Left Bank Pictures
| Subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television | |
| Industry | Film and television production |
| Founded | July 2007 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | London, England |
|
Key people
|
|
| Owner | Sony |
| Parent | Sony Pictures Entertainment |
Left Bank Pictures (stylized as LEFT BANK Pictures) is a British film and television production company. It was formed in 2007 and was the first British media company to receive investment from BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC.
Left Bank Pictures' productions include the television series Wallander, Strike Back, DCI Banks and Outlander. Their production, The Crown, is the first American-British television series produced exclusively for Netflix. The series, written by Peter Morgan, was released on November 4, 2016.
Left Bank Pictures was founded in 2007 by Andy Harries, formerly controller of drama, comedy and film at Granada Productions, Francis Hopkinson and Marigo Kehoe. The company was the first British media company to receive equity investment from BBC Worldwide, the commercial venture of the BBC. BBC Worldwide took a 25% stake, worth £1 million, in Left Bank in exchange for first-look distribution rights on all television productions, in a five-year deal.
In December 2008, Left Bank Pictures was one of many independent production companies to receive the production vision award from the UK Film Council. The award part-funded Left Bank's film development slate. In February 2009, Suzanne Mackie, formerly head of development at Harbour Pictures, joined the company as head of film.
Hopkinson announced his departure in 2011 to take up a new position with ITV Studios. Michael Casey joined the company, taking on the development slate, and Simon Lupton joined the comedy department. The company was put up for sale for £40 million on 6 April 2012. On 5 July 2012, Sony Pictures Television made a deal to acquire Left Bank for £40 million. The sale was completed on 23 August 2012, with SPT becoming the majority shareholder, and BBC Worldwide, Harries and Kehoe reducing their stake in the company. BBC Worldwide reduced its stake from 25% to 12.2%. Sony Pictures Television intends to build Left Bank's international productions.
...
Wikipedia