Industry Motion pictures Founder Bob Yari | Products Motion pictures Founded 2002 | |
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Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States | ||
The Yari Film Group (YFG) is an independent film company founded in 2002, and headed by producer Bob Yari, which deals in financing, production, acquisition, sales and distribution of theatrical feature films. Yari Film Group has been under fire for over a decade for breach of contract and failure to pay other producers and actors such as Sharon Stone. Bob Yari has been a defendant in numerous lawsuits and judgments have been upheld by the courts.
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The company's early production credits included Academy Award Winner Crash, with an all-star cast led by Matt Dillon and Sandra Bullock; The Hoax, with Richard Gere; The Matador with Pierce Brosnan; The Painted Veil starring Edward Norton; A Love Song for Bobby Long with John Travolta; Dave Chappelle's Block Party; Prime with Meryl Streep; and Thumbsucker with an all-star cast including Keanu Reeves and Vince Vaughn.
In December 2008, Yari filed for bankruptcy. They continue to operate while under creditor protection as of March 2009.
Distribution
Yari Film Group Releasing, the distribution arm of YFG, released their first batch of films in 2006. The dramedy Winter Passing, starring Will Ferrell and Ed Harris, was their first foray, with a limited U.S. release in February 2006. Find Me Guilty, starring Vin Diesel, was the company's first national release, launching in more than 400 theatres across the country. YFG's first major financial success as a distributor was with The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel, which pulled in roughly $40 million at the U.S box office, gaining the upstart notoriety for successfully launching the film through a platform release rollout. YFG Releasing adopted an early strategy of producing and acquiring independent films with major name talent attached, such as The Illusionist, Winter Passing, Haven (with Orlando Bloom and Bill Paxton), Shortcut to Happiness (starring Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins and Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Even Money (with Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta and Danny DeVito).