Videoage International October 2020

30 October 2020 V I D E O A G E Holender remembered that the idea for a Los Angeles-based film market came about in the summer of 1980, when a group of American content distributors, including Lorimar, began inviting foreign buyers to La Costa, a Carlsbad, California resort near San Diego, which was then owned by Lorimar boss, Merv Adelson. In 1985, through his newly created company, Independent Network Incorporated (INI), Holender acquired the assets of Film Venture International, a company founded in 1968 in Atlanta, Georgia by producer Edward Montoro. After filing for Chapter 11, following some shady deals, Montoro disappeared. To this day, his whereabouts remain unknown, though it is believed he fled to Mexico. Holender had founded INI in 1984, after leaving Lorimar. VideoAge recorded INI’s first participation at the L.A. Screenings in 1993, and listed Holender and Sy Samuels as Sales staff. INI’s biggest coup came about in 1986 when it was asked to partner with GLOW ( Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling ), a show created that same year by David B. McLane while working as a promoter with the 22-year-old Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association (which stopped promoting matches in 1989). Holender became GLOW ’s executive producer and syndicator. MG/Perin, a New York City-based company founded in 1969 by Marvin Grieve (1921-2011) as MG Films, signed on to handle U.S. barter deals. In 1980, Grieve partnered with Richard Perin and the company became MG/Perin. It was through Holender that McLane met Meshulam Riklis (1923-2019), a Turkish-born Israeli businessman who owned the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where GLOW was taped. Riklis also owned GLOW from 1986 to 2001. Jackie Stallone, mother of Sylvester Stallone, starred in the TV series. The show was successfully introduced at the 1986NATPEConventionwithamajorpromotional push in the pages of T he TV Executive Daily , which lasted up until NATPE 1989. (With the demise of the U.S. syndication business, The TV Executive took on the name of its sister publication, and was renamed VideoAge Daily. ) INI parted ways with GLOW after the series ended its fourth and final season in 1990. In 2017, the show became the inspiration for a Netflix dramedy. The GLOW property is currently owned by former performer Ursula Hayden. In 1997, Holender merged INI with Liberty International Entertainment, which was found- ed in 1984 by financer Randy Naft, and became Liberty’s chairman a year later. In 1997, Liberty became a public company with sufficient financial resources to allow Holender to return to the acquisition of library content. In 2005, Clarity Partners acquired Liberty and renamed it Liberation Entertainment. Holender stayed on as vice chairman until 2007. In the U.S., Liberation’s DVD releases were distributed by Genius Products. Genius crumbled in 2009, and Liberation folded that same year, with its Liberation library being sold one year later to Camelot Entertainment Group. In 2008, Holender joined the iconic The Fremantle Corporation (which is not associated with RTL’s Fremantle) as one of its principal directors. Headquartered in New York City, The Fre- mantle Corporation was created by legendary American producer Paul Talbot (1919-2005) in 1952. In 1994, New York-based All American Television acquired Fremantle International, Talbot’s game show division (which also included syndicated series Baywatch ), from New York- based Interpublic Group, which had acquired a stake in 1992. In 1996, All American was sold to London-based Pearson. In 2000, Pearson merged with Germany’s CLT-UFA (now RTL), taking the name FremantleMedia (now just Fremantle). It kept its London base. In 2006, the Canadian sales arm of The Fremantle Corporation, Toronto’s Kaleidoscope Entertainment (founded in 1982), acquired The Fremantle Corporation from Talbot’s estate. In 2010, Holender sold his interest in The Fremantle Corporation. Two years later, he activated Multicom and returned to his first love — the acquisition of libraries and content. Multicom was originally founded in 1995 as a music and merchandising publishing company. In 2013, Multicom acquired the Liberation library from Incentive Capital, which ended up owning Liberation’s assets. In 2013, Multicom also experienced a gene- rational change when Irv’s son, the then 37-year- old Darrin, joined as president. Since then he has increased the digital presence of the company globally. It was probably inevitable that the younger Holender would eventually enter the biz as his dad used to bring a young Darrin along to business meetings around Hollywood during the early days of home video and cable. “We were probably one of the few homes in the neighborhood in the early ’80s with a Betamax machine, a VHS machine, and a Z Box,” noted Darrin, who loved sitting in on meetings with his dad. The elder Holender also has a 50-year- old daughter, Deanna, who worked at ZIV International and Liberty. “She did voices for some of our animated cartoons when she was seven years old,” recalled Holender. During the past 20 years, the younger Holender has advised his father on numerous transactions. “We’re a great combination because between us we cover three generations of entertainment audiences since we both hang out with my kids and share their perspective, as well,” he said. As president of Multicom, one of Darrin’s objectives was to spearhead the company’s drive into the growing digital arena, as well as developing opportunities for Multicom’s vast libraries for the Internet, mobile, and over-the-top markets. “My father always stresses the importance of being patient during shifts in distribution trends, and to own as much of your own content as you can,” said the younger Holender, who entered the entertainment industry as an attorney in 2004 and went on to launch i1 Media, a production and management company representing artists and content-owners, all while also producing his own film and music projects. One such project was Sorority Row (for Summit Entertainment), which was developed from Darrin’s idea to remake an obscure horror classic. The film is now owned by Multicom. His second film, RiseUp (for RiseUp Enter- tainment, 2010), is an award-winning docu- mentary about the underground music scene in Jamaica, which launched the career of Brushy One String, an artist he co-manages through his own company, RiseUp Entertainment, which he formed in 2009. “There are a number of franchises that can be re-booted from our catalog of golden-age television shows or cult movies, and we have some really cool new titles we brought to [various TV markets], like [the film] Drake’s Homecoming .” There isa31-year agedifferencebetween Irvand Darrin, and their management styles could not be more different. “Mine has always been hands-on. His is to delegate to qualified personnel,” stated the elder Holender. Conversely, Darrin considers himself “more interested in the details,” while finding his father to be more “deal-driven.” The younger Holender noted, “management styles and content acquisition generally put us at odds, but we are a good balance.” He then concluded: “My dad’s 55 years of experience beats my 20 years any day. He’s truly a blessing. He never forgets a face and is very helpful to people he works with. He’s a positive force even if a bit stubborn and cranky at times.” Int’l TV Distribution Hall of Fame Holender with GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) stars in 1985 Holcorp’s co-founders Irv Holender and Al Ehrlich (r.) in 1968 (Continued from Page 28)