Orion Pictures

## Orion Pictures Corporation

**Orion Pictures Corporation** is an American motion picture production and distribution company that produced and released films from 1978 until 1999, and was also involved in television production and syndication throughout the 1980s until the early 1990s. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion achieved a comparatively high reputation for Hollywood quality. Woody Allen, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme, Oliver Stone, and several other prominent directors worked with Orion during its most successful years from 1978 to 1992. Of the films distributed by Orion, four won Academy Awards for Best Picture: Amadeus (1984), Platoon (1986), Dances with Wolves (1990), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Two other Orion films, Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Mississippi Burning (1988), were nominated for that same category. In 2013, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer revived the Orion name for television; a year later the Orion Pictures brand was quietly relaunched by the studio.

In September 2017, MGM revived the Orion Pictures brand as a standalone, US theatrical distribution and marketing company releasing four to six low budget movies per year, either produced by MGM themselves or acquired from outside producers. It's headed by John Hegeman, who incidentally enough started his career at the old Orion in the 1980s. The first film released by the new Orion was *Every Day* in February 2018. In May 2018, Orion Classics, a former arthouse division of the old Orion, was revived as a specialty division dedicated to eight to ten multi-platform and limited theatrical releases per year. Beginning in April 2019 after the release of *The Prodigy*, Orion Pictures' subsequent releases will be distributed by United Artists Releasing, a US theatrical distribution joint venture of MGM and Annapurna Pictures, after Orion's distribution team was absorbed into UA Releasing upon its formation. The company will now release two to four films per year.

## History

### Beginnings: 1978–1981

In January 1978, three executives of Transamerica (TA)-owned studio United Artists (UA) – Arthur B. Krim (chairman), Eric Pleskow (president and chief executive officer), and Robert S. Benjamin (chairman of the finance committee) - quit their jobs. Krim and Benjamin had headed UA since 1951, and subsequently turned around the then-flailing studio with a number of critical and commercial successes. Change had begun once Transamerica purchased UA in 1967, and within a decade a rift formed between Krim and TA chairman John R. Beckett concerning the studio's operations. Krim suggested spinning off United Artists into a separate company, which was rejected by Beckett.

The last straw came for Pleskow when he refused to collect and deliver the medical records of UA department heads to Transamerica's offices in San Francisco for the sake of confidentiality. The tensions only worsened when *Fortune* magazine reported an article on the clash between UA and TA, in which Beckett had stated that if the executives disliked the parent company's treatment of them, they should resign. Krim, Benjamin, and Pleskow quit United Artists on January 13, 1978, followed by the exits of senior vice presidents William Bernstein and Mike Medavoy three days later. The week following the resignations, according to the website *Reference for Business*, "63 important Hollywood figures took out an advertisement in a trade paper warning UA that it had made a fatal mistake in letting the five men leave. The 'fatal mistake' came true following the box-office disaster of *Heaven's Gate*" in 1980, which led to Transamerica selling UA to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

In February 1978, the five men forged a deal with Warner Bros. The executives formed Orion Pictures Company, named after the constellation, which they claimed had five main stars (it actually has seven/eight). The new company intended only to finance projects, giving the filmmakers complete creative autonomy; this ideal had been successfully implemented at United Artists. Orion held a $100 million line of credit, and its films would be distributed by the Warner Bros. studio. Orion, however, was contractually given free rein over distribution and advertising, as well as the number and type of films the executives chose to invest in.

In late March 1978, Orion signed its first contract; a two-picture deal with John Travolta's production company. Contracts with actress and director Barbra Streisand; actors James Caan, Jane Fonda, Peter Sellers, Jon Voight, and Burt Reynolds; directors Francis Ford Coppola and Blake Edwards; writer/director John Milius; singer Peter Frampton; and producer Ray Stark soon materialized. Orion also developed a co-financing and distribution deal with EMI Films. To quote *Reference for Business*: "By the end of its first year, the company had put 15 films into production, and had an additional 12 directors, producers, and actors set to sign on," giving Orion a solid reputation from the very beginning.

In 1979, Benjamin died. Orion's first film, *A Little Romance*, was released in April that year. Later that year, Orion released Blake Edwards' *10*, which became a critical and commercial success, the first for Edwards in over a decade (aside from installments of *The Pink Panther* franchise). Other films released by Orion over the next two years included a few successes such as *Caddyshack* (1980) and *Arthur* (1981); critically praised but underperforming films such as *The Great Santini* (1979), an adaptation of a Pat Conroy novel, and Sidney Lumet's *Prince of the City* (1981); and pictures by young writer-directors such as Philip Kaufman's *The Wanderers* (1979) and Nicholas Meyer's debut *Time After Time* (1979); plus *Monty Python's Life of Brian* (1979), which Orion only distributed in the United States. Out of the 23 films Orion released between April 1979 and December 1981, only a third of them made a profit. Orion executives were conflicted over financing big-budgeted films and passed on *Raiders of the Lost Ark* (1981) for that reason.

### Acquisition of Filmways: 1981–1983

By early 1982, Orion had severed its distribution ties with Warner. As part of the deal, the rights to Orion's films made up to that point were sold to Warner. Orion was now looking to have its own distribution network by acquiring another company with such capabilities. The four partners looked into Allied Artists and Embassy Pictures before settling on Filmways. Orion subsequently purchased Filmways and reorganized the flailing company. New employees were hired and all of Filmways' non-entertainment assets (Grosset & Dunlap and Broadcast Electronics) were sold off. On August 31, 1982, Filmways was renamed as Orion Pictures Corporation. It also introduced a new logo, depecting an animation of the constellation Orion.

Another result of the merger was that Orion entered television production. Orion's biggest TV hit was *Cagney & Lacey*, which lasted seven seasons on CBS. In 1983, Orion Pictures introduced art-house division Orion Classics with executives who had previously run United Artists Classics.

### Problems arise: 1984–1986

According to *Reference for Business*: "Of the first 18 movies the company had released as Orion Pictures Corporation, ten had been profitable, five had broken even, and three had losses of less than $2 million." One such film, Francis Ford Coppola's *The Cotton Club*, was mired in legal troubles and Orion lost $3 million of its investment. '"We've had some singles and doubles [but haven't] had any home runs," lamented Krim. In September 1984, Orion distributed *Amadeus*, which garnered many accolades, winning eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

For Orion, 1985 was a dismal year. All but two films, *Desperately Seeking Susan* and *Code of Silence*, made less than $10 million in the United States box office, including an unsuccessful attempt at a James Bond-type franchise, *Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins*. Orion's haphazard distribution channels and unsuccessful advertising campaigns made it impossible to achieve a hit. Another factor was that Orion was about to venture into the video business and stopped selling off home use rights to its films. Furthermore, production of the Rodney Dangerfield comedy *Back to School* was put on hold when a co-producer died, taking the film off of its Christmas 1985 release slate.

In January 1986, Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna, producers of the *Rambo* films (the first film, *First Blood*, was distributed by Orion) attempted to buy $55 million worth of the studio's stock through the duo's company, Anabasis. Had they succeeded, Kassar and Vajna would have controlled the board and laid off every executive save for Krim. Warburg Pincus subsequently limited its 20% stake in Orion to 5%; the remaining stocks were acquired by Viacom International. Viacom hoped to use Orion's product for its pay-TV channel Showtime. Orion expanded into home video distribution with the formation of Orion Home Entertainment Corporation.

### Metromedia era: 1986–1991

On May 22, 1986, Metromedia, a television and communications company controlled by billionaire (and a friend of Krim's) John Kluge, which had just divested of its television station group to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (which would form what is now the Fox network), purchased a 6.5% stake in Orion. Kluge's investment in the company came at the right time- *Back to School* was a success and ultimately earned $90 million at the box office. By March 1987, the studio's fortunes increased dramatically with a succession of critical and commercial hits, including *Platoon* (which ultimately won a Best Picture Oscar), Woody Allen's *Hannah and Her Sisters*, and the sports film *Hoosiers*. Orion's 1986 offerings totaled 18 Academy Award nominations, more than any other studio.

In 1987, Orion achieved further success with *RoboCop*, and *No Way Out*. By this time, Orion's television division had expanded into the lucrative syndicated game show market under the name Century Towers Productions, in reference to Orion's street address at the time. It produced revivals of format inherited from Heatter-Quigley Productions after the Filmways merger (as Filmways had previously acquired HQ in the late 1960s); this included *The New Hollywood Squares*, which ran from 1986 to 1989, and a revival of *High Rollers* which aired in the 1987-88 season.

In January 1987, Kluge faced big competition with the arrival of Sumner Redstone. His theater chain, National Amusements, purchased 6.42 percent of the company's stock. National Amusements later acquired Viacom, increasing their Orion stake at 21%, then 26%. Soon Kluge started buying more Orion stock, leading to him and Redstone battling it out to take over the company. Kluge ultimately succeeded when Metromedia took over approximately 67% of Orion on May 20, 1988, effectively giving him control of the studio. One analyst commented on the takeover to *The Wall Street Journal*: "This amount is probably so small to Kluge it doesn't matter. He probably burns that up in a weekend."

In 1989, Orion suffered from a disastrous slate of films, placing themselves dead last among the larger Hollywood studios in terms of box office revenue. Among its biggest flops that year were *Great Balls of Fire!*, the biography of Jerry Lee Lewis starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder; *She-Devil*, a dark comedy starring Meryl Streep and Roseanne Barr; and Miloš Forman's adaptation of *Les Liaisons dangereuses*, *Valmont*, which competed with *Dangerous Liaisons*, also based on the same source material. Test screenings of the "Weird Al" Yankovic comedy *UHF* were so strong that Orion had high expectations for it. It flopped at first, but it has since attained a strong cult following.

In February 1990, Orion signed a deal with Columbia Pictures Entertainment in which the much larger studio would pay Orion $175 million to distribute Orion's movies and television programs overseas. Orion had previously licensed its films to individual distributors territory by territory. That same month, Mike Medavoy left Orion and became head of Tri-Star Pictures.

The box-office returns for Orion's 1990 releases were just as dismal as the previous year, with such failures as *The Hot Spot* and *State of Grace*. The only bright spot that year was Kevin Costner's western epic *Dances with Wolves*. It won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and grossed $400 million worldwide. A few months later, Orion garnered another winner with *The Silence of the Lambs*, but these two films could not make up for years of losses. Only Kluge's continued infusions of cash were enough to keep the company afloat, but soon he had enough.

### Bankruptcy: 1991–1995

After failing to sell Orion to businessman (and former 20th Century Fox owner) Marvin Davis (Sony, which had recently purchased Columbia Pictures was also interested), Kluge took drastic steps. First, Orion shut down production. Second, Kluge ordered the sale of several projects, such as *The Addams Family* (which went to Paramount, though the international rights to the film were retained by Orion), in order to accumulate much-needed cash. Finally, in the spring of 1991, Kluge's people took over the company, leading to the departure of Arthur Krim. Orion's financial problems were so severe, that at the 63rd Annual Academy Awards in March 1991, host Billy Crystal made reference to the studio's debt in his opening monologue, joking that "*Reversal of Fortune* [is] about a woman in a coma, *Awakenings* [is] about a man in a coma; and *Dances with Wolves* [was] released by Orion, a studio in a coma."

It was during this time that ABC stepped in to co-finance and assume production over many of Orion TV's shows it had in production, such as *American Detective* and *Equal Justice*.

On November 25, 1991, Orion sold its *Hollywood Squares* format rights to King World Productions after Orion closed down its television division. On December 11, 1991, Orion filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In December 1991, Orion was in talks with New Line Cinema, a successful independent film company, to acquire the bankrupt studio. By the following April, Orion and New Line Cinema cancelled their plans on the issue of price. Republic Pictures and the then-new Savoy Pictures also attempted to buy Orion, but no deal materialized.

At the Academy Awards ceremony, broadcast on March 30, 1992, Crystal made another reference to Orion, this time about its demise:Template:Cquote

*The Silence of the Lambs* swept all five major Academy Awards; however, a majority of key executives, as well as the talent they had deals with, had left the studio. Hollywood observers had doubts that Orion would be resurrected to its former glory.

On November 5, 1992, Orion reemerged from bankruptcy. Its reorganization plan would allow for Orion to continue producing and releasing films, but financing for the features would be provided by outside sources, with the studio purchasing the distribution rights to them after their completion.

Orion's bankruptcy also delayed the release of many films the studio had produced or acquired, among them: *Love Field* (1992), *RoboCop 3* (1993), *The Dark Half* (1993), *Blue Sky* (1994), *Car 54, Where Are You?* (1994), *Clifford* (1994), *The Favor* (1994), and *There Goes My Baby* (1994). Orion started releasing these films after their reorganization. *Blue Sky* won star Jessica Lange an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1995.

### Post-bankruptcy: 1995–1999

In November 1995, Orion, two other companies controlled by Kluge, and film and TV house MCEG Sterling (producer of the *Look Who's Talking* series) were merged to form the Metromedia International Group. Few of the films released during the four years after bankruptcy protection were successful either critically or commercially.

In 1996, Metromedia acquired production company Motion Picture Corporation of America, and installed its heads, Brad Krevoy and Steve Stabler, as co-presidents of Orion. Both received a six picture put picture distribution deal as a part of their contracts.

In the years ahead, Orion produced very few films, and primarily released films from other producers, including LIVE Entertainment. Orion Classics, minus its founders (who had moved to Sony Pictures Entertainment and founded Sony Pictures Classics), continued to acquire popular art-house films, such as *Boxing Helena* (1993), before Metromedia merged the subsidiary with Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment in 1996.

In July 1997, Metromedia shareholders approved the sale of Orion (as well as Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment and Motion Picture Corporation of America) to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This led to the withdrawal of 85 employees, including Krevoy and Stabler, while 111 other employees were to be laid off within nine months, leaving 25 of them to work at MGM. Orion also brought with it, a two thousand film library, ten completed movies and five direct-to-video features for future release and the Krevoy and Stabler movie put picture distribution deal. Krevoy and Stabler retained the right to the Motion Picture Corporation of America name and their three top movies. Metromedia retained Goldwyn Entertainment's Landmark Theatre Group. *One Man's Hero* (1999) was the last film released by Orion for 15 years.

MGM kept Orion intact as a corporation thus to avoid its Warner Bros. video distribution agreement and began distributing Orion Pictures films under the Orion Home Video label. MGM acquired the 2/3 of pre-1996 PolyGram Filmed Entertainment library from Seagram in 1999 for $250 million, increasing their library holdings to 4,000. The PolyGram libraries were purchased by its Orion Pictures subsidiary so as to avoid its 1990 video distribution agreement with Warner. In March 1999, MGM bought out its distribution contract with Warner Bros. for $225 million, effectively ending the distribution problem.

### Orion returns: 2013–present

In 2013, MGM revived the Orion Television brand (after Orion's original TV unit was shut down during its bankruptcy era in the early 1990s) as Orion TV Productions with a new syndicated series, *Paternity Court*.

The Orion Pictures name, also as Orion Releasing, was extended in fourth quarter 2014 for smaller multi-platform video on demand and limited theatrical distribution. Its name was first seen again on September 10, 2014 in front of the trailer for *The Town That Dreaded Sundown* that was released in October. The label's first release was the Brazilian film *Vestido pra Casar*.

In September 2015, Entertainment One Films relaunched the Momentum Pictures banner with an announced deal with Orion Pictures to co-acquire and co-distribute films in the United States and Canada, and selected foreign markets, such as the United Kingdom (Momentum's country of origin). The initial films under the deal were *The Wannabe*, *Fort Tilden* and *Balls Out*. Other films released by Orion Pictures and Momentum Pictures include *Pocket Listing* and *Diablo*.

Starting in September 2016 with *Burn Country*, Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films paired in acquiring several films.

In 2017, Orion TV added another court series, *Couples Court*, to its syndicated line up. The show is presided over by a husband wife team and deals with marital issues primarily cheating.

On May 5, 2017, Orion Pictures and Warner Bros. released *Max 2: White House Hero*. The film is a direct-to-video sequel to the 2015 MGM/WB film, *Max*.

On September 6, 2017, MGM officially revitalized the Orion Pictures brand as a standalone, US theatrical marketing and distribution arm with the hiring of John Hegeman, who had come from Blumhouse Tilt (distributor of Orion's *The Town That Dreaded Sundown* and *The Belko Experiment*) and incidentally got his start working at the old Orion in the 1980s. Hegeman will serve as president of the expanded label and report to Jonathan Glickman, president of MGM's motion picture group. Under his leadership, the "new" Orion will produce, market and distribute four to six modestly budgeted films a year across genres and platforms, both wide and limited releases for targeted audiences, and its first release, the young adult romance drama *Every Day*, was released in February 23, 2018.

In May 2018, it was announced that Orion Classics would be revived as a multiplatform distribution label, with 8 to 10 films being released per year.

On February 5, 2019, Annapurna Pictures and MGM expanded their US joint distribution venture using the United Artists brand and its abandoned film operations, rebranding it as United Artists Releasing. Beginning in April 2019, Orion Pictures' upcoming titles would be distributed through UA Releasing, with Orion's theatrical distribution staff moving to the company. The first Orion film to be distributed by UA Releasing will be the upcoming remake of *Child's Play*, which will be released on June 21, 2019.

## Distribution

* **US** - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1997-1999), United Artists Releasing (2019-present)
* **Canada** - Astral Films (1983), Orion Pictures Canada (1983-1990), Cineplex-Odeon Films (1989; 1992-1997, select films), Alliance Films (1992-1996, select films), Elevation Pictures (2018-present, select films) QQV Films (2018-present, select films)
* **Poland/Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria/Israel** - Forum Film (2014-present)
* **Czech Republic/Slovakia** - Forum Film (2014-present)
* **Denmark/Sweden/Norway** - AB Svensk Filmindustri (2014-2016), SF Studios (2016-present)
	+ **Sweden** - Stockholm-Europa Film (1983-1984), Svensk Filmindustri (1984-1990)
	+ **Norway** - Kommunenes Filmcentral (1983-1990)
* **Finland** - Kinosto (1983-1986), Finnkino (1986-1996), SF Film Finland (2014-present)
* **Portugal** - NOS Audiovisuais (2014-present)
* **Germany** - Columbia TriStar (1990-1997), Tiberius Film (2014-2017), Kinostar Filmverleih (2017-present, select films), Splendid Film (2018-present, select films) Capelight Pictures (2019-present, select films)
* **West Germany** - Filmverlag der Autoren (1983-1985), 20th Century Fox (1985-1989), Scotia International Filmverleih (1989-1990), Columbia TriStar (1990-1997)
* **Austria** - Constantin-Film (1983-1990), Kinostar Filmverleih (2017-present)
* **United Kingdom** - Rank Film Distributors (1983-1990), Columbia TriStar (1990-1997), Vertigo Releasing (2017-present)
* **Australia** - Roadshow Film Distributors (1983-1986), Village Roadshow (1986-1990), Hoyts Distribution (1986-1990, select films), Columbia TriStar (1990-1997), Icon Film Distribution (2018), Roadshow Entertainment (2019-present)
* **France** - 20th Century Fox (1986-1990), Columbia TriStar (1990-1997), TF1 Distribution/Paramount Pictures (2019-present)
* **Spain** - Laurenfilm (1988-1992), Filmayer (1992-1994), Ízaro Films (1994-1997), Vértigo Films (2019-present)
* **Italy** - Compagnia Distribuzione Internazionale (1983-1990), Columbia TriStar (1990-1997), Eagle Pictures (2019-present)
* **Switzerland** - Monopole-Pathé (1983- Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2017-present)
* **Greece** - Spentzos Films (1983-1997), Odeon (2017-present)
* **Netherlands** - Nova Film (1983-1985), Cannon-Nova Film (1985-1990), Dutch FilmWorks (2018-present)
* **Belgium** - Kinepolis Film Distribution (2018-present)
* **Argentina** - 20th Century Fox (1983-1990), Columbia TriStar (1990-1997)
* **Philippines** - Pioneer Films (2018-present)
* **Japan** - Warner Bros. (1979-1990), Columbia TriStar (1990-1997), Toho-Towa (2019-present)
* **India** - S.S. Nihalini Movies (1983-1990)

## List of Orion Pictures films

*Main article: List of Orion Pictures films*
### Notable films

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Orion's output included Woody Allen films, Hollywood blockbusters such as the first *Terminator* and the *RoboCop* films, comedies such as *Throw Momma from the Train*, *This Is Spinal Tap*, *Dirty Rotten Scoundrels*, *Caddyshack*, *Something Wild*, *UHF*, and the *Bill & Ted* films, and Best Picture Academy Award winners *Amadeus*, *Platoon*, *Dances with Wolves*, and *The Silence of the Lambs*.

Following is a list of the major Academy Awards (Picture, Director, two Screenplay and four Acting awards) for which Orion films were nominated.

### Orion's library today

Almost all of Orion's post-1982 releases, as well as most of the AIP and Filmways backlogs and all of the television output originally produced and distributed by Orion Television, now bear the MGM name. However, in most cases, the 1980s Orion logo has been retained or added, in the case of the Filmways and AIP libraries.

Most ancillary rights to Orion's back catalog from the 1978–1982 joint venture period remain with Warner Bros., including such movies as *10* (1979), *Caddyshack* (1980), *Arthur* (1981), *Excalibur* (1981), and *Prince of the City* (1981). Some post-1982 films originally released by Orion — *Lionheart* (1987), *The Unbearable Lightness of Being* (1988), and *Amadeus* (1984) (the latter two being Saul Zaentz productions) — are currently distributed by Warner Bros. as well. HBO also owns video distribution rights to *Three Amigos* (1986), which co-produced the film and owns pay-TV rights. However, MGM owns all other rights and the film's copyright.

[*citation needed*]
*The Wanderers* is owned by the film's producers; however, the copyright is held by MGM/Orion.

Woody Allen's films *A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy* (1982) and *Zelig* (1983) are the only Orion films from the original joint venture period now owned by MGM. Orion releases produced by the Hemdale Film Corporation and Nelson Entertainment are included in MGM's library as well, and are incorporated into the Orion library. MGM via Polygram Entertainment did not acquire the Hemdale films, (which include *The Terminator*, *Hoosiers*, and *Platoon*) or the Nelson films (including the *Bill & Ted* films), until MGM via Polygram Entertainment bought the pre-1996 library of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, which included both companies' libraries, although the television and digital rights to certain Nelson films are now held by Paramount Television, with television syndication handled on behalf of Paramount Television by Trifecta Entertainment & Media.

Many of the film and television holdings of The Samuel Goldwyn Company have now also been incorporated into the Orion library (with ownership currently held by MGM), and the copyright on some of this material is held by Orion, except *The New Adventures of Flipper* now carries the MGM Television Entertainment copyright.

[*citation needed*]

MGM still holds distribution rights to the 1980s revival of *Hollywood Squares* and *High Rollers* the company produced, as well as the remnants of the Heatter-Quigley library that was not erased, including all remaining episodes of the original *Squares*; they do not own the rights to the format, which is currently owned by CBS Television Distribution, successor-in-interest to King World, who purchased the format rights in 1991 and produced another syndicated revival from 1998 to 2004.

Orion distributed the first Rambo film, *First Blood* (1982). That film, like the rest of the *Rambo* franchise, is now owned by StudioCanal as a result of purchasing the library of its co-distributor, Carolco Pictures.

## References

1. ↑ MGM Studios - Investor Relations: YE 2018 Stockholder Call (MP3). Retrieved on May 5, 2019.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Medavoy and Young, pp. 83-90
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 "Orion Pictures Corporation." *Reference for Business*
4. ↑ "That's a Wrap: End of MGM/UA That Was", *Los Angeles Times*, November 20, 1990. Retrieved on August 16, 2013.
5. ↑ Medavoy and Young, pp. 95-97
6. ↑ Associated Press. "Top Stars Join Orion Pictures" *Wilmington Morning Star* (November 22, 1978; page 10-A). Retrieved November 2, 2011.
7. ↑ Medavoy and Young, p. 104
8. ↑ Medavoy and Young, p. 115
9. ↑ Medavoy and Young, p. 114-115
10. ↑ Medavoy and Young, p. 122
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Tzioumakis, Yannis (2006). *AMERICAN INDEPENDENT CINEMA*. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, page 228–229.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Kornbluth, Jesse (April 6, 1987). *The Little Studio that Could* (pp. 48-54). *New York Magazine*.
13. ↑ Medavoy and Young, p. 181.
14. ↑ "COMPANY NEWS; Orion Pictures Stake Increased", *The New York Times*, December 17, 1987. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
15. ↑ "A 6.5% Stake In Orion Pictures", *The New York Times*, June 3, 1986. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
16. ↑ Template:Cite AV media notes
17. ↑ Medavoy and Young, p. 201
18. ↑ Ramirez, Anthony. "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Chief at Orion Pictures Is Joining Paramount", *The New York Times*, February 21, 1992. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
19. ↑ "COMPANY NEWS; Orion Pictures' Stock Increases", *The New York Times*, February 9, 1991. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
20. ↑ Medavoy and Young, pp. 202-203.
21. ↑ Billy Crystal Oscars Opening -- 1991 Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences-YouTube Channel. Retrieved on June 11, 2013.
22. ↑ "King Gets the Square". *Broadcasting*: 26. November 25, 1991.
23. ↑ Stevenson, Richard W.. "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; New Line Breaks Off Talks On Buying Orion Pictures", *The New York Times*, April 22, 1992. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
24. ↑ "COMPANY NEWS; 2d Company Makes Bid for Orion Pictures", *The New York Times*, April 10, 1992. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
25. ↑ "Orion Pictures' Losses Widen", *The New York Times*, April 8, 1992. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
26. ↑ Brennan, Paul Noglows, Judy. "Orion emerges from Chapter 11", *Variety*, November 6, 1992. (in en-US)
27. ↑ EDGAR Pro.
28. ↑ Bloomberg Business News. "THE MEDIA BUSINESS;Actava Group Seals Stock Swap", November 2, 1995.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Coming soon, to very few theaters", *Los Angeles Times*, February 21, 2005. Retrieved on June 10, 2016.
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Weiner, Rex. "MGM ends Orion orbit", July 11, 1997.
31. ↑ Eller, Claudia. "MGM Agrees to Acquire PolyGram Movie Library", October 23, 1998. Retrieved on March 29, 2015.
32. ↑ MGM REGAINS VIDEO RIGHTS; $225 MILLION DEAL TO HELP SELL DVDS. - Free Online Library.
33. ↑ "MGM TV Rides High With ‘Vikings’ and ‘Fargo’", *Variety*, Penske Business Media, LLC, April 4, 2014. Retrieved on October 28, 2015.
34. ↑ "Orion Pictures Label Returns for First Time in 15 Years", *Variety*, September 11, 2014. Retrieved on March 10, 2017.
35. ↑ "TIFF: eOne Relaunches Momentum Pictures Label With Orion Releasing Deal".
36. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (January 8, 2014). Shoot wraps on Pocket Listing. Retrieved on February 9, 2017.
37. ↑ Busch, Anita (November 4, 2016). Orion Pictures Picks up ‘Pocket Listing’ For Limited Theatrical Release. Retrieved on February 9, 2017.
38. ↑ "Scott Eastwood's 'Diablo' Nabbed by Orion Releasing, Momentum", *The Hollywood Reporter*, November 16, 2015. Retrieved on March 18, 2016.
39. ↑ Hipes, Patrick. "Ian Olds’ ‘Burn Country’ Acquired By Samuel Goldwyn & Orion", Deadline, September 9, 2016. Retrieved on April 26, 2017.
40. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (December 15, 2016). Israeli Thriller ‘Past Life’ Lands At Orion & Samuel Goldwyn. Retrieved on April 26, 2017.
41. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (December 19, 2016). ‘Youth In Oregon’: Release Date Set For Frank Langella Movie After Deal. Retrieved on April 26, 2017.
42. ↑ Amanda N'Duka (March 7, 2017). The Orchard Lands ’Super Dark Times’; Orion, Samuel Goldwyn Nab ‘Tracktown’. Retrieved on April 26, 2017.
43. ↑ "Orion Television's COUPLES COURT Coming to National Syndication This Fall", Wisdom Digital Media, January 13, 2017. Retrieved on March 10, 2017. (in en)
44. ↑ Dave McNary (September 6, 2017). MGM Relaunching Orion Pictures as Distributor. *Variety*. Retrieved on January 3, 2018.
45. ↑ MGM Relaunches Orion Pictures Under John Hegeman. *The Hollywood Reporter*. Retrieved on January 3, 2018.
46. ↑ Busch, Anita (September 6, 2017). Orion Label Relaunched By MGM As Stand-Alone; John Hegeman President. Retrieved on January 3, 2018.
47. ↑ Nick Romano (December 6, 2017). Angourie Rice stars in Every Day movie first-look photos. Retrieved on January 3, 2018.
48. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (May 21, 2018). MGM Relaunches Orion Classics as Multiplatform Distribution Label. Retrieved on May 21, 2018.
49. ↑ "MGM, Annapurna Team for Distribution Label United Artists Releasing", *The Hollywood Reporter*, February 5, 2019. Retrieved on February 6, 2019. (in en) “MGM will move its theatrical distribution team from Orion Pictures,”
50. ↑ "MGM, Annapurna revive United Artists for joint distribution venture", *L.A. Biz*, American City Business Journals, February 5, 2019. Retrieved on February 14, 2019.
51. ↑ 51.00 51.01 51.02 51.03 51.04 51.05 51.06 51.07 51.08 51.09 51.10 51.11 51.12 51.13 "Q1 2018 Financial Report", MGM.com.
52. ↑ 52.00 52.01 52.02 52.03 52.04 52.05 52.06 52.07 52.08 52.09 52.10 52.11 52.12 52.13 "Q2 2018 Financial Report", MGM.com.
53. ↑ 53.00 53.01 53.02 53.03 53.04 53.05 53.06 53.07 53.08 53.09 53.10 53.11 53.12 53.13 "Q3 2017 Financial Report", MGM.com.
54. ↑ Weinraub, Bernard. "MEDIA BUSINESS; Can Ninja Turtle Owner Rescue Orion Pictures?", *The New York Times*, April 1, 1992. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
55. ↑ Maslin, Janet (October 22, 1982). First Blood (1982) 'FIRST BLOOD'. *The New York Times*. Retrieved on April 24, 2015.
56. ↑ Lambie, Ryan (March 11, 2014). The rise and fall of Carolco. Retrieved on April 24, 2015.

## Further reading

* (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 City: Atria Books.

## External links

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* Orion Pictures Corporation at the Internet Movie Database