2929 Entertainment, LLC. is an American integrated media and entertainment company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneurs Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. 2929 maintains companies and interests across several industries including entertainment development and packaging, film and television production and distribution, digital and broadcast syndication, theatrical exhibition, and home entertainment.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Movies, television, home entertainment, home video, movie theaters |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Todd Wagner Mark Cuban |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Todd Wagner (CEO) Schuyler Hansen (Managing Director) |
| Divisions | 2929 Productions Magnolia Pictures Spotlight Cinema Networks Truly Indie AXS TV (co-owner) Rysher Entertainment HDNet Films HDNet Movies |
| Website | 2929entertainment |
2929 Entertainment has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas. Wagner and Cuban co-own 2929 with Sky Hansen serving as managing director.
History
edit2929 Entertainment made several strategic acquisitions to assure that releases could be made available to any audience across a variety of platforms simultaneously. Wagner says that "ready availability of such infrastructure would be an operating advantage to both the circuit and the production company."[1] Some titles would even see DVD releases alongside theatrical openings as early as 2007, through an early partnership with Netflix.[2][needs update]
An extensive catalogue of television and film rights were acquired with Rysher Entertainment in 2001, and 2929 would co-produce a newer version of Star Search which premiered in January 2003 on CBS (the original Star Search aired from 1983 to 1995).
Variety praised 2929 as a "pioneer" for its simultaneous theatrical and cable television release of Steven Soderbergh's Bubble in 2006.[2] Bubble was the first of several films with concurrent releases in theaters and through 2929's cable channel HDNet. At the time, this move was controversial as most films are released in different formats on a staggered schedule, giving each channel an exclusive window. Exhibitors were especially timorous, as many feared that they would eventually lose their exclusive release windows for more mainstream films.[citation needed]
Operations
editProduction companies
edit2929 Entertainment develops original feature and series through its production company 2929 Productions, and formerly through HDNet Films.
2929 Productions, LLC
edit
2929 Productions, LLC. was co-founded by Wagner and Cuban in 2002. The film and television studio selectively finances and develops feature films and series, often through partnerships with industry creators or entertainment companies.[3]
2929 Productions is headed by Haley Jones.[4] Previous studio leadership has included Ben Cosgrove (formerly of Paramount and Section Eight)[5] and Marc Butan (MadRiver Pictures and formerly Lionsgate).
Godsend, Criminal and The Jacket were among of the studio's first projects, with the latter two being co-produced and co-financed with Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's Section Eight Productions. After his work on Godsend, Marc Butan was offered studio head at 2929 leading him to exit an EVP role at Lionsgate.[6]
In 2005, 2929 Productions released Good Night, And Good Luck. with Warner Independent. The film uses a mix of archival footage and contemporary production to tell the story of the famed wartime reporter Edward Murrow (David Strathairn) and his historic "See it Now" broadcast criticizing Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. To mitigate risks that could arise with a black-and-white feature film, Wagner engaged Jeff Skoll and his company Participant Media to produce Good Night, And Good Luck, which grossed over $30 million (USA) and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
| Year | Film | Director | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Searching for Debra Winger | Rosanna Arquette | July 13, 2002 |
| 2004 | Godsend | Nick Hamm | April 30, 2004 |
| Criminal | Gregory Jacobs | September 10, 2004 | |
| 2005 | The Jacket | John Maybury | January 23, 2005 (Sundance Film Festival) March 4, 2005 |
| Good Night, and Good Luck | George Clooney | September 1, 2005 (Venice Film Festival) October 7, 2005 (United States) | |
| 2006 | Akeelah and the Bee | Doug Atchison | March 16, 2006 (Cleveland International Film Festival) April 28, 2006 (United States) |
| Turistas | John Stockwell | December 1, 2006 | |
| Black Christmas | Glen Morgan | December 15, 2006 (United Kingdom) December 19, 2006 (TCL Chinese Theatre) December 25, 2006 (United States) | |
| 2007 | The Ex | Jesse Peretz | May 11, 2007 |
| We Own the Night | James Gray | May 25, 2007 (Cannes Film Festival) October 12, 2007 (United States) | |
| 2008 | The Life Before Her Eyes | Vadim Perelman | September 8, 2007 (Toronto International Film Festival) April 18, 2008 |
| What Just Happened | Barry Levinson | January 19, 2008 (Sundance Film Festival) May 25, 2008 (Cannes) October 17, 2008 (United States) | |
| 2009 | Two Lovers | James Gray | May 19, 2008 (Cannes Film Festival) February 13, 2009 (United States) |
| The Girlfriend Experience | Steven Soderbergh | January 20, 2009 (Sundance Film Festival) May 22, 2009 (United States) | |
| The Burning Plain | Guillermo Arriaga | August 29, 2008 (Venice Film Festival) September 18, 2009 (United States) | |
| The Road | John Hillcoat | September 3, 2009 (Venice Film Festival) September 13, 2009 (Toronto International Film Festival) November 25, 2009 (United States) | |
| 2012 | Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie | Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim | January 20, 2012 (Sundance Film Festival) March 2, 2012 (United States) |
| Deadfall | Stefan Ruzowitzky | April 22, 2012 (Tribeca Film Festival) December 7, 2012 (United States) | |
| 2015 | Serena | Susanne Bier | October 13, 2014 (BFI London Film Festival) November 12, 2014 (France) March 27, 2015 (United States) |
| 2017 | 2:22 | Paul Currie | June 30, 2017 |
| Permanent | Colette Burson | September 30, 2017 (Edmonton International Film Festival) | |
| 2018 | Please Stand By | Ben Lewin | October 27, 2017 (Austin Film Festival) January 26, 2018 (United States) |
| The China Hustle | Jed Rothstein | March 20, 2018 | |
| 2023 | The League | Sam Pollard | June 12, 2023 (Tribeca Festival) July 12, 2023 (United States) |
HDNet Films
editHDNet Films, the motion picture division of the HDNet network (now AXS TV), produced lower budget movies in high definition.
| Year | Film | Director | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room | Alex Gibney | April 22, 2005 |
| The War Within | Joseph Castelo | September 30, 2005 | |
| 2006 | Bubble | Steven Soderbergh | September 3, 2005 (Venice Film Festival)/January 27, 2006 (United States) |
| S&Man | J. T. Petty | March 10, 2006 (SXSW Film Festival) | |
| Herbie Hancock: Possibilities | Doug Biro & Jon Fine | April 4, 2006 | |
| One Last Thing... | Alex Steyermark | September 12, 2005 (TIFF)/May 5, 2006 (United States) | |
| The Architect | Matt Tauber | April 26, 2006 | |
| 2007 | Diggers | Katherine Dieckmann | March 30, 2007 (USA) |
| Fay Grim | Hal Hartley | September 11, 2006 (TIFF)/May 18, 2007 (United States) | |
| Broken English | Zoe Cassavetes | January 20, 2007 (Sundance)/June 22, 2007 (United States) | |
| Mr. Untouchable | Marc Levin | October 26, 2007 | |
| Redacted | Brian De Palma | August 31, 2007 (Venice Film Festival)/November 16, 2007 (United States) | |
| 2008 | Surfwise | Doug Pray | September 11, 2007 (TIFF)/May 9, 2008 (USA) |
| Quid Pro Quo | Carlos Brooks | June 13, 2008 | |
| Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson | Alex Gibney | January 20, 2008 (Sundance) | |
| 2009 | American Swing | Jon Hart & Mathew Kaufman | September 5, 2008 (TIFF)/March 27, 2009 (USA) |
| 2010 | And Everything Is Going Fine | Steven Soderbergh | January 23, 2010 (Slamdance) |
| 2011 | Rejoice and Shout (Documentary) | Don McGlynn | June 3, 2011 |
Distribution
editOriginally formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, Magnolia Pictures is the home entertainment and theatrical distribution subsidiary of 2929. In November 2005 the company created Magnolia Home Entertainment to release its films over home video, with its first release being Alex Gibney's acclaimed doc, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.[7] It is headed by entertainment industry vet and former head of home entertainment for Miramax, Randy Wells. Magnolia Pictures also provides its content through a curated streaming service, Magnolia Selects.
2929 also launched Truly Indie, an "innovative distribution program" for independent filmmakers.
Television
edit2929 holds a significant interest in AXS TV, which Cuban originally co-founded in 2001 as the all-high definition cable channel HDNet (through AXS TV LLC, formerly HDNet, LLC). HDNet Movies, a companion channel, shows movies in high definition. 2929 also owned Rysher Entertainment, a television syndication distributor with an extensive library of titles and syndication rights to TV shows like Hogan's Heroes, Sex and the City and Star Search.[6] Rysher was later acquired by an investment company through Lakeshore Entertainment.
Former operations
editTheatrical exhibition
edit2929 acquired Landmark Theatres September 24, 2003. The chain was originally founded by Kim Jorgensen in 1974 and specialized in independent and foreign films.[8] On December 4, 2018 the announcement was made that Landmark Theatres was sold to the Cohen Media Group, "a buyer who is passionate about independent cinema and who truly understands this market."[9]
2929 maintains an interest in Spotlight Cinema Networks, a cinema advertising company.
References
edit- ^ DiOrio, Carl (2003-09-24). "Wagner, Cuban buy Landmark circuit". Variety. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
- ^ a b Mohr, Ian (2007-04-06). "Independent windows shrinking". Variety. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
- ^ "About Us - 2929 Entertainment - 2929 Productions". Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "Haley Jones | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ Gardner, Chris; McClintock, Pamela (2006-02-10). "Par plucks Cosgrove". Variety. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
- ^ a b Fleming, Michael (2004-02-17). "Butan new bigwig at 2929 Prods". Variety. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
- ^ Brooks, Brian (2005-11-05). "Magnolia Pictures Launches Home Entertainment Division". IndieWire. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ "Mark Cuban's Landmark Theatres Hit With Antitrust Lawsuit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2018-12-04). "Cohen Media Group Acquires Landmark Theatres From Wagner/Cuban Companies". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-01-09.