Silver Screen Partners
American entertainment partnership
Silver Screen Partners L.P. Company type Limited Partnership Founded June 8, 1983; 41 years ago (1983-06-08 ) [ 1] Founder Roland W. Betts Defunct 1992; 32 years ago (1992 ) Fate Dissolved Successor Touchwood Pacific Partners Total equity
Partners: $83 million
Partners II: $193 million
Partners III: $300 million
Partners IV:
Owner Divisions
Silver Screen Partners, L.P.
Silver Screen Partners II, L.P.
Silver Screen Partners III, L.P.
Silver Screen Partners IV, L.P.
Silver Screen Partners refers to four limited partnerships [ a] organized as an alternative funding source for film production originally formed by American investor Roland W. Betts as a collaboration with cable television network HBO in 1983. The managing general partner for the partnerships was Silver Screen Management, Inc.[ 2]
Silver Screen Partners entered into an agreement with The Walt Disney Company beginning in 1985 to collaborate with the Walt Disney Pictures , Walt Disney Feature Animation , Touchstone Pictures , and Hollywood Pictures studios to produce works such as The Great Mouse Detective ; Return to Oz ; The Black Cauldron ; Volunteers ; Down and Out in Beverly Hills ; Three Men and a Baby ; Good Morning, Vietnam ; Cocktail ; Oliver & Company ; Dead Poets Society ; Who Framed Roger Rabbit ; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ; Turner & Hooch ; The Little Mermaid ; Pretty Woman ; Dick Tracy ; The Rescuers Down Under ; Beauty and the Beast ; and Encino Man . Despite a string of successful films, Silver Screen Partners became defunct in 1992.
Former U.S. President George W. Bush was a member of Silver Screen Management, Inc.'s board of directors from 1983 to 1993. When Bush first ran for president in 2000 , his membership on the board was scrutinized by the media over his attacks on Hollywood 's perceived "pervasiveness of violence", particularly regarding the financing of the cult thriller film The Hitcher .[ 3]
History
The original Silver Screen Partners L.P. was organized by New York film investment broker Roland W. Betts to fund movies for HBO on April 19, 1983, and officially formed in Delaware on June 8 of that year.[ 1] The limited partnerships (13,000) sold through EF Hutton were oversubscribed and raised $83 million. HBO made a 50 percent guarantee on their investment for exclusive cable rights. Another 40% was guaranteed by Thorn EMI , a British firm, for foreign distribution and foreign TV and videocassette markets. Additional income was lined up for domestic videocassette sales.[ 4] HBO's film division was just starting out so film output was slow.[ 5] For the Silver Screen/HBO films, the partnership was active in the process from selecting film pitches and negotiating release dates with the distributor. In 1984, the first HBO/Silver Screen movie, Flashpoint , was released through TriStar Pictures as were all the HBO/Silver Screen films.[ 4]
Silver Screen Partners II, L.P. began financing films for The Walt Disney Company in 1985 with $193 million[ 6] from 20,000 limited partners. Silver Screen was hands-off with Disney given its name and new management team led by Michael Eisner , formerly at Paramount. HBO was expecting that Silver Screen would return to them for its third limited partnership.[ 4] However, in January 1987, Silver Screen Partners III began financing movies for Disney with $300 million raised, the largest amount raised for a film financing limited partnership by EF Hutton.[ 6]
Silver Screen's fourth limited partnership, Silver Screen Partners IV, was also set up to finance Disney's studios. On October 23, 1990, The Walt Disney Company formed Touchwood Pacific Partners which supplanted the Silver Screen Partnership series as their movie studios' primary source of funding.[ 7]
In 1991, Silver Screen Partners III, L.P. was among a group of production companies were sued for copyright infringement over Who Framed Roger Rabbit ' s "End Title" song.[ 8]
Structure
The partnerships paid for the movie's production costs and shared in the gross dollars in all markets from theater to television. Limited partners received their return before the production company could defray any of their expenses. This is preferred by investors as it guarantees some return if the film fails or has budget overrun and from the producer's overhead. Profits from a single film cannot be used to cover losses on other films, making the partnership somewhat risky.[ 5]
List of notable Silver Screen Partners films
Title
Release Date
Co-Production with
Budget
Gross
Footloose
February 17, 1984
Paramount Pictures
Flashpoint
August 31, 1984
HBO Films
Heaven Help Us
February 8, 1985
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend
March 22, 1985
Touchstone Pictures
$14,972,297
Return to Oz
June 21, 1985
Walt Disney Pictures
$25,000,000
$11,137,801
The Black Cauldron
July 24, 1985
Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Productions
$21,288,692
My Science Project
August 9, 1985
Touchstone Pictures
$4,122,748
Volunteers
August 16, 1985
HBO Films
The Journey of Natty Gann
September 27, 1985
Walt Disney Pictures
N/A
$9,708,373
Sweet Dreams
October 2, 1985
HBO Films
One Magic Christmas
November 22, 1985
Walt Disney Pictures
N/A
$13,677,222
Head Office
January 3, 1986
HBO Films
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
January 31, 1986
Touchstone Pictures
$14 million
$91,411,255
The Hitcher
February 21, 1986
HBO Films
Odd Jobs
March, 1986
Off Beat
April 11, 1986
Touchstone Pictures
$4,117,061
Ruthless People
June 27, 1986
$71,233,101
The Great Mouse Detective
July 2, 1986
Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Feature Animation
$14 million
$38,625,550
Tough Guys
October 3, 1986
Touchstone Pictures
$18 million
$21,458,229
The Color of Money
October 17, 1986
$13,800,000
$76,728,982
Outrageous Fortune
January 30, 1987
$25 million
$65,864,741
Tin Men
March 6, 1987
$11,000,000
$25,411,386
Ernest Goes to Camp
May 22, 1987
$3,500,000
$23,509,382
Benji the Hunted
June 17, 1987
Walt Disney Pictures and Mulberry Square Productions
$22,257,624
Adventures in Babysitting
July 1, 1987
Touchstone Pictures
$7 million
$34,368,475
Stakeout
August 5, 1987
$28,215,000
$65,673,233
Can't Buy Me Love
August 14, 1987
Touchstone Pictures and The Mount Company
$31,623,833
Hello Again
November 6, 1987
Touchstone Pictures
$20,419,446
Three Men and a Baby
November 25, 1987
$15 million
$167,780,960
Good Morning, Vietnam
December 23, 1987
$13 million
$123,922,370
Shoot to Kill
February 12, 1988
$29,300,090
D.O.A.
March 18, 1988
$3.5 million
$12,706,478
Return to Snowy River
April 15, 1988
Walt Disney Pictures , Burrowes Film Group and Hoyts Film Partnership
$13,687,027
Big Business
June 10, 1988
Touchstone Pictures
$20 million
$40,150,487
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
June 22, 1988
Touchstone Pictures and Amblin Entertainment
$50,587,000
$329,803,958
Cocktail
July 29, 1988
Touchstone Pictures and Interscope Communications
$6,000,000
$171,504,781
The Rescue
August 5, 1988
Touchstone Pictures
$5,855,392
Heartbreak Hotel
September 30, 1988
$5,509,417
The Good Mother
November 4, 1988
$14 million
$4,764,606
Ernest Saves Christmas
November 11, 1988
$6,000,000 (estimate)
$28,202,109
Oliver & Company
November 18, 1988
Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Feature Animation
$74,151,346
Beaches
December 21, 1988
Touchstone Pictures and All Girl Productions
$57,041,866
Three Fugitives
January 27, 1989
Touchstone Pictures
$15,000,000
$40,586,886
Disorganized Crime
April 14, 1989
Touchstone Pictures and Kouf/Bigelow Productions
$20 million
$7,724,000
Dead Poets Society
June 9, 1989
Touchstone Pictures
$16.4 million
$235,860,116
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
June 23, 1989
Walt Disney Pictures
$18 million
$222,724,172
Turner & Hooch
July 28, 1989
Touchstone Pictures
$42 million
$71,079,915
Cheetah
August 18, 1989
Walt Disney Pictures
$5 million
$8,153,677
An Innocent Man
October 6, 1989
Touchstone Pictures and Sandollar Productions
$20,047,604
Gross Anatomy
October 20, 1989
Touchstone Pictures
$25 million
$11,604,598
The Little Mermaid
November 17, 1989
Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Feature Animation
$40 million
$211,343,479
Blaze
December 13, 1989
Touchstone Pictures
$18 million
$19,131,246
Where the Heart Is
February 23, 1990
$22 million
$1,106,475
Pretty Woman
March 23, 1990
$14 million
$463,407,268
Ernest Goes to Jail
April 6, 1990
$9,000,000
$25,029,569
Spaced Invaders
April 27, 1990
$5,000,000
$15,369,573
Fire Birds
May 25, 1990
$14,760,451
Dick Tracy
June 15, 1990
$46 million
$162,738,726
Betsy's Wedding
June 22, 1990
$36 million
$19,740,070
Taking Care of Business
August 17, 1990
Hollywood Pictures
$14 million
$20,005,435
Mr. Destiny
October 12, 1990
Touchstone Pictures
$19 million
$15,379,253
The Rescuers Down Under
November 16, 1990
Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Feature Animation
$27,931,461
Three Men and a Little Lady
November 21, 1990
Touchstone Pictures
$71,609,321
Green Card
December 23, 1990
$29,888,235
White Fang
January 18, 1991
Walt Disney Pictures and Hybrid Productions Inc.
$14 million
$34,793,160
Run
February 1, 1991
Hollywood Pictures
$4,409,328
Scenes from a Mall
February 22, 1991
Touchstone Pictures
$3 million
$9,563,393
The Marrying Man
April 5, 1991
Hollywood Pictures
$26 million
$12,454,768
Oscar
April 26, 1991
Touchstone Pictures
$35 million
$23,562,716
One Good Cop
May 3, 1991
Hollywood Pictures
$11,276,846
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken
May 24, 1991
Walt Disney Pictures and Pegasus Entertainment
$7,294,835
The Rocketeer
June 21, 1991
Walt Disney Pictures , Touchstone Pictures and The Gordon Company
$42,000,000
$62,000,000
The Doctor
July 24, 1991
Touchstone Pictures
$24 million
$38,120,905
V.I. Warshawski
July 26, 1991
Hollywood Pictures
$11,128,309
True Identity
August 23, 1991
Touchstone Pictures
$15 million
$4,693,236
Deceived
September 27, 1991
$30 million
$28,738,096
Ernest Scared Stupid
October 11, 1991
$9,600,000
$14,143,280
Beauty and the Beast
November 22, 1991
Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Feature Animation
$25 million
$418,460,691
Blame It on the Bellboy
March 6, 1992
Hollywood Pictures
$3,104,545
Newsies
April 10, 1992
Walt Disney Pictures
$15 million
$2,819,485
Encino Man
May 22, 1992
Hollywood Pictures
$7 million
$40.7 million
Notes
^ Silver Screen Partners, Silver Screen Partners II, Silver Screen Partners III, and Silver Screen Partners IV
References
^ a b "Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934" . SEC.gov . U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . March 29, 1996. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2022 .
^ "Form 15 - Silver Screen Partners, L.P." SEC.gov . U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . December 29, 1998. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2012 .
^ "Bush Has a Tie to Media 'Depravity' " . Los Angeles Times . Associated Press . September 15, 2000. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2012 .
^ a b c Mathews, Jack (September 20, 1985). "HBO, Disney Take Betts at Fun Odds" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved July 18, 2012 .
^ a b Fabrikant, Geraldine (September 11, 1990). "Market Place; Silver Screen's Tie with Disney" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2012 .
^ a b "Briefly: E. F. Hutton Raised $300 Million for Disney" . Los Angeles Times . February 3, 1987. Archived from the original on 2014-05-03. Retrieved July 18, 2012 .
^ "Disney, Japan Investors Join in Partnership : Movies: Group Will Become Main Source of Finance for All Live-Action Films at the Company's Three Studios" . Los Angeles Times . Associated Press . October 23, 1990. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved July 18, 2012 .
^ "A Selected Summary of Southern California-Related Business Litigation Developments During the Past Week" . Los Angeles Times . United Press International . February 25, 1991. Archived from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved July 18, 2012 .
External links