De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
| Industry | Film studio |
|---|---|
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, North Carolina |
|
Key people
|
Dino De Laurentiis |
| Products | Motion pictures |
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) was an entertainment production company and distribution unit founded by Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis. The company is notable for producing Manhunter, Blue Velvet, the horror films Near Dark and Evil Dead II, King Kong Lives (the sequel to De Laurentiis' remake of King Kong), and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, as well as distributing Transformers: The Movie.
The company's main studios were located in Wilmington, North Carolina, which is now EUE/Screen Gems Studios. The studio's first releases were in 1986. It went bankrupt two years later after Million Dollar Mystery, among other films, failed at the box office.
In 1983, Dino De Laurentiis produced Firestarter in Wilmington. The governor of North Carolina, Jim Hunt, claimed that the filming increased economic activity in the state. Hunt used incentives and loans to allow De Laurentiis to buy a local warehouse to convert into a studio. In early 1984, De Laurentiis founded the North Carolina Film Corporation, with Martha Schumacher as president.
In 1985, DEG acquired Embassy Pictures from The Coca-Cola Company.
Canadian distribution of DEG releases were done by Paramount Pictures.
DEG had an early version of Total Recall in pre-production with Patrick Swayze as Quaid and Bruce Beresford to direct (David Cronenberg had also been approached), where it was to have been shot in Australia. After DEG's bankruptcy, the film went in turnaround to Carolco Pictures.
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