Goldcrest Films
| Industry | Film production |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | Jake Eberts |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Website |
goldcrestfilms |
Goldcrest Films is a British film production company founded by Jake Eberts in January 1977.[1] It enjoyed great success in the 1980s with films such as Local Hero (1983), The Killing Fields (1984) and Hope and Glory (1987) mostly produced by David Puttnam on modest budgets. The company also benefited from the new investment of Channel 4 in film production. The company won two Academy Awards for Best Picture, for Chariots of Fire in 1981 and Gandhi in 1982. After these initial successes the company backed more expensive productions with established Hollywood stars that often ran over schedule and budget culminating in Revolution, The Mission (1986) and Absolute Beginners that all turned out to be box office flops.
In recent years, Goldcrest Films has relaunched.
Financing Arm
Goldcrest Films' financing arms, Goldcrest Pictures and Goldcrest Capital Partners, structure transactions in the media sector. From 2006 to 2008 — the first two years of operation — the companies provided services on 18 films, including Twilight, Tropic Thunder, Knowing, Eagle Eye, Revolutionary Road and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Goldcrest Capital also raises funds and provides services on UK independent feature films. The first two films of this new initiative were Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights - produced by Douglas Rae and Robert Bernstein of Ecosse Films and Kevin Loader and co-financed with the UK Film Council, Film4 and Screen Yorkshire - and Phyllida Lloyd’s biopic of Margaret Thatcher, The Iron Lady. This starred 16-time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep and was produced by Damian Jones for Pathé, Film4 and the UK Film Council with the participation of Canal+ and Cine Cinema.
Filmography
| Film Title and Year | US Release Date | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chariots of Fire (1981) | March 1981 | $5.5 million | $58,972,904 |
| Escape from New York (1981) | July 10, 1981 | $6 million | $50,000,000 |
| Gandhi (1982) | December 3, 1982 | $22 million | $52,767,889 (US only) |
| An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1982) | April 26, 1985 | N/A | N/A |
| Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) | August 6, 1982 | $12 million | $22,244,207 |
| Secrets (1983) | August 17, 1984 | N/A | N/A |
| Local Hero (1983) | February 17, 1983 | N/A | $5,895,761 |
| The Ploughman's Lunch (1983) | October 19, 1984 | N/A | N/A |
| Runners (1983) | August 1983 | N/A | N/A |
| The Dresser (1983) | December 9, 1983 | N/A | $5,310,748 |
| Another Country (1984) | June 29, 1984 | N/A | N/A |
| Cal (1984) | August 24, 1984 | N/A | N/A |
| The Killing Fields (1984) | November 2, 1984 | $14.4 million | $34,700,291 |
| Nemo (1984) | December 12, 1984 | N/A | N/A |
| Mr. Love (1985) | April 25, 1986 | £486,000 | $4,264 |
| Dance with a Stranger (1985) | August 9, 1985 | N/A | $2,260,519 |
| Smooth Talk (1985) | November 17, 1985 | N/A | $16,785 |
| Revolution (1985) | December 25, 1985 | $28 million | $346,761 |
| The Frog Prince (1986) | October 5, 1986 | £896,000 | N/A |
| Winter Flight (1986) | February 14, 1986 | N/A | $2,729 |
| Absolute Beginners (1986) | April 18, 1986 | £8.4 million | $1,010,313 |
| The Mission (1986) | May 24, 1986 | $24.5 million | $17,218,023 |
| Knights & Emeralds (1986) | October 1986 | £1.1 million | N/A |
| White Mischief (1987) | May 1988 | $5.3 million | $3,107,551 |
| Matewan (1987) | August 28, 1987 | $4 million | $1,680,358 |
| Hope and Glory (1987) | November 13, 1987 | $3 million | $10,021,120 |
| Black Rainbow (1989) | December 5, 1991 | $7 million | N/A |
| All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989) | November 17, 1989 | $13.8 million | $27,100,027 |
| Rock-a-Doodle (1991) | April 3, 1992 | $18 million | $11,657,385 |
| Driftwood (1997) | March 28, 1997 | N/A | N/A |
| Clockwatchers (1997) | May 15, 1998 | N/A | $537,948 |
| Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis (1997) | January 16, 1998 | N/A | £46,244 |
| Elvis and Anabelle (2007) | March 10, 2007 | N/A | N/A |
| Cass (2008) | August 1, 2008 | N/A | N/A |
| The Iron Lady (2011) | December 26, 2011 | $13,000,000 | $114,943,631 |
TV films and series
- Forever Young (1983)
- P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang (1984)
- These Glory Glory Days (1984)
- Tottie: The Story of a Doll's House (1984)
- Concealed Enemies (1984)
- Robin of Sherwood (1984–1986) (TV series)
- Sharma and Beyond (1986)
- Arthur's Hallowed Ground (1986)
References
- ↑ Eberts and Ilott, p. 27.
- Eberts, Jake and Illot, Terry (1990). My Indecision Is Final: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Goldcrest Films. Atlantic Monthly Press. Accessed January 26, 2008
