Saul Zaentz
Saul Zaentz was born on the 28th of February 1921 in Passaic, New Jersey. He grew up as the youngest of five children to Polish Jewish immigrants who had arrived in America seeking new opportunities. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he began his career working for Norman Granz at Jazz at the Philharmonic. This role involved managing concert tours for legendary musicians like Duke Ellington and Stan Getz. His passion for music led him to study at Rutgers University under the GI Bill after the war ended. In 1955, he joined Fantasy Records, which stood as one of the largest independent jazz labels globally. By 1967, Zaentz and partners purchased the label from founders Max and Sol Weiss. The company soon signed Creedence Clearwater Revival, a roots-rock group fronted by John Fogerty.
Fantasy Records held distribution rights to Creedence Clearwater Revival's music, creating complex financial entanglements between the band and their label. John Fogerty later claimed that bad investments cost CCR millions of dollars, some recovered through legal proceedings. Songs on Fogerty's 1985 album Centerfield included thinly veiled attacks titled Zanz Kant Danz and Mr. Greed. A defamation lawsuit followed regarding lyrics stating Zanz could not dance but would steal money. Warner Bros. settled the issue while Fogerty changed the title and lyric to Vanz Kant Danz. Fogerty countersued for attorney fees in a case reaching the U.S. Supreme Court known as Fogerty v. Fantasy. The court ruled in his favor in 1994 with decision 510 U.S. 517. Zaentz also sued Fogerty for plagiarism over the song The Old Man Down the Road claiming it lifted melodies from Run Through the Jungle. He sought $140 million in damages before losing when a jury found Fogerty not liable in Fantasy Inc v. Fogerty.
Zaentz won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times across different decades of filmmaking. His first win came in 1975 for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest directed by Miloš Forman. He co-produced this film with actor Michael Douglas after seeing its stage adaptation at a theater in San Francisco's Jackson Square area. The movie swept five Academy Awards including Best Picture, an achievement not seen in forty-one years. In 1984 he collaborated again with Forman on Amadeus based on Peter Shaffer's play about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This production earned eight Academy Awards and generated a best-selling soundtrack distributed by Fantasy Records. The English Patient followed in 1996 winning nine awards including Best Director for Anthony Minghella. Zaentz purchased rights to the unpublished novel in 1992 and resisted pressure to cast Demi Moore instead choosing Kristin Scott Thomas. At the same ceremony accepting his third Oscar, he received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement.
Through Tolkien Enterprises now called Middle-earth Enterprises Zaentz owned worldwide film stage and merchandise rights to J.R.R. Tolkien works. These rights included matching provisions should the estate ever produce films about The Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales of Numenor. They did not cover television shows longer than eight episodes. In 1976 Zaentz acquired certain rights from United Artists who had bought them directly from Tolkien eight years prior. He produced an animated version of The Lord of the Rings in 1978 written by Peter S. Beagle and directed by Ralph Bakshi. Tolkien Enterprises granted Iron Crown Enterprises an exclusive tabletop game license in 1982 making it the largest such agreement in the industry at that time. Eight years after his death Zaentz Co decided to sell these rights. On the 18th of August 2022 Embracer Group announced purchasing Middle-earth Enterprises from The Saul Zaentz Company.
The Saul Zaentz Film Center opened in Berkeley California in 1980 as a hub for editing and sound mixing operations. It served as one of only three major Northern California production facilities alongside American Zoetrope and Lucasfilm. By 2005 the center largely shut down its post-production facilities except for the foley recording studio part of Fantasy Studios which closed in 2018. The facility housed Concord Music Group and Fantasy Studios along with the Berkeley Digital Film Institute and other media companies. Zaentz sold the film center in 2007 after closing operations there. His moving image collection remains preserved at the Academy Film Archive today.
In 2011 Zaentz's company initiated legal actions against small businesses in the United Kingdom enforcing Hobbit trademarks. Targets included the Hungry Hobbit cafe in Sarehole Birmingham and a pub in Southampton England that had operated under that name for twenty years. This strategy provoked strong criticism from British correspondents including Stephen Fry who called it pointless self-defeating bullying. The dispute began shortly after Lord of the Rings films were released when New Line Cinema refused to provide financial records. In December 2007 Variety reported Zaentz was suing New Line alleging refusal to make profit-participation statements accurate. Peter Jackson faced controversy over directing The Hobbit due to these ongoing disputes between his Wingnut Films and New Line executives like Robert Shaye. Shaye declared they would never work with Jackson again while MGM hoped for resolution allowing original plans to proceed.
Zaentz died on the 3rd of January 2014 in San Francisco California at age ninety-two from Alzheimer's disease complications. His final production Goya's Ghosts starred Natalie Portman Javier Bardem Stellan Skarsgård as Goya and Randy Quaid as king of Spain. Shot on location in Spain and edited in New York the film released in late 2006 with collaborators Miloš Forman and Jean-Claude Carrière. The Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation launched in 1997 focusing on educational initiatives. On the 17th of May 2016 Harvard Graduate School of Education announced a thirty-five point five million dollar gift marking the largest donation ever given to advance early childhood education. John Fogerty posted the music video for Vanz Kant Danz upon hearing news of Zaentz's death while Michael Douglas paid tribute in The Hollywood Reporter article. Both marriages ended in divorce leaving him widowed by Lynda Redfield after Celia Mingus passed away earlier.
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Common questions
When and where was Saul Zaentz born?
Saul Zaentz was born on the 28th of February 1921 in Passaic, New Jersey. He grew up as the youngest of five children to Polish Jewish immigrants who had arrived in America seeking new opportunities.
What legal case did John Fogerty win against Saul Zaentz in 1994?
John Fogerty won the U.S. Supreme Court case Fogerty v. Fantasy with decision 510 U.S. 517 in 1994. The court ruled in his favor regarding attorney fees after Zaentz sued him for plagiarism over the song The Old Man Down the Road claiming it lifted melodies from Run Through the Jungle.
Which three films earned Saul Zaentz Academy Awards for Best Picture?
Saul Zaentz won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times across different decades of filmmaking. His first win came in 1975 for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest directed by Miloš Forman followed by Amadeus in 1984 and The English Patient in 1996.
When did Embracer Group purchase Middle-earth Enterprises from The Saul Zaentz Company?
On the 18th of August 2022 Embracer Group announced purchasing Middle-earth Enterprises from The Saul Zaentz Company. This sale occurred eight years after Zaentz died and involved rights to J.R.R. Tolkien works including film stage and merchandise licenses.
Where was the Saul Zaentz Film Center located and when did it open?
The Saul Zaentz Film Center opened in Berkeley California in 1980 as a hub for editing and sound mixing operations. It served as one of only three major Northern California production facilities alongside American Zoetrope and Lucasfilm before Zaentz sold the facility in 2007.
How did Saul Zaentz die and what was his final production?
Saul Zaentz died on the 3rd of January 2014 in San Francisco California at age ninety-two from Alzheimer's disease complications. His final production Goya's Ghosts starred Natalie Portman Javier Bardem Stellan Skarsgård as Goya and Randy Quaid as king of Spain.
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31 references cited across the entry
- 1webGoya's Ghosts (2006)Inna Entova — November 10, 2006
- 2webSaul Zaentz, film and music mogul, 1921–2014January 10, 2014
- 3bookInternational Television & Video AlmanacQuigley Publishing Company — 2006
- 5webSaul Zaentz, Producer of Oscar-Winning Movies, Dies at 92Robert D. McFaddenjan — 2014-01-04
- 6newsZaentz Heads Fantasy SalesNielsen Business Media — March 12, 1955
- 7webBerkeley's legendary producer Saul Zaentz diesFrances Dinkelspiel — 2014-01-04
- 9webThe saddest story in rockAdam Sweeting — 2000-07-10
- 10webBeen and Gone: The man who made Senna's engine and a master watchmakerNick Serpell — 2014-02-03
- 14magazineFogerty Returns To Fantasy2005-09-09
- 15webAbout Middle-earth EnterprisesMiddle Earth Enterprises
- 16bookDesigners & DragonsShannon Appelcline — Mongoose Publishing — 2011
- 17web'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' Film and Gaming Rights up for Sale (EXCLUSIVE)February 9, 2022
- 19newsZaentz, New Line in courtJanet Shprintz — December 13, 2007
- 20newsThe Hobbit will be made in New Zealand, PM confirmsOctober 27, 2010
- 21webThe Hobbit Reportedly Greenlit Again, With Peter Jackson DirectingCinemaBlend.com — October 15, 2010
- 22newsHungry Hobbit cafe told to change nameNovember 21, 2011
- 23newsStephen Fry joins The Hobbit pub's fight with HollywoodXan Brooks — March 14, 2012
- 24webThe IPKat
- 25newsStephen Fry backs Hobbit pub in Southampton over legal actionMarch 15, 2012
- 26webZaentz Media Centermmatsumoto
- 27webSaul Zaentz CollectionSeptember 5, 2014
- 28webOscar winning producer Saul Zaentz dies at 92January 3, 2014
- 31webHarvard Ed School Launches Major Early Childhood Education InitiativePresident and Fellows of Harvard College — 17 May 2016