American Zoetrope

American Zoetrope (also known as Omni Zoetrope from 1977 to 1980 and Zoetrope Studios from 1980 until 1990) is a privately run American film production company, centered in San Francisco, California and founded by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.

American Zoetrope
TypeProduction company
IndustryMotion pictures
Television
FoundedDecember 12, 1969 (1969-12-12)
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Key people
Francis Ford Coppola
George Lucas
OwnerRoman Coppola
Sofia Coppola
Websitezoetrope.com

Opened on December 12, 1969,[1] the studio has produced not only the films of Coppola (including Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Tetro), but also George Lucas's pre-Star Wars film THX 1138, as well as many others by avant-garde directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Wim Wenders and Godfrey Reggio. American Zoetrope was an early adopter of digital filmmaking, including some of the earliest uses of HDTV.[2]

Four films produced by American Zoetrope are included in the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. American Zoetrope-produced films have received 15 Academy Awards and 68 nominations.

American Zoetrope is located in the Sentinel Building

Formation

Initially located in a warehouse at 827[3][4][5] Folsom Street on the second floor of The Automatt building, the company's headquarters have, since 1972,[6] been in the historic Sentinel Building, at 916 Kearny Street in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.

Coppola named the studio after a zoetrope he was given in the late 1960s by the filmmaker and collector of early film devices, Mogens Skot-Hansen.[7] "Zoetrope" is also the name by which Coppola's quarterly fiction magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story, is often known.

In 1980, the company bought General Service Studios in Hollywood, California, and became Zoetrope Studios, to produce and distribute films, as did later DreamWorks studio.[8][9]

In 1999, it signed a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a first-look financing and production agreement.[10] In 2000, it signed a 10-year financing pact with VCL Film + Meiden to handle foreign sales of their own titles.[11]

By 2007, ownership of American Zoetrope had been passed to Coppola's son and daughter, directors Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola.[12]

In 2010, Lionsgate announced a deal to distribute American Zoetrope films, including classics like “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now,” in North America on DVD, Blu-ray, electronic-sell-through, VOD as well as broadcast distribution rights.[13] The only movies from the Coppola canon that won’t be released as part of the pact are the “Godfather” trilogy, which is owned by Paramount.[14]

Zoetrope.com, the Coppola family's website, was created around 1996 and became an online community for writers. In 2016, Francis Ford Coppola announced its relaunch as a "virtual studio".[15]

Filmography

Feature films
Year Title Director Company Credit References
1969The Rain PeopleFrancis Ford CoppolaAmerican ZoetropeProduction company[16][17]
1971THX 1138George Lucas[16]
1972The GodfatherFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin KingHans-Jürgen SyberbergDistributor[16]
1973American GraffitiGeorge LucasProduction company[16]
1974The ConversationFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
The Godfather Part IIFrancis Ford CoppolaProduction facilities furnished through (as American Zoetrope San Francisco)[16]
1977Perfumed NightmareKidlat TahimikDistributor[16]
Hitler: A Film from GermanyHans-Jürgen SyberbergOmni ZoetropeDistributor[16]
1979Apocalypse NowFrancis Ford CoppolaProduction company[16][18]
The Black StallionCarroll Ballard[16]
1980Sauve qui peut (la vie)Jean-Luc GodardZoetrope StudiosProduction company/distributor[16]
KagemushaAkira KurosawaProduction company[16]
1982ParsifalHans-Jürgen SyberbergDistributor[16]
The Escape ArtistCaleb DeschanelProduction company[16]
PassionJean-Luc GodardProduction company/distributor[16]
The Grey FoxPhillip BorsosProduction company[16]
KoyaanisqatsiGodfrey Reggio
The Making of 'One from the Heart'Tony St. John
HammettWim Wenders[16]
One from the HeartFrancis Ford CoppolaProduction company/distributor[16]
1983The OutsidersFrancis Ford CoppolaProduction company[16]
Rumble FishFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
The Black Stallion ReturnsRobert Dalva[16]
1984The Cotton ClubFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
1985Seven Minutes in HeavenLinda Feferman
Mishima: A Life in Four ChaptersPaul Schrader[16]
1986Peggy Sue Got MarriedFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
1987Tough Guys Don't DanceNorman Mailer
Gardens of StoneFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
BarflyBarbet Schroeder[16]
1988Tucker: The Man and His DreamFrancis Ford Coppola
1989Wait Until Spring, BandiniDominique Deruddere[16]
1990The Godfather Part IIIFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
1991Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's ApocalypseFax Bahr, Eleanor Coppola, and George HickenlooperAmerican Zoetrope[16]
1992Bram Stoker's DraculaFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
WindCarroll Ballard[16]
1993The Secret GardenAgnieszka Holland[16]
1994Mary Shelley's FrankensteinKenneth Branagh[16]
Don Juan DeMarcoJeremy Leven[16]
1995HauntedLewis Gilbert
My FamilyGregory Nava[16]
1996JackFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
1997The RainmakerFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
BuddyCaroline ThompsonProduction company (as An American Zoetrope Production)[16]
1999The FlorentineNick Stagliano Production company
The Virgin SuicidesSofia Coppola[16]
The Third MiracleAgnieszka Holland[16]
Sleepy HollowTim Burton[16]
2001Jeepers CreepersVictor Salva[16]
CQRoman Coppola[16]
No Such ThingHal Hartley[16]
SuriyothaiChatrichalerm Yukol[16]
2002PumpkinAnthony Abrams and Adam Larson Broder[16]
Assassination TangoRobert Duvall[16]
2003Lost in TranslationSofia Coppola[16]
Jeepers Creepers 2Victor Salva[16]
2004KinseyBill CondonProduction company (uncredited)[16]
2006Marie AntoinetteSofia CoppolaProduction company[16]
The Good ShepherdRobert De Niro[16]
2007Youth Without YouthFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
2009TetroFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
2010SomewhereSofia Coppola
2011TwixtFrancis Ford Coppola[16]
2012A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan IIIRoman Coppola[16]
On the RoadWalter Salles[16]
2013Palo AltoGia Coppola[16]
The Bling RingSofia Coppola[16]
2014Life After BethJeff Baena[16]
2015A Very Murray ChristmasSofia Coppola[16]
Last Days in the DesertRodrigo García[19]
2016Paris Can WaitEleanor Coppola[16]
JoshyJeff Baena[16]
2017The BeguiledSofia Coppola[16]
2020Love Is Love Is LoveEleanor Coppola[20]
On the RocksSofia Coppola[21]
2021MainstreamGia Coppola[22]
2023FairylandAndrew Durham[23]
PriscillaSofia Coppola

Television series
Year Title Creator Company Credit Network Notes References
1990 The Outsiders characters by:
S.E. Hinton
developed by:
S.E. Hinton
Joe Byrne
Jeb Rosebrook		 Zoetrope Studios Production Company Fox co-production with Papazian-Hirsch Entertainment
1997 The Odyssey Andrei Konchalovsky
based on Odyssey by:
Homer		 American Zoetrope Production Company (as American Zoetrope San Francisco) NBC miniseries; co-production with Hallmark Entertainment [16]
1998 Moby Dick Anton Diether
Franc Roddam
Benedict Fitzgerald
based on Moby-Dick by:
Herman Melville		 Production Company USA Network miniseries; co-production with Hallmark Entertainment, Nine Network Australia and USA Pictures [16]
1998–2001 First Wave Chris Brancato Sci-Fi Channel co-production with Sugar Entertainment [16]
2003 Platinum John Ridley
Sofia Coppola		 UPN co-production with The Greenblatt/Janollari Studio, International Famous Players Radio Picture Corporation and Eye Productions [24]
2004–2007 The 4400 René Echevarria
Scott Peters		 USA Network co-production with Renegade 83, Viacom Productions (season 1), Paramount Network Television (season 2) and CBS Paramount Network Television (seasons 3–4)
2014–2018 Mozart in the Jungle based on Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music by:
Blair Tindall
developed by:
Roman Coppola
Jason Schwartzman
Alex Timbers
Paul Weitz		 Amazon Video co-production with Depth of Field, Picrow and Amazon Studios [16]
Cafe Zoetrope at ground level of the building

Cafe Zoetrope

In the building lobby, Coppola operates a small Italian café, Cafe Zoetrope, featuring Inglenook Estate wine and memorabilia from his films.[25] Earlier, the building had been the location of Enrico Banducci's "hungry i" nightclub.

The neighborhood is well known for its cafes and its writers. Coppola wrote much of the screenplay for The Godfather in the nearby Caffe Trieste and Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Books is located up Columbus Avenue from the Sentinel Building.

Further reading

References
  1. Fog City Mavericks. Starz, Englewood, CO, USA. June 15, 2011. Television.
  2. "Francis Ford Coppola". UCLA School of TFT. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  3. Howell, Daedalus (January 31, 2013). "American Zoetrope: 827 Folsom, San Francisco". Daedalus Howell. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  4. oneperfectshot. "[WATCH] The Rise and Revolution of American Zoetrope and New Hollywood". Twitter. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  5. Connelly, Sherilyn (October 24, 2011). "The City's First Dot-Com, 1969: George Lucas and Francis Coppola's American Zoetrope". SF Weekly. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  6. "American Zoetrope: Films". www.zoetrope.com. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  7. Exclusive Interview: Coppola Archivist James Mockoski, retrieved June 14, 2023
  8. "Forerunner to Dreamworks, Coppola's risky Zoetrope Studios bucked system". Variety. November 11, 1997. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  9. Hellerman, Jason (October 26, 2020). "How Did Coppola's American Zoetrope Almost Change Hollywood?". No Film School. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  10. Higgins, Bill (June 4, 1999). "MGM-Coppola deal shifts". Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  11. Dawtrey, Adam; Harris, Dana (May 16, 2000). "Zoetrope, VCL pact". Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  12. Coppola stated this in an interview with Harry Knowles for Ain't It Cool News published on May 8, 2007.
  13. "Lionsgate, Zoetrope ink distribution deal | THR". July 26, 2010.
  14. "Lionsgate Distributing Coppola Classics on DVD, Blu-ray | THR". July 26, 2010.
  15. "Francis Ford Coppola Re-Launches Virtual Studio Zoetrope | Brent Land | The Wrap". July 26, 2010.
  16. "American Zoetrope: Films", zoetrope.com. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  17. American Zoetrope [us]
  18. Zoetrope Studios [us]
  19. "Last Days in the Desert". Cinefex. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  20. Goldsmith, Jill (March 3, 2020). "Tribeca Sets Feature Lineup Of Films For 2020 Fest". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  21. D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 15, 2019). "Sofia Coppola And Bill Murray To Reteam For 'On The Rocks', Apple & A24's First Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  22. McNary, Dave (October 30, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Andrew Garfield Joins Gia Coppola's Romance Movie 'Mainstream'". Variety. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  23. Vlessing, Etan (June 6, 2022). "Emilia Jones, Scoot McNairy Star in 'Fairyland' Adaptation for American Zoetrope". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  24. Stanley, Alessandra (April 14, 2003). "TELEVISION REVIEW; 'Dynasty,' with a Hip-Hop Beat". The New York Times.
  25. "Cafe Zoetrope". Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
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