History
Launched in 1991 from a small loft space in lower Manhattan by writer—producer Columbia professor James Schamus and his partner, Ted Hope, Good Machine produced many important independent films over the years, among them Safe (Todd Haynes, 1995) and The Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee, 1993). The company survived by doing line producing for hire and keeping overhead costs low. Many films were commercially successful thanks to centrist marketing strategies. The creation of a foreign sales company also gave Schamus and Hope greater control of Good Machine’s products, increased financing sources, and provided information about what people in the marketplace wanted.
During its tenure Good Machine was host to developing and nurturing talent, including Anne Carey, Anthony Bregman, Mary Jane Skalski, Glen Basner, Ross Katz, Kelly Miller, Lamia Guellati, Heta Parte, Jawal Nga, Stefanie Azpiazu, and Peter Ostopholis. Overall, Good Machine produced and handled sales for over 100 feature and short films, tallying a combined 25 Oscar nominations, 20 Golden Globe nominations, 21 Sundance Film Festival entries (including four grand jury prize winners), which earned a combined worldwide box office in excess of $400 million. Along with its in-house projects, Good Machine also entered into a number of high-profile co-productions with many of the indie world's top production houses, including Killer Films (Storytelling (film), Happiness (film)) and GreeneStreet Films (In the Bedroom).
After merging with Focus Features, in 2002, with Schamus and Good Machine sales partner David Linde still aboard, Focus served as Universal Pictures’s indie arm, functioning ‘as a magnet for talent, keeping filmmakers like Ang Lee, Steven Soderbergh, Spike Jonze, Neil LaBute, Mira Nair, and Todd Haynes "in the Universal fold, and creating an incubator for emerging filmmakers and stars".
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