The company was founded in Chicago in 1980 as Chicago Teleproductions and later moved the company's headquarters to Los Angeles, California and renamed as CineTel Films in 1983.[1][2] Paul Hertzberg founded CineTel Films.[3][4] CineTel put the first direct-to-video film into production on November 30, 1983, which was released in 1984 as E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind.[5]