Strange Studio Owners

The late 1960's and the 1970's were a strange time in Hollywood. The studios, which had grown into large companies, were finding it hard to reach the young people who were growing tired of the same old films. With movie budgets growing ever larger, one bad decision could take down a studio and almost did. (See Fox's Cleopatra.) Meanwhile, "conglomeration" was the buzzword on Wall Street, so large companies looking for a bit of glitz and glamour hit the streets of Hollywood looking for a deal.

It was this mindset that led to Warner Brothers getting purchased by the "Kinney Leisure Service" which ran parking lot concessions. This match, however, was fortuitous; Kinney Leisure had previously purchased DC Comics, which proved to be an excellent fit with Warners. Soon, Hollywood had taken over Kinney Leisure. The parking lots and extraneous divisions were sold off and Warner became the media juggernaut it is today. 

Another odd match was Transamerica Insurance and United Artists. The insurance company was known for its distinctive San Francisco building and its conservative money management. In a business where gigantic budgets ruled the day, being owned by a stodgy insurance company was not seen as being a positive thing. Ironically, the thing that took down United Artists was the colossally budgeted Heaven's Gate. Transamerica bet the studio on a film that, in hindsight, appears to be something that would never attract the mass audience needed to come close to breaking even. This insurance/film studio hybrid failed miserably. In the end, Transamerica would sell its stake to MGM.