History Creator / UnitedArtists

United Artists is an American film studio founded in 1919. It stood out from the other Hollywood studios at the time for two reasons:

At first, MGM treated UA as an equal in the business, and in fact, several films were released under joint MGM/UA branding. However, they fell out of favor as ownership became unstable (resulting in [[https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1996/07/08/214344/index.htm the Giancarlo Parretti fiasco]] that saw the company grind to a halt while he was busy [[StealingFromTheTill embezzling]] from the company), and when MGM began getting their hands on other libraries left and right (Creator/TheCannonGroup, Creator/OrionPictures, the [[Creator/PolygramFilmedEntertainment Polygram]]/Epic library, etc.). They then became more of an arthouse distributor

On May 17, 2021, online retail and technology company Amazon entered negotiations to acquire MGM. The negotiations were made directly with MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich, whose Anchorage Capital is a major MGM shareholder. On May 26, 2021, it was officially announced that the studio would be acquired by Amazon, subject to regulatory approval, for $8.45 billion, and continue to operate as a label under the new parent company with the fate of UAR to be determined. The merger was finalized on March 17, 2022. Later that day, Amazon Studios and Prime Video SVP Mike Hopkins emphasized that Amazon will continue to partner with UAR, which will remain in operation post-merger.

#As the name "United Artists" indicates, UA was founded not by executives, but by actors and directors -- namely, Creator/CharlieChaplin, Creator/DouglasFairbanks, Creator/DWGriffith, and Creator/MaryPickford, all major names in the era's film industry.[[note]]Cowboy star William S. Hart was involved at the very beginning, [[ThePeteBest but left before the studio got off the ground]].[[/note]] The founders intended to avoid ExecutiveMeddling by taking control of their own work. To date, Creator/DreamWorks is the only other big studio formed by creators.

* ''Film/{{Creed}} 3'' (2022; US distributor)

* ''Film/{{Baby Boom|1987}}'' (1987)

But the final nail in the coffin for the idyllic lifestyle cultivated by UA for so long came in 1980, when UA distributed ''Film/HeavensGate''. It had a big budget, but ended up one of the most notorious [[CreatorKiller creator-killing]] failures in history. So much that Transamerica's aforementioned ambition was dashed, and they were forced to sell the studio to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer. Meanwhile, its record label was sold to Creator/{{EMI}}. When [[Creator/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] bought MGM's pre-1986 library, most of the United Artists library remained with MGM/UA, though Turner did buy certain UA assets (namely ''Series/GilligansIsland'' and the Warner Bros. and ''Popeye'' properties formerly owned by a.a.p.).

But the final nail in the coffin for the idyllic lifestyle cultivated by UA for so long came in 1980, when UA distributed ''Film/HeavensGate''. It had a big budget, but ended up one of the most notorious [[CreatorKiller creator-killing]] failures in history. So much that Transamerica's aforementioned ambition was dashed, and they were forced to sell the studio to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer. Meanwhile, its record label was sold to Creator/{{EMI}}. Much of United Artists' television output (including ''Series/GilligansIsland'' and the Warner Bros. and ''Popeye'' properties formerly owned by a.a.p.) was sold to [[Creator/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] when it acquired MGM's pre-1986 film library, but ownership of the film library remained with MGM/UA.

But the final nail in the coffin for the idyllic lifestyle cultivated by UA for so long came in 1980, when UA distributed ''Film/HeavensGate''. It had a big budget, but ended up one of the most notorious [[CreatorKiller creator-killing]] failures in history. So much that Transamerica's aforementioned ambition was dashed, and they were forced to sell the studio to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer. Meanwhile, its record label was sold to Creator/{{EMI}}. Much of United Artist's television output (including ''Series/GilligansIsland'' and the Warner Bros. and ''Popeye'' properties formerly owned by a.a.p.) was sold to [[Creator/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] when it acquired MGM's pre-1986 film library, but ownership of the film library remained with MGM/UA.

But the final nail in the coffin for the idyllic lifestyle cultivated by UA for so long came in 1980, when UA distributed ''Film/HeavensGate''. It had a big budget, but ended up one of the most notorious [[CreatorKiller creator-killing]] failures in history. So much that Transamerica's aforementioned ambition was dashed, and they were forced to sell the studio to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer. Meanwhile, its record label was sold to Creator/{{EMI}}. . Much of United Artist's television output (including ''Series/GilligansIsland'' and the Warner Bros. and ''Popeye'' properties formerly owned by a.a.p.) was sold to [[Creator/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] when it acquired MGM's pre-1986 film library, but ownership of the film library remained with MGM/UA.

But the final nail in the coffin for the idyllic lifestyle cultivated by UA for so long came in 1980, when UA distributed ''Film/HeavensGate''. It had a big budget, but ended up one of the most notorious [[CreatorKiller creator-killing]] failures in history. So much that Transamerica's aforementioned ambition was dashed, and they were forced to sell the studio to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer. Meanwhile, its record label was sold to Creator/{{EMI}}. . Much of United Artist's television output (including ''Series/GilligansIsland'' and the Warner Bros. and ''Popeye'' properties formerly owned by a.a.p.) was sold to [[Creator/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] when it acquired MGM's pre-1986 film library, but ownership of the film library remained with MGM/YA.

But the final nail in the coffin for the idyllic lifestyle cultivated by UA for so long came in 1980, when UA distributed ''Film/HeavensGate''. It had a big budget, but ended up one of the most notorious [[CreatorKiller creator-killing]] failures in history. So much that Transamerica's aforementioned ambition was dashed, and they were forced to sell the studio to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer. Meanwhile, its record label was sold to Creator/{{EMI}}.

At first, MGM treated UA as an equal in the business, and in fact, several films were released under joint MGM/UA branding. However, they fell out of favor as ownership became unstable (resulting in [[https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1996/07/08/214344/index.htm the Giancarlo Parretti fiasco]] that saw the company grind to a halt while he was busy [[StealingFromTheTill embezzling]] from the company), and when MGM began getting their hands on other libraries left and right (Creator/TheCannonGroup, Creator/OrionPictures, the [[Creator/PolygramFilmedEntertainment Polygram]]/Epic library, etc.). They then became more of an arthouse distributor.

United Artists has an interesting history with animation. They distributed the ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse'' and ''WesternAnimation/SillySymphonies'' cartoons created by Creator/WaltDisney between 1932 and 1937. In 1948, they distributed the cartoons of Creator/WalterLantz for two years during the studio's brief split with Creator/{{Universal}}. In 1957, United Artists' TV division bought out Associated Artists Productions, granting them ownership of nearly every Creator/WarnerBros movie made before 1950, the color ''[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Looney Tunes]]'' [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and]] ''[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]]'' made before 1948, and the ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' cartoons made by Creator/FleischerStudios and Creator/FamousStudios for Creator/{{Paramount}}. A few years later, United Artists would become the distributor of the cartoons made by Creator/DepatieFrelengEnterprises, the studio ''Looney Tunes'' director Creator/FrizFreleng co-founded after leaving Warner Bros.