Spyglass Entertainment

Spyglass Entertainment

Former type	Private
Industry	Film
Predecessor	Caravan Pictures
Founded	1998
Founder	Gary Barber Roger Birnbaum
Defunct	2012
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, United States
Key people	Jeffrey Chernov Jonathan Glickman
Products	Motion pictures
Parent	Cerberus Capital Management
Divisions	Spyglass Home Entertainment Spyglass Television
Website	spyglassentertainment.com

Spyglass Entertainment was an American film production company, co-founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998. It is currently owned by Cerberus Capital Management.

Barber and Birnbaum serve as co-CEOs, while Jonathan Glickman serves as the current President of Production. Jeffrey Chernov was once a production executive at Spyglass Entertainment.

History

In August 1998, Roger Birnbaum, Caravan's co-founder, left to co-found Spyglass Entertainment at Roth's prompting in which Disney takes an equity stake and a five-year distribution agreement. With Disney cutting its yearly production output, Roth recommended forming a self-financing production firm such as New Regency Productions. Caravan after the remaining three films are release, the company went inactive. Caravan's slate of movies projects and an initial financial advance of $10 million to $20 million against future overages was also contributed by Disney.^[1] Spyglass based their operations at Disney's studios. In October 1998, European media conglomerates Kirch Group and Mediaset invested in theatrical, video and television distribution rights to between 15 and 25 films over five year for Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and the former Soviet Union.^[2] By May 2000, Disney had taken a 10% equity stake in Spyglass along with Svensk Film Industri of Scandinavia and Lusomundo of Portugal.^[3][4]

In 2002, Spyglass considered a merger with Intermedia but the deal was never carried out.^[5] With expiration of the Disney distribution deal in October, Spyglass signed a five-year distribution deal with DreamWorks while Disney retained its stake.^[4] In April 2008 at MIP TV, Spyglass and Canal Plus agreed to a multi-window TV deal for its movies lasting until 2009.^[6] By 2010, Spyglass had moved to Westwood and Cerberus Capital had purchased the company.^[5]

On December 20, 2010, the founders of Spyglass Entertainment, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, became co-Chairs and co-CEOs of the holding company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which had recently at that time emerged from bankruptcy.^{[7][8][9][10]} Since then, Spyglass' operation has been scaled back, though Barber and Birnbaum will continue to operate it through the handling of its library.^[11] The studio now produces only a handful of films per year.

UK distributors

• Buena Vista International (2002–2005)
• Universal Pictures UK (Stay Alive only)
• Optimum Releasing (2009–2011)
• StudioCanal UK (2011–2012)

Production filmography

1990s

• Instinct (1999) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)
• The Sixth Sense (1999) (co-production with Hollywood Pictures, Blinding Edge Pictures and The Kennedy/Marshall Company)
• The Insider (1999) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)

2000s

• Mission to Mars (2000) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)
• Keeping the Faith (2000) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures, Koch Co., Blumberg/Norton Porudctions and Triple Threat Talent)
• Shanghai Noon (2000) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)
• Out Cold (2001) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)
• The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)
• Dragonfly (2002) (co-production with Universal Pictures) (through Buena Vista International)
• Abandon (2002) (co-production with Paramount Pictures and Touchstone Pictures) (through Buena Vista International)
• Reign of Fire (2002) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)
• The Recruit (2003) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures and German film investment company Epsilon Motion Pictures)
• Shanghai Knights (2003) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)
• Bruce Almighty (2003) (co-production with Universal Pictures, Shady Acres Entertainment and Pit Bull Productions) (through Buena Vista International)
• Seabiscuit (2003) (co-production with Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures) (through Buena Vista International)
• Connie and Carla (2004) (co-production with Universal Pictures)
• Mr. 3000 (2004) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures and The Kennedy/Marshall Company)
• The Pacifier (2005) (co-production with Walt Disney Pictures)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) (co-production with Walt Disney Pictures and Hammer and Tongs)
• The Legend of Zorro (2005) (co-production with Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment)
• Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) (co-production with Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment and Red Wagon Productions) (through Buena Vista International)
• Eight Below (2006) (co-production with Walt Disney Pictures, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, and Mandeville Films)
• Stay Alive (2006) (co-production with Hollywood Pictures, Endgame Entertainment and Wonderland Sound and Vision) (through Universal Pictures UK)
• Stick It (2006) (co-production with Touchstone Pictures)
• The Lookout (2007) (co-production with Miramax Films)
• The Invisible (2007) (co-production with Hollywood Pictures)
• Evan Almighty (2007) (co-production with Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Shady Acres Entertainment and Original Film)
• Underdog (2007) (co-production with Walt Disney Pictures and Classic Media)
• Balls of Fury (2007) (co-production with Rogue Pictures and Intrepid Pictures)
• 27 Dresses (2008) (co-production with 20th Century Fox)
• Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008) (co-production with Universal Pictures)
• The Ruins (2008) (co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Red Hour Films)
• The Happening (2008) (co-production with 20th Century Fox, Blinding Edge Pictures and UTV Motion Pictures)
• The Love Guru (2008) (co-production with Paramount Pictures)
• Wanted (2008) (co-production with Universal Pictures)
• Ghost Town (2008) (co-production with DreamWorks Pictures)
• Flash of Genius (2008) (co-production with Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment) (through Optimum Releasing)
• Four Christmases (2008) (co-production with New Line Cinema)
• Star Trek (2009) (co-production with Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions)
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) (co-production with Paramount Pictures, Hasbro and Di Bonaventura Pictures)
• Invictus (2009) (co-production with Warner Bros. Pictures, Malpaso Productions, and Revelations Entertainment)

2010s

• Leap Year (2010) (co-production with Universal Pictures and Benderspink) (through Optimum Releasing)
• Get Him to the Greek (2010) (co-production with Universal Pictures, Relativity Media and Apatow Productions)
• Dinner for Schmucks (2010) (co-production with Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Parkes + MacDonald, Everyman Pictures, Reliance ADA Group and Reliance BIG Pictures)
• The Tourist (2010) (co-production with Columbia Pictures and GK Films) (through Optimum Releasing)
• The Dilemma (2011) (co-production with Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Wild West Picture Show)
• No Strings Attached (2011) (co-production with Paramount Pictures, The Montecito Picture Company and Cold Spring Pictures)
• Footloose (2011) (co-production with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films)
• The Vow (2012) (co-production with Screen Gems)

References

1. Eller, Clauida (August 21, 1998). Spyglass Offers Disney Lower-Risk Deals. Los Angeles Times. Accessed on March 18, 2015.
2. Mattzer, Marla (October 29, 1998). "European Firms to Invest in Spyglass". Los Angeles Times. p. C4. (Alternate link.)
3. Eller, Claudia (May 23, 2000). "Spyglass Hopes for More Good 'Sense' in Future Projects". Los Angeles Times. p. C1. Retrieved May 12, 2010. (Alternate link.)
4. Eller, Claudia (December 10, 2002). "Spyglass Signs Deal With DreamWorks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
5. DiOrio, Carl (August 12, 2010). "Why MGM is choosing Spyglass over others". the Hollywood Reporter. AP. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
6. "Canal Plus puts its eye to Spyglass fare". Variety. April 12, 2005. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
7. "MGM 2010 Restructing" (PDF). Wall Street Journal. Retrieved Jan 5, 2012.
8. "MGM restructuring becomes official, Studio completes restructuring with $500 million in financing". variety.com. Retrieved Jan 5, 2012.
9. "MGM 2010 Restructing". globaltimes.cn. Retrieved Jan 5, 2012.
10. "Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum assume leadership immediately as Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of MGM". prnewswire.com. Retrieved Jan 5, 2012.
11. Finke, Nikki. "MGM’s Roger Birnbaum Steps Down To Return To Producing; Gary Barber Now Revived Studio’s Sole Chairman & CEO." Deadline.com (October 2, 2012).

External links

• Official website
• Spyglass Entertainment at the Internet Movie Database