RadicalMedia

For a form of alternative media, see Radical media.
RadicalMedia, LLC
IndustryMedia production
Founded1993 (1993)
Founder
  • Jon Kamen
  • Frank Scherma
Headquarters
  • New York City,
with offices in Los Angeles, London, Berlin, and Shanghai
Area served
Worldwide
Websitewww.radicalmedia.com

RadicalMedia is an independent global media and creative production company. Founded by Jon Kamen and Frank Scherma, the company had developed film, television, and branded content.[1]

In 2010, Fremantle purchased a 60 percent stake in the company.[2] In 2015, RadicalMedia bought back the company's shares, retaining its majority ownership.[3]

Entertainment

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Company's projects include the Emmy-winning David Byrne's American Utopia and Spring Awakening: Those You've Known; the Tony Award-winning musical Come From Away; the series Crime Scene, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, and Conversations with a Killer; and Doris Kearns Goodwin's Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt on History Channel.

RadicalMedia produced Concert for George; Metallica: Some Kind of Monster on Metallica, the pilot episode of Mad Men; and the A&E documentary Under African Skies on Paul Simon's Graceland journey[4] directed by Joe Berlinger. The company also produced Ron Howard's documentary Made in America;[5][6] the docu-series Abstract: The Art of Design, Oh, Hello on Broadway, Bobby Kennedy for President, and My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman; and Hamilton's America, a documentary about Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical, Hamilton.[7]

The company had shot three performances of shows with the original principal cast at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City during a week in the summer of 2016.[8] That footage was edited together into a full-length film recording of the musical, which was then offered for bidding to major film studios.[9] Eventually, the distribution rights were purchased by Walt Disney Studios on February 3, 2020, for a total of $75 million.[10][11]

In July 2012, RadicalMedia launched THNKR, the company's YouTube channel.[12]

Branded entertainment

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RadicalMedia also produces brand-driven entertainment for its partners and advertisers. Productions include Nike Battlegrounds, a 3-season street basketball competition series.[13] Iconoclasts, a series featuring unscripted encounters with cultural figures,[14] was produced by RadicalMedia for the Sundance Channel in partnership with Grey Goose Entertainment.[15] In 2007, the company also worked with BBH to develop and produce the MTV-scripted reality dating series The Gamekillers, which was sponsored by Axe deodorant.[16] In 2011, RadicalMedia and Ogilvy & Mather produced a short documentary series for IBM,[17] "Watson".[18] In 2012, RadicalMedia won three Cannes Lions for "GT Academy" for Speed.[19]

Music videos

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In 2010, the company produced "The Johnny Cash Project", a crowd-sourced music video of Johnny Cash's Ain't No Grave, directed by Chris Milk. The music video received multiple awards.[20][21]

Other productions include the Major Lazer document "Chasing the Sound" following the trio's tour through West Africa; the visuals for every track on Orville Peck's album Bronco and previous single "Queen of the Rodeo"; Tom Misch's video for "What Kinda Music"; Lil Xan and Charli XCX's video for "Moonlight"; Sia's video for "Rainbow"; and Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj's music video for "Swish".

Controversy

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In April 2011, the company took legal action to prevent a collective of radical media organizations from using the trademarked phrase "radical media" to promote their upcoming Radical Media Conference in London, which was consequently renamed to the Rebellious Media Conference.[22] On May 3, 2011, a group held a demonstration outside RadicalMedia's London offices. Protester Ewa Jasiewicz said the company had "locked off the term 'radical media' away from anybody else using it, including activists who really do make radical media".[23]

References

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  1. ^ "The Way I Work: Jon Kamen of @radical.media". Inc.com. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  2. ^ Elliott, Stuart (October 4, 2010). "Fremantle Buys Majority Stake in @radical.media". Media Decoder Blog. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "FremantleMedia reduces stake in Radical Media". Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "Paul Simon's Graceland Journey: Under African Skies". Emmys.com. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Brian Grazer on 'Made In America' Doc: 'Jay-Z Putting His Finger on a Place and Time'". Hollywood Reporter. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  6. ^ Ron Howard's Feature Documentary On Jay-Z ('Made In America') Will World Premiere At TIFF indiewire.com. 20 August 2013.
  7. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (January 18, 2016). "PBS to Air Behind the Scenes Documentary on 'Hamilton' Broadway Musical from RadicalMedia". Variety. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  8. ^ Paulson, Michael (June 25, 2020). "'Hamilton' Is Coming to the Small Screen. This Is How It Got There". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Fritz, Ben (July 24, 2018). "'Hamilton' May Be Headed to the Movies". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  10. ^ Paulson, Michael (2020-02-03). "'Hamilton' Movie, With Original Broadway Cast, to Hit Theaters Next Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  11. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (February 3, 2020). "'Hamilton' Movie With Original Broadway Cast Coming to Theaters". Variety. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  12. ^ "New YouTube Channel THNKR Aims to Make You, and Edu-Programming, Smarter". Fast Company. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  13. ^ "Nike Takes Battle of the Brands – Ann-christine Diaz – Ad Critic News". Creativity Online. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  14. ^ The Sundance Channel. "ICONOCLASTS | About the Series". Sundance Channel. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  15. ^ "Grey Goose / Iconoclasts". www.oneclub.org. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  16. ^ "SourceEcreative". SourceEcreative. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  17. ^ https://www.canneslions.com/work/pr/entry.cfm?entryid=18731 [dead link]
  18. ^ "WATSON". Cannes Lions. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  19. ^ "CAA, Chipotle Snag Two Grand Prix". Adweek. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  20. ^ "Webby Nominees". Webbyawards.com. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  21. ^ "Webby Nominees". Webbyawards.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  22. ^ Esther Addley (15 April 2011). "Esther Addley's Diary | Politics". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  23. ^ Ian Blunt says (10 May 2011). "We make radical media, you make adverts | Red Pepper blog". Red Pepper. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
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