A Band Apart

A Band Apart LLC
Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded1991; 33 years ago (1991)
Founders
Defunct2006; 18 years ago (2006)
FateLiquidation
Headquarters
Key people
  • Lawrence Bender (CEO/president)
  • Michael Bodnarchek (CEO/president)
  • Adam Bloom (executive producer/head of production)
Products
Websiteabandapart.com (defunct)

A Band Apart Films LLC was an independent production company founded by Quentin Tarantino, Michael Bodnarchek, and Lawrence Bender that was active from 1991 until its liquidation in 2006. Its name is a play on the French New Wave classic film, Bande à part ("Band of Outsiders") by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, whose work was highly influential on the work of the company's members.

History

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Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, two central members of A Band Apart (pictured at the 2007 Scream Awards).

Tarantino formed A Band Apart in 1991,[1] naming it after his favorite Godard film, Bande à part.[2] The company's logo was a stylized image of the robbers from Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino's debut film. Subsequently, several legal entities within the company were named after the film's characters. Mr. Pink LLC was for music video production budgets, and Mr. Brown LLC was for commercials.

In addition to Tarantino, members of the company included Robert Rodriguez, John Woo, Tim Burton, Steve Buscemi, Darren Aronofsky, John Landis, Athanasius Acropolis, Joseph McGinty Nichol, Nigel Dick, Varl Hobe, Steve Carr, Cameron Casey, Marcel Langenegger, Wayne Isham, Cale Donk, Terry Windell, Lisa Prisco,[3] Paul Street, Phil Harder-Rick Fuller, Coodie & Chike, Osbert Parker, Luc Besson, Porker LeVance, Adam Christian Clark, André 3000, Christopher Morrison and Michael Palmieri, Ducky Powell, Andy Mornahan, Chash Brower, Steve Lowe, Loren Hill, Darren Grant, Charles Whittenmier, Geoff McGann, Olivier Venturini, The 405 Guys, and Craig Tanamoto.[citation needed]

The company catapulted to fame with the 1994 release of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, which was considered by some critics to be the most influential American film of the decade.[4] In the summer of 1995, the company added a division for commercials and later, for music video production, adding a third co-owner Michael Bodnarchek. Kristin Cruz (aka Kris Foster) and Heidi Santelli launched A Band Apart Music Videos as directors' rep and executive producer, respectively.[5]

Company closure

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Tarantino and Bender had an amicable split, leaving Tarantino as the sole owner of the studio,[6] while David Heyman (Harry Potter, Gravity) produced Tarantino's ninth film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.[7]

The company is listed for Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012),[8][9] and credited for Grindhouse (2007).

Filmography

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Films produced and co-produced

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Year Title Directed by Distribution Co-production Notes
1992 Reservoir Dogs Quentin Tarantino Miramax Films Live America Inc.
Dog Eat Dog Productions
1993 True Romance Tony Scott Warner Bros. Morgan Creek Productions
Davis Films
1994 Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino Miramax Films Jersey Films
1995 The Whiskey Heir JoAnn Fregalette Jansen A Band Apart Short film
White Man's Burden Desmond Nakano Savoy Pictures UGC
Rysher Entertainment
Four Rooms Allison Anders
Alexandre Rockwell
Robert Rodriguez
Quentin Tarantino
Miramax Films
1996 Curdled Rob Braddock Rolling Thunder Pictures
Miramax Films
Tinderbox Films
From Dusk till Dawn Robert Rodriguez Miramax Films Dimension Films
Los Hooligans Productions
1997 Jackie Brown Quentin Tarantino Mighty Mighty Afrodite Productions
Lawrence Bender Productions
Good Will Hunting Gus Van Sant Be Gentleman Limited Partnership As Lawrence Bender Productions
1998 Metallica: Cunning Stunts Wayne Ishun
Adam Dubin
Elektra Entertainment Celluloid Construction Company
Woof! Woof!
Concert video
1999 From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money Scott Spiegel Buena Vista Home Entertainment Dimension Home Video
Los Hooligans
Direct-to-video
2000 From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter P. J. Pesce Amuse Pictures
Buena Vista Home Video
New Films International
2003 Kill Bill: Volume 1 Quentin Tarantino Miramax Films
2004 Kill Bill: Volume 2
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Guy Ferland Lionsgate Films
Miramax Films
Artisan Entertainment
Havana Nights LLC
Lawrence Bender Productions
Miramax Films
2007 Death Proof Quentin Tarantino Dimension Films Troublemaker Studios Soundtrack only
2009 Inglourious Basterds The Weinstein Company
Universal Pictures
Studio Babelsberg
Visiona Romantica
2012 Django Unchained The Weinstein Company
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures

Music videos produced (partial list)

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Year Title Artist(s)
1997 "Promisse Ain't Enough" Hall & Oates
1998 "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" The Offspring
"Fuel" Metallica
"Believe" Cher
"The City Is Mine" Jay-Z ft. Blackstreet
"Miami" Will Smith
"Clock Strikes" Timbaland & Magoo ft. Mad Skillz
"Hard Knock Life" Jay-Z
1999 "Everything You Want" Vertical Horizon
"The Hardest Thing" 98 Degrees
2000 "Bye Bye Bye" NSYNC
"Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" Fuel
"(Rock) Superstar" Cypress Hill
"U Got It" Cleopatra
"Breathless" The Corrs
"Oops!... I Did It Again" Britney Spears
2001 "Cry" Mandy Moore
"Crush"
"Overprotected" Britney Spears
2003 "Some Girls" JC Chasez
"Falls on Me" Fuel
2005 "An Honest Mistake" The Bravery
"Resolve" Foo Fighters
"Juicebox (song)" The Strokes

References

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  1. ^ Alan Barnes; Marcus Hearn (1996). Tarantino A to Zed: the films of Quentin Tarantino. B.T. Batsford. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7134-7990-4. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  2. ^ Jerome Charyn (23 May 2006). Raised by Wolves: The Turbulent Art and Times of Quentin Tarantino. Da Capo Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-56025-858-2. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  3. ^ Woodward, Sarah (December 15, 2000). "Lisa Prisco To Direct Via A Band Apart". Shoot.
  4. ^ "The All-Time Greatest 100 Films". Time 2005.
  5. ^ "City Pages Article", City Pages Archived February 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine 2007
  6. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (August 28, 2015). "Quentin Tarantino: The Complete Syllabus of His Influences and References". Vulture. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  7. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 14, 2017). "Bidding Heats on Quentin Tarantino Script As David Heyman Boards As Producer". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  9. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
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