History
As of 2011, WWE Studios has co-produced four films as well as independently produced six more. The Marine was the first developed solely by the company to reach the filming stage, while the first one to be theatrically released is See No Evil. Stone Cold Steve Austin is signed to star in three movies for WWE Studios. Before the formation of WWE Films the WWF had produced the 1989 film No Holds Barred featuring Hulk Hogan under the Shane Distribution Company banner, a precursor to today's company.
In 2006, WWE Films chose to further expand the variety of projects that it intends to pursue by also focusing made-for-television films and direct-to-video movies as well as other media platforms. WWE Films was renamed WWE Studios on July 21, 2008 to further represent the expansion of the WWE subsidiary.
Due to WWE's adherence to the TV-PG rating, all future movies were subsequently switched from rated R to PG-13 in order to target a younger audience. Only four of the films produced or co-produced by WWE Studios have surpassed the PG-13 rating; The Condemned, See No Evil, The Marine 2, and The Day each rated R. Former WWE Studios president Joel Simon died on June 19, 2011 after a four year battle with cancer.
WWE Studios creates a diversified mix of filmed entertainment by means of strategic production, financing, distribution and acquisition partnerships. WWE movies frequently cast well-known actors and actresses in lead roles supported by WWE Superstars, such as John Cena, Triple H and Wade Barrett. WWE Studios has produced “No One Lives” with Pathe Pictures, starring Luke Evans (“The Immortals”) and WWE Superstar Brodus Clay, acquired the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival cult hit “The Day,” starring Shawn Ashmore (“X-Men Trilogy”) and Dominic Monaghan (“Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, “LOST”). WWE Studios also has multipicture production deals set up with Lions Gate Films and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Most recently, it partnered with Academy Award winning producer Thomas Langmann (“The Artist”) and Kare Productions on “Queens of the Ring,” a French-language comedy drama which will feature WWE Superstars in cameo roles.
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