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Producers Sales Organization

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PSO Productions, Inc.
FormerlyProducers Sales Organization
Founded1977
FounderMark Damon
Defunct1986
FateBankrupt
SuccessorVision International
Vestron Pictures
Library:
Icon Entertainment International (with some exceptions)
HeadquartersUnited States

Producers Sales Organization (PSO; also known as PSO Productions, Inc.) was an independent motion picture production and sales company founded in 1977.[1] Initiated by Mark Damon, an actor-turned-producer,[1] PSO mostly handled foreign sales of independent films. It was initially a partnership between Damon, producer Sandy Howard, and Richard St. Johns, who worked for Arthur Guinness Son & Co. At one point, it was a subsidiary of Guinness.[2]

In its final years of existence, PSO briefly became a full-fledged production company, setting up operations on March 27, 1984, through subsidiary PSO Presentations.[3]

On April 10, 1984, a major shake-up happened in the sales and acquisition department and executive Eleanor Powell moved position to become deputy managing director of the company.[4] In November 1984, PSO merged with film financing firm The Delphi Companies; the resulting company, PSO-Delphi, forged a domestic theatrical distribution deal with TriStar Pictures and a home video distribution deal with CBS/Fox Video.[5]

Throughout 1984-85, the company made several more deals with other production and distribution companies, including Frank Yablans, Roadshow Film Distributors, UGC, and Taft Entertainment/Keith Barish Pictures.[6][7][8][9] Despite releasing many successful films, PSO ran into financial problems and was forced into bankruptcy in 1986, effectively ending the company (the Taft-Barish pictures planned by PSO would eventually move to J&M Entertainment).[10] In a lead-up to a bankruptcy plan, PSO decided to drop in-house production and restructure their output deals with foreign distributors into picture-by-picture agreements, including a deal with RKO Pictures.[11]

The company was forced out of film production when they cut their relationship with Delphi on April 23, 1986.[12] PSO agreed on a new line of credit with Chemical Bank of New York and The First National Bank of Boston on the condition that the company had to concentrate on what it did originally, acquire foreign sales rights to pictures and sell those films abroad.[13] As the company had gone into bankruptcy protection, Vestron Inc. was rumored to buy PSO, but the company ultimately shut down outright.[14] Many of its employees were soon hired by Vestron to run a new foreign sales unit dubbed Producers Distribution Organization, later renamed Interaccess Film Distribution, Inc., and then to the Vestron International Group.[15][16][17]

A year after PSO ended, Damon founded a new company, with Peter Guber and Jon Peters, called Vision International.[1]

A majority of the PSO library would ultimately end up with Lionsgate, and then Icon Entertainment International (originally founded by Mel Gibson).

Films

[edit]

Among the most notable films PSO represented or financed include:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Mark Damon". lukeford.net. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  2. ^ Damon & Schreyer, p. 47-49
  3. ^ "PSO Forms Prod. Arm, Sets Up Co-Venture with Kimmel, Salke". Variety. 1984-03-28. pp. 6, 34.
  4. ^ "PSO Shifts Sales, Acquisition People". Variety. 1984-04-11. pp. 3, 31.
  5. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (1984-11-16). "Producers Sales, Delphi in Merger (Published 1984)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  6. ^ Greenberg, James (1986-01-01). "PSO Acquires Worldwide Distrib For 10 Produced By Taft-Barish". Variety. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Frank Yablans Unveil Prod. Plans In PSO Coventure". Variety. 1985-05-15. p. 5.
  8. ^ "PSO In Output Deal with France's UGC". Variety. 1985-06-19. p. 5.
  9. ^ "Aussie Roadshow In Output Deal For 1st 4 PSO Presentations Pics". Variety. 1985-06-05. p. 7.
  10. ^ Damon, M.; Schreyer, L. (2008). From Cowboy to Mogul to Monster: The Neverending Story of Film Pioneer Mark Damon. AuthorHouse. p. 438. ISBN 9781463465056.
  11. ^ "PSO Restructures Output Deals Into Pic-By-Pic Setups". Variety. 1986-03-12. p. 4.
  12. ^ Greenberg, James (1986-04-23). "PSO Pulls Out of Production; Ends Joint Venture with Delphi". Variety. p. 6.
  13. ^ "PSO Execs In Title Shift As Prod. Dropped For Sales Only". Variety. 1986-05-14. p. 7.
  14. ^ "Vestron Acquisition of PSO Is Not Firm". Variety. 1986-08-13. p. 3.
  15. ^ "Vestron hired 3 members of PSO's management". Los Angeles Times. 26 August 1986. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  16. ^ LA BRIEFLY. Daily News of Los Angeles (August 26, 1986).
  17. ^ Billboard (November 1, 1986), p. 48
  18. ^ Damon & Schreyer, p. 53-56
  19. ^ a b Damon & Schreyer, p. 58
  20. ^ Damon & Schreyer, p. 56-57
  21. ^ Damon & Schreyer, p. 60-65
  22. ^ "Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California on August 11, 1983 · Page 14".
  23. ^ a b c d e "Daily News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  24. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pH4xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eEUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4909,4195237&dq=the+day+after+producers+sales+organization&hl=en [dead link]
  25. ^ "Never Say Never Again (1983)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  26. ^ "What are the contents of the Buckaroo Banzai Press Kit?". figmentfly.com. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  27. ^ Canby, Vincent (21 February 1986). "Movie Review - 9 1 2 Weeks - FILM: '9 1/2 WEEKS,' A SEXUAL JOURNEY". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-10-01.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Mark Damon; Linda Schreyer (2008). From Cowboy to Mogul to Monster: The Neverending Story of Film Pioneer Mark Damon. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
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