CBS Films

by Nicholas Ferreiro
CBS Films logo

CBS Films logo [1]

CBS Films, is a film studio company that handles many areas of development, including film production, distribution, financing and marketing. It is owned by CBS Corp. and was founded by Les Moonves in 2007. Since its creation, CBS Films has released ten films, including “The Woman in Black,” “The Back-Up Plan,” and “The Mechanic” [2][3][4].

 

Executives

Terry Press, Co-President

Terry Press, Co-President of CBS Films

Terry Press, Co-President of CBS Films [5]

Terry Press was named Co-President of CBS Films in April 2012. As Co-President, she oversees creative aspects of the company including initial development, marketing, production and distribution. Before joining the company, Press worked at 7570 Marketing Inc. where she worked as a marketing consultant on many CBS Films [5]. She also had success working as a consultant on both “The Social Network” and “The Hunger Games” [6].

Wolfgang Hammer, Co-President

Wolfgang Hammer, Co-President of CBS Films

Wolfgang Hammer, Co-President of CBS Films [7]

Wolfgang Hammer was also named Co-President of CBS Films in April 2012, in conjunction with Terry Press. As Co-President, Hammer uses his “savy” negotiating skills in acquisitions and also oversees the company’s business, finance and legal affairs [6]. Before working at CBS Films, Hammer was Executive Vice President at Lionsgate [7].

Finance

CBS Corp. reported record numbers for the fourth quarter of 2012. Since the fourth quarter of 2011, revenue rose 2% ($3.7 billion), operating income rose 12% ($726 million) and adjusted EPS rose 14% ($0.64). Les Moonves, CEO of CBS Corp., has even higher expectations for next year [8].

Both of CBS Films’ most recent films, “Seven Psychopaths” (October 2012) and “The Last Exorcism Part II” (March 2013), earned back their respective production budgets. “The Last Exorcism Part II” actually brought in over three times its original production budget ($15 million made versus $5 million budget) [9].

New Releases

The Last Exorcism Part II

CBS Films released its horror-film, “The Last Exorcism Part II,” on March 1st, 2013. It took in over $7.7 million on its first weekend (2,700 theaters) and grossed over $15 million in its remaining five weeks [10]. Despite earning back its production budget, the film was poorly received, having just a 13% critic rating and 35% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes [11].

Trailer for “The Last Exorcism Part II”

Awards

“Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” was nominated for three Golden Globes, including best musical or comedy, best actor in a musical or comedy and best actress in a musical or comedy [12]. However, the film lost in all three categories [13].

On January 9th, 2013, it was announced that Colin Farrell was nominated in the Irish Film & Television Academy Awards for his role in CBS FIlms’ “Seven Psychopaths” [14]. He has since lost to Jack Reynor [15].

Upcoming Releases 

The Kings of Summer

Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias in "The Kings of Summer"

Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso and Moises Arias in “The Kings of Summer”[16]

On January 22nd, 2013, CBS Films acquired the domestic rights to the coming-of-age comedy “Toy’s House.” The movie premiered at Sundance, where it received great reviews, prompting CBS Films’ move to make a deal. It has since been retitled as “The Kings of Summer,” and is slated for a May 31st release date. The film is directed by Jordan Vogt-Robert, written by Chris Galleta, and stars Nick Robinson, Gabriel Bosso, Moises Arias and Nick Offerman. “The Kings of Summer” focuses on a group of friends who attempt to move into the woods and live off the land, and is being compared to “Stand By Me,” “Superbad,” and “The Goonies” [16][17].

Trailer for “The Kings of Summer”

Last Vegas

Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Robert DeNiro and Michel Douglas in "Last Vegas" [***]

Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Robert DeNiro and Michel Douglas in “Last Vegas” [18]

On February 6th, 2013, CBS Films set a new release date for their new buddy-comedy, “Last Vegas.” The film was originally slated for December 20th, an attempt to play into the Christmas movie market, but has since changed to November 1st. It is directed by Jon Turteltaub, written by Dan Fogelman, and produced by Laurence Mark and former CEO and president of CBS Films, Amy Baer [18]. The film was produced by CBS Films and had been in talks since before September, 2011 [19].”Last Vegas” stars Morgan Freeman, Robert DeNiro, Kevin Kline and Michael Douglas, and focuses on a group of old friends who throw a bachelor part in Las Vegas [18]. There is no trailer available for this film yet.

The To Do List

Scene from "The To Do List" [***]

Scene from “The To Do List” [20]

“The To Do List,” starring Aubrey Plaza, is set to be released on August 16th, 2013. It had previously been set for February 2013 [20].

Trailer for “The To Do List”

Gambit

Promotional poster for "Gambit" [***]

Promotional poster for “Gambit” [21]

“Gambit,” a Coen Brothers comedy starring Colin Firth, will be released sometime in late 2013 [22]. The film has already been released in Ireland [23].

Trailer for “Gambit”

7500

Theatrical poster for "7500" [***]

Theatrical poster for “7500” [24]

The horror-thriller “7500” is set to be released sometime in 2013. It was originally slated for release in August 2012 [25].

Trailer for “7500”

Acquisitions

Inside Llewyn Davis

Oscar Isaacs in "Inside Llewyn Davis" [***]

Oscar Isaac in “Inside Llewyn Davis” [26]

On February 19th, it was announced that CBS Films had acquired the domestic rights to distribute the new Coen Brothers film, “Inside Llewyn Davis” for around $4 million. Studio Canal financed the movie itself and is holding onto some foreign distribution rights. The film  centers around the Greenwich Village music scene in the 1960s and stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman and Justin Timberlake, among others.  There has been no release date set for CBS Films’ newest acquisition [26].

Trailer for “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Production

On January 24th, CBS Films announced it will be developing “Olivia Twisted,” a debut screenplay from stuntman Brian Roberts. “Twisted” is a fictional adaptation on the classic novel, “Oliver Twist,” and revolves Olivia, a member of a metropolitan teenage gang at war with a rival gang. Michael De Luca and Alyssa Phillips are set to produce the film [27].

Sources

[1] http://aroundthenetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/CBS-Films-Logo-wide3.jpg

[2] http://www.cbsfilms.com/about_us/

[3] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/04/wolfgang-hammer-and-terry-press-named-heads-of-cbs-films.html

[4] http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/11/business/la-fi-ct-cbsfilms11-2010jan11

[5] http://www.cbsfilms.com/principals/terry_press

[6] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/04/wolfgang-hammer-and-terry-press-named-heads-of-cbs-films.html

[7] http://www.cbsfilms.com/principals/wolfgang_hammer

[8] http://investors.cbscorporation.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99462&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1785372&highlight=

[9] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/chart/?view2=allmovies&view=company&studio=cbsfilms.htm

[10] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lastexorcism2.htm

[11] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_last_exorcism_part_ii_2013/

[12] http://www.cbsfilms.com/news/cbs_films_salmon_fishing_in_the_yemen_scores_three_golden_globe_nominations

[13] http://www.goldenglobes.org/2012/12/nominations-2013/

[14] http://www.cbsfilms.com/news/seven_psychopaths_scores_multiple_irish_film_and_tv_academy_award_nominatio

[15] http://ifta.ie/winners/index.html

[16] http://www-deadline-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/greym__130123024752.jpg

[17] http://www.deadline.com/tag/toy-house/

[18] http://www.deadline.com/2012/11/first-photo-last-vegas-robert-de-niro-michael-douglas-cbs-films/

[19] http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/jon-turteltaub-in-talks-to-direct-last-vegas/

[20] http://collider.com/popeye-hotel-transylvania-2-release-date/211652/

[21] http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/images/2012/10/Gambit-UK-Poster.jpg

[22] http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/cbs-films-move-seven-psychopaths-up-to-october-12th-delay-gambit-to-winter-2013-20120803

[23] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404978/

[24] http://welcomefrnds.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/7500-movie.jpg

[25] http://www.deadline.com/2012/05/cbs-films-shifts-dates-for-gambit-7500/

[26] http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/inside-llewyn-davis-cbs-films-acquisition-coen-brothers/

[27] http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/olivia-twisted-picked-up-by-415147

CBS Films

by Anjela Latcheva
57555_441137312300_7091372_o

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 

Wolfgang-Hammer

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.

TP2

Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Terry Press

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

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Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Steven Friedlander

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

DSC_1316c

Photo courtesy of CBS Films

Ried Sullivan

Chief Financial Officer for CBS Films.

Toulon_Rik_2007_Color

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].

Maria-Faillace

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

Screen Shot 2013-04-07 at 11.52.25 PM

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

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

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Courtesy of CBS FIlms

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

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Courtesy of CBS FIlms

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

164505_487058397300_128579_n

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

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

beastly-movie

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Beastly -Gross: $28,834,009

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Courtesy of CBS FIlms

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

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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.

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Courtesy of CBS FIlms

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

Screen Shot 2013-04-07 at 11.52.01 PM

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] !

Screen Shot 2013-04-07 at 11.51.44 PM

Courtesy of CBS FIlms

Official Website: The Last Exorcism: Part II

Future Releases

Screen Shot 2013-04-08 at 12.09.50 AM

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-movie

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

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

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].

Screen Shot 2013-04-08 at 12.22.06 AM

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