Goldcrest Films is an independent British distribution, production, post production, and finance company. Operating from London and New York, Goldcrest is a privately owned integrated filmed entertainment company.
Goldcrest Films oversees the production, distribution and marketing of films produced by Goldcrest and third-party acquisition in addition to monetising Goldcrest's library of over 100 titles. Goldcrest Films recent slate includes Slumber, Come and Find Me, Stonewall (directed by Roland Emmerich), BBC's EARTH: One Amazing Day (directed by Peter Webber), and Joe Dante's Labirintus.
History
Goldcrest was founded as Goldcrest Films International by Jake Eberts in January 1977 as a feature film enterprise. As of 1981, the UK National Coal Board Pension Fund was a major stakeholder in this company. and Gandhi in 1982.
After these initial successes the company backed more expensive productions with established Hollywood stars that often ran over schedule and budget culminating in Revolution (1985), The Mission (1986) and Absolute Beginners (1986) that all underperformed at the box office, despite The Mission winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
On June 11, 1985, Goldcrest Films had set up a deal with Japanese financer Nippon Herald to finance pictures for up to $2 million. The company ran into financial difficulties, and eventually seeking bids from UK firms in 1987, which included George Walker, and Hemdale, who had a successful film reputation, were offering bids from the studio, but they turned down each time. After attempted takers, Masterman, which was jointly owned by Brent Walker and Ensign Trust would be shown as a possible buyer for the Goldcrest holdings, of which they outbid various offers from other companies, which included a joint bid of Granada Television, the ITV franchisee, and home video and feature film distributor Virgin Vision, which has been touted among other firms.
Subsidiaries
Pearson Longman established Goldcrest Films and Television in 1981, led by the founder of Goldcrest Films, John Eberts, and chaired by James Lee, chief executive of Pearson Longman.