Epitome Pictures
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| File:Epitome Pictures logo 2000s.svg | |
| Division | |
| Industry | Film Television production |
| Fate | Absorbed into DHX Media, studios sold off |
| Predecessor | Playing With Time, Inc. (1976–1992) |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Defunct | April 2, 2019 |
| Headquarters | 220 Bartley Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|
Key people
|
Linda Schuyler (COO) Stephen Stohn (President) |
| Services | Production, distribution, broadcast, and licensing of entertainment content for children and families |
| Parent | DHX Studios (DHX Media) |
| 1968 | FilmFair is founded |
|---|---|
| 1971 | DIC Entertainment is founded |
| 1976 | CINAR and Colossal Pictures are founded |
| 1988 | Studio B Productions is founded |
| 1994 | WildBrain Entertainment is founded |
| 1996 | CINAR buys FilmFair's library |
| 1997 | Decode Entertainment is founded |
| 1999 | Colossal Pictures sells to WildBrain Entertainment |
| 2004 | Halifax Film Company is founded and CINAR rebrands as Cookie Jar Group |
| 2006 | Decode & Halifax merge forming DHX Media |
| 2007 | DHX Media buys Studio B Productions |
| 2008 | Cookie Jar Group buys DIC Entertainment |
| 2010 | DHX Media buys Wildbrain Entertainment |
| 2012 | DHX Media buys Cookie Jar Group |
| 2013 | DHX Media buys Ragdoll Worldwide |
| 2014 | DHX Media buys Epitome Pictures & Nerd Corps Entertainment |
| 2016 | Wildbrain Ent. closes & Studio B merges with Nerd Corps forming DHX Studios |
| 2017 | DHX Media buys Iconix Brands Entertainment |
| 2019 | DHX Media rebrands itself as WildBrain |
Epitome Pictures Inc. (later known as DHX Studios Toronto and WildBrain Studios) was a Canadian film and television production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded by Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn in 1992, the company is best known for producing Degrassi: The Next Generation and Degrassi: Next Class, the fourth and fifth respective entries of the Degrassi teen drama franchise, of which was co-created by Schuyler. Other television series produced by Epitome include Liberty Street, Riverdale, and The L.A. Complex. In 2016, Epitome was absorbed into DHX Media (later WildBrain) and the Epitome name and branding ceased.
Contents
History
Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn founded Epitome Pictures in 1992,[1] and purchased its first studio building in 1995, to film Riverdale.[2] At the time, the studio was allegedly "in a sorry state, with snow melting on the leaking roof and cans catching the water".[2] Its main headquarters were located on a 100,000 square-foot lot in Bartley Drive in Toronto, Ontario.[3] In April 2014, the company and its library, including the Degrassi series produced before Epitome (The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, and the non-fiction documentary series Degrassi Talks), was acquired by fellow Canadian television producer DHX Media for $33 million.[4][5]
After the buyout, Epitome's assets were absorbed into DHX Media, and the studio was renamed DHX Media Toronto in 2016. On April 2, 2019, DHX announced plans to sell the Bartley Drive studio for $12 million, as part of their intentions to streamline its physical operations across Canada.[6] In September that year, DHX Media was renamed WildBrain.[7]
Playing With Time, Inc.
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Playing With Time, Inc. was a Canadian film and television production company based in Toronto, Ontario, and the predecessor of Epitome Pictures. Founded by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1976,[8] the company is best known for producing The Kids of Degrassi Street, as well as Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, the first, second, and third respective entries of the Degrassi franchise. Schuyler, a Grade 7 and Grade 8 media teacher at Earl Grey Senior Public School in Toronto in 1976,[9] met Hood, then an editor for television commercials, when she needed help from an experienced editor to save the "muddled footage" of one of her projects.[10] Hood and Schuyler found a balance; editor Hood was inexperienced in writing, and Schuyler was inexperienced in editing, leading to their creative partnership.[10] The production offices were located on 935 Queen Street East,[11] where the Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High cast would routinely gather to be taken to the schools where the respective series were filmed.[12]
Epitome Pictures later owned the rights to the three previous Degrassi shows produced by Playing With Time.[4]
Filmography
Playing With Time, Inc.
- Jimmy: Playing With Time (short film)[10]
- Our Cultural Fabric (1978, short film)[10]
- The Kids of Degrassi Street (1979–1986)
- Growing Up with Sandy Offenheim (1980, five shorts)
- Pearls in the Alphabet Soup (1980, short film)
- Don't Call Me Stupid (1983, short film)
- Advice on Lice (1985, short film)
- OWL/TV (1985–1986) ("Real Kids" segments)
- Degrassi Junior High (1987–1989)
- Degrassi High (1989–1991)
- Degrassi Talks (1992)
- School's Out (1992)
Epitome Pictures
- X-Rated (1993, TV movie)
- Liberty Street (1995)
- Riverdale (1997–2000)
- Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2015) (co-production with Bell Media)
- Instant Star (2004–2008)
- Degrassi Goes Hollywood (2009, movie)
- Degrassi Takes Manhattan (2010, movie)
- The L.A. Complex (2012)
- Open Heart (2015)
- Make It Pop (2015–2016) (co-production with Tom Lynch Company, N'Credible Entertainment, and Nickelodeon)
- The Other Kingdom (2016) (co-production with Tom Lynch Company and Nickelodeon)
- Degrassi: Next Class (2016–2017)
- Letterkenny (2016–2019)
- Massive Monster Mayhem (2017)[13]
References
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- ↑ Ellis 2005, pp. 8
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External links
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- Epitome Pictures Inc. archives at the University of Toronto Media Commons
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