Goldwyn (Re) Hires Lipsky To Run Marketing, Distribution

by Mark Rabinowitz

The Samuel Goldwyn Company has hired October Films co-founder Jeff Lipsky and his Plainview Pictures, Inc. to create a marketing and theatrical distribution operation for the distributor, as part of a company revitalization. While the current arrangement calls for Plainview to run the department, eventually Lipsky's production company will become dormant with Lipsky being named Head of Marketing and Distribution for Goldwyn. "I expect that I will be, for quite some time, a collaborator with The Samuel Goldwyn Company and really look forward to restoring it to its glory days," Lipsky told indieWIRE. The hiring brings Lipsky back to Goldwyn, where he served as Vice-President of distribution from 1982-88. "Jeff is very driven and a showman," Chairman Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. told indieWIRE, adding that he was thrilled at Lipsky's return to the company.

Speaking about the company's plans, Lipsky said that "there is going to be a mix of acquisitions (and) production," with the release slate being a mix of mostly English language films, and a small percentage of foreign language film. The company has three films awaiting release, twoare foreign language pictures. The first film is Bigas Luna's "The Chambermaid on the Titanic," starring Romane Bohringer, Olivier Martinez and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, the second is "The King of Masks," which Lipsky calls "a beautiful little Chinese film," and the third release is Tony Spiridakis' "Tinseltown," starring Arye Gross, Kristy Swanson, Ron Perlman and Joe Pantoliano. "Tinseltown" was acquired prior to the completion of production, and Lipsky said that projects will be bought in at various stages, from the optioning of books, to the acquisition of completed films. The company also recently grabbed the motion picture rights to the novel "My Soul to Keep," by Miami Heral columnist Tananarive Due.

Discussing the state of the independent distribution world, Lipsky said that "what has reinvigorated my interest in distribution is the fact that since October was sold to Universal, I think there is a real chasm in the marketplace, the same kind of chasm that existed in 1990 when I started October with Bingham (Ray)." Lipsky said that the company plans to eventually release from six to eight films per year.

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Lipsky told indieWIRE that he will continue to be based in New York, while Goldwyn's headquarters will remain in Los Angeles, but he added that "as the revitalization of the company takes form, there is certainly a possibility that I will be relocating to Los Angeles." Login to recommend this article » posted on April 27, 1998 Films to Snag Login to Leave a Comment »