CBS Films

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Jessica Breslow

By Jessica Breslow

Courtesy of CBS Films [a]

CBS Films
11800 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 575-7000
www.cbsfilms.com

Brief History

CBS Films, operating as a subsidiary of CBS Corporations, was founded only 7 years ago in 2007. Despite being new on the block in a tough industry, CBS Films has successfully made noise in several markets with releases like, “Las Vegas,” “The Woman in Black,” and “The Back Up Plan.” They plan to continue making noise by releasing approximately 4-6 films a year by self-distributing in the US while their partners oversee global distribution. CBS Film’s commitment to managing the development, financing, production, and marketing of low budget, experimental, and quality motion pictures of various genres is what makes them unique as a middle ground in the industry. [1] [2] [3]

Key Executives

Wolfgang Hammer (Co-President) [b]

Terry Press (Co-President) [c]

Steven Friedlander
(Executive Vice President, Theatrical Distribution) [d]

Reid Sullivan
(Chief Financial Officer) [e]

Rik Toulon
(Executive Vice President & General Counsel) [f]

Maria Faillace
(Executive Vice President, Production) [g]

For more information about the Key Executives, click here [1].

Financials

CBS Films is not a publicly traded company; therefore, there is no financial information available. However, according to Box Office Mojo, one can understand that CBS Films has the potential to be competitive among the major film companies in the future if it continues its current pattern.

CBS Films – Rankings
Courtesy of Box Office Mojo [h]

The studio got off to a rough start with its first project, “Extraordinary Measures.” The film had a production budget of $31 million dollars, and unfortunately led the company to a major loss since the film’s worldwide total gross was only $15,134,293. Fortunately, the studio’s second film “The Back Up Plan,” was a huge success, and produced a worldwide total gross of $77,477,007. With a $35 million dollar production budget, “The Back Up Plan,” was not only able to recoup the film’s production budget, but also was able to recoup “Extraordinary Measures” major loss all while still making the company roughly $26 million in profit.

“Las Vegas” Total Lifetime Grosses
Courtesy of Box Office Mojo [i]

To date, every film that CBS Films has distributed has made some profit besides “Extraordinary Measures.” In fact, the company’s most successful film to date “Las Vegas” proves that CBS Films is moving forward. “Las Vegas” had a production budget of $28 million dollars, and earned a worldwide total gross of $134,402,450 (see photo right). These observations allow one to assume that the company is comfortable financially. [4] [5] [6]

News

Clif Prowse (R), Derek Lee (L)
Courtesy of www.images.moviepilot-cdn.com [j]

CBS Film’s “Afflicted,” which was released on April 4, 2014, is currently playing in limited theaters and is available on demand at iTunes, Amazon, VUDU, Google Play, Time Warner, and XBOX in addition to other Video On Demand services. As of April 11, 2014, “Afflicted” is being shown in 34 theaters, which is down ten theaters from its original release date. According to Box Office Mojo, as of April 13, 2014, the film has earned a domestic total of $121,179. The Canadian Film Lottery and the hundred thousand dollars Co-Directors Derek Lee and Cliff Prowse devoted their time to raising funded “Afflicted.” To save on production costs further, the Co-Directors starred as themselves in the movie out of necessity, and they complied their friends, families, and relatives to be the actors as a pay-free route to ensure their budget was kept low.

Derek Lee (L), Clif Prowse (R)
Courtesy of www.laimyours.com [k]

Remarkably, Derek and Cliff have been friends since they were 15 and pimpled-faced. They started this found-footage horror film project in 2011 after working on 4 shorts together. The idea for the film was the result of what they thought would best display their skillsets. Originally, they envisioned creating an action film; however, they lacked the funding to do so with quality. As a plan B, the duo created what evolved into the vampire point of view documentary in theaters today. With only four filmmakers and a small crew of ten, scenes were shot guerilla style in Paris, Italy, and Spain using a Cannon 5D Mark II and a Go Pro. The Director of Photography was equipped with only a single lighting pack due to budget; therefore, natural lighting was forcibly essential. Budget, however, did allow for Visual Effects Company Imagine Engine to be brought on as a producer to ensure the scenes requiring special effects were brought to life. These scenes demanded an abundance of patience and luck to achieve a realistic effect since the scenes lacked certain resources that typically would have been needed.

Derek Lee as Derek Lee
Courtesy of www.images.moviepilot-cdn.com [l]

After years of hard work and obstacles, “Afflicted” was screened to distributors. A low seven figures and additional money for improving production later, CBS Films attained a deal with the duo to polish and complete the film. With CBS Film’s support, the film became commercial and competitive after a month of reshooting. “Afflicted” started to gain real momentum after being well received at the Toronto International Film Festival and Austin’s Fantastic Fest. In Toronto, “Afflicted” was awarded “Best Canadian First Feature Film,” and in Austin, the movie was awarded “Best Picture (Horror),” “Best Screenplay (Horror)”, and “Best Director (Horror).” In addition, according to IndieWire, “Afflicted” is on the Top 10 indies to watch On Demand for April. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Derek Lee as Derek Lee
Courtesy of CBS Films [m]

Brief Synopsis: Derek and Cliff, two best friends, set out to travel the world for a year, but to their surprise the trip goes terribly wrong after Derek spends a night with a beautiful woman. After Derek’s encounter with this woman, his body goes though inhuman and uncontrollable changes. Cliff was originally documenting the entire trip for his travel blog, but the footage ends up capturing how the trip takes a dark turn instead. [12]

Watch Afflicted Trailer [n] (YouTube)

CBS Films is keeping an eye on the films that receive major buzz from festivals; there is talk that CBS Films might have plans to continue pursuing deals like this in the future if it “Afflicted” proves to be a beneficial investment. The power of this buzz serves as free advertising and generates a strong word of mouth presence that is typically not the easiest achieve. [8]

Coming Soon

“The F Word” recently retitled “What If” will hit US theaters in August 2014. In September, “What If” made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Two and a half million dollars later, CBS Films attained the US rights for this project. “What If” will be released on August 1^st in NY and LA theaters, and will be accompanied by Disney’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy” and James Brown’s “Get Up On It.” CBS Films plans to expand markets for “What If” following the first weekend. [13]

Zoe Kazan (L), Daniel Radcliffe (R)
Courtesy of CBS Films [o]

Director:
Michael Dowse

Writer:
Elan Mastai

Stars:
Daniel Radcliffe
Zoe Kazan
Adam Driver
Mackenzie Davis
Megan Park
Oona Chaplin

Producers:
David Gross
Jesse Shapira
Jeff Arkuss
Macdara Kelleher
Andre Rouleau

[14]

Sources:

[1] CBS Films – About, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[2] Company Overview – Bloomberg Businessweek, investing.businessweek.com, RT: 4/13/14

[3] LA Times – Prime time for CBS movie bet?, articles.latimes.com, Claudia Eller & Amy Kaufman,1/11/10, RT: 4/13/14

[4] Box Office Mojo – “Extraordinary Measures”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[5] Box Office Mojo – “The Back Up Plan”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[6] Box Office Mojo – “Las Vegas”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[7] The Horror: Afflicted LA Premiere At Hollywood Horrorfest, laimyours.com, Jonatha Bilski, 3/31/14, RT: 4/13/14

[8] Fantastic Fest: CBS Films May Have a Sleeper Hit in Low-Budget Horror Movie ‘Afflicted’, thewrap.com, Jeff Sneider, 9/20/13, RT: 4/13/14

[9] The Hollywood Reporter – Afflicted: Film Review, hollywoodreporter.com, Frank Scheck, 4/3/2014, RT: 4/13/14

[10] The 10 Indies to Watch on VOD This April: ‘Joe,’ ‘Blue Ruin,’ ‘Filth’ and More, indiewire.com, 4/2/14, RT: 4/13/14

[11] IMDb Page for Film “Afflicted”, IMDb.com, RT: 4/13/14

[12] CBS Films – Afflicted, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[13] Daniel Radcliffe’s ‘The F Word’ Re-titled ‘What If,’ Set for Aug. 1 Release, variety.com, Dave McNary, 3/14/14, RT: 4/13/14

[14] CBS Films – What If, cbsfims.com, RT: 4/13/14

Multimedia Sources:

[a] CBS Film’s Logo, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[b] Photo of Wolfgang Hammer, 5dinstitute.org, RT: 4/13/14

[c] Photo of Terry Press, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 4/13/14

[d] Photo of Steven Friedlander, pokerpages.com, RT: 4/13/14

[e] Photo of Reid Sullivan, cbsexpress.com, RT: 4/13/14

[f] Photo of Rik Toulon, cbsexpress.com, RT: 4/13/14

[g] Photo of Maria Faillace, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 4/13/14

[h] CBS Films – Rankings, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[i] “Las Vegas” Total Lifetime Grosses, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[j] Photo 1 of Co-Directors, images.moviepilot-cdn.com, RT: 4/13/14

[k] Photo 2 of Co-Directors, laimyours.com, RT: 4/13/14

[l] Photo 1 of Derek Lee, images.moviepilot-cdn.com, RT: 4/13/14

[m] Photo 2 of Derek Lee, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[n] Afflicted Trailer, youtube.com, RT: 4/13/14

[o] Photo of Zoe and Daniel, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

CBS Films

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Anjela Latcheva

by Anjela Latcheva

Official Logo of CBS Films

11800 Wilshire Blvd

Los Angeles, California 90025

Telephone: (310) 575-7000

www.cbsfilms.com

About

CBS films is an American studio that handles the development, financing, marketing and production of motion pictures [1]. CBS films is a division of the CBS Corporation. Established in 2007, CBS Films has released nine motion pictures to date. CBS Films also plans to release about four to six movies a year including a variety of genres that will be distributed globally as well as in the United States.

Background

CBS Films originally shortly made an appearance in 1979 under the name CBS Theatrical Films. When CBS Corporation launched the new theatrical films division it was in a joint venture with Columbia Pictures and HBO called Tri-Star Pictures. CBS eventually dropped out of the venture in 1985 and CBS Theatrical Films ended its existence.

However, CBS was bought by Viacom in 2000, which also owned Paramount Pictures at that time. In March 2007, when Viacom and Paramount announced their split, CBS Corporation decided to launch CBS Films. This division was originally created to make content for CBS’s cable movie channel.

CBS Corporation then signed with SONY Pictures for a three year deal where they agreed to distribute internationally. The studio released its first film Extraordinary Measures on January 22, 2012. CBS then released its second film, the romantic comedy The Back Up Plan was released in April 2010. The divisions third release was a movie opening for the Thanksgiving Day weekend, Faster, featuring Dwayne Johnson made $12 million at the box office to start.

After the release of five films and grossing over $30 million, CBS Films’ revenue was lower than expected. CBS decided to freeze their film production for now and decided to plan on acquiring films at film festivals such as the Sundance festival. Management also changed in April 2012 which is predicted to provide interesting changes for CBS FIlms.

The pay-cable rights to the new CBS Films’ titles are held by CBS’s premium cable network SHOWTIME. SONY Pictures also has international theatrical rights as well as home entertainment distribution rights for the many CBS Films titles [1].

CBS Films: The Principles

Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Wolfgang Hammer

Co-President of CBS Films. He manages business, finance, legal affairs, and acquisitions for CBS Films [1]. Before working at CBS FIlms, Hammer was Executive Vice President of the Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate. He studied at the University of Vienna Law school and earned his master’s at Stanford University.

Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Terry Press

Co-President of CBS Films. She oversees creative, distribution, marketing and physical production for CBS Films [1].

Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Steven Friedlander

Executive Vice President, Theatrical Distribution for CBS Films. He manages the domestic theatrical acquisitions and distribution [1].

Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Ried Sullivan

Chief Financial Officer for CBS Films.

Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Rik Toulon

Executive Vice President and General Counsel of CBS Films. He manages all legal activities for the company and performs certain business functions in connection with the company’s distribution, finance, acquisition, key vendor and strategic alliance arrangements [1].

Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Maria Faillace

The Executive Vice President of Production for CBS Films. She manages production for the divisions home grown titles [1].

SOCIAL MEDIA

Like Their Page!- Facebook

Tweet CBS Films – Twitter

Check out Latest News –Tumblr

Past Releases

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Extraordinary Measures – Co-produced with Double Feature Films. Gross: $15,134,168

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

The Back-Up Plan -Co-produced with Escape Artists. Gross: $77,477,008

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Official Website: Faster – Co-produced with Tri-Star Pictures. Gross: $35,542,923

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Official Website: The Mechanic – Co-produced with Millennium Films. Gross: $51,070,807

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Beastly -Gross: $28,834,009

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Official Website: The Woman in Black – Co-produced with Alliance Films. Gross: $127,730,736

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Official Website: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – Co-produced with Lionsgate. Gross: $34,564,651. Nominated for three golden globe awards including best picture [5]! Acquiring this film was a huge step for CBS Films, starring Emily Blunt alongside Oscar Nominee Kristen Scott Thomas this film was popular amongst many.

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Official Website: The Words – Co-produced with Animus Films. Gross: $13,231,461

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Official Website: Seven Psychopaths – Co-produced with Blueprint Pictures. Gross: $23,492,318. Voted best Ensemble Cast by The Boston Society of FIlm Critics [5] !

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Official Website: The Last Exorcism: Part II

Future Releases

The Kings of Summer

The official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. This coming of age comedy, previously known as Toy’s House, will be in theaters May 31st 2013. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Robert and written by Chris Galletta, this film follows three friends as they decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land [4]. Watch the trailer here!

7500

From the director of The Grudge, this Sci-Fi thriller is about a group of passengers that encounter what appears to be a supernatural force while on a transpacific flight. Directed by Takashi Shimizu, Flight 7500 was originally scheduled to be released in August 2012 but has been delayed until sometime in 2013. 7500’s cast includes Ryan Kwanten, Jerry Ferrara, and Amy Smart [4]. Watch the trailer here!

The-To-Do-List

Directed and written by Maggie Carey, this comedic film is about a girl’s list of things to accomplish before hitting college campus in the fall. The film follows her experience and exploits the pressure to become more sexually experienced during high school. The To-Do list cast includes Rachel Bilson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse from Superbad, and Connie Britton from ABC’s Nashville [4]. Watch the trailer here!

Last Vegas

Another comedy schedules to be released in December 2013, this film is about three friends in their mid thirties who decide to take a break from their day-to-day lives and throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single bud. An amazing famous cast including Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, and Jerry Ferrara [4].

courtesy of entertainment weekly

Inside Llewyn Davis

CBS Films announced that it has acquired the US rights to Inside Llewyn Davis which is written and directed by academy award winners Joel and Ethan Coen. The film follows an aspiring singer-songwriter as he navigates in the 1960’s folk-music scene in New York City. Cast includes Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan and John Goodman. Sneak Peak of the trailer below!

Inside Llewyn Davis trailer

What’s Next for CBS Films?

Being that CBS Films is a relatively young and upcoming division, it has been doing extraordinary well at the box office. I predict we will be seeing more of CBS Films since CBS Films recently announced that they had acquired the rights to the movie Inside Llewyn Davis, this just might be an enormous breakthrough for CBS Films. The movie’s directors have made it to the festival in previous years and have actually had some success. There is word from a previous screening during February that now created tremendous hype for Inside Llewyn Davis which has already been suspected as a possible candidate for the Cannes Films Festival competition. The Cannes Film Festival is still the most prestigious and definitely the most important event in our cinematic calendar, which kicks off May 15th 2013 [3].

Contact [6]

Grey Munford

Vice President of Communication, CBS Films

(310) 575-7435

E-mail: Grey.Munford@cbs.com

SOURCES

[1] www.cbsfilms.com – Official website of CBS Films

[2] www.cbscorporation.com – Official website of CBS Corporation

[3] http://insidemovies.ew.com – Entertainment Weekly, Inside Movies, Announcement about new CBS film acquisition

[4] www.imdb.com – Movie and film information

[5]http://www.cbsfilms.com/news/seven_psychopaths_voted_best_ensemble_cast_by_the_boston_society_of_film_cr – Recent News on CBS Films

[6] http://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-films/ – Lastest press on CBS Films

Principles & Practices

Website by the students of TRF235

Tag Archives: Extraordinary Measures

CBS Films

Brief History

Key Executives

Financials

News

Coming Soon

Sources:

Multimedia Sources:

CBS Films

Past Releases