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Radical Studios

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Radical Studios
Company typePrivate multimedia studio
IndustryFilm and publishing
Founded2007
FoundersJesse Berger
Barry Levine
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
ProductsFilm and comics
ParentBlatant Entertainment, Inc.
DivisionsRadical Publishing
Radical Pictures
Radical Comics
Radical Interactive
Radical Family
Websiteradicalstudios.com

Radical Studios was an American multimedia studio headquartered in Los Angeles, California.[1] It had branches in feature films, television, physical and digital publishing, merchandise, recorded music, digital and online media applications and mobile and social games.[2]

History

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Radical Publishing was founded in 2007 by Barry Levine, David Elliott, Jesse Berger, and Matthew Berger.[3][4][5]

The company launched its first titles, Hercules and Caliber, in May 2008.[6] In May 2009 Elliott left the company, being replaced by new Editor-in-Chief David Wohl.[7][8]

In September 2010, the company rebranded itself as Radical Studios.[9]

In 2011, the company reduced its overall staff.[10] In January, 2012 David Wohl announced that he was leaving the company.[11] Shortly after, the company removed their title Under the Faerie Moon from Free Comic Book Day[12] and cancelled the release of Damaged issue 6.[13]

In March 2012, the company began production on the movie Oblivion with Universal Pictures, based on an unpublished book created by director Joseph Kosinski, starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko and Melissa Leo.[14] The film opened #1 at the box office on April 19, 2013, generating $38.5 million in its US opening weekend.[15] The film went on to generate $89 million in the US box office and $198 million internationally, for a global cumulative gross of $287 million.[16]

In February 2013, the company raised $3m in equity from Los Angeles-based production company Wolfiskin Productions, to help expand its digital strategy and licensing capabilities.[17]

In June 2013, the company started production on Hercules, with MGM and Paramount Pictures, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, based on the Radical Comics' series Hercules: The Thracian Wars.[18] The movie opened at #2 in the box office on July 25, 2014, generating $29.8M in its US opening weekend.[19] The film went on to generate $72 million in the US box office and $170 million internationally, for a global cume of $243 million.

Film

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Stemming from its start as a comic book publisher, and in regards to its comics, Radical Founder Barry Levine stated that “each title is built with the assumption the comic book will eventually land on the big screen.” These tools are used to attract film directors and other talent for attachment to a project during the development process.[20] Lastly, Radical sometimes employs the comic’s series writer to draft an initial screenplay of their work as a part of the film pitch package presented to studios.[21] Using these strategies, Radical has attracted various Hollywood talent and studios to their projects.

Film director Darren Bousman (Saw and Mother’s Day) at SDCC 2009 with Radical Comics

Released films

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Films in development

[edit]

Publishing

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Radical Comics logo

The company launched its first comic titles, Hercules and Caliber, in May 2008 as 5-issue mini-series and debuted as the #7 comic book company in North American comic book shops in market share based on a monthly report by ICV2.[45] Rather than the superheroes typical of Marvel and DC Comics, Radical’s titles focus on retellings of iconic fictional characters,[46] mythology, science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, supernatural themes, and genre-based crime.[47] Radical releases comics first as miniseries, and then combines these miniseries into paperback collections. Radical’s strategy in the comic book business is to create properties that feature painted art and “great stories that will appeal to the fans and the marketplace as a whole."[48][49] Many of Radical’s titles are published in a larger 48-page form, rather than the industry standard 22-page format. Radical comics are distributed in both mass market stores and specialized comic book shops.[50] by Diamond Comic Distributors of North America.[49] At one point Radical had a distribution deal for mass market stores in the United States and Canada by Random House.[51] However, the company rejoined Diamond Comic Distributors in 2011. As of 2012, Radical has published 20 different titles and is currently distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors.[52] Currently, Radical has not released any new comics or graphic novels since the release of Damaged issue 5 on February 1, 2012. The final issue of Damaged has since been cancelled.

The company has released a number of titles:

Reprints

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They also used to collect and reprint works previously published elsewhere:

Awards

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Radical received the 2008 Diamond Gem Award for New Comic Book Publisher of the Year from Diamond Comic Distributors. Diamond Comic Distributors is recognized as the premier comic book distributor in North America. The awards are voted on by the comic book store retailers, and are based on the overall impact of the publisher on the industry, taking into account sales performance, quality and creativity.[71][72][73] Radical received the award for their first two titles, Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Caliber: First Canon of Justice. Both comics were launched in May 2008, and enjoyed sellout performances.[74]

Legends: The Enchanted won the HorrorNews Net award for Best Original Graphic Novel 2010.[75]

Legends: The Enchanted was nominated for an Eagle Award for Favourite Single Story 2010.[76]

[edit]

In July 2009, it was reported that Elliott had filed a lawsuit against Radical Publishing's parent company, Blatant Entertainment. The lawsuit cited disagreements over unpaid wages, as well as contract and copyright disputes as reasoning behind the action.[77]

In early 2010, Radical Studios had to halt publication of Nick Simmons' series Incarnate following accusations of plagiarism.[78][79]

References

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  1. ^ "Radical Plans for Comics, Books, Films". Publishers Weekly. January 12, 2009. Archived from the original on March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  2. ^ "About Radical | Radical Studios, Inc.Radical Studios, Inc". Radicalpublishing.com. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  3. ^ Radical Publishing (August 4, 2008). "Septagon Studios spotlights Radical Publishing". Radical Comics. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) from original December 3, 2009.
  4. ^ "Radical Publishing's Ambitious Agenda". ICv2. 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  5. ^ "Radical Publishing's Ambitious Agenda". Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  6. ^ Glazer, Gianluca, "Radical Publishing Set To Debut Their First Titles In May, 2008" (press release), Comic Book Resources, April 23, 2008, accessed December 3, 2009. Archived from original December 3, 2009.
  7. ^ Staff, "David Wohl Named New Radical Comic EiC" (press release), Comic Book Resources, May 19, 2009, accessed December 3, 2009. Archived December 3, 2009.
  8. ^ Manning, Shaun (August 18, 2009). "David Wohl Discusses New Role as Radical's EiC". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  9. ^ "Radical Publishing Becomes Radical Studios, Values Itself At $84,000,000 (BleediLeaks) - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News". Bleedingcool.com. 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  10. ^ "Four Names Off The Masthead At Radical Publishing - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News". Bleedingcool.com. 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  11. ^ "David Wolh No Longer Editor In Chief Of Radical Entertainment - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News". Bleedingcool.com. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  12. ^ "Radical Publishing Drops Out Of Free Comic Book Day - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News". Bleedingcool.com. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  13. ^ "Diamond Distribution Cancellations for May 2013". ComicList. 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2012-03-23). "Melissa Leo Joins Tom Cruise Pic 'Oblivion'". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 29, 2014. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  15. ^ Finke, Nikki (2013-04-20). "Costly 'Oblivion' $13.3M Friday And $38.5M Weekend: Tom Cruise's Bigger Openings". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  16. ^ "Oblivion (2013) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  17. ^ Abrams, Rachel (2013-02-04). "Comicbook publisher Radical Studios raises $3 million". Variety. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  18. ^ Greenberger, Robert (2013-06-10). "Paramount & MGM Begin Production on Hercules". ComicMix. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  19. ^ Busch, Anita (2014-07-28). "Box Office Final: 'Lucy' In The Sky At $43.9M; 'Hercules' At $29.8M; Top 20 Listed". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  20. ^ Stecker, Joshua (May–June 2009), "Radical Publishing: What do you do for fun after a career of photographing rock stars?", Script Magazine, pp. 73–75
  21. ^ "Bug talks with Radical Comics' Barry Levine". Ain’t It Cool. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  22. ^ "'Tron Legacy' Director Offers 'Oblivion' Update". MTV News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  23. ^ "NYCC '09 - New Projects, New Format: The Radical Panel". Newsarama. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  24. ^ Kit, Borys (July 29, 2009). "Tron Legacy Director into 'Oblivion'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  25. ^ Trumbore, Dave (January 19, 2012). "Olga Kurylenko and Andrea Riseborough Join Tom Cruise in Untitled Sci-Fi Pic". Collider.com. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  26. ^ Chitwood, Adam (March 15, 2012). "Universal Moves Sci-Fi Film OBLIVION Starring Tom Cruise Up to April 26, 2013". Collider.com. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  27. ^ "Oblivion, Based On The Non-Existing Graphic Novel - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News". Bleedingcool.com. 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  28. ^ Jeff Sneider (2012-03-05). "Dwayne Johnson signs on as Hercules". Variety. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  29. ^ Wales, George (2012-02-24). "Dwayne Johnson to play Brett Ratner's Hercules". TotalFilm.com. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  30. ^ Kit, Borys. "'Headhunters' Star Joining Dwayne Johnson in 'Hercules' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  31. ^ Fleming, Mike (2013-03-20). "Rufus Sewell Cast In 'Hercules' Movie With Dwayne Johnson". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  32. ^ "Ian McShane Joins Dwayne Johnson in 'Hercules' for MGM and Paramount (Exclusive) - Hollywood Reporter". M.hollywoodreporter.com. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  33. ^ Fleming, Michael (July 21, 2009). "Bousman to bloody up 'Abattoir'". Variety. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  34. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2012-03-12). "Commercial & Video Wiz Anthony Mandler To Helm 'The Last Days Of American Crime'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  35. ^ "'Last Days of American Crime' Gets New Director, Loses Worthington". FirstShowing.net. 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  36. ^ "Radical Plans for Comics, Books, Films". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  37. ^ "'Freedom Formula' Adaptation Gets Official With New Regency & Bryan Singer". MTV News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  38. ^ Boueher, Geoff (December 13, 2008), "Hero Complex: Comics pitch", Los Angeles Times
  39. ^ Stecker, Joshua (May–June 2009), "Radical Publishing: What do you do for fun after a career of photographing rock stars?", Script Magazine
  40. ^ Fleming, Michael (October 9, 2008). "Radical gets help from Singapore co.: Graphic novel publisher inks film financing deal". Variety. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  41. ^ "Hero Complex: Barry Levine and his Radical plan in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 2008. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  42. ^ "CCI: RADICAL'S NEW COMICS, FILMS". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  43. ^ Sneider, Jeff (20 July 2011). "Hilary Swank grabs hold of 'Shrapnel'". Variety. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  44. ^ SuperHeroHype (1 July 2010). "Worthington Teams Up with Radical for Damaged". SuperHeroHype. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  45. ^ "CBR Community". Forums.comicbookresources.com. 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  46. ^ Stecker, Joshua (May–June 2009), "Radical Publishing: What do you do for fun after a career of photographing rock stars?", Script Magazine, pp. 70–75
  47. ^ Liu, Jonathan H. (December 1, 2009). "Radical Publishing Raises the Bar on Comics". Wired Magazine. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  48. ^ "Radical Publishing to Debut at San Diego Comic-Con". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  49. ^ a b Reid, Calvin (2009-01-12). "Radical Plans for Comics, Books, Films". Publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  50. ^ "CCI: RADICAL'S NEW COMICS, FILMS". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  51. ^ "Radical Goes With Random House". ICv2. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  52. ^ "Radical Publishing Rejoins Diamond Book Distributors". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  53. ^ "Moore Talks "Hercules: The Thracian Wars"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  54. ^ "Steve Moore on Hercules: The Knives of Kush". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  55. ^ "Arthur & The Knights of the OK Corral: Sarkar talks "Caliber"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  56. ^ "Designing the City of Dust - Artists Zid & Chng Spill". Newsarama.com. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  57. ^ "Kai talks Radical's Sci-Fi Epic "Shrapnel"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  58. ^ "Sagan & Long on Radical's 'Shrapnel: Aristeia Rising'". Newsarama.com. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  59. ^ "Hotwire gallery". Stevepugh.com. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  60. ^ "Steve Pugh, Warren Ellis create "Hotwire" for Radical". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  61. ^ "Zombies, Vampires and U.S. History?? David Hine on 'FVZA'". Newsarama.com. 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  62. ^ Rodriguez, Alex (July 23, 2009). "Nick Simmons: Bringing the Revenants to Life". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
  63. ^ Sunu, Steve (November 17, 2009). "Nick Percival creates Legends". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  64. ^ Hoffman, Carla (August 6, 2008). "Newsarama covers the Radical Comic-Con 2008 panel". Radical Comics. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  65. ^ Arrant, Chris (November 25, 2009). "A Radical Interpretation of ALADDIN". Newsarama. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  66. ^ Sunu, Steve (December 1, 2009). "Edginton Ignites "Aladdin's" Lamp". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  67. ^ Manning, Shaun (August 20, 2009). "Remender's "Last Days of American Crime"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
  68. ^ Arrant, Chris (October 28, 2009). "You Will Be Brainwashed Into Compliance in "LAST DAYS"". Newsarama. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
  69. ^ Manning, Shaun (April 29, 2009). "Arthur Suydam on "Cholly & Flytrap"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  70. ^ [1] Archived January 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  71. ^ "Radical Publishing named Diamond's "Best New Publisher" for 2008" (Press release). Comic Book Resources. February 3, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  72. ^ Adler, Matt (February 8, 2009). "NYCC: Radical Publishing". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  73. ^ "2008 GEM Award Winners Announced" (Press release). Major Spoilers. February 4, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  74. ^ "Scoop - Where the Magic of Collecting Comes Alive! - Radical Receives Diamond GEM Award". Scoop.diamondgalleries.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  75. ^ 2010
  76. ^ "Eagle Awards Nominations Announced - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News". Bleedingcool.com. 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  77. ^ Gardner, Eriq (July 22, 2009). "Radical lawsuit hits comic book powerhouse". The Hollywood Reporter, Esq. Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) December 3, 2009.
  78. ^ Melrose, Kevin (February 25, 2010). "Radical Halts Nick Simmons' Incarnate amid Claims of Plagiarism". Robot 6. Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  79. ^ "Nick Simmons' Incarnate Halted Over Alleged Bleach Plagiarism (Updated)". Anime News Network. February 25, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
Sources
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