De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
| Industry | Film studio |
|---|---|
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, North Carolina |
Key people | Dino De Laurentiis |
| Products | Motion pictures |
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) was an entertainment production company and distribution unit founded by Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis. The company is notable for producing Manhunter, Blue Velvet, the horror films Near Dark and Evil Dead II, King Kong Lives (the sequel to De Laurentiis' remake of King Kong), and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, as well as distributing Transformers: The Movie.
The company's main studios were located in Wilmington, North Carolina, which is now EUE/Screen Gems Studios. The studio's first releases were in 1986. It went bankrupt two years later after Million Dollar Mystery, among other films, failed at the box office.
History
In 1983, Dino De Laurentiis produced Firestarter in Wilmington. The governor of North Carolina, James Hunt, claimed that the filming increased economic activity in the state. Hunt used incentives and loans to allow De Laurentiis to buy a local warehouse to convert into a studio. In early 1984, De Laurentiis founded the North Carolina Film Corporation, with Martha Schumacher as president.
In 1985, DEG acquired Embassy Pictures from The Coca-Cola Company.[1]
Films released
| Release Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| June 6, 1986 | Raw Deal | |
| June 20, 1986 | My Little Pony: The Movie | |
| July 25, 1986 | Maximum Overdrive | |
| August 8, 1986 | The Transformers: The Movie | |
| August 15, 1986 | Manhunter | |
| September 19, 1986 | Blue Velvet | |
| Radioactive Dreams | ||
| October 24, 1986 | Trick or Treat | |
| November 7, 1986 | Tai-Pan | |
| November 21, 1986 | Body Slam | |
| December 12, 1986 | Crimes of the Heart | |
| December 19, 1986 | King Kong Lives | |
| January 30, 1987 | The Bedroom Window | |
| February 6, 1987 | From The Hip | |
| March 13, 1987 | Evil Dead II | |
| June 12, 1987 | Million Dollar Mystery | |
| October 2, 1987 | Near Dark | |
| October 16, 1987 | Weeds | |
| November 6, 1987 | Hiding Out | |
| November 20, 1987 | Date with an Angel | |
| December 4, 1987 | The Trouble with Spies | |
| May 6, 1988 | Shakedown | released by Universal Pictures in U.S. |
| May 13, 1988 | Illegally Yours | released by United Artists in U.S. |
| August 17, 1988 | Traxx | direct-to-video in U.S. |
| October 14, 1988 | Pumpkinhead | released by United Artists in U.S., although DEG did distribute the film outside of North America. |
| October 21, 1988 | Tapeheads | released by Avenue Pictures in U.S. |
| October 1988 | Dracula's Widow | direct-to-video in U.S. |
| February 17, 1989 | Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure | released by Orion Pictures in U.S. |
| May 12, 1989 | Earth Girls Are Easy | released by Vestron Pictures in U.S |
| April 1992 | Collision Course | direct-to-video in U.S. |
| October 30, 1992 | Rampage | released by Miramax Films in U.S. |
| October 24, 2000 | Cobra Verde | direct-to-video in U.S. |
Canadian distribution of DEG releases were done by Paramount Pictures.
DEG had an early version of Total Recall in pre-production with Patrick Swayze as Quaid and Bruce Beresford to direct (David Cronenberg had also been approached), where it was to have been shot in Australia. After DEG's bankruptcy, the film went in turnaround to Carolco Pictures.[2]
Along with the Embassy Pictures library, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group's library has since then gone to StudioCanal.
References
- ↑ Friendly, David T. (16 November 1985). "De Laurentiis Rejoins The Ranks--at Embassy". Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ↑ Hammer, Joshua (8 March 1992). "Total Free Fall". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 April 2015.