Section Eight Productions, or just Section Eight, was an American film production company founded in December 1999 by film director Steven Soderbergh and actor/director George Clooney, following the success of the film Out of Sight.
Its name was taken from the discharge (a military recognition category for separation) of the character Maxwell Q. Klinger on one of George Clooney's favorite childhood TV shows, M*A*S*H.
History
Predecessors In February 1996, ER star George Clooney founded his first production company, a television company called Mirador Entertainment, which signed a deal with NBC Studios to develop television programming. Deborah Leoni joined in as partner in July of that year.
In November 1996, George Clooney founded another company to supplement the television-based Mirador, Left Bank Productions with partner Robert Lawrence, and the company signed a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. In 1997, Left Bank Productions changed its name to Maysville Pictures (named after Clooney's hometown in Maysville, Kentucky) to avoid confusion with a music-based management firm with the Left Bank name.
In 1998, the Mirador deal was supplanted by a new television deal at Warner Bros. Television and CBS with the Maysville Pictures name, was headed by Clooney as well as Pam Williams and Ben Cosgrove. In 1999, Robert Lawrence and George Clooney broke their partnership, with Clooney continuing to run Maysville on its own. Only two works were released under the Maysville Pictures name, the television movie Fail Safe, and the 2001 film Rock Star.
When Section Eight was first formed, the company signed a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures, and took the exiting Maysville staff with them, including Ben Cosgrove, who was with Maysville before Section Eight was formed.
Section Eight The company was founded in 1999 after George Clooney met Steven Soderberg and secured a deal at Warner Bros. Pictures. Although Section Eight remained in the old Maysville offices, Soderbergh worked from New York City.
It produced the critical hits Far from Heaven, Insomnia, Syriana, A Scanner Darkly and Michael Clayton, as well as Clooney-directed films Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck. In 2005, Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck picked up eight Oscars nominations between them.
In 2003, the company set up a television division, led by Grant Heslov. The company's two television productions is the show, K Street which aired on HBO in 2003, and Unscripted, which also aired on HBO in 2005.
With Soderbergh citing a desire to focus on directing through Extension 765, and Clooney forming production company Smokehouse Pictures with Grant Heslov (who worked at Section Eight for just five years) in the same building, but under a new name where Maysville and Section Eight were, the two decided to shut down Section Eight at the end of 2006.
Films Year Film Director Notes2001Ocean's ElevenSteven SoderberghRemake of Ocean's Eleven (1960)2002InsomniaChristopher NolanRemake of Insomnia (1997) Welcome to CollinwoodAnthony RussoJoe RussoConfessions of a Dangerous MindGeorge ClooneyFull FrontalSteven SoderberghFar from HeavenTodd Haynes2004CriminalGregory JacobsRemake of Nine Queens (2000)Ocean's TwelveSteven Soderbergh2005The JacketJohn MayburyGood Night, and Good LuckGeorge ClooneySyrianaStephen GaghanRumor Has It...Rob Reiner2006A Scanner DarklyRichard LinklaterThe Good GermanSteven Soderbergh2007Wind ChillGregory JacobsOcean's ThirteenSteven SoderberghMichael ClaytonTony Gilroy2009The Informant!Steven Soderbergh
Television Title First aired Last aired Co-production NetworkNotesK StreetSeptember 14, 2003November 16, 2003Interface Media GroupSennet/Gernstein EntertainmentHBOUnscriptedJanuary 9, 2005February 27, 2005Warner Bros. Television
Notes and references
External links New York Times, January 18, 2005: Trying to Combine Art and Box Office in Hollywood — article about Section Eight, Clooney, & Soderbergh.