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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
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| Type | Label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Predecessor | Millimeter Films |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder | Bob Weinstein |
| Defunct | July 16, 2018 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Successors | Library: Paramount Pictures (under Miramax) (pre-2005, with some exceptions) Lionsgate and Spyglass Media Group (post-2005, with some exceptions) |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Bob Weinstein (chairman) Robert Katz (president) |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Parent | Miramax Films (1992–2005) The Weinstein Company (2005–2018) |
| Divisions | Dimension Home Video (pre-2005 titles) Dimension Home Entertainment (post-2005 titles) Dimension Extreme Dimension Television |
Dimension Films was an American independent film production and distribution label founded in 1992. Formally a brand of one of the American "mini-majors" The Weinstein Company (i.e., small to medium independent television and motion picture production studios), Dimension Films produced and released independent films and genre titles; specifically horror and science fiction films.
Dimension Films was used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's label within the brothers' own Miramax Films studio, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993. The Weinsteins took the Dimension Films label with them when they separated from Miramax Films on October 1, 2005, and paired it under their new company, The Weinstein Company (TWC). However, the firing of Harvey Weinstein following allegations of sexual harassment and rape against him, as well as financial troubles that followed, led to TWC's decline. TWC eventually declared bankruptcy in February 2018, with Lantern Entertainment acquiring a majority of its film library and assets, and was shut down on July 16, 2018.[1][2]
All films released by Dimension Films before 2005 (as part of Miramax) are currently owned and distributed by Paramount Pictures through Paramount Global (now Skydance Corporation)'s acquisition of a 49% stake in Miramax that was closed on April 3, 2020.[3]
Dimension Films was officially founded in 1992 under its parent company Miramax Films by Bob Weinstein as a label to distribute horror films and other films deemed "disreputable" for release under the Miramax Films title.[4][5] The Weinsteins had released similar titles under a smaller operation called Millimeter Films from 1988 to 1992.[6]
The first release under the Dimension Films label was the sequel film Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, released theatrically in the United States in 1992,[4] followed by Stuart Gordon's sci-fi thriller Fortress,[7] and the sequel Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, both released the same year.[8]
On June 30, 1993, The Walt Disney Company purchased Miramax Films, who had been facing financial troubles between 1990 and 1992, prior to their acquisition and release of The Crying Game, which earned the company US$60 million.[9] The success of The Crying Game made Miramax Films attractive to Disney, who officially bought the company in 1993, resulting in Dimension Films becoming a Disney subsidiary.[10]
After the box-office failure of Mother's Boys (1994) starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Dimension Films distributed Miramax Films' The Crow (1994), which would garner Dimension Films its first major commercial success.[11] In 1995, Dimension Films acquired the rights to the Halloween film series, releasing the sixth installment Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers in September that year.[12] The release of From Dusk till Dawn (1996) would mark the beginning of a working relationship with director Robert Rodriguez as well as a lucrative franchise, with several sequels to follow.[13]
Dimension Films would gain greater exposure with its distribution of Wes Craven's Scream, released on December 20, 1996,[14] which became a major box office hit, grossing $173 million worldwide.[15] The company also produced and distributed its sequel, Scream 2, released the following year, which grossed a comparable $172 million.[16][17]
Dimension Films continued its trend of releasing horror and science fiction films, specifically films aimed at teenagers and young adult audiences, with the releases of Phantoms (1998) and the Halloween sequel Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), the latter of which garnered the company another commercial success.[18] The company released its second film with director Robert Rodriguez, the teen sci-fi film The Faculty, on Christmas Day 1998.[19] In 1999, Dimension Films distributed David Cronenberg's eXistenZ and Scream-writer Kevin Williamson's directorial debut Teaching Mrs. Tingle.[20]
Dimension Films' first post-millennium release was the direct-to-video From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter. Next was Scream 3 (2000), which was theatrically released like its predecessors.[21] In July 2000, the company released the slasher parody film Scary Movie, which grossed a record-breaking $278 million for the company and marked the beginning of another popular film series.[22] 2001 saw the release of the Robert Rodriguez-directed Spy Kids, which was the company's first major children's film. The film would spawn another popular franchise for the company.[22]
Beginning in 2000, Dimension Films began purchasing North American distribution rights to various international productions. Their 2001 release of The Others, a Spanish-produced supernatural thriller starring Nicole Kidman, was a surprise success for the company.[22] Other international productions purchased by Dimension Films included two additional horror films by Spanish director Jaume Balagueró: The Nameless (1999), and Darkness (2002).[23] Darkness received a North American theatrical release in December 2004 after being shelved for two years, and proved to be a financial success,[24][25] while The Nameless was released direct-to-video in 2005. In January 2005, Dimension Films purchased the American distribution rights to the Australian horror film Wolf Creek, which was released in December that year.[26]
For much of the early 2000s, Dimension Films produced and distributed numerous sequels to films released under their branch, including several direct-to-video releases for films such as Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001), Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002), and Dracula III: Legacy (2005). They also distributed several comedies, such as the Terry Zwigoff-directed Bad Santa (2003),[27] and David Zucker's My Boss's Daughter (2003).
In 2005, the Weinstein brothers purchased the rights to Dimension Films from Disney, and Dimension Films officially became a subsidiary of The Weinstein Company (TWC), established the same year.[28]
After its separation from Miramax Films, Dimension Films would co-produce several titles with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), including the horror remakes The Amityville Horror (2005),[29] Black Christmas (2006),[30] and Halloween (2007),[31] as well as the Stephen King-based thrillers 1408 and The Mist (both 2007).[32] In the spring of 2007, Dimension Films produced and distributed the joint-double feature film Grindhouse, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The film was a major box office failure, grossing less than half of its $53 million budget.[33][34]
In 2011, Scream 4, the fourth installment in the Scream series, was released and proved to be another box office success in the franchise, earning nearly $100 million in box office receipts.[35] The company released the sci-fi horror films Apollo 18 (2011) and Dark Skies (2013). In 2013, Dimension Films acquired the rights to the independent slasher film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, shot in 2006, and gave the film a limited release in the United States in October.[36]
Dimension partnered with MTV for the television series Scream, based on the film series.[37] On June 24, 2019, it was announced that Scream would be moving to VH1 ahead of the third season, which Dimension did not produce.[38] Dimension Films also had involvement with One Ball Pictures, who owns the "Funny Or Die" online series. They released their first episode, "A Lesson with John McEnroe", with Dimension Films.[39]
In 2015, Dimension Films lost the rights to the Halloween franchise.[40]
In 2018, TWC was purchased in a bankruptcy auction by Lantern Entertainment.
On December 20, 2019, ViacomCBS (now known as Skydance Corporation) announced that they would acquire 49% of Miramax from beIN Media Group for at least $375 million, with Paramount Pictures gaining exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the Miramax library, including the pre-2005 Dimension films.[41] ViacomCBS and Miramax will also co-produce new content based on titles from the Miramax library. The deal closed on April 3, 2020.[42]
The pre-2005 Dimension films were originally released to home video through Buena Vista Home Entertainment and marketed under the Dimension Home Video label (under the Hollywood Pictures Home Entertainment label in some places), while Miramax was owned by Disney. After Disney sold Miramax to Filmyard in 2010, they were distributed from 2011 to 2020 on home video through Lionsgate Home Entertainment, with Echo Bridge Home Entertainment briefly handling some as well. Through ViacomCBS (now Paramount Skydance Corporation)'s 49% stake in Miramax, Paramount Home Entertainment acquired the home video distribution rights to the pre-2005 Dimension titles. Notable exceptions are The Others (2001), Mr. 3000 (2004), and The Amityville Horror (2005).
As of 2024, the post-2005 Dimension Films titles are currently released on DVD and Blu-ray by Lionsgate. Before, they were distributed by Genius Products and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Beginning in 2008, Dimension introduced the Dimension Extreme label, which released primarily international indie horror and teen film/adult comedy (i.e., "Extreme Movie") titles on DVD.[43]
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Dimension Films was an American independent film production and distribution label founded in 1992. Formally a brand of one of the American "mini-majors" The Weinstein Company (i.e., small to medium independent television and motion picture production studios), Dimension Films produced and released independent films and genre titles; specifically horror and science fiction films. Dimension Films was used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's label within the brothers' own Miramax Films studio, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993. The Weinsteins took the Dimension Films label with them when they separated from Miramax Films on October 1, 2005, and paired it under their new company, The Weinstein Company (TWC). However, the firing of Harvey Weinstein following allegations of sexual harassment and rape against him, as well as financial troubles that followed, led to TWC's decline. TWC eventually declared bankruptcy in February 2018, with Lantern Entertainment acquiring a majority of its film library and assets, and was shut down on July 16, 2018. All films released by Dimension Films before 2005 (as part of Miramax) are currently owned and distributed by Paramount Pictures through Paramount Global (now Skydance Corporation)'s acquisition of a 49% stake in Miramax that was closed on April 3, 2020.
Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films, 410 F.3d 792 (6th Cir. 2005), is a 2005 court case that was important in defining American copyright law for recorded music. The case centered on the 1990 N.W.A. track "100 Miles and Runnin'", which contains a manipulated two-second sample of the 1975 Funkadelic track "Get Off Your Ass and Jam". The sample was implemented without Funkadelic's permission and with no compensation paid to Bridgeport Music, which claimed to own the rights to Funkadelic's music. Bridgeport brought the issue before a federal judge, who ruled that the incident was not in violation of copyright law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the decision and ruled that the sampling was in violation of copyright law. Their argument was that with a sound recording, an owner of the copyright on a work had exclusive right to duplicate the work. Under this interpretation of the copyright law, usage of any section of a work, regardless of length, is in violation of copyright unless the copyright owner gave permission. In its decision, the court wrote: "Get a license or do not sample. We do not see this as stifling creativity in any significant way." This decision effectively eliminates the de minimis doctrine for digitally sampling recorded music in the Sixth Circuit, and has affected industry practice. However, the court expressly noted that the decision did not preclude the availability of other defenses, such as fair use, even in the context of "sampling." Thus, in the Sixth Circuit, defendants who digitally sampled may not rely on the de minimis doctrine to say that they copied such a small amount that they are not liable for copyright infringement. However, they may still argue that their use of the sample is a fair use—that is, that the use is transformative rather than derivative.
The following is a complete list of films produced and/or distributed by American production and distribution company Dimension Films, a subsidiary of Lantern Entertainment, formerly owned by The Walt Disney Company under Miramax, and later by The Weinstein Company. Dimension Films began in 1992, and has produced and distributed numerous genre films, largely horror, sci-fi and action films. The company has owned the rights to, as well as produced and distributed, the films of several horror franchises, including the Scream films, the Children of the Corn series, the Hellraiser series and the Halloween films, among others. Most films through October 1, 2005, are currently owned by Paramount Pictures via Miramax, while most films since October 1, 2005, are currently owned by Lantern Entertainment and Lionsgate via Spyglass Media Group. In addition to distributing films for theatrical release, Dimension Films also released numerous titles direct-to-video. In 2008, the company introduced the Dimension Extreme division, a DVD label for "extreme" cinema, which mainly consisted of domestic and international horror titles.
This is a list of films produced by and released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner (known as that since 1983, with Never Cry Wolf as its first release) and films released before that under the former name of the parent company, Walt Disney Productions (1929–1983). Most films listed here were distributed theatrically in the United States by the company's distribution division, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Film Distribution Company (1953–1960), Buena Vista Distribution Company (1960–1987) and Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (1987–2007). The Disney features produced before The Living Desert (1953) were originally distributed by United Artists and RKO Radio Pictures, and are now distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Some films produced by Walt Disney Pictures are also released through the parent company's streaming service, Disney+. This list is organized by release date and includes live-action feature films (including theatrical, direct-to-video and streaming releases), animated feature films (including films developed and produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios) and documentary films (including titles from the True-Life Adventures series and films produced by the Disneynature label). For an exclusive list of animated films released by Walt Disney Pictures and its previous entities see List of Disney theatrical animated feature films and List of Disney feature-length home entertainment releases § Animated films. This list is only for films released under the main Disney banner. It does not include films produced or released by other existing, defunct or divested labels or subsidiaries owned by Walt Disney Studios (i.e. Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, National Geographic Documentary Films, Miramax Films, Dimension Films, ESPN Films, etc.) unless they are credited as co-production partners, nor any direct-to-video releases unless they were produced under the main Disney banner, TV films, theatrical re-releases or films originally released by other non-Disney studios. All films listed are theatrical releases and/or American-based films unless specified. A ‡ symbol signifies a direct-to-video or streaming release exclusively through Disney+. A † symbol signifies a premium video on demand release through Disney+. A § symbol signifies a simultaneous release to theatres and on premium video on demand. A * symbol signifies a film not produced in the United States, but rather in another country.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
