"Dirty Dancing" -- Vestron's First Production

An article titled Dancing Vestron's first production, written by David Schwartz, was published by The Boston Globe newspaper on August 9, 1987 -- twelve days before the movie Dirty Dancing opened in movie theaters.

The article published on August 9, 1987 in The Boston Globe

The article's text:

Dirty Dancing marks the entry of Vestron, one of the largest home-video companies, into the wold of feature film production.

Formed in 1981, Vestron built its riches by acquiring home video rights to ore than 600 movies. But now the company is in trouble because of a changing marketplace. Video stores have stocked their libraries and only need to buy the latest releases. With movie studios forming their own home-video divisions, Vestron's supply of these titles has dried up.

The company has responded with a bold gable, forming a division that will produce its own movies and acquire new independent movies. Vestron will release the movies in theaters, and later on home video.

As William Quigley, president of Vestron Pictures, explained in a recent phone interview, "This company was a volume player, and that strategy has changed. The rental market now is driven by the big hits. The top of the market is going higher and higher, and the bottom is falling apart. Vestron anticipated this change in the marketplace by creating Vestron Pictures."

Vestron Pictures will release a diverse blend of movies, ranging from specialty films by renowned international directors to thrillers and adventure films aimed at a mass audience. Among Vestron's upcoming films are: John Huston's adaptation of James Joyce's The Dead, starring his daughter Anjelica Huston; Anna, an independent American film featuring model Paulina Porizkova's screen debut; Desert Warrior, a post-apocalyptic action adventure; and The Promised Land, a life-after-high school drama starring Kiefer Suteherland from Stand By Me.

Vestron has already released a number of art-house films, including Ken Russell's Gothic, Terry Jones' Personal Services, and The Taviani Brothers' Good Morning, Babylon. But Dirty Dancing is the first movie solely produced by Vestron, and it first nationwide release.

Vestron hopes to create a homegrown stable of hits to bolster sagging revenues. The company's earnings dropped 54 percent n 1986. The stock price, established at 13 when the company went public in late 1985, hit a low of 3½ last month. In May this year, 25 of the company's 400 employees were laid off.

Vestron has also been hurt recently by a battle over video rights to Platoon. Vestron helped finance the movie by guaranteeing Hemdale films $2.6 million of the $6 million budget in exchange for video rights. But on the day Stone was thanking Vestron in his Oscar acceptance speech, the company was in court because Hemdale had not yet delivered a print of the film to Vestron. Hemdale backed out if its deal with Vestron, later signing an $11 million deal with HBO. Vestron has sued Hemdale, and a trial will begin in September.

The industry is skeptical about Vestron Pictures, due largely to the failure of such maverick companies as Cannon Films and the DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group in a marketplace dominated by studios. But adventurous moviegoers may be rooting for Vestron's success, for the company has already helped finance a number of interesting, low-budget films.

As Quigley points out, the final verdict will be provided by the public. "Basically, the word will be on us by the end of the year. Judge us by what happens. Judge us by the product."

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