MAJOR STATUS, INDEPENDENT SPIRIT The history of Orion Pictures (1978-1992)

• Published in: New review of film and television studies Vol. 2; no. 1; pp. 87 - 135
• Main Author: Tzioumakis, Yannis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01-05-2004
• ISSN: 1740-0309; 1740-7923
• DOI: 10.1080/17400300410001679115

This paper attempts to construct a comprehensive history of Orion Pictures, a film production and distribution company that left an indelible mark on the 1980s before being driven out of business in 1992. It is my intention to focus primarily on the conduct of business and the financial organisation of the company in order to demonstrate how a series of decisions within the context of contemporary Hollywood (the 'New Hollywood' as it is often called) first created and then destroyed a major company that had once been hailed by critics 'a sanctuary for creative filmmakers' and journalists alike. The increasingly vast literature focusing on the New Hollywood has largely overlooked a company such as Orion Pictures. Studies of American cinema have examined all the major and several smaller studios at various times in their history and from different perspectives to such an extent that the absence of research interest in Orion Pictures suggests a considerable void in our understanding of the Hollywood industry, especially during the 1980s.
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For that reason, this paper attempts to construct that history, or at least the first 14 years (1978-92), when the company was an active producer and distributor of motion pictures, before it went bankrupt in December 1991 and its status changed in fundamental ways.