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Good Machine

Defunct American film production company

Good Machine Productions was an American independent film production, film distribution, and foreign sales company started in the early 1990 by its co-founders and producers, Ted Hope and James Schamus. David Linde joined as a partner in the late 1990s and also started the international sales company Good Machine International. They sold the company to Universal Pictures, where it was then merged with USA Films and Universal Focus to create Focus Features. Hope, along with the heads of production development and business affairs (Anthony Bregman, Anne Carey, and Diana Victor) then went on to form the independent production company This Is That Productions. Schamus and Linde became co-presidents of Focus Features.

In 2001, the Museum of Modern Art celebrated the tenth anniversary of Good Machine's work, commemorating their support of international and domestic filmmakers.

01Background

Good Machine was involved in production and/or distribution of a number of films, including Ang Lee's The Ice Storm and Ride with the Devil; Hal Hartley projects such as Flirt (1995), Edward Burns's The Brothers McMullen, Todd Solondz's Happiness, and Todd Field’s In the Bedroom.

02History

In 1997, it was announced that Good Machine would become the foreign sales agent of films produced and distributed by October Films, in order to acquire worldwide rights of the films. In 1998, it struck a deal with Universal. Previously, the company had a one-time production deal with 20th Century Fox, which was signed in 1996. It was dismantled in 2002, when it merged with Focus Features. In 2001, Good Machine struck a deal with Radar Pictures to finance and distribute their films for international releases. The deal was continued as Good Machine was absorbed into Focus.

03Disbandment

In 2002, Good Machine was acquired by Universal Pictures. James Schamus and David Linde remained with Universal, serving as co-presidents of Focus Features.

Ted Hope chose to part with the company to form the This is that Corporation (This Is That Productions) with Good Machine Director of Development Anne Carey, Director of Production Anthony Bregman, and Director of Business Affairs Diana Victor. Under the This Is That banner they produced films such as Adventureland, The Savages, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

04Filmography

Watch videos about Good MachineExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Good Machine, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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