Paramount Vantage

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Paramount Vantage
Type subsidiary
Founded 1998 (as Paramount Classics)
2006 (as Paramount Vantage)
Industry Motion pictures
Owner(s) Viacom
Parent Paramount Motion Picture Group

Paramount Vantage (originally known as Paramount Classics) is the specialty film division of Paramount Pictures (which in turn is part of Viacom), charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally those with a more "art house" feel than films made and distributed by its parent company.

Paramount Classics was launched in 1998 and released such art house fare as The Virgin Suicides, You Can Count on Me, Sunshine, Mostly Martha, Winter Solstice, and three Patrice Leconte films (Girl on the Bridge, Man on the Train, Intimate Strangers). Although film journalist David Poland felt "Ruth Vitale and David Dinerstein have proven to have wonderful taste heading up Paramount Classics," [1], the duo was fired in October 2005. [2]

In 2006, the Paramount Vantage brand branched off from Paramount Classics, which was relaunched in 2007 as a distributor of "smaller, review-driven films including foreign-language acquisitions and documentaries." [3]

In 2007, Paramount Vantage co-produced No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood with Miramax Films. The partnership paid off when both films were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 80th Academy Awards, with the former film winning. The two won a combined six awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis in Blood and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem in No Country.

Despite its critical success, Paramount Vantage continually failed to deliver the financial returns Paramount Pictures expected. Only No Country for Old Men made a profit, while films that should have generated significant returns failed to deliver through either poor or excessive marketing. [4]

In June 2008, Paramount Pictures consolidated Paramount Vantage’s marketing, distribution, and physical production departments into the parent studio, while retaining the Paramount Vantage brand to develop and acquire specialty product with dedicated creative staff. [5]

Contents

[edit] Additional Paramount Classic releases

[edit] Paramount Vantage releases

Year Film title Academy Awards
2006 Babel
Black Snake Moan
The Foot Fist Way
2007 Into the Wild
  • 2 Nominations
Margot at the Wedding
A Mighty Heart
No Country for Old Men
  • Won
  • Additional nominations
    • Best Cinematography
    • Best Editing
    • Best Sound
    • Best Sound Editing
The Kite Runner
  • 1 Nomination
    • Best Original Score
There Will Be Blood
  • Won
  • Additional nominations
    • Best Art Direction
    • Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
    • Best Editing
    • Best Film
    • Best Adapted Screenplay
    • Best Sound Editing
Year of the Dog
2008 American Teen
Arctic Tale
Defiance
  • 1 Nomination
    • Best Original Score
The Duchess
  • Won
    • Best Costume Design
  • Additional nomination
    • Best Art Direction
The Eye
How She Move
Revolutionary Road
  • 3 Nominations
    • Best Art Direction
    • Best Costume Design
    • Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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