Paramount Vantage

Paramount Vantage
Formerly	Paramount Classics (1998–2006)
Type	Label
Industry	Film
Fate	Dormancy
Successor	Miramax
Founded	May 15, 1998
Founders	David Dinerstein; Ruth Vitale
Defunct	December 2013
Key people	John Lesher (President); Nick Myer (Co-President)
Products	Motion pictures
Owner	Viacom
Parent	Paramount Pictures

Paramount Vantage (originally known as Paramount Classics) was a film distribution label of Paramount Pictures (which, in turn, has Viacom as its parent company), charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally those with a more "art house" feel than films made and distributed by its parent company. Previously, Paramount Vantage operated as the specialty film division of Paramount Pictures, owned by Viacom.

History

Paramount Classics was launched in 1998 and released such art house fare as The Virgin Suicides, You Can Count on Me, Sunshine, Mostly Martha, Winter Solstice, and three Patrice Leconte films (Girl on the Bridge, The Man on the Train, Intimate Strangers). Although film journalist David Poland felt "Ruth Vitale and David Dinerstein have proven to have wonderful taste heading up Paramount Classics",[1] the duo was fired in October 2005.[2]

In 2006, the Paramount Vantage brand branched off from Paramount Classics, which was relaunched in 2007 as a distributor of "smaller, review-driven films including foreign-language acquisitions and documentaries."[3]

In 2007, Paramount Vantage partnered with then-Disney subsidiary Miramax Films on two of the year's most highly regarded movies, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Both films garnered eight nominations at the Academy Awards, with There Will Be Blood winning the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, while No Country for Old Men won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, and Best Picture.

Despite its critical success, Paramount Vantage continually failed to deliver the financial returns Paramount Pictures expected. Only No Country for Old Men made a profit, while films that should have generated significant returns failed to deliver through either poor or excessive marketing.[4]

In June 2008, Paramount Pictures consolidated Paramount Vantage's marketing, distribution, and physical production departments into the parent studio, while retaining the Paramount Vantage brand to develop and acquire specialty product with dedicated creative staff.[5]

Paramount Vantage went dormant in December 2013.

Paramount Classics releases

Name	Release date	Production company(s)
Trekkies	March 12, 1999
Get Real	April 30, 1999
Cabaret Balkan	July 23, 1999
The Adventures of Sebastian Cole	September 11, 1998	co-production with Cuplan Productions LLC
Train of Life	November 12, 1999
Where's Marlowe?	November 12, 1999
Deterrence	March 10, 2000
The Virgin Suicides	May 12, 2000
Passion of Mind	May 26, 2000
Sunshine	June 9, 2000
Girl on the Bridge	July 28, 2000
You Can Count On Me	November 17, 2000
The Gift	December 22, 2000	co-production with Lakeshore Entertainment
Company Man	March 9, 2001	co-production with Pathé
Savage Souls	May 20, 2001	co-production with Paramount Pictures
Bride of the Wind	June 8, 2001	USA distribution only
An American Rhapsody	August 24, 2001
Our Lady of the Assassins	September 7, 2001
My First Mister	October 12, 2001
Focus	November 2, 2001
Sidewalks of New York	November 21, 2001	USA distribution only
Mean Machine	February 22, 2002
Festival in Cannes	March 3, 2002
The Triumph of Love	May 10, 2002
The Emperor's New Clothes	June 14, 2002
Who Is Cletis Tout?	July 26, 2002
Mostly Martha	August 16, 2002
Just a Kiss	September 27, 2002
Bloody Sunday	October 4, 2002
The Way Home	November 15, 2002
Till Human Voices Wake Us	February 21, 2003
House of Fools	April 25, 2003
The Man on the Train	May 9, 2003
Northfork	July 11, 2003	USA distribution only
And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen	August 8, 2003
The Singing Detective	October 24, 2003
The Machinist	January 18, 2004
The Reckoning	March 5, 2004
The United States of Leland	April 2, 2004
Love Me If You Dare	May 11, 2004
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead	June 16, 2004
Intimate Strangers	July 30, 2004
Mean Creek	August 20, 2004
Enduring Love	October 29, 2004
Fade to Black	November 5, 2004
Schultze Gets the Blues	February 18, 2005
Winter Solstice	April 8, 2005
Mad Hot Ballroom	May 13, 2005	co-production with Nickelodeon Movies and Just One Productions
After You...	June 3, 2005
Hustle & Flow	July 22, 2005	co-production with MTV Films and New Deal Entertainment
Asylum	August 12, 2005
Neil Young: Heart of Gold	February 10, 2006
Ask the Dust	March 17, 2006	co-production with Pathé
An Inconvenient Truth	May 24, 2006
Broken Bridges	September 8, 2006
Arctic Tale	July 25, 2007	co-production with National Geographic Films
Beneath	August 7, 2007	co-production with MTV Films
The Kite Runner	December 14, 2007	co-production with DreamWorks Pictures
Shine a Light	April 4, 2008