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Melnick (Daniel) papers
PA Mss 107
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Title: Daniel Melnick papers
Identifier/Call Number: PA Mss 107
Language of Material:
English.
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Physical Description:
172 Linear Feet
(172 cartons)
Date (inclusive): 1960-2009
Abstract: The Daniel Melnick papers are largely comprised of film production, business, legal, and office material related to Melnick's
tenure as a Hollywood studio executive and independent producer at the Indieprod Company and Daniel Melnick Productions, Inc.
The papers also include personal files, as well as a substantial amount of photographic and audiovisual ephemera associated
with his work in moviemaking.
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Records in this collection may contain personally identifiable information (PII) and other restricted materials. Advance notice
is required for access and retrieval.
Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through
the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to
the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator
and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.
All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department
of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of
California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is
not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright
owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of Item], Daniel Melnick papers, PA Mss 107. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara
Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Gift of Peter Rodgers Melnick.
Daniel Melnick had a prolific career in Hollywood from the 1950s into the 2000s, during which time he was known primarily
for his work as an independent producer and as creator of the production company, IndieProd. Melnick began in television in
the 1950s, but by the 1970s he transitioned to working for a major film studio — MGM. In 1976, Melnick left MGM and created
his independent production company, Indieprod, with an agreement through Columbia. Indieprod produced films from the late
1970s into the 1990s through contracted deals with the likes of Fox, Carolco, Tri-Star Pictures, and others. Subsequently,
Melnick organized Daniel Melnick Productions, Inc. in order to continue to consult and produce films into the 2000s. Melnick
was also an avid art collector of 20th Century art, and acted as a board member of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).
He was a member of the Producer's Guild of America, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Academy
of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and was a founding trustee and board member of the Sundance Film Institute.
Melnick tenure in Hollywood started in television in the 1950s and the 1960s, resulting in his appointment at ABC as Vice
President of Programming. In the mid-1960s, Melnick became a partner to the independent production company, Talent Associates.
From 1972-1976, Melnick was then employed by MGM, serving as Senior Vice President in charge of Worldwide Production. At MGM,
Melnick supervised the production of films like
Westworld,
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,
That's Entertainment,
Network, and
Logan's Run.
In 1976, when Melnick left MGM, he activated his own independent production company Indieprod and simultaneously secured a
production and distribution deal with Columbia. Concurrently, Melnick served as Head of Worldwide Production and President
at Columbia from 1977-1979, overseeing the production of films like
Close Encounters,
All that Jazz,
Kramer vs. Kramer, and
Altered States. In agreeing to work directly for Columbia, Melnick safeguarded his professional agency through specific contractual stipulations.
As Melnick later described, "I had a clause in my contract [with Columbia], when I agreed to do the bureaucratic job, that
I could return to my production company at whim…I was preparing two pictures that I knew would never be okayed by ordinary
management."
In January 1980, Indieprod established an exclusive agreement with 20th Century Fox for three years, until July 1982. Two
publicized controversies ensued during this period, including the suspicious death of Melnick's attorney Norman Garey in 1982,
and a lawsuit initiated by Indieprod against Allen Adler (a production executive at Indieprod) for sharing company secrets—which
included exposing inside information related to 20th Century Fox. In the later 1980s, Indieprod resumed their working relationship
with Columbia to develop literary properties. In addition to Melnick, one long-term member of the small Indieprod Company
was Elizabeth Fox. Elizabeth Fox became executive assistant and Vice President of Indieprod. Allen Shapiro, with a background
in entertainment law and having previously worked for
Playboy, began his extensive tenure at Indieprod as Co-Chief Executive Officer in 1986.
In the late 1980s, Indeprod made consecutive production and distribution agreements with Phoenix Entertainment in 1986 and
Carolco in 1987. Indieprod went through a "divorce" with Carolco in 1991, though Indieprod's affiliation with the company
continued until after 1992 (Carolco eventually declared bankruptcy in 1995). In May 1992, Indieprod, Japan Satellite Broadcasting,
Inc. (JSB), and Tri-Star Pictures (a division of Sony) came to an agreement. As Melnick later noted:
"After Columbia was sold to Sony, the rules of the road changed dramatically. And although my compensation package was the
same per picture, it was a different kind of partnership. At one point I…raised fifty million dollars from a Japanese concern,
which Sony matched, and so we had a production fund of our own…the business underwent a great change, and it became truly
an international business, and the studio[s] became…distribution companies, which is really what they are."
Indieprod continued to produce films through the 1990s, with Melnick later transitioning to Daniel Melnick Productions, Inc.
Melnick continued to produce and consult on films through the early 2000s.
[Information included here is taken from materials contained within the collection.]
The Daniel Melnick papers (1970s-2000s) include professional and personal information related to Daniel Melnick's career in
Hollywood. The bulk of the materials relate to the productions he supervised through Indieprod Company and Daniel Melnick
Productions, Inc. (DMPI), divided into subseries devoted to individual productions, mixed productions, scripts, and coverages.
The comprehensiveness of these materials varies according to subseries, but documentation in the individual and mixed production
files usually includes general production information, associated scripts, financial data, publicity and marketing details,
as well as contracts and other legal records. The Melnick papers also include general non-production-related business material
associated with MGM and Columbia, Indieprod, and DMPI, as well as office files not directly linked to any specific company.
Personal documents are also contained in the collection, associated with Melnick's financial holdings, memberships, properties,
correspondences, and art interests. Lastly, the papers hold photographic and audiovisual materials, as well as movie posters
connected to Daniel Melnick's cinematic work. Due to the interrelated nature of Melnick's personal and professional lives,
the boundaries of the stated categories are not absolute, and materials within the collection often overlap across series.
The collection is organized into the following series: Production Materials, Business, Financial, and Legal Materials, Daniel
Melnick Personal Materials, Photographs, Audiovisual, Posters, and Born Digital.
Throughout the collection, there are several acronyms used consistently to denote certain people, companies, productions,
or concepts:
MOTM:
Mountains of the Moon
DM: Daniel Melnick
Elizabeth or Eliz: Likely, Elizabeth Fox
Shapiro: Likely, Allen Shapiro
AA: Likely, Allen Adler
UIP: United International Pictures
JSB: Japanese Satellite Broadcasting
IPC: Indieprod Company
DMPI: Daniel Melnick Productions Inc.
CNB: City National Bank
WFB: Wells Fargo Bank
Chron file: Chronological file
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Motion picture producers and directors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives
Screenplays
Daniel Melnick Productions -- Archives
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer