62-509: Dimension Films was an American independent film and television production and distribution label founded in 1992, and currently owned by independent studio Lantern Entertainment . Formally one of the American " mini-majors " (i.e., small to medium independent television and motion picture production studios), Dimension Films produced and released independent films and genre titles; specifically horror and science fiction films. Dimension Films
124-473: A cult following since its release. One evening at Herrington High School in Ohio , teachers and Principal Drake leave after discussing the school's budget. When Drake returns to retrieve her keys, she is attacked by the school's football coach, Joe Willis. Drama teacher Mrs. Olson emotionlessly stabs Drake with scissors as she flees the school. The following morning, the students arrive, including Casey Connor,
186-469: A Spanish-produced supernatural thriller starring Nicole Kidman , was a surprise success for the company. Other international productions purchased by Dimension Films included two additional horror films by Spanish director Jaume Balagueró : The Nameless (1999), and Darkness (2002). Darkness received a North American theatrical release in December 2004 after being shelved for two years, and proved to be
248-575: A bankruptcy auction. TWC filed for bankruptcy as a result of co-founder Harvey Weinstein being convicted of sexual harassment, assault, and rape . Lantern Entertainment is a separate company unaffiliated with the Weinsteins. On July 16, 2018, the Dallas-based equity firm Lantern Capital Partners bought the assets of The Weinstein Company (TWC) for $ 289 million. Lantern Entertainment was formed and assumed
310-454: A better title." He also added: "I think they didn't know how to sell it, which is why I think so many people discovered it later and are now coming out and being like, 'Hey, this movie is pretty good!'" Elijah Wood is also fond of the movie: "That was a really formative experience. And it was so fun getting a chance to work with Robert, who had a very different approach than any other director that I'd worked with." Clea Duvall also acknowledged
372-498: A financial success, while The Nameless was released direct-to-video in 2005. In January 2005, Dimension Films purchased the American distribution rights to the Australian horror film Wolf Creek , which was released in December that year. For much of the early 2000s, Dimension Films produced and distributed numerous sequels to films released under their branch, including several direct-to-video releases for films such as Children of
434-619: A label to distribute horror films and other films deemed "disreputable" for release under the Miramax Films title. Prior to 1992, the Weinsteins had released similar titles under a smaller operation called Millimeter Films. The first release under the Dimension Films label was the sequel film Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth , released theatrically in the United States in 1992, followed by Stuart Gordon 's sci-fi thriller Fortress , and
496-556: A lot. Like I've never heard people talk so enthusiastically about The Faculty until the last couple of years. I hear about that movie so much now. Co-star Clea Duvall has also expressed a similar experience: "It was a surprisingly popular movie among people my age and a little younger. I have one friend that, every time I see her, she brings it up. And sometimes she calls me Stokely. She thinks that's funny." In subsequent years, various critics have written about The Faculty 's impact. Aliya Whiteley wrote, "It's all about examining
558-475: A majority of its film library and assets, and was shut down on July 16, 2018. All films released by Dimension Films before 2005 (as part of Miramax) are currently owned and distributed by Paramount Pictures through Paramount Global 's acquisition of a 49% stake in Miramax that was closed on April 3, 2020. Dimension Films was officially founded in 1992 under its parent company Miramax Films by Bob Weinstein as
620-480: A metaphor for those concepts, reflecting the fear of losing one's nascent individuality to a crowd. The alien queen encapsulates this by offering the heroes a world without alienation or differences, in which "everything that is both wonderful and awful about being a teenager is done away in favor of blind allegiance". Experts also noted in The Faculty a reinvention of the fear of female sexuality often found in
682-687: A movie. But if you love all things sci-fi, it's a good mess." Keith Phipps described the film as "a Kevin Williamson-scripted high-school variation on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers ." Haleigh Foutch considered it one of the most iconic 1990s teen horror films: "Yet another win from 90s teen screenwriter in chief Kevin Williamson, The Faculty fused Williamson's knack for snappy teen drama with Robert Rodriguez's subversive camp to fantastic results. It's smart without ever taking itself too seriously and campy without ever losing its cool, drawing proudly from
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#1733085433388744-401: A powdery ecstasy -like drug he distributes hidden in ballpoint pens. He is confronted by teacher Elizabeth Burke, who expresses concern for him over his illegal activities. Naive transfer student Marybeth Louise Hutchinson befriends self-styled outcast Stokely Mitchell, who has deliberately spread rumors that she is a lesbian though she has a crush on Stan. Marybeth develops a crush on Zeke which
806-487: A pulp classic". Charles Taylor of Salon called the film "subversive" and said "its honest, good-natured junkiness… feels like a relief". He appreciated the film's homages to genre movies including Carrie (1976), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Blue Velvet (1986) while also citing the character of Stokely as the standout amongst the teen archetypes. Michael Sauter of Entertainment Weekly gave
868-403: A review for Variety , Dennis Harvey wrote, " The Faculty works hard at mixing a canny cocktail of cineastic in-jokes, affectionate teenploitation and high-octane suspense that's as enjoyable as it is impossible to take seriously." Harvey added that Williamson and Robert Rodriguez combine to "make a complete lack of socially redeeming value seem so much fun that ' The Faculty ' might well become
930-494: Is a 1998 American science fiction horror film directed and edited by Robert Rodriguez with a screenplay by Kevin Williamson . It stars Jordana Brewster , Clea DuVall , Laura Harris , Josh Hartnett , Shawn Hatosy , Famke Janssen , Piper Laurie , Bebe Neuwirth , Robert Patrick , Usher Raymond , Jon Stewart , and Elijah Wood . The film was theatrically released on December 25, 1998, by Miramax Films through Dimension Films . It grossed $ 63.2 million and has developed
992-472: Is a dormant film label by Lantern Entertainment, formerly to TWC's division, for distribution of multi-platform video-on-demand and theatrical productions. It was launched in 2012 by Tom Quinn and Jason Janego, and specialized in niche and independent films rather than those aimed at mainstream audiences. As of 2018 , Radius had released about 35 films, including Bachelorette , Butter , 20 Feet from Stardom , Only God Forgives , Lovelace , All
1054-409: Is composed by Marco Beltrami , who had previously scored the teen-slasher-horror film, Scream , as well as Mimic (1997). Both Beltrami's score and songs by various artists used in the film were released as albums. The "music from the motion picture" album features songs by various indie and alternative rock groups. On March 7, 2023, the label Intrada released Beltrami's complete score for
1116-405: Is playing and infecting opposing players. Believing Principal Drake to be the queen, they isolate her in the gym and fatally shoot her. Stan confronts the coach and team to see if the plan worked, but becomes infected himself. Zeke and Casey retrieve more of Zeke's drugs from his car. Casey leads infected students away from Zeke, who encounters Miss Burke in the parking lot and incapacitates her. At
1178-469: Is reciprocated. Casey finds a strange creature on the football field and takes it to science teacher Mr. Furlong, who believes it is a new species of cephalopod -specific parasite called a mesozoan . Delilah and Casey hide in the teachers' lounge to find a story. They witness Coach Willis and Ms. Olson forcing one of the parasites into the ear of the school nurse. They also find the body of another teacher, Mrs. Brummel. Casey and Delilah flee, and Casey calls
1240-435: Is underlined by the sharp teeth of her species, which evoke a vagina dentata , and their association to water, the archaic, womb-like female element. As the monstrous mother of her race, she tries to seduce the heroes by offering them a symbolic return to the womb. As Sharon Packer and Jody Pennington put it: The image on the screen is dual: we see the beautiful, young, naked Marybeth strolling around looking for Casey, and
1302-466: The Freudian Medusa head . The monstrous feminine is therefore used in the film to reflect the teenage characters entering adult world, where they are forced to "come to terms with female sexuality and overcome their fear of its 'monstrous' aspects in order to become fully functioning adults". Casey, the male character closest to his softer, feminine side, is the final hero of the film. The film
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#17330854333881364-425: The horror genre . The character of Marybeth, the alien queen, is "a complex imbrication of woman, alien and power" that acts beyond the role of femme fatale . She masquerades as a virginal, unassuming girl clad in floral dresses, but at the final battle she reveals her true sexual threat, becoming nude by her alien transformation and turning confident and flirtatious. Her role as a threatening, castrating agent
1426-657: The "new species" in the aquarium. The Faculty was released in several countries on Blu-ray, such as Canada, on October 6, 2009, by Alliance ; in Australia on September 1, 2011, by Reel ; in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2011, by Lionsgate , in Germany on October 6, 2011, by Studio Canal ; in France on January 10, 2012, by Studio Canal; and in the United States on July 31, 2012, by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment . Lionsgate re-issued
1488-452: The Blu-ray version in the United States on October 7, 2014, after Echo Bridge lost the rights to the Miramax films. Home media for The Faculty do not include traditional extras provided for other Robert Rodriguez films, such as a "10 Minute Film School" feature, audio commentary , and making-of featurettes. The Faculty was viewed on 2,365 screens on its opening weekend, debuting at No. 5 in
1550-490: The Boys Love Mandy Lane , Man of Tai Chi , Fed Up , Snowpiercer , Citizenfour , Horns , The Last Five Years , and It Follows . In August 2015, both Quinn and Janego left the company, with Quinn later founding NEON with Tim League in 2017. NEON is set to produce a sequel to It Follows , a film originally distributed by Radius. Filming would begin in 2024. The Faculty The Faculty
1612-602: The Corn: Revelation (2001), Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002), and Dracula III: Legacy (2005). They also distributed several comedies, such as the Terry Zwigoff -directed Bad Santa (2003), and David Zucker 's My Boss's Daughter (2003). In 2005, the Weinstein brothers purchased the rights to Dimension Films from Disney, and Dimension Films officially became a subsidiary of The Weinstein Company (TWC), established
1674-470: The Dimension Extreme label, which released primarily international indie horror and teen film / adult comedy (i.e., "Extreme Movie") titles on DVD. Lantern Entertainment Lantern Entertainment, LLC is an American independent film and television studio formed by Lantern Capital Partners on July 16, 2018. The studio was formed from the acquired assets of The Weinstein Company (TWC) in
1736-582: The Miramax library, including the pre-2005 Dimension films. ViacomCBS and Miramax will also co-produce new content based on titles from the Miramax library. The deal closed on April 3, 2020. The pre-2005 Dimension films were originally released to home video through Buena Vista Home Entertainment and marketed under the Dimension Home Video label (under the Hollywood Pictures Home Entertainment label in some places), while Miramax
1798-463: The US and making $ 11,633,495. Its eventual US gross was $ 40.3 million. Its debut below commercial expectations has been partly credited to the studio's decision to release the movie on Christmas Day, a time when audiences are likelier to watch traditional dramas or feel-good fare. In retrospect, Jordana Brewster said: It was sort of the inverse of Fast and Furious , right? So with The Fast and Furious , I
1860-416: The beginning of a working relationship with director Robert Rodriguez as well as a lucrative franchise, with several sequels to follow. Dimension Films would gain greater exposure with its distribution of Wes Craven 's Scream , released on December 20, 1996, which became a major box office hit, grossing $ 173 million worldwide. The company also produced and distributed its sequel, Scream 2 , released
1922-638: The company in 1993, resulting in Dimension Films becoming a Disney subsidiary. After the box-office failure of Mother's Boys (1994) starring Jamie Lee Curtis , Dimension Films distributed Miramax Films' The Crow (1994), which would garner Dimension Films its first major commercial success. In 1995, Dimension Films acquired the rights to the Halloween film series , releasing the sixth installment Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers in September that year. The release of From Dusk till Dawn (1996) would mark
Dimension Films - Misplaced Pages Continue
1984-616: The company released the slasher parody film Scary Movie , which grossed a record-breaking $ 278 million for the company and marked the beginning of another popular film series . 2001 saw the release of the Robert Rodriguez-directed Spy Kids , which was the company's first major children's film . The film would spawn another popular franchise for the company. Beginning in 2000, Dimension Films began purchasing North American distribution rights to various international productions. Their 2001 release of The Others ,
2046-479: The cult status of the film: "It's cool to see the legs that movie has had. I feel like that is the number one thing that people come up to me and say or recognize me from still, which is so wild. But it's cool." The film has been praised for its portrayal of teenage alienation , especially within the high school environment and its system of cliques and social roles . In particular, the alien invasion through parasitized bodies has been recognized as functioning as
2108-419: The dedicated but perpetually harassed photographer for the school newspaper. Casey is the unappreciated assistant to spiteful Delilah Profitt, the paper's editor-in-chief and head cheerleader. Delilah's mistreated boyfriend Stan Rosado is contemplating quitting the football team to pursue academics. Zeke Tyler is an intelligent yet rebellious student repeating his senior year. Zeke sells, among other illegal items,
2170-581: The film 3.5 stars and said, "While it may suffer a bit from excess character clutter (nearly 10 major characters throughout), it's nonetheless a slam-bang, sci-fi actioner, relentlessly paced and edited, with a pounding soundtrack and some ingenious aliens courtesy of Bernie Wrightson and KNB Effects." Since its release, The Faculty has acquired a strong cult following, something acknowledged by director Robert Rodriguez in May 2023: I personally like mixed-genre movies, and I found that over time people respond to them
2232-445: The film a "Rip-off of other sci-fi thrillers." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. Positive reviews at the time praised Kevin Williamson's self-aware script and trademark meta humor that included references to iconic science-fiction films. In
2294-472: The film a grade of B− and expressed a wish that the film had used the faculty characters more. In contrast, Tom Sinclair, also of EW , gave the film a C+ and said Williamson has become "too invested in the earnestness of teen angst to portray it in the scathing parodistic terms a hip horror movie demands". The New York Times gave a mostly negative review but praised the cast. The Austin Chronicle awarded
2356-468: The film instead. The Faculty takes place in the fictional town of Herrington, Ohio, but was shot in Austin , San Marcos , Dallas , and Lockhart, Texas . In a retrospective interview, Clea Duvall said the making of the film "was so much fun. It was mostly night shoots, so it was like we were in this alternate universe. Working all night long and making this fun sci-fi horror movie. I loved it." The score
2418-509: The following year, which grossed a comparable $ 172 million. Dimension Films continued its trend of releasing horror and science fiction films, specifically films aimed at teenagers and young adult audiences, with the releases of Phantoms (1998) and the Halloween sequel Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), the latter of which garnered the company another commercial success. The company released its second film with director Robert Rodriguez,
2480-457: The football team, while Miss Burke affectionately watches him practice. Delilah, no longer vindictive, is now dating Casey, who is considered a local hero as various news media reveal the attempted alien invasion is now public knowledge, even as the FBI denies it. In 1990, David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel wrote their first draft of the script and sent it out, but there were no buyers. It wasn't until after
2542-533: The former TWC library. Italian film distributor Eagle Pictures, cinema chain Cineworld (which owned and operated Regal Cinemas ) and later WarnerMedia / AT&T 's Warner Bros. were brought in as minority holders. Lantern made a majority investment including its film library to Spyglass. In July 2019, Spyglass settled two major claims, including $ 11 million for Viacom regarding the TV series Scream (whose last season
Dimension Films - Misplaced Pages Continue
2604-406: The gym, Marybeth reveals herself to be the alien queen; earlier on, she faked taking the drug. Casey and Stokely flee to the swimming pool, where Stokely is injured and becomes infected. Zeke and Casey hide in the locker room, where Marybeth reverts to her human disguise. She explains she is taking over Earth because her planet is dying. Marybeth transforms back into her true form and hurls Zeke across
2666-422: The international distribution of Scary Movie 4 (2006). As of 2024, the post-2005 Dimension Films titles (apart from The Amityville Horror (2005), owned by Amazon MGM Studios through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , as of 2020) are currently released on DVD and Blu-ray by Lionsgate . Before, they were distributed by Genius Products and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . Beginning in 2008, Dimension introduced
2728-511: The joint-double feature film Grindhouse , directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino . The film was a major box office failure, grossing less than half of its $ 53 million budget. In 2011, Scream 4 , the fourth installment in the Scream series, was released and proved to be another box office success in the franchise, earning nearly $ 100 million in box office receipts. The company released
2790-515: The movie. Several scenes involving an additional character named Venus, played by Kidada Jones , were shown in TV previews for the film, as well as in Tommy Hilfiger promotional commercials for the movie, but her scenes were cut from the final film. She is visible in a scene in the theatrical version, standing next to Gabe ( Usher ) in Mr. Furlong's ( Jon Stewart ) science class when they are looking at
2852-549: The police, but his claims are dismissed. The next day, Casey tells Delilah, Stan, and Stokely he believes the teachers are being controlled by aliens. After Zeke and Marybeth tease them about their theory, Mr. Furlong attempts to infect them. Zeke injects his homemade drugs into Furlong's eye, killing him. Zeke takes the five to his house, where he experiments on a specimen retrieved by Casey. He discovers it needs water to survive and can be killed by his "drug", revealed to actually be raw, powdered caffeine (as caffeine acts to dehydrate
2914-565: The rights to TWC's 277-film library . In November 2018, Lantern acquired full control of three Quentin Tarantino films ( Inglourious Basterds , Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight ), originally released by The Weinstein Company, for $ 5.5 million. In February 2019, Lantern was reported to be reaching a settlement with The Walt Disney Company , regarding several films that Lantern did not acquire (including Scream 4 and The Matador ). On March 13, 2019, Lantern and Gary Barber relaunched Spyglass Media Group , which will host
2976-435: The room into the lockers, knocking him out. Casey seizes the drug and traps the queen behind retracting bleachers. Just as the queen infects him, he stabs the drug into her eye, killing her and halting his infection. Casey returns to the locker room and finds Stokely and Zeke alive. One month later, everyone has returned to normal. Stan and Stokely, who has shed her Goth girl image, are now dating. Zeke has taken Stan's place on
3038-461: The same year. After their separation from Miramax Films, Dimension Films would co-produce several titles with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), including the horror remakes The Amityville Horror (2005), Black Christmas (2006), and Halloween (2007), as well as the Stephen King -based thrillers 1408 and The Mist (both 2007). In the spring of 2007, Dimension Films produced and distributed
3100-495: The sci-fi horror films Apollo 18 (2011) and Dark Skies (2013). In 2013, Dimension Films acquired the rights to the independent slasher film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane , shot in 2006, and gave the film a limited release in the United States in October. Dimension partnered with MTV for the television series Scream , based on the film series. On June 24, 2019, it was announced that Scream would be moving to VH1 ahead of
3162-492: The sequel Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice , both released the same year. On June 30, 1993, The Walt Disney Company purchased Miramax Films, who had been facing financial troubles between 1990 and 1992, prior to their acquisition and release of The Crying Game , which earned the company US$ 60 million. The success of The Crying Game made Miramax Films attractive to Disney, who officially bought
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#17330854333883224-465: The shadow of the monstrous form in the walls. Marybeth delivers a speech which ties the elements of the movie together. It is about the "world" she came from and its promises of " paradise " for lost and lonely humans, trapped in high-school " hell ". The character of Miss Burke precedes Marybeth in the same line, revealing her hidden sexuality only after being infected and turned into a monster. The scene of her detached, tentacled head in particular echoes
3286-603: The success of Scream (1996) that Miramax Films bought the script and rushed it into production. Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein brought in Kevin Williamson to do rewrites, keeping the basic story, but rewriting the dialogue and adding new characters to make it more "hip". Originally, Williamson was set to direct the film, but he chose not to so he could direct his self-penned script Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999). The Weinsteins brought in Robert Rodriguez to direct
3348-437: The teen sci-fi film The Faculty , on Christmas Day 1998. In 1999, Dimension Films distributed David Cronenberg 's eXistenZ and Scream-writer Kevin Williamson 's directorial debut Teaching Mrs. Tingle . Dimension Films' first post-millennium release was the direct-to-video From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter . Next was Scream 3 (2000), which was theatrically released like its predecessors. In July 2000,
3410-641: The third season, which Dimension did not produce. Dimension Films also had involvement with One Ball Pictures, who owns the "Funny Or Die" online series. They released their first episode, "A Lesson with John McEnroe", with Dimension Films. In 2015, Dimension Films lost the rights to the Halloween franchise. In 2018, TWC was purchased in a bankruptcy auction by Lantern Entertainment . On December 20, 2019, ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global ) announced that they would acquire 49% of Miramax from beIN Media Group for at least $ 375 million, with Paramount Pictures gaining exclusive worldwide distribution rights to
3472-434: The tradition of classic alien invasion movies and casting them in the 90s teen tradition." In hindsight, director Robert Rodriguez said: "Making The Faculty was just a blast. There was so much young energy and the actors were just so into it. I will say, I was worried it wouldn't do well though. I wanted them to use a different title because our target audience wasn't gonna want to see a movie about teachers. So I fought for
3534-456: The tropes of science fiction with a smart, funny angle. Half of the fun in this film is in identifying where you first came across a certain character's name or saw a particular special effect. For instance, there's a brilliant moment with a head on legs that I defy you to watch and not think of a certain John Carpenter film ." Whiteley concluded, " The Faculty is very definitely a big mess of
3596-416: The user, and the aliens are hyper-sensitive to hydration of both themselves and their host). Zeke makes everyone take his drug to prove they are uninfected. Delilah is revealed as infected and she destroys Zeke's lab and most of his drug supply before escaping. Acting on Stokely's speculation that killing the alien queen will revert everyone to normal, the group returns to the school, where their football team
3658-527: Was delayed until July 2019, three years after the second season finale) and the film Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (which Lantern did not acquire). In March 2020, a federal judge ruled that Spyglass was not responsible for any of TWC's outgoing royalties, and it discontinued making movies and TV shows from now on and it was transferred into Spyglass Media Group and Lionsgate . Motion pictures Television Radius (stylized as RADiUS ; formerly Radius-TWC )
3720-570: Was like, "This is a small movie about cars. It's a really fun summer project." ... With The Faculty it was like, "You guys, this is gonna be huge. Look at all these successes around us," like She's All That and Scream . ... And then it turned out it wasn't so huge. We thought it was gonna be massive ... But it was a cult classic so that's really cool. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , The Faculty holds an approval rating of 58% based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10. The site's critics consensus called
3782-476: Was owned by Disney. After Disney sold Miramax to Filmyard in 2010, they were distributed from 2011 to 2020 on home video through Lionsgate Home Entertainment , with Echo Bridge Home Entertainment briefly handling some as well. Through ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global )'s 49% stake in Miramax, Paramount Home Entertainment acquired the home video distribution rights to the pre-2005 Dimension titles. Notable exceptions are The Others (2001), Mr. 3000 (2004) and
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#17330854333883844-649: Was used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein 's label within the brothers' own Miramax Films studio, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993. The Weinsteins took the Dimension Films label with them when they separated from Miramax Films on October 1, 2005, and paired it under their new company, The Weinstein Company (TWC). However, the firing of Harvey Weinstein following allegations of sexual harassment and rape against him , as well as financial troubles that followed, led to TWC's decline. TWC eventually declared bankruptcy in February 2018, with Lantern acquiring
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