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| Company type | Movie Studio |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film Production |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | Alan Ladd Jr., Jay Kanter, and Gareth Wigan |
| Defunct | 2007 |
| Fate | Terminated |
| Headquarters | |
The Ladd Company was an American film production company founded by Alan Ladd Jr., Jay Kanter, and Gareth Wigan in 1979.
In 1979, the three founders were executives with 20th Century Fox; Ladd was the president. They announced their intention to leave the company when their contracts expired in December 1980 and form a new production company to be financed by Warner Bros. (Ladd had reportedly been quarreling with other Fox senior executives). Fox subsequently cut their contracts short, ending on October 1, 1979.[1] The day after the contracts expired, the trio placed ads for the newly named "Ladd Company" in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.[2]
Under Warner Bros., The Ladd Company distributed Chariots of Fire, which won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Picture.[3] Among the films it produced were the Space Race epic The Right Stuff, the space western Outland, Ridley Scott's science-fiction cult film Blade Runner, neo-noir film Body Heat, and the first two Police Academy films.
Police Academy proved very profitable. But the returns from the company's successes did not outweigh the box-office failures of The Right Stuff, the edited version of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, and the animated Twice Upon a Time (co-production with Korty Films and Lucasfilm). On April 18, 1984, Alan Ladd Jr. and Warner Bros. parted ways, even though the former still had three years left on the studio's contract. From that point on, "the Ladd Company [would] become a non-exclusive production organization."[4]
During a brief partnership with Paramount Pictures in the mid-1990s, the company produced The Brady Bunch Movie and the Best Picture Oscar winner Braveheart.
Ladd's later releases are the 2005 Lasse Hallström drama, An Unfinished Life, and the 2007 Ben Affleck drama Gone Baby Gone, both distributed by Miramax Films.
The Ladd Company's co-founder Gareth Wigan died at his home in Los Angeles on February 13, 2010, at the age of 78.[5][6] The Ladd Company's founder Alan Ladd Jr. died of kidney failure at his home in Los Angeles on March 2, 2022, at the age of 84.[7][8] The Ladd Company's co-founder Jay Kanter died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on August 6, 2024, at the age of 97.[9]
- ^ Thomas, Bob. "Studio 'revolution' treat for gossips". Edmonton Journal (August 18, 1979).
- ^ Schreger, Charles. "New Film Company Born of Frustration". Sarasota Herald-Tribune (October 19, 1979)
- ^ Chariots of Fire Wins Best Picture: 1982-Oscars on YouTube
- ^ Associated Press. "Ladd, Warner Bros. dissolve agreement". St. Joseph News-Press (April 20, 1984).
- ^ "Agent, producer, studio chief Wigan dies at 78". Reuters. 2010-02-13.
- ^ Gareth Kilday (2010-02-13). "Gareth Wigan dies at 78". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (March 2, 2022). "Alan Ladd Jr. Dies: Oscar-Winning 'Braveheart' Producer, 'Star Wars' Shepherd & Former Exec At Fox, MGM/UA Was 84". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ Genzlinger, Neil (March 3, 2022). "Alan Ladd Jr., Hitmaking Film Executive, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ Tinoco, Armando. "Jay Kanter Dies: Film Producer & Agent To Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe Was 97". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 6, 2024.