Gracie Films

Gracie Films logo

Gracie Films is a Californian film and television production company, created by James L. Brooks in 1986. The company has produced many award-winning films and television series, including Big, Broadcast News, Jerry Maguire, and most notably The Simpsons. The company is primarily associated with film studio and distributor Sony Pictures Entertainment, but it still has an office at the 20th Century Fox lot as The Simpsons is still produced there.

History

James L. Brooks created the production company with the help of 20th Century Fox in 1986, which was named after the comedian Gracie Allen. The company was established to "provide real writers with a vehicle to get their movies made". Through the company, Brooks gave The Simpsons free rein when it came to writing the series, as he firmly believed they were the most important part of the process.[1] Indie, Inc described it as "James L. Brooks and Polly Platt's production company, Gracie Films, which had a relationship with Columbia."[2]

Simpsons Confidential said that "It's important to note that in the legal battles over The Simpsons, it was Fox that was being sued, not Gracie Films".[3]

Beyond Monopoly also said that "FOX and Gracie Films (co-producers of the series [The Simpsons] have paid to every phase of the show's international distribution".[4] Since When Is Fran Drescher Jewish? explained: "In Italy, in particular, Gracie Films has worked in collaboration with Mediaset (the local distributor of The Simpsons) to find voices for dubbing that would match those of the original American actors as closely as possible."[5]

Location

The company's production office is located in the Sidney Poitier Building on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California.

Animation

The Gracie Films animation depicts whispering and even noisy movie patrons in a theater being shushed by a woman so the company's name accompanied by music and a blue background can be seen and heard.

Some special versions of the company's animation were made to fit episodes of shows like The Simpsons, for example playing the jingle in a minor key with a pipe organ, and replacing the hush with a scream in the Treehouse of Horror anthology specials. Often, dialogue from characters can be heard during the animation, sometimes in response to the shushing.

Television shows

Title Creator(s) Years active Co-Produced by
The Tracey Ullman Show James L. Brooks, Jerry Belson, Ken Estin, Heide Perlman 1987–1990 20th Century Fox Television
The Simpsons Matt Groening 1989–present 20th Century Fox Television, Film Roman
Sibs Heide Perlman 1991–1992 Columbia Pictures Television
Phenom Sam Simon, Dick Blasucci, Marc Flanagan 1993–1994 Columbia Pictures Television, ELP Communications
The Critic Al Jean, Mike Reiss 1994–1995 Columbia Pictures Television, Film Roman
What About Joan? Ed. Weinberger 2001–2002 Columbia TriStar Television

Films

Title Director Released Co-Produced by
Broadcast News James L. Brooks December 16, 1987 20th Century Fox
Big Penny Marshall June 3, 1988 20th Century Fox
Say Anything... Cameron Crowe April 14, 1989 20th Century Fox
The War of the Roses Danny DeVito December 8, 1989 20th Century Fox
I'll Do Anything James L. Brooks February 4, 1994 Columbia Pictures
Bottle Rocket Wes Anderson February 21, 1996 Columbia Pictures, Indian Paintbrush
Jerry Maguire Cameron Crowe December 16, 1996 TriStar Pictures, Vinyl Films
As Good as It Gets James L. Brooks December 25, 1997 TriStar Pictures
Stepmom Chris Columbus December 25, 1998 Columbia Pictures
Riding in Cars with Boys Penny Marshall October 19, 2001 Columbia Pictures
Spanglish James L. Brooks December 17, 2004 Columbia Pictures
The Simpsons Movie David Silverman July 27, 2007 20th Century Fox, Film Roman, Rough Draft Studios, AKOM
How Do You Know James L. Brooks December 17, 2010 Columbia Pictures
Besties Kelly Fremon September 30, 2016 STX Entertainment

References

  1. ↑ Simpsons Confidential, p. 30, at Google Books
  2. ↑ Indie, Inc.: Miramax and the Transformation of Hollywood in the 1990s, p. 159, at Google Books
  3. ↑ Simpsons Confidential: The uncensored, totally unauthorised history of the world's greatest TV show by the people that made it, p. 126, at Google Books
  4. ↑ Beyond Monopoly: Globalization and Contemporary Italian Media, p. 101, at Google Books
  5. ↑ Since When Is Fran Drescher Jewish?: Dubbing Stereotypes in The Nanny, The Simpsons, and The Sopranos, p. 73, at Google Books

External links

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