Rastar
American film production company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rastar was an American film production company founded in 1966[1] by Hollywood producer Ray Stark, who was involved in most of its productions. Its first film was 1968's Funny Girl.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1966 |
| Founder | Ray Stark |
| Defunct | 2004 |
| Products | Motion pictures Television |
| Parent | Columbia Pictures (1974–2004) |
| Divisions | Rastar Films Rastar Features Rastar Television Rastar Productions |
The company also produced films in the 1970s and 1980s, such as The Owl and the Pussycat, The Way We Were, Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams, Murder by Death, The Goodbye Girl, Seems Like Old Times, Annie and Blue Thunder. The company's most notable films include Steel Magnolias and the Smokey and the Bandit trio of films. 1996's Harriet the Spy and 2000's Alley Cats Strike, a film made for Disney Channel, were two of its last endeavors.
History
In 1966, Ray Stark grew frustrated, left Seven Arts Productions, due to the hatedom of the 10 of the 11 films he was producing,[3] to form an independent production company, Rastar, to produce feature films, stage plays and television shows in the model Seven Arts Productions had.[4] He set up his business at Columbia Pictures in 1966 to form a nearly 30-year partnership.[5] The company produced films based on Neil Simon's plays, as well as star vehicles for Barbara Streisand. The company begin venturing into television in 1969.[6]
In 1974, Rastar was acquired by Columbia Pictures, which included Rastar Productions, Rastar Pictures, Rastar Features, and Rastar Television. Ray Stark then founded Rastar Films, the reincarnation of Rastar Pictures and it was acquired by Columbia Pictures in 1980.[7][8] In 1981, Rastar Television bought out the rights to Robert Ripley's collection Believe It or Not! for Columbia Pictures Television, whhich aired in 1982.[9]
In 1984, Rastar started producing movies for Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia, HBO and CBS. The first films to come out were Peggy Sue Got Married and Nothing in Common.[10] In 1985, it partnered with Ted Turner to produce television movies.[11]
Stark grew sour of its relations with Columbia when David Puttnam was appointed head of Columbia in 1986, but his successor Dawn Steel, who joined the studio in 1987, was more lenient than Puttnam and resumed relations with Rastar.[12] In 1986, Rastar agreed to a distribution deal with Universal Pictures in order to help finance more projects.[13] In late 1986, the company was nearly sold to Hal Roach Studios,[14] but the deal failed in early 1987.[15]
In 1989, Stark teamed up with Daniel Melnick of The IndieProd Company, to form a joint venture production company, Rastar/IndieProd, which was part of Carolco Pictures.[16] The venture was dissolved in 1991.[17] In 1993, the company begin making movies with Savoy Pictures.[18]
In 1996, executives Lawrence Turman and John Morrissey left Rastar to form their independent production company The Turman/Morrisey Company, at Columbia Pictures, with Stark's help.[19] The company closed its operations in 2004 when Ray Stark died.[20]
Productions
Film
1960s
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Budget | Box office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funny Girl | September 18, 1968 | Columbia Pictures | $14.1 million | $58.7 million |
1970s
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Box office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Owl and the Pussycat | November 3, 1970 | Columbia Pictures | N/A | $23.6 million | |
| To Find a Man | January 20, 1972 | N/A | N/A | ||
| Fat City | July 26, 1972 | ||||
| The Way We Were | October 19, 1973 | $5 million | $50 million | ||
| Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams | October 21, 1973 | N/A | N/A | ||
| For Pete's Sake | June 26, 1974 | $4–5 million | $11 million | ||
| Funny Lady | March 12, 1975 | $8.5 million | $40.1 million | ||
| The Sunshine Boys | November 6, 1975 | United Artists | co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | N/A | N/A |
| The Black Bird | December 25, 1975 | Columbia Pictures | |||
| Robin and Marian | March 11, 1976 | ||||
| Murder by Death | June 23, 1976 | $32.5 million | |||
| Smokey and the Bandit | July 29, 1977 | Universal Pictures | $4.3 million | $127 million | |
| The Goodbye Girl | November 30, 1977 | Warner Bros. | co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | N/A | $102 million |
| Casey's Shadow | March 17, 1978 | Columbia Pictures | $8 million | ||
| The Cheap Detective | June 23, 1978 | co-production with EMI Films | $5–6 million | $28.2 million | |
| California Suite | December 22, 1978 | N/A | $42.9 million | ||
| The Villain | July 27, 1979 | $4.5-6 million | $9.8 million | ||
| Hot Stuff | August 10, 1979 | N/A | N/A | ||
| Skatetown, U.S.A. | October 1979 | $2.35 million | |||
| Chapter Two | December 14, 1979 | $9–10 million | $30 million | ||
| The Electric Horseman | December 21, 1979 | Columbia Pictures (U.S. theatrical and television) Universal Pictures (International and home video) |
co-production with Wildwood Enterprises | $12.5 million | $61.8 million |
1980s
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Box office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touched by Love | April 17, 1980 | Columbia Pictures | $2.5 million | N/A | |
| The Hunter | August 1, 1980 | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Mort Engelberg Productions | N/A | $16.3 million |
| Smokey and the Bandit II | August 15, 1980 | Universal Pictures | $17 million | $66.1 million | |
| Somewhere in Time | October 3, 1980 | co-production with Stephen Deutsch Productions | $4 million | $9.7 million | |
| It's My Turn | October 11, 1980 | Columbia Pictures | N/A | $11 million | |
| The Competition | December 3, 1980 | $10.1 million | $14.3 million | ||
| Seems Like Old Times | December 19, 1980 | N/A | $44 million | ||
| Nobody's Perfekt | August 14, 1981 | co-production with Mort Engelberg Productions | N/A | N/A | |
| Only When I Laugh | September 23, 1981 | N/A | $25.5 million | ||
| Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip | March 12, 1982 | $4.5 million | $36.2 million | ||
| Wrong is Right | April 14, 1982 | $10 million | $3.5 million | ||
| Annie | May 21, 1982 | $35 million | $57.1 million | ||
| The Toy | December 10, 1982 | $17 million | $47.1 million | ||
| Blue Thunder | May 13, 1983 | $22 million | $42.3 million | ||
| The Survivors | June 22, 1983 | $15 million | $14 million | ||
| Sylvester | March 15, 1985 | N/A | $385,687 | ||
| The Slugger's Wife | March 29, 1985 | $19 million | $1.3 million | ||
| Violets Are Blue | April 25, 1986 | $10 million | $4.7 million | ||
| Nothing in Common | July 30, 1986 | Tri-Star Pictures | co-production with Delphi Films | $12 million | $32.3 million |
| Peggy Sue Got Married | October 10, 1986 | co-production with American Zoetrope and Delphi V Productions | $18 million | $41.5 million | |
| Where are The Children? | November 15, 1986 | Columbia Pictures | co-production with Braun Entertainment Group and Delphi V Productions | N/A | N/A |
| Brighton Beach Memoirs | December 25, 1986 | Universal Pictures | $18 million | $11.9 million | |
| The Secret of My Success | April 10, 1987 | $12 million | $111 million | ||
| Amazing Grace and Chuck | May 22, 1987 | Tri-Star Pictures | N/A | $5.4 million | |
| Biloxi Blues | March 25, 1988 | Universal Pictures | $17 million | $57.1 million | |
| Steel Magnolias | November 15, 1989 | Tri-Star Pictures | $15 million | $96.8 million |
1990s
| Title | Release date | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Box office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenge | February 16, 1990 | Columbia Pictures (Select territories and home video) New World Pictures (International and streaming) |
$22 million | $26.6 million | |
| White Hunter, Black Heart | September 14, 1990 | Warner Bros. Pictures | $24 million | $2 million | |
| Lost in Yonkers | May 14, 1993 | Columbia Pictures | $15 million | $9 million | |
| Mr. Jones | October 8, 1993 | TriStar Pictures | $25 million | $8.3 million | |
| Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde | August 25, 1995 | Savoy Pictures (United States) Rank Film Distributors (International) |
co-production with Leider-Shapiro Productions and PVM Entertainment | $8 million | $3 million |
| Harriet the Spy | July 10, 1996 | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Nickelodeon Movies | $12 million | $26.6 million |
| To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday | October 18, 1996 | Triumph Films | N/A | $4.1 million | |
| Random Hearts | October 8, 1999 | Columbia Pictures | co-production with Mirage Enterprises | $64 million | $74.6 million |
Television
Television shows
| Title | Years | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripley's Believe It or Not! | 1982–1986 | ABC | co-production with Haley-Lyon Productions and Columbia Pictures Television |
| Blue Thunder | 1984 | co-production with Public Arts, Inc. and Columbia Pictures Television | |
| Nothing in Common | 1987 | NBC | co-production with Tri-Star Television |
| The Hollywood Game | 1992 | CBS | co-production with Pasetta Productions and CBS Entertainment Productions |
Television pilots/movies
| Title | Release date | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cheap Detective | June 3, 1980 | NBC | co-production with Columbia Pictures Television |
| Sixty Years of Seduction | May 4, 1981 | ABC | |
| Lights, Camera, Annie! | March 7, 1982 | PBS | co-production with Kaleidoscope Films and Columbia Pictures |
| Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever | May 28, 1982 | NBC | co-production with MGM Television and Warner Bros. Television |
| A Reason to Live | January 7, 1985 | co-production with Rick Dawn Enterprises and Robert Papazian Productions | |
| Anna Karenina | March 26, 1985 | CBS | co-production with Colgems Productions Limited |
| Once Upon a Texas Train | January 3, 1988 | co-production with Robert Papazian Productions and Brigade Productions | |
| Baja Oklahoma | February 20, 1988 | HBO | co-production with HBO Pictures |
| Steel Magnolias | August 17, 1990 | CBS | co-production with Nikndaph Productions and Columbia Pictures Television |
| Opposites Attract | October 17, 1990 | NBC | co-production with Von Zerneck-Sertner Films and Bar-Gene Productions |
| Barbarians at the Gate | March 20, 1993 | HBO | co-production with HBO Pictures and Columbia Pictures Television |
| Annie: A Royal Adventure! | November 18, 1995 | ABC | co-production with TriStar Television |
| Earthly Possessions | March 20, 1999 | HBO | co-production with HBO Pictures |
| Alley Cats Strike | March 18, 2000 | Disney Channel | co-production with Walt Disney Television |