American production company
Atlas Media Corp.
is a
New York
-based
independent
production company of
non-fiction
entertainment
. The company was founded in 1989 by
Bruce David Klein
and produces
television
series and specials,
theatrical documentaries
, and digital
web series
for cable networks like
Discovery Channel
,
Travel Channel
,
E! Network
,
TLC
,
Food Network
,
A&E
,
History
,
WE
,
GSN
,
DIY Network
,
Investigation Discovery
,
Style
,
National Geographic
,
BIO
,
SyFy
, and
HGTV
?as well as national syndication and international distribution in over 100 markets worldwide.
For ten years in a row (2006-2015),
Realscreen
magazine has named Atlas to its annual "Global 100" list of the largest and most influential producers of non-fiction entertainment around the world.
[1]
[
full citation needed
]
Television
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Atlas Media Corp.'s projects have covered many genres of reality television including formatted reality (
Hotel Impossible
,
Auction Agent
,
Big Brian: The Fortune Seller
); docusoap (
Playing with Fire
,
Big Sexy
,
Hot Listings Miami
);
docudrama
(
Breaking Vegas
,
Who Killed Chandra Levy?
,
Evacuate Earth
,
Alien Invasion: Are We Ready?
);
documentary
(
American Eats
,
It Could Happen Tomorrow
,
Mysterious Places
,
Exotic Islands
,
Things You Have To See To Believe
); science and technology (
Super Tools
,
Factory Floor
); medical mystery (
Dr. G: Medical Examiner
,
Skeleton Stories
), wildlife (
Maneaters of the Wild
,
Shark Terror with Stacey Keach
),
true crime
(
Stalked: Someone's Watching
,
Frenemies: Loyalty Turned Lethal
); comedy (
Phowned
,
How They Won with Mo Rocca
; adventure (
Everest: Mountain of Dreams, Mountain of Doom
); light entertainment (
Out of This World
,
Amazing People
); food (
Top 5
,
Extreme Cuisine
,
Behind the Bash with Giada DeLaurentis
); Lifestyle/How To (
Raising House
,
All Year Round With Katie Brown
,
Survival Guide
,
Romantic Inns
);
pop culture
(
Biography
,
Young, Sexy &...
,
Royal Families of the World
,
TV Game Show Hall of Fame
); and game shows (
Spend It Fast!
,
Bragging Rights
,
Beach Ambush
).
Atlas Media Corp.'s programming has won numerous awards including multiple Cine Gold Eagles,
[2]
New York Festivals
Gold Medals, the
Genesis Award
, and the
James Beard
Award
for Best TV Food Journalism.
[3]
In 2009, its series
Art Attack with Lee Sandstead
earned an Emmy nomination.
[4]
The company has produced numerous hit shows, include
Hotel Impossible
(for
Travel Channel
),
Stalked: Someone's Watching
(for
Investigation Discovery
),
Frenemies: Loyalty Turned Lethal
(for
Investigation Discovery
), Raising House (for
DIY Network
),
Dr. G: Medical Examiner
(for
Discovery Fit & Health
and
TLC
),
Top 5
and
Behind the Bash with Giada DeLaurentiis
(
Food Network
).
In 2011, Atlas produced the television movie "
Who Killed Chandra Levy?
", which aired on TLC and was called "a terrific docudrama" by the
New York Post
.
[5]
Theatrical Documentaries
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In 2007, Atlas Media launched a theatrical documentary division to produce and release feature-length documentaries.
[6]
The first
film
from this division,
Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise
was an official selection of the
Montreal World Film Festival
and was released theatrically in 100 North American markets in March 2008. The film is a portrait of the rock performer
Meat Loaf
, shot during the preparation for and beginning of his 2007 world tour. The film received positive reviews from
The New York Times
("amusing"),
[7]
Variety
("revealing ... leaps off the screen"),
[8]
and many others. The film was directed by
Bruce David Klein
. It was released in association with
Voom HD
Pictures and
IFC
. The DVD was released by
Universal
in May 2008.
Atlas Media Corp's second
theatrical documentary
was
Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead
, which premiered at the USA Film Festival, and was shown at the Rhode Island International Film Festival as well as the Cork International Film Festival in
Ireland
. It received a Gold Kahuna Award from the 2009 Honolulu International Film Festival.
[9]
Its theatrical run began in New York City on February 27, 2009, and the film made its television premiere on MSNBC on April 19, 2009.
[10]
In Fall 2016, Atlas released another theatrical documentary Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened
[1]
directed by Lonny Price, produced by Bruce David Klein, executive produced by Scott Rudin, and featuring Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Jason Alexander, Mandy Patinkin and others was an official selection of the New York Film Festival. The film was released in theaters on November 18, 2016, to rave reviews?Entertainment Weekly called it "A Triumph"
[2]
, the Washington Post "Heart-piercing"
[3]
, Rolling Stone "Mesmerizing"
[4]
?and the NY Times said "a sense of wonder animates every frame and leaves you with a misty-eyed glow."
[5]
The film was included lists of the Best Films of 2016 by the New York Times
[6]
, The Wrap, and Newsweek
[7]
?and is currently 94% "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.
[8]
In July 2021 Atlas
announced
that it had signed a deal with stage and screen legend
Liza Minnelli
to produce a feature documentary incorporating "lost footage" of Liza during her spectacular rise in the 1970s. The film is to be produced and directed by
Bruce David Klein
.
Digital & Emerging Media
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Atlas Media Corp. launched its Digital & Emerging Media division in 2007.
[11]
One of their first productions was a
series
of
webisodes
for
History.com
to complement the
History Rocks
television special series premiere on
The History Channel
. Similarly, they produced a series of 2-3 minute pieces for
The History Channel
's
video-on-demand
(VOD) component to accompany the 2007 television series
American Eats
.
The division also produced its first series for
Comcast
's
FEARnet
online network in 2007,
Rt. 666: America's Scariest Home Haunts
. A new
webisode
was released every day throughout the month of October as part of a month-long
Halloween
stunt
. In October 2008, they created
Streets of Fear
, also for
FEARnet
.
Other recent productions from the Digital & Emerging Media Division of Atlas Media Corp. include
Expedition: Africa
webisodes for
History.com
,
Breaking Down
for
FUSE TV
online,
Path to the Podium
and
The Vote 101
, for
History.com
,
How to Beat Death
for
Discovery.com
, and
Total Beauty Makeover: Dog Edition
, for
Lifetime.com
. The division also operates Atlas Media Corp.'s own online channel, the
MUST SEE BELIEVE
on
YouTube
, which features short videos about amazing people, places and events.
[12]
Multiplatform
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In October 2008, Atlas Media Corp. expanded one of its long-running shows,
Dr. G: Medical Examiner
, into a multi-platform
brand
, starting with Dr. G's
book
project
How Not to Die: Surprising Lessons on Living Longer, Safer, and Healthier from America's Favorite Medical Examiner
, published by
Random House
's Crown division. The multi-platform effort also included the production of a corresponding one-hour TV Special entitled "How Not to Die" for the
Discovery Health
network
[13]
and the development of the companion
website
HowNottoDie.com
.
[14]
Productions
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]
Television shows
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Theatrical Documentaries
[
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]
Web series
[
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]
References
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External links
[
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]