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The Cannon Group Inc.
Image:Cannon Films.jpg
Fate Bankruptcy
Founded October 23, 1967
Defunct 1993
Location United States (Also owned studios and cinema chains throughout the UK, Israel and Europe
Industry Motion Picture Production, Releasing & Showcasing
Products Motion Pictures, Video Releasing, Cinema Chains (UK & Europe)
Key people (1967–1979 Dennis Friedland & Chris Dewey)

(1979–1989 Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus)

(1989–1993 Ovidio G. Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Assonitis (1989-90); Yoram Globus, Giancarlo Parretti & Christopher Pearce)
Subsidiary Cannon Video, Cannon Cinemas (Various other mergers Cannon International, Cannon France)

The Cannon Group Inc. was a group of companies including Cannon Films which produced a distinctive line of low to medium budget films from 1967 to 1993. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The extensive group also owned amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company which invested heavily in the video market, buying the international video rights to several classic film libraries.

Contents

Cannon Films

History

1967–1979

Cannon Films was incorporated on October 23, 1967. Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - The year 1967 in film involved some significant events It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film It was formed by Dennis Friedland & Chris Dewey (both in their early twenties at the time). By 1970, they had produced films (such as Joe with Peter Boyle) on a larger production scale than a lot of major distributors. The year 1970 in film involved some significant events Events February 11 - The film The Magic Christian Peter Lawrence "Pete" Boyle ( October 18, 1935 &ndash December 12, 2006) was an American Actor. They managed this by keeping their budgets tight to a limit of $300,000 per picture or less in some cases. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been However, as the 1970s moved on, a string of unsuccessful movies had already seriously drained Cannon’s capital. Added to this were changes in film production tax laws, which led to a drop in stock prices for Cannon.

1979–1985

By 1979, Cannon had hit serious financial difficulties and Friedland & Dewey sold Cannon to Israeli cousins Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus for a mere $500,000. The year 1979 in film involved some significant events Events March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode Menahem Golan ( מנחם גולן; alternative Transliterations Manahem or Menachem (rarely Manachem) Golan) born Yoram Globus is an Israeli director and producer who is most famous for his association with Cannon Films Inc The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been The two cousins forged a business model of buying bottom-barrel scripts and putting them into production. They tapped into a ravenous market for action films in the 1980s, and although they are most remembered for the Death Wish sequels and Chuck Norris action pictures, and even the vigilante thriller Exterminator 2 (the sequel to 1980’s The Exterminator), Cannon’s output was actually far more varied, with musical/comedy films like Breakin’, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, The Last American Virgin, and The Apple, historical/romance pictures like Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Bolero, and Mata Hari, science fiction and fantasy films like Hercules and The Barbarians, as well as serious pictures like John Cassavetes’ Love Streams, Zeffirelli’s Otello (a film version of the Verdi opera), Norman Mailer’s Tough Guys Don’t Dance, Andrei Konchalovsky’s Runaway Train, Shy People, and the 3-D action/adventure film Treasure of the Four Crowns. Death Wish is a 1974 action - crime - Drama film based on the 1972 novel by Brian Garfield. Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10 1940 is an American martial artist, action star and Television and Film Exterminator 2 is a 1984 action film written and directed by Mark Buntzman and starring Robert Ginty and Mario Van Peebles, with a The year 1980 in film involved some significant events Events April 30 - The Roger Daltrey film McVicar, opens For the 1960 book by William S Burroughs and Brion Gysin, see The Exterminator (1960 book. This article is about the 1984 movie; for other breakin' or breaking references see Breaking. Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo is the Sequel to the 1984 Breakdancing Film Breakin'. The Last American Virgin is a 1982 teen Coming-of-age Film in the same vein as Summer Break, Better Off Dead Lady Chatterley's Lover is a Novel by D H Lawrence written in 1928 Bolero is a 1984 film starring Bo Derek, and written and directed by her husband John Derek. Mata Hari was the Stage name of Margaretha Geertruida " Grietje " Zelle ( August 7, 1876, Leeuwarden Hercules, written and directed by Luigi Cozzi, is a 1983 Italian adventure film featuring the exploits of the mythological hero Hercules. The Barbarians is a 1987 American-Italian Sword and sorcery film starring the Barbarian Brothers. John Nicholas Cassavetes ( December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American Actor, Screenwriter, and director Love Streams is an 1984 American film by John Cassavetes that tells the story of a middle-aged brother and sister who find themselves caring for one Franco Zeffirelli, KBE (born Gianfranco Corsi on February 12, 1923) is an Italian Film director. Otello is an Opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian Libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare 's play Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Norman Kingsley Mailer ( January 31, 1923 &ndash November 10, 2007) was an American Novelist, Journalist, Andrey Sergeyevich Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky (Андре́й Серге́евич Михалко́в-Кончало́вский (born August 20, 1937 in Moscow Runaway Train is a 1985, Oscar -nominated film which tells the story of two escaped convicts and a female Train worker who are stuck on a Shy People is a critically-acclaimed 1987 American drama about two branches of a family that reunite with tragic results starring Barbara Hershey, Jill Clayburgh, See also [[stereoscopy]] In film the term 3-D (or 3D) is used to describe any visual presentation system that attempts to maintain or recreate moving images Treasure of the Four Crowns is an action adventure film featuring Tony Anthony, Ana Obregón, Gene Quintano and Francisco Rabal and directed by

Among the films produced by the Golan-Globus team include Superman IV: The Quest for Peace[1], Cobra, Death Wish II, The Delta Force, Invasion U.S.A., Missing in Action, King Solomon’s Mines, American Ninja, and Lifeforce. Superman IV The Quest for Peace is a 1987 Superhero film, the last of the Superman theatrical movies starring Christopher Reeve as the Cobra is a 1986 Action film directed by George P Cosmatos, starring Sylvester Stallone, Reni Santoni and Brigitte Death Wish II (also known as Death Wish 2 in more recent years was a 1982 Sequel to the 1974 film Death Wish The Delta Force is a 1986 Action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin as leaders of an elite squad of Special forces Invasion USA is a 1985 Action film made by Cannon Films and starring Chuck Norris. Missing in Action is a 1984 Action film directed by Joseph Zito and starring Chuck Norris. King Solomon's Mines was a 1985 comedy - Adventure film loosely based on the novel King Solomon's Mines (1885 by H American Ninja is a Ninja Action film produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus 's Cannon Films. Lifeforce is a 1985 Science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper from a screenplay by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby, from the novel The films also boosted the careers of Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, and Sylvester Stallone. Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10 1940 is an American martial artist, action star and Television and Film Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky, Lithuanian name Karolis Bučinskis, November 3, 1921 – August 30, Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6 1946 is an American Actor, director, producer and Screenwriter.

One of Cannon’s biggest hits was the Vietnam action picture Missing in Action, with Chuck Norris. But Cannon had put the movie presently known as Missing in Action 2: The Beginning into production first. Only after the two movies were finished did they realize that the planned second movie was vastly superior to the planned first movie. So, the “first” movie became an awkward prequel.

1986–1989

By 1986, when company earnings reached their apex with 43 films in one year, Cannon Films shares had soared hundredfold. Events April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries Golan remained as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, while Globus served as Executive Vice President and Co-Chair.

During this year, Cannon Films released Robotech: The Movie (also called Robotech: The Untold Story) for a limited run in Mesquite, Texas. Robotech The Movie, also called Robotech The Untold Story, was the first new Robotech adventure created by Harmony Gold USA Mesquite is a city in Dallas and Kaufman Counties in the US state of Texas and a Suburb of Dallas. Cannon was reportedly unsatisfied with Carl Macek’s first version of the movie, which was almost a straight adaptation of the anime Megazone 23. Carl Macek (born 1951 in Pittsburgh) is an American writer and controversial Anime pioneer and producer of the 1980s and 1990s is a three-part Original video animation created by Noboru Ishiguro and Shinji Aramaki. It was at their insistence that footage from The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (the series adapted as the Robotech Masters segment of the Robotech TV series) and Megazone 23 be spliced together to produce a more action-oriented movie. was the third Japanese animated ( Anime) series released under the " Super Dimension " Moniker by the sponsor Big West. Macek recalls that, although he himself was unhappy with this revised version, Menahem Golan, after viewing it, happily said: “Now that’s a Cannon movie!” Nevertheless, Robotech: The Movie was unsuccessful in its brief Texas run and saw no further release. Carl Macek has gone on record as disowning it.

Film critic Roger Ebert said of Golan-Globus in 1987, “No other production organization in the world today has taken more chances with serious, marginal films. Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. Events January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago Illinois, to ” He did so with reasons. That year Cannon gained its greatest artistic success: its Dutch production The Assault won the 1986 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The Assault ( De Aanslag) is a 1986 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Harry Mulisch. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars handed out annually by the U The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony

Golan and Cannon Films were famous for making huge announcements and over-promoting movies that didn’t live up to expectations, or even exist. For instance, Lifeforce was to be “the cinematic sci-fi event of the ’80s” and Masters of the Universe “the Star Wars of the ’80s. Lifeforce is a 1985 Science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper from a screenplay by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby, from the novel Masters of the Universe is a 1987 Science fiction / Fantasy Film based on the toy line by the same name. Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded ” Additionally, Cannon owned the film rights to Spider-Man, and planned to make a Spider-Man movie in the mid-1980s. Spider-Man is a Fictional character appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Spider-Man is a 2002 American Superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was to be directed by Joseph Zito, director of Missing in Action and Invasion USA, and then by Albert Pyun. Joseph Zito was the director of numerous action films Selected Filmography Bloodrage aka Never Pick Up a Stranger ( 1979 Albert Pyun (born 1954 is a American Film director best known for having made many low-budget B-movies and Direct-to-video Despite Zito investing nearly a year of his life in the project, the Cannon version of Spider-Man never appeared despite being announced at Cannes. The Spider-Man film series consists of three Superhero films based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, (Golan would also attempt an Albert Pyun version of Spider-Man in the late 1980s, to similar results. Albert Pyun (born 1954 is a American Film director best known for having made many low-budget B-movies and Direct-to-video ) Also, Golan announced in the early 1980s that Cannon was producing a film starring both Sean Connery and Roger Moore. Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born August 25 1930) is an Academy Award - Golden Globe - and BAFTA Award -winning Scottish Sir Roger George Moore KBE (born 14 October 1927) is an English Actor. But neither actor had agreed to appear in such a film.

In 1988, they released David Winning’s debut feature STORM. Events Michael Jackson 's first film was Moonwalker Top grossing films (U David Winning (born May 8, 1961 in Calgary Alberta) is a Canadian -born film and television director [2] However, that same year, a string of box office flops drained Cannon’s capital and the market had cooled. The multi-million dollar production of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, whose original $36 million budget was reduced to half ($17 million) by Cannon, had failed at the box office. Superman IV The Quest for Peace is a 1987 Superhero film, the last of the Superman theatrical movies starring Christopher Reeve as the Cannon signed an agreement with Warner Bros. to handle part of Cannon’s assets; however, the financial loss was staggering. Cannon Films was severely stretched, having purchased Thorn EMI, and faced bankruptcy, and a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation began which indicated that Cannon Films had fraudulently misstated its financial reports. Thorn EMI was a major British company involved in consumer electronics music defence and retail Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their Creditors Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against The US Securities and Exchange Commission (commonly known as the SEC) is an independent agency of the United States government which holds primary responsibility On the verge of failure, Cannon Films was taken over by Pathé Communications, a holding company which was controlled by Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti, whom during the same period would also eventually acquire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as well. This article deals with the Pathé movie company For their music business see Pathé Records. Giancarlo Parretti is an Italian financier He formerly owned the movie studio Pathé and in 1989 took over Cannon Film Group Inc Golan and Globus had signed a contract with Parretti in hopes that Pathe Communications would be able to save Cannon’s financial problems and bankruptcy. Parretti had been able to obtain refinancing through the lending company, Credit Lyonnais, and $250 million to pay off Cannon Films’ debt. Then, by early 1989, Parretti had only further damaged Cannon Films, and what seemed to be a successful turnaround in Cannon’s problems only worsened. Parretti had lied that Cannon Films was moving ahead, when in fact the company had continued operating in the red. Golan, citing differences with both Parretti and Globus, resigned from his position as Chief Executive Officer and left Cannon Films.

One of the final movies produced by both Golan and Globus to get a wide release under the Cannon Films banner was the Jean-Claude Van Damme post-apocalyptic actioner Cyborg. Cyborg is a 1989 action / sci-fi film directed by Albert Pyun. This film was conceived to use both the costumes and sets built for an intended sequel to Masters of the Universe and the aforementioned live-action version of Spider-Man. Both projects were planned to shoot simultaneously by Albert Pyun. Albert Pyun (born 1954 is a American Film director best known for having made many low-budget B-movies and Direct-to-video After Cannon Films had to cancel deals with both Mattel and Marvel Entertainment because of their financial troubles, they needed to recoup the money spent on both projects. Mattel Inc ( is the world's largest Toy importing company based on revenue Marvel Entertainment Inc ( is an American Entertainment company formed from the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group Inc As part of his severance package from Pathe Communications, Golan took the rights to Marvel’s characters Spider-Man and Captain America. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Spider-Man is a Fictional character appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. (Golan struggled to obtain financing for Spider-Man with Carolco Pictures in the early 1990s but was unsuccessful. Golan was able to put Captain America into production and released direct to video through his 21st Century Film Corporation. Captain America is the title of a Low budget film based on the popular Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. ) Not to let those pre-production works go to waste, Pyun then wrote the story of Cyborg (with Chuck Norris in mind), suggesting it to Cannon Films, and Jean-Claude Van Damme got attached. Cyborg is a 1989 action / sci-fi film directed by Albert Pyun. Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10 1940 is an American martial artist, action star and Television and Film Some television stations still give the film’s title as Masters of the Universe 2: Cyborg which often confuses many into thinking a sequel to that film was made.

1990–1993

Following Golan’s resignation as CEO of Cannon Films, he became the head of 21st Century Film Corporation while Globus went on to continue working with Parretti, who appointed Globus to preside briefly over MGM/UA (whose part in Cannon history today is explained below in Distribution). 21st Century Film Corporation was a small scale theatrical distribution company formedsometime in the early seventies as a production company and distributor This article is about the film studio Previously it was affiliated with a cinema chain bearing its name now owned by Regal Entertainment Group.

Parretti’s continued presidency over Cannon Films, and his significantly poor business and financial decisions, raised suspicions in the industry, and once again from the SEC. Parretti recruited Ovidio G. Assonitis, a veteran prolific film producer and businessman, to be appointed as the new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1990, when Cannon was renamed as the new Cannon Pictures Inc. Ovidio Assonitis was born on January 18, 1943 in Alexandria Egypt is an independent film producer and businessman with over 35 years of experience in the It was later discovered that Parretti breached his contract with Assonitis through Pathe, and was terminated as CEO the same year and replaced by Christopher Pearce. Christopher John Pearce (born 1 March, 1963) Australian politician has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives Assonitis later received a default judgement of $2. 9 million from Pathe for the breach of contract with Parretti. Cannon Pictures continued to release films such as American Ninja 4 and No Place to Hide until 1993, when Parretti’s problems with the company had finally began to catch up with him. This article provides a list of episodes of the television series Lost in Space. The year 1993 in film involved many significant films (For more about films in foreign languages check sources in those languages Parretti defaulted on the bond payments to Credit Lyonnais on Cannon’s financial reorganization plans, and furthermore, Parretti also defaulted on the payments he made for his acquisition of Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), which he also controlled. The Securities and Exchange Commission sought another investigation into Cannon Films, and it was later discovered that Parretti had tampered with evidence, and later fled the United States before being sentenced. Cannon officially came to an end in 1993. Yoram Globus and Christopher Pearce later joined to together and formed the short lived Global Pictures from 1993 to 1996. Yoram Globus is an Israeli director and producer who is most famous for his association with Cannon Films Inc Christopher John Pearce (born 1 March, 1963) Australian politician has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives

In 1993, the Golan-Globus film Alien from L.A., starring model Kathy Ireland, was used as the basis of episode #516 of the movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. The year 1993 in film involved many significant films (For more about films in foreign languages check sources in those languages Alien From LA is a 1988 Science fiction film that stars Kathy Ireland as a young woman who visits the underground civilization of Atlantis Kathy Ireland (born March 20, 1963) is an American model, Actress, businesswoman and CEO of her Eponymous brand product marketing Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American Cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced

Distribution

The Cannon Group’s first films in the United States were distributed independently and released on home video on the small Paragon Video label. Then they made a deal with MGM, and their movies were distributed for home video (and later some films theatrically) by MGM, appearing in the ubiquitous gray MGM Video “big boxes. ” Later, Golan and Globus had a falling out with MGM, supposedly over the X-rated Bolero with Bo Derek. Bo Derek (born Mary Cathleen Collins on November 20 1956 Long Beach California, U Their movies were then released on home video for a short time on Heron Communications’ Media Home Entertainment unit, with some of the larger films, like Masters of the Universe and Over the Top, distributed by either TriStar or Warner Bros. Cannon then partnered with HBO and began its own video label, which lasted into the 1990s. Media Home Entertainment (also known as Meda Home Entertainment early on was a Home video company headquartered in Culver City California and established in Masters of the Universe is a 1987 Science fiction / Fantasy Film based on the toy line by the same name. Over the Top is a 1987 Dramatic action film starring Sylvester Stallone, produced and directed by Menahem Golan about Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and

Today, the theatrical and home video rights to a majority of Cannon's product are owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with the following exceptions:

In all cases (except worldwide television rights to Lifeforce and the domestic television rights to Superman IV), CBS Television Distribution handles television rights to the Cannon library. CBS Television Distribution (CTD is a United States and Global Television Distribution company, a merger of CBS Corporation 's three

Criticism

Golan-Globus and Cannon Films have been heavily criticized for their pervasive anti-Arab stereotypes, often seemingly going out of their way to demonize Arabs. In particular, Arab American communications scholar Jack Shaheen has heavily criticized Golan-Globus films, and made special note of them in his book Reel Bad Arabs. An Arab American is a United States citizen or resident of Arab cultural and linguistic heritage and/or Identity whose ancestry traces back to any of various Jack G Shaheen (born 1935 is Professor Emeritus of Mass Communication at Southern Illinois University. Reel Bad Arabs How Hollywood Vilifies a People (ISBN 1-56656-388-7 Olive Branch Press is a 2001 book by Jack Shaheen where he surveyed more than 900 film appearances

References

  1. ^ Superman IV: History
  2. ^ IMDb.com—STORM

External links

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