ImageMovers
ImageMovers is an American independent film production company founded by director Robert Zemeckis in 1984 as South Side Amusement Company and in 1997, producers Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey came aboard and renamed it to ImageMovers. The company is known for producing such films as Cast Away (2000), What Lies Beneath (2000), The Polar Express (2004), and Monster House (2006). From 2007 to 2011, The Walt Disney Company and ImageMovers founded a joint venture animation facility known as ImageMovers Digital which produced two performance captured animated films: A Christmas Carol (2009) and Mars Needs Moms (2011) for Walt Disney Pictures.
 | |
| Formerly | South Side Amusement Company (1984–1997) |
|---|---|
| Type | Independent |
| Industry | Motion pictures, performance capture & CGI animation |
| Founded | March 1, 1984 |
| Founders | Robert Zemeckis |
| Headquarters | Novato, California, U.S. |
Key people | Robert Zemeckis, Doug Chiang, Steve Starkey, Jack Rapke |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Subsidiaries | Compari Entertainment |
History
South Side Amusement Company (1984–1997)
On March 1, 1984, Robert Zemeckis incorporated and founded the company as South Side Amusement Company. The company was in-name only from the beginning.
In the early 1990s, Zemeckis signed a production deal with Universal Pictures, to release films under the South Side Amusement Company banner.[1] There, it is one of the producers of Death Becomes Her, Trespass, The Public Eye, The Frighteners and Contact.
Early years as ImageMovers (1997–2007)
In 1997, it was announced that South Side Amusement Company was rebranded to ImageMovers, and hired Creative Artists Agency employee Jack Rapke and producer Steve Starkey (who was a producer on Zemeckis' films he's directing since his stint as associate producer on 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit) came on board to join the company. It was also announced that ImageMovers signed a non-exclusive feature film deal with DreamWorks.[2]
In 2001, the studio tried to sign a deal with Warner Bros., but they ultimately failed.[3] After the Warner deal collapsed, the studio is reupping a first-look deal with DreamWorks to produce more films from that time.[4][5]
ImageMovers' first eight films under the name were What Lies Beneath (with Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer), Cast Away (with Tom Hanks), Matchstick Men (with Nicolas Cage), The Polar Express (also with Tom Hanks), The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (with Julianne Moore), Last Holiday (with Queen Latifah), Monster House (with Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, and Steve Buscemi), and Beowulf (with Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, and Angelina Jolie).
Disney/ImageMovers Digital (2007–2010)
In 2007, The Walt Disney Company and ImageMovers set up a joint venture animation facility known as ImageMovers Digital, a Marin County-based film company where Zemeckis would produce and direct 3D animated films using performance capture technology.[6]
On November 6, 2009, ImageMovers Digital released their first film A Christmas Carol, a performance capture film based on the Charles Dickens book of the same name and starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Cary Elwes each in multiple roles. On March 12, 2010, Disney and ImageMovers announced that ImageMovers Digital would close operations by January 2011 after production on Mars Needs Moms was completed. Resulting in a lay-off of approximately 450 employees,[7] Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman said, "...given today's economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model."[8] The company had previously been reported to have Calling All Robots,[9] a Yellow Submarine remake,[10] a Roger Rabbit sequel[11] and The Nutcracker[12] in development. Disney dropped all of these projects following the box-office failure of Mars Needs Moms.[13]
Universal Pictures (2011–present)
In August 2011, it was announced that ImageMovers has entered a two-year first-look producing deal with Universal Pictures.[14]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Co-production/distributor | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Romancing the Stone | 20th Century Fox | $10 million | $115.1 million |
| 1985 | Back to the Future | Amblin Entertainment Universal Pictures |
$19 million | $389.1 million |
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Amblin Entertainment Touchstone Pictures |
$50.6 million | $329.8 million |
| 1989 | Back to the Future Part II | Amblin Entertainment Universal Pictures |
$40 million | $335.9 million |
| 1990 | Back to the Future Part III | $246.1 million | ||
| 1992 | Death Becomes Her | Universal Pictures | $55 million | $149 million |
| Trespass | $14 million | $13.7 million | ||
| The Public Eye | $15 million | $3.06 million | ||
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | The Steve Tisch Company Wendy Finerman Productions Paramount Pictures |
$55 million | $678.2 million |
| 1996 | The Frighteners | WingNut Films Universal Pictures |
$26 million | $29.3 million |
| 1997 | Contact | Warner Bros. | $90 million | $171.1 million |
| 2000 | What Lies Beneath | DreamWorks Pictures 20th Century Fox |
$100 million | $291.4 million |
| Cast Away | $90 million | $429.6 million | ||
| 2003 | Matchstick Men | Warner Bros. Pictures Scott Free Productions |
$62 million | $65.6 million |
| 2004 | The Polar Express (Mo-cap) | Warner Bros. Pictures Playtone Castle Rock Entertainment Shangri-La Entertainment |
$165 million | $310.6 million |
| 2005 | The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio | DreamWorks Pictures | $12 million | $689,028 |
| 2006 | Last Holiday | Paramount Pictures | $45 million | $43.3 million |
| Monster House (Mo-cap) | Columbia Pictures Amblin Entertainment |
$75 million | $140.2 million | |
| 2007 | Beowulf (Mo-cap) | Paramount Pictures (US) Warner Bros. Pictures (International) |
$150 million | $196.4 million |
| 2011 | Real Steel | DreamWorks Pictures Touchstone Pictures |
$110 million | $299.3 million |
| 2012 | Flight | Paramount Pictures Parkes/MacDonald |
$31 million | $161.8 million |
| 2015 | The Walk[15] | TriStar Productions TriStar Pictures |
$35–45 million | $61.2 million |
| 2016 | Allied | Paramount Pictures GK Films |
$85–113 million | $120 million |
| 2018 | Welcome to Marwen | Universal Pictures[16] | $39–50 million | $12.9 million |
| 2020 | The Witches | Warner Bros. Pictures Esperanto Filmoj Double Dare You Productions Necropia Entertainment |
||
| 2021 | Bios | Universal Pictures Amblin Entertainment Ducth Angle Alibaba Pictures Playtone |
||
| TBA | Steel Soldiers[17] | STX Entertainment |
ImageMovers Digital
| Year | Film | Co-production/distributor | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | A Christmas Carol (Mo-cap) | Walt Disney Pictures | $175–200 million | $325.3 million |
| 2011 | Mars Needs Moms (Mo-cap) | $150 million | $39 million |
See also
References
- unknown, unknown (1990s). "unknown". Variety. Cite uses generic title (help)
- Busch, Anita M. (June 18, 1997). "Zemeckis, Rapke wrap up DreamWorks deal". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- Brodesser, Claude; Hayes, Dade (December 28, 2001). "Zemeckis migrates to Warner". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- Fleming, Michael; Hayes, Dade (April 19, 2002). "Imagemovers stands its ground". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- Hayes, Dade; Fleming, Michael (April 21, 2002). "Inside Move: Zemeckis shingle gets new run". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- "Disney, "Polar Express" director in animation deal". Reuters. Reuters. February 5, 2007. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- Eller, Claudia (March 13, 2010). "Disney to shut ImageMovers Digital studio". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- Finke, Nikki (March 12, 2010). "Disney Closing Zemeckis' Digital Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- Graser, Marc (March 26, 2008). "Michael Dougherty calls 'All Robots'". Variety. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- The Walt Disney Studios (September 11, 2009). "The Walt Disney Studios, The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd., and Oscar(R)-Winning Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis Dive Into New Magical 3D Adaptation of the 1968 Classic Yellow Submarine". PR Newswire. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- Ditzian, Eric (November 3, 2009). "EXCLUSIVE: Robert Zemeckis Indicates He'll Use Performance-Capture And 3-D In 'Roger Rabbit' Sequel". MTV. Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- Rowles, Dustin (November 11, 2009). "Robert Zemeckis to Uglimate The Nutcracker". Pajiba.com. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- Kit, Borys (March 14, 2011). "Disney torpedoes Zemeckis' "Yellow Submarine"". Reuters. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
- Fleming, Mike (August 2, 2011). "Universal Makes Two-Year Deal With Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers". Deadline. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
- Cieply, Michael (May 17, 2015). "Tom Rothman's High-Wire Act at Sony Pictures". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- "Film releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- McNary, Dave (February 6, 2018). "Robert Zemeckis, STX, Alibaba Partner on Sci-Fi Film 'Steel Soldiers'". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2018.