When Carolco Was King

In 1976, Hollywood outsiders Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna—born, respectively, in Beirut and Budapest—founded Carolco Pictures, Inc. By the end of the 1980s, bankrolled by the blockbuster success of Sylvester Stallone’s first outing as John Rambo, 1982 First Blood, Carolco had gatecrashed the big leagues, and though the company burned fast and bright, a shortlist of some of the titles they greenlit—Angel Heart, Total Recall, Basic Instinct—is testament to their outsized impact on popular culture. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Carolco’s founding, and our anniversary revival run of Carolco production Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Metrograph offers a curated tribute to the company and the risk-taking buccaneers behind it, a breed sorely missed in the tepid, market research-driven entertainment industry of today.