1941 by Mary Pickford, Charlie
years averaging ve lms.[6]
Chaplin, Walt Disney, Orson Welles, Samuel Goldwyn,
By 1924, by which time Grith had dropped out, the
company was facing a crisis: either bring in others to David O. Selznick, Alexander Korda, and Walter Wanger
help support a costly distribution system or concede de- many of the same people who were members of
feat. The veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired United Artists. Later members included Hunt Stromberg,
as president.[6] Not only had he been producing pictures William Cagney, Sol Lesser, and Hal Roach.
for a decade, but he brought along commitments for
lms starring his wife, Norma Talmadge,[6] his sister-inlaw, Constance Talmadge, and his brother-in-law, Buster
Keaton.[6] Contracts were signed with a number of independent producers, most notably Samuel Goldwyn, and
Howard Hughes.[6] In 1933, Schenck organized a new
company with Darryl F. Zanuck, Twentieth Century Pictures, which soon provided four pictures a year to UAs
schedule and was half the schedule.[6]

The Society aimed to advance the interests of independent producers in an industry overwhelmingly controlled
by the studio system. SIMPP also fought to end ostensibly
anti-competitive practices by the seven major lm studios Loews, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures,
Universal Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, 20th Century
Fox, and Warner Bros./First National that controlled
the production, distribution, and exhibition of lms.

In 1942, the SIMPP led an antitrust suit against

Schenck also formed a separate partnership with Pickford Paramounts United Detroit Theatres. The complaint ac-

1.4

Public company

cused Paramount of conspiracy to control rst-run and 1.4 Public company

subsequent-run theaters in Detroit. This was the rst antitrust suit brought by producers against exhibitors alleg- United Artists went public in 1957 with a $17 million
ing monopoly and restraint of trade.
stock and debenture oering. The company was averag[6]
In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court Paramount Deci- ing 50 lms a year. In 1958, UA acquired Ilya Lopert's
sion ordered the major Hollywood movie studios Lopert Pictures Corporation, which released foreign lms
Loews/MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros./First National, in the United States, that may[7]have attracted criticism or
20th Century Fox and RKO to sell their theater chains caused censorship problems.
and to eliminate certain anti-competitive practices. This In 1957, United Artists Records Corporation and United
eectively brought an end to the studio system.
Artists Music Corporation were created after failing to
[8]
By 1958, many of the objectives that led to the creation buy a record company. In 1968, UA Records was
of the SIMPP had been obtained and SIMPP closed its merged with Liberty Records, along with their many
subsidiary labels such as Imperial Records and Dolton
oces.
Records. In 1972, the group was consolidated into one
entity as United Artists Records. It was later taken over
by EMI and managed by Capitol Records which continues to control the catalog today.
In 1959, after failing to sell several pilots in the previous
few years, United Artists oered its rst ever television
series - The Troubleshooters, an adventure/drama on NBC
Needing a turnaround, Pickford and Chaplin hired for- starring Keenan Wynn and Bob Mathias as employees of
mer governor of Indiana Paul V. McNutt as chairman and an international construction company.[9]
Frank L. McNamee as president. McNutt did not have
In the 1960s, mainstream studios fell into decline and
the skill to solve UAs nancial problems and the duo was some were acquired or diversied. UA prospered while
[6]
removed in a few months for a new management team.
winning 11 Academy Awards, including ve for best
On February 16, 1951, lawyers-turned-producers Arthur picture,[6] adding relationships with the Mirisch brothKrim (of Eagle-Lion Films) and Robert Benjamin ap- ers, Billy Wilder, Joseph E. Levine and others. In 1961,
proached Pickford and Chaplin with a wild idea: let them United Artists released West Side Story, an adaptation of
take over United Artists for ten years. If, at the end of the Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim stage musical,
those years, UA was protable, they would be given half which won a record ten Academy Awards (including Best
the company. Fox Film Corporation president Spyros Sk- Picture).
ouras extended United Artist a $3 million loan through In 1960, United Artists purchased Ziv Television ProKrim and Benjamins eorts.[6]
grams and, using the idea of nancial backing for televi-

1.3

The 1950s and 1960s

In taking over UA, Krim and Benjamin created the rst

studio without an actual studio. Primarily acting as
bankers, they oered money to independent producers.
UA leased space at the Pickford/Fairbanks Studio, but
did not own a studio lot as such. Thus UA did not have
the overhead, the maintenance, or the expensive production sta that ran up costs at other studios.
They had two hits, The African Queen and High Noon,
thus turned a prot in their rst year.[6] Among their rst
clients were Sam Spiegel and John Huston, whose Horizon Productions gave UA one major hit, The African
Queen (1951) and a substantial success, Moulin Rouge
(1952), based on the life of Toulouse-Lautrec. Others
followed, among them Stanley Kramer, Otto Preminger,
Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions, and a number of actors, newly freed from studio contracts and anxious to
produce or direct their own lms.

sion, UAs television division was responsible for shows

such as CBS's Gilligans Island and three ABC programs, The Fugitive with David Janssen, Outer Limits,
a science ction series, and the situation comedy The
Patty Duke Show with Patty Duke and William Schallert.
The television unit also had begun to build up a substantial and protable rental library, having purchased
Associated Artists Productions,[10] owners of Warner
Bros. pre-1950[11][note 1] features, shorts and cartoons and
the Popeye cartoons purchased from Paramount Pictures
in 1958. (See note below at Film archives for more on
this.)

In 1963 United Artists released two Stanley Kramer lms,

the epic comedy Its A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and
the drama A Child is Waiting. In 1964, UA introduced
U.S. lm audiences to The Beatles by releasing producer
Walter Shenson's A Hard Days Night (1964) and Help!
With the instability in the lm industry due to theater (1965). (The group had already made wildly successful
holding divestment, the business was considered risky. television appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.)
Additionally, attendance reached its lowest in 1955 since At the same time it backed two expatriate North Amer1923. Chaplin sold his 25% share during this crisis to icans in Britain, who had acquired screen rights to Ian
Krim and Benjamin for $1.1 million, followed a year later Fleming's James Bond novels. For $1 million, UA backed
Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli's Dr. No (which was
by Pickford for $3 million.[6]

4
a sensation in 1963) and launched the James Bond series.[6] The franchise has outlived UAs time as a major
studio, still running half a century later. Other successful
projects backed in this period included Blake Edwards's
Pink Panther series, which began in 1964, and Sergio
Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, which made a star of Clint
Eastwood.

HISTORY

all advertising. At one point, the parent company expressed their desire to phase out the UA name and replace it with Transamerica Films. Arthur Krim tried
to convince Transamerica to spin-o United Artists, but
he and Transamericas chairman could not come to an
agreement.[12] Finally in 1978, following a dispute with
Transamerica chief John R. Beckett[6] over administraIn 1964, the French subsidiary Les Productions Artistes tive expenses, UAs top executives, including chairman
Krim, president Eric Pleskow, Benjamin, and other key
Associs released its rst production, That Man From
ocers walked out. Within days they announced the forRio.
mation of Orion Pictures,[6] with backing from Warner.
The departures of Krim, Pleskow and Benjamin concerned several Hollywood gures enough that they took
1.5 Transamerica Corporation subsidiary out an ad in a trade paper warning Transamerica that it
had made a fatal mistake in letting them go.
On the basis of its fantastic string of lm and television Transamerica placed Andy Albeck in as UAs president.
hits in the 1960s, the company was an attractive property, United had its most successful year with four hit pictures
and in 1967, 98% of UA stock were purchased by the San in 1979 with Rocky II, Manhattan, Moonraker, and The
Francisco-based insurance giant, the Transamerica Cor- Black Stallion.[6]
poration. Transmerica selected David and Arnold Picker
The new leadership of UA agreed to back Heavens Gate,
to lead UA.[6]
the pet project of director Michael Cimino which overran
UA released another Best Picture Oscar winner in 1967, its budget to cost $44 million. This led to the resignaIn the Heat of the Night, starring Sidney Poitier and Rod tion of Albeck and replacement by Norbert Auerbach.[6]
Steiger, and a nominee for Best Picture, The Graduate, United Artists recorded a major loss for the year due alan Embassy production that UA distributed overseas.
most entirely to the Heavens Gate asco. To TransamerIn 1970, UA lost $35 million; thus the Pickers were ica, it was only a blip on a multibillion-dollar balance
pushed aside for the return of Arthur Krim and Robert sheet, but it soured the relationship forever. To the
greater Hollywood community, it also signaled that UA
Benjamin.[6]
was a company that could no longer produce bankable
For a time the ow of successful pictures continued, inpictures. The Heavens Gate asco may have saved the
cluding the 1971 screen version of Fiddler on the Roof.
United Artists brand as UAs nal head before the sale,
(However, the 1972 lm version of Man of La Mancha
Steven Bach, wrote in his book Final Cut that there was
was a failure.) New talent was encouraged, including
talk about renaming United Artists to Transamerica PicWoody Allen, Robert Altman, Sylvester Stallone, Saul
tures.
Zaentz, Milo Forman, and Brian De Palma. In 1973,
UA took over the sales and distribution of MGM's lms In 1980, the Transamerica leadership decided the comin Anglo-America for 10 years,[6] while Cinema Inter- pany should exit the lm making business, and United
national Corporation took over international distribution Artists was put up for sale. Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda
Corp. purchased the company.[13][14] Tracinda also
rights.
owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which was combined with
In 1975, Harry Saltzman sold UA his 50% stake in
United Artists in 1981.[15]
Danjaq, the holding-company for the Bond lms. UA was
to remain a silent partner, putting up money, while Albert
Broccoli took producer credit. Danjaq and UA have remained the public co-copyright holders for the Bond se- 1.5.1 United Artists Classics
ries ever since, and the 2006 Casino Royale release shares
In 1981, United Artists Classics, which had formerly been
the copyright with Columbia Pictures.
a division of the company that re-released library titles,
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest was released by UA in was turned into a rst-run art lm distributor by Nathaniel
1975, which won the Best Picture Academy Award and T. Kwit Jr. Tom Bernard was hired as the divisions head
earned $56 million. UA followed that movie up with the of sales, and Ira Deutchman[16][17] as its head of marketnext two years Best Picture Oscar winners, Rocky and ing. Later the division added Michael Barker and Donna
Woody Allens Annie Hall.[6]
Gigliotti. Deutchman left to form Cinecom, and Barker
However, Transamerica was not pleased with UAs fre- and Bernard later went on to form Orion Classics and
quent releases of lms rated X by the Motion Pic- Sony Pictures Classics. The label mostly released forture Association of America, such as Midnight Cowboy eign and independent lms such as Ticket to Heaven and
and Last Tango in Paris; in these instances, Transamer- The Grey Fox, and occasional rst-run reissues from the
ica demanded the byline A Transamerica Company UA library, such as directors cuts of Joan Micklin Silbe removed from the UA logo on the prints and in ver's Head Over Heels and Ivan Passer's Cutters Way.

1.7

MGM/UA Communications Company

When Barker and Bernard left to form Orion, the label Artists for roughly $480 million.[25][26]
was briey rechristened MGM/UA Classics before it was
nally shut down in the late 1980s.

1.7 MGM/UA Communications Company

1.6

MGM/UA Entertainment Company

The merged companies became MGM/UA Entertainment Company and began launching in 1982 new subsidiaries: the MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group,
MGM/UA Classics, and the MGM/UA Television
Group. Kerkorian also bid for the remaining public stock
still outstanding which was dropped after resistance via
lawsuits and voiced opposition.[6]
After the purchase of United Artists, David Begelman's
duties were transferred to that unit from MGM. Under
Begelman, MGM/UA produced a number of unsuccessful lms, and he was red in July 1982. Out of the 11
lms he put into production, by the time of his release
from the studio, only one lm, Poltergeist, proved to be a
clear hit.[18][19]
Logo from 1987 to 1994.

As part of the consolidation, MGM closed and put up for

sale in 1983 United Artists long time headquarters at 729 Due to concerns in the nancial community over the
Seventh Avenue in New York City.[20]
debt load of his companies, Ted Turner was forced to
WarGames and Octopussy in the early 1980s made prots sell MGM's production and distribution assets to United
[25][26][30][31]
for the new MGM/UA, but were not sucient for Kerko- Artists for $300 million on August 26, 1986.
rian. A 1985 restructuring led to an independent MGM The MGM lot and lab facilities were sold to Lorimar[30]
Turner kept the pre-May 1986 MGM
and UA production units with the combined studio lead- Telepictures.
lm
and
television
library, along with the Associated
ers each placed in charge of a single unit. Speculation
Artists
Productions
library,
Gilligans Island and its anfrom analysts was that one of the studios, most likely UA,
imated
spin-os,
and
the
RKO
Pictures lms that United
would be sold to fund the others buy-back of stock to take
[30]
Artists
had
previously
purchased.
that studio private, expected to be MGM. However, soon
afterwards, one units chief was red and the remaining United Artists was renamed MGM/UA Communications
executive, Alan Ladd, Jr., took charge of both.[6]
Company (MUCC), organizing the company into three
main lm units: one television production and two lm
units. David Gerber headed up the TV unit with An1.6.1 Turner
thony Thomopoulous at UA and Alan Ladd, Jr. at MGM.
On August 7, 1985, it was announced that Ted Turner's Despite having a resurgence at the box oce in 1987
Daylights, and Moonstruck,
Turner Broadcasting System would buy MGM/UA. As with Spaceballs, The Living
[6]
MUCC
lost
$88
million.
lm licensing to television became more complicated,
Turner saw the value of acquiring MGM's lm library
for his superstation WTBS.[21] Under the terms of the
deal, Turner would immediately sell United Artists back
to Kerkorian.[15]

In April 1988, Kerkorians 82% of MUCC was up for

sale, with MGM and UA being split by July. Eventually,
25% of MGM was oered to Burt Sugarman, producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber, but the plan fell through.
Rich,
Ladd, Thomopoulous, and other executives grew
In anticipation of the MGM sale, Kerkorian installed
tired
of
Kerkorians inexplicable actions and began to exit
lm producer Jerry Weintraub as the chairman and chief
[6]
the
company.
executive of United Artists Corporation in November
1985.[22] Former American Broadcasting Company ex- Nevertheless, the studio was able to manage box-oce
ecutive Anthony Thomopoulos was recruited as UAs hits such as Rain Man (winner of the 1988 Oscar for
president[23] Weintraubs tenure at UA was brief; he left Best Picture), Baby Boom, and The Living Daylights.
the studio in April 1986, and his void was subsequently However, during this period, the companys fortunes lanlled by former Lorimar executive Lee Rich.[24]
guished greatly, losing money while its market share deOn March 25, 1986, the acquisition of MGM/UA by clined to 8% by the end of the 1980s.
Ted Turner was nalized in a cash-stock deal for $1.5 By summer 1988, the mass exodus of executives started
billion,[21][25][26][27] and was renamed MGM Entertain- to aect productions, with many lm cancellations.
ment Co..[28][29] Kerkorian then repurchased United The sale of MGM/UA to the Australian company

Qintex/Australian Television Network (owners of the

Hal Roach library both MGM and UA distributed in
the 1930s) in 1989 also fell through, due to the companys bankruptcy later that year. On November 29,
1989, Turner Broadcasting System (the owners of the
pre-May 1986 MGM library) attempted to buy entertainment assets from Tracinda Corporation, including
MGM/UA Communications Co. (which also included
United Artists, MGM/UA Home Video, and MGM/UA
Television Productions), but failed.[32] UA was essentially
dormant after 1990, releasing no lms for several years.

1.8

The 1990s

Eventually, in 1990, came the sale to Italian promoter

Giancarlo Parretti, who attempted to purchase Path the
previous year. Parretti had bought a smaller company
and renamed it Path Communications anticipating a successful buy of the original French company, but failed in
that attempt, so instead merged MGM/UA with his former company, resulting in MGM-Path Communications
Co. Having bought MGM/UA by overstating his own nancial condition, within a year Parretti had defaulted to
his primary bank, Crdit Lyonnais, which foreclosed on
the studio[14] in 1992, also resulting in the sale or closure of MGM/UAs string of US theaters. On July 2,
1992, MGM-Path Communications Co. was renamed
back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. In an eort to make
MGM/UA saleable, Credit Lyonnais ramped up production, and convinced John Calley to run UA.[14] Under his
supervision, Calley revived two long-running franchises,
the Pink Panther and James Bond lms,[14] and touched
on an aspect of UAs past by giving the widest release
ever to a lm with an NC-17 rating, Paul Verhoeven and
Joe Eszterhas's controversial Showgirls. MGM was sold
by Credit Lyonnais in 1996, again to Kirk Kerkorians
Tracinda,[14] resulting in the departure of Calley as UA
president.

HISTORY

was Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her.

UA (re-christened United Artists Films) hired Bingham
Ray, who previously founded October Films, to run the
company[14] in 2000. Under his supervision, it produced and distributed many art-house lms, among
them Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine; 2002s
Nicholas Nickleby and the winner of that years Academy
Award for Best Foreign Language Film, No Mans Land;
and 2004s Undertow, directed by David Gordon Green,
and Terry George's Hotel Rwanda, a co-production of UA
and Lions Gate Entertainment.
In 2005, a partnership of Comcast, Sony and several
merchant banks bought United Artists and its parent,
MGM, for a total of $4.8 billion.[14] Though only a minority investor, Sony closed MGMs distribution system
and folded most of their sta into their own studio,[14]
and the movies UA had completed and planned for release (Capote, Art School Condential, The Woods, and
Romance and Cigarettes) were reassigned to Sony Pictures Classics.[14]
In March 2006, MGM announced that it would return once again as a distribution company domestically.
Striking distribution deals with The Weinstein Company,
Lakeshore Entertainment, Bauer Martinez Entertainment
and other independent studios, MGM distributed lms
from these companies. MGM continues funding and coproducing projects that are released in conjunction with
Sonys Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group on a limited basis and is producing tentpoles for its own distribution company, MGM Distribution.
Sony had a minority stake in MGM but otherwise MGM
and UA operated under the direction of Stephen Cooper
(CEO of MGM and a minority owner himself).

1.9.1 United Artists Entertainment

On November 2, 2006, MGM announced that actor

In 1999, lmmaker Francis Ford Coppola attempted to Tom Cruise and his long-time production partner Paula
buy UA from Kerkorian. The deal was rejected, but Cop- Wagner were resurrecting UA[35][36] (this announcement
pola signed a production deal with the studio instead.[33] came after the duo were released from a fourteen-year
production relationship at Viacom-owned Paramount
Pictures earlier that year). Cruise, Wagner and MGM
1.9 The 2000s to present
Studios created United Artists Entertainment LLC and
the producer/actor and his partner owned a 30% stake in
In 1999, UA was repositioned as a specialty studio.[34] the studio,[37] with the approval by MGMs consortium of
MGM had just acquired The Samuel Goldwyn Com- owners.
pany, which had been a leading distributor of arthouse
lms, and after that name was retired, MGM folded UA The deal gave them control over production and develinto Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. G2 Films, suc- opment of lms. Wagner was named CEO of United
cessor to Goldwyn, was renamed United Artists. The Artists, which was allotted an annual slate of four lms
distributorship, branding, and copyrights for UAs main with dierent budget ranges, while Cruise served as a
franchises (James Bond, Pink Panther, and Rocky) were producer for the revamped studio as well as serving as
moved to MGM, although select MGM releases (notably the occasional star.
the James Bond franchise co-held with Danjaq, LLC UA became the rst motion picture studio granted
and the Amityville Horror remake) carry a United Artists a WGA waiver in January 2008 during the Writers
copyright. The rst arthouse lm to bear the UA name Strike.[38]

7
On August 14, 2008, MGM announced Paula Wag- releases, such as Scrooge (1951), High Noon (1952) and
ner would leave United Artists to produce lms The Final Countdown (1980), are still under copyright but
independently.[2] Her output as head of UA was two lms, not owned by MGM.
both starring Cruise, Lions for Lambs[39] and Valkyrie,
the latter of which, despite mixed reviews, was successful at the box oce thanks to $117 million in foreign
revenue.[40] Wagners departure led to speculation that an
3 UA lms on video
overhaul at United Artists was imminent.[2]
Since then, United Artists has merely served as a coproducer with MGM for two releases: the 2009 remake
of Fame and Hot Tub Time Machine. Throughout 2010,
due to continued debt and credit issues for MGM Holdings, Inc., United Artists parent company had left the future of MGM and UA in doubt until it was resolved near
the end of the year.
A 2011 nancial report revealed that MGM reacquired
its 100% stake in United Artists.[37] MGM stated that it
might continue to make new lms under the UA brand.[37]
1.9.2

United Artists Media Group

UA originally leased the home video rights to its lms (including the pre-1950 Warner Bros. classics they owned
at the time) to Magnetic Video, the rst home video company. Magnetic was purchased by 20th Century Fox
in 1981 and was renamed 20th Century-Fox Video that
year. In 1982, 20th Century-Fox Video merged with CBS
Video Enterprises (which had demerged with MGM/CBS
Home Video after MGM merged with UA) giving birth
to CBS/Fox Video. Although MGM owned UA around
this time, the latter studios licensing deal with CBS/Fox
was still in eect; however, the newly renamed MGM/UA
Home Video started releasing some UA product, including UA lms originally released in the mid 80s. Prior
to MGMs purchase, UA licensed foreign video rights to
Warner Bros. through Warner Home Video, in a deal
that was set to expire in 1991.[43] In 1986, the pre-1950
WB and the pre-May 1986 MGM lm and television libraries were purchased by Ted Turner after its short-lived
ownership of MGM/UA, and as a result CBS/Fox lost
home video rights to the pre-1950 WB lms to MGM/UA
Home Video. When the deal with CBS/Fox (inherited
from Magnetic Video) expired in 1989, the UA lms began to be issued through MGM/UA Home Video.

On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a 55% interest

in One Three Media and Lightworkers Media, both operated by married Hollywood producers Mark Burnett and
actress Roma Downey and partly owned by Hearst Entertainment. The two companies were consolidated into
a new lm and television company, United Artists Media
Group. Burnett became UAMGs CEO and Downey became president of Lightworkers Media, the UAMG family and faith division. UAMG became the distributing
studio for Mark Burnett Productions programming such
as Survivor. UAMG will also form an over-the-top faith- In 1988, United Artists licensed the video releases for its
more obscure titles to a small specialty video distributor
based channel.[14][41]
called Wood Knapp Video. This deal lasted in eect until
On December 14, 2015, MGM announced that it had ac1995.
quired the remaining 45% stake of UAMG it did not yet
own. Hearst, Downey, and Burnett will receive stakes in
MGM collectively valued at $233 million. Additionally,
Burnett was promoted to CEO of MGM Television, replacing the outgoing Roma Khanna. The planned over- 4 United Artists Broadcasting
the-top faith service will become a separate entity owned
by MGM, Burnett, Downey, and Hearst.[42]
United Artists owned and operated two television stations
between the years of 1968 and 1977. Legal IDs for the
company would typically say United Artists Broadcast2 Library and historical list of ing: an entertainment service of Transamerica Corporation, along with the Transamerica T logo.
lms
Main article: List of United Artists lms

Additionally, United Artists Broadcasting also held the

permit to KUAB-TV in Houston, Texas, which would
have possibly launched sometime around 1969 on channel 20; the station would eventually launch in 1982 under dierent ownership as KTXH.[44] United Artists also
owned one radio station, WWSH in Philadelphia, from
1970 to 1977.

A majority of UAs post-1952 library is now owned by

MGM, while the pre-1952 lms (with few exceptions) are
now either owned by other companies or in the public domain. However, throughout the studios history of releasing its lms, UA has acted as more of a distributor rather UAB/Transamerica left the broadcasting business in 1977
than a lm studio, crediting the copyright to the produc- by selling WUAB to the Gaylord Broadcasting Company
tion company responsible. This explains why certain UA and WWSH to Cox Enterprises.

See also
List of United Artists lms
United Artists Television
United Artists Records

Notes

[1] WB retained a pair of features from 1949 that they merely

distributed, and all short subjects released on or after
September 1, 1948, in addition to all cartoons released
in August 1948.

REFERENCES

[12] Young, Josh; Medavoy, Mike (2002). You're Only as

Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films,
and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot. New York: Atria
Books. pp. 8586. ISBN 9780743400558.
[13] Cole, Robert J. (1981-05-16). M-G-M IS REPORTED
PURCHASING UNITED ARTISTS FOR $350 MILLION. NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
[14] Fleming, Mike Jr; Busch, Anita (September 22, 2014).
MGM Buys 55% Of Roma Downey And Mark Burnetts
Empire; Relaunches United Artists. Deadline (Penske
Business Media). Retrieved November 4, 2014.
[15] Fabrikant, Geraldine (August 8, 1985). Turner Acquiring MGM Movie Empire. New York Times. Retrieved
November 4, 2014.
[16] Handle With Care. American Film. Winter 1980.

References

[17] Siskel, Gene (May 16, 1982). Hellow, Sweet Art: Small
Films Big Success in Chicago. Chicago Tribune.

[1] Woo, Elaine (September 29, 2011). Mo Rothman dies at

92; found new audience for Chaplin. Los Angeles Times.
Retrieved 2011-10-01.

[18] Harmetz, Aljean (July 12, 1982). Begelman Removed as

Chief of United Artists. The New York Times. Retrieved
December 23, 2014.

[2] Fleming, Michael (August 14, 2008). Paula Wagner

Leaves UA. Daily Variety (Reed Business Information).
Retrieved August 14, 2008.

[19] ALJEAN HARMETZ, Special to the New York Times

(1982-07-13). Begelman Removed As Chief Of United
Artists. NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2015-01-26.

[3] Lieberman, David (2012-03-22). MGM Takes A Loss

On 'Dragon Tattoo' And Seeks Better Terms For Sequels.
Deadline. Retrieved 2015-01-26.

[20] 700 BANKERS TRUST WORKERS TO BE SHIFTED

TO JERSEY CITY. New York City; Jersey City (Nj):
NYTimes.com. 1983-03-31. Retrieved 2015-08-17.

[4] Siklos, Richard (March 4, 2007). Mission Improbable:

Tom Cruise as Mogul. New York Times

[21] Prince, Stephen (2000). A New Pot of Gold: Hollywood

under the Electronic Rainbow, 1980-1989 ([Paperback
ed.] ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp.
1416. ISBN 0-520-23266-6.

[5] United Artists, Volume 1, 19191950: The Company Built by the Stars - Tino Balio - Google Books.
Books.google.com. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
[6] Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. History. International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 25. St. James Press.
1999. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
[7] Balio, Tino (1987). United Artists: The Company that
Changed the Film Industry (1. print. ed.). Madison,
Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 226227. ISBN
9780299114404.
[8] UA sets up own diskery label. Billboard (Nielsen Business Media). October 14, 1957. Retrieved December 22,
2014.
[9] McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present
(4th ed.). New York: Penguin Books. p. 866. ISBN
9780140249163.

[22] Dellugach, Al (November 12, 1985). Weintraub Is New

Chief of United Artists. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved
November 4, 2014.
[23] Special to the New York Times (1985-11-20). New
Head For United Artists. NYTimes.com. Retrieved
2015-01-26.
[24] Harris, Kathryn (1986-04-29). Rich Resigns From Lorimar to Become Chairman of UA - Los Angeles Times.
Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
[25] Bart, Peter (1990). Fade Out: The Calamitous Final Days
of MGM (1st ed.). New York: Morrow. ISBN 0-68808460-5.
[26] Parsons, Patrick R. (2008). Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Philadelphia: Temple
University Press. ISBN 1-59213-287-1.

[10] Media History Digital Library : Free Texts : Download

& Streaming : Internet Archive. Archive.org. 2011-0325. Retrieved 2015-08-07.

[27] Stefo, Rebecca (1992). Ted Turner, Televisions Triumphant Tiger. Ada, Okla.: Garrett Educational Corp.
ISBN 1-56074-024-8.

[11] Schickel, Richard; Perry, George (2008). You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story. Philadelphia, Pa.:
Running Press. p. 255. ISBN 9780762434183.

[28] Storch, Charles (May 7, 1986). Chicago Tribune: Turner

May Sell Equity In Company. Pqasb.pqarchiver.com.
Retrieved 2011-12-15.

[29] Gendel, Morgan (June 7, 1986). Turner Sells The Studio, Holds on to the Dream Los Angeles Times. Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-12-15.

Balio, Tino. United Artists: The Company That

Changed the Film Industry. Madison: University of
Wisconsin Press, 1987.

[30] Fabrikant, Geraldine (1986-06-07). Turner To Sell Mgm

Assets. NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2015-01-26.

Berg, A. Scott. Goldwyn. New York: Alfred A.

Knopf, 1988.

[31] Turner, United Artists Close Deal. Orlando Sentinel.

UPI. August 27, 1986. Retrieved 2013-09-20.

Gabler, Neal. An Empire of Their Own: How the

Jews Invented Hollywood. New York: Crown Publishers, 1988.

[32] Fabrikant, Geraldine (November 29, 1989). Turner Buying MGM/UA. The New York Times (The New York
Times Company). Retrieved 2014-10-02.
[33] Young, Josh; Medavoy, Mike (2002). You're Only as
Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films,
and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot. New York: Atria
Books. p. 92. ISBN 9780743400558.
[34] United Artists restructuring by MGM - Jun. 7, 1999.
Money.cnn.com. June 7, 1999. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
[35] MGM Puts Cruise in Charge of New United Artists.
USA Today. November 2, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
[36] Petrecca, Laura; Lieberman, David (November 2, 2006).
Tom Cruise, producing partner cut a deal with United
Artists. Zap2it. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
[37] Ben Fritz (2012-03-23). MGM regains full control of
United Artists - Los Angeles Times. Latimes.com. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
[38] SHOCKER! WGA To Announce Side Deal With Tom
Cruises United Artists; Now Studio Moguls Mad at
MGMs Sloan. Deadline Hollywood Daily. January 4,
2008. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
[39] Cieply, Michael (April 23, 2008). The Nazi Plot Thats
Haunting Tom Cruise and United Artists. The New York
Times. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
[40] Valkyrie (2008)". Box Oce Mojo. Box Oce Mojo,
LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
[41] Highll, Samantha (17 January 2015).
MGM is
launching the United Artists Media Group (again)".
Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
[42] Mark Burnett Named President of MGM Television.
Variety. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
[43] Fabrikant, Geraldine (May 31, 1988). For MGM/UA,
Bidders Are Scarce. New York Times.
[44] Houston Radio History: Houston Television Timeline.
Houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com. 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2015-01-26.

Bibliography
Bach, Steven. Final Cut. New York: Morrow, 1985.
Balio, Tino. United Artists: The Company Built by
the Stars. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
1976.

Schickel, Richard. D.W. Grith: An American Life.

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.
Thomson, David. Showman: The Life of David O.
Selznick. New York: Alfred A, Knopf, 1992.

9 External links
Ocial website
United Artists at the Internet Movie Database
United Artists Corporation Records 19191965 are
at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.

10

10

10

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1

Text

United Artists Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Artists?oldid=698640359 Contributors: Damian Yerrick, Mav, Bryan Derksen, Deb, Olivier, Paul Benjamin Austin, Paul A, Tregoweth, Annetit, CatherineMunro, Bluelion, Angela, Mcy85, Hashar, Choster,
Jwrosenzweig, Zoicon5, Grendelkhan, Nv8200pa, K1Bond007, Sjorford, Bearcat, Modulatum, Postdlf, FredR, Rfc1394, Nilmerg, Cyrius,
Tobias Bergemann, Bob Palin, Rossrs, HangingCurve, Everyking, Hiphats, Gugganij, H1523702, MistToys, Jokestress, Bosmon, F13nd,
Sam, Ocon, Rich Farmbrough, Ranma9617, Bender235, Closeapple, Brian0918, JustPhil, MBisanz, Lyght, TMC1982, BigDan, Cmdrjameson, Trevj, Nemalki, Ryanasaurus007, Philip Cross, Ashley Pomeroy, Erik, Paul Martin, Cburnett, Sciurin, Jackyan, Instantnood,
Empoor, Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ), Firsfron, Woohookitty, Skyraider, Trogga, Pol098, Don-Don, Ampmouse, Tabletop, MartinVillafuerte85, Inventm, SDC, Ryanasaurus0077, Marudubshinki, Slgrandson, SteveCrook, BD2412, Ted Wilkes, Noirish, Rjwilmsi, Darguz
Parsilvan, The wub, FlaBot, Aphasia83, CR85747, ChesterG, Mark83, Elmer Clark, Alphachimp, Dfmock, Mrschimpf, Metropolitan90,
Igordebraga, Quentin X, Kollision, RussBot, King Shadeed, ScrippsONEDetroit, Gaius Cornelius, NawlinWiki, SaxofoneDL, Welsh, Martin villafuerte85, Martinvillafuerte85, Mikeblas, Tony1, Slicing, Pegship, Wspencer, Ddespie@san.rr.com, Cloudbound, Jogers, DGaw,
CoolKatt number 99999, Astonmartini, Sugar Bear, ViperSnake151, Djr xi, Kingboyk, GrinBot~enwiki, One, Dsreyn, Sintonak.X, SmackBot, Georgeryp, Bigbluesh, Westsidepb, Yamaguchi , Argussventon, Gilliam, Dark jedi requiem, CajunGypsy, Chris the speller,
CSWarren, Royboycrashfan, OrphanBot, Fightingirish, Steelbeard1, Lox, Jagarin, Wizardman, Where, Ohconfucius, Sambot, Highschooler35, Elil, Scoty6776, Ckatz, Ace Class Shadow, Neddyseagoon, Sharnak, Truthiness Jones, AEMoreira042281, BigT2006, TJ
Spyke, Tmisch64, Sky Captain, Billy Hathorn, Glickmam, Amniarix, CmdrObot, Wafulz, AlbertSM, ShelfSkewed, WeggeBot, Admiral of the World, RivenWinner, Phl3djo, Cydebot, Jkanan, Burgwerworldz, Lugnuts, Flowerkiller1692, DumbBOT, Jimcripps, Smee,
Eco84, Kieranthompson, Nick Number, SusanLesch, Prolog, Dr. Blofeld, Edokter, Tjmayerinsf, Hopiakuta, AdamDeanHall, Yellowdesk,
Krtek2125, Nathan Obral, Mnasiri7, Pawlis, Jimknock, The penfool, Pipedreamergrey, Tony Myers, AllTalking, MER-C, Clickophone
Guy, Minnaert, Wbwn, Desertsky85451, MegX, .anacondabot, Pjlon, VoABot II, RBBrittain, Scanlan, Coee4binky, Gabe1972, Kharkless, JPG-GR, Cartoon Boy, KConWiki, Musimax, Stantheman8609, Donald McKinney, SlamDiego, Fhb3, Ultraviolet scissor ame,
InnocuousPseudonym, Jay Litman, CommonsDelinker, FMAFan1990, Richiekim, Hans Dunkelberg, Eliz81, IFF, Cop 663, NY4Life,
BoloBouncer, Mrceleb2007, Starwolf48, Darth007, Spshu, Thismightbezach, Signalhead, VolkovBot, Shortride, Bovineboy2008, TXiKiBoT, Crackmac, Monkey Bounce, CoconutHead65, Rocky stallone, Urbanrenewal, TheValentineBros, Dirkbb, Rebel shadow, Noillirt,
Ttonyb1, Sposato, WereSpielChequers, BillFaust, Chazzy88, Ekaty, Ludivine, Wedg~enwiki, 1.21 jigwatts, Veldin963, Ken123BOT, Hans
yulun lai, Lauren, Correctonator, ImageRemovalBot, Martarius, Helenabella, Patrick Rogel, Loginnowplease, D10, TheOldJacobite, Foofbun, Nytimes19992000, Niceguyedc, Trivialist, Cirt, Auntof6, 718 Bot, Bbb2007, DragonBot, MovieMadness, Estirabot, Marktolps, Dutzi,
Error 128, Twelveoaks, Lord Cornwallis, Mikomaid, Cli1911, Addbot, The Twenty Thousand Tonne Bomb, CycloneGU, Kevzspeare,
LaaknorBot, Mr Hall of England, Buster7, Tassedethe, Lightbot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Granpu, TheMovieBu, Xnacional, AnomieBOT,
Ulric1313, Flewis, ArthurBot, TinucherianBot II, Betty Logan, BurgerKingFanaticIsBack, SassoBot, A Friendly Nerd, Superastig, Fingerz, Ndboy, Michael93555, LargoLarry, Agbwiki, Freshh, Andrei Rublev, Peroxwhy2gen, Spidey104, Tinton5, Full-date unlinking bot,
70Jack90, Vrenator, Carniolus, RjwilmsiBot, DexDor, NameIsRon, Beyond My Ken, Look2See1, AaronLLF, Werieth, Vladwin, Bilbo571,
Celebrity numbers, BornonJune8, FilmandTVFan28, Luxoman237, Helpful Pixie Bot, YborCityJohn, SchroCat, MusikAnimal, ERJANIK,
Ldavid1985, Bethjk4, Napsync, BattyBot, CodyTCBY, ChrisGualtieri, Khazar2, Dobie80, Mogism, BDE1982, I am One of Many,
, Bioscopic, Hitcher vs. Candyman, Monkbot, Enter1your1information1below, Diegodaniel5517, Filedelinkerbot, StephenCezar15,
F*ck your hole you sh*t, Lgnmrshllhlms, ClassicOnAStick, FourViolas, Nathan3068alt, Delta Pavonis and Anonymous: 408

10.2

Images

File:Acap.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Acap.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work

Original artist: F l a n k e r
File:Ambox_important.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, based o of Image:Ambox scales.svg Original artist: Dsmurat (talk contribs)
File:Fairbanks_-_Pickford_-_Chaplin_-_Griffith.png
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Fairbanks_-_Pickford_-_Chaplin_-_Griffith.png License: Public domain Contributors: Tino Balio, United Artists : The
Company Built by the Stars (0-299-11440-6) at the chapter Artists in business (1919) (2009 edition, page 4) Original
artist:
Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png'
width='20'
height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x,
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10.3

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File:United_Artists_Stockholders.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/United_Artists_Stockholders.

jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Scanned and uploaded by Patrick Rogel Original artist: Standard corporate form published prior
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